Remington's Birthday Part One

Today is Remington's first birthday! We had a party for him on Saturday with all our family and a good bunch of friends. 35 adults and 14 kids (including us). OUR HOUSE WAS CRAZY!!!!

Remington did great. I was concerned because he didn't eat much all day and has been fussy for the last week. He put on a show while eating his cake. He was very much aware that everyone was watching him.

I made the cakes. Chocolate baseball diamonds and white baseballs.

Remington's own cake. white cake, white frosting for a reason!






He loved opening the gifts too. It was a little overwhelming (to me too).
His new airplane and Allison pushing him on it!

Work, work, work

The last few weeks have been so busy I haven't had the chance to post anything. After working more hours than what part time is, I don't want to spend any extra time on the computer to post the Toland Family happenings!

I was told by my boss back in April that July and August are somewhat slow months for us. How wrong he was! I have been swamped since the second week of July. So here's a rundown of what I do/have done. I used to work for Sports Authority in the licensced apparel department. I worked mostly on purchase orders for Reebok/Adidas (NBA, NFL, NHL and some NCAA). As of March 1st, I work for an independent Reebok sales rep who sells to Sports Authority (TSA). I search inventories for product when TSA needs to place orders. I request UPCs and product information from Reebok and format the info to send to TSA. When TSA opens new stores, they send me targets for each league and I find the dollar amount in product for them. In the last month I have found product for 12 stores for NCAA, NBA, NHL and some NFL. It's hard to keep everything organized as to what I've found, requested and sent to TSA but I love it!!! All the while, taking care of my sweet boy!

As far as Toland Time....nothing too eventful has happened.

Nathan was in a wedding on August 1st so we went to the festivities for that.

My parents came up on August 8th to visit for the weekend. We went with them up to Longmont and had lunch with Rick and Nancy Hammans. Rick was my freshman history teacher and Nancy was my third and fifth grade teacher. Neither one of them had seen Remington. When I was a little monster (a little older than what Remington is) I took my first steps to Nancy. It was nice to see them and they enjoyed Remington! We then went farther north to Windsor for a 50th wedding anniversary party. Myron and Donna Reed pastored my parents church a few years back and have since moved to Windsor. It was nice to see them and celebrate their special day with them. Remington did so great out at restaurants and in the car.

On August 14th, my cousins David and Jodee stopped by and we went to lunch. They live in Milwaukee and were in Colorado for a class reunion and a wedding. The only time we see them is when the whole Harrison clan is together. It was nice to see them and talk just with them. We went to Baja Fresh since David and Jodee don't get that in Wisconsin. Remington loved eating black beans. His whole face was black and so were his hands. We missed out on dinner plans with them her parents (my aunt & uncle) and another cousin Mark. Maybe next time.

Remington is so much fun. Since Memorial Day weekend, he has tried so hard to learn to whistle. He perks his lips up and every now and then gets a little whistle out. It's more on the intake of air than it is blowing out! He is into everything and gets anywhere fast. He loves to play his little piano. It has been so wonderful to be at home with him and to see him grow and change. We are so blessed to have been able to have me work from home. It's the best of both worlds...I like my job and what I do AND I love being a mom.

Harrison Family Reunion 2008

Over the weekend, we went to the 30th annual Harrison Family Reunion in La Veta, Colorado.
This started in 1978 because cousins from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and where ever else decided to get together sometime besides funerals and weddings. The cousins I'm talking about were my grandpa and all of his cousins. Over the years, they have become known as the "blue bloods." This year there were three blue bloods there. I have gone every year except 2003 when Nathan & I were on our honeymoon. My brother and dad are the only two that have gone every year. Partly because they travel less than 100 miles.

We stay at Sulphur Springs Camp. It's a old ranching lodge with 6 cabins. The cabins used to have multiple bunkbeds and one bathroom so my grandparents and all their kids and grandkids could stay in one cabin. About ten years ago, a new guy bought the joint and turned each cabin into a little cottage with kitchen facilities and living room. Now each cabin sleeps only 4 to 8 people instead of 14-20. Every year, we laugh about why we didn't buy the place way back when instead of paying rent on it every year!

As always, there is always too much food! We had wonderful pork BBQ on Friday night, pancakes and sausage on Saturday morning, beef brisket on Saturday night and biscuits and gravy on Sunday morning. There is always yummy desserts that you HAVE to eat...like S'mores.

There is this rock mountain (aka Rattlesnake Mtn) that everyone has climbed.....I have yet to climb it. There are rattlesnakes in the area and I don't need to find one. Like my dad says, "I didn't lose anything up there that I need to go find." Opposite Rattlesnake Mountain is another mountain that the kids have named Bear Mountain because one year they saw bear tracks up there. It is a straight hike up a small dirt trail. This year I pushed Remington in the jogger stroller up to the end of the trail. The small kids (under 10) needed a chaperone and I needed the exercise.

There was a low note in the weekend. Cousin Sid's daughter Linda and her family weren't there as they flew to Washington DC to see her son Tyler. He was part of an ambush in Afghanistan and was hurt but alive. A reminder that we all know someone who is fighting for our freedom and freedom for those who have no voice. Whether the troops are abroad or serving here in our country, we need to keep them in our thoughts and prayers. If you know someone in the military, tell them that you love them and thank you. No matter what political team you run with, the truth is that our country wouldn't be where it is today without men and women serving in the military.

Goodbye Momma

This weekend was a first for our family. I went to California for a friend's wedding and Nathan and Remington stayed home. It was hard on me to be away from them for four days but we all survived. I took pictures of Remington and looked through them often. It was a good trip for me to get away and realize how blessed I am. I have a wonderful, caring husband and a amazing little boy who has a great dad.

I traveled with our friend Duane who was part of the wedding. We had a great time. We spent about 12 hours in the car over the four days so there was lots to talk about. The theme that we saw most occuring was yellow, which we discussed at length in our perfected Asian accents. We seriously had a great time. We set out on an adventure to see the huge trees at Yosemite National Park but ended up on Sonora Pass. We saw some huge trees or what we thought were pretty big trees. This stump was about 5 ft in diameter.


But the next day we went to the Calaveras Big Tree State Park. Wow! Those are huge trees. It was absolutely an amazing experience and the best six bucks Duane spent on the trip!!!! What is hard to believe is that people say that there is no God....how can those trees exist without God?

The first picture here is the tree we walked through. The second is a tree stump and the tree laying behind it that is about 30 ft in diameter. The third is the roots of yet another tree that has fallen down.

The wedding was an amazing event in itself. I had a great time reconnecting with Chris's mom and finally meeting his sister and his friend Phil. His now-wife Kristie has an amazing family too. Duane and I both were embraced with open arms. It's great to know that our friend will be part of this amazing family. And Duane and I both have adopted Uncle Joe as our own!

After such a wonderful trip, it was more wonderful to be home with my boys. I looked in on Remington when I went upstairs at 1am. He was wide awake and saw me so I had to go in and hold him. Needless to say it was a long day as he didn't go back to sleep until 2:30 am.

Six months worth celebrating

I can't believe Remington is already 6 months old! The time has flown by. He is eating cereal, veggies and now fruits. He rolls over, plays with his toys (mostly his socks and pacifier) and spits and yells.


To celebrate six months of life, we went to the annual Friends of the NRA Banquet with the Harrison clan. My dad served on the committee and worked hard to put on a good show. We had a great meal despite the threat of salmonella in the water. The catering crew did a great job to ensure we were all safe and well fed. My mom and dad won quite a bit of stuff. Remington won a fishing pole. He made sure it tasted good. He also won a diecast car for being the youngest "life" member. They recognized all life members and obviously at six months old, he was the youngest. The oldest/longest lifer has been a member for 67 years.

Christmas to Remember

Today is Remington's first Christmas. Last night we went out to Nathan's parents for dinner. This morning we drove back out there for opening presents and lunch. It had snowed overnight so it was absolutely beautiful. We take our dog Squirt with us because she's part of the family and loves the open space at their house. We had a great time opening gifts. Remington held Gamma Bonnie the whole time we opened gifts. We had lunch and were all getting ready to go the Mammaw and Poppop's house.

Nathan put all the gifts in the car and started it so it would be warm because it was still snowing. The dog decided she wanted in the car so Nathan left her in there. I got Remington buckled in and we were all headed out. I couldn't open the door to the car. It was locked! Our genius of a dog had stepped on the lock button and locked us out of the car! Remind you that the car is running. We didn't have an extra key. We tried to get her to step back on the lock or window buttons. Nathan and his dad tried to open the door using a coat hanger. Nothing worked. So we all packed up in Nathan's parents car and headed to Mammaw's house. We left the dog in our car with it running. We would stop by our house and get an extra key on the way home.

It was snowing and traffic was awful the whole way there. On the exit ramp to their house, Nathan's brother slid off into the ditch. We were two blocks from their house and Nathan's dad turned around. Why he didn't drop us off first, I don't know. We got to the car and Matt and Masha climbed in the back of the SUV. Off to the grandparents' house we go. When we got there, Nathan's uncle had backed into his cousin's new jeep and dented the bumber. Good times were being had by all. So after being there about an hour, we headed back to our house for the extra key. They left Remington and me at home to veg and stay warm.

Nathan and his parents stopped and got a small tank of gas just in case our car had ran out. When they got back to our car, it was still running, the window was rolled down and the dog was nowhere to be found. Nathan thought, "great, now our dog is missing. I can't go home without the dog, Tawnya will be devastated." When they opened the garage door, Squirt came running from somewhere and was so happy to see them. She had stepped on the window button and got out of there! Nathan said she hadn't been out of the car for very long because it was still warm inside. It was still snowing. What a traumatic experience for our little crazy dog!

Baby meet and greet

Today, Remington, Squirt and I headed to the farm. Nathan had to go to Virginia for work, so we got out of town also. We went to my parents for the week. He did very well on the four hour tour. He slept almost the entire way. About 30 miles from my parents' house he came unglued and needed to eat. So I pulled off the highway about 1/4 mile and the dog ran around while I fed him a bottle.

My parents and brother & sister-in-law hosted a baby meet and greet party for Remington. Most of my extended family was there and several friends. I think Remington was overwhelmed with all the people. It was nice to see everyone again. I was glad they could make it to see our sweet little boy.

When will Nathan_____?

Today my mother-in-law hosted a baby shower for me. All the women in the family came. It was really nice. My mom was still in town so she was there too. I'm glad she's been at all three baby showers I've had. All the Toland women pitched in and got a crib for our little man. It's really beautiful. We played a couple games. For one of them, we had to taste baby food and write down what it was. Yuck....I think it was the texture I didn't like or the fact that there are no preservatives in baby food to make them taste good. My mom won that game. The other game was multiple choice. We had to predict when Nathan would change the first diaper, when he would get peed on, when he would make dinner, when he would get spit on, how many cigars he would hand out in celebration....etc. It was pretty funny. This was his mom's way of poking fun at him. After he's born, I will go through and find the winner. I think he will do most of the stuff within the first day or two. He's going to be a great dad.

On the way home, Nathan said, "We need to talk about when to have round two!!!!" I exclaimed, "Can we get round one done first?!?" He's excited about our new little family.

Diaper Cake & Pink Bananas

My friends Deborah and Hollie hosted another baby shower for me today. They were so thoughtful and had it at my house. No packing me up or packing up the gifts.
Our little boy got church clothes, camo, boots, pajamas, a diaper cake and multiple cleaning products. We played a game where we had to guess the baby food. Who knew that bananas are pink?! The food was great, however, I never saw what kind of food there was or saw the cake before it was cut. The joys of being on crutches!

I had a great time with many friends. At the start, everyone had to introduce themselves and say how long they've known me. A friend of our family, Nancy, has known of me before I was even born. It was special to have her come.

Don't let the pigeon drive the bus.

They had a baby shower at work for me today. Erin put together a very nice party. My little boy got some cute clothes and more baby stuff than he'll ever use. I think after this, he won't need anything. My mom was here for that so it was special.

Craig made me read aloud one of the books they got for us. Don't let the pigeon drive the bus. Very cute. Ethan picked out his favorite books to share with our little guy. That is a special memory.

I saved all the gift bags and tissue paper.....at this rate I will never have to buy a baby gift bag ever again!

Vacation if you can call it that

We went to Breckenridge for the weekend in part to celebrate our anniversary and for a coworkers wedding. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have because of the crutches. It would have been easier if we had a wheelchair but oh well.

Saturday we hung out in the hotel room and watched dumb movies. We went to dinner at Breckenridge Brewery. Sunday we hung out at Starbucks and read books in the morning. We ate lunch at a pizza joint where I found THE DUMBEST TOURIST. A guy asked me if I broke my leg skiing!!! Yep, I don't know when you ski, but I ski in July when it's nice and cold!!!!

The wedding was beautiful. It was up on the mountain at one of the ski stations. The food was great and the company was fun....my coworkers are a hoot. They had this dance where all married couples were on the floor. Rvery minute they would say "stay on the floor if you've been married for __ yrs." At the end, there was a couple who have been married over 50 years.

San Jose-San Francisco

We went to San Jose for a wedding over the weekend. It was a much better flight than before. We left at 9pm Denver time so by the time we got to our hotel, it was 1am. The flight home was at 6am on Sunday

Nathan was the best man in his old roommate Jason's wedding. Saturday (the morning of the wedding) it was raining but the weather was perfect for the outdoor afternoon park wedding.

We went up to San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge. HUGE! We took several pictures of the bridge and Alcatraz. We also toured an old military bunker area while there. I would NEVER want to live in San Francisco....everything is stacked upon each other and there is no parking anywhere.

While Nathan was doing the bachelor party thing, my old neighbor/friend Chris and his girlfriend Kristy came down from Stockton and took me out to dinner. It was so good to see him and finally meet her. We laughed A LOT! Almost to the wetting the pants stage.

All in all, it was a great trip and nice to get away from Denver for a while.