And the winner is...

Brooke Elizabeth Dinger

Although everything seemed to me like I was going to be having a boy (the way I am carrying this baby, still throwing up and other things that I shall not mention are all just like when I was carrying Spencer) we are very excited to be having a girl. The girls will be really close in age (19 months apart) if this one stays until the actual due date (November 18th). They will hopefully be really close friends just like Lora and me (we are 14 months apart).

Anyway, little Brooke is all curled up in a ball and it was hard to get the pictures even the second time around. They were going to make me come back in, but I said a little prayer and whammo... all the little parts that needed to be seen showed up for some close ups (her mouth and nose, her heart and her cute little profile). I think that she looks like Tori already...but as Jake (my brother in law) said...maybe this time we will get one that is toasted! :)

As for our cute little girl, Tori...she turned 15 months on Friday. She can officially get up off the floor and start walking. She no longer drinks from a bottle and only gets her binky at bedtime. She is loving having Grandma and Grandpa Dinger here to play. Sorry these pictures are a bit blurry, but I cannot seem to get her to sit still anymore!

Playing with a cat toy in her Sunday pink polka dots


She loves to suck on her bottom lip.

The blur in action.

What a week...I hate being prego in the 100* heat!

Ok...so if you didn't know, our air conditioner is not working at top notch. We need to get a new one, but considering the circumstances that is on hold. It is currently 81* in our house at this instant (at least it is still cooler than outside which hit a high of 106*) and I am slowly melting away. I feel like a slug because all I want to do is sit and sleep. Dinner tonight consisted of rice chex and milk because I didn't want to even be near the stove or the oven (although last night I did make a killer french bread pizza).

Tori enjoying some Elmo with all of her friends while Jason and I finish our unpacking our room!

As for Jason, I am enjoying him being at home (it is kinda like vacation with a little job searching and a lot of house organizing) because we have now emptied every box in our house. (I am admitting that there are still a few boxes out in our garage, which are mostly books without a shelf that I brought home from my parent's house.) Jason has interviewed at a few places and we are waiting to hear answers from two places on Monday. One is a full time job and the other is a part time job. So hopefully on Monday he will either have both jobs or one or the other. If not, we will still keep looking for the job that has been prepared for him. Well, enough about Jason and me...I know you all really want to hear about Tori.

Tori getting ready to climb up on the fireplace to read.

I love her piggies!

Well...Tori is still mastering the walking thing (although I think she has mastered this considering that she can stop and turn in all directions, walk over things, walk on things, and walk without stopping from one part of the house to another) and definitely needs to learn how to get off the floor and walk (although she can now get off her Elmo chair and walk...those thighs are working!). She has also become a little monkey. She climbs onto our fireplace ledge where she likes to read her books. She has almost mastered getting on the couch herself and she can also get off of all of these places without killing herself.

Enjoying some spaghetti and time with Daddy.

I don't think she can get any cuter!

A week in Oregon and a Toddler

We had a fabulous week with Grandma Frann, Grandpa Lee, Uncle Seth, Auntie Lora, Uncle Jake, Oscar and Livy! It is so fun to be together with the family for that long and have the kids interact. Oscar and Livy love baby Tori and there were a lot of hugs and kisses to go around! I loved cuddling with Liv and playing with Oscar! Jason of course played (two story hide and seel and tag!) with the little ones so much I am pretty sure that he didn't gain an ounce while we munched on everything that our heart desired (my mom's house is always stocked and then there is Jake's amazing Indian food...mmm....). Hopefully I will get some of Lora's pictures. She got better ones than I did this trip. For some reason mine were really fuzzy. Anyway, here are some of the highlights.

Tori with Grandma and Grandpa. Tori loves to play with Grandpa and loves to cuddle with Grandma (especially in her chair with a good book!).

My Mom bought a pool for the little munchkins for the backyard. It was definitely a hit! Tori wasn't so sure of the cold water. I will say that she lasted about 20 minutes only getting her feet wet. But Oscar and Livy were in there for about an hour and a half! Tori resorted to playing with a bucket and a bowl of water

We also had our dinner with the Gabels' at Red Robin. I thought that this one was a cute one of Livy and Madyson. Livy sat long enough for me to do her hair in piggies! Isn't she adorable?! She is Lora's clone!

Tori's new pastime: taking down all of Grandma's videos and playing with them....

One of our favorite days was going to Washington Park and playing at the playground. We were there for 2 hours! Tori loved the swings and walking around the huge jungle gym.

Of course if you are at Washington Park you have to see the beautiful Rose Garden...the Roses were magnificent!

And of course... the moment you have all been waiting for...Tori walking! HURRAY! I thought the day would never come, but here it is! She is crazy and walks all over the place, but you have to instigate it...she still much more prefers crawling. As you can see she loves to walk on the table and can walk long distances (I think her record is 20 steps!) Seriously...she should have been taking her first "steps" a long time ago!
WE MISS OUR FAMILY SOOOO MUCH! Thanks for letting us steal Dad for a couple of days Mom!