Life

It's been a while since I've posted anything.... We've just been living life.
Tori is back in good health, ruptured ear drum on the mend. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of dealing with a ruptured ear drum (be thankful), it is rather disgusting.... Think green boogers oozing out of an ear. Alarming, to say the least. But she is back to her smiley, giggly self, so all is well. Here's some video of her laughing that I took yesterday....



And since I'm pretty sure that this blog will probably be all Tori gets in the way of a baby book (poor 2nd child), here are her 4 month check-up stats:
17 lb 13 oz (way off the charts)
27 inches long (even further off the charts)
This month she has learned to roll from back to tummy (1st) and from tummy to back (2nd), which is the reverse order of how Lexy did it. Tori is also now reaching for things, which delights Lexy to no end. Lexy will bring her a toy, and when Tori reaches up for it, Lexy will shriek "She likes it! She likes it!" Or my favorite.... When Tori reaches out to touch Lexy's arm or hand (or whatever), Lexy says, "She likes me! She likes me!" May it always be so. :)

Lest you think we only have news to report on Tori, Lexy has had quite a week. It's Potty Training time! Yipee! When Lexy declared to me, "Mommy, I'm peeing in my diaper right now!" last week on the way to church, we decided it must be time. So, we are about 1 1/2 weeks into potty training, and for the most part, she's doing FABULOUS. A couple of accidents that were more my fault for pushing her too long, but other than that, she has taken to the whole Big Girl routine like a champ. And it is so cute to see how pleased she is with herself when she is successful.

Bill and I are amazed every day at her memory-- I don't think she'll EVER lose anything. When I can't find something I know she played with days back, no worries... just ask her. She'll go get it from whatever dark hole it's fallen in to. My keys, Daddy's belt, Mommy's phone, etc.-- She remembers!!!

She is also becoming quite the conversationalist (although sometimes I think I'm the only one who can understand what she is saying!). I'm hoping to capture some of her musings on camera and post them soon. Video of her is harder to come by as she is FASCINATED with watching herself on the camera display, and then she just gets silly (as any 2 yr old would).

We are looking forward to an extra long weekend together over the Thanksgiving break. Turkey time with friends and family, and then the big game on Friday--- Gig 'em Aggies!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Tori's boxscore

Months lived: 4
Trips to Urgent Care: 3
Ear infections: 2
Ruptured Ear Drum: 1

Poor little thing. :(

More Lexy-isms

It's been one of those days....
How is it, exactly, that a cute, little 2-year-old can test your patience in a way that nothing else will ever come close to??? :) Despite all the craziness of the day, I am thankful the Lord has reminded me of what a blessing Lexy is to our family. It's all a matter of perspective....

Through a friend's blog, I was led to pray for the Levasheff family, whom I have never met, as they said goodbye to their precious 2-year-old son Judson. Horribly tragic, yet their faith is unshaken. And then there is the Kostjuk family, acquaintances of ours, who are currently praying for a miracle for their newborn daughter Reese. And I'm sure there are hundreds (upon hundreds) more. And any one of those families would gladly trade for a tough day with a willful 2-year-old.

So in the vein of celebrating the life of our fiery young one, I thought I'd share a few more of her funny sayings...

"Don't Be..."--
meaning, "Don't be mean", which we have no idea where she picked up, but the funny part is that she can't be bothered to actually say 'mean' at the end. That would take too much of her precious time. And then there's the humor in when it is actually used... Like when we're combing her hair (which has been smothered in detangler) after a bath, or when we're changing her dirty diaper preventing a diaper rash, or when we're helping her put shoes on so she can go outside. Gosh. We really ARE mean parents.

"I can't like it"--
translated, means "I don't like it." Uttered frequently after any new food she tastes-- unless it's a fruit or vegetable. Shockingly, even used after dessert on occasion. I love that her expression actually implies that she's willing herself not to like it... And she's got quite a strong will. :)

"I can't reach it.... (grunt, grunt)"--
Always 2 grunts. Always. Just to make sure we know she's REALLY trying. And really, this phrase is used in place of "I can't do it" because, more often than not, it has nothing to do with reaching anything. In the few instances that it does have to do with reaching, the item in question is sometimes mere inches from her, but she will contort her body in such a way that it becomes the feat of all feats to be able to reach it. Thus the needs for the grunts, I suppose. Look out Monica Seles.

And my personal favorite that just happened today, in the midst of my lack of patience....

I laid down in my bed with her hoping that she might actually take a nap, since she'd been literally bouncing off the wall in her room (where Tori was also sleeping). No dice. It was a nice thought, anyway. When it became ever-so-apparent that no nap would be happening, Bill came in and told her that she could sit still in the bed and watch Monsters, Inc., while Mommy took a nap. So, she hunkered down real close to my face and in a hushed whisper began singing "Jesus loves me", just like Bill and I do for her at bed time. At the end of the song, she continued whispering a bunch of words that only she understood and then said "Amen." and kissed me on the forehead. "Nigh nigh, Mommy. Sleep well."

And then my heart officially melted.
Thank you, Lord, for my tender-hearted (and strong-willed) Lexy.

Growing up before our eyes...

Victoria Grace, 4 months old

Our little Monkey

"Enough pictures already MOM!"

It's not every day you see a Monkey using binoculars....

Ok, now let's have a tea party. :)

Pumpkin carving and Halloween

The customary pumpkin carving shots...





We went to our church's "Trunk-or-Treat" Fall Festival for Halloween and Lexy enjoyed walking around with Daddy. And she liked the candy too. :)

Curious George & The Man in the Yellow Hat
Inspired by her favorite show that we watch every day

For (a few) more pictures, click here.
I got wrapped up in doing my "trunk-or-treat" responsibilities and neglected to take any close-up shots of Lexy in her monkey costume, ...HOWEVER....she liked the costume so much I don't think I'll have any trouble getting her to put it on again for a photo session.... Stay tunned. :)