Our cutie

Tori is at such a cute age! She loves to cuddle and always wants to be held (which I love). I used to look so hard for some sign that she knew I was her mommy, I used to get so excited when she would give me a little smile or coo. Now she wiggles and gets a big smile every time she sees us and she gets a look on her face like she knows how much she is loved and she's so happy. She even reaches out to us, I love it so much!!

Now that Tori's getting much more curious and really looking around, she just LOVES baby einstein videos! They're so colorful and fun, she just stares and talks to the puppets. I know there was a big fuss about baby einstein video's not making your child a genious like they advertised but she really seems to enjoy them and its one of the few things that will distract her when she's having a fussy attack.Since I've been back to work Tori has been spending lots of time with friends and family. We really appreciate everyone who's watched her for us! Nana Rose, Grandpa Jim and Grandma Gina, and Shelly you've been awesome!!

Corn Maze & 5K

Over the weekend we went to a corn maze and Brian ran his first race. We haven't run much since Tori was born so Brian was hurting by the end. He met his goal of running the whole thing and finished with a respectable time of just over 24 minutes. He definitely plans on doing some training before the next one and improving his time. He's getting good experience to help him when he runs his first marathon.After the 5K we let Brian rest for a little while and then we walked through the maze. They gave us a map before we entered so we didn't get too lost :) Tori is getting so curious, she wants to touch and look at everything (and usually it goes right in her mouth!). All the fresh air must have worn Tori out because she slept through the night for the first time! She didn't wake up until 5:30!! yay!!!!! :)

A new way to play

It seems like Tori is doing something different each day. Now when we put her in the baby gym she kicks at the toys and can grab and play using her hands. She's getting so close to rolling over from her back to her tummy. I can't believe how much she has grown, some days I wish she would slow down and stay my baby a little longer.

Its starting to get chilly here in the lovely midwest, especially at night. Here's Tori all bundled up in her car seat and on the front porch. She's starting to notice her toes more and more :)

Monkey see, monkey do

Tori is immitating (or trying to at least) all the little sounds and faces we make at her. She likes to have a conversation where we take turns "talking." Brian was getting her ready for bed and she started trying to make this sound. It went on for quite a while so I had to run and get the camera. She is so funny!

12 weeks old

I can't believe our baby will be 12 weeks old on Tuesday! Three months have flown by. She has really become aware of whats going on around her, she plays simple games (when we stick our tongues out she smiles and does it too), she smiles and laughs at funny faces, and now she looks at something and reaches out and grabs it.

We spent an afternoon at the park to enjoy the fall colors. We picked up lunch and ate picnik style then went for a walk. Tori didn't make a peep, she was too busy looking around. It was such a nice day.

Tori is now facinated with the faces on the feet of her footed pajamas. Its so cute to watch her play with them. :) This is her favorite pair, it has panda faces on the tops of her feet.Some random pictures of my cutie

A sad day for Cardinal fans

Brian had high hopes that the Cards would win the world series the same year his daughter was born since they won the year he was born ('82). No such luck but Tori enjoyed watching the games with her daddy. There's always next year...

Tori stew and jumparoo

Brian and I were goofing off while we were making dinner a few days ago and we were curious if Tori would fit in one of my big pots. Well she did and she didn't seem to mind being in it so we snapped some pictures. As you can see, Tori is definitely in the "everything goes in my mouth stage," she tries to cram her entire fist into her mouth and one of her favorite things to gum on is daddy's hand. Every toy and blanket goes in her mouth and she's been drooling a lot more the past few days also so we think she may be starting teething (uhg).

Tori now enjoys playing in her jumparoo, she can't reach the floor yet even on the lowest setting so we put some books under her and she just loves it. She loves to "stand" and dance so we thought she might be ready for the jumper. We put different toys within her reach and she stays entertained around 15 minutes. She loves knocking the toys off of the jumper then stares at the place where it was like "where did my toy go?" :P

Happy note: Tori has been in bed around 8:30 for the past few days. Staying asleep is another matter though (its 4am and she is wide awake staring at the computer screen as I'm typing). She is definitely not sleeping through the night yet but shes been making such good progress. I am so amazed at the difference the past week.

Lets hang out at my crib

My maternity leave is almost over, only 3 days left =( I feel so blessed that I was able to take 12 weeks off, but at the same time I would love to be able to stay home even longer. In preparation for going back to work we have moved Tori out of the bassinet in our room and into her nursery. She's doing very well and I think we're all sleeping better. When she was in our room, every little sound she made woke me up and I was constantly checking on her since she was right next to me. When she is in her room I sleep much more soundly and I'm sure she does too. She has never been a big sleeper but hopefully that is starting to change. Since she's been sleeping in her crib we've also been working on sleep training and she is already starting to go to sleep earlier and sleep longer. Another great thing has happened too, Tori is finally taking a pacifier! She only takes it when she's tired but it really helps her to fall asleep. Last night she was asleep before 9 (most nights she's up until around 11, yes she's a night owl) and she only woke up once to eat (normally she gets up 2 to 3 times each night). Hopefully this isn't just a fluke!

She's so smiley when she wakes up =) I love mornings!

Fun Pictures

I was in a picture taking mood a few days ago, here's what I got. Tori was nice enough to fall asleep in the basket for me! She is definitely not camera shy. I am looking into getting a DSLR camera so I can take sharper pictures and have much more versatility. I love my point-and-shoot camera for everyday pictures but I need something better for these types of photos. If anyone knows about cameras I could use some advice!