Mirror, Mirror...

Ramsey loves to play in our room and in our closets while I get ready in the morning. His favorite is his form of playing dress up where he tries on our shoes and Cope's hats and and then runs to check himself out in our floor mirror. Also, anytime I tell him he is "so cute" lately he'll run to the mirror to see if I'm right. I guess we instill vanity in them early?

Christmas 2009

We really had a great Christmas this year. Ramsey is beginning to get the concept a little and simply having him brings back all the magic of Christmas we adults shed little by little as we grow up. This year was just as fast paced as years past and when the holiday was actually over we were exhausted but really thankful we have such wonderful families who want us to be part of their lives, especially at the holiday season. Ramsey seemed to love presents and wasn't sure why he got so many but he was not complaining one bit. He got tons of books, toys, clothes, movies, art stuff, and so much more. Here are some of the highlights of the Rowell Christmas in photos...


Paige and Ramsey reading one of his new books. Paige and Ramsey are hilarious and argue like siblings.

Mom, Morgan, and Paige came to our house for Christmas eve. That is our time to do gifts, games, and snacks. It was fun and very relaxing:

Ramsey opening gifts till his fingers hurt:

The next morning after we had some quick family time to ourselves we headed for Cope's parents where his sister and her family were there. It was so nice to spend time with them and even though the time was fast and furious is was still very fun. They are moving closer this next year (they are stationed in Kansas right now) so we are excited to see more of them:

Miss Mattie:

Ramsey and his loot:

This kid was so wound up all day. He had to take 20 minute power nap in the car that only gave him that much more energy. He was in a great mood and super silly all day:

That evening was my favorite Christmas tradition, the annual ornament swap with Cope's extended family. Here is Elijah and Ramsey playing.

There get to be more kids each year and it is so neat to watch them interact with each other. Ramsey loved it! How we got 7 kiddos sitting on the couch was the true Christmas Miracle:

Ramsey on drive home that night. So sweet!:

Christmas Morning

Well, Santa Clause sure was good to our little boy this year. Ramsey woke up around 7:00 and Cope and I both went to get him and I know we were way more excited then he was. We told him Santa had come and he said "anoder dump twuck"? "Race cars"?, Meaning he wanted to know if Santa had brought these things.

After Ramsey saw the Santa loot Cope and I exchanged gifts. Cope gave me 3 pairs of new boots and a fold up picnic basket and I gave him tickets to see comedian Rodney Carrington at the FOX. Then we at my Moms homemade Cinnamon rolls and watched a Christmas story. My Mom and Sister stopped by around 9:00 to play with Ramsey and Cope and I got showered and dressed and then around 10:00 we 3 + 2 doggies hit the road for Cope's parents. I'll be back with those pictures soon...

Santa Clause Was Here!

I just got up early, like I ALWAYS do (have to have some coffee and quite computer time to enter the day right) and saw that Santa has left some totally neat stuff for the WILD man. He'll be getting up around about 7:00ish and I can't wait to see his little face light up. Thanks Santa for stopping by to treat our little man right. Also, Merry Christmas to all of you and may you have a wonderful day full of fun and smiles!

Afternoon in Bowdon

Monday afternoon we took a trip to Cope parents house in Bowdon to get pictures made and just hang out for a little while. Ramsey loves to go the Grammy and Grampy's house. We had a fun afternoon and we met up with Mattie and Caroline (cousins in from Kansas) for Christmas pictures. At first Ramsey wasn't having it but then he found a little toy truck and I had race car snacks to make him stand still for a few seconds. He actually did great and there were quite a few good shots. We then hung out at a local coffee shop, went back to the house to play, ate pizza, and hit the road for home. We'll be going back to Bowdon tomorrow for some more Christmas fun!

I love Kid Parties!

Ok, so I must admit when we received this party invitation from a little boy in Ramsey's play school class and saw it was being held at the Country Club, I thought who has a kids 2nd birthday party at a Country Club? We'll my mistake because it was awesome! So much fun!

There was a little petting zoo set up in the middle of the room and it was just perfect for a group of toddlers. It consisted of 1 pig, 5 bunnies, 2 big ducks, and 3 poodles. Ramsey jumped right on in and the lady running it helped the kids feed them. So neat!!!

Ramsey decided he wanted to visit the face painting station. I mean seriously this kid won't go near Santa but will sit perfectly still for 5 minutes to get his face painted like doggie??? He loved having his face painted and as soon as we got home he ran strait for our big mirror to admire his cuteness.

This party was super cool. All the foods were geared towards the kids (which Moms love) they had tater tots, chicken fingers, mac n cheese, sliders, fruit, crackers, and cheese in a fancy buffet. Also, after the kids were finished eating the birthday boys mom brought around custom coloring sheet and crayons. AWESOME! The cake was amazing and all in all it was one of the best parties I've ever been to. Though, I still love a good ale fashion home party too and I've decided if the birthday kid is happy on their day that is truly all that matters.

Dome Game

Before I get any further into Christmas I didn't want to forget to post about our trip to the Dome last Saturday for the Georgia High School State Football Finals. My Dad is the head coach for the Gainesville High and they have had an incredible, undefeated season. So finally they made it to the dome for the finals and since it was inside and not cold I thought it was perfect opportunity to take Ramsey (Cope was out of town for a wedding in NY). We dressed up in our best red and black and made a fun afternoon of it.Cope's parents met me there to see the game and help with Ramsey. I seriously don't think I could have managed the WILD man alone. The game was great but unfortunately my Dad's team lost the game by one on the final play of the game. Oh, well we still had fun and Ramsey still talks about it.

Here are some ideas for keeping an active 2 year old entertained during a 3 hour football game:Popcorn is a must! Even if it cost $4.50 it is a small price for happiness:Coloring is essential:Back to popcorn:Having Aunt Paige to run wild with at half time is priceless. She seriously wore this kiddo out: Oh, and be prepared that the floors are sticky and gross and if you bring cars or trucks your little one will want to drive them on that disgusting floor. Not a good idea. Bring lots of wipes and hand sanitizer and be prepared to be EXHAUSTED when the game is over.

The Sweetest Thing

We received the nicest Christmas card from a family friend the other day. His name is Jeff and he lost his wife and our friend this past summer to cancer. Sandy, his wife was the most energetic and loving person I'd ever met. She was one of those people who just put off a good vibe and someone you were better just being around. She'd come over and play with Ramsey when he was a baby and always just thought he amazing. Ramsey loved her too. We all did.

The card Jeff sent us for Christmas had a note enclosed for Ramsey with a $25 gift card to walmart for him. The letter said that "Miss Sandy would have wanted you to have a fun toy this Christmas so please ask your Mom to take you buy one". So the next day Ramsey and I were off to find the perfect toy. We talked about Miss Sandy on the way. I seriously spent almost an hour in the toy isle looking for something that would light up Ramsey's world. Ramsey actually spotted what he wanted and has been a happy camper ever since.

Ramsey's Christmas Program

Ramsey had his little Christmas program at play school Friday morning. He was totally pumped that morning and we had been practicing his songs. This is pretty much how it went from there:


Kids getting on stage. That is Ty and Ramsey holding hands. So cute because they are truly BFF.:

Ramsey was so excited at first and waving and saying "hey Momma, hey Dada" then after the first song he spotted us and started crying because he wanted to stop that singing nonsense and come sit with us. Needless to say I had to get him off the stage and he just ran around while the other kiddos did they're thing. Oh well.

Then it was off to the class party. To our surprise he dug right into this rice crispy treat:

Ramsey and best buddy Ty. If anyone knows Ty they know he is serious about his food and never fails to crack me up with how much he can eat or how funny he is:

Ramsey was most excited about his juice box. Strait juice (not diluted with water) is like crack to these kids: Overall it was a fun little morning. Ramsey is not much for the stage but neither am I so I can't blame him. Cope is off work for the next week so we are ready for some R & R and some great Christmas fun!

Picture Post

Here are just a few pictures of the WILD man I've been meaning to share:

Reading a story to his best friend George:

Reading with Miss Alice:

Studying the Christmas Tree:

Doing some morning reading (can you tell this kid loves books?):

Pictures These Days

Here is the best option I foud for pictures taking these days:

1. Pull a chair away from the table to the middle of the room

2. Place Ramsey in that chair and threaten him with his life if he gets out

3. Snap pictures like a mad woman and hope for the best

As you can clearly see it only works to some degree:

Santa or Bust

Well, Ramsey sitting on Santa's lap was a toal BUST this year.

Sunday morning my Mom and Morgan came to pick up Ramsey and Me (Cope was out of town for a wedding) and they took us to breakfast and then it was off to the Country Club to visit Santa. Now, as a Mother of toddler I try not to have unrealistic expectations but I figure it is just my job to provide oppertiunities. I try to leave it up to him as to what to do with those oppertunities. I had talked to him about Santa all week. About how nice, generous, and jolly Santa is. By the weekend he was getting excited. We got in the short line for Santa and he had his Toys R Us sales flyer in hand to show santa. Then the photographer guys scrared him and it was all over. We sat him in Santa's lap anyway and he wigged out. Crying and reaching for me. Darn! Oh, well no picture this year but just for reminiscing sake lets take a walk down memeory lane and show you this fine one from last year:

I mean Ramsey would truly be anywhere in the world then on Santa's lap. Maybe next year???