Faces of Summer

So behind, playing catch-up

I can't believe it's been OVER a month since I've posted anything on here.

Well, yes I can, actually.

It's been a busy month. Lots of visitors and activities.
Lots of LIVING, not much blogging, I guess.
But isn't that the way it's supposed to work?
Whatever.

Here is a photo recap of the last month of our lives...


Aunt Neva (Bill's sister) came out to visit one of her friends, and we spent a wonderful afternoon with her in Downtown LA. Highlight of the trip had to have been Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.




Next up, Bill's parents came out from TX to spend 10 days with us. We started off the visit with Sunday Brunch at The Castaway, which, on top of being YUMMY, was also a nice trip down memory lane since that is where we held our Rehearsal Dinner the night before our wedding.


Then, we immediately put Dick and Nancy to work in the fields, making them earn their keep. :)
We headed to our favorite So Cal location, Underwood Family Farms, and made use of the extra pairs of hands in picking blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and a few raspberries (it was too early in the season for them).

For Dick's benefit, I would like to point out (because he did MULTIPLE times) that he only picked BLUE blueberries, as evidenced above, whereas the rest of us had a hard time picking the ripe ones and ended up with buckets of various shades of reddish purple, and the occasional green ones thrown in in Lexy's bucket. (You can pay me later, Dick.) :)


This just in!
We interrupt this vacation recap to bring you breaking news:



WE HAVE CUTE KIDS. :)

We now return to your regularly scheduled vacation recap.

Next stop, the annual trip to heaven on earth, otherwise know as Yosemite.








And more on Yosemite in my next post because this one has been in the drafts folder for over a month, and I need to move on. :)

Two

I guess this means you are officially not a baby anymore.
Not sure how that happened.... Time has a way of flying by.

We've had quite a year, enjoying your cute little personality. In fact, Daddy and I were just commenting the other day about how you have a certain charisma about you.... Hard to describe. Almost an "I know I'm cute" swagger, but in the most endearing way that makes you even cuter.

You've learned a lot in the last year. Walking, talking (kind of), and mimicking everything you see your big sister doing. She has been schooled in "being a good example" for you because you pick up even the slightest things. Maybe you'll end up being my observant child!

This was the year that you had tubes put in your ears, too. That was an anxious day for Daddy and I, but we are already seeing the rewards. Your vocabulary has EXPLODED ever since. You can't quite work out all of the letter sounds yet, but we understand you most of the time anyway. And you are much more willing and eager to sound words out, now, too.

You have become quite a little swimmer, too, which we had not anticipated since you never showed the love of water quite like Lexy did. But once you got your feet wet (literally!), you quickly got the hang of it. And we invested in ear plugs. Which you are quick to remind me to pack every time we head to the pool. (Good thing, too, because I seem to always forget them!)

You've acquired quite a few nicknames in your two short years, mostly from your Daddy who likes to abbreviate everything. :) Tori Toops has been around awhile, but "Toops" by itself is newish. And then there's "T-Bone" or "T-Bone Jones". (I have no idea). And when he's feeling REALLY rushed for time, he just goes with "T". Thank goodness you answer to all of them.

One of our favorite games to play with you is Pouty Face, which really speaks for itself. But the humor in it is that you don't ever use the pouty face when you are pouting.... Only when you are all smiles and game to entertain us with your antics. I was so excited to actually capture it on film for future generations to see. (And please note that as soon as the flash went off, you broke into a HUGE grin-- right back to the smiley Tori we all know and love!)

You are so independent, always trying to do things by yourself. Including potty training. What a joy it is to say that you COMPLETLEY trained yourself in how to go #2 on the potty. We're still working on #1, but even that is about 70% on the potty. If it were only this easy with every child.

I have so enjoyed watching your hair continue to grow in curly! I absolutely LOVE it. Especially when we go to the beach and it turns into ringlets. I hope it never changes.


We are so blessed to have you as part of our family, T. We love you so much and are cherishing every moment of your toddlerhood, knowing full well that the days may seem long, but the years are short.

Happy Birthday, Toops.
We love you.

Frozen Treats

Wordless Wednesday: From this side of the lens

The Purple Camera

Since about January of this year, all Lexy could talk about was wanting "a purple camera."

If I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times.
"I want a purple camera for Christmas."

She didn't quite understand that next Christmas was 11 months away. She had spent the previous 4-5 months saying, "Maybe I could get [x] for Christmas...." We hadn't converted her to the concept of BIRTHDAY presents yet.

So, I went online and did a little research to see if, in fact, a kid-friendly purple camera existed.
Not only did I find a digital camera designed for kids, but JACKPOT!, it was made by Fisher Price. The mother of one of the girls that I tutor is a Mattel employee and can get toys for DEEP discounts. Gotta love that.

So, the birthday came, and we were so excited to give her The Purple Camera (that is actually pink with just a smidge of purple on it).
We captured pictures of her opening it, and they are priceless.

She is gazing up at me while I'm asking her if she remembers what she has been asking for for her birthday.... And then the "I think I know what it is" smile sweeps across her face.

I love the open-mouth awe in the second shot, even though I KNOW she knew what was coming...

And the sweet look of a successful birthday present.

(Sidenote [because we are all about the sidenote]: check out what Tori was up to while the presents were being opened.)

Then we took a family walk to a local bagel shop for her birthday morning breakfast, and lest you be curious to know how it went, our little photographer-in-the-making documented the whole trip.

Daddy in the driveway getting ready to leave. Apparently he is too big to fit into just one picture.

Some bushes! With berries! And me telling her to stop taking pictures of bushes and catch up.

The patio at the bagel shop. And some unsuspecting patrons of the bagel shop.

Scenic long walk home. A Not-To-Be-Missed block wall.

And more of the long walk home.

At this point, we got tired of waiting for her, so we strapped her in the stroller (against her will) for the remainder of the walk.

But let me tell you, what a stroke of genius that turned out to be! We got some MOTION pictures out of it!

I like to call this particular shot "Asphalt".


In all seriousness, though, we are very excited for her to have her own camera! What an adventure it will be to see the world through her eyes. And expect regular blog installments of "Lexy's funniest pictures". I already have some pics in mind for that.... :)