Dancing Disaster

This week was "bring a friend to dance" week, so Emmalee chose to take Tori as her friend. This was going to help us see how ready she was for summer dance. Tori was very excited about going to dance with Mimi, but once she got back inside the studio, she quickly changed her mind. She told Miss Tracey, "I no like it, I no like it." That was the end of that. Emmalee was crushed and cried too, but everyone calmed down and Emmalee returned to dance lessons. Tori even ventured in for a brief moment. I think her real problem was that she only wanted to jump on the trampoline, like she did at Emmalee's birthday party. However, you can't do whatever you want to do at dance, you have to listen to Miss Tracey and Jorge. Tracey thinks she will be fine this summer; she thinks Tori got overwhelmed by too many big kids making a fuss over her. She is signed up for summer lessons and Fairy Tale Ballet Camp, so I guess we will see!


The girls after leaving McDonald's

Sheer excitement just prior to going into the studio

Doctor Day

Yesterday the girls had four doctors' appointments between them. We headed out at 8:00 with our destination being a 10:00 appointment with a plastic surgeon at Children's Mercy Hospital. Tori was born with a bump over her right eye which has gotten bigger as she has grown. It is getting closer to impeding her vision, so our pediatrician wants us to have it removed. After waiting an hour to see the surgeon, he met with us for 5 minutes, told us she has a dermoid cyst, which is very common and nothing to worry about, and he told us the nurse would schedule our surgery. FOR OCTOBER!!!! In 6 months, Tori is scheduled to have minor surgery which will result in a small incision above her right eyebrow, will have stitches on the inside, and could result in a black eye. There is a 10 % chance the cyst will return. Apparently we will just have to wait until after October to see.

After leaving Children's Mercy, we headed to Crown Center to Emmalee's favorite restaurant, Crayola Cafe. This was Tori's first trip, and though neither girl ate much, they had fun coloring and drinking out of their crayon shaped cups. Once we finished lunch, we went outside to the Playhouses on Parade. These are playhouses that were built and decorated to be auctioned off on Saturday to benefit Habitat for Humanity. The girls loved them and checked out each one so they could decide which style they liked best. After that we went back inside to the Wizard of Oz exhibit, which Emmalee has been to, but Tori was seeing for the first time. They had a great time there as well. Here are some pictures from the "fun" part of the day.

A pretty pink playhouse...

Another pretty pink playhouse, complete with a flower box!

A pretty blue playhouse with a porch (one of mom's favorites)

Here they were trying to sell lemonade out the back window of one of the houses-hilarious!

Emmalee and Tori in the Great Oz's "office".

Inside the "spooky" part
Standing oh-so-still for mommy in front of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion...
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Once we left Crown Center, we headed north for well-child check ups for both the girls, including Emmalee's kindergarten shots. I am well aware that she turned 5 in December, but I have something against taking a perfectly healthy child into a Dr's. office full of sick kids in the winter just to get shots. Plus, I was trying to prolong the inevitable screaming that comes with the appearance of needles. Both girls are in perfect health with Emmalee a bit on the small side, but what's new? Tori is in the 50th percentile for weight and 75 percentile for height, while Emmalee is in the 5th percentile for weight and the 10th percentile for height. I have a feeling that little sister will be outgrowing big sister before very long.

After that appointment and a brief trip to Target for a drink, we headed to the dermatologist to see about some bumps Emmalee has on her tummy. They are mollescum, which look like little warts, but are a virus in the same family as small pox. He treated hers with a bit of medication and then covered them with tape, which was to be removed 30 minutes later. They now look like little blisters and should go away soon. He said that children who have asthma, allergies, and hay fever are more susceptible to them and usually get hundreds (Emmalee has all three conditions but only had 15 bumps when we took her in). He also said that they have a harder time fighting them because of their weakened immune systems, so he treats them more often than children who don't have any of the above listed conditions. This procedure was painless, so Emmalee didn't have anything negative to say about it (until one of the blisters popped open at dance class and bled and then she fussed).

We then headed home and to dance lessons. All in all in was a good day-tiring but fun. I am glad we are caught up on doctors' appointments and hopefully we will get a call that Tori's surgery has been bumped up, as we are on a cancellation list.

Hilarious Moments

Last night was full of hilarious moments. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. They are in black and white because for some reason, after being used in the rain on Easter, the colors of my pictures are messed up unless I do them in black and white. Hopefully the effect is the same-silly little girls playing silly games-good times, good times!

After their baths, Tori decided she was going to put on her pajama bottoms along with her sister's top. Tori thought it was hilarious, but Emmalee didn't find it quite as humorous until she put on Tori's shirt. Though it was an 18 months, it fits like a charm ( a little short in the sleeves, but she could call it 3/4 length!)




The girls were playing "chase" in this picture-basically just running around and around in circles through the living room.

Tori tackling her big sister




Emmalee finally learned how to blow a bubble. She is very proud of herself, and not Tori wants to learn.
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Here is a video I took on my camera-listen closely as Tori is running.

Okay, so the color is horrible on this video, as it was taken on my camera-which is slowly dying after being used in the rain on Easter. However, the hilarity is still there as you watch Tori run around the room in the new shoes that squeak like baby toys with every step she takes. She absolutely loves them, and I think they are annoyingly adorable. She runs full speed through the house and stomps really hard every chance she gets to hear them squeak. She giggles in delight and then takes off again!

Last night was a night of absolutely adorable moments with the girls. Lots of giggling was heard throughout the house, which makes for a great evening.

Tori Turns 2

Well, it is official-Tori is no longer a baby but a toddler. I’m not sure I will be able to stop referring to her as my baby, but she has been well on her way to toddler-hood for several months. It is hard for me to believe she has been with us for 2 years already; it seems like just yesterday I was learning we were having another baby. While I truly believe all children are miracles, I am amazed at the miracle of Tori. When we lost the baby in June of 2006, I wasn’t sure we would ever have another baby. When I found out I was pregnant with Tori, I was thrilled, yet terrified of losing her. Just days later I started having trouble and thought it was the end of this pregnancy as well. After rushing to the Dr. I was surprised to learn I was carrying twins. While the shock of this was settling in, I also received the news that it appeared I was in the process of losing one of them, but I would just have to wait until my next appointment to find out for sure. I ultimately did lose the baby and have wondered over the past two years what life would have been like with Tori and her twin. Times like her birthday are bittersweet, as I thank God for the time we have had with Tori but mourn the loss of her twin. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason, and God gives you only as much as you can handle, so I try to just be thankful for each day with Tori and to not take away from the wonders she brings to us daily.

Her birthday, despite being on the same day as Easter, was still a special day for us. We celebrated with singing and yummy cookies at Gamma and Pappi’s. She was in a good mood despite no nap, and the day was perfect. She is funny, loving, cuddly, and ornery all rolled in to one big ball of adorable. She finds ways to test my patience, at the same time melting my heart with her smiles, hugs, and kisses. I am amazed at all the things she has accomplished in her life, and I can’t wait so see what the future holds for her.

Here she is while everyone is singing to her

Licking the frosting off the yummy cookies

Getting ready to share some frosting with cousin Cobi

Still eating the frosting-her favorite part

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Happy birthday Tori!

Easter 2009

Easter 2009 was lots of fun. We started off the festivities decorating eggs. The girls really got into it, and I wasn’t sure we would ever get the green coloring off Tori’s hands. Eventually we did, and the eggs turned out beautifully. The next morning brought about excitement over the gifts left by the Easter bunny and then a rush to get dressed and off to church with my family in Richmond. The service was amazing, as was the behavior of the kiddos. We then went back to Gamma and Pappi’s for lunch, opening more gifts, play time with the cousins, and a short rainy Easter egg hunt in the front yard. The girls had a great time and were so worn out that Tori actually slept through the night in her big girl bed-this was a feat within itself! Here are some pics of the fun-filled day.

Tori coloring eggs

Emmalee coloring eggs

Emmalee checking out the goodies left by the Easter Bunny

Tori checking out her gifts from the Easter Bunny

Our two pretty princesses posing for the camera

Emmalee's School Party

Emmalee had her final preschool holiday party last week. I wasn’t able to attend due to MAP testing, but Gamma stepped in and took her, along with some adorable Easter egg cupcakes. Emmalee had a great time and the weather was nice, which was a plus. Here are some pictures.

Emmalee with the yummy cupcakes

Playing with the bubble wand Jadelynn brought for her

Hunting eggs at the park

Posing for the camera

Tori Turns 2 (well, almost...)

Tori's second birthday is on Easter this year. We typically have our birthday parties on the Saturday closest to the actual birthday, but this year we held Tori's early. We didn't want to try to get a birthday party and Easter egg decorating all into the same day, so her party was this past Saturday. Tori has been in love with Abby Cadabby for almost all her short little life, so we had an Abby "Dabby" party, as Tori would say. A great time was had by all! We are all adjusting to the fact that Tori is growing up so quickly, but some of us are handling it much better than others. Emmalee broke down in tears several times on Saturday, sobbing that Tori was growing up too fast and would some day leave her. Funny, since Emmalee is actually the first one we expect to leave home (not that we are rushing her into it or anything...). I started a tradition for Tori last year by taking various pictures from her birth up until her birthday and making them into a video. I did so again this year with her pictures from her first birthday up until her second. Emmalee cried hysterically when she watched it. I certainly hope the two of them stay this close forever!

Here are some pictures of the big day.

This is Tori getting her first glimpse of the bookcase her very talented Pappi made for her. It is a dollhouse bookcase that is almost as tall as mommy. So far Tori hasn't tried climbing to the top shelf, but I say give her time!

Here are Emmalee and Tori anxiously awaiting the arrival of some of our guests.

The birthday girl

This is the rocking chair Gamma and Pappi gave her. She loves to rock.

Here she is sampling her very yummy Abby Cadabby cake, which Gamma made for her.

All in all it was a wonderful day, though it went by much too quickly. Happy birthday cupcake!