Off to a Great Start

Surprise! Surprise! Tori missed just one on her spelling test. She got an A and also lost a tooth. Friday was full of excitement, and it just got better from there. Tori’s cousins stopped in for a visit on Saturday and Sunday, and the three of them had a lot of fun. Grandma Marie and Grandpa Steve took them to McDonalds and then to a reunion on Sunday. Tori got a bit sad when it was time for everyone to go, but she recovered in time to add to her LaLaLoopsy collection. She got the Candy Collection on Monday, four minis candy themed. Right now, they are spread out on her bedroom floor preparing to go into the dollhouse. There is one with licorice, one with marshmallows, one with gumdrops and one with bubble gum, Bubble Gum Smack N Pop is her name I believe. Her collection is forever expanding, and I am starting to forget some of the doll names. Too many I suppose.

Tori easily gets distracted. It does not matter what she is doing at home, she loses focus quickly and you have to rein her back in. Yesterday afternoon, she started telling me a story about school, but after a few minutes, she got lost in the DVD. When she got tired of that, she would return to her story. This pattern continued all the way home, and I really have no idea what the story was about. I lost focus, too, and gave up trying to keep track of who was doing what in the story. Good thing Tori did not quiz at the end of the story!

Fits, Fits and More Fits!

Tori is having a difficult time adjusting to the back-to-school routine. She goes to bed crying and wakes up crying, never wanting to go to bed. She throws fits throughout the evening and early in the morning. This morning, for example, she woke up, found out Christian was already downstairs and broke out bawling. She assumed Christian had the TV on the channel he wanted, when, in fact, Christian was on the iPad and Huts had turned the channel to what Tori wanted. She got into trouble, and the next time something did not go her way, she took it in stride. She wanted to move her booster seat to the middle, couldn’t and said nothing. That girl! I can’t wait for BTS night to see if Tori is avoiding fits in class.

Yes Please

Unlike her brother, Tori was gung-ho for her room to be repainted. She wanted pink and purple. I threw some teal in there to make things a little less over the top. So, a teal ceiling dropped onto the wall, blended into purple, blended into pink. It’s bright, it’s bold, it’s so girlie, so Tori! And, it works better with all of Tori’s choices. 

Weepy

Tori was looking forward to school. She wanted to see her friends and she was ready to be part of Mrs. Evans’ class. She was talking and skipping up until we got to her line. Then, she froze. I could not get her to get in line. Mrs. Evans saw us and told Tori everything would be ok, but there was no budging her. Finally, we got her into line, and Huts came and gave her a big hug and distracted her with talk of another person she knew. She was fine once she got into the classroom and was happy as a clam when we picked her up.

Then, this morning, Tori has another meltdown at latchkey. She was all excited about being there, but within a few minutes of me signing the sheet, she was weepy. Miss Lynn saw and started trying to distract Miss Tori Bud. I am sure Tori was fine within 10 minutes or so. Christian seemed a little miffed too, but I am sure he will be fine as well.

Sleepover

Tori had another sleepover this weekend with her friend, Shaylee. Shaylee’s mom called me on Friday night to schedule a playdate on Saturday, which turned into a sleepover. The girls drove the cats crazy and stayed up until 1 in the morning. They finally sacked out and got up at 11 on Sunday. Shaylee stayed a couple more hours before her mom picked her up to go school shopping. We were left with a really tired Tori, who was still dragging butt on Tuesday morning. No doubt she will be tired again after Eli’s birthday celebration tonight.

Park

The babysitter has been talking the kids to the park a lot this summer. They went again yesterday, as evidenced by Tori’s dirty hands and face. It’s been a while since I have seen her that dirty. Lucky for me, she and Eli took a bath without complaint and stayed in there for over an hour. They played with bubbles and cars, pretending to be all kinds of things. Then, they got out and continued the games, running all over with sunglasses, purses, hats and cars. I even got a picture of Eli in Tori’s sequined pink hat.

 

PARTY!

Tori had a her 7th birthday party this past weekend.  She had 6 girls come to the party and 4 stayed the night.  They played games, jumped on the trampoline, watched a movie while camped in the living room and smashed a Barbie pinata.  They all seemed to have a good time and Tori did well not to get upset at anything.  There weren't any fights (except for fighting over who gets to hold the cats).  Sassy was smart and hid for the evening after the pack of hands came for her.  Junior was a little smarter and went outside to get away from them.  Poor Squeaker had to be the baby.  He was consistently put back into the baby bed and covered up.  He had a hard night.  The girls stayed up until 11 and were up and ready to go for donuts the next day.  Squeaker was once again the baby, but lucky for him everyone left by 10.  All in all Tori had a great party and she is excited for her next sleep over.  Here's a few scenes from her party.

Front Tooth Out

Tori has had a loose front tooth for quite a while now. It finally came out on Thursday morning. She was flipping it around with her tongue and Huts pulled it out. She has quite a large gap, and she looks so cute without a front tooth. Christian never had that large of a gap. She got a couple of dollars from the Tooth Fairy and is happy to have her tooth out.

Skyping

This week the kids are at their grandparents’ house in Kansas City, and we are staying in contact with them by skyping. Christian is the master. He gets it up and going every night around 6 and the kids tell us all about what they are doing in KC. While Christian knows how to work it, Tori is the one who takes over the talking. She bumps the boys out of the way, sticks her face on the screen and starts chatting about any and everything!

She is very excited to be there, spending time with her cousins and aunts and uncles. She is so excited she can barely stand still. Usually she skips around, leaving us with glimpses of her face! What a silly girl!

Second Grader

Tori is now a second grader and is looking forward to having a woman for a teacher. She hopes for Mrs. Evans. We’ll see. Christian has Mrs. Evans and loved her.

Tori can’t wait for the trip this weekend. She wants to see my farm. I keep telling her there is nothing there but land, but she has to see it for herself. She wants to see the shed with the tree growing up through it. Hilarious.

Tori is also looking forward to time at Grandma and Grandpa’s. She is also taking some money to spend at the aquarium if permitted. She will have a ball there and will no doubt come back tired. She also has a week of summer camp when she returns, plus another week in July. Lucky girl!

Green With Envy

Tori turns 7 next month and she cannot wait. She wants the whole kit and caboodle, a backyard party with games and a movie and a slumber party afterwards inside. Huts and I think we were tired from this weekend…Anyway, she got a bit upset when Christian’s turn for a sleepover came this weekend. She started off the party all misty-eyed until we told her to straighten up and fly right. With the threat of having to go to bed early hanging over her head, she got her act together and played some by herself and some with the boys. I let her sleep in the living room with the boys, but on the couch. She, too, was al l ready for bed come Sunday night. She actually cheered when we told her it was time for bed.

Next weekend, Christian has a scout campout. Tori and Eli are staying home with me, and we’re having our own little campout indoors. Wish me luck. The green-eyed monster will probably take hold of Tori then too. Hopefully, she behaves tomorrow on her field trip to Wildlife Prairie Park.

Looking Forward to Grandma's

I have to do one last thing to settle my grandmother’s estate, and since we are traveling to and from St. Louis anyway, we thought we would ask Marie if she wanted the kids for a week. She does, and Tori, of course, was the first one to sign up! She has no qualms about going to Grandma’s, even if she had to go alone. Lucky for her, Christian has decided to come. He is looking forward to Legoland, while Tori can’t wait to see the aquarium. We are sending their birthday money with them so they can shop. As for Eli, the jury is still out. He says he is going but gets a little anxious when we tell him we won’t be there.

Speaking of birthdays, Tori has been planning her sleepover for months now. She has got all kinds of things in her little head as to what everyone can do. Christian, on the other hand, could care less. He did not want a party, just the kid next door to sleep over, until a few days ago. He decided he wanted a party/sleepover, and Huts and I have been hopping to get it together. We just sent out the invitations today—keep your fingers crossed that at least one kid can come!

In!

This week is Spirit Week at Charter Oak, and Tori is living it up. Monday, she wore a Hawaiian shirt for Hawaiian Day, Tuesday she wore a hat for Hat Day, Wednesday she wore totally mismatched attire for Fashion Disaster Day. Thursday she dressed like a teacher for Career Day and Friday she wore spirit wear for Spirit Day. She is having a ball! The week concludes on Friday with the carnival. Hopefully, Tori can last that long!

On another note, we have a play date next weekend with friends and their grand kids, and Tori is over the moon! She cannot wait to play with Jacey and has been asking me why it couldn’t happen sooner. She told me this morning she would have to play with her dolls this weekend to take her mind off the fun next weekend. She is such a hoot!