This One's for Daddy

Two years gone by:

Snug as a Bug...

Yesterday during nap time I peeked in Tori's room to check on her. Much to my surprise, this is what I saw:

It's not uncommon for Tori to get out of bed and read her books for a while before she goes to sleep. Usually I can hear the pages rustling as she's flipping through looking at pictures. I didn't hear anything as I opened the door, and was starting to get a little alarmed. Then I looked in her chair:

This has never happened before. I'm assuming she just got too tired to climb out of her chair. I'm amazed that she can still fold her body in half like this. This wouldn't appear to be very comfortable to me, however, she was out like a light and barely wiggled when I moved her back into bed.

Busy Days

We've had quite a full couple of weeks lately. Last week Tori and I spent several days with my folks (aka grammy and pah) while Ej was working out of town. We spent a fair amount of time outside, which Tori loved. She helped weed the flower gardens and picked a few flowers, ran ragged through the grass, helped water the flowers and in the process watered herself, and had a fabulous time helping pick fresh green beans and potatoes. I think for every bean she picked and added to the bucket, she put at least one in her mouth. The potatoes weren't quite as interesting as the beans, but the dirt and worms sure were fun to play with. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our fun outside, but we also spent a lot of time reading books, which remains a favorite pass-time. She didn't let Grandpa too far out of her site and when she couldn't see him she would call out for him and wait for a response. She even had to track him down when he went to work in the shop. We made several trips into the shop to watch, and help, Grandpa sand some wood. She was a little hesitant of the electric sander at first, but finally got brave and placed her hand on the top so she could 'help'. We've also been busy getting Tori's Grandma Leta (Ej's mom, aka momma rat) moved into town and settled. She arrived in the U-HAUL and was all unloaded by mid-afternoon Saturday. Then came the fun of unpacking boxes. Tori, helper that she is, joined right in. She helped unload the big utensils, and discovered that empty cupboards make fun toys too.

We've spent quite a bit of time in Grandma Leta's new house (apartment, but Tori calls it house) this week which Tori loves. Almost every time we leave the house she asks to go to see Grandma Leta. The apartment is next to the MAX line and Tori is fascinated with the trains. It doesn't matter where she is in the apartment; when the trains go by she's on a mad dash to the living room window to watch, and wave, at the choo-choos. Welcome home Momma Rat - here's to many more fun afternoons and evenings watching the trains :)

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...