Big Sister

Eli had a rough night yesterday, but lucky for him, Tori was there. She has been his buddy lately, and when he came downstairs crying about feeling so lonely upstairs, she went up and sat with him. She watched a movie with him and stayed with him until he fell asleep. What a lucky boy to have a good big sister to watch over him. Good thing Tori will still be around at school next year. Christian is off to middle school, and Tori will be in third grade and ready to pave the way for Eli. Eli knows it and even mentioned to me that Tori could help him at school in the bathroom—well, not exactly, but at least he knows his sister will be there.

Sleep Over

Tori loves sleep over's.  A few weeks ago, she was invited to 2 sleep over's in 1 weekend.  Unfortunately, she was too tired after the first sleepover to go to the 2nd.  We rescheduled the 2nd and now Tori is returning the kindness having Shaylee stay the night on Friday night.  

Tori is already making plans on what they will be playing, but she's constantly changing her mind.  The girls love playing together and they love playing with the cats together.  Squeaker and Jr. better hide away.  

Hopefully the girls will sleep in.  We plan on taking them to Jillian's to play games and lunch on Saturday before we take Shaylee home.  Tori will need the time to recuperate and need the extra sleep.  

Doll World

 Tori ended up with a lot of dolls, Monster High dolls and LaLaLoopsy dolls. She has 61 mini LaLas, 24 big LaLas and a dozen or so Monster High dolls. Somehow we managed to find a place for all of her dolls, but it was not easy. She has been playing with them for days, taking them to and from the sitter’s. The dolls are getting one heck of a workout.

Box Girl

With the holiday season here, we have received a lot of packages recently. The kids tear into them, and then Tori likes to collect the boxes. She colors on them, glues things to them and uses them for her dolls. Right now, she has a stack of boxes higher than her head. We've had some clashes over the boxes, mainly me needing them and her not wanting to give them up. I took one box, and that led to a big fit and timeout for Tori. With Christmas coming up and Santa watching, she has decided that she will let go of the boxes very soon in order to make way for toys.

Speaking of Santa watching, we have been reminding the kids of that often. The tactic does not work on Christian. He knows who Santa really is. It does work on Tori and Eli, very well in fact. Last night, the two were fighting upstairs when we reminded them that Santa was watching. Tori was mumbling something about refusing to play some game with Eli. Huts yelled out Santa was watching, and we heard this exasperated groan, followed by “Dang it!” We burst out laughing, and it was some time before we heard any further grumbling.

Just 1 More

Tori had a great weekend with the kids that came up for Thanksgiving. She did not have a good time shopping. She was very disappointed to find out that the stores were picked over. She was hoping to find Trouble Dusty Trails, the little sister of Prairie Dusty Trails, LaLaLoopsy dolls of course. But there was no Trouble to be found. She was so disappointed I found her one online. It should be here in a few days, and then Tori can start making plans for the sisters.

So, my mom wanted to know if Tori really played with all of these dolls. Yep. I’ve seen her dress them all up and sit them behind shoebox desks while she teaches them in front of the chalkboard. I’ve seen her put them to bed and cram them into dollhouses. She rarely plays with just one. It is usually three or more. Poor Patch Treasure Chest, a boy, is wearing a sassy purple dress right now.

Long Day

Tori got up bright and early this morning without a complaint. She was ready in a flash, all in pink, for her day of fun with the girls at the sitter’s. She had two big bags of stuff to keep everyone entertained and her little brother, to boot. Eli seemed very pleased to have his sister along on the ride. No doubt they will tucker out around 9 tonight after 9 hours of play.

Both are excited about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the pie and cookie baking. They are also looking forward to getting the Christmas stuff out. Huts and I can’t remember what we have and don’t have, so it should be a surprise to us as well.  I keep saying we are doing to do the outside up right, but who knows. The woman across the street has us beat whatever we do. Her yard is covered in Christmas decorations!

Wiped Out

Tori made it to both friends’ this past weekend. Shaylee had a sleepover, and Tori came home happy but tired. She went to Brianna’s on Monday for a few hours for a birthday party playdate. She came home happy but really tired. She got a second wind, but woke up really tired this morning. Huts gave her a bit of caffeinated soda to pep her up on the way to school. She told me she wanted to go to bed early tonight. She must really be tired if she is suggesting that!

This weekend there is nothing on the agenda, and Tori is happy. She knows that we are cleaning house and preparing for Thanksgiving, and she could care less. I doubt there will be any moping about boredom this weekend!

Lalas to Come

Like her brother, Tori is looking forward to Christmas. She has targeted dolls this year, Monster High dolls and LaLa Loopsy dolls. She asked for Venus Flytrap, Spectra Vondergeist, Abby Abominable and Operetta Monster High dolls, plus their school. She asked for Harmony B Sharp, the first LaLa to sing and dance, and Bea Spells-a-Lot and her little sister, Specs Reads-a-Lot. Santa has done some shopping, along with Grandma Marie, and this is definitely going to be a doll year for Tori.

Jealous

Tori was jealous that Christian had so much to do recently.  Well this weekend, she is making up for it.  Tonight she is going to McDonalds and Shaylee's house for a sleepover for Shaylee's birthday.  Tori was ready to go!  She picked out several presents for her and seemed excited to go.  We've got to pick her up at 11 tomorrow and I'm sure she'll be exhausted.

On Monday her friend Brianna is coming to pick her up for a playdate for her Birthday on Monday afternoon.  Tori will be spending Veterans day at Brianna's house.  She can't wait!  Now she's the one who gets to have all the fun while Christian gets none!

Tori is also losing another tooth.  It is barely hanging on and has become a little discolored.  She won't let us yank it out though.  We are trying to get her to eat things that will help get it out, but she's not cooperating much.  Either by not eating on that side of her mouth or avoiding the food.  Eventually it'll come out, but not willingly on her part.

Weepy Girl

Tori has been very weepy lately. First, she thought Eli was going to die because of his broken leg. This morning, it was her pants. We paid a nice sum to get her school pants hemmed and she threw a major fit about them being too hot this morning. She got into trouble and the crying and stomping started. I let her know right fast that she was going to be wearing the pants all winter so she might as well get used to them. She settled down a bit but when I left school, she was sitting at a table with her head down. Tonight she gets to go to bed early for her antics.

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.