GGG & TOT

We've had some fun Halloween activities the last few days! Our little lion cub has had fun with all of the festivities!

First up was Ghouls, Goblins and Greeks on UF's sorority row. There were tons of kids and we had fun watching them all trick-or-treat and play games at all of the houses. P enjoyed chewing on a few wrapped pieces of candy but, was so excited when one of the houses gave her a balloon!

Tonight we had our church Halloween activity, trunk-or-treat! P loved seeing all of the kids and have us chase her all around the church.

She didn't see what all of the fuss was about with the candy...

My two loves setting off to see the decorated trunks.

A couple of people brought their dogs and P was in heaven! Lots of kisses and sniffing from both parties.

Cutest little lion cub. EVER!

Showing Off Her New Skills

P.S. We normally aren't so fancy at our house. The pettiskirt is left over from the photos we just took!

11 Months Old!

My how time flies! P is going to be graduating to toddler-hood in just one short month! Yikes! This was an eventful month for our little sweet P! She's still growing like a weed and has a lot of new "tricks" to keep us entertained!

• At 11 months old, P weighs about 20 pounds. She still seems pretty tall for her age but, she's definitely lean! We get comments all the time on how petite she is.
• P now has 4 teeth--2 on top, 2 on the bottom--and enjoys using them! She definitely prefers big girl foods, her favorites being bananas, pears, black beans, graham crackers and Cheerios (with almond milk). She loves to eat (she practically leaps into my arms when I ask her if she's ready for a snack) and enjoys just about anything that she can feed herself. I bought her some little spoons and she's learning to use those and she's started sharing her food with us. She loves to feed Momma and Daddy!
• We reached two really big milestones this month. First, P is walking...WALKING! A couple of days before she reached the 11 month mark, she decided that she was ready to be a full-time walker. She's been toddling around in short spurts (6-10 steps) for weeks but, finally decided she's ready to view the world upright. She especially likes to cruise around naked after her baths. It's so funny to see her little Tobler buns toddling around the house. Her bottom looks just like Jeff's.
• Second, P officially started talking! She's been saying Mamamamamama and Dadadadadada for a month or two but, this month her words are more understandable and deliberate. She says Mama, Dada, nana (for banana), hi and hot (sounds more like Haaa). She makes other sounds consistently but, I can't tell yet what they are for. She's always been a bit of a chatterbox (especially when she's eating) but, she seems to be really chatting away now!
• Thanks to some nifty apps on the iPad, Presley is really starting to learn her animals and their noises! She can tell you what the lion, monkey, elephant, dog and cow say.
• This month P started showing that she knows her body parts using her own body (rather than pointing to mine). She can show you ears, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, belly, hands, feet and toes.
• One of Presley's favorite games to play is "lions" with her Daddy. They crawl around the floor growling at each other and then attempt to get me. It's great fun and part of our bedtime routine.
• P learned how to open cupboards this month so, she's been helping me rearrange my kitchen. It's great that she can come and play in the kitchen with me while I cook. She makes messes about as fast as I can clean them up though!
• Presley loves balls! She's learned to flop herself into her ball pit and how to play catch--or at least roll the ball back and forth.
• She loves to dance and gets really excited to do the "hot dog dance" at the end of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She loves Mickey Mouse and while she doesn't really watch much of the program, she always stops what she's doing and goes into dance when she hears the "hot dog dance" music. She has some sweet moves!
• Presley's special friend is 9-year-old, Grace, our nannies daughter. When she sees her at church, she leaps out of our arms and is very reluctant to come back to us. I'm so glad that she has so much fun at the Cole's house. I still hate leaving her just as much as I need back in March but, at least I know she's happy and having fun.
• We spend a lot of time at the park. P loves to swing, climb the stairs, play in the tunnel and go down the slide. My truck is now constantly filled with sand (and I love it)!

I just can hardly believe that it's all ready been almost a year since Presley joined our family. It is such a blessing to be her Momma and I'm so grateful for all that she's taught me in the last 11 months. She's so easy to love and it melts my heart every time she curls up for a cuddle with me. Every night when I rock her to sleep, I'm so grateful for this sweet little lady that Heavenly Father trusted us with.

Roger's Farm

To celebrate Octobler and the onset of some beautiful fall Florida weather, we spent the morning at the Roger's Farm Fall Festival. It was such a beautiful day and so much fun!

Presley got to get up close to some of the animals and loved it! We've been spending a lot of time learning our animals and their noises so, it was extra fun to see them in person! (Except for the pigs--they were extra stinky)

This was as close to a pony ride as we got. She prefers to ride her Daddy-horsie rather than the real deal.

She liked crawling around on the bales of hay and watching all of the other kids jump around!

We had fun riding the cow train!

And walking the spooky trail.

We went on our first hay-ride...

...and picked out her very first little pumpkin! (Please note her little scrunchy face. She started making this face a few weeks ago and we think it's so funny! Jeff and at least a couple of his brothers make this very same face!)

The cutest little pumpkin at the patch!

Daddy's Done, Let's Have Some Fun!

Jeff took part 2 of his national board exam this week and we are all so excited for it to be over! He studied a long time and his girls are very glad to finally have him home! To celebrate it, and P's 11-month birthday, we went on a fun adventure!

Off we go to the zoo! (P.S. notice that P is walking...WALKING! A few days before turning 11 months old, our little P decided she was going to walk now. We are excited and sad that our little baby is growing up so fast!)

P seemed pretty interested in the animals but, a little unsure about them--especially the noisy monkeys!

She was excited to see a butterfly up close! They are much less intimidating than the monkeys!

Honestly, I think her favorite part was the little playground. She loves to climb the stairs!

And slide! Weeee!

The rest of the zoo was much more enjoyable with a bowl full of cheese puffs. Cheese puffs make everything a little bit better!

The monkeys were just waiting for her to drop one a little bit closer...

What visit to the zoo would be complete without brunch at the Flying Biscuit! YUM!

P was a little antsy for her biscuits so, our little i-Addict required a little Peekaboo Barn to help pass the time.

We had lots of fun but, the best part was having Daddy around!

Our Pinteresting Weekend

Since Jeff is busy studying for the second part of his national board exam (which he takes next week...say a prayer for him!), I decided it would be fun to have the girls up for a weekend of estrogen-fueled, Pinterest-provided activities. It was so fun! There was some good Gator football (Wahoo!), plenty of bonding-time with the Sweet P, and a few Pinterest triumphs and kitchen tragedies! It was fun!

Of course, P got involved by helping me clean out my cupboards. She's such a good helper!

I tried several new Pinterest recipes. The first was this creamy tomato soup. It was really easy to make and uses Greek yogurt instead of cream. We really enjoyed it and I'll definitely be making it again!

To go with the soup, I made these pretzel rolls. Also very tasty but, they definitely were not as good the next day. If I make them again, I will make smaller, bite size rolls and add a little more salt to the outside of them.

On Saturday, Ashley went with her friends to tailgate and watch the game. Me, P and Grammy had our own little Gator party! Like a true little Gator, P all ready does the Gator chomp when we say "Go Go Gators." We are very proud!

While we were waiting to get started on our Pinterest cooking activities on Sunday, we took a quick trip to the park.

P enjoyed eating the sand and getting plenty dirty!

Our Sunday Pinterest experiments included:

A crock-pot breakfast casserole--It was good and was definitely a very easy way to have a hearty breakfast ready first thing in the morning. It made a lot and I'll definitely try this approach again but, I may change up my casserole contents to make it "pop" a little more.

Ashley tried her hand at a rosemary bread that was supposed to be a knock-off of the Macaroni Grill.

Grammy broke the rules a little bit and brought a recipe she had make before that was not on Pinterest and was even printed on a piece of paper. A little archaic but, she's always been a little technologically-challenged. Her project? Pumpkin sticky buns.

It was all fun and games until she smelled her pecans burning in the oven. They got a little too toasty and an extended trip to the grocery store followed (she got lost).

Ashley is a very meticulous bread maker.

But, had fun playing with P while her dough was rising!

I made "easy eclairs," Jeff's pick for my efforts. My little person needed my attention at a critical point in the choux pastry process so, my two helpers stepped in.

Unfortunately, I dropped one of my masterpieces and made a mess of it and one of its friends. What was I to do but pick up a fork and make it disappear?

Grammy's pumpkin sticky buns were very tasty. Definitely one to make again.

Ashley's bread turned out well too! It was pretty tasty!

I will definitely be making easy eclairs again. They were a big hit with these Toblers and I'm sure Jeff will be requesting them again soon.

Even P got in on the taste-test and approved of all of our Pinteresting creations!