...And, He WILL Cry if He Wants to

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!! Hope your day is going better than it was this morning. Mommy and Daddy LOVE their Baby Ryan!

The picture below is the birthday boy when I dropped him off at daycare this morning. They're in the middle of their snacktime prayer, for which my son chose not to participate. What you don't see, is his cute, "Mr. Happy" shirt mommy picked out for him to wear on his birthday. Jenny, are his feet cracking you up in this picture?!?!

I'm sort of getting the hint that I'm not the cool mom of the group. It's as if he's thinking he's learning the "Mom, you're so embarrassing" face.
Ryan's classmates. This is the picture that has made me realize, he needs another haircut. More pics from the weekend...

Ryan's new thing...climbing on top of anything he can get on.
Demolition, complete! Nice work on the cupcake.My sweet friend Allison is having a baby in June! These are all my oldest, and dearest friends, some of which came in to town from Seattle, Baltimore, and Virgina.

Party Time!

This is the look he had the entire time we sang "Happy Birthday". It was seriously PRICELESS!

We plan to celebrate his birthday all week!!! These pictures are from the first celebration! Actually, I lied. Nama and Poppy had him open their presents and blow out a candle (on his personalized cake) the night before. So, we're two down, and all week to go!

Ryan was the CUTEST when everyone started singing to him. He could not grasp what in the world was going on. His mouth was wide open the entire song. He looked at the sea of adults, and was fascinated that we were all singing the SAME THING.

All was going well until the birthday boy took a fall, straight to the floor, right after we sang "Happy Birthday". It all played out like this...

"...happy birthday to YOUUUUUU" BAM! He hit the floor. Mother-of-the-year said no to a highchair before we started singing. Jenny got it on video, so cannot wait to see the disaster! I'll be sure to post it.

Ryan was showered with soooo much love and TONS of presents! We officially need a bigger house. He got it all...pool toys, books, puppets, clothes, band sets, "Where the Sidewalk Ends", Noah's Ark playset, dump truck, A Tiny Tots CAR from the Krugers (we'll be putting that together this week), learning toys (mom's favs), a penguin to pounce on, and bounce back at him...oh gosh, the list goes on! Seriously a blessed baby! Mom and dad got him pajamas. Lucky kid. :)

Ryan's Personality....

This video doesn't show the length of time Ryan tried to figure out how to get down the step safely. Holden and I must have watched him for 10 minutes try to figure it out. I learned that Ryan likes to "figure things out" on his own! So, in "his" moments, please don't bother him.

I saw him get frustrated with himself for not being able to figure it out. The video shows a little of that. He's very persistent, and determined. At one point, he had his foot down on the lower level, and was shaking as he tried to carry his little body to the bottom level. Quite a sweet moment, and I don't feel I'm explaining it to its fullest.



P.S. Ryan was bitten (is that a word) yesterday at daycare. Since this is my make-shift "baby book", I thought I should jot it down.

My Original Thought...

...was to do absolutely NOTHING this weekend. The weekend turned in to:

1. One dad gone hunting

2. One swim lesson, with three dunks

3. Dinner party with seven moms at my house, Friday night.

4. Stayed up till 1am.

5. Went shopping with Nama to Toys 'R Us (which was so fun), Party City for a soon-to-be 1-yearer.

6. Husband got home, and off we went to Sea World to meet up with the Carrolls

7. Ordered a pizza and watched the Spurs game

8. Looked for a wall oven/microwave set, only to discover we'll have to redo our cabinets.

9. Reorganized my pantry, ryan's "feeding shelf", and his closet.

10. Took Ryan for a walk, went swinging.

11. Bathed a "3 day, no bath" child. (appareantly, Jessica thinks pool water is the same as soapy water. Sorry kid.)

12. Updated (updating) my blog.

13. Took in a precious moment of my sweet husband reading to my sweet baby boy.

Made in San Antonio

VIVA FIESTA!!!! It's official, our baby boy bleeds Fiesta!
One big, happy, out of control family waiting patiently in line for NIOSA! Rod has a hard time controlling excitement.

The Hardens met up with us at NIOSA. Ryan and Jack Walker totally planned their outfits. LOVE the guayaveras boys! Soooo fashion-forward.

Two of Ryan's biggest fans!

The Rivenburgs, Sturms and the Tootles headed down to King William's Fair on Saturday. A little warm, and a little crowded for the kiddos! The parents insisted on making it work...for an hour.

Trouble.

Dad poured water on his head to cool him off.

The moms pulled out the blow up pool to cool them off! 2 pts go to the moms!

Add a point for the bubbles. (compliments of Melanie)

Ryan with Hudson and his daddy! This is the best smile we got out of dad after a fun bbq the night before.

Ryan asked that I show off his new skills. He swims professionally.


Ryan must have done this for 15 minutes. It's the cutest, and now a new piece of furniture in the living room....who needs gymboree??? (maybe Ryan).

One Screaming Monkey & a Birthday to Celebrate!

Ryan sold ten items for the CHUMs fundraiser. In doing so, he won the screaming monkey. Random, you ask? Yes, it is.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY!!! We celebrated her birthday down in Port Aransas! We all thought we were 21 years old. Our bodies BEGGED to differ. They remained 31....and, reminding us of that today.

More pictures to come.....
Krista, bring on the pics!

Try to guess who doesn't get out in the sun much????? It's hard, but see if you can figure it out.

11 MONTHS!!!!

11 Ryanisms We Love Most!

1. You snuggle with us in the morning and just before bedtime.

2. You smile with your whole face...nose scrunched up, chin in the air, and mouth wide open, showing off your two teeth (working on four..ouch).

3. You LOVE to share your food and toys with the Lord. You reach your arms up to the sky.

4. You love your Baby Einsteins and Praise Baby dvds.

5. You shovel food into your mouth, and then smile real big.

6. Bath time with daddy makes you sooo happy. You are a little impatient when waiting for the tub to fill up.

7. You love to grab on to a piece of clothing, bath towel, sheet, kitchen towel, or stuffed animal...all while sucking your thumb. You definitely own the name Linus.

8. You LOVE to be outdoors, and let that wind blow your lovely locks.

9. Changing tables were so four months ago.

10. You smile when we approach your classroom door.

11. You make our hearts melt EVERY day!

They Call Him Flipper

Tanning booth STAT!

He did great. Loved it. I think his favorite was when we sang "Twinkle, twinkle little star" while he floated on his back.

Gearing up for FIESTA!!!!

Here is the Tootle Week in Review! I visited Ryan during lunch one day. He is getting the savory flavors of San Antonio. Bean and cheese taco. Muy bueno. (He ate two tacos).

Ryan and I visited Hudson and Melanie. She was in town to drop him off with Jana before heading off to HAWAII!!! Girl, that blog better not read "Fun February" when you get back. Blogs require responsibility, Melnie. You owe it to us! :)

Check out Ryan's trick eye. I thought I had fixed the red eye, but must have missed one. We loved getting to see Hudson and Mel. He's soooooooo precious and makes the CUTEST faces.

Shhhh, he's performing magic. He'll be done in a minute.

Guess he didn't get what he wanted. Ryan, try it again.

So, now were on Thursday night. We're at the Garrison's house. Matty's showing off his new playset....which is amazing! Nice work Brian. We learned something new about Ryan...he has sensitive feet. Matty, the warrior, has feet of leather!

The boys are outside enjoying the most delicious grilled chicken...marinated in Hawaiian dressing/marinade. SOOOO YUMMY! Christi fed Ryan spaghetti, and Courtney fed him raisins and lima beans. She fed me a lima bean as well, but I'm not a fan.

We had a great week in the Tootle household. The maid came yesterday so the house is clean, and we're ready to enjoy a fun weekend. Ryan starts swim lessons today at 5pm. We'll definitely have pictures of Flipper.

Morning Mimosas & French Toast Ciabatta Bread

Saturday morning, Ryan and I hosted a breakfast! He said no to the mimosas, and mom said, "well, yes of course." We celebrated Jennifer and Henry! Lot's of fun. The food was AMAZING! Casey brought her fluffy quiche (that I'm addicted to), Nerissa brought the fruit salad, Brooke brought the cinnamon rolls, and Jen brought the OJ and champagne. I made ciabatta bread french toast that is to die for! Recipe compliments of Carrie, I think? Stacy?

Missing in the picture are Casey and Marisa. Casey's taking the picture, and well Marisa...running a little late. Surprise. Casey, correct me if I'm wrong...she was two hours late??? Love you Ris.

Easter Time is the Time of Year...

...and, the time of year is Easter time! Mom, why does that ring in my ears?? Did you used to sing that to us? So, the picture below truly captures Ryan's bunny photo shoot. He could not stop staring at that 1980s bunny. Time to update the bunny, and the background. But, the kid's cute.

The family at lunch.

The Tootlemen.

Here's where the brunch got super entertaining...for all the tables around us. Ryan was a bit fussy at the end of the meal, so I walked him over to the window to look outside. He could not get enough of this window. I soon realized how fun it would be to play with him on the other side of the glass.

As I was walking up to the window, these two little kids are walking up to it, saying "Mom, look. It's a baby." They were fascinated. It was as though there was a puppy in the window that they wanted to buy. Ryan LOVED these two little kids.

My sweet sister and I. I had to crop this picture due to the unpainted toenails.

One, little two, little three little easter baskets! Way to go Ryan!

Ryan, you have something on your back.

No, I'm serious. You really do.

HAPPY EASTER!!

Ryan LOVED the Easter Bunny! Seriously. He could not keep his eyes off of him. We had to do everything we could to get him to look at the camera.