Visiting

Bridget and Tor got to spend time visiting Ava and Harper.  Tor was a little apprehensive at first but soon warmed up especially with Uncle Steve who got down on the floor to play ball with him.  He remembered Aunt Dianne so went to her willingly.  The girls got him out a lot of baby toys to play with but he went right for any ball laying around.  Bridget was thrilled to see everything new and enjoyed looking at this book and finding the hidden princesses with Harper.  I left for awhile to put Tor down for a nap and Bridget did just fine staying and playing.

3 in the Tub!

No school today for Jillian so she got to join Bridget and Tor in the tub.  Tor loves the tub and he's not shy about splashing a lot and getting wet.  I let him stay in for quite awhile till the water got too high and then when I took him out he let me know he wasn't happy.  The girls stayed in the tub at least an hour today playing all kinds of games.  After Tor was dressed he kept making a beeline for the tub, trying to climb back in.

First Step and Squished Fingers

Tor took his first step and stayed on his feet today, when he was at home with Mommy. He's been kind of a wild boy when he's on his feet, just falling forward and hoping someone will catch him. So it's nice to have him controlling himself somewhat.

Not long after that, Tor crawled toward the bathroom where Bridget was. He pulled himself up at the door, with his fingers in the gap. That's when Bridget was done using the bathroom and tried to close the door. Ouch!!! Tor screamed, one of his little fingers having a serious dent in it. We checked it out, but Tor didn't want us messing with it at all. Mommy went ahead and took him to St. John's, but after awhile in the waiting room, he was back to his rambunctious self and his finger wasn't bothering him, so they came back home.

Park Weather

Thanks to the nice weather, the kids have gotten to go to the park quite a bit in January. Even though it's sunny, it's pretty chilly so we don't stay too long. But, it's long enough to get some energy out.

Mommy's Birthday Party

We had a small birthday celebration for Mommy on Saturday, even though her birthday is on Wednesday, with Grannie & Papa Bob, Papa Ken, Cindy and Scott, and Aunts Lynne, Robin & Julie. The girls were very excited, and worked very hard at decorating Mommy's big present. They had no idea what it was (it was a cruiser bicycle ... something Heather has wanted for some time). Instead of cake, Grannie made 3 pies, and the girls helped blow out the candles ... actually, Jillian blew them all out the first time and Bridget got very upset, so we lit them again and let Bridget blow them all out by herself.

Standing Boy

Tor has figured out how to balance himself when on his feet, so he's officially a standing boy. Most of the time, the only time he stands, either on his own or when we prop him up, is when he has something in his hands to distract himself. Otherwise, he doesn't see much need to stay up when he can get down and crawl really fast.

Dr. Bridget

Both Jillian and Bridget have been playing a lot of doctor lately.  (Maybe a medical future just like Mommy.)  Usually though Jillian always gets to be the doctor and Bridget gets stuck being the patient, so when Jillian is at school Bridget is the doctor taking care of all her babies.  Here she is feeling the baby's head for a fever and ready to check her heartbeat.  They have a toy stethoscope that shows a heart beating when you check it that they love to use.  Sometimes she tries to doctor Tor but he will have none of that.

Fun Visitors

 Ava and Bridget played together several times when the twins came to visit.  They all went from toy set to toy set, even playing with Tor's toys.

 Harper had a lot of fun interacting with Tor when she wasn't with the other two playing princess dolls.  Tor loved the attention and Harper thought it was funny when Tor was always trying to grab her hair.  I think Tor enjoyed having them here as much as Bridget, as he was always following them around and extremely interested in everything they did.  He is a very curious guy.

 When Papa left the dishwasher open, Tor thought it was the perfect place to explore.  He had to keep bent over as there wasn't enough room to sit up all the way.

The girls always have a frozen Gogurt as a snack before bedtime and Tor wanted one too.  At first he wasn't sure, as it was so cold, but he got the hang of it and ate the whole thing.  Every time that I took it from him to push up the Gogurt he would holler his loudest, wanting it back right now.  Not a lot of patience yet when it comes to time to eat.  He always has a good appetite.

Cookies and Stuck

 I wanted to try this recipe out for chocolate peanut butter cookies that was so simple so I asked Bridget to do it.  She mixed it up great but there was something missing in the recipe as the dough was so runny.  We added a lot of flour and then decided to try it.  Bridget put them on the pan but mashed each one down so when I cooked them it was one sheet cookie.  I cut them up and Bridget frosted one and put sprinkles on it and said it was very good.  I tried one and threw the rest out as they were dry and too tough to eat.  Not Bridget's fault at all.

Tor let out a cry and I found him behind the sofa stuck!  He looked at me and put his head against the sofa and just sat there quietly.  As soon as I set the camera back he figured it out and crawled out happy but I felt so bad for him at first when he put his head against the sofa and wouldn't even smile at the camera.

Little Ham

 

Tor sat looking at Mocha for a long time deciding if he could approach.  It was like he was studying his options. 

 

Then he finally reached out to touch Mocha, whose defense is to lick Tor in the face so Tor will back off.  Then when I went to take another picture of them, Tor saw the camera and gave me his big smile and took off crawling to get my camera.  It looked easier to play with than Mocha, I guess.

Busytown

Any night is family game night at our house, especially when we play Busytown. We got this boardgame for Christmas, and the girls LOVE it! They're always on-edge when the "pigs eat" and they're busy little girls when a Goldbug card is drawn. Best of all, we all win and lose together, so no one gets terribly upset.

Daddy's Birthday

I didn't know this photo was taken until I checked the camera, so here it is ... a picture of Daddy and Bridget getting ready to blow out the candles on Daddy's birthday cake.

Playing Ball

 Tor seems to love playing with soccer balls or little basketballs.  We played a game of throw and catch for quite awhile.  He always seems to catch on to things so quickly.

I would give the ball to him and he would toss it back to me.  Sometimes if it didn't go far enough he would kick it with his foot.  I tired of this game before he did.

Basketball Game

Tor went to his first basketball game tonight, and he closely watched everything that was going on with big, wide eyes. Plus, he kept his serious game-face on the whole time. Not only did we (Daddy, Tor and the girls) get to watch Ty and Brock, but we also got to see Cale get honored before the game.

A Climber

 In the morning I wet down Tor's hair and brushed it.  As soon as it dried it was standing up all over like normal. 

 Oh No!  When I went down to put a load in the washer, I took Tor and sat him down.  I turned around and he was climbing the stairs.  Papa went behind him and about 4 stairs up he turned around and tumbled.  He has no fear.  Later he climbed up on the ledge beside the hot tub.  Now those places are off limits.

About 6 months ago I put away all the pet shop stuff since they had tired of it.  Yesterday Bridget helped me get it out and that was all she played with.  When Jillian got home from school, they both played with it for hours.  I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon.

Wild Hair

Tor got his own box to play in, left from Daddy's birthday.  Mom and Dad took the girls to the movie Frozen, so Tor got to stay and play.  But he slept most of the time but when he woke up he was ready to go.  Most of the time his hair looks like this (Kind of reminds me of Will's hair when he was little.).  The other day I got a brush and wet down his hair and combed it so it looked cute but Daddy, Brock, and Ty had other ideas.  They messed it up so it was standing on end just like the boy in the movie, See Spot Run.  He still is cute even with messed up hair.

Fun Box

Forget the Christmas toys!  This box gave them lots to play with.  Brock was here so he helped cut out the door and window that Jillian drew.  They used markers and paint to decorate which was only a little messy and kept Brock busy mopping up a few spills.  Then Jillian found flags to put on top and ribbons to hang all over.  With a couple of pillows, blanket, and a lantern, they could go inside and be hidden from us.  Tor was napping.  It was great fun to have them here again.