Halloween at Play School

Ramsey had his first little party at play school yesterday morning. Cope had the day off of work so we both got to go and my Mom and Morgan came over too. It was soooo cute. Ramsey of course is in the youngest class so none of them really knew much about what was going on. Ramsey just stood there most of the time looking all around but he never looked scared or anything. It is so weird being a parent. My heart just burst with joy to watch him. He looked so innocent among all those other kids. Then getting to smother him with praise afterwards was just the BEST! Here is just a little clip from the 8 song performance:

After the stage we all went upstairs with out kiddos to their classrooms for parties: Ramsey had his first taste of Oreos and said "good"!:

Ready to go home after his big morning:

After Ramsey's nap today my Mom and I met in downtown Cartersville for our their annual business Trick Or Treating. Here are some pictures from our afternoon adventure:

Ramsey wasn't too sure about this whole thing at first. It was like 80 degrees and his costume was insulated:

Not sure what he should do?:

Free Suckers! He was in!:

Very satisfied with his sucker find:
I was shocked that he sat still long enough for me to take a few pictures. It must be the sucker?:

Thanks to my BFF Katie for letting us borrow the cute doggie costume:

Papa Morgan's Law office is downtown so we stopped by to say hello and change Ramsey into his play clothes before heading home with Nama. He thought streaking the office was way more fun then Trick Or Treating:

We have a busy next few days. Ramsey has a party at play school in the morning and is then spending the night with Nama and Papa so Cope and I can attend our Adults only neighborhood Halloween Party. Saturday after the UGA game our friends are coming over with their son Ty to do some neighborhood candy getting. Hope to be back with more pics form our adventures soon.

Who Couldn't Love A Face Like This?

We Sure Do! Miss Sage is still the sweetest girl even with a punk for a doggie brother and a WILD child for her human brother.

Akin Fall Festival

Sunday afternoon My Mom and Morgan held their first Fall Festival out at their little river house. We all brought our own pumpkins to carve and we had my sister, Paige (located in NYC) and my Sister-in law, Cindy (located in South GA) to be the judges via computer. Even though mine wasn't a winner it was still fun and festive. We had great food and my Mom and Morgan went all out with Ham, Sweet Potatoes, Yeast Rolls, Green Beans, and for desert was individual, homemade apple dumplings. Can I get an Amen? It was heaven! Besides that we all just played around with the kiddies outside and caught up on each others lives a bit. Cope's parents came down, which was nice and even though Cope had drill he still made it just in time for dinner. Here are some pics from the fun fall afternoon:

Grampy and Ramsey playing some croquet:

Ramsey in his "I'm mad" stance:

Pumpkin carvers at work:

Mom (aka Nama) showing Ramsey about the shape sorter pumpkin she made for him:

Ramsey helping me with the goop:

Hammering the croquet balls:

Strolling with Papa Morgan:

Standing in line to wash his pears he picked off the tree:

Playing with Ansley and Connor at the shape sorter:

Lined up for Judging (mine is on the far left #7. It is supposed to be Curious George?):

Ansley and Papa returning from more pear picking: It was a fun afternoon. Thanks for hosting Mom and Morgan!

Big Boy Hair Cut

Ramsey has had about 3 or 4 hair cuts to date and my kind friend, Kim has come to our house thinking it would Ramsey more comfortable and we just put him in his high chair and turned on some cartoons. We'll he began to totally hate it as he is so comfortable in his own environment he doesn't hesitate to come unglued these days. Kim, has had a busy schedule and asked if I thought it would be okay to just bring him to her salon on Saturday morning. I thought, we'll it can't be too much worse then at home. Much to my pleasant surprise Ramsey was PERFECT ! He got a sucker right when we got there and sat still and admired his sweet reflection in the mirror. So, who new the unfamiliar environment would prove to be better? I guess I should take this as a lesson to keep him on his toes for optimum behavior???

I think He's Got It!

Ramsey has started saying his first and last name. It is so cute when they just pick up on something. He also has learned that his Daddy's name is "Cope". He must not realize I have a name other then "Mommy" too???

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Picture Post

How many much stuff can you cram into doggie crate? Check out those abs (maybe he can give his Momma some pointers):Juice break with Daddy at Bounce N Beans:
Posing in his cute outfit for Church:
Faking the "cheese" smile:Looking at Trucks on the computer with Miss Christine:

The sweetest little sleeper:

Bubble Bath

Gold Rush 2009

Despite having been held captive in our home this past week by that darn stomach virus we were determined to bust out and make it to Gold Rush in Dahlonega this year. We haven't been since we graduated from North Georgia in 2003, probably due to the fact that we lived in upstate NY for 4 of those years. We got up and got going early and made it to D-town (Dahlonega) about 10:30 where we were greeted but rain and very cold air. We bundled up and and went on. We made it around to most all the booths and then realized it was only 11:30, we were freezing and our friends hadn't even gotten to town yet. So we made a pit stop at the student center, went to get some lunch, and then drove a sleepy little boy around for an hour nap. After that we finally met up with some favorite friends at our old watering hole (El Maugey). I'm not sure what the deal was but Ramsey had a complete tantrum/meltdown right when we got there. I could not tell if he was scared of something or just overwhelmed by so many people wanting his attention. He was in a full on RAGE. That sort of stunk since it was the first time some of our buddies had met out normally WILD and happy little guy. Between Cope and I we manage a quick visit, a quick beer, and also managed to calm Ramsey down somewhat. Although he still refused to be pleasant??? Oh, well. I suppose that is life with kids at time huh? Other then that he was really well behaved all day but did not want to ride in his stroller and wanted to be carried. Our forearms are totally sore today.

After that we headed to Gainesville to my Dad and Donna's house for dinner. Ramsey made himself right at home and once my dad gifted him with a new toy car he was set for the evening. We had a good dinner of burgers, fries, sweet tea, and yummy dessert. Around 8:00pm we got Ramsey in his PJ's and headed for home. Ramsey conked out by the time we got on the interstate. So as you can tell it was a busy overall but a much needed out of the house getaway.

Here are some pics from our adventure:

Ramsey is mad because I'm taking his picture:Mad to be riding in the dumb ole stroller:Finally happy to be in out of the cold weather:Posing at the place where this Rowell family all began:Catching a quick drink while waiting on some friends:The best project we've done since college, being parents:Sucker from the restaurant owner he gave Ramsey during his meltdown:Late night milk and TV with Pops:Making Cope "cheese" for my camera:Headed for home with one sleepy little boy:

On The Mend

Yesterday I could not take it anymore after a LONG night of no sleep so I took Ramsey to the Doctor just to double check things and make sure there wasn't something I was missing. I mean after 7 days of this virus crap my stamina and optimism was wavering. The doc said he looked hydrated enough and hadn't lost very much weight (really??? This kid seriously hasn't kept hardly anything down since last Friday). I just needed to have a professional tell me it was simply a nasty virus and she said it looked like he is about to turn the corner. I also realized going to the doctor yesterday morning it was the first time I had left the house in 5 days. The sun was blinding. I realized the world keeps on moving even if were not in it. I hate we dropped off the face of the Earth this past week but it did force us to all slow down, cuddle more, be even more appreciative of the healthy, crazy, WILD man, and also I've caught up on tons of Random to-do things around the house. I'm hoping we can venture out a little today.


I have to give a BIG shout out to my Mom for helping me out. She was willing to risk the dreaded bug just to help me and Ramsey. Unfortunately my Step-Dad Morgan did catch it. He is a lawyer and in spite of feeling like total crap has had a busy week full of meetings and depositions. My mom watched Ramsey most of the day so I could take a nap myself and not have to check into a mental hospital. Did I mention my stamina was on empty? So thanks Mom, we all appreciate it!


Cope is back to work and we are all doing much better. So busy world don't forget about us, we're back!!!

Ahhh...

Cope just called me at 7:00am to say he just got to work but has caught our stomach bug. He said he has been up since 4:00am and since I, myself have been hit by a mack truck I am O-U-T at night and had no idea. Poor Guy, he is supposed to start a new position at work today and HAS to do some inprocessing before he could possible try to leave and call it a "sick day". If he doesn't inprocess for the new position we won't have medical insurance (which if you can tell by my latest post, we totally need :) So hopefully he can get that done fast and make the hour drive back home where Ramsey and I will hopefully be feeling better and able to take very good care of him. This is a nasty virus and we'll try to keep ourselves under house arrest until it passes. In the meantime we'd greatly appreciate a quick prayer that this house invader leave the 3 of us alone soon.

Sick Days

I have caught Ramsey's stomach bug (which he is still not over) so we are both pretty pitiful. Thankfully Cope was off work yesterday and was there to take care of us both. Today we're hanging in there. I'm letting Ramsey watch more TV these past few days then he probably watches in a month. Hey, don't judge. We're doing what works. My Mom is going to help with Ramsey this afternoon so I can take a nap and try to get over this mess myself. I don't feel like vomiting anymore, I just feel like I have been hit by a big truck. I called Ramsey's nurse at his doctors office yesterday to see if I should bring him in. She said as long as he is staying hydrated and not running a high fever there is not much they can do and to give the virus a few more days to run it course. AWESOME! He is keeping goldfish and Gatorade down this morning...so far. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we'll be on the mend soon. Being sick really stinks!

10 Year Reunion

This weekend we have enjoyed celebrating my 10 year high school reunion festivities. Friday night we met my friend Katie and her son Kaden for an early dinner where Ramsey was WILD. He actually threw an entire basket of fries all over the floor. His cars ended up under many other peoples booths and he refused to eat anything. Then it was on to my old high school's homecoming football game. I certainly felt I was way more grown up then when I was last there 10 years ago. Ramsey enjoyed the game for about 10 minutes and just wanted to run around everywhere. So we left before half time and got Ramsey to bed.

Ramsey woke up Saturday morning and vomited several times. Thank goodness for leather couches! He still didn't want to eat much and but did enjoy his purple Gatorade. We were planning on a full night of fun at my reunion and then an after party but with Ramsey not feeling his best we figured we should come home after main event and be here if he were to need us during the night. My Mom said he played just great but did throw up one more time.

This morning he woke up crying that he wanted milk. I gave him a small amount which he threw up about 20 minutes later. He is still not wanting to eat any thing but I'm not sure I would either after throwing up? He has had a great LONG afternoon nap and we're hoping some rest and lots of liquid will kick this illness soon. I'll keep you posted...

Needless to say my Reunion weekend has not been as festive as we had originally planned but parenthood calls. When your kid is sick, not too much else matters. The one thing I did take away from this weekend was that I am so happy in my life. I had dreams back then and I realize I've truly surpassed most all of those. I have the guy of my dreams in Cope and a little WILD charge who keeps me on my toes each day. My life is not perfect or glamorous but it is right where I want to be, and I LOVE IT!

Colors

Ramsey has quickly learned his colors. It is just amazing to me how when you really start to teach your child they pick up on it way faster then you can imagine. Now all things aren't so easy but he grasped this whole color thing like a little sponge. We have also started working on counting and the pledge of allegence. I'll try to get those on video soon. Here is our little star student in action...

Costume Preview

I am so excited for Halloween this year as last year we were in NY welcoming Cope home from Iraq and Ramsey had his first ear infection and was in no shape for doing much as far as trick-or treating was concerned. I'm hoping this year he will have a fun time learning about this holiday. We are planning on him being a little doggie and maybe a Super Hero for playschool? I thought he'd hate the costume but it fits like his slipper PJ's do so he just thinks he's getting ready for bed. In fact the other night he was asking for this costume instead of his regular pajamas. Lets just hope he doesn't fall asleep while trying to trick or treat.

UGA Game

Cope and I went toe the UGA vs. LSU game this past Saturday. Georgia lost but we had a great time anyway. Ramsey had a sleepover with Cope's parents which went really well and the dogs had a little getaway at my Moms. Aren't Grandparents just the best? Cope and I met up with a great college friend and his very nice wife. We played bean bag toss, had some drinks, and ate some good tailgating foods. The it was off to the game. I'm not sure the last time I've ever watched a whole football game and thought I might be bored but it was so much fun. The game was pretty tight right up till the end. I was even jumping in my seat at one point. After the game we went to a late dinner then Cope and I made the LONG trip back to our house where we arrived at midnight to get up and get going by 9:00am the next morning and drive to Bowdon to attend church and meet back up with Ramsey. We had both missed him very much.

Overall it was a busy weekend full of lots of driving but Cope and I got some much needed couple time and Ramsey got to get full attention from his Grammy and Grampy. Oh, and the dogs were happy to see us too!

GO DAWGS! Sorry our attendence din't help the score. Maybe next time?

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

So I suppose I haven't posted much about how Ramsey is doing in play school. He is doing great and it truly has been good for us both so far. He is very into calling things "mine" and learning to share. He also almost always eats a good snack there and the teachers even asked me to send more with him??? Umm, do we have the right kid??? It is so cute when I get him as we are both happy to be reunited and I ask him all about his morning and this is pretty much how our conversation goes...

Me: Ramsey did you have a fun time at school?

R: Share!!!

Me: Did you share well with the other kids?

R: Trouble

Me: Did you get in trouble?

R: Sweet

Me: Did you eat a good snack?

R: Juice, gold fish

Me: What else did you do?

R: Play, trucks, Ty Ty (best buddy)

So I don't get every detail I'd like but he seems happy and always has cute papers he has colored to show us and we ooh and ahh over what a little artist he is, scribbles and all. He seems to be just fine when I drop him off and gives me a kiss and say "bye bye" and sometimes "love you".

Anyway, yesterday his little class had a field trip to a local pumpkin patch. Cope had the day off so we we stoked to be able to go with him. We got there in out finest fall wear, bought our tickets, and then the rain came. It only rained about 20 minutes but since there were so many little kids and not enough shelter they called off the event and rescheduled for next week. Oh well. We had fun anyway and got some cute pics too...

SUPER HERO CAPES!!!

I'm am so excited to have finally added SUPER HERO CAPES to my business blog (TN link on right side of blog). My Mom and I have had the idea for these for a while after some suggestion from friends and seeing them in a magazine for like $75. YIKES! With my Moms help we have created a custom super hero applique alphabet for both girls and boys. I love making these applique items and I love it even more I have something that is original to offer. I'm thinking these capes will make a great Halloween costume and be fun for dress up for years to come. As you can tell I made my first one for Ramsey. You should have been a fly on the wall watching me try try to get him to pose for these pictures. I needed some good examples for my business blog so first thing this morning we gave it a go. At first he wasn't having it until I broke out the Curious George fruit snacks and let him giggle while throwing little items over our balcony. Needless to say GAP and Gymboree hold your calls, he's not real into standing still at this stage.

I know I have said it before but I am just tickled that this is what I get to do for work. Actually it isn't even really work as I don't do it for the money but more as a creative outlet and a little validation as an individual is always a perk too! I always say you know you have a good job when it doesn't feel like work and Ramsey and his little friends constantly keep me inspired to create new and fun products.