Tori had another "first" today. She attended her very first birthday party. The daughter of one of Daddy's co-workers celebrated her first birthday this afternoon. First birthdays are a very big deal in Hawaii and her parents went all out. They served the traditional Hawaiian food, so Tori also had her first taste of kalua pig, poi, squid luau, chicken long rice, and haupia. She is so willing to try just about anything we give her, and there was nothing she didn't like. But by far her favorite was the haupia, which is like a very firm coconut jello/pudding type dessert. We have to say it was really delicious with bits of fresh coconut in it. We decided that since it was a party, a few sugar-laden treats were OK. So she also had her first taste of cotton candy and a slushy/slurpee type drink. Of course she liked them both.

A very big first was her first ride on a pony. We weren't sure how Tori would react, but like everything else she went with the flow. She didn't even hesitate when we put her on the pony. Daddy walked around with her and she even leaned forward to pat it and play with its mane.

We are always impressed by her willingness to try things. She is always very observant and serious but gets right in there. Tori acted the same way when it was time to sing Happy Birthday and to watch a magic show. She sat right in the middle of the other kids. She's fine as long as she can see us. However, she sat by Mommy when Daddy was the magician's assistant ,and she wasn't really sure why Daddy was dressed up like a baby. But she watched intently. It really was a fun night for her, and Tori received her fair share of goodies to take home which included a little fish bowl with four fish and her own personal goodie bag. She went to bed a very happy little girl and fell asleep very, very quickly.

We are preparing for another first for Tori, Grandma's arrival from Australia on Tuesday. We are sure the next three weeks will be a very special time for all of us.

Well here it is already October! We can't believe it has been a month since we have posted. We apologize to all of you who are trying to be part of a devoted following, but there is so much going on that by the time either of us has the time to post, all we want to do is sleep!

Tori's most used word is "helping." She uses this for everything, from taking a bath, to putting her diaper in the pail, to walking Wiwi while sitting in her stroller. Here she is "helping" to put the trash can back under the kitchen sink.

Today Tori is 20 months old. We can hardly believe that we have had her for 5 months! Sometimes it seems as if we have always had her and other times it seems like we just got her. She has made a total transition and now it is just the changes and discoveries that happen daily that we all delight in experiencing. Tori is, for the most part, a very happy baby. She seems to roll with whatever comes her way, and new people and situations don't throw her too much. She is a bit cautious at first and very observant, (both of which we think are very good things) but once she thinks that a situation is OK, she jumps right in. She loves to sing and dance, and leads the way at Gymboree and dances to any type of music at home, usually with her stuffed duck. Tori's vocabulary continues to grow at an amazing rate and is starting to put two words together. She loves to go out and the first words out of her mouth when she knows we are leaving are "shoes on." This of course sounds like one word, more like"shoozon." She takes after Jaydee, they both love shoes!

On September 6 Tori was baptized into the Catholic Church. It was a lovely ceremony, even if Tori did have a cold. Her godparents, Uncle Michael and Auntie Aulani, are two of our closest friends and Jaydee's co-workers. Tori was baptized by the vicar general of the diocese, a special honor indeed. Jaydee has known Fr. Marc for about 25 years, since before he became a priest. Tori was very well-behaved during the rite itself and wanted to put her whole head in the baptismal font. Mommy had practiced in the bathtub so it wouldn't be too surprising and Tori seemed to know exactly what was going to happen. After Mass we had a yummy dinner at P.F. Chang's. Tori loved the fried rice.

We love experiencing all the "firsts." This is Tori's first autumn, and even though we don't really experience the seasons here in Hawaii, we like to pretend that we do! Autumn is Jaydee's favorite season, and so she likes to get out the decorations and try and get into the whole spirit of the season as we head into the holidays. So of course she couldn't resist the Halloween jammies which went on sale at Macy's and Wal-Mart very early this year. Tutu, at almost age 83, retired after 36 years of nursing at a retirement residence last weekend. We got her some fall flowers, balloons, and since her birthday is Halloween, we couldn't resist a cute ghost. Tori is also learning about Halloween and seems to love ghosts. She says "woooooooo and Boo!" What better way to show off all the goodies (and Tori) with a few pictures on the dining room table. Her jammies say Wickedly Cute on them, and she is, with wickedly some days being the operative word!

Yesterday as we were driving home from Costco, it suddenly started pouring rain. It didn't last long, but when we got home the water was coming off the garage roof. We let Tori play in it for a while and she absolutely loved it! The water was warm, and it was so much fun to see her delight in splashng her feet and wiggling her toes in the small puddle.

We went to Wal-Mart on Friday, (one of our favorite places) and found an Elmo sprinkler on sale. Tori now loves all things Elmo, especially her sippee cups which have Elmo and Zoe on them, so the sprinkler was exciting for her just because it was Elmo. This afternoon we set it up and let her have some water fun in the yard. She was wary at first, but then got right on in. She even wrapped it up in a towel to dry him off after she was finished.

After our shopping foray at Wal-Mart we went to dinner at Dave-n-Buster's. This was also another first for Tori. She was in an excellent mood and was entertaining all the other patrons of this lively eatery. Daddy snapped this picture on his cell phone. It is rare we see such a huge natural smile from her when it is time to snap a photo!

And for our final first of this post, we went to McDonald's today, and Tori decided she wanted some ketchup on her chicken nuggets. Any previous attempts at condiments were met with a quick and decisive spitting out of whatever was in her mouth. But today after watching Daddy dunk his fries in ketchup, (a sacrilege as far as Jaydee is concerned when it comes to McDonald's fries) Tori decided she wanted some too.
Jolon's mom comes to visit us, well actually Tori, in a week. We are looking forward to her visit and will be spending a weekend on Maui to celebrate her holiday as well as Tutu's birthday and Jaydee's 50th! She is almost aghast at the thought of it. Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as you are in ours. Enjoy the beautiful season of autumn or spring for our friends and family Down Under!