Tori's Project Runway

While Grandma and Grandpa Allen were here, Tori had her picture taken a bunch! Grandpa joked that Tori had her own Project Runway (I love that show and all of its drama!) as we dressed her up in all of her "monkey suits." Grandpa was quite right. So I thought I would share her fashion show with everyone - hope you enjoy!!!

This is my favorite outfit right now - she just looks so stinkin cute in it!!!

That tummy time is sure paying off - check out our Tori holding her head up all by herself!

She looks so grown up in this dress (Grandma Allen's favorite)!!!

I love this pose!

She might have been getting tired of pictures!

This was Grandpa's favorite!

I love the look on her face! Thanks for her adorable dress Molly - it finally fits!

And I just had to put this one up - our little angel baby!!!!Thanks for all of the amazing pictures Grandma Allen!!!

Grandpa's Buddy

As Jared's parents were getting ready to leave, we were all doing just fine until Grandpa Allen got to hold Tori one last time. As he held her close he broke down and it wasn't long before we were all in tears. While Tori has an amazing bond with her Grandmas, there is something really special about her bond with Grandpa Allen. Even from their first day here, whenever Grandpa would talk Tori would start looking around for him. Jared and I think that Tori is going to be Grandpa's little buddy forever!!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Tori with her Grandpa Allen!!!

These two hit it off from the start!

They had a great time making faces at each other!

And they enjoyed a good nap together!

Tori didn't want to let her Grandpa go!

And she really loved cuddling with him!!!

Another Goodbye...

Sadly, Grandma and Grandpa Allen had to leave us today. Why is is that time flies by at least twice as fast when you really just want it to slow down so you can savor things such as visits? I know that Tori will miss her grandparents - she has only been spoiled a little!!! And I have loved having adults to talk to during the day. More than that, thanks for helping so much with Tori and just loving her to pieces! Thanks for rocking her back to sleep in the middle of the night, it felt so wonderful to get some extra sleep. And thanks for all of the millions of other things you did while here!!! We can't wait for Christmas when we can all be together again!

Tori loved eating in Grandma and Grandpa's arms!

And Tori couldn't get enough of her bonding time!

We love you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Tori's Blessing Day

Tori received her name and blessing at church today! It was so amazing and humbling to watch Jared use the priesthood on behalf of our daughter. We were both in tears before he even started! I feel so blessed to have a husband who is worthy and willing to bless our lives. Tori's blessing was so wonderful and a great insight into the special things she has to look forward to in her life. I only hope that Jared and I will be able to teach her and prepare her for all that lies ahead. She is definitely a choice spirit that Heavenly Father has sent to our family. I can't wait to see the incredible things that she will do!
Thank you to all of our friends and family that joined with us! You made our day even more special and complete!!!

The priesthood circle was made up of Jon Willison, Jared, Grandpa Allen, Uncle Jim Floor, and Bishop Wade Weiss (not pictured).

Here we are with Grandma and Grandpa Allen. We are so glad that you could be here with us!!!Aunt Paula, AJ, and Uncle Jim Floor:Our friends from the Singles' Branch- Elise Lambson, Amber Smyer, and Amanda Cannon: And Sam Fenton (aka Uncle Sam!):Debbie Iaria (one of my dear friends from work) was also able to join us:

This is my most favorite picture of Tori and Jared - I love it!!!And her I am with our little angel!

Here is our cute little family!And here is Tori in her beautiful blessing dress! Thanks Grandma Harrison, it was perfect!!! TJ - thanks for her bracelet. It fit just right and was the perfect finishing touch to her outfit!

Another First...

Tori experienced her very first 'Girls' Night Out' with Grandma Allen and me! Here we are on our way out the door: We started out as all good girls' nights out should - shopping up a storm. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled me this time. Thank you so much for the new skirt and shirts, I feel so cute in them! After shopping, we were able to attend the General Relief Society broadcast. We had a yummy dinner in the mother's lounge - Tori had her dinner at the same time! The broadcast was so wonderful, at least the parts I heard. I have a feeling that I am not going to hear as much at meetings with our little Tori present - she is so entertaining and/or needing much attention!

Tori looked pretty fabulous in the adorable dress Grandma Allen got her! Sadly I had left the camera in the car, but we took pictures as soon as we got home!

(P.S. She is wearing the booties I made!) I love it when she smiles!

I had to post this one - check out her skinny chicken legs - they are so cute!!!

Week of Projects

We have been so busy this week! Of course, the most time has been spent loving and cuddling Tori. But occasionally we do set her down for a bit. We sure have been productive with that time. Since Tori's feet are so little, we can't get socks to stay on at all. So Grandma Allen and I have been crocheting her booties. I must admit that I am terribly proud that I made my daughter booties - they look so cute on her!

Here is a picture of me working on said booties:

Grandma Allen has also been crocheting borders on burp clothes for Tori. They look so cute and will be great for church - they look so nice and fancy. And they will match the adorable blanket Grandma Allen made for her as well! Here she is hard at work:

The biggest project this week has been Tori's amazing scrapbook that Grandma is making her. I don't know how, but we didn't get a picture of her working on it. It is seriously the most amazing scrapbook I have ever seen. I know that Tori is going to love looking at the pictures and reading things we all have written for her!!! Here is a picture of the front page:

If you want to see the rest of it you will just have to come visit us!

As a side note, Grandma Allen will be coming back to Indy in March to teach some scrapbooking classes. If any of you are interested, just let us know. She really is the best!!!

A Few Spare Moments

In between all of our fun with Tori, we have had a few spare moments in the past week. I couldn't pass up publishing a couple.

Jared and Dad Allen have been grilling up a storm. And it has all been so yummy- especially the grilled veggies!!! Don't they look like they are having fun! Definitely a bonding moment!!!

The guys also made some amazing sherbet for all to enjoy. A word to the wise, trying to puree frozen berries can lead to berry juice all over the kitchen and all over your husband. But the sherbet was so worth it!!!

And my most favorite spare moment was spent watching Mom and Dad Allen rock out on Guitar Hero. They have some awesome skills - I think we should start a family band!!!

What to do?

So, what would you do if you all of the sudden heard your baby start to scream? Why, you would rush over to check on her to see what was wrong. Which is exactly what I did. Then I started to laugh, while Grandma Allen and I grabbed our cameras to capture this awesome moment:Those pesky bows don't always stay where they are supposed to and can definitely get in the way of a good nap!

Torture Time

So, I know that tummy time is really important and we need to be doing it everyday. But Tori hates it! She can be completely happy and content, then we put her on her tummy and she cries. And if we don't listen and respond to the crying, she screams. This may sound horrible, but she looks so cute when she has her arms and legs going but is obviously so unhappy. Even though it is not fun for her, Tori is getting much stronger and holding her head up much better!

Here is photo documentation of Tori holding her head up all by herself! In case you were wondering, this was really hard to catch with a camera.

Here is a little peak into Tori's daily torture routine!

Graduation

Tori has officially graduated from wearing preemie sized clothing! Which means that we now have tons of new and extremely cute outfits for her to wear.

Here is our little ladybug in her very first newborn size outfit! Thanks Grandma Harrison - she looks so adorable!

I am sure that we will have many more outfits to show off in the next little bit. It's just way too fun dressing her up!!!