Tori gets very upset if you try to tell her she isn't four like Eli is. And if you even mention a number, she assumes you're talking about that. The other day, Jonah was in his walker in the kitchen and got stuck. I came and moved him and said,"You're free!" Tori called down from upstairs in a cranky voice, "No, I this many!" and held up four fingers. (Which reminds me, a while back Eli came to me and said, "Hey, free (three) and four both start with the same letter: free, four!")

I shouldn't make it sound like Tori's grumpy all of the time. It's just that she says her funniest things when she's being grumpy. She usually has a sweet little smile on her face, and is easy to be around. But she does have a tendency to take toys away from Jonah. She's either proudly making him happy, or taking everything he sees.

Lisa reminded me that, for a while, when Tori was little, she would give what Lisa calls "crusties" or big scowls, with her brow furrowed. Once at the end of primary, Tori got away from John in the back where he was sitting that day, and she started crawling up the center aisle to me. She would beam as she looked toward me, but then she would turn and scowl at the people to the side of her. So she was alternately smiling and scowling as she made her way up. Everyone was laughing.

Last night I went walking with several other women in the ward. (You know, I'm nearly 39, yet I still want to call other women my age "girls.") Anyway, they've been after me for a while to join them. They get their kids to bed, and then head out at about 8:30. I kept saying that it was too cold, but they said they wear layers, and it feels plenty warm. So, I tried it. Sweet John gathered a bunch of things for me to wear, so I wouldn't be ill-prepared. We walked around the park across the street and had a great time. I was actually too warm. I think I'll keep going with them. It's nice to have "mom time," as one of the women puts it. Still, it will be nicer when spring comes.

Sometimes I do things with my kids like we do in preschool. So today we had "arts and crafts," and they made necklaces with beads that I got at the DI. Eli spelled Momma (mama?) wrong in the necklace he made for me and he wants me to "wear it all the time, like to church." (He spelled it "MOAMA" and put the beads backwards, as well.) I think I'll tell people John made it. :)