Winter Utica College Get Together

This past weekend we made a 4 hour trip(really 3 hours with James's driving) up to Rome NY(a little past Utica where James went to college) to get together with some of James' fraternity brothers, wives, and kids. We try to do this at least twice a year and everyone has been pretty faithful about getting it done. This year Connie and Scott hosted the winter party. It is so great to see everyone and how much the kids are growing. Each year another baby is added to the mix. This year we had Kenny, Lexi, Logan, Addison, Emily, Connor, Olivia, Ryan, and Diana. Diana will be a big sister in August. As crazy as it gets, they were all well behaved! They are so much fun to watch when they are all together.

Unfortunately Carl, Tricia, Kara, Lexi, and baby Nathan live the farthest and were unable to make it. They were truly missed. Hopefully they will make it up here in the summer.

Thanks guys for your hospitality and can't wait to get together again. Miss you guys already!!!!!

Nice stache Kevin! Good thing its only a contest!

Happy 30th Birthday Laura!

Scott? Are you winking at me?

PS : Connie and Scott I am still trying to talk James into getting the cabinets for the recycling!!!!

Terrible Two Tantrum

Well I never thought this would happen to me but I write this with embarrassment, regret, and a little bit of laughter. You know when you walk through the mall and you see those screaming kids throwing themselves on the floor because their parents took them off the merry-go-round? You think to yourself my kid would never do that. Well it happened! James and I took Olivia to the mall last night to get James's phone fixed so I ventured to the ever so popular 3 seater "choo choo" ride(as Olivia calls it) to try and keep her occupied while daddy got his phone fixed. After digging for quarters and realizing I only had 3 instead of 4 I prayed that Olivia just wanted to sit on it and pretend. It was ok so far and then it happened- Daddy was walking towards us and it was time to get off. Well- you would have thought it was the end of the world. She screamed and threw herself on the floor and cried so hard she couldn't catch her breath. Now I am beginning to sweat and think to myself -we can do this. It's all about good parenting- I keep telling myself!!! I pick her up (still kicking and screaming) to the point I have to put her under my arm like a football. We proceed to leave the mall while everyone in the world(it felt like) is staring at us either with humor or concern. We get to the car and now James and I are laughing(better than crying) and just realizing that Olivia won't even be 2 until March and we just got a taste of what the upcoming year is going to bring us.
Needless to say Olivia didn't talk to us the whole way home. Only gave us dirty looks and as we pulled into the driveway she said"I want Mimi!" Mimi being her grandmother. That says it all. Her parents were just not giving her what she wanted and she knew or thought her mimi would.
Sorry Olivia! You are stuck with us!

Goodbye 2008

We hope everyone had a wonderful 2008 and we hope 2009 brings health and happiness to everyone. Here is a recap of the Ruotolo family happenings of 2008.

Feb 2008 Olivia had her 3rd surgery to close up her cleft palate. Everything went well except the awful reaction to Morphine. Finally after several attempts to calm her down, the third shift nurse(very sweet and calming) came up with the idea that it could be the Morphine making Olivia act out. After taking her off of it, 4 hours later, she was whole new girl and we were able to go home.

March 2008 Olivia celebrated her 1st birthday. Thank you to everyone who made her day so special. She also took her first steps .We celebrated Max's birthday(March 25th /7 years old and Alec March 21st /6 years old) Lots of March birthdays including daddy March 3rd and Poppy March 1st.

April and May were just your regular springtime fun months. No big events.
Olivia at that point was running not walking and getting into everything.

June, July and August 2008 were filled with exciting things to do. July we visited our friends up in NY. This is our second year doing this with all of James' fraternity brother's, wives, and kids. It is always a fun time. Thank you Nate and Christy for your hospitality. What a wonderful tradition! We also ventured to RI for a week stay at a cottage in Narragansett. We had a blast going to the beach and Olivia loved the sand. August 30th our dear friends Erin and Pete welcomed Riley Lynn Ives 8lbs 10oz into the world. At the same time I made a life changing decision and left my job of 11 years. It was a big decision but worth it. I spend more time with Olivia and I was also able to spend more time with Erin helping her with Riley and just being a friend. We also made a trip up to New Hampshire to visit family. We spent a nice long weekend on Emerald Island,playing games, picking wild blueberries and just enjoying each others company.
In sad news, as much fun as we had, Allen Chris and Max lost their dog Yukon. It was heartbreaking to the entire family but he is no longer in pain. He was a 15 year old yellow lab and watching him get old was just plain sad. We will miss him but will always hold a special place in our hearts.

September 2008 brings my favorite time of year AUTUMN! There is so much to do that we actually ran out of time to do some of the things on our list. Between apple picking pumpkin picking, fairs, and drinking apple cider there just wasn't enough time to do it all. October we watched Emily and Matt tie the knot and also celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary. Fast approaching was Halloween. We were all prepared that Olivia was going to be a pig but early that morning we realized that the costume was not an easy costume to put on and she hated it. I had to run out to the store to find something much more comfortable for trick or treating. I found a comfy, warm, dalmatian outfit that she seemed to enjoy and turned out pretty cute.

November 2008
Just another month of fall goings-on. We celebrated another Thanksgiving and prepared ourselves for the upcoming holiday season. Oh! Who could forget the BIG talked about election?
As we celebrated the holidays we also celebrated the fact that there was history in the making. Go Obama!!!!

Dec 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy!!! That is the theme for December. We celebrated Todd's 40th birthday.
Started and finished Christmas shopping. Decorated the house a little earlier then usual so I could get a decent Christmas picture of Olivia for our holiday cards. Made cookies, and attempted to get Olivia's picture with Santa-NOT HAPPENING! Maybe next year!
So the Ganters decided to get Max a puppy for Christmas. The fact is that he had to be picked up from the breeder on the 20th but the plan was that he was being delivered by Santa on Christmas day. Who do you think watched this little 4 legged, furry, CUTE, newest member of the family-you guessed it! The Ruotolos! 5 days before Christmas our house became puppy proofed again. It seemed a little better this time around compared to when we got Presley because the house is already baby proofed for Olivia. Anyways "Banner" was a good puppy and now he is in his new home and loving it. Truth be told. I miss him a little bit, but we can still visit whenever we want.
On a sad note -one of our closest friends Kelly lost her mom to a 10 year battle with cancer the Friday before Christmas. Our thoughts and prayers are always with her. She knows we are always here for her.

So here we are- January 2009. We rung in the new year at Matt and Emily's house(parents house).-Matt and Emily will have a new kitchen in the beginning of 2009. We spent the night with great friends, great food, and had great fun.

In the next year to come we have several happenings. One of my best friends Kathy will be getting married in August(I am a bridesmaid). We will be celebrating Olivia's 2nd b-day. My grandfather will be 93 years old. God Bless him! Who knows? Maybe there will be another Ruotolo baby. You will just have to wait and see! No phone calls please! I am NOT pregnant! I think that is just a little taste of what the year will bring.

Our life is interesting because of our family and friends, so I only find it fit to include you all in our diary. Everyone means the world to us and we just want to say thank you for all the support, love, and friendship we receive from each one of you. Our New Years resolution is to spend more time with family and friends and to enjoy each day to the fullest.
Take one day at a time and remember to appreciate all the little moments.