All About August

This month has been a great (and very busy) one for us! From Tori's birthday, to Jared getting hired and starting his job, to Tori learning to walk, etc. - we have been going like crazy. Here are a few fun pictures and videos that came from some of our not-so-crazy-busy moments this month!

Tori loves to play in the kitchen! She loves getting into the cupboards...

playing with the dish towels...

and a recent discovery - how much fun you can have when you turn a bowl upside down!!! (The only downside to this is that we end up with bowls all over the kitchen and I have to hunt them down when I need one!)

Tori also loves to play with lids - these also end up spread all over the place. This evening she found a very unique way to play with them...

I think that we may have a climber on our hands. I turned around one day and Tori was magically on top of our chairs! Should I be worried?
Our Miss Mae has always found interesting ways to get around - and here is another one to add to the list (This one makes me laugh - I love it!!!)

In this picture we were trying to capture how Tori points at things. She puts her thumb and her pointer finger together and fans the rest of her fingers out (like an "f" in sign language). We have no idea where she got that one from- but we love it!
Tori loves being outside! And I would have to say that a close second is being able to look outside!!!
The windows in our new house are just the perfect height for her to gaze outside to her heart's content!
We get to go camping this weekend with Willie, Krista, Parker, and Lincoln (no worries, I am sure there will be a big post on that)! This week we have been acquiring tons of camping gear to get ready- our list of previously owned items was limited to camp chairs, an air mattress, one sleeping bag, a few flashlights, and hot dog cookers! When we found this tent, Jared fell in love (it really is a great tent)! We decided we should figure out how to set it up before our trip and Tori decided that she wanted to help out (I think she loves our new tent too)...

Happy August to all, we hope that it has treated you as well as it has our family!!!

Birthday Celebrations Cont.

Since our families live so far away, Tori's birthday presents have kept trickling in over the past few weeks- with the last installment arriving today. We have had a great time dragging out our 1st birthday celebrations. We have also really enjoyed sharing in those celebrations with our families as much as possible - yeah for webcams!!! Here are some of our belated birthday pictures - hope you enjoy!

Tori loved showing off some of her new toys to Grandpa and Grandma Allen, Uncle Alec, and Uncle Dillon!

A true girl at heart - she loves her new purse!

I love the look on Tori's face in this picture - I think she is trying to figure out what it is!

If nothing else, the packaging tasted great!

But, once we got it open Tori was in heaven with her new bath toys!!!

I think she could have played with these all night long!

It was really fun seeing her get more excited with her presents - and the wrapping paper!

Tori actually pulled a few of her gifts out of the packages!

On this one she just climbed right on in the box with her present!

Uncle Jer and Aunt Kim added to Tori's tutu collection - she looks so adorable in it!!!

Hurrah for fun birthday presents!!!

Oh, how we love, love, love the tutu!!!

Tori loved all of her birthday festivities!!!

A huge thanks to everyone that helped us celebrate with her this year!!!

Go Red Devils!

Pike High School (Jared's school) had their first home game of the season tonight. We decided to make it a family event - so Tori got to go to her very first football game! It was fun to watch all of the students and also to meet a few of Jared's kids. Tori had a great time watching the game for the first half- and she loved the marching band! After that, we had to let her get down to walk a bit. Sadly, the Red Devils lost the game - but they sure gave it all they had.

Here are a few Red Devil fans getting ready to go to the game!

We all got decked out in Red Devil gear!!!

Tori loves to be on her Daddy's shoulders!

Due to Jared's excellent tutelage, Tori is sure to be an expert on football!!!

And here is our little Red Devil up close and personal - I love her red shoes!

Hurrah for football games - there really is nothing better to do on an awesome fall evening! We hope to be able to go to a few more this season!!!

Our baby girl isn't a baby anymore...

For the longest time Jared and I have both called Tori our "baby girl." But just in the past week we have both come to the same conclusion - our baby girl isn't such a baby anymore. It almost seems as if a flip has switched and Tori has decided that she wants to be a big girl now! While I am a little sad to close the "baby girl" chapter - Jared and I are really excited to see what Tori's "big girl" chapter is going to be all about!!!
It takes us forever to get up the stairs because Tori now stops on pretty much every step to do this... (we are really trying to teach her that the stairs are not a good place to play!)

Tori had whole milk for the first time yesterday. I'm not sure what kind of a reaction I was expecting, but I figured there would be one so I had the camera all ready. Yeah, no reaction at all. She just gave me this look and drank all of her milk!

Tori has always been a pretty good eater - but didn't do so well with the feeding herself thing. And then in the blink of an eye - she loves to feed herself now. I really think that a big part of it is that Tori knows she is eating what Jared and I are eating. I love that it now feels like we are really having family dinner! Can you tell she loves blueberry stuff for breakfast?!!

But I would have to say the biggest "big girl" factor has got to be how much better she is getting at walking! Tori now walks around with her toys...

drinks out of her sippey cup while walking... and many other fun tricks!!!

We would like to welcome our Big Girl and can't wait to see what adventures come with her new title!!!

An Apple for the Teacher!

Jared has now made it through 2 weeks of teaching and he loves it! The only downside has been his classroom. Let's just say that the previous teacher definitely left her mark on the room. Jared was able to get most of his room in order before the students came, but had to leave one area pretty much in chaos. Tori and I were able to join Jared this afternoon to help him get that last area in order. We were so glad that Tori was content with exploring her surroundings, we were able to get much more done. She especially loved the random trick-or-treating pumpkin we found- she had a grand time carrying it all over Jared's room.

But we were even more excited when she decided to take a nap for a bit. Hopefully she will be the only one sleeping in Jared's classroom!!!

After several hours, and with two recycling bins and one huge garbage can stuffed full, Jared now has a classroom!!!

Here is our fabulous first year teacher - doesn't he look right at home?!

Figuring Things Out - Tori Style!!!

I love watching Tori try to figure things out! It is so neat to see how her little mind works - especially when confronted with a new something-or-other. Jared and I gave Tori a little walker toy for her birthday. The main gist is that she can hold onto it and it will help her learn how to walk. But Tori had a different plan...I like to call it knee walking!

That same evening, Tori and I were hanging out in the kitchen. I turned around and couldn't help but laugh! I guess we didn't need to buy her a walker toy - we should have just given her a chair!!!

This girl sure keeps us on our toes - I wonder what will be next?

Let's Take a Stroll...

Ever since Tori had her birthday last week I have been feeling a little more nostalgic than usual. And I must admit - a little more weepy, too. It just keeps hitting me how grown up Tori is getting - especially since she is so close to walking! So, just for fun, I decided to go through some of my favorite pictures of our baby girl. I hope you enjoy the stroll down memory lane as much as I did!!!

Shortly after Tori arrived!

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Our Big One Year Old!!!

This last year has definitely been a great one!!!

Happy Birthday Tori!!!

Our Victoria Mae turned one today!!! This past year has just flown by and left us with a toddler! And yet, it also feels like we have had Tori in our lives for much longer than that. She has brought so much joy along with her - I really don't know what we would do without her!!! I hope you enjoy a few pictures from our Tori's big day!

Grandma Allen sent this adorable birthday outfit - she looked so cute in it!

Here's a better view of Tori's Birthday outfit - she just looks so grown up in her tutu and with her flip flops!

Daddy and the Birthday Girl!!!

Our adorable Miss Mae!

Tori wasn't too sure about the opening presents part (I think she was being a little shy)...

by the end she was finally getting the hang of things!

I love this picture of Tori and Lincoln- and I really wish I knew what Tori was thinking!

This was Tori's first birthday (cup)cake - it turned out so cute (complete with its own tutu)! Of course we had to have a bear for our little Tori Bear!!!

Tori with her first cake!

As we took Tori's cake away to get it all ready, she made a grab for it - hence the chocolate on her face! Somehow we captured this priceless look - I think she wanted her cake back!

Happy Birthday to you...

Jared and I were so proud - Tori dug right into her cake, even if she was a little timid at first!

Here she is just starting out!!!

Oh so good!!!

But once she got going, there was no stopping her!

Yummy cake!!!

Get that bear!

Tori definitely let us know when she was done!

After Tori had a bath, and all of her party guests had departed, she finally found her birthday presents! Jared and I loved watching her just play for a little bit...

Thank you to everyone that celebrated with Tori today - whether near or far!

Happy Birthday Tori - we love you oh so very much!!!