Hangin' with the boys...

Tori has been having a great time playing with her cousins Parker and Lincoln. Not only has she enjoyed the company of other kids, but she has also thoroughly enjoyed the fun new toys that come with boys!

Tori had a great time playing cars with Parker, Lincoln, Uncle Willie, and Nana!

Yep, the cars were a big hit!

Grandpa and Nana gave Tori her very first car - and she loves it!!!

You may think that we set this one up, nope! This happened all by itself, I'm just glad I was able to capture this awesome moment! Hurrah for cousins!!!

Uncle Jake brought over his train sets a couple of nights - Tori had a blast playing with everyone!!!

I think this is one happy little girl!!!

9 Months

Tori is now nine months old - she has been here for 3/4 of a year! It's just so crazy how fast the time has flown by. Jared and I love watching our baby girl learn and grow everyday! This past month Tori has started to lay her head on our shoulders to cuddle. I absolutely love, love, love it!!! Tori had three teeth come in this past month (the grand total is up to four), two on the top and two on the bottom. Another fun development, Tori can turn herself in a complete circle while sitting on her bum. It just amazes us how quickly she figures things out, there really is something new everyday! Here are some fun pictures we took today to celebrate:

Tori Mae is now 9 months old- hurrah!

Our little girl on a big swing!

This month we switched it up a little - here is our Mother-Daughter shot!

And our Daddy-Daughter shot!

Sadly, we forgot Tori's teddy bear. So, we decided to add in a fabulous background (I love my mountains!)!!!

One of the nice thing about being with family is that we could have a family picture taken!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Today was my first Mother's Day as a mother! I'm not sure what I was expecting today to be like, but I have to admit, I had a hard time. And the thing is, I'm not really sure why. I felt completely spoiled by Jared. Dad Allen tracked us down and made sure I had a gorgeous corsage to wear today! I was able to spend part of the day with my Mom and time with Mom Allen via webcam. By all accounts, it was amazing!!! As I have thought about it further, I think it's because it was my first Mother's day. I don't think I was expecting to get so much attention - I've been so worried about making sure our awesome Moms got all the attention and credit they deserve. But as I have realized this, I also realized that it was okay for me to get some attention today that I really am trying to be a great mom. (And I did thoroughly enjoy the chocolates I got after Sacrament meeting.) So, after further reflection, I had an absolutely fabulous first Mother's day!!! And we want to let our Moms know how much we love and appreciate everything you do for us. I don't think we could make it through a week without you! We love you tons and tons!!!

Here is Tori in her outfit we saved especially for today!!!

She looked so adorable!

Hurrah for Mother-Daughter shots! (Isn't my corsage beautiful - thanks Dad Allen!!!)

And it's even better with Grandma!

I'm not quite sure on this one, but I think Tori's visit may have been one of the highlights of the day for Grandma Harrison - just a guess!!!

Flying Away...

My sister Terrah is getting married next week and we get the awesome opportunity to be there for the big day. The only thing about this trip that I have not been completely excited about was Tori's first flight. I have heard all the horror stories of babies crying the entire time because their ears hurt so badly. And it didn't help that Jared couldn't fly out until tomorrow. I have been dreading our flights to Utah for about as long as they have been booked. But today finally came and all started out great - we even got to the airport early. Jared was able to help get us all checked in and our bags and Tori's car seat all taken care of. Then came the moment when we had to part. I guess I really hadn't thought about what that moment would be like for Jared, I have just been so worried about me being alone. I have to say that this was one of the most tender experiences in our little family's history. Jared and I were both doing okay until he gave Tori a hug goodbye. I think that was the last straw, and he broke down. Then I started crying- I really wonder what all of the other travelers were thinking. But even though we will be back together again tomorrow - I am so glad that we had our very tender goodbye today. I think it helped me to realize that this was hard for Jared too. That even though he couldn't physically be with us, he was with us in spirit every single mile of our journey!

Here is our big girl waiting to get on her very first airplane!

This is how she spent part of the first flight and all of the second flight - she did awesome!!! Not one tear at all!

And here she is playing and having a great time on our layover in Denver!

I guess all the dread and worry was for naught, our flights couldn't have gone any better. My baby girl has very healthy eustachian tubes - I am so proud!!! And as usual, Tori won over everyone around us. It really is amazing how powerful her smile is!!!

Tori's Toothy Grin...

We finally got it- our first picture of Tori where you can see her teeth!!! I think this might be my new favorite picture of her!

This is the dress she wore to church today. Thanks Uncle Jim, Aunt Paula, and AJ - we love it!!!

She is just looking more grown up all the time!And just for fun, here are some pictures from bath time tonight...

Definitely a highlight to our night!!!

P.S. Happy Birthday Grandpa Harrison- we can't wait to see you in 4 days!!!

A Warm Reception

This afternoon, Jared was the DJ for a reception for two of our friends from the Singles' Branch here in Indy. I love how happy Jared is when he has a microphone in hand and a bunch of music ready to go on a play list. I must admit that it was a little rocky getting everything all set up. But once we got through a few technical difficulties, the rest was a piece of cake (and we did have some very yummy cake). Tori had a great time being Daddy's helper!

At one point, Jared told me that he wanted to dance with Tori. I turned around to find this...

Can I just say that my heart melted into a big old puddle right then and there! I love how little her toes look on his shoes!!!

Tori must have been channeling the wedding vibe, but I still think she is too young to be wearing a garter :)

By the end of the afternoon, Tori had enjoyed herself so much that she couldn't even manage to stay awake for our ride home!

Congrats on your wedding John and Mary, and thank you for letting us help you to celebrate! We wish you the best of everything in your new life together!!!

All About April

For as long as I can remember, I have loved April. This probably started because that's when my birthday is. But, I also love it because it is usually when Spring decides to really show up and stick around. I love watching the earth come back to life! I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Tori experience her very first April. Here are some fun pictures to help us wrap up this awesome month!

Tori loved all of her walks this month- she gets so excited whenever we head out the door!

This month I was able to attend an Audiology convention here in Indy. And lucky girl, Tori got to come with me. I was so proud of her and how well she did sitting through 10 sessions. Some of the ladies in charge of the convention dubbed her the "ISHA baby." It was so fun watching her win over pretty much everyone in attendance. The best part was catching up with Molly - thanks for helping so much with Tori. This picture was taken right after we got home from a long day, with a long drive home - what a trooper!!!

I never know what I am going to find when Tori plays with Jared...

Her pants sure do make a fun hat!!!

Tori is still not a fan of tummy time, but at least I can get her to smile!!!

Ever since we knew we were having a girl, I have been so excited to get Tori a sun hat. I just think they are so cute. We found the perfect one - Tori looks adorable in it!!!

Don't you just hate it when you get stuck in the middle? She was stuck here for a few minutes, I don't think she knew which way she wanted to go!!!

Tori looks so cute in yellow- a little ray of sunshine!!!

Happy April to all, we hope you have had a great month!!!

My Daddy & Me

One of the things I love the most is watching Jared and Tori together! It just amazes me how close they are and how much fun they have together. I don't know how, but Tori has figured out Jared's morning schedule. For the past month-ish, she will wake up before he has to leave and won't go back to sleep until she has seen him. It is pretty funny watching her try to wake him up (if he isn't up already). She usually starts by grunting at him. If that doesn't work, she may try a kick or two. And if that doesn't work she has started to reach out and scratch his nose or grab his lip. Try and he might to get a few more minutes of sleep, Tori won't give up!!! As soon as Jared leaves, Tori is usually back to sleep within 5 or so minutes. And then when Jared gets home, all Tori has to do is here the door open and she just grins from ear to ear!!!Here are some fun Daddy Daughter pictures from this month - hope you enjoy!!!

Tori loves helping Daddy with his work!

She really couldn't be any happier!!!

Just chillin!

And some more!

No one can get Tori to laugh the way Jared can - I love it!!!

Tori loves her morning Daddy time!

I just love that these two are pals for life!!!

The Big 3-0!!!

Yep, I turned 30 today. I'm not exactly sure how I thought I would feel turning 30, but it strangely didn't hit me as a big deal. Maybe that will come later! On Sunday, we were invited over to Regina for a "Dirty 30" party. I have to admit that I was really worried about what we would be doing at this party. To my relief we had "dirty" food - some awesome meat and Spanish rice. And then we had a "dirty" game of mud thumb wrestling (if I get pictures of this momentous event, I will definitely add them). We had tons of fun!!! Other than that, we were able to talk and catch up with some of our very best friends. Thank you all so much for sharing in celebrating my birthday with me!!!!

Tori had a great time playing with Owen - I love this picture of the two of them!!!

I felt bad that we had such an awesome dinner, and Tori had puffs - it's a good thing she likes them!!!

As usual, Jared completely spoiled me. Thank you so much for all of my fun scrapbooking things. I am so excited to put them to good use!!!

Today, Jared made me an awesome birthday dinner - I love BLTs. They were so yummy!!! Jared and Tori also made me some fabulous and very tasty cherry chip cupcakes!

But, my very favorite gift was one that Jared gave me throughout the day, and he let me in on it this evening. He made sure that he gave me 30 kisses today - and started counting with our kiss goodbye when he left this morning. I love that he kept track of our kisses all day long to make sure we got to 30. Thank you so much for making my birthday so wonderful Jared! I love you oh so very much!!!!

I turned my back...

This afternoon I was working on dishes while Tori was playing in the living room. I had given her a few puffs to eat and left the puffs container by her. After a few minutes, I looked over to check on her and saw this....

She had somehow taken the lid off of the container and was surrounded by a mound of puffs. I think she was in puffs heaven!!!!

Apparently, I need to pay more attention - this little girl is smart!!!!