Going To Grandma's

Tori is now enamored with staying in the hotel on Friday night and going to see Despereaux with Grandma this weekend, or so she thinks. Christmas still does not compute with her, though perhaps it will when she unwraps her dollhouse. I have moved her table into her room to hold a Little Pony carousel she is getting, and she has decided to use the table and chairs for her dolls. She puts out cupcakes and tea cups and they all have a tea party. Even her big brother joins in on the fun. I wondered when she would decide to throw a tea party.

Bitten By the Travel Bug

Tori doesn't care about Christmas at home. She wants to get into the car and go see people. Everyday she asks me when we are going on a trip. I will be surprised if that girl doesn't do something for a living that involves travel. She went a short trip today, to the dentist to have a hole in tooth she was born with filled. Annie took her and said she was good.

Poor Tori. She lays awake at night telling herself stories and gets up cranky from too little sleep. She is a total night owl like her dad. Christian, Eli and I are early birds. We like to rise with the sun and wind down with dusk. This does not spell good when Tori starts school and has to get up and get going early on in the day. Maybe the excitement of being at school will be enough too motivate her.

Friday with Mom

That is what Tori gets. She was sad yesterday about Eli getting the morning with his dad at the doctor's office, so I offered to keep her home on Friday so we can clean house together and take care of some other things. She is looking forward to dusting with Mom. Wish me luck. On another note, she has been making major progress with the potty training. THis weekend I am putting her in panties to see if she can get through the day without having an accident.

Miss Carol

My friend was Tori's teacher at church, and she loved up to her big time. She talks about Carol quite a bit now and will be surprised to see a new teacher this Saturday night. Carol trades off teaching with another woman. I hope Tori likes her just as much as she does Carol.

God/Craft Hour

That is the term Christian and Tori use to describe church. They are anxious to go and learn about God and do some crafts. I am looking forward to taking them and hoping they have a good time. They are also going to shop for a little boy named Christian. Huts pulled his name from the Salvation Army tree, and our Christian has started asking questions about what we are getting him and why. I hope this turns into a good lesson about giving.

Dollhouse Crazy

I want a dollhouse, not just the one Mom told you about, but every dollhouse I see. Mom gets all of these great toy catalogs, and the dollhouses are the first thing I look at. I love the Dora dollhouse. She's great! I got a new Dora video, and then when I got home, I begged Mom for another Dora video about spies. She told me no, and I wailed, but it didn't work. i didn't get Undercover Dora like I wanted. Oh well. Maybe for Christmas.

Dollhouse

That is Tori's one request this year, and she will not let up on it. We are getting her a Fisher Price dollhouse with twins, and asking everyone to help fill it up. She will be so pleased to have a house full of people and furniture. I tried to explain to her again what twins were and that Aunt Annie and Uncle Frankie are twins, but she refuses to believe it. Impossible in her little world.

Haircuts

Tori is excited and ready to be boootiful again. She also keeps talking about making another trip soon. While that is bound to take place, it was certainly not going to take place this morning. She wanted to know why I was putting her clothes away and if we were getting ready to go on a trip. That girl loves to go, go, go!

Impatient Boogers

We went grocery shopping last night, and before Huts and I got everything into the back of the car, Christian and Tori had opened their frozen food dinners and started complaining that they were cold. Apparently, they don't understand the term frozen. Eli was starving, too, so I got the privilege of scrambling to feed him while fixing their frozen dinners, which they hardly ate. Fun, fun!

Dancing

Tori and I watched Dancing with the Stars last night. She loved it and hopped around all night long. She also played sick for Christian so he could care for her with his doctor's bag. The two were quite the obnoxious pair last night. Bedtime brought peace.

Fit Thrower

Tori was a big crab last night, whiny and demanding. I finally grew tired of it and put her in bed a little after 8. She threw an enormous fit, legs and hands flying. Guess what!! She got into major trouble. I put her into bed, gave her some water and shut the door after a peck on the cheek. She continued to throw her fit until Christian went to bed around 8:30. Then she spent the next hour talking to herself. Huts had to tell her to hush. Silly, silly girl!

Explosion

Usually toddlers have a word explosion, Tori has had a sentence explosion and hasn't stopped talking since! Since about August, she talks non-stop and has gotten a lot better at using complete sentences and indicating what she wants. I got so used to her speech before, this explosion still surprised me with what she can communicate to you.

This has carried over into calling her Brother stupid on several occasions and getting in trouble. I think it also has caused more physical brawls as well. Christian wasn't able to understand everything she said, now that he does, he doesn't like it. I had to break up a pushing match next to the stairs the other night.

Unfortunately, this hasn't curbed Tori's crying over nothing. You tell her 'No' or that she can't do something, even nicely, its like her world has crumbled. I guess this is an important difference between girls and boys. Hopefully she'll grow out of it before kindergarten.

Grandpa Kitchen pants

"You might as well divorce me now," Huts said to me as he passed by the laundry room.

"Why?" I asked.

"Tori says I am old and I have on Grandpa kitchen pants."

I can't stop laughing. We don't know where she came up with that term, but she and Ollie sure like telling us that we are old. They are obsessed with age, telling everyone they are old.

Better

Tori has recovered I believe. She may not even have a cold anymore. She says she wants to go potty. We'll see. She refuses to go on her own. Stubborn girl. On another note., she is wearing a new shirt that says bring on the bling bling. She finds that funny, especially when I tell her what bling bling means. She does like bracelets, necklaces, fingernail polish and all that jazz, so maybe she is going to be more of a girl than we thought.

Not Quite

My father passed away about a month ago. We finally told the kids about it when we got my dad's truck. Up until that point, they had seen my dad once and Ollie had commented about how old and sick he was. Tori and Eli were with me on the day my dad passed away. Tori went to his room with me a couple of times and knew Grandpa was sick, Fortunately, when he passed away, Tori was at her grandma's and stayed there that night, Anyway, she and Ollie now know, and Ollie told me how sorry he was. He seems to get it. Tori, on the other hand, doesn't. She tells me that my dad is dead and I need to get a new one. I have tried to explain to her that it doesn't work that way, but she can't grasp that fact. It will be interesting to see what she thinks and says when we visit the farmhouse next weekend.

Grandpa's Truck

It has made its way to our house, and Tori loves riding in the little seat in the back and the front seat. Her dad took her around the block to see how well the truck drove. The only problem we're having is getting the door closed. Dale is gonna have t come over and fix that. Anyway, Tori plans to help her dad clean it this weekend. With any luck, the probate process has started and the title will make its way to us at some point.

Excitement

Christian and Tori are totally looking forward to this weekend. Tori talks about the wedding nonstop. She can't wait to stay in the hotel, put on her fancy dresses, dance the night away and sleep in her sleeping bag. She only has a few more days and they're off to Kansas City.

Cryer

Tori cries about every grievance. This week she decided that she didn't want to go back to the sitter's. She wanted to stay home with her Mama, but her Mama had to go back to work. Tori didn't like that idea, even though Eli would be going with her. On Thursday, she cried when we got to the sitter's house because she wanted to be at home. She sat in the sitter's lap for awhile and played with the other kids once she got over it. This morning she was ready to go to the sitters and didn't cry at all. She adjusts very well to change. Must be that daredevil spirit of hers.

Next up is the battle for the potty. We finally got her on the regular size toilet, but she still doesn't use it regularly. We even tried getting her interested in a Dora toilet seat, because in our house, Dora solves a lot of problems. This time Dora couldn't work her magic. Last week, she mentioned the Dora seat and wanting to sit on it. Guess Dora's magic is just delayed. Hopefully that speeds the process up, changing 2 sets of diapers regularly is not ideal.

Miss Talks-A-Lot

Since school has started Tori has become a chatter box. Most of the time its incoherent rambling and singing for her Mama all day long at home. The singing and talking has carried over to the trips she's taken in the last month. She's talked for longer than 5 hour stretches. Doesn't make it a quiet trip.

Recently she has begun to put multiple sentences together. She has gotten excited about going to her Aunt Lucy's wedding. So now she talks about "We go on a trip", "We stay in a hotel", "We are in wedding". These sentences have been repeated in that order several times. She'll have fun in the wedding and she likes her dress. I'm sure she won't stop talking about it until next year. She'll have plenty more to talk about in October as we are heading on another trip. She should be tired of traveling after that, but I wouldn't be surprised if the go-go girl is ready to go soon after.

Sad Girl

Tori wants to go to school with Big brother Ollie. So much so that she cried when he got on the bus and she couldn't. She tried to see Ollie through the bus window, but he was too short to be seen. Once home she went with Daddy to run some errands while Ollie was in school. Today she slept through the bus pick-up, so no tears were shed. She hopefully doesn't say much about Ollie being gone.

This week, Tori will be going to a school all her own. Mama's Potty Training School. At least as much as Eli will allow. Tori is as bad as her brother was when it comes to potty training. She wants no part of it. I'm guessing for her 4th birthday, Tori is going to get a present of sitting on the potty until she learns to use it just like her brother. If only we could get her trained before then.

In other Tori news, she's up to 32 lbs and it feels like 10 more than the 2 she's actually gained. She seems a lot heavier than she is and hopefully its muscle.

Little Miss Daredevil

Tori has always been a daredevil. This weekend at Uncle Travis' was just more proof of that. She loves the water as everyone knows, at Uncle Travis' she had to swam twice and wanted to go for more. The first time she got cold and her lips turned a little blue so she had to get out despite her protesting. After she warmed up she went back in the pool for her Daredevil activities.

It started when Uncle Dale brought out the water wings. She put them on and was ready to go. Once she figured out that she could float with them on without being held, she didn't want to be touched. She wanted to float. She would try to swim, put her face in the water for a long time and then came the greatest feat.

In her swimming class, she learned to jump off the side into my arms. This past weekend she jumped off the diving board! She was ready to go. I was a little leary because she doesn't jump out far. Uncle Dale ensured she didn't hit the board, while her Daddy caught her. She loved every jump. 5 times she went off the board before I had to call it quits. She didn't cry over it and was ready to play in the shallow end again. We aren't going to have a pool for a long time with this daredevil around.

Whiny

I don't know what has gotten into Tori, but man has she been whiny lately. She is either tired or she senses that her new brother is almost here and she is jealous. She sat in the timeout chair again and again last night after throwing fits over nothing. Bad girl!

Telephone Chatter

It doesn't matter who calls, Tori must talk to them. She will follow you around, pleading to talk, until she gets to talk. Luckily, Huts and I don't spend a lot of time on the phone. Usually I have to call one of the grandmas or Aunt Annie after I get off the phone with someone Tori cannot talk to so Tori can talk to them. She just loves talking to Grandma Marie or Bickie or My Annie. She can't wait to see her grandmas soon.

Too Much

We had a busy weekend. It started on Friday night when I pulled weeds, while Huts mowed the lawn and the kids played. It was extremely hot out, so as soon as I was done, Ollie and Tori came in and got a bath. Saturday morning, we went to the farmer's market, where Ollie got a mini cherry pie and Tori got a blueberry muffin. Ollie managed to eat his pie without a fork. After that, Tori went swimming, while Ollie and I played in the park outside. We got hot quick and stole some money from Dad's wallet for some lemonade. Ollie drank all 32 ounces. After that, we went downtown where the kids played for half an hour around a statue. We grabbed lunch and went to paint pottery. That was quite the affair. Ollie painted a dragon and a castle box, while Tori painted a cat. We pick up their creations this Saturday. They should be quite the masterpieces. Tori got very creative with her cat. We spent the rest of the day at home. When Sunday rolled around, we took the kids to Sommer Park for Pioneer Days. Everything went ok until the end. The two were hot and exhausted and got crabby at the vintage baseball game. Huts ended up carrying Tori to the car, while Ollie and I traipsed behind. They drank their juice in the car and got a bath as soon as we got home to cool off. Tori missed her nap and went to bed at 8:30. Ollie followed right after. Whew! We pushed them over the edge with all of the fun!

New Babysitter

Last night we took the kids to a potential babysitter for Ollie while school is in session. Her name is Jessica and she has two young sons. Ollie played with the older one, while Tori played with the 1-year-old. It was nice to see that she could be nice to a younger toddler. She played with him and they were quite the pair. Now, if only she will be that way with Eli. We're expecting jealousy and regression, but maybe not. Maybe she'll be the big sister after all.

Tomorrow she finally gets to paint pottery. She has been begging me for weeks to go paint. After she eats lunch tomorrow, we are going over. Ollie has decided to paint something too. This should be interesting. I can't wait to see what they pick out and how well they paint it. Old clothes for sure.

Painting

Ever since watching a show about a mom taking her kids to paint pottery, Tori has been on me like a dog. I found a pottery shop in town that allows you to paint your own pottery, and Tori and I are going soon. She is totally into it. Ollie told me no and then said he tricked me and wants to go. We'll see if he bails out. I guess I better get with and do this before the third one comes and I am too busy making bottles and cleaning up spit-up.

Busy Weekend Ahead

Tonight, the kids are going to a backyard BBQ with Annie. Fun on the trampoline and pool for five hours. Meanwhile, Huts and I are going to a movie. Saturday morning, Tori is going to swim class with her dad, while I take Ollie to the park. Huts has plans to finish cutting up the tree and installing more mulch in the play area. Tori will be his little helper, and Ollie just might make his way out there. Who knows what Sunday will bring?

So Much To Do, So Little Time

Three weeks until Eli is scheduled to arrive, and Huts and I have all of these plans to do things with the kids. We want to take them to ball games, the orchard, the pottery shop and so forth. We know we better hop to it now because we're gonna be real tired later. Move, move, move! Maybe we'll even get to the water park after Eli comes and before Ollie starts school.

Progress

Tori has started going to the potty more frequently. I bought her some more underwear in preparation for potty training in August. She gets eight weeks at home with me, so hopefully, I will get the job done. Huts and I are looking forward to having just one in diapers.

Happy As A Clam

After watching Ollie go to camp all week and crying her eyes out, Tori finally made it to Friday. She and Ollie played with Rosa that night while we went out to dinner with friends. They loved Rosa and went with Huts to take her home. Tori asked Rosa if she would come back some time and we told her yes. The good times continued on Saturday with time with Annie (bye. Mom and Dad) and time with her new friend Teresa. The one blue spot occurred on Sunday when Matthew came over and he and Ollie excluded Tori from their play. Once Matthew went home, Ollie decided that it was ok to play with Tori, which made her happy. She had such a long weekend that she slept this morning in the car.

Rosa

Tonight Huts and I are spending time with friends, and Rosa is babysitting. Ollie is not interested in the slightest, but Tori is. She can't wait to see who this Rosa is and what she has in store for her. Unlike Ollie, she plans to give Rosa a chance and show her all of her lovely dollies and toys. Tomorrow night, Annie is taking them to a friend's house to bounce on the trampoline. Ollie says he is not going to go high, but I bet he does. He has been doing tricks all week on the furniture. Tori will bounce as high as she can. She is quite the daredevil.

Sad, Sad

Tori is still sad and whiny over the fact that big brother is at camp. She desperately wants to go. August 23, Ollie's first day of school, is going to be a big pain in the patootie with her. She is going to pout all day long about having to stay home with Mom and Eli. Wish me luck! On a happier note, she returns to swim class this weekend.

Boo Hoo

Ollie left for camp this morning crying, while Tori went to Sharon's crying because she didn't get to go to camp. She kept asking her dad where Ollie was and was quite tearful. Just imagine the scene in August when Tori, Eli and I walk Ollie to the corner to catch the bus and he gets on it and Tori doesn't. She is gonna cry her eyes out, which is probably gonna make Eli cry. I can't wait to carry her home while pushing a wailing stroller. So much for me thinking that I could take them on a long walk after Ollie caught the bus.

On another note, Tori came home from the park yesterday announcing that Grandma was not at our house. I have no idea where that came from. She has talked to both grandmas recently, and even said that my mom told her she was coming up, which my mom did not. Maybe she thought yesterday was the day. I don't know. She looked around for a few minutes, told me that Grandma wasn't there and then ran off to play.. Grandmas, if you're reading this, Tori cannot wait to see you.

Yes Girl

Unlike her brother, Tori wants to do everything. She is excited about the plans for the weekend, even the movie which she will no doubt have trouble sitting through. She wants to go to camp like Ollie--we're prepared for a fit next week. She wants to go to school like Ollie--we're prepared for a fit on that one too. She wants to keep swimming and do tumbling in the fall. She is going to be one of those teenagers who can't stay put.

Ha, Ha, Ha!

Tori has been going around for days saying that she has a sister. We have asked her where this sister is and what her name is, but to no avail. Last night, I told her that Annie was my little sister. She guffawed over that. "No way!," Uh-uh," "How silly." Every time I would tell her that Annie was my sister, she would laugh her head off. Who knew the fact could be so funny.

3-Year Checkup

After a mix up with the front office people, Tori and I finally made it into a room for her 3-year-old checkup. She is fine, 25% in height, 50% in weight. Going to be small like her paternal grandmothers. She was a delight for the nurses and didn't want to get dressed and put her shoes on to leave. She wanted to stay with Dr. Carol forever! Huts and I were totally exhausted, so we took everyone to Maid Rite. Ollie ate; Tori didn't. She was starting to get tired at that point and went to bed early.

Just 3

3 years ago today, Tantrum Tori came screaming into the world. She is just as or even more stubborn than the rest of us. Yesterday she was upset because she wanted to go back to the dental room with Ollie. Her first appointment isn't until the fall, so she was upset. Luckily she was kind of distracted with Alladin. After her free sticker she was happy.



Amazingly she was in a decent mood after missing her nap for Ollie's appointment. She insisted on having some of her cake early. She had a bit of it and blew out the candles several times. The night ended badly for her. About 8:30, they hit each other, Ollie apologized, but Tori refused. She kept backing away and screaming she wanted to watch TV. After several attempts to get her to apologize to her brother, she was sent to bed 30 minutes early. She protested for awhile, but eventually fell asleep.



Tonight is her birthday dinner and presents. I'm sure there will be more cake, in addition to the cupcakes she took to the sitters. She'll be sugared up and ready to go. Hopefully she crashes in time for bed.

Happy Birthday Missy!

Tori is excited that today is her birthday. She took cupcakes to the sitter's this morning and blew out candles on her own birthday cake last night. We are doing that again tonight. She also gets to go out to eat and open presents when we get home. She has been grinning from ear to ear all day and waiting for this day ever since her big brother's birthday. Tomorrow is her long-awaited trip to see Dr. Carol for her three-year-old checkup. Too bad the boo-boo on her knee is gone.

Big Plans For Birthday Girl

Tori turns 3 on Tuesday, but we're starting the celebration early. She has swim class on Saturday morning and then we're all going to the farm park to feed the animals, play and have some fun. Tori is getting her cake on Monday night and her presents on Tuesday night after we take her out to eat (who knows what she will choose). She is going to take a large chocolate chip cookie to the baby sitter's on Tuesday in honor of her and Ollie's birthdays. Tonight, the two are stopping at Toys R Us for their birthday balloons.

Wheels

Tori learned the bus song in swim class and this morning she sang it in the car. She was singing all about the wheels on the bus going around and around. She was happy as a clam until Ollie interjected. He loves to tell her when she is wrong and takes great pride in pointing out her faults. Those two spar verbally, most often in the car where they are face to face. Huts and I are hoping that Eli redirects their attention. We hope they concentrate on him and not on each other. of course, they will probably find something to fight about regarding Eli. Poor little guy is going to be sandwiched between the two fighting monkeys.

Which One of You...

After Ollie demanded to know who messed up his bears, Huts demanded to know which one of them woke up at 4 a.m. Wasn't Ollie. Wasn't Tori, or was it? She was howling at 4 I guess. Naughty girl. She slept until the last possible minute this morning when I told her that we needed to leave. She went downstairs and perked up quickly, demanding a hot dog for breakfast. She played outside for a couple of minutes and then we were off to the sitter's.

Swim Class

Tori went to her first swim class this weekend. She came home bursting with excitement. She couldn't wait to tell me all about swim class. I don't have a clue as to the majority of what she said, but she was excited. Apparently she had a good time and is looking forward to class next week.

Movie Time

No matter how much we tried to persuade him, Ollie refused to go see Kung Fu Panda, so Tori went with her dad. He didn't say much about the movie other than she moved around a lot and probablycould have done without it. She is a very busy girl. Movies are not yet her thing. We took her to the park and to McDonalds playland on Friday, and even that didn't wear her out completely. She has got a ton of energy and wants to go, go, go!

Don't Feel Good

If someone has something Tori wants it too. If Ollie has a toy, she'll try to take it. If someone has a drink or food, she wants it too. This also applies to sickness, without the physical symptoms.


Everyone in the house has had a stomach bug this week except for Tori (hers may be coming tonight). The kids went to bed early, but at 9 Tori starting crying for her bear and blanket. I grabbed them and heard Ollie whimper and cry a little bit. I thought he was getting sick again and asked if he was not feeling good. He never coherently answered and went back to sleep. I gave Tori her blanket and bear and she immediately piped up, "I don't feel good". Luckily she was just saying it and nothing actually occurred during the night. She got dressed this morning and was happy as a camper on her way to the sitter's. Hopefully she is able to steer clear of the bug that everyone else has gotten, but considering it started Monday and ended the next day, while a new person got it, I'm betting tonight is her night.

Three Down, One To Go

The flu has hit our house. I got it Sunday night and spent all day Monday sleeping. Ollie got it on Tuesday night, threw up again when I got to work on Wednesday morning and went back home with me for the day. Huts got it last night. Tori is the only one standing, and we're just waiting. On a good note, Tori went to the potty twice this week on her own.

Super Friends

Ollie and Tori have been watching this DVD all week long. They never seem to tire of watching the Justice League defeat the League of Doom episode after episode. Tori almost always asks for Super Friends. She likes Superman and Wonder Woman, as well as Cheetah. She also likes Batman. Before long, she'll be asking for Super Friends figurines instead of dolls.

Shy Only For Awhile

Tori had great fun too this Memorial Day weekend. She enjoyed the Magic House, the zoo and most importantly the swimming. She is a fish. She kept insisting that her dad take her to the big pool and let her leap from the side into his arms. Guess she's ready for swimming lessons, which start this Saturday. On Saturday night, we went out to eat with the Ollie and Tori's great-great uncle and aunt. Tori was scared of Peg at first, but warmed up to her eventually and even kissed her good-bye. The two were most interested in watching everyone help Peg get to and from places. They caught on quickly to the life cycle, from a baby's wobbliness to the muscle deterioration, senior's wobbliness, later in life. Ollie also had a zillion questions about Art for his dad. Had we stayed longer, I think they would have talked Art and Peg's ears off.

St. Louie and Grandma Bickie

Tori knows we are going to St. Louis this weekend, and boy, is she ever happy. She likes to go, go, go, only she thinks we are going to see Grandpa and Grandma Bickie. We keep telling her that it is Grandma Marie. She has been bugging me for weeks to go to Grandma Bickie's. It's been so long since she has seen Grandma Bickie, I don't even think Tori knows what she looks like. Doesn't seem to matter. If you're out there reading this, Grandma Bickie, you better come up for Eli, or I will have to send Tori to you. Of course, even that might not satisfy Tori, since she continues to tell me all about your house and the many beds in it. Tori must know somehow that she's your namesake.

Little Sneak

Tori started out last night in the bed in Eli's room. By the time Huts went upstairs to go to bed, she had snuck into his bed. We didn't even hear her. When I went into the closet to get dressed this morning, she was sleeping with her bottom hanging off the side of the bed. Silly girl!

Little Sneak

Undercover, in the darkness of night.
She opens the door and sets off alight.

Little Sneak

Down the hall, she quietly creeps.
Hoping we don't her make the the floor squeak.

Little Sneak

She finds her way into our room.
And climbs into our bed sealing my doom.

Little Sneak

When I go to bed and turn on the light,
all I can tell our sleeping girl is Good Night.

Little Sneak

Every night when we put Tori in bed, she has us close the door to her room so the cats don't wake her up. She's tall enough that she can open doors. She'll go down the hall to our room and climb into our bed before I go to bed without making a sound. Then when I get ready for bed by turning on the light, she's snuggled in our bed asleep. Its easier to let her sleep and head off into her room to sleep. Other wise you get kicked and punched throughout the night. Fortunately, she's only done this a few times and goes back to her bed without much fuss the next night. Now we just have to wait for the next time she's a little sneak.

The Greatest Cheater At Tag

Tori loves to be chased. She thinks its the best thing in the world. She asks us to chase her constantly around the house. Since she likes being chased, she loves the game of tag, unfortunately for the other participants in the game, she cheats.

Once she is tagged and everyone runs away from her, she takes a couple of steps, points her magic finger at a participant and announces, "You It!". Then she laughs as she scampers away from you because, well, your IT! Just a word of warning, in case you play tag with Tori be prepared to be tagged by the long reaching finger of a cheater.


The Cheater

What A Joy!

It's funny the amount of sympathy you receive when you are pregnant and your body doesn't take to that fact lightly. All sorts of people ask you how you feel and emphasize with you. Some days, you don't mind it. Other days, especially after you have read about the truly ill, you just want to tell them to bug off. Unlike those suffering from a chronic or terminal illness, you will recover and at the end of the tunnel will be this lovely child who doesn't care what you look like or how smart you are. All they will care is that you love them and take care of them, and they in turn will do the same for you. Imagine coming home after a crappy day at work to a smiling face like Tori's. What a joy!

Birthday Present

Tori got an early birthday present, a Mickey Mouse table and chairs. She loves to eat outside on the deck and we didn't have a table for her, so we found her one on sale. She loves it, and so does Ollie. We should have gotten another chair I guess for Eli. Silly parents, as Ollie would say.

Stubborn

Tori refuses to sleep in her Dora bed and go potty. She is totally disinterested in the two. She prefers the Ewi room and bed and telling us when she needs a clean pull-up. She better get ready for potty training because it is going to happen when I am on maternity leave whether she wants to or not.

Annie Time

Tori spent the night with her aunt Annie, while the rest of us went to school. They played outside for a while, and then Annie gave Tori a bath. Tori was having fun in the tub when we got home. She came downstairs and ate some ravioli. Ollie had something to eat, too. Tonight we are going to Target for new shorts. The shorts I got Tori shrunk, and Ollie needs some that will fit around his waist. They both need socks too.

Staying Home

Tori doesn't want to go back to the sitter's. She likes going outside and being with her aunt Annie and Mama during the day. She's skipped a couple of naps this week. One day they went to McDonalds for 3 hours, skipped her nap and tuckered her out. She also got her month long request to go to the Toy Store. She found a Care Bear she had to have, so it got brought home along with messy Strawberry shortcake ice cream on a stick.

The days she's missed her nap, she's ended up a bit crabby the next day. So she ends up going to bed early on those days. She also went grocery shopping and helped push the cart around when she wasn't jumping in and out of them.

Tori is getting enrolled in 2 swimming classes this summer. Her daddy missed the enrollment dates for the spring semester, so now, Tori will be taking them this summer. She loves the water, so I'm sure she'll love the classes. The only problem may be getting her out of the water without throwing a fit.

Potty training is not going well. She's gone once in the potty and that was by accident. She started going in the tub, but I grabbed her and tossed her on the potty to finish. I hope she isn't as stubborn as Ollie was, but I'm not betting on it.

New Dora Bed

This past week, Tori got her new bed, bedding and room. She's been moved back into the smaller purple room with some of the Dora decor she had before. Eli is already pushing in on her territory, but she doesn't realize she's being bumped. She did get a new twin bed, a new Dora comforter and a princess stool to help get her in bed. The stool is multi-purposed as it has served as a seat to watch TV, a place for her plate and what ever else she can think of.



This weekend didn't include dressing up. Instead it included lots of outdoor time. Tori loves to be outdoors. She threw a fit when she had to come in after dinner. Together, Ollie and tori made 'sand pies', which ended up in their hair after soaking the already wet sand. Then after her nap, they go to run in the sprinkler while I was watering in the new seed. They both ended up getting 3 baths on Saturday including the sprinkler. It was a full weekend outside indeed!

Perks of 2 Brothers

Tori gets to return to the Dora room complete with purple walls. I am going to do my best to clean out the closet and the clothes this weekend. Huts, meanwhile, has been shopping for a twin bed. We're not sure how well Tori is going to take tot he move, but we're hoping all is fine. Wish us luck!

Tori's main job in making the shake was to put in the stuff that Ollie didn't want to touch because he'd have to wash his hands. So, Tori put in the strawberries and didn't wash her hands! She was excited when the mixer started mixing everything up. She wasn't too into the end result. I don't know if she didn't like it or if she was expecting something else, but she didn't drink very much of it. She went on playing like it was no big deal. She seemed to enjoy the process, even though she didn't much care for the end result. I guess it wasn't as good as Maid-Rite's. We have time to perfect it.

Bunny Too Big

We took the kids to the mall yesterday. They were both interested in the Eater bunny. Tori even said she would take her picture with him until she got downstairs and saw how big the bunny was. She changed her mind right quick and took off with Ollie to the Disney store. We left empty handed but with smiling faces due tot he escalator ride.

Yes!

That's Tori's favorite word it seems. She doesn't say, "yeah" or "ok." She says a resounding "yes!" It's kind of funny to see a 2-year-old speak with such force. Of course, there are times when she says, "um" and put her finger to her mouth as though she is thinking hard, but for the most part, she is always eager to dive right in.

Big-Time Chatterbox

Tori talked for 40 minutes nonstop last night. Nothing could quiet her, not even her daddy. She was full of energy and had a lot to say about everything. The whole pool table exchange must have got her adrenalin pumping. We also played ball and two games of Candyland and one of Chutes and Ladders, all of which she won. We'll see how tonight goes with all of the mundane errands we have to do. Today, Tori and Ollie were also supposed to get a new cousin, maybe named Sophia. It will be a while before that fact settles into their brains.

Colors

Tori has gone from not knowing her colors to knowing a few of them to knowing all of them in a matter of weeks. It must be from all of the coloring she has been doing lately. She has a huge box of crayons and a small box of markers. Last night, she colored everything in sight, including the white tile floor. Luckily, I caught it before it dried and wiped it up. It also helped that the markers are washable. At least she is no longer coloring on the walls. I just touched up all of the pink and blue crayon marks on the bannister. Need some color in your life? Hire Tori!

Skittles

Tori left Sharon's with a bowl of Skittles, many of which she spit out in the car and many of which she ate. The sugar rush must have kicked in at the grocery store and continued until bedtime. She had just as much to say as her brother, if not more. She was also very attentive, even catching it when I called her Bossy Bess and telling me that she was not Bossy Bess. Darn it. I didn't think she was paying attention! Watch out, Tori hears more than you know.

Going with Daddy

Tori is going grocery shopping with her dad tonight. They made a list of stuff to buy, and after supper, they will be trekking off to the store. She took a long shower last night, so she will skip her bath tonight and go shopping, while Ollie takes a long soak in the tub. He has no interest in going anywhere at night. He is a total homebody; Tori, on the other hand, well you all know how she is.

Playdate with Micah

After weeks of begging to see Micah, Tori finally got her wish last night when Huts went to Bible study. The babysitter wasn't there. so Tori and Micah had the playroom all to themselves and boy did they make a mess. Huts and Tori were late getting home because they had to help pick up all of the toys. Tori came home happy and slept decently, so she must have played hard.

Go, Go, Go

Ollie likes to stay at home; Tori likes to go, go, go. Once you get her outside, she won't come in. She'd rather run around the yard for hours on end than sit inside and play with her toys. She goes everywhere, to the grocery store, to Target, to the hardware store. She is a snap to get going. Ollie, on the other hand, always wants to go straight home after work and stay there. We had to force him to go for a walk on Sunday (it was beautiful). Tori naturally hopped into the wagon without question and was as happy as a clam, while her brother sulked.

The Teacher

Tori has begun talking a lot more lately. She'll sit downstairs at night and sit on our laps or run around the living room/kitchen talking up a storm. She'll get right in our face and talk to us for hours on end. She'll talk to the kitties, the toys and even her brother. Recently she's started teaching us how to speak. Her most popular subject of instructions is in Teletubbies.

"Say Tinky-Winky", she'll command. Once we repeat her words she'll say, "Vewy good, Say Po!".

This will go on and on often repeating the same words. She is a bit hard to understand at times and we aren't able to understand everything she commands us to say. We end up getting scolded when we can't understand her.

"No, say mouf!", she'll scold. We have to keep trying to understand her until we understand her request or distract her with something else.

If nothing else we can distract her with drawing. She loves to draw and paint. Sometimes we have to draw with her. She'll color with her markers all day. She hasn't been allowed to paint much because it is such a mess, but she loves it too. Maybe we have a little artist on our hands.

Fit To Be Tied

Last night Ollie wanted to watch Teletubbies on the TV in the living room. That just wouldn't do for Tori, she wanted to watch it in Mom and Dad's room! When she didn't get her way, the crying began. She was threatened with spanking, time out and getting sent to bed. With each of these threats she stopped wailing long enough for the punishment to not occur. That is until she was threatened with going to bed. It was only 30 minutes before her bedtime, but she didn't want to go to bed early. After a few minutes she forgot all about the issue and watched it with Ollie in the living room.



I think there is an increase in crying for silly reasons instead of crying for no reason with her. Either way the amount of crying isn't curtailing anytime soon. If only she didn't get upset over every small thing. Luckily 5 minutes later she is over it and is back to her happy jabbering self.

Valentines

The sitter is throwing a Valentine's Day party for the kids, so Ollie and Tori have to make cards for the other kids. Huts and I haven't made valentine cards in a long time, so we are frantically trying to remember what we need to make them. Construction paper and stickers, along with the crayons and markers we already have, should do the trick. Ollie won't hear of buying the paper valentines and using them.

All Gone

Tori has been MIA for two nights now. Instead of circling around downstairs and talking to us, she has sat upstairs in our bedroom watching Dora and playing with her toys and her brother. I tried to get her to stick around last night when she came down for a snack, but she refused. Guess Dora is too important right now.

Cake

Tori has got too much going on to worry about my birthday, but I bet she has a slice of cake and eats off the icing in a matter of minutes. That's what she did with a couple of cupcakes last week. She will also eat the ice cream I'm sure. Too bad I can only have a bite. Sweet things don't sit well with me right now--thanks baby no. 3. Your present is so much appreciated.

Don't Care

Ask Tori whether she wants a baby brother or a baby sister, and you will get both answers. She hasn't figured it out yet. She does like to pat my belly and poke my bellybutton. She gave me a few pats last night while I was on the phone with my mom. I feel huge, even though I am just now starting the second trimester. Something tells me this is going to be a big baby.

Not Wanted

The kids have gotten too comfortable at the sitter's. Tori usually becomes a zombie to the TV when we enter the sitter's. This morning, however, was a little different. She got interested in the lego's Ollie had brought into the room and dumped on the floor. I gave her a kiss on her head and told her goodbye and she had words for me.

"Ok, Daddy, you go now!", she said.

Makes me feel wanted and loved.

Soup

Tori didn't eat much at Subway, and when she got home from the hairdresser's and had her bath, she came downstairs and started scrounging around for something to eat. She ended up asking for some chicken noodle soup. SHe ate the entire can of soup and then had an ice cream bar. Of course, this led to her having her pajamas changed and face washed. She went to bed around 9 and woke up grumpy! Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday and she can sleep in.

Mimic

I had a bad night, and after watching me heave into the trash can, Tori decided to mimic the event. She sat on the edge of the couch and pretended to heave herself. Such sympathy. She has also done this with the spitting. Then she spent the rest of the night wallering all over me and her dad on the couch. She likes to squish up against us and stomp all over us. I protect my stomach, while Huts protects his jewels. She can be vicious.



Tonight is haircut night. Tori will be the first up; if she doesn't go first, she throws a major fit. She will hop up onto the seat and smile as she gets her hair cut. Ollie, on the other hand, will demand to sit in his dad's lap and fuss when the hairdresser gets close to his ears. Huts will go next, and then the three of them will go someplace and look at the toys or pets while I get partial highlights. Then they will return with happy faces and be ready to go home and get a bath to remove all of the loose hair.

I Can Do It

Sometimes Tori can't do it, and sometimes she can do it. Last night, she ran off with one of my potatoes and said she was going to cut it with a knife. She looked in the draw for a knife, and when she didn't find one, she gave me back the potato and told me to cut it for her. She also thought she could open her own M&M bag, and when that didn't work, she finally relented and let me do it. Of course, there are those times when she can't do anything and you must move her from chair to chair or get her crayons and coloring book for her. Little booger!

Tori has also decided to pick her own clothes. Yesterday, she refused the jeans that went with her top and wore bright pink pants. The flowers on the leg of the pants in no way matched the flowers on her shirt, but she didn't care. This morning, she allowed me to put pink pants and a pink-and-purpe striped shirt on her, but only after she tried to put on the shirt. She was too sleepy to get it on, so she gave in and let me do it. My two-year-old is ready to fly the coop. I am all out of babies until August.

Baby Pats

I thought Ollie would be the one fascinated with my growing stomach, but Tori has taken that role. She loves to point at my belly and say "Baby, baby." She rubs her chunky little hand all over my belly and pokes my belly button as though she is trying to get a peek inside. She also pretends like the moles on my stomach hurt her hand. She seems to know now that there is a baby brother or sister in my tummy. I tried to get her to say the names Huts has mentioned, but she refused. Little booger. She has also been getting in some Mommy time, insisting on me getting her a drink and something to eat and going upstairs with her. She has already grown tired of her daddy doing everything for her while Mom heaves and sleeps.

Hey Daddy!

Who's our buddy at night? Tori, of course. She sticks around downstairs talking our heads off while Ollie takes over the family room upstairs. She is constantly yelling, "Hey, Daddy" or "Hey, Mommy." She is also starting to throw more fits. Trying to understand what it is that she wants is never easy, and when we mess it up, she howls. Yep, been in trouble for the fits. Sharon makes her sit on the bed when she becomes too fit to be tied.

I still haven't found the mute or off button on this little device called Tori2005. She's a top of the line non-stop go-go talking destructo machine. She'll constantly want you to play, read or give her a bath. When she's not getting you to do one of the previous activities, she's demanding you do something for her, get her drink, snack, fix her tent, put Dora...teletubies...cailliou on for her. There are times the Tori2005 does play on her own, but you wouldn't be able to even here the TV over the ruckus. It seems the volume knob is broken and she only it broke off at the high level.

On occasion the Tori2005 goes into crouching mode and leaks fluid. Usually this is caused by some grievance against her. Of course the grievance is paltry, but you wouldn't know that by the flood of fluid from her. Often times the Ollie2003 model is the instigator, but generally he treats her well. Give her a few minutes and she recovers well enough to continue on her way.

The Tori2005 still does not sleep well. She hasn't slept well since before Christmas. Her sleep mode must be broken because she wakes around 3 or 4 wanting something, blankie, water, her parental units to sleep with her. Most of the time a quick drink will take care of the dilemma, but it doesn't prevent more wakings. Her internal clock must be off or she is low on fluid, its been a month and we haven't been able to fix the bug to get her to sleep through the night. Its just pre-work for her parental units for Baby2008.

We'll probably get Tori2005 running well, sleeping well, a quiet mode installed and hopefully learning waste disposal by the time Baby2008 comes in August. Ollie2003 will be making his adjustment to school, Baby2008 and new sitter, so I'm sure our docking station will be in complete chaos for much of the rest of the year. Hopefully it'll be an easy one for Tori2005.

Sleepless Nights

Tori returned from her grandparents with plenty of toys. She also returned with her habit of waking in the middle of the night. This is not a welcome development for her parents. It wasn't a big deal when we were all still at home after Christmas. Everyone could sleep late and we did. But once it was time to go back to work, Tori decided to be let us have less sleep.

Tuesday she went down early for a nap at 1, but I had to wake her up at almost 6 pm! Then when we tried to put her in bed at 10, she got out of bed and tried to open our bedroom door. Her Mama tried to get her to sleep with her, but Tori kept talking. Since I was still up, I stayed up with her until 11:30 to wear her out. Yet, she fought getting in bed then and didn't want to go to sleep. Eventually she did, but the only thing it did was make her parents tired.

Last night wasn't much different. She got a decent nap, got up at a good time, but still was a little hellion when it came to bedtime. She howled, "I want up" for 30 minutes. She was given a drink, her 'babies' had there blanket and eventually she went to sleep. Sometime during the night, she started fussing again, so I slept in her bed with her until 5 am. Making for another night of bad sleep. This morning while driving her to the sitter's, Tori mocked my tiredness by sleeping the 20 minute ride to the sitters. I can't wait for the days she sleeps through the night again. Only for baby #3 to invoke its wrath on our sleep schedule.