Snowed In

So we finally got snow in Cincinnati, which of course closed down all the schools and brought the city into a panic...such a new experience for me being from Chicago. Like Lisa in St. Louis, Cincinnati just doesn't have the capability to handle all this snow, and with the hills and country roads...snow just throws a monkey wrench into life around here. However, if school is going to tell me to stay home for 2 days with my son and still get paid...bring on the snow! Ty and I tried to get outside a bit and help Daddy out by shoveling our ridiculously long driveway. I also got to pull Ty on his sled, which he enjoyed until his hands started getting cold and that was my sign to toss in the shovel and go inside. Today we have 1" of ice and now it's snowing 4-10" more inches on top of the 4-6" we already have...when it snows there's no fooling around! Thanks Grams for Ty's new boots...they were great!

Mommy's Weekend "Out"

I had planned a trip to Chicago quite awhile ago. It would be my first weekend away from Tyler since he was born, and my first trip alone in a long time. The occasion was my oldest friend's 30th b-day. Jenny was having a milestone birthday and Tyler was turning 19 months. I thought it was about time I had a weekend to myself. I was so excited to see and hang out with my friends but, as luck would have it, I got a nasty stomach virus the entire week before my trip. Although I was only about 70% by Friday, I hoped for a miracle and got on the plane. Although I wasn't as fun as I could have been, unable to drink or eat much, I still had a great time! It is always good to spend quality time with my family and friends, no matter how crappy I felt. I spent Friday with Amy and also met up with my brother and Therese. On Saturday, I had a great afternoon with Marina and Hendrix (that cutie!), then headed out to the burbs for Jenny's party. I enjoyed catching up with Pam, Ryan, Pills, Amy and Marina at the party and enjoying soup and cake! My parents picked me up from the party so I could see them for a bit as well. I even got to sleep in...heaven! Thanks everyone for a great weekend! Happy bday to Pills, and also to Pammers who had her 31st bday! I look forward to the next time, and hopefully I'll be feeling more like myself.

B, Therese and I at Lumen
Amy and I Hendrix David...in his matching walrus ensemble:) soooooo cute!Happy 30th Pills!her "always a diva" cake :) Amy, Marina, Pam, Pills and me

The Pillsbury Clan. Jen's sisters weren't even born when I first met Jenny...now look at them, lovely young ladies!My parents (who stopped in for a drink), Pills and me

Change has Come!

I may have been watching the inauguration from my couch, but that didn't mean that I couldn't grasp the magnitude of the event that took place today. Today, January 20, 2009, is a historic day. Barack Obama is our 44th president, and change has finally come to the United States of America. His speech was moving, strong and inspiring. I am proud to call him my President!

EnterTRAINment

This weekend we took a family trip to a new indoor family fun center called EnterTRAINment. I'm sure you can all guess it was everything trains. We have really had enough of being couped up indoors due to the cold weather, so we called our friends Angela and Tim from our old neighborhood and bundled the boys up to check it out. Royce and Ty loved the enormous train displays as trains zoomed all around us. Throughout the displays there were tons of buttons to push to control various aspects and sounds within the train cities...the boys loved it. At the end of the displays was a kid-zone that had trains to play with, huge Thomas trains to crawl in, a merry-go-round and a jungle gym of sorts. It was a fun way to spend a cold Sunday!

Wow...sweet trains!
Angela, Tim and Royce (just turned 1 this month!)
Royce trying out all the buttons
Pure excitement

He's Motorized!

For Christmas Tyler got his first motorized car from the very generous Alfred family! At first I was thinking, are you crazy people, but once we opened it I noticed it was toddler friendly with only 1 button that you have to hold down to move forward. Needless to say...Ty loves it! He hasn't figured out the whole steering thing yet...but we're working on it! We took it outside one time before it got too cold. We are looking forward to hours of fun when the weather finally gets warmer.

From Waddlers to Toddlers!

Today was Tyler's last day in the waddler room at his daycare. He's been transitioning to the toddler room for the past week and a half, and moves full-time tomorrow. When his teachers told me he was due to move I was a bit freaked out (imagine that). I was just getting used to the routine and loved his teachers, and now they were telling me he had to move...whoa...he's growing up way too fast...slow down why don't ya! After a Christmas break of trying to get my head around the idea (and some of Mike talking me down off the ledge!), I agreed to follow through with the transition, and it's gone very smoothly. Luckily, 3 other boys from the waddler room, along with of his old teachers, were also moving to the new room. That seemed to help the process along, for Ty...and for me! Ty now has many new daily activities that he didn't do in the waddler room:

1. no baby gates...the entire room is free to roam...and get in trouble (yikes!)

2. leaving the room to have lunch in the common lunchroom. I still can't believe they get the kids to sit by the door and hold hands to walk to lunch together! Quite a sight to see!

3. no more bibs...they do more of a smock...and only for messy lunches, not for snacktime!

4. snacks and breakfast at a small table and chairs instead of the high chair table he was sitting at before

5. sleeping on a cot...yes folks...a cot!! If you're laughing your butt off just thinking of my high-energy toddler without the bars of his crib to keep him contained during naptime...that's exactly what I did. I laughed and told his teachers "glad it's you and not me". I am glad to report...I ate my words! On the first day on his cot Ty slept 3 hours! Although it takes some back rubbing and supervision, he's doing great, and getting better everyday. He woke up yesterday with a start and fell off the cot, bumping his head and biting his lip. But since the cot is only a few inches off the ground, it was a minor incident and he was fine!

I still can't believe my little baby boy is an energetic, defiant, charismatic, independent toddler. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home. I am proud to report, Mom has survived his transition...and Ty barely noticed a difference...he just went right on playing and enjoying his friends!

Ringing in the New Year

Our New Years Eve was a rockin party, as you can see from the picture below. Our friends Jason and Kelly had us and the Frantz family over for dinner and games to help celebrate the arrival of 2009. My how things have changed. Our three families have 5 kids between us, and 1 on the way (and NO it's not me!). The kids had a great time running around and we had a few seconds of adult time. Thanks guys for having us over!

Logan Frantz, Ty, Maggie Sirotak, Connor Frantz and Brooke Sirotak enjoying a movie

Ty and his buddy Logan ringing in 2009...literally
cutie pie Logan:)

Christmas in Cleveland

After a couple of great Christmas eve celebrations, we had Tyler open presents from Santa on Christmas morning with my parents, Brian, Mike and I watching on! Grams helping Ty unwrap gifts Sweet gift Mommy & Daddy Mommy and Ty enjoying one of his new books from his stocking
Ty pushing around all his new loot in his shopping cart...a gift from Uncle BrianAfter all the presents were opened, we made the trip up to Cleveland for a few days. We stopped first to see Mike's Grandma Neida and Aunt Louise for a Christmas dinner and gift exchange in Mayfield Heights. Mike & Mike's annual matching gifts from Aunt Louise! I'm jealous actually...I want to steal that red one!
Ty snuggling his new bear from his Great Aunt Louise and checking out Great Grandma Neida's tree..."wow Mommy...it's just my size!"
After quality time with Grandma Neida, we headed over to Sandusky to meet up with the Hester/Burkle family of 60+ for a hotel celebration, glow-in-the-dark bowling, and dinner. Our family is so big, that we have to rent an entire block of rooms at a hotel, plan events and dinners, and get a party room so we can spend time all together in one central location. This year we stayed at a hotel that had a bowling alley, waterpark and a famous bar in it. Great choice this year Debbie! It' s always an adventure!

Tyler checking out cousin Annabelle...it was the first time I thought he might be old enough to handle a sibling. How cute is that!?
Mom (Grams) taking her turn at glow-in-the-dark bowlingNotice the glow-in-the-dark blowing extravaganza in the background...toddler sensory heaven!
Don't worry...it's empty...but I thought it was funny anyway! Drinking and bowling :)What can I say...the boy is obsessed with balloons...see exhibits A, B & C below:) Grams and Granddad grabbing a few more minutes with Ty before we headed home