We Missed You, Stella and Dylan!

This afternoon we met up with Stella, Dylan, and their mom for a playdate at Grant Park. Tuttle and I have both missed the kids so much! Tuttle was laughing and running around with Stella and Dylan right away. I was slightly nervous that he would act like he did not remember them, but that was not the case at all. 

Tuttle was determined to go by himself down the BIG slide!

Beautiful Stella

It is obvious to anyone around how happy Stella and Dylan make my little boy.

 

Hugs!! 

Stella and Dylan will always be my favorite nanny kids, and I know Tuttle will always view them as his pretend sister and brother. :)

Family Update

While this blog is mostly about Tuttle, Jay is also very important to me! :) Tomorrow is his last day with his current team at Home Depot before he starts with his new job (promotion!!) on Monday. I would describe what the new job entails, but it will sound like a Kindergartener talking about what his parent does-- I might get the basics, but I will not get his job describtion 100%. Haha We are SOOOOO proud of you, Daddy!

I am having the time of my life teaching preschool this year!! My class is made up of six of the cutest toddlers in the world (minus Tuttle). Most of the students will turn two before Christmas, so they are just starting to talk in sentences and play with others. During the month of September, we created cotton ball lambs, assembled monkey puppets, colored school buses, and painted stars. The planning definitely takes less effort than writing lesson plans for middle schoolers and is always more fun! :)

Tuttle has adjusted to our crazy nanny schedule. He is such a flexible boy and naps successfully at a different house every day. After resting, he is ready to explore the different toys at each place and makes himself right at home.

How could I blog without some pictures with my new camera???

Tuttle cannot get enough of crayons, markers, chalk--pretty much anything that he can get his hands on that writes!

 

A delicious dinner of chicken noodle soup, yogurt, and a fruit/spinach smoothie! Yum!!

 

 I hope you are enjoying this BEAUTIFUL weather!! :)

Milestone Log

I have been keeping track of Tuttle's milestones in a calendar and almost lost the calendar today, so I am going to go back in time and record all the special things that Tuttle has done so far. :)

August 3rd- Rolls Over (about 3 months old)

November 3rd- Sits Up without Support (about 6 months old)

December 22nd- Crawls Army Style (8 months old)

January 4th- Sits Up from Laying Down Unassisted (about 8 months old)

January 6th- First Tooth (about 8 months old)

January 15th- Stands Up Assisted Holding Mirror (almost 9 months old)

April 29th- First Boo Boo- Bruise on cheek from falling (about 1 year old)

May 23- First Steps (about 11 months old)

First Word: "CAT"

*** I realize that really only I care about the specific details, but I had to find a safe place to keep all the information. :)

 I hope that the milestone for giving up that paci is not his first day at college!

 

Another Year Older

Today was my 27th birthday! :) I really did not want to do anything special because it is not really a big year like 30 will be. After receiving a BOB stroller from my mom and stepdad, I was completely overwhelmed with such a great gift. My amazing husband topped it with the MOST SURPRISING gift ever!! He bought me an SLR camera!!!! He paired my new Canon Rebel T2i with a telephoto lens, as well. I am still in shock and spent most of the day playing with my new toy.

My Handsome and Generous Husband

Tuttle was forced to participate in an all day photo session, but who doesn't want a collection of new photos when the subject is so darn cute???

I am still reading through the manual, so I can learn all the new tricks of my camera, but the pictures today already prove what an awesome gift I received!! 

Thanks, Jay!!

Going to the Chapel.....

Jay and I celebrated Paul and Val's wedding this weekend! Gram and Grumps kept Tuttle, so it was an adult only weekend, and we definitely took advantage of our free time! :)

Friday, we started the wedding festivities with the rehearsal dinner at ONE Midtown Kitchen. The restaurant was BEAUTIFUL, the food tasted DELICIOUS, and the company proved UNFORGETTABLE. 

Cristi and Stephanie
 

 The Groom and his Wedding Party

Jay gave a great speech that really summed up his good friend, Paul. He focused on Paul's moral compass, and everyone agreed that he is stand-up and the best future husband for Val. The bride and groom really are the perfect match! 

 

The next day, Jay left early to watch the Dawgs play with the groomsmen at the hotel. Luckily, the team pulled out a win for Paul and Val's special day!!!

The wedding and reception were held at the historic Biltmore hotel. The ballroom had recently been renovated and was breathtakingly gorgeous! Plus, my husband in a tuxedo was not too bad to look at either.

After the wedding, we were greeted with lemonade vodkas in mason jars during a cocktail hour. Yes, please!!

We entered back into the ballroom for the dinner. There were three food stations, including a macaroni and cheese bar with a choice of toppings. I literally lived on mac and cheese for about ten years, so I was in HEAVEN!!

The size of the wedding made me feel like I knew most of the people, so I was all over the place catching up with friends. Throughout all the showers and parties, I have grown to LOVE Val's family. I hope they come back to Atlanta to visit again soon since they live fairly close in Florida. They added the right amount of Cuban spice to the wedding! 

Justin and Kristin

Jon and Stephanie, you are next!! :)
 

The band absolutely stole the show! Jay is a great dancer and actually makes me look good, so we spent a lot of time on the dance floor. Maybe I am ready for Dancing with the Stars now?

The STUNNING Bride

Congratulations on tying the knot, Paul and Val! And thank you for such a memorable weekend! We love y'all!!

School Update

Tuttle has officially been in school for three weeks and is adjusting great to his new schedule! He still cries when I drop him off, but he stops soon after I leave the room. (I can easily pick out his crying from my room next door.) While I cannot peek in very often for fear of him spotting me, I do peer through the crack in his door sometimes. :)

Tuttle sporting his new tennis shoes from Gram before school

He looks like such a big boy when I do catch a glimpse of him! He is either walking down the hall with his class, sitting at the table eating snack, or playing with toys in the classroom. He seems so independent.

Cheese!! Eating breakfast on our way to school

Tuttle is still struggling with only one nap a day, so the teachers and I agreed to let him carry his special blanket around the classroom. It calms him down, and he has been taking a power nap on the floor pretty regularly! I cannot believe he can fall asleep with all the noise around him, but I guess he is just exhausted from all the fun! He wakes up after about 10-15 minutes and can happily last the rest of the school day. :)

I think Tuttle's favorite part of the week is his gardening class. The teachers tell me that he really likes getting his hands dirty in the garden. I think he loves the playground, as well. I saw him outside today, and he was climbing up the playset stairs and going down the slide HEAD FIRST! What a boy!!

Tuttle is also doing well napping after school. He is averaging about 2.5-3 hours! He has to eat lunch in my classroom right after I pick him up because we will not make it home before he is fast asleep.

I think Tuttle's school is such a great addition to his schedule. I cannot wait to see what he will learn this year!!

Beach Bound to Pensacola

This past weekend I flew to Pensacola to visit one of my best friends, Zanna. She and her boyfriend were stationed in Del Rio, Texas for the past two years for his position in the Air Force and recently were relocated to the beach! Jay kept Tuttle for the weekend, so it was a completely relaxing getaway. :)

 Although I am almost 27 (in one week), this was the first time I had braved the Atlanta airport on my own. I successfully took Marta from Brookhaven to the airport, checked my luggage, and boarded my plane. If you are aware of my sense of direction, this accomplishment is nothing short of a miracle!

I arrived in Pensacola in the afternoon and toured Zanna's cute little house. We took a quick walk, ate a DELICIOUS dinner of homemade chicken and dumplings, and darted off to the beach to enjoy the sunset.

 

The next day, we enjoyed a long beach walk and getting pampered with pedicures. Afterward, we met Daniel for lunch at a restaurant on the water. I ordered a lunch portion seafood pasta, and it honestly would have fed a village. The rest of the afternoon was spent primping for the Air Force Ball that evening!

I styled Zanna's and my hair for the ball. Maybe I am in the wrong profession? 

My wonderful hosts for the weekend 
 

Since I booked my tickets so early, Zanna did not find out the Air Force Ball was the same weekend until later. Instead of opting out of the fun, we decided Daniel needed TWO hot dates! I even was able to rewear a bridesmaid's dress from a friend's wedding. Who ever had the opportunity to do that? (I realize many do not want the opportunity! Hehe)

The ball was held at the National Naval Aviation Museum. It was amazing to eat dinner under such beautiful and impressive planes. Although we were surprised there was no dancing, Zanna and I decided it was a blessing since our feet were being punished for our shoe choices. We did rock the shoes, though!

On Sunday, I slept in until 9:00....yeah!! As a finale to the great weekend, Zanna and I went to an afternoon showing of The Lion King! :) We belted out every song and had the best time reliving childhood memories.

Thanks for the best BEACH weekend, Zanna and Daniel!!

Georgia vs. South Carolina

While in Athens this weekend, we decided not to go to the game for two reasons: 1. The Dawgs needed to redeem themselves from the horrible game last Saturday 2. We were enjoying our family time at Granny's with Grandmommy, Granddaddy, and Aunt Peach so much! 

We got decked out in our Georgia gear and took some pictures in Granny's yard. Tuttle loved exploring, and I know it brought back a lot of memories of Jay' childhood.

Right before the game started Grandmommy decided Tuttle needed more toys to keep at Granny's house, so off to Toys-R-Us we went. In true Grandmommy fashion, if Tuttle touched it, it went in the cart. We came home with books, emergency vehicles, a race car, a ball, two stuffed animals, two train movies, and a bag of diapers. Christmas in September! :)

 

Granddaddy was kept busy following Tuttle ALL OVER the yard.

 

 Even though our team did not win, it was an exciting game to watch and gave us a little hope that the Dawgs could improve the season. Next week, Jay is bringing Tuttle to watch the Dawgs in person! Three generations of Jere Tuttle Thorne are headed to Sanford Stadium.