My Darling Tori Anne,
I missed last month. I am so sorry. I don't even remember why, but I did, and I'm sorry. Particularly because plenty has happened in the last couple of months! You've grown tremendously.
The biggest news? POTTY TRAINING. Between you, Mommy, Daddy, and your new awesome teachers at your school this year, you finally decided that wearing underwear and using the potty were, in fact, for you. It is, in a word, WONDERFUL. Thank you so much.
Unfortunately, on October 9th you had your first real medical emergency (although it was a pretty minor one). While playing on some playground equipment, you slipped off and fell in such a way that you create a deep one-inch long gash in the back of your head. It wasn't terrible, but we ended up at the emergency room anyway and had to put three staples in the wound. Your Daddy had just had his gall bladder out (oh, right -- that's why I didn't write your post last month!) but he came to the hospital anyway, and even though it was a minor wound the whole experience totally sucked for all three of us. You hated the papoose, I hated watching you be so scared and angry, and Daddy hated all of it. Don't do it again, okay?
The other big change is school this year. You are now attending preschool five mornings a week. We started out the year doing just three, but it was clear that you were thriving in the new program (your school has an AMAZING new director this year that has really made things awesome) so we switched you to five days a week. You can now identify every letter and number, you can read a few words, and YOU CAN WRITE YOUR NAME. Okay, sometimes you mix up the "R" and the "I", (spelling Toir) but dammit, you WRITE YOUR NAME. I am amazed by you. Your teacher told me in an aside last week that you are "Scary smart." Which we totally knew.
In other big news, we lost our darling, beloved, wonderful dog Bubba, aka Hammer, The Best Dog Ever. He was clearly not feeling himself this last few months and Mommy finally stopped being in denial and took him to the vet when one side of his chest was suddenly bigger than the other. He had a massive tumor on his spleen, and after much grief and deliberation, we decided to put him to sleep. We had one last day with him, however, and everyone that loved Bubba came to say goodbye; 16 people, all told, not including us. He was a very loved dog. You miss him terribly. We tried to replace him with another dog named Tank, but it didn't work out, sad to say. You still talk about Bubba every day. We all miss him so.
Of course the end of October is Halloween, and you were Snow White. Shocking, you being a princess. Although now you've asked if next year you can be an astronaut, with a space ship. I will gladly hunt down my crafting abilities to create that costume for you, my little feminist. Heh.
The rest of our time has been drama and emergency free, and we've enjoyed some beautiful fall days hiking in the woods, walking around the neighborhood, and playing at the playground. The time change has made this harder but we'll try to keep being active every day. Lately when it's dark you and I enjoy putting some 80s hip hop on and dancing around like a couple of lunatics. It's awesome.
As usual, I can't believe how fast you are growing up, how delightful you are on a daily basis, and how incredibly stubborn and infuriating you can be. I watch your fierce and powerful little personality grow stronger each day and see more and more that you are, in fact, my daughter. It makes me very proud, even when it makes me crazy. I love you, my darling girl. You are growing up into such a fantastic little person.
Love, Mommy
