HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY JOE

Joe - Happy 1st Birthday. Feels like it took only a blink of an eye to take you from this...



to this...



We love you so much!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

The last of the first holidays for Joe and what better holiday could it land on! We have so much to be thankful for this past year. Number one on the list says Happy Thanksgiving in all his goofieness - not sure that is a word, but don't care. May this find you all healthy and happy and thankful for all your blessings!

life rolls on

So, October through January are a crazy time for me at work, but that doesn't keep us from having some great times! Ryan had a couple days off of school for MEA and I broke free from work to hang with my boys. We had a blast at an apple orchard/pumpkin patch. The boys had a lot to discuss....


As did the Joe's....

Funny little pygmy's....

Beautiful fall colors....

Then that evening we had a rare visit with Paul and Dawn. It was a great visit and the perfect ending to a perfect day....


It is weird to think about Christmas in October, but got a jump on things and had our family picture done. Of course I am not going to post that here, you will need to wait for your card, but here are some outtakes....


And what do you think happened on October 25????? Joe started his life as a vertical being. Steps were taken on his own. Freaking amazing.



We also welcomed a new member to the greater Tuttle family that day as well - Lucy Dawn Schaeffer - daughter of Jessi and Matt. Congratulations!!!!

Of course we can't have October without Halloween. Ryan was a Naval officer and Joe was an adorable dinosaur - Trogdor!!!

And just last week Joe and I made a trip to meet Lucy. She is such a doll and her parents are doing an awesome job!


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and stay warm!!!!

my stuff bags

hi all -

long time no post and another month of fun events has passed. i will get it caught up. in the mean time, check out the new link on the right hand side. it is for a charity called 'my stuff bags'. in this time of giving, let's remember the folks that are struggling to make this a fun holiday for their kids. from their web site www.mystuffbags.org - The My Stuff Bags Foundation provides comfort and a message of hope to abused and neglected children entering crisis and foster care through its unique program, My Stuff Bags.
our friend matt - you can get caught up on madeline and him here - www.mattlogelin.com - is the one who brought this charity to my attention. what a great thing these folks are doing.

and how can i post without a tease of the boys - enjoy.

Where did September go?

Good question. Several fun events took place. First off was the fact that Ryan turned 12. I know! Where does the time go? We had his grandparents over for a wonderful dinner and some loot opening. I think he had a good time.



September also brought the first ever LGLM5K, the Liz Goodman Logelin Memorial 5K. For those of you not familiar with the Logelin's, check out the link on the right side of the blog. This event will hopefully be taking place every September and I am going to order that the weather is just as brilliant as it was this year.



Joe also had his first professional photo shoot. Our talented friend Nancy took the pictures and they turned out great. Here is a little sample...


Most of September was spent trying to figure out why Kyle was feeling so poorly. After several doctor appointments and what seemed like gallons of blood draws we finally got our answer. Mono. Doesn't that sound familiar. Yes, that was one of the first tests they ran, but came back with a false negative. So, another doc ran it again and voila. He is on the road to recovery, thank God.

I am looking for October to keep us all healthy and strong. We have a lot going on. Work is crazy busy, but going to squeeze in fun things as well. Last weekend was our niece, Jessi's, baby shower. Can't wait to meet Lucy Dawn in person!! Also, Ryan has some time off school this week, so I am planning on taking Friday off to do some fun outside things. Then Saturday will be our Christmas picture day. So weird to think about Christmas in October. How is that for one convoluted paragraph? Just take it from me, a lot going on!

There's a 6th Grader among us...

Wow, Ryan started 6th grade today!

How did that happen? Where did the summer go? I took the day off today so Joe and I could hang out with him this morning and walk him to the bus.


Joe waved as the bus drove away, it was so cute.

Verdict of the day from The Boy? 'Depressing'. Turns out that the STEM class he was allowed to partake in last year (an eighth grade science technology engineering and math class) is offered at a time of another class he can't miss. This is the one class he actually looks forward to and is where they design for the Future City Competition held in the winter. I am going to call school tomorrow to see what is up. And to top it off they are only allowed to go up for seconds at lunch. I know, where is the humanity? :-)


This weekend was very relaxing. Ry and I went to the State Fair on Thursday and the four of us went to the Mall of America on Friday. The rest of the weekend we actually just did nothing (well, in between the laundry, Target runs, the visit with Kyle's parents, and Kyle running the highest fever I have ever seen).



Joe update - nervous to even type it out lest I jinx it, but the kid is sleeping through the night in his own bed. How'd I do it? Started by laying on the floor of his room next to his crib as he fell asleep. I stuck my hand in his crib and he would curl up to it like a teddy bear and fall asleep. Granted, I also fell asleep, but I will take it any way I can get it! Some nights it works quickly, other nights he is rambling around in there for almost an hour. I think it also helps that his two top teeth are in now as well. Keep sending the happy sleep vibes though and thank you for the advice!

What a Difference Five Years Makes

So yesterday was our five year anniversary. A typical Friday for most, but a wonderful accomplishment for Kyle and I. There were many years that I never thought I would find my one true love and my best friend all wrapped into one package, but here we are and still in love. Not only are we in love, but we actually still like each other. Kyle, thank you so much for all your love and support through the years and for allowing Ryan and I to invade your life. I am so looking forward to our future.


Thank you to Ryan for making our dinner last night. It was fantastic! He made chicken breasts, steamed vegetables, garlic bread and a wonderful punch drink. Oh and an apple pie!(didn't bake it, but it was delicious) What a wonderful caring kid you are!


On a totally different topic. I am in need of some suggestions for getting an almost 9 month old to sleep all night, alone, in his crib. This week has been a rough one. Every night I have ended up passing out in his room on the couch. Not condusive for a good night sleep and I know it is forming bad sleeping habits in his little brain. We have a nightly routine that has not changed and he goes down just fine. Then he starts waking up CRYING about an hour later. Get him back to sleep and sometimes back into his bed and the pattern continues until I get so dang tired that I just sleep with him. Yes, I have tried letting him cry it out. Yes, I have tried putting him to bed awake but tired. Yes, he has a lovey in his crib. Any other thoughts on getting him to sleep in here...

and not here...

Birthdays and Beverages

July and August are busy birthday months in our family. July 21 was Bill's 40th and July 30 was Kyle's 42nd. That is just to name a few. To celebrate Kyle's birthday, the boys and I took him to Major's. I had been there the previous Saturday and had a fabulous pulled pork sandwich. Raved it up and down to Kyle. Since he is also a fan of the pulled pork, back we went. Unfortunately, not so good that day. But the company was great!



Saturday was a fun day. Started it off celebrating Bill's birthday at the Holiday Inn swimming, splashing, visiting and caking.




Then that evening, Kyle, Pam, John and I made it to the Elko Speedway (finally) and had a great time watching the races. Loud and dusty and so much fun. Following the races, we headed into the bar to watch Tim Mahoney perform. I have been following this guy far longer then I like to admit. I will just say that they have been known by 4 different names and have been there for all of them. This time, thanks to Kyle, had enough guts to go up and finally introduce ourselves. I even got to sign his guitar (swoon). Seriously, what a nice guy. Even went and had beverages with him after the show. We will have to do that again. Thank you to Pam and John for driving us home that evening and letting us stay out past our curfew. And thanks to mom and dad for watching the boys. First night we were ever away from Joe. (sniff)


Sunday, after getting some sleep and a nap, I went out and met up with some Creeps. What a great bunch of gals. Good things do come out of bad situations. What a fun weekend!


Other than that, things are OK. Joe is fighting some bug thing. In fact they are testing him for mono. Hope to hear about those results soon. He is still dang cute though and growing fast. He weighed in at 21 lbs 8oz...

Catching Up

So I am finally getting this flickr bloggin' thing down - I think. In an effort to still make it to bed tonight, yet feel good for accomplishing my task here we go. Not going to post all the pictures here, but click on one and you know it will bring you to more.

So far this summer we celebrated Memorial Day at Paul and Dawn's...

Had a great vacation in Virginia...

Joe started crawling...

Had a fun Fouth of July at Kristen and Mike's...

Went to a Twin's game for work...

Joe discovered grocery bags...

Took many random pictures of Joe...

Made it to another Twin's game. This time with Kyle and Joe...

Joe attended his first playdate with the Cribsheet folks and made a new friend...


Can't wait to see what the rest of the summer will bring.