Tori's First Birthday

Before I begin, I've been trying to play catch-up so scroll down, there are a couple more posts. Hopefully I will be fully caught up by the time the new year comes on Tuesday!

I had a lot of fun planning Tori's birthday party. I'll admit, I had the owl theme idea not too long after she was born. I'm amazed I decided to stick with it. I'm kind of obsessed with owls right now though, I don't know why. Anyway, Tori's birthday went really well, although it seemed like pure insanity because there was a lot of people and it was just a bad weekend to really do it. We did it on Sunday December 9th. We had dinner, presents, an awesome movie made by my dad, and then cake and ice cream. It was great because even Josh's dad came down for the occaision from Prescott. I'll admit, the next time she gets a party that big will be when she turns 8 (for family anyway). It was just a little too crazy and stressful for me. For dinner we had a baked potato bar complete with cornbread and a salad. Some of the topping included chili beans, cheese with broccoli, queso, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream. It was an amazing dinner, I think I may have to do it again sometime. I cooked the potatoes in the crock-pot so it didn't have to heat up the house, and they turned out perfect! Tori mostly got clothes for her birthday, which was a little disappointing because she really needed some new toys. (Thank heaven Christmas was right around the corner.) She was so fussy the whole entire time. She didn't want anything to do with the guests (which is perfectly normal and perfectly annoying) and didn't really want to open presents either. It was weird opening her gifts for her. She knew what to do, but I think that there was just too many people there and she couldn't handle it very well. She did enjoy her cake, eating most of the frosting until I made her had dig into the cake. She isn't a big sweets person. (No, I'm not complaining, I just can't figure out why, but oh well.) It was fun celebrating her first birthday with everyone, I just hope next year she isn't as moody.

Owl banner I made to decorate with.

Owl lanterns

Cupcakes for the guests. Josh was awesome enough to print off the owls at work so they looked extra good.

Tori's personal owl cake.

Excited for her birthday in her owl dress I made.

Clinging to mom because she didn't want to open presents (or do anything else).

Blowing out the candle.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was pretty normal this year. It was a little exciting because it was Tori's first Thanksgiving and since she didn't eat baby food anymore it made things pretty simple. The day before Tori and I went over to my mom's house to make 3 batches of her famous rolls. It was a ton of work, but they are definitely worth it. I just wish that I could make them as good as my mom when I do them all by myself. Oh well. Josh and I came out a little early to have my dad take a few pictures of our family for Christmas cards. Then we ate (too much food) and relaxed. We ate with my mom's side of the family this year and there was about 50 people there! It was crazy, and really hot. Josh was an awesome sport and took Tori home and played with her the rest of the day while I waited at my parents for Black Friday (or, according to me now, Turkey Thursday) shopping to begin. We went with my cousin Whitney again this year and it was just as much fun! We got pretty much everything we wanted and then some more! Here are a few pictures of Thanksgiving.

Gilbert Days Parade

Every year in November Gilbert has a lot of huge festivities going on and they call it Gilbert Days. It's kind of nice they do a lot of free things because it makes it easier for us to go. Anyway, on November 17th they had their annual Gilbert Days parade. What is the best part? It's right by our house. We walked over to the parade and took advantage of our tax dollars. We went over when there was about 15 minutes until it started and stayed for about an hour. Tori was so tired by then and Josh and I were sick of holding her. It was a lot of fun, and very interesting to see. It was Tori's first parade, and she was more interested in the dog by us than the parade itself. Hopefully we will feel like going again next year. We might as well take advantage of it being within walking distance.

Waiting for the parade to start.

This was an awesome float.

We got a flower from the Watson's Flowers float.

Tuesday Truths

1. The truth is... Tori's party on Sunday was so awesome. It was crazy but it was great. I felt bad because Tori wanted nothing to do with anyone and she wouldn't open her presents. I felt like it was my birthday party. Weird, I know.

2. The truth is... Tori is pretty much down to taking one nap a day. Every few days or so she will take 2, but she now only takes one. At least it is a long nap when she does.

3. The truth is... I only have one piano lesson and a recital left at the dance studio I teach piano at. I'm so excited to not be teaching there anymore.

4. The truth is... I have an addiction to wrapping presents. Yes, its true. I'm going to help my mom and sister Wendi wrap presents sometime next week. I'm totally excited. Nope, I don't have my wrapping done yet because I can't decide when to do it.

5. The truth is... Josh started a new set of classes yesterday. Four more terms and then he is done with his bachelor's degree. I'm so excited! (Hopefully that means another promotion and raise at work!)

Picnic with Dad

Since Josh had November 12th off for Veteran's Day, we decided to go on a family picnic to Freestone Park. Tori had never seen ducks in real life and they have a TON of ducks there, so we went on an adventure. It was really busy but that is probably because everyone had the day off work. It was still pretty nice. We ate lunch, fed the ducks, and rode the train around the park once. By the time we were done with that Tori and I were both tired. Although we didn't get to do much, it was still nice to be outdoors as a family. We can't wait for our next big family adventure next week on Tori's birthday. We are going to the zoo for the first time! Tori is so excited to see all the animals (she loves animals).