Day in St Louie ~ Zoo and Great Balloon Race

We had a wonderful day in St Louis yesterday. We started with a lunch picnic in the park. Tori got her favorite, strawberries and blueberries. Then we spent a few hours at the zoo. Tori is getting adventurous!Then we headed to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race! They started with sky divers.Then Tori got just ONE Oreo from daddy, and this is what happened! How does she make such a mess with just ONE Oreo! :)Then the balloon race started! The first was the Energizer bunny, and it was one huge bunny! The rabbit's ears are the size an average hot air balloon! It took forever for this thing to get off the ground.But Tori got very excited! It was a very hot day and we had a very long walk from the car and we were covered in sweat by the time the race started but it was all worth it to see her face when those balloons started filling up! :)There were SO many! There were 67 hot air balloons! We took a video on Brian's phone because they were all over! The balloons took off in waves and it was AWESOME! Tori loved it! She mastered "whooooooa!" She laughed, clapped, and waved the whole time!This was my favorite balloon.And we even got some snacks! :)Then as we were leaving a balloon had landed right by where we parked (I told you we had to park quite a ways from central field!) We walked to it for a close-up view and some pictures. The pilot asked Brian for help breaking down the balloon since his crew was stuck in all the traffic. So he had to pull on a large rope to keep the air vent open while the pilot pulled the rope on the top of the balloon down and made sure it didn't get stuck on anything. The balloon tried to attack the stroller as it was coming down! The pilot was such a cool guy, he let all the kids standing around roll on the balloon once it was down to get the rest of the air out. A very cool end to a great day!Tori was asleep before we even got out of the park! Lastly we had to stop and eat dinner at chick-fil-a before we headed home (Brian's idea of course). Tori loved the race so much, we are planning on making this a yearly thing!

Cute Video

I just had to post this video! It shows almost everything Tori is doing right now. She loves to mimic everything we do, to spin, play peek-a-boo, and you can even hear her say "doggie." She still calls every animal a doggie, its super cute!

Bathroom done!

Thanks to my amazing husband the bathroom renovation is done! I love it!! It took a little longer than planned due to a wonderful virus we all passed around and a few technical issues we had with leaky water supply lines and the wire box for the lights being larger than the wall mount. We got it all figured out and I think it looks great!

The new fixtures are all brushed nickel and the wall color is a muted green. Here is the new light, mirror, towel rack, and faucet. New TP holder and toilet flusher (very exciting, I know!) The new faucet, isn't it beautiful!The new corner unit after it's makeover. I haven't had time to go shopping for finishing touches but the big stuff is all done :)This whole project only cost us a few hundred dollars and a few days of work. A very easy update!

Bathroom Renovation ~Before~

As my birthday present we are renovating the half-bath on the main floor of our home. Here are the before pictures (very gold isn't it!!) I have been having nightmares about this mirror for 3 years now and the "shabby chic" country corner units is looking just shabby! The faux paint is a cute idea but its time for a more sophisticated hue!The renovation has started! Tori helping me remove the very gold hardware!!What a little professional!!Playing with the new water supply lines for the faucet.Oh how we love to paint (and prime!)!!Jeff putting the finishing touches on the revamped corner unit. It got a much needed coat of paint (in chocolate) and new knobs and hinges. Cant wait to see it with the new wall color!

So far we have the toilet flusher and faucet changed out for brushed nickel fixtures, the walls primed, and the corner unit finished! Tomorrow we're heading to Chicago for the day then Monday we're back to bathroom duty! I can't wait to to get new paint on the walls! It's name is "Sage Green." How appropriate!

Thirteen Months

Well I think it is safe to say that Tori is officially a toddler. She wants to walk every where, especially when we'd rather her be in a stroller or cart. She's even starting to run, walk backwards, and spin in circles. She is learning more words, her favorites are doggie, ball, and daddy. She will say kitty and duck occasionally. Tori still sucks her thumb quite a bit, but lately she's started carrying around a blanket also (yes, Linus-style). She also loves to do summersaults (she stands up, puts her head on a pillow, and waits for you to push her over and clap.) Her hair is finally coming in enough for pig tails!!!! She looks so big in her tennis shoes with her hair done!

Getting into Trouble!

Sure she looks like an angel when she's sleeping.....We have been letting Tori roam the main floor now that its "baby-proof." She has toys all over the place and loves to get them all out and play. I started to think she was being too quiet and I found her in the bathroom with her bouncy ball in the toilet and the entier roll of toilet paper on the floor! She was only out of my sight for a couple of minutes!! Look what I found mom!! Its the very end of the toilet paper (it was hiding under all the rest of the toilet paper!)

NO COMMENT!!!! (No more incriminating pictures!)About an hour later I put her in the baby seat that attaches to the table and gave her some crackers while I started dinner. I guess she decided the wanted the whole box of crackers because she climbed out of the seat belt and onto the table!! I turned around and she was sitting on the table!! Ack!!!

This kid has a wierd obsession with dog treats... We catch her trying to get into the doggy cabinet constantly! She gets so upset when we take them away...Helping me put away the groceries :)Gotta get that can all the way at the bottom of the bag!
Our lives are so full of adventures, and we never know what she'll be up to next!!!!