Painfully Behind

Forgive me for my lack of posting lately. Life seems to have gotten carried away, and taken me with it. Much has happened over the last month. Here are a few of the highlights...

4th of July:

We gathered with the Mattos Family again this year for a fun-filled morning of celebration, and tradition -- breakfast at our house and a trip to the Hillsboro Parade, and a continued tradition of pictures in the shower.

I was a little nervous about taking Tori to the parade this year (she loved it last year, but was content to be held) since she seldom likes to be confined, but she did great, and enjoyed sitting with Daddy streetside and was pretty intent on the whole parade.

After the parade it was time for a coffee break, with both girls enjoying a 'hot chocky' as Tori calls it.

Next on our agenda for the month of July was a family reunion in Central Oregon. We had a great time. It was a wonderful weekend filled with family and fabulous food and a lot of great visiting and playing. Tori spent the majority of the weekend playing outside, digging in the dirt, burying herself in the dirt (requiring multiple baths each day), and mastering climbing steps with out help. She ran herself ragged over the course of the weekend.

Also thrown in over the last few weeks, has been our days of potty training. I'm happy to say that Tori is doing excellent with this, and for the most part is accident free during the days. She has surprised me with her quick study during this process. Once we got through the first day she did quite well. We do still have our moments occasionally, but they are few and far between. She managed to stay dry during our travels to and from the family reunion, telling us when she needed to go and holding it until we were able to stop. I couldn't resist a few pictures during our first few days...she's too cute out of diapers now.

This is the blanket where we spent much of our first week training in case of accidents.

I Can Count...

I can count... I can actually, factually COUNT (sung to the tune of I Can Talk from Charlotte's Web). Tori really surprised me last night as we were getting ready for bed. She was getting books from her shelf, as is her custom; after grabbing a cluster she began to put them in her chair one by one, counting as she did so. One, Two, Free, Four (as only a 2 year old can do). I couldn't believe my ears. And when asked to count the numbers again, she proceeded to count to TEN, minus the number 5 I believe. I have not made a conscious attempt to teach her to count, but obviously she's picking it up from our everyday conversations and happenings. Exciting! :)

Playmates

I have the privilege of watching Jillian a few afternoons a week now. It's quite enjoyable and I love seeing the girls grow together and play together. At times we still have some struggles (when aren't there struggles with 2 year olds?) but some great times too. Here are some pictures and videos of the girls enjoying their play time together.

Independence

The new-found independence and desire to stretch her wings continues as we all get accustomed to Tori’s new sleeping arrangement. The first few days of having her ‘big-girl bed’ were deceptively easy. She went down at naptime and bedtime with little effort, always waking up with a surprised vocalization of “DOWN” or “OUT” as she sleepily padded out of her bedroom in search of us. Now the novelty has waned and the discovery that she has a little more control of her sleep is taking its place. The last week it’s been a daily occurrence for her to lie down at nap time, with her favorite books, for a half hour or so and then decide she’s ready to get up, only to request a nap an hour later. Once she’s asleep she still sleeps well, usually giving me two or three hours to revive myself. (As I’m writing this, she’s once again not sleeping, but is sitting behind me “reading” the Lion King and naming everything in all the pictures). Then comes night time and we start the whole routine over. One night she asked to go to sleep around 7:30, which has been her typical bedtime, and finally nodded off a little after 9:00. I’m discovering in myself a lack of surety on how to handle this behavior. And at the same time, I am in awe of her ability to contentedly entertain herself with books. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TORI

Today is Tori's second birthday. I can't quite believe that she's 2 already. While still my baby in my heart, she's turning in to quite the little girl. She's talking up a storm these days, insists on helping me do every chore around the house and in the garden, and has developed quite a little sense of humor. When we're playing with her and she's amused, she'll say "silly mommy" or "silly tori" at just the right moment. It's very funny and makes her seem so grown up. She loves to chase and be chased, play with her ball and bubbles, and be twirled around and tickled. She still loves her books and quietly wakes up every morning, pulls all her books off the shelf and puts them in her bed to read. She also goes to bed every night with a book in hand; she 'reads' one to herself after mommy or daddy has read one to her. And every night before we go to bed, we sneak in and remove the reading material from her chest. We had her birthday party on Saturday afternoon and it was great fun. The weather was perfect - not too hot, and not too cold. We barbecued hot dogs and had a wonderful picnic outside. Tori's grandparents, great-grandparents, aunt, cousin and lots of friends came to celebrate with us. After eating lunch, desert, and unwrapping presents, we turned on the sprinklers for all the kids to run through. It was a fantastic day of celebration. Thank you to all who were able to make it such a special day. Enjoy some pictures of our fun...

Lovin' Her Room

Tori is really enjoying her new room. She plays contentedly by herself in her new space. I have found her several times, sitting at her table quietly coloring, or eating her snack. Occasionally when it's been too quiet, I'll sneak in and she's laying on her bed reading a book. She looks like such a big girl...

We haven't had many issues at bed time either. She excitedly gets her book, crawls in bed, insists on laying on her pillow and waits for mommy to read to her and tuck her in. She always starts the night adorably tucked into her new bed, but without fail, ends up at the foot of the bed by morning...