Christmas 2007

Over the last several days alot has happened due to the holidays. Mike's family came to visit and my Mom made her annual trip. This was her first Christmas morning with Mike and I (and Rooney too!). The tradition of orange rolls proceeded but many traditions have to adapt to new families being formed and we "forgot" to watch Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve! Chevy you were missed. Christmas morning found us without a working camera so hopefully I'll get some pics from Mom soon (no pressure Mom but the world is waiting) and so much happened that I could not possibly go over it all. I'm posting a few pics here but hopefully we'll have a whole series posted on Flickr soon!

Sing For Your Breakfast

A Cupcake For Cheesie

Since we formed our new group we've been as busy as ever. Really...just the way I like it! But recently we've been able to reconnect with some of our old friends we don't get to see as often. This weekend we went to a friend's birthday party where we built graham cracker houses. Mike built the structure then I decorated. I really decorated the hell out of this thing too. It was beautiful. So beautiful and tempting in fact, that when we got home and relaxed after an afternoon of 2 year olds hopped up on candy, we were horrified to find out Courage ate the house! Good bye house. I loved you for the 2 hours I had you. Thankfully today at Toddler Time at Krista's house we made new graham cracker houses. I didn't get to spend as much time on this one but Roonster and I are proud.


Rooney is really talking now. He knows all his colors and can even say purple. Sometimes his words sound the same but Mom can usually decipher what he is saying. He is also starting to count. Sometimes when he is chasing Dad he'll say 2-1-Go and sometimes he says 2, 1, 3, 7, 8, 9 but he is getting the concept. He has also discovered the dramatic arts and has taken to acting like a dog.

The other day while I was making Rooney a sandwich I was giving Rocco the cut off crusts if he did "sits" and "downs". As I went to give Rocco a crust I see Rooney next to Rocco in the "down" position and he was doing a little barking. So I gave him a crust. This went on for awhile until I ran out of bread. Later that night I made Rooney a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. This is not something I was able to get him to eat in the past but I thought I should try again. He wouldn't sit down at the table to eat so I let him get up. I started cleaning up the dishes when he started doing his doggie noises again and was down on all 4's. I was able to get him to eat 1/2 of his sandwich this way. Not something I would normally look favorably on but sometimes you just have to go with what works.

Finally, I'll end this post with some random pictures from the week. With the new club we are making new friends and getting to play at cool new places. However, right before we left MOMS Club a picture was published of us in Renton Magazine. They did a story on MOMS Club so we became famous. Click on Renton Magazine to check out the article. We are on Page 12.

Creating Fuzzy Memories

The holidays are really upon us. I have managed to put that fact to the back of mind for a little while now. I did do my Christmas shopping early but I kept fooling myself that we had alot of time left but you know what...we don't! Mike and I better get on the ball and start creating some memories for Roon!

Last week Mike got our Christmas lights up. Checked off this list. Christmas cards sent out. Crossed off the list. Mike's Christmas shopping. Can't find it on the list. No, no it all got done (except the Christmas cards- sorry where did the time go?) but we did manage to get our tree up (fake again! Where did the time go?) and decorated and we even managed to get a little house decorating done too! We desperately need to clean though. Still on the list but we've got time, right?

Despite all the above nonsense we did get out with our new club members and visited the Botanical Gardens: Garden D'Light. This was really cool because they created all these plants out of light. It was beautiful and the kids all really seemed to enjoy it. Not really a Christmas themed event but they have it every year at Christmas time.


We have a week left of Christmas themed activities before family starts arriving to really kick off the season. Wednesday we have Storytime with Santa. I'm interested to see how this will go. Rooney is frightened of the giant blow up Frosty at the Community Center. I wonder if a living, breathing Santa will intrigue him or scare him? Maybe a peace offering of cookies will keep Santa subdued! Or maybe I'll try to desensitize Rooney to Santa if I keep showing him his 1st picture with Santa.

That picture isn't scary at all!

This post was authored by Q

Rooney's Dream Kitchen

So it's been done. Our new moms group has been formed, it's been put online and we have some members. Whew! That was the scary part. Albeit most of the current members are our old friends from the previous club but we have several pending members. So we're off and running. I've linked the new badge to our group below on the sidebar of the blog.


In the attempt to write this post I realized that sometimes spending a little money at an unnecessary time could really prove to be necessary...if you know how to shop. Just this week I saw this incredible deal during my recent classifieds search. Someone was selling a play kitchen stocked with play food for $15. I was not in the market to buy Roonster anymore toys but I thought what a great deal. I sat on it a day or so but in that time, the places that we went, had play kitchens and Rooney was very occupied with them. Because of this (and the great price) I decided to purchase the little kitchen. We got it the day before yesterday & I cleaned it all up and washed all the play food last night. Rooney solidly played with his little kitchen for over an hour- then I forced him to take a nap. However, he did manage to convince me to let him sleep with not one, but two, of his fake cupcakes! This morning I have yet to have to usual "momma's bed" fight with him because as I write this post he is happily playing with his little play kitchen and is surrounded by all this fake food that he knows I will never ask him to eat.


He really has the best of both worlds right now and Mom can sit in wonder again at his imaginative play.

Hooray for fake food!

Rocket Man

Since Roonster and I haven't been as busy lately we have to make our own fun. Lucky for Rooney Mom is selling baby/toddler toys. Rooney is playing with a new toy we received. Can you believe I had to teach him how to stomp on it? I may have shot myself in the foot with that one but he had alot of fun and he even taught himself how to put the rockets back on the launcher. I was really trying to get an action shot here to put on my BabyCrazy website and after many, many pictures I thought these were pretty cute.

Recently, Mike and I fully baby proofed Roonster's room. We did this for a few reasons (besides safety). We anticipated having to do this for that dreaded day when Rooney is a. climbing out of his crib consistently and b. when he is finally in a toddler bed. There is another reason too, which is, now we have a safe place to put Rooney for his tantrums (they have started) and also a safe place for him to play if we have to be away from him for awhile. So far it has been working great. We put a bookshelf at little boy height and a little rocking chair too. He loves it! Roon is definitely in the two's now. He has successfully climbed out of his crib twice and has stripped himself naked once. He calls Mommy & Daddy's bed "my bed" and he wants what he wants and you'll do yourself a favor if you can anticipate what that is before he thinks of it. These moments are generally more funny than irritating though and if they do become irritating we have a fully childproofed room to let him work whatever he needs out. Whew!


Finally, today is the 1st day of December and it is also the 1st snowfall of the winter (hopefully the last). We woke up to a pretty little sheet of snow. Courage and Rocco loved it. Sadly for them (good for me) it melted pretty quickly.

Moving On

Since Rooney and I have quit the MOMS Club life has slowed down a little bit- hopefully that won't last too much longer. Tuesday morning I woke up and I thought how nice it would be that I didn't have to rush to take a shower. Rooney and I could gingerly loaf around the house and I will be honest that was nice for the first hour. Rooney has started to become obsessed with laying in my bed to watch his programs. He always asks "Momma's bed?" which means "Can we go watch TV on your bed?". I really have to make an effort to get him to play downstairs but thankfully Aunt Annie had the week off of work and was able to come hang out with us and drag Rooney from Mom's bed. Tuesday morning was particularly tough. Rooney was getting bored and restless. He started to torment the dogs and push my buttons. I was thinking how I wish I had taken him out of the house to tire him out when I realized we had Indoor Playground that morning! Ugh! I remembered at 11am...when it was over!

Thankfully the next couple of days Dad was home and we made sure to get him out and tired. Friday, Mike and I took Rooney to a little park in the neighborhood. It's really starting to get crispy cold here so we had to make sure to bundle up. Rooney isn't really into wearing a hat so there was some manipulating going on and the hat only stayed on part of the time. But some is better than nothing. Thankfully I got some shots in from my trusty cell phone. This has really become alot more convenient then carrying around our digital. That thing is constantly left with drained batteries and no memory. It's become a real hassle. I'll have to keep the camera in mind when I get a new cell phone. This one could take better pictures.

(Watch Out Uncle Dana. There may be a younger pilot on the horizon.) This pic is from the Museum of Flight. Rooney, Krista, Parker & I all went on Monday (the day I quit MOMS Club). The boys had a really great time and they both seemed to enjoy the new Space exhibit they had. Rooney kept calling every planet a "Moon" or sometimes he said "Ma-moon". So cute. We also when into their Observation Deck where we looked for landing planes and Rooney got to hear the Control Tower/Pilot's conversation. He thought he was having a really great conversation!

The new Moms group is forming soon. More to come on that!

Cha...Cha...Cha...Changes

Today was kind of a sad day for Roonster and I. After nearly 2 years I decided it was time for us to quit the MOMS Club. Although I feel good about my decision it was a difficult decision to make since I have been so involved with this club for almost all of Rooney's life. The good news is that Roonster and I will be forming a new group with some of our good buds so hopefully we will remain as active as we have been. Next week we will be in the planning stages of the new group and hopefully we will be up and running by the first week in December.

This last weekend was also a good weekend for BabyCrazy. I had a table at a local Holiday Fair and did decent business. I handed out ALOT of catalogs so fingers crossed on some good hits. Somebody needs to pay for Rooney's toy addiction (OK my toy addiction)!

Portland or Bust

This weekend Mike, Roonster and I took a little road trip down to Portland for the MOMS Club Regional Luncheon. Mike and I were pretty nervous because we have not actually gone anywhere with Rooney, so we were leery about traveling with a toddler. I thought it was planned out well that we would hold off Rooney's nap for the car ride. Oh man was I wrong. The trip started out well enough but before we were even an hour into the trip stuff kept getting thrown on the floor, then he would want it, then it was on the floor, then he would want it...there was a pattern building here. So despite the tears and chanting of "mo moke" (that's "more milk" and/or "my milk" for anyone without kids) for at least 30 solid minutes (I was undone by my own weariness and finally gave him the cup. I am thankful to say it remained off the floor for at least another solid 10 minutes). However, the mood eventually lightened when I put Doggie on my head and he did some dancing.

Rooney was really excited when we got to the hotel. I guess he needed a vacation too. He ran down the halls doing his excited yelping and old man run. It was really cute and I almost forgave him for the car ride. The big test was ahead of us...would we sleep that night? We had the hotel provide us with a portable crib. We really didn't know if Roonster would even fit in one anymore but we thought we'd give it a shot. I brought some of his bedding from home and of course he had his entourage of Cheesie 1 and 2 and Doggie. Once it was time to put him down we kept our same routine that we do every night. It worked and I am so proud to say that everyone got to sleep that night and the next. Whoo!

The luncheon was OK but we also saw Mike's friend Jackie, Mike took Rooney to the Children's Museum and we visited the Portland Zoo. It was a pretty packed 3 days so I thought I would just post some of the highlights:




Rooney taking to "Hotel Life"












Rooney at Fake Food World- No Eating Required






















They Have Starbucks in Portland...Yay!







Jazz Hands






When Polar Bears Attack






(Harry) Elephante






Peace At Last

Pictures Are Worth A 1000 Words-(that should catch me up!)

On The Phone- Dec. 21, 2005
Originally uploaded by Q

I know I have been terribly neglectful in updating Roonster's blog. Almost everyday I think about it but then I am heading out the door. For awhile there Rooney thought he was giving up his afternoon nap. Normally when Rooney is napping is when I find the time to run on the treadmill or update the blog. Since Rooney wasn't napping for a solid week plus various days here and there I had to find alot of things to keep us busy. In recent days we went on a Fire Station Tour, went to Pacific Science Center, coffee dates, Halloween Party, birthday party, and trick or treating at Daddy's office.

We also had to attend to some things at home like raking the leaves. Leaves are everywhere up here and Mike has been trying to clean up the yard 1. when there is time and 2. if it is a clear day. In the Fall the weather is iffy up here so sometimes you just have to strike when the iron is hot. Two weekends in a row Rooney has been out there helping Dad. One day we all picked up the fallen apples that Dad shook out of the tree. Rooney really thought this was a lot of fun. He had his own little pail to carry the apples to the yard waste bin but he really preferred to try and carry Dad's. He also attempted raking with the big rake and tried to scoop leaves into the bin with his hands. It was slow progress at one leaf at a time.I am adding video of some of this. I took it with my cell phone. Try opening in Media Player if it prompts you. The quality is not that great but it's kind of cute (there are also pics of this in the link at the end).

Unfortunately this weekend and next Rooney will be missing his soccer class. Saturday, Mike and I went to a school and did a fundraiser with my BabyCrazy business. The fundraiser itself was not a big hit for any of the vendors but I got to make connections and passed out alot of catalogs. I have tentatively set myself up to do a few more similar fundraisers so...we'll see where that goes. Next weekend Mike, Rooney and I are all driving to Portland for the MOMS Club Regional Luncheon. We have decided to make a weekend trip out of it - a much needed vacation...kind of.

I've posted alot of pictures to Flickr which I am linking here. This picture of Rooney I found on the memory card of my phone. It was taken 12/21/05! I can't believe it. Click here for various cell phone pics

Party Boys

At Rooney's last MD appointment it was suggested that we start giving him a multivitamin since he is such a picky eater. I was not really surprised that they suggested this but I have to admit, that the prospect of trying to get Rooney to eat something that he has to eat, stressed me out a little bit. We bought some gummi bear multivitamins and tried to get him interested in them. I did the #1 biggest mistake by telling him they were candy! Thank goodness he doesn't have any idea what candy is. Eventually after a few days we got him to eat the multivitamins and he really seems to like them. Who doesn't love biting the head off of a gummi bear? I am very pleased that he is willing to eat them but I am sure that candy comment is still going to come back one day to bite me on the butt. Rooney has been very good about eating them right away but this morning he was definitely testing me. He had one tucked in his cheek like he was on the chaw and the other one (he has to eat 2) he was just fascinated with. He laid on the couch with it, played with it with his toys and toes, and even had him bouncing down the couch. At first I was getting frustrated because I really wanted him to just put it in his mouth but after playing with it on the floor, the couch and rubbing it across the bottoms of his feet it was really covered in dog hair. He offered it to me but I too had to pass.

Speaking of playing around...before Rooney's nightly bath Mike generally plays with Roonster. I think Mike is partially feeling sad because Rooney will at times be very clingy to me and this playtime at night makes Dad the hero. They have so much fun and it's so great to hear Rooney's belly laugh. It's so infectious- just like his smile. He even tries to get the dogs in on his fun and loves to have Courage chase him through the kitchen. He keeps trying to entice Courage by getting in front of him and then starts running. He looks behind him to see if Courage is following. If not, he'll come back, say "Go" and then will try running again. It is so sweet. He has also tried this maneuver with ol' Mom and Dad too! Let me tell you there is no telling this kid you are tired or that he has worn you out. He just keeps saying "Go".

Who's Afraid Of The Pumpkin Man?

Pumpkin Man
Originally uploaded by Q

Can summer really be over already? Well, if you live in the PNW it never really started. But summer ending does lead to one of the most beautiful times of year up here...Fall. In what seemed to be one day the trees turned into electric colors. Mike has had to start raking, the rain has started pouring and it is finally time to pick out pumpkins!

In what is maybe becoming a tradition Rooney and I went with the MOMS Club to a local pumpkin patch. Rooney really seemed to enjoy running around through the pumpkins but the tractor hay ride was cause for some concern. We didn't buy any pumpkins this day but I was planning.

Yesterday, in preparation for my birthday weekend Mike took the day off of work and Rooney, he and I went back to the pumpkin patch. This time we went with a mission. Well two really. Mission 1: Family time. Mission 2: Get some pumpkins! Both were successful. After picking out the most perfect pumpkins (one for each of us plus Courage and Rocco) we decided to brave the corn maze.

Last year when we went, my friend Sherry and I, didn't bother trying to use the map and we just winged it. I am proud to say that we used our survival instincts and obviously made it out of the maze alive but with Rooney getting older (and crankier) it was good to have Mike there to handle the navigation. We took Rooney through the maze on this little cart (only had one spill over; next year I bring the wagon) and he really seemed to enjoy it despite the corn stalks slapping him in the face.

By the time we left we could feel it was time to leave. Once we got Rooney into the car the waterworks started and he almost cried the whole way home. I don't know if he was just sad to leave or really tired but it was really cute and pathetic either way and I decided to take a picture.

Bird Bones

Yesterday Roonster had his 2 year medical check up (egads I still have a problem saying I have a 2 year old). Good news is the MD has deemed him "perfect". Of course this was not news to me. I say it everyday but to have what I always believed confirmed by the medical establishment really just made my day. Please don't try to tell me that they say that to every child who happens to be lucky enough to be devoid of any physical deformities because I have seen some of those other kids...Ok I'm joking (maybe) but in truth the MD did say that and the exam went...OK.

Beside fighting the MD off at every turn Roonster was given a good once over. I have no clue how MD's ascertain anything when they have the stethoscope on the kid for 2 seconds. Everytime I'm in there I've got to breath in and out for 10 minutes and end up lightheaded looking for a paperbag to breath into. In all fairness I should tell you that Cheesie had a much more thorough exam. Couldn't find a pulse though. The MD had a tongue depressor in Rooney's mouth, I kid you not, for 1 second and he was able to determine he was getting his 2 year molars. I have been trying to get in there for 6 months!

Anyway, the exciting part for me is always to get his stats. Seems he has slowed down on his growth quite a bit and is no longer "off the chart". Tiny is now 36 3/4" and only in the 95%. My dreams of retiring on his freak show earnings are starting to fly out the window. I guess it's just as well- dressing him may have put us in the poor house anyway. He weighs a mere 31 lbs now. My sister has started referring to Felix as "Bird Bones" (she is the Master of Nicknames) and while Rooney may feel significantly more heavy than Felix, he really weighs less than 1 lb per inch. The average American weighs roughly 2.5 lbs per inch! He's all sinew. The MD felt he was extremely healthy and said he did not have to come back for 2 more years. Well, to be precise he said he won't have to come back until he's 4.

I wondered later if he mistakenly thought Rooney was 3.

The 1 Year Bunny

As some of you might remember, a little over a year ago I blogged about becoming more domestic and making Rooney a stuffed bunny. There was a lot of brouhaha about it because as many of you know I am no seamstress. Well I did it! Ok, ok there may have been a significant amount of help from my friend Krista, but I worked that pedal like a race car driver and got that bunny sewed.

Now, only if Rooney would be impressed. To him, no one could compare to Cheesie (1 or 2) or Doggie. He's intrigued by the dog and bone pattern but hardly recognizes the sweat equity put into this little bunny. Maybe one day...

(Drum roll)

Now presenting Mr. Dog Bunny...

Gelukkige (Tweede) Verjaardag Rooney!

Today is Rooney's Official 2nd Birthday. Presumably, like every other mother in the world on her child's birthday, I am reflecting on the day he was born. It doesn't seem that long ago, but was there really life before him? If so, it couldn't have compare to life with him.



You may try to hide but we will find you to sing (as stated above)...Happy (2nd) Birthday Rooney!

42 Cupcakes...42 Chances For Fun

"Do I have to eat the whole thing?"

Last weekend we celebrated Rooney's 2nd birthday. We decided to celebrate a little early because Grandma and Grandpa were leaving the next day. It was great to have so much family here for this special day. Rooney had a great day, received a lot of nice gifts and just seemed to enjoy hanging out without everyone. In addition to 2 cupcakes Rooney also ate his first piece of pizza! Wow! What a little scarfer! Gil gave Rooney alot of pointers on how to take big bites and he had that pizza gone in no time flat. It's so nice to have people in his life that can really teach him the fundamentals.

I'm going to try to recap more from my time off on the next couple of blogs but I thought I should really finish this post on this note.

(I haven't forgotten about the 1 Year Bunny. Stay tuned...)

Thank God It's A Quesadilla

Rooney has been having so much fun with Grandma and (new best friend) Grandpa. It has been so wonderful to have them here and be so close with Rooney. Even if he does not remember this time with Nana and Pop Pop I know this visit (and hopefully subsequent ones) will have a huge impact on him.

Also developing within the last couple of weeks Rooney is really starting to talk. He has now put words together and using sentences. Everyday he is saying something new and has been saying it with such confidence you would think he has been talking for 2 years. He says everyday now "Here you go", "What's this?", "Sorry" (out of necessity) and most recently "Who's that?" (pointing to Megan).

Lastly, the most exciting thing that happened this week (in terms of all things Rooney)...he ate a quesadilla!

It's all falling into place now.

Are those space shoes?

Rooney in Momma's shoes

More pics coming soon! Remind me to write about the 1 year bunny...