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!!!!

One Year Pictures

We decided to take some one year portraits of Tori. She does so much better when there is to time limit or set appointment so we were hoping we could get better results ourselves because there is so much less pressure on her than if we had studio pictures taken. Here's is what we've come up with so far! We think they've turned out really well. We have plans to take her out to the covered bridge in the Glenarm hopefully this weekend to snap some more. Hope you enjoy our favorites!

Tori's First Birthday Princess Party!!

We can't believe our little princess is turning one! This past year has been such a joy that we will never forget!

Princess Victoria's First Birthday Princess CakeCinderella smash cakeThe craft table. There are foam tiaras, wands, and crowns for the kids to decorate with foam stickers and markers.

All of the photo albums from the past year and Tori's baby book. The princess cupcake tree made by mommy.Girls working on decorating their tiaras and wandsPrincess Carleigh all decked out! She loved making the tiaras so much that she made one for Tori, for me, and for several other people :) Such a thoughtful girl!!Prince Fletcher playing in the ball pitThe pinata was a big hit! It was a pull-string pinata so instead of the kids hitting it, each one pulls a string until the "magic" string is pulled and the candy and toys fall out! Prince Will found the magic string!Tori crawled all over the floor and helped put candy in everyone's bags! :) Spending time with family!Spending time with friends! Princess Caylee is such a cutie!12-day old Princess Olivia!! So precious!!Princess Tori about to open her many many gifts!Our gift to the Princess, a sand pit! I had a turtle just like this when I was a kid! Getting ready for the smash cake!

What a fun day for the birthday girl!! Thank you so much everyone for all the gifts and well wishes!!

KC Royals!

A few weeks ago we took a mini-vaca to Kansas City to see the Royal's newly renovated stadium and maybe catch a glimpse of Rick Ankiel. We stopped in Hannibal, MO for an afternoon to break up the long drive. The first thing we did in Hannibal was tour a cave! Cameron cave looks the same way today as it did when it was discovered. There are no lights or paths created by humans. It is pitch black, a constant 57 degrees, and there are bats that inhabit the cave. We had to take Tori in Bjorn and we barely made it through some of the cracks (one was only 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide). It was definitely something different and we really enjoyed spelunking! Hannibal is famous because it is the birthplace of Mark Twain and is the basis for most of his stories! We got to see Mark Twain's boyhood home and lots of Tom Sawyer landmarks. Hannibal is a quaint little town with lots of shops and diners. A cute place to spend a weekend! After Hannibal we headed to Kansas City (The home of Royals baseball and Chiefs football). Brian has been wanting to see other baseball stadiums besides Busch so for his birthday he got Royals-Cardinals tickets and a Rick Ankiel Royals shirt. The Royals stadium is much less congested and so kid-friendly! They just spend $250 million to renovate their stadium including a gigantic 100ft tall by 50 ft wide high-def screen. Its the most impressive scoreboard we've ever seen! There are lots of family-oriented things to do there ($1 for kids to have a chance to hit a whiffle ball out of a small baseball field, run sprints down a base path, mini-golf, a jungle gym, and a baseball fountain that Tori loved!). It was amazing how many Cardinals fans where there! Brian was bummed that Rick Ankiel was on the DL but we still had a great time! And it's official that Tori is bad luck for the cards because we've lost both games she's been to :) But we'll forgive her because she's the cutest cardinals fan ever!

The diaper cover from her Cardinals Cheerleader outfit has a logo on the tush! I just couldn't help myself with this picture :)