Last week Tori and I spent a day in McMinnville with my Aunt Roxie and my Grandma, who was visiting from out of town, and had a great time. They have a dog and two cats and during the car ride, Tori was constantly repeating the names of all three animals. Once we arrived she was on a mission to find all of them. While there, we spent some time outside playing with the dog, Smokey. Here are a couple pictures of Tori's newly acquired skill...

Such Concentration

Pure Joy and Excitement

Since this day spent hitting the ball for Smokey, Tori now tells us stories of her day with the dog. She repeats "Smokey" "Ball"(while moving her hands as if to throw a ball) "Racket"(swinging arms back and forth). Her words are coming more freely now, and in sequence. She has several two word phrases she repeats -- bubble bath, garbage truck, Easter Bunny -- the funniest to me being 'more Tori'. She loves to look at pictures, whether they be on the computer or in albums. At the end of any particular viewing session she will ask "More Tori" repeatedly until we find more pictures to look at. She has also formed a sentence, much to my shock. While we were spending time with Roxie, they were playing with Tori's shoes and laces. Tori apparently wasn't through playing and out of the blue said "Roxie, tie, shoe"

It is fun to hear her vocabulary grow, and watch her interests change and grow too. She loves to color, in books and in the bathtub (Crayola Tadoodles for the tub), is nearly obsessed with Cinderella, wants to pick out her shoes and coat when it's time to leave the house, still loves her books, and loves to play 'horsey' with Daddy -- sitting on his back and riding through the living room -- her favorite part being falling off. She is quite a ham sometimes and she definitely keeps us amused and entertained.