March Madness

No, this is not a post about basketball - our brackets died quite early this year. But it still seemed like our March was full of much madness!!! And we will start out with a prime example:

This is what you look like when Daddy uses you as a golf bag!

Tori got so frustrated, but couldn't figure out how to get them out!

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures of making Grandma Allen's apron...

Needless to say, we had paint everywhere- but it turned out super cute!!!

Caught red handed!

This month Tori discovered how to get into the kitchen drawers - she sure keeps us on our toes!

This picture just makes me grin- I guess even a princess needs her glass of milk before bed!!!

Tori should just be dubbed our second vacuum - she can find the craziest things on the floor. And of course she still tries to eat them!

One morning Jared and I walked around the corner to find Tori wearing my sweatshirt. I really wish we could have seen her getting it on - I have never even seen her try to put on anything other than socks or shoes. But, one thing is for sure, she was very proud of herself!!!

Daddy must have been pretty tired, because Tori was not being quiet or still - love it!!!

I just love watching Jared and Tori play- he can get her laughing like no one else!!!

We have no idea how Tori's hair ended up like this...

Maybe she turned a few circles on her head during the night!!!

The past week or so, Tori's favorite game has been peek-a-boo!

And to finish things off - an absolutely adorable picture of our Tori Bear!!!

Huzzah for all of our March madness - it really was an awesome month!!!

Saying Goodbye

Whenever it comes time to say goodbye, the lyrics from a song in the movie The Muppets Take Manhattan usually run through my mind. The thing is - they really sum up a few of my feelings about goodbyes. So, here are some of the lyrics and a few more pictures from our past week!

"Saying goodbye, why is it sad? Makes us remember the good times we've had!

You're in my heart, so until then, it's time for saying goodbye!"

Thank you for coming to visit us Grandma Allen, Uncle Alec, Uncle Dillon, and AJ! We had a fantastic week and can't wait until we can do it again!!! We love you all so much and miss you already- MWAH!!!

A Birthday Celebration

Today, amidst having a ton of fun at Camp Camby, we also got to celebrate Grandma Allen's birthday! Our big birthday activity was playing a Disney singing game on the Wii. I am so glad that we didn't record any of the ones Jared and I sang - not so good! But everyone else sounded like angels! Best of all, we had a great time singing and laughing together!!! We were so excited to have Grandma open her gift since it was a big collaboration between us and Douglas, Nikki, and Linken! Just in case you can't tell - these are Tori and Linken's hand prints on an apron. We knew Grandma would love having her grand kids just a little bit closer- especially since they are her #1 fans!!!

Tori loved helping Grandma blow out her birthday candles!

Yeah for birthdays - I am so glad that we were able to share this one with Grandma Allen while she was here!!!

Outside Adventures

Today Tori discovered the joy of playing with bubbles and sidewalk chalk! Grandma Allen, Uncle Alec, and Uncle Dillon were the perfect people to show her the ropes of these two fabulous activities - and they all had a grand time!!!

Colored bubbles make for a bit of a mess, but some awesome pictures!

Tori is such a big girl - she wanted to blow some bubbles too!!!

Yeah for bubbles - we love them!!!

Definitely a fine work of art!

Tori was very intent on her coloring!

Hurrah for sidewalk chalk!!!

The funny thing is that blowing bubbles and coloring with sidewalk chalk may not seem like such a big deal - but talk about some amazing memories (and very adorable pictures)!!!

Trip to the Zoo

Today we took our guests to visit the Indianapolis Zoo. Since Tori was pretty little still last year, we have never ventured out as a family. So, it was even more fun that this was also Tori's first trip to the zoo! Uncle Dillon was our route mapper-outer and he did a fantastic job! We started our zoo adventure in the ocean area. Uncle Alec was the only one brave enough to actually pet a shark - the rest of us were just fine watching!!!

Tori loved, loved, loved seeing all of the animals- this picture of her is so adorable!

I have no idea why, but Tori was fascinated by this huge iguana!

The giraffes were a huge hit - it was neat being so close to them!

The elephants were a big hit too! Uncle Alec was especially excited to show Tori her first real elephant!!!

Yep, we all loved the elephants!!!

We ended out trip to the zoo at the dolphin show- which couldn't have been more perfect. As you can tell by the picture- Tori was completely worn out by this point. So, she sat there like an angel and enjoyed all of the fun dolphin tricks!

Yeah for our first trip to the zoo - it was a huge success and tons of fun!!!

Christmas in March!

Today we went shopping with Grandma Allen, Uncle Alec, Uncle Dillon, and AJ. Basically, we got spoiled!!! Jared and I are so grateful for the new clothes and shoes for Tori - she will continue to look absolutely adorable at all times!!! In the middle of our trip, we made a stop at Pet Smart to see if they had any puppies for Tori to look at. We struck out on the puppies, but she loved checking out the fish with Uncle Alec!!! (I love this picture :) )

If I had to make a guess, I would say that our last stop at Toys R Us was Tori's favorite of the day. I loved that Uncle Dillon was so concerned that she kept wanting to play with "boy toys." I think my favorite part of our trip was walking from the toy store to our car! Grandma let Tori pull our her new pusher popper toy - Tori was in heaven!!!

Tori and Uncle Dillon took a quick break on the way back - I love this one too!

But I think this is my absolute favorite picture of our trip!!! It really struck me that, yes, Tori loved her new toy, but I don't think that is why she was so happy. I think it was because she knew she was surrounded by people that love her so very much!!!

It cracked me up that Tori wouldn't even let go of her toy when Uncle Dillon gave her a ride!

As I said at the first, today we got spoiled! But I think that part of the spoiling came from watching Tori create so many fun memories with her family- that made it Christmas for me!!!

Be Our Guest

This evening we welcomed a whole bunch of visitors from Texas! Grandma Allen, Uncle Alec, Uncle Dillon, and AJ get to spend the next week with us and we have been so excited for them to get here! I always wonder how long it will take Tori to get reacquainted with everyone - and the answer is not very long at all!!!

It was so much fun watching her cuddle and play with Grandma...

read books with Uncle Alec...

and realize that she had a very willing audience to entertain!!!

Tori was in heaven having some many fun people here to play with!

Uncle Dillon got her giggling like crazy (so cute)!!!

And then Uncle Dillon and Grandma helped Tori watch for Daddy to get home! (I really love this picture)

Yeah for fun guests - this week is going to be a blast!!!

Energy to Burn...

or, Going Crazy - Tori Style!!!

This afternoon, Tori has been running around yelling with pure delight! Personally, I think she is celebrating that her Daddy gets to be home so much more now that swimming is over!!! But alas, we may never know what prompted an entire afternoon of this...