A Weekend of Me!!!!

Casey threw the most scrumptious birthday brunch for me on Saturday morning! Thank you Case, for such a yummy meal, and my friends for helping to celebrate my birthday!

Here's a little taste of a Casey-feast! Nerissa made the yummy green salad. We inhaled an egg casserole, potato tart, pigs-n-a-blanket, and for dessert....bread pudding made with cans of cinammon rolls!

That night, Baby Toot #2 was celebrated (but I like to say that I was celebrated) at Fralo's pizza! Fun place to sit outside, bring your own wine, and chow down on their pizza with good friends.

Sweet Courtney set up the evening to help welcome Baby Tootle. Thank you Courtney!!! Your cupcakes were DELICIOUS!

One of my dearest friends, Rachel is expecting the first part of February. She looks radiant! Truly! Love you, sweet Friend.

Some of you have seen pics of Ryan with his buddy Holden! He's the CUTIE PIE with the glasses. Ryan and Holden are three weeks apart. Our #2s, are due a week from each other! YES, just a week...Nerissa carries babies very well!

Aunt TT, Ali and Kelly! Ali (in the middle) is due in April!

So, my genius sister-in-law (Aunt TT, above), called me out on the fact that I still don't have a name for this child. (Although I'm almost positive it will be Samuel). So, here I am trying to figure out what in the world she's trying to tell me with the letters.

Fun weekend for sure!!!! My birthday was pretty special as well! (Tuesday). Rod surprised me with breakfast in bed!!! I LOVED every bite, and smiled through the entire meal. Made me so happy. THANK YOU, ROD!!! xoxo

OCTOBER 4TH - Big Day, Big Bed!

October 4th will forever go down in the Tootle history book. Ryan had two of the utmost significant milestones for a two year old.
1. He pee pee'd in the potty with an audience consisting of mommy and dada. We were high-fivin' all around. AND,
2. Ryan slept in his big boy bed last night for the first time!!!! With Nama's help, we said adios to the guest bedroom, and made it Ryan-ized. Ryan LOVES his new bed. He even said to Rod, "I like this." It was really sweet. We had to bribe him out of his room (not 100% safe yet) with some juice.

Ryan went down like such a champ. It was just like any other night. I didn't bother with a book or anything. Lights were out, and he stayed in bed and fell asleep.

Now, where did we go wrong?! And, by "we", I mean "I". Mommy woke probably every hour, checking the video monitor, making sure he stayed in bed. Well, around 4am, I found no kid in the bed. So, I went in to his room, and he was lying on the floor with his blankie. I'm not sure if he fell off or if he let himself down and just fell asleep there.

I got him back in bed, and he said, "No. No." With a quick urge, I wanted to just put him back in the crib, but decided to push forward. I put him in his bed, and crawled in with him. I kept checking his dozing eyes. Then, said "Momma's going night, night." He said good night to me, and that was that! He went to sleep, and I continued to check on him by the hour.
We still have a few more things to do to his room. (wall art, cover outlets, hide cords, anchor down the dresser, etc.). Otherwise, we're complete!

He was so excited to have all of his night-nights (blankets) in his new room. It was so funny. One happy camper!!! Now, let's hope we have the same luck we did last night. I'm thinking it may be a bit harder b/c this morning I asked if he liked sleeping in his big boy bed, and he simply said, "no."

Our Pad in Maine

One mansion of a reason to want to stay another week. This was our house for seven days! The balcony is gated in, so Ryan was free to roam to his heart's desire.

Ryan's room is the one with the three windows (same size), just above the balcony. Rod and I retreated above the garage. Now, let me tell you...that garage can hold four cars. It goes way back....and, our master suite, does the same thing!

I loved this kitchen! Everything had its place, nothing was crammed and more than two people could fit in it. The opposite of that, defines my kitchen.

This is where we sat outside the majority of the time. It overlooks the water!

THANK YOU RUSSELL AND MILLIE for such a beautiful home to retreat to, and the opportunity to truly RELAX while on vacation!

Tootles in Maine!

Click LOBSTER to view all of the photos! Enjoy!!!

These are just a few to wet your palate.

Celebration dinner for Mimi and TT's birthdays.

Booth Bay....my favorite.

TT and I on the balcony watching the sunset over the water.

Ryan's Belly Shot

When we ask where Baby Parker is, he usually points to his own belly. So, now my kid thinks that a belly button is called a "Baby Parker".

32 Weeks!

ROUND 1: Ryan Donovan at 32 weeks


ROUND 2: Parker Stewart at 32 weeks!

Maine pics to come!

Pregnancy #2 Thoughts

1. "Hi, Esophagus? It's Stomach. I'd like my stomach-acids back."
2. How is it that I wake up every two hours (restroom usage or not), on the odd hours. (11pm, 1am, 3am, 5am, 7am...rise and shine)?
3. Only nine more weeks to go....as of TODAY!
4. Parker, just because I wear too tight maternity pants, doesn't mean you need to climb into my ribs. Hate to tell you, there's no room there either.
5. Did I take my PNV???
6. "Rod, do you think I'm bigger this pregnancy or last one?" Rod: "You look the same to me." Ah nuts.
7. I blame Jana Wascher for introducing me to Costco's bite-sized lemon cakes. Wonder if eating five of those will show up on the scale?
8. Excited Parker will have a buddy to pal around with. Rachel's having a boy in February!!
9. Am I really in this size???

On a Lighter Post....

We went to Sea World a couple of weekends ago. We got there at 10:30am, and left at 12:30pm. Benefits to having season passes. We did all the toddler activities, and bolted before it got too crowded and too hot. Truthfully, it was all the walking I wanted to do anyways.

The above picture makes me laugh. My belly looks like a dog sniffing the fence. One of the FEW Mommy, Ryan & Parker pictures. (Might be the only one).

I think Ryan thought this ride was LAME-O. Rod was particularly intersted in when the ride ended. My husband is always such a good sport with things like this.

Parker and I hung out together the whole time.

My ghetto-fabulous child. I couldn't keep these short on him. Ryan's almost 2.5 years old, and these shorts are 18 mos.

Love this of Ryan. He's playing in a "splash zone" type area. It took him a while to warm up to the idea of actually getting wet...which turned in to being soaked.

A Little Bite with a Lot of "Bite"

Problem #1: We let a mosquito bite, well what we think is a mosquito bite, get infected. Friends of ours babysat Ryan while we were at a wedding on Saturday. That night, they made mention of a bite on the back of his leg that looked infected. Sunday morning, Rod poked the bite and let me tell you... it was like a geyser of pus and blood. Soooooo sad. That night, after much discussion with a few of my mom's friends and Millie (Mom in Ohio), we headed to a med clinic. Problem #2: We were seen by a man probably triple my age. Problem #3: We were sent home with no antibiotics, no ointment. "Just put some black slav on it."
Tuesday finally rolled around (Monday was Labor Day), and we got an appointment with Ryan's pediatrician. After looking at Ryan's leg, she was appalled, and quite furious at the neglect from the med clinic doctor. Ryan had to have his bite sliced open to allow the infected bite to drain. Problem #4: a very hormonal, pregnant mommy. I was bawling as I tried to calm Ryan and blow on his face to cool him off while he was SCREAMING. With all we've been through with Ryan, this was hands down the hardest for me.


So, what are parents to do with a wounded solider???? SPOIL HIM!!!! And, that's just what we did. As soon as we got home, I plopped Ryan in his chair, and turned on Cars. Then, allowed him to drink Hawaiian Punch with no water to dilute. In addition, I made buttered-pasta, apple sauce and a hot dog for dinner....smack dab in front of the T.V. Rod wasn't at the doc's office to witness the nightmare, but when he got home, he walked in with a big Toys R Us bag. In it....a Cars racetrack.

So, was the track for Ryan, or Rod????

Rod??

From the point I plopped Ryan in his chair after the "minor surgery", it was as though nothing had happened. I, on the other hand, was traumatized.

Ryan was put on an antibiotic to treat a Staph infection. In addition, we have a topical antibiotic that we put directly on his bite. He'll get two baths a day, for 20 minutes to soak the wound to help keep it open and draining.

HUGE THANK YOU to my mom's wonderful friends who kept checking on us while my mom was out. And, an even bigger thank you for Millie loving me as though I were her own child.

P.S. Millie (MiMi) is guilty of the act of spoiling. We met at Willie's today, and she had a Cars box, and Dinoco and Dinoco's wife!!! Whoa!

Moving to a Big Boy Bed

...not quite yet, but we're making our way! He doesn't know this, so yet another secret I need you to keep from him. We've decided to forego an additional crib and move Ryan to the other room. To properly welcome him to his new residence, I plan to have his entire room done so he'll be super-duper excited! (Am I wishful thinking???).

Anyways, after Stacy helped me settle the sleeping arrangements, I quickly started looking for bedding for Ryan. And, I found his duvet! Hip, hip....HOORAY! I plan to find some "toddler-fun" sheets for his bed to go with this duvet. I figure Ryan will think the shambre sheets were lame. (I do).

Now, I would love to have all that wood work on the walls of his room, but since we'll probably not be living in this house long, we'll just be painting. We're thinking a dark khaki, with a possible chocolate colored wall, or alternate the two colors. We'll see. I'm loving these colors. What do y'all think?

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Yesterday, Ryan used the potty twice! Once in the morning to pee pee. And, then again in the afternoon to poo poo!!!

Lately, he's been asking the teachers if he can use the potty. The past several times he's had a little stage fright. Check out this boy's report card. (kind of fuzzy...sorry).

The two smiley faces on the right represent "success". I will continue letting this be Ryan's timing, but I had to share this b/c I was JUST FLOORED when I read his report card. FLOORED!

Hudson's Birthday Party

Ryan's best friend had his 2nd birthday party last weekend! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUDSON! We had a great time. I think the dads may have had more fun than the kids...and, of course that means my husband.

Now, let me back up and talk about Hudson. This sweet boy has the CUTEST, most contagious way about him. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something sooooooo stinkin precious that he has, that I've not seen in other kids. It might be his faces he makes. Someone needs to capture them on video. They are a riot! Hudson, we love you sweet boy!

He's showing off b/c he's the only kid with Lightening McQueen in hand. Big show off.

Such a good student. Learning about the next activity. Check the feet....



Noticed how Lightening McQueen is facing the teacher as well? I've noticed him being very particular with how he sets his cars down lately.


Those baby blues melt my heart!


Daddy working on Ryan's parachute-holding skills. A key skill later in life.

Ryan's other buddy Walker! He's the best jumper! He's like Tigger! Walker started jumping around EARLY. Melanie and I would just stare at him wondering when our boys would start.

So, what do you get when you have Elmo cupcakes, and a two year old?

...a very happy camper! What was funny was that the kids kept saying "ELMO" with excitement, yet the Elmos were progressively getting distorted with the eye balls drooping.

Ryan asked if he had something on his face.

Update on #2

So, I had my sonogram this morning to make sure the placenta moved up….for which it did!!!! Yes!

Baby looks adorable. I’ve not had a sonogram at this point in pregnancy before, (usually earlier in preg and then the very end (when you can’t see much)). He’s got a little button nose. It’s really pretty cute. He measures about a week ahead of me. I’m 26.4 weeks now, and he measured 27.3. He’s positioned with his head down, and all his appendages kicking around at my belly. So, it’s fun to see all his crazy movements. Ryan had his back to my belly, so I never got to see much movement.

The funniest is that the sonographer was trying to get a picture of his “fire hose”, but he wouldn’t get his hand off of it. Typical. She was jiggling my belly around trying to get him to get his hands off. Well, after he revealed himself, it was determined he’s still a boy. Dr. Finney said, “Beautiful penis shot.” Haha. Love her.

I made a quick stop at the weight scale…ugh. Why?!? I don’t know. I just did. I’m once again, gaining more weight per month than recommended… guess I need to ease up on having dessert after lunch and dinner.

For now, I guess you can say his cravings are: diet caffeine free coke floats, egg noodles with ketchup, watermelon (ohhhh, my I’m loving the watermelon), and candy (no chocolate, just juicy candy).

For names….we’re back on Cooper. We’ve now gone from Parker, Cooper, Sam, Tate and now back to Cooper.

One for the Book....

So, Rod picked up Ryan from school yesterday. When I got home, I noticed Ryan was in a different colored shirt and shorts from what I put him in that morning. Like a total dorky mom, I say, "Looks like someone had to have their clothes changed." Rod then proceeded to tell me that Ryan asked to use the potty at school. PAUSE....Wha, huh???? It can't be time yet. So, they set him on the toilet, he started peeing PAUSE again... he knew what to do?!?!, and then the tuckus couldn't hold him up any longer. He fell in, soaking his clothes, and peeing everywhere.

After Rod told me, we both started laughing, but now I'm worried he'll be scared of the toilet for life. We have a big trip to Maine toward the end of September....diapers only please. So, I'm okay if he's scared for a while.

The teacher mentioned to me this morning that he was quivering his lip after he fell in (he would have a quivering lip if he were in a hot tub.)

That's our little story for his blog.

Six-Month Comparison, Take 2

I still say Ryan's wins.

Six Month Comparison

Baby #1

Baby #2

I might venture to say that Baby #1 provided a bigger belly at six months, than Baby #2??? What do y'all think? (I'm not officially six months yet. Will be in a week, i think)