Cowgirl

Keith and Robyn got their horses out for the kids to ride on Memorial Day. Tori LOVED them. Just look at her reaching out for them and then her face lighting up when she finally gets a turn to ride.

Tate, meanwhile, was begging me to let him go back to the yard and play. He was content just watching the horses from a distance, although he finally did warm up and have a ride himself.

Life Lately . . .

Oh yes, we've been keeping busy around here. Life is good and we've been having fun. Here's a little bit of what we've been up to:

Eating lasagna and ENJOYING every bit of it.

Visiting the penguins at the Aquarium. (There were actual live penguins there, we just didn't get any pictures of those.)

Finding out that there are penguins just your size.

Cuddling with blankies and sucking our thumbs.

Visiting Idaho and getting rides on the motorcycle with Uncle Tyson.

Learning to walk! And getting pretty good at it, too. (I know. A still-shot just doesn't do it justice. It's much more exciting in action.)


Building and playing on our new swing set.

Loving the slide.

Celebrating Mother's Day with Oma.

Pretending to be a little mother ourselves. (Tori hasn't met a baby-doll yet that she didn't love)

Figuring out that we are so blessed to have everything that we do, and being reminded to enjoy every minute.

For those of you that don't know, Tori was diagnosed with an ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) in April. Translation: She has a moderate sized hole in her heart that will need to be repaired at some point. She is still happy and healthy, so the doctors want to wait for her to get bigger before she has surgery. Right now we're looking at either open-heart surgery, or a catheter procedure in which a device will be placed in her heart to patch the hole by going up through a blood vessel in her leg. We are hoping that the latter is a possibility, but we will just have to wait and see. We are so thankful for such awesome doctors, nurses, and medical advances. And for this amazing little girl.

Changes

My wonderful husband sent me these flowers because, as many of you have heard, I am changing jobs. This Monday I start training with a company that will allow me to continue to work in my chosen field, but with a more flexible schedule. I get to train at the office for a few months, and then I'll have the opportunity to do most of my work from home. I am so incredibley excited about this change, even though I know it comes with it's own set of challenges. I feel like it is a huge answer to our prayers.

This weekend also brought a welcome change in the weather. Our lawn was covered in three inches of snow last week, but it warmed up nicely on Saturday and allowed us to spend the day in the backyard. Tate and Tori loved having rides in the wagon, playing baseball, and just being able to run around. Tori also rediscovered her distaste for grass. You can see in the last picture that her sock fell off and she refused to put her bare foot on the ground. She just sat there crying with her foot held in the air. I thought it was hilarious.

Happy Easter

The traditional dying of the eggs. (I know you are all jealous of the quality of my photos. Ha, ha.) It was hilarious this year because Tate just sat staring at the submerged eggs repeating, "They're dying. They're dying."

Tori kept herself entertained while we colored the eggs.

Tate looks like he is still mourning the death of the eggs in this one.

Of course the Easter Bunny came. And I am so sad that I won't be able to say, "You'd better stop that or the Easter Bunny won't come" for a whole year.

Tate finally got into the whole "egg-hunt idea" when he figured out that there were more than two eggs hidden in the living room. He was so sweet as he shared some his findings with Tori and filled her basket up, too.

Tori was mostly into shaking the eggs.

And dumping out her basket.

It was a fun weekend and we enjoyed having family around to celebrate Easter with us. We are so thankful to have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and his atonement and resurrection. It is what makes our lives so meaningful.

One Year Stats

Tori Kathleen Handley

Age: 1 year

Weight: 18 lb 13 oz (20th percentile)

Height: 28 1/8 in (30th percentile)

Head Circumference: 18 in (60th percentile)

This girl is growing up more and more every day. She can free stand for minutes at a time, is cruising all around the house, and is so, so close to walking. She just has to decide that it's her idea. She only has two teeth, but is working hard on getting a few more. She has said bye-bye to her bottle and formula, and is now using a sippy-cup (and occasionally a regular cup) to drink cows milk. Tori loves to eat anything she can feed herself. She is very independent and loves to explore and get into EVERYTHING! If there is something she can't get into on her own, she will point to whatever it is she wants and squeal. I can't believe my sweet baby is almost gone, but I just love the spunky little toddler she is turning into.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Tori Girl!

Tori turned one year old on March 13th! I know, I can't believe it either. We had a fun, little birthday bash with grandpas and grandmas and aunts and uncles. Thanks to everybody who came to celebrate with us!

Tori with her Aunt Andrea

The cake. Before.

And the cake after.

Notice how clean Tori's face is. She licked a bit of frosting off her finger, but was otherwise uninterested in eating. She did have a good time mushing and smashing, however.

Tori, opening her presents . . . Let me rephrase that: Tate, opening Tori's presents.

Opa and Oma gave Tori a baby doll that she became immediately attached to. She didn't want to put her baby down on all day. It is so cute to watch her cuddle, rock, and pat her baby.

She figured out how to push around her Walk-n-Ride toy without having to put down her baby. Smart girl.

Tori with all of her loot. No, we didn't just strap her down so she would hold still. She actually received that stroller as a gift . . . and if it happens to conveniently restrain the child so she sits still for a picture, fabulous :)

New Stuff

New Hair-Do's: Yes, those are little spikes of hair behind those bows! I have so much fun now that Tori's hair is just long enough to play with.

New Glasses: Tate snapped his glasses in half during a temper tantrum in November. They have been held together with tape, a paper clip, a twist tie, and epoxy for two and a half months (look closely at the picture above). He saw the eye doctor last week, and we are happy to announce that his eyes have improved! So he got new glasses with a new prescription. Good news all around. And Tate was sure to thank Heavenly Father in his prayers for his "glasses without tape on them."

New Skills: We took Tate bowling for the first time on Phil's birthday. We had a lot of fun and Tate found a new sport that he loves. His favorite part was to push the ball down the lane without the help of the ramp . . . and watch for the next ten or fifteen minutes until the ball finally met the pins.

New Tooth: Tori's first tooth broke ground a few weeks ago. She now has a cute, lop-sided little grin.

Note: Cute, lop-sided grin not pictured above due to lack of cooperation from child.