Notes on November

I don't know if it is like this for everyone else, but it sure seems like the last few months of the year speed by much faster than any of the others. It always seems that the time just slips away and I wonder what we have done with the month. Which is another reason why I love looking back through our monthly pictures, it helps me to remember the not-so-huge events that fill in all the gaps and make life fun and interesting! Here are a few notes on our November!!!

I may have mentioned that Tori has started to climb on things. But when she decided to climb into the shelf, it took things to a whole new level. Of course, she saved this for when we were chatting with Jared's family on Skype - they thought it was hilarious!

This may sound strange, but I have found that it is much easier to change Tori's crib sheet if I just pull the whole mattress out first. It takes much less effort and stress to do it this way than to try and move her crib out and get everything all tucked in while the mattress is still inside. Anyways, Tori loves it when I pull the mattress out - for some reason it is much more fun on the ground!

Oh how I love that toothy grin!!!

I'm not sure why, but Tori has so much fun trying to crawl through tight spaces!

Another beautiful smile - it just melts my heart!!!

As it has started to get cold, we knew that we needed to get Tori a good coat. We also knew that we wanted to get it a little big in hopes of getting two seasons use out of it. After much pondering and asking around, we decided to get a 24 month size. All I can say is - Tori looks like a little ragamuffin when she is wearing it! Who knows, we might get three seasons out of it!!!

Jared had another swim meet tonight - the kids did so great!!! The boys were amazing, and the girls did so much better than their meet last week. Tori was so tuckered out by the end, but she was still so good! She loves watching all of the kids swim, but she loved her cuddle time with Daddy even more!

Yeah for November, it has been a very great month!!!

Addendum

I almost forgot a really fun part of our ornament excursion! We had a really good coupon that I wanted to use, but it would mean that Jared and I had to buy our ornaments at the same time. Since we try to keep them a surprise, I wasn't quite sure how that was going to turn out. So, as we stepped into the Hallmark store and up to the cash register area, we tried to explain our plight to the lady behind the counter. I was really just hoping that she would put them in separate bags, or something along those lines. She went way beyond that! I got Jared's first and she proceeded to wrap his ornament box in tissue paper so he couldn't look through the bag - so cute! Then she did the same thing with mine when Jared stepped up to the counter. She made sure that neither of us where anywhere near as she was ringing up the ornament for the other. But she saved the best part for last, she took our receipt and put it in an envelope - complete with a golden Hallmark sticker- to make sure neither one of us could peek at it until they were opened. Hurrah for the Hallmark Lady- she made obtaining our ornaments even more fun than usual! She definitely got a gold star for the day!!!

An Ornamental Evening

Every year Jared's family had a great tradition where everyone got a new ornament. It had to have the year on it somewhere and had to relate to an event that had taken place during the year. I am so glad that we have decided to keep this tradition with our own family! It is so fun looking at ornaments and trying to find the one that will be perfect!

Tori and I made sure that we had everything all ready for Family Home Evening tonight. This included setting up the tree, wrapping ornaments, and pulling out all of our fun Christmas decorations. As a side note, for the past two years when we have lived in apartments it seemed like we had tons of Christmas decorations. Now that we live in a house, I realized that we have much more space to fill - little by little I am sure we will get there!!!

Here is Tori discovering the Christmas tree!

It was so fun watching her touch the branches. I was quite impressed with how gentle she was - we'll see how long that lasts!!!

Jared and I found Tori's ornament really early this year.

It is called the Wibble Wobble Reindeer. This was perfect since Tori learned how to walk this year - she was definitely a little wibbly and wobbly at first!

I think it was a hit - at least it passed the taste test!!!

I had a really fun time finding Jared's ornament. I was going to go with the obvious school house or something teacher-ish. But I decided to take a different route that I don't think Jared was expecting...

Yeah for a golf ornament, and I have three reasons why this was the absolute best ornament for Jared this year!!!

1- Jared got a hole in one when he landed his first job - which really has turned out to be his dream job!

2- This is the first year that Jared and I went golfing together!!!

3- This is the first year that Jared has beaten Jon Willison in golf!!!!! (Sorry Jon, but that really was one of my reasons)

So, there you have it - the perfect ornament. And even better, Jared was thrilled!!!

And now for my ornament! Every year I am so excited to see what Jared picks out for me, and every year he always does a great job!!!

Yeah for a new home ornament!!!

This ornament is absolutely beautiful and Jared's reason for getting it for me made it even more so. He said that together we bought our house, but it was me that has made it a home! Yep, I have the best and sweetest husband ever!!!

Now that our tree is up, with favorite new and old ornaments all over, it really feels like Christmas! I have always loved Christmas trees- for some reason there is something so magical about them. And I love the beautiful reminder it is about this wonderful season and the light that the Savior brings into our lives! We hope that you all are enjoying this wonderful Christmas season too!!!

Things are Stacking Up

Last night we were chatting with Grandma Harrison and Aunt Anna over Skype. Things were moving along pretty normally. We were talking while we were all watching Tori play with her toys and books. And then out of nowhere, Tori pulls out her latest and greatest skill...

I love that she had such a great time stacking her blocks all by herself! Her giggle is one of my most favorite sounds ever!!! Then she decided to climb on her little scooter. Up until now, she would sit on it or try and stand on it. Not tonight, again she pulled out something new...

I really think that Tori just saves up all of her new things for Sundays. She knows that will be her biggest and best audience!!! We'll have to see what she does next week - no pressure Tori!!!

Tori's First Feast!!!

This year we were once again invited over the the Willison's to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family. The Clarke family was also able to come and we enjoyed getting to know them better. As we were finishing up with all of the cooking, the kids had a great time playing together. Tori has always been pretty good about playing near other kids, but not really with them. But this week she has started to turn into a little social butterfly.

Here she is, just one of the kids!

Tori loved all of the fun new toys to play with, and Jared did too!!!

Here she is with her very first Thanksgiving dinner! Tori at least tried everything and I would probably say that she liked the sweet potatoes best.

She showed once again that she is Daddy's girl when we got to dessert and she ate an entire piece of banana cream pie!!!

Here are all of the kids!

Tori, Lincoln, and Christian matched so nicely that we tried to get a few pictures of them together...

too bad Tori was done with picture taking!

I was very excited that we got a family photo taken as well!!!

Thanksgiving is really a wonderful holiday! I love that we have a whole day set aside to remember and be grateful for all of our blessings! This past year, we have been truly blessed. We have been blessed that I could stay home with Tori. We have been blessed with Jared's amazing job. We have been blessed with a beautiful house to live in and wonderful neighbors that surround us. Most of all, we have been blessed to have the gospel in our lives - to know that our Savior sacrificed so much for us so that we can live with Him again one day! There really couldn't be a better blessing than that!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone- we hope yours was just as grand as ours!!!

Tori's New Throne!

At Tori's 15 month well baby check she weighed in at a whopping 20 pounds 2 ounces (with her shoes and jacket on!!!). Jared and I were ecstatic! You may be asking yourself why - what is so great about Tori being over 20 pounds? Well, she can now move into a front facing car seat - something that we have been hoping for for some time now. It's not that her old car seat was bad, it was just starting to get more and more snug. And with her legs getting longer, it didn't look very comfortable. And how much fun can it be looking at the back of a seat the whole time you are in the car? So, here is Tori's new throne!!!

Tori had a great time helping Jared get it all put together!

Tori, Jared, and I all think that we scored a "touchdown" with this car seat!!!

It cracked us up that Tori was so interested in the car seat as soon as we got it out of the box!

I think we are all ready to go for quite some time!!!

An Incredible Phenomenon

For the last couple of weeks Tori has started sharing her toys. This usually consists of her handing me one of her numerous dolls or stuffed animals. Without even thinking about it I typically pull the doll in close to me and gently pat it on the back. A few days ago, with a little bit of shock and utter delight, I noticed that Tori is now doing this with her toys...

While Jared and I both think it's absolutely adorable, it has really caused me to reflect on the great responsibility we have as parents. If Tori will copy something as little as how I hold a toy, what else will she copy? And also, is she seeing the things we would like her to learn enough to copy them? I really hope that she is seeing us pray and read our scriptures enough- or even more than enough. I hope that she sees us being kind to one another and to those around us. I hope that she sees us being grateful for all of our numerous blessings. I hope that she sees us living the gospel and truly being disciples of Jesus Christ. And I hope and pray that these are the things that she will copy and make a permanent part of her life. I know that these are the things that make us happy and bring us the most joy because they bring us closer to our Savior!

It's Play Time

There is just something magical about going to see a live production! Jared and I were able to go to several plays and musicals as we were dating and during the first year of our marriage. We always had such a great time and looking back I am so glad that we took the time to make those memories. When Tori came along we just kind of fell out of our play-attending ways. But that all changed tonight when we took Tori to see her very first musical - Beauty and the Beast! I must admit, Jared and I were both really nervous about taking Tori - we just weren't sure how she would do. But we had promised a few of the youth in our ward that we would come, so we decided to take the plunge. And I am so glad that we did! Plainfield High School did a fantastic job in performing Beauty and the Beast and Tori loved, loved, loved it!!! She was fascinated with all of the lights and props, she loved the music, and loved watching all of the kids perform! I guess we shouldn't have been surprised that she was an absolute angel the entire time. And to the youth in our ward - you all did amazing!!! We were so impressed with how well you all did and we are so glad that we could be there to support you! All of the hours and hard work definitely showed! We can't wait for the next show!!!

Here is Tori with Lauren (townsperson, napkin, and angry mob member), Jordan (Aristocratic Lady, fork, and defender of the castle), and Aaron (Maurice)!

A huge congrats as well to Ryan (LeFou), and Ben, Alec, and Justin that were in the orchestra!!!

1st Meet

Tonight Tori and I were able to attend Jared's very first swim meet as a coach! It was so much fun seeing him in his coaching role and watching him with the other coaches and students. Tori loved watching the girls swim and was enthralled with the pool and all of the water. I think she would have taken a little swim herself if we had let her! Even though the Pike girls didn't win, they all did such a great job! It amazes me how quickly and how far they can all swim- and they make it look so easy! I am so glad that we were able to be a part of this with Jared and can't wait for the upcoming meets!!!

Here is Tori watching the girls swim - she had such a great time!!!

Here she is with her Daddy - who had a great time showing her off to everyone!!!

Way to go Coach, you did a great job tonight!!!

Dancing Through Life

As I may have mentioned before, I am not much of a dancer. Don't get me wrong - I really enjoy dancing, but have always felt a little bit awkward while doing it. Which is why I love that Jared's family dances all the time- they just have a great time dancing and don't worry about anything else. When Jared took me to to meet his family for the first time, I loved watching them swing dance in the living room and had a great time line dancing with them in the aisle at a Brooks and Dunn concert! Those are still some of my favorite first memories with the Allen family. Jared has really helped me not to feel so awkward and to just enjoy dancing so much more than I ever did! Anyways, I have really been hoping that Tori would take after her Daddy's side and love to dance. And I think she is well on her way!!! Without further ado - here is Tori's very first dance move!!!

Getting Ready

I am hosting a baby shower at our house this evening. As stated in the previous blog, Tori is becoming a big helper. And today has been no exception- especially when I pulled out the balloons. Tori thought it was great when they were all separate, but for some reason she loved them even more when I started tying them onto some yarn. I seriously think Tori was in heaven!

And she soon became entwined in all of the balloons and yarn!

Talk about having a great time- and we only had one casualty!

My favorite was watching her run around and giggle!

I probably shouldn't have let her play with them so much, it took me a good 20 minutes to get everything untangled. Oh well!

And then to add on top of everything else, I turn around and there she is standing on a chair!

I figured she used our other chairs near by to give herself a boost up. So I promptly moved the chair across the room. A few minutes later she was back up on the chair!

And she seemed to be pretty proud of herself!!!

Now I need to make sure I watch her even more- getting off the chair is still a little shaky!

One year and a quarter!

Or, in other words - Tori is now 15 months old! Can you believe it, me neither. Once again it just shows how fast time flies by. So, you may be wondering what our 15 month old is like. Well, she is becoming such a great helper. Tori helps me put away her bath toys every night and will sometimes help put away her toys, books, and lids! She has a thing with closing things. For instance, if I happen to leave a drawer open, she follows right behind and closes it for me. This does get her into trouble every once in a while when she shuts herself into a room. Luckily, she is never stuck for too long! Tori has decided that she likes to climb on pretty much everything. So far we haven't had too many bruises from her falling off of things! Overall, Tori is just happy and smiling and brings such joy into our lives. These past 15 months have been the best months ever!!! So here she is in all her 15 month birthday glory...

I was so happy that Tori left her hat on long enough for me to get a picture!!!

Such a sad face when I wouldn't let her lick the camera.

But she was happy and smiling again in no time!!!

My new favorite sound...

is most often heard in Tori's new favorite place to play. So, Tori has started to turn into a climber. Friday night she figured out how to get herself up onto the couch and that is where her fun began. (And also where we have had a few scary moments when she decided to dive off head first - not fun for me or Jared). I have no idea why, but she loves playing on the couch. And that is also where we hear her new fun giggle/squeal more than anywhere else. So this morning, I decided that this super-cute sound just had to be sent out into the world. I hope that it helps brighten your day, just like it does for us!!!

We love to read!!!

I have always loved to read! I have no idea how many nights I have stayed up into the wee hours because I had hit 'the point of no return' and just had to finish my book before I could sleep. So, I am thrilled that Tori is a fellow book lover. It has been so fun watching her relationship with her books grow. Her latest- speed reading!!! She definitely gets this attribute from Jared - he is the fastest reader I know! I just wonder how she can take it all in so quickly...

I love how much joy she gets from those pages! Jared and I both hope that Tori's love of books and reading will stick with her for her entire life!!!