Thursday, October 26, 2006

Annie Time

Tonight Huts and I have a meeting to attend, so Annie will be watching the kids. I am going to leave her some money to take them to their favorite place, McDonalds. Annie always takes them to the one with the indoor play area. The last time Annie took them there, Tori got stuck on top of the slide and Annie had to go get her. She is a real climber now, so watch out Annie!

The glue on Tori’s head came off during the night. She has a very small slit that looks like it has healed well.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

"Nack"

That’s Tori’s favorite new word. She likes to stand behind the barrier at the top of the stairs and yell, “Nack,” which means you must carry her downstairs to the kitchen and find her a snack of some sort. If you open the refrigerator, you can prepare for her to step up on it and grab some pudding or yogurt. She also likes to stand up on the countertop and pull out food from the cabinets. Tori likes variety, so the snacks you find for her one day may not work the next. She refused the pudding last night, for example, and went for the Hershey’s instead.

Tori got to wear her 75 cent Dalmatian coat this morning (a yard sale steal), so she is warm and fuzzy. She didn’t seem to mind the change in coats, unlike Ollie which you can read about on his blog, and seemed intrigued with the fabric. She likes hats, so the hood was a plus. I’m just glad she has seemed to sprout in the past few months and can wear her 18-month-old clothes now.

The glue on Tori’s head is peeling and the doctor pronounced her fine yesterday. Yep, an hour of waiting and a wad of money to reassure us what we already knew. Oh well. Better safe than sorry. Keep your fingers crossed that she gets through the next few months without incident.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Fun, Fun and More Fun!

Tori is more adventurous than her brother. She’ll try almost anything, including yogurt bites and big slides. She tends to be easier to please as a result.

This weekend, Tori showed what a big girl she has become by climbing up the stairs to the slide at the museum all by herself and sliding down the slide with a bit of help. (She doesn’t understand that you have to sit down.) She checked out everything at the museum, including the water! There was a large trough filled with water, pumps and more that Tori played in as often as possible, even if it got her wet. She also liked to climb into the truck and push the buttons. (She likes buttons, especially on remotes and TVs.)

Tori behaved well at the restaurant we went to afterwards, eating French fries and watching everyone. She kept thinking that all of the food served around her should be hers and pointed to other people’s food a lot before she got hers. Thankfully, no one noticed.

On Sunday, Tori went with her dad to get pumpkins. No staying home for her like her brother. She likes to go bye-bye. That night, she showed her adventurous side again by sitting on the hearth in front of the fire. Ollie was scared of the fire; Tori didn’t seem to notice it. Tonight we are making smores. We’ll see if she likes that.

One scared child; one, not so scared. Still waiting for that wild and crazy child.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Round and Round She Goes

Have you ever tried to spin around and eat at the same time? Tori can do it! She can spin, and spin, and spin all the while eating a hot dog, peaches and more. She can spin around on her feet, in the desk chair, on the merry-go-round and more. She loves to spin, especially with a treat in her hand!

On the communications front, we are hearing more and more from Tori. She loves to scream “Yeah!” and point at whatever has caught her fancy. She is very good about taking your hand and pulling you wherever she wants to go and pointing at what she wants, like the TV being turned on. Yes, she is a TV watcher who loves Little People videos.

Tori is quick like her brother. In fact, she has even done some things before him, like drinking from a cup, eating with a fork and pointing to the things she wants. She definitely keeps us on our toes!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Wounded Head Comparison

Tori's Boo-boo head.
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Ollie's Boo-boo head

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I think Tori wins. Her cut is longer and she didn't have her father freaking out causing her more pain while trying to stop the bleeding. She also behaved for the physicians because she stares at strangers. Ollie's seemed to be a wider cut, but shorter. His also had more blood, guess blunt objects like entertainment centers will do that to you.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Same Accident, Different Victim

Two years ago, Ollie crashed head first into the entertainment center and gashed his forehead. We took him to the ER, where they bonded the slit in his head with glue. Today, the scar has nearly faded.

Last night at age 1, Tori decided to follow in her brother’s footsteps and crashed head first into the fireplace hearth. She gashed her head and cried until it stopped bleeding. Ollie cried, too, for her. After I calmed them down, which took about 20 minutes, Tori played in the laundry basket, while I got Ollie’s shoes on. We went to the prompt care facility down the road and got there right before it closed. The last patients, we were seen quickly.

Ollie watched the examination process intently, asking numerous questions, while Tori sat very still for the nurses (she did not sit still for me, of course). The doctor got worried because she was so relaxed, but I managed to convince him that the only reason Tori was behaving was because she was surrounded by strangers. As soon as they left the room she got up and started running around. The doctor bonded her head, handed her to us and home we went.

Tori didn’t seem to notice her wound much, and if you didn’t know what happened, you probably wouldn’t notice it either. Her bangs cover most of it. She is fine, Ollie is fine, and within seven to 10 days, the glue will come off and Tori will have a bit of a scar.

Boy, am I glad they now have skin glue. It sure beats stitches. Just ask my brothers, many of whom have had stitches.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Sleep and Stuff

Tori has been sleeping a little a better recently. On occasion, she'll sleep through the night. Most of the time, she still gets up once a night and has a bottle. The good thing is that she able to hold her own bottle, so she's been changed, given a bottle and left alone in her bed to put herself back to sleep. It's worked 2 nights in a row. We'll see if we can ween her off the bottle soon. Maybe we'll have to replace the middle of the night bottle with water to discourage her from getting up.

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As you can see, her hair has grown out enough to put it in dog ears. We haven't tried a full day yet, but we are positive she'll pull them out, though as her mom says, she likes things on her head. Especially when it leads to fun, like walking into things.

And The Winner Is…

Tori! She beat her brother eating dinner hands down last night. Ollie ate a bowl of pineapple chunks and green beans. Tori ate some green beans, all of her lasagne, two helpings of mashed potatoes and some raisins, which may explain why she mashed the Reese's peanut butter cup in her fist while Ollie gobbled down his later in the evening.

Lately, all Tori seems to do is eat, and it shows. She is finally wearing 18-month-old clothes rather than 12-month-old clothes. She even got to wear her new size 4 tennis shoes this morning, which she proudly showed off. She loves shoes and tried on her crocks this morning, but they were still too big.

So, does this mean Tori will be into clothes and makeup, unlike her mother? Maybe. Then again, she does like to play with cars and tear through the living room after Ollie rather than take her baby doll for a walk in the stroller. She also likes to wear large hats that cover her face and walk around rooms with her hands stretched out. So far, she has run into the sliding glass door and the hallway wall. She bounces back, falls down and tries again. Ok, so maybe she will be a tomboy after all.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Happy Girl

Teething again, but this time, Tori is happy. She spent much of yesterday at the park and managed to walk half a mile. Then she went to a pizza place and ate, and ate, and ate. She is a much better eater than her brother. She goes, and goes, and goes until she has nothing but a smile left.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Tongue Kisses

Tori recently learned how to kiss, When she feels like it and you ask for a kiss, she wil come over to your smiling and stick out her face waiting for you to kiss her. Now that she has that down, she has decided to come to you with her tongue sticking out and wait for you to kiss her. You have two choices: You can kiss her wet tongue or give her a kiss on the cheek. Bet you know which one we choose.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Tori the Lady Bug

Tori is going to be a lady bug for Halloween and has tried on her costume, although somewhat unwillingly. She pulls at the straps. Huts will be posting the pictures we managed to get of her in it soon.

Tori is teething again and snatching food left and right, but like her brother, she seems fine. She made it to the train mailbox and back with her dad this weekend and ran away down the sidewalk with me several times. Ollie always tells me that Tori is runing away from home and to catch her, Mom. She is pretty quick and feisty and detests being caught. I still haven't tried to see how far she can get around the block.

Today it is beautiful outside, so maybe we will go eat at the new mall and let the kids play on the tractors. They love the Caterpillar playground, especially the slide. Tori seems to think she can climb up it and slide down it all on her own. She is our little daredevil, if you didn't know. Like mother, lilke daughter, they say. Poor Tori. She is destined to be a tomboy and suffer scrapes and bruises (but hopefully no broken bones or stitches).