The Rowell Family

Valentines Party at Pre-K

2012-02-15T03:45:00.009-08:00

Yesterday was Ramsey's Valentines Party at Pre-K. This was one of those I am so thankful I work from home and make my own work schedule so I can be at Ramsey's functions. I love watching him interact with his classmates. They are all so cute and so funny.

Here he is seated next to his favorite buds ready for the Valentine's shin dig to commence: Seated in a circle for passing our Valentines:

Ramsey passing out his Star Wars Valentines:

Prayer before snack time:

God is Great, God is Good...:

Yummy Sugar!:

Cheese!:

Your guess is as good as mine???

2012-02-11T03:33:00.000-08:00

Funny Story

2012-02-07T04:06:00.000-08:00

Let me begin by acknowledging the sweet post from Cope yesterday. Although I was super embarrassed and hate attention of most any kind it was really nice to read. I am so thankful for him and his love for me.

Moving on:

So the other night after our Super Bowl party of church friends and their kiddos, Cope was getting Ramsey ready for the bath. I overheard their conversation that went something like this:

Ramsey: "Daddy I want to tell you something but I am afraid you will be mad at me and I will get in trouble"

Cope: "Well, just tell me and you won't get into trouble"

Ramsey: "I can't cause you'll be mad"

At that point I step around the corner and say "come, on buddy just tell us" no way he says. Then I explain to him that he should always be honest with us and if it is on his conscious then it is always better to just get it out. I promised him if he is honest he will not get into trouble and we will not be mad. Cope agrees. Ramsey thinks about it...

He says OK he'll spill and I look into his eyes as he prepares to tell his secret...

He says "Ty and I put our fingers in the potty" (it was all I could do to not to bust out laughing)

I mean in his sweet little mind this was super naughty and I could just see them thinking they were living on the edge. I tried to take it very seriously and I explained about germs and that he shouldn't do that ever again but that we were happy he told us and we were not mad. Then I asked him if he had washed his hands after his naughty adventure and he proudly said "Nope!"

Oh the joys of raising a little boy!

Super Woman

2012-02-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

It's Cope, and I wanted to take a second to recognize the lady in the picture above. 8 years ago I made one of the my personal greatest moves and committed before God and Family to stay with her through thick and thin. Since that day she has done nothing short of exceeding all expectations I could have for a wife, mother, and best friend. In the first 4 years of our marriage I was gone for 21 months, leaving her to keep our life in order and to give birth to and raise our Son. I love her very much and count my blessings each day, particularly at this time of year (in between our anniversary and Valentines). She works hard and I am proud of her.

Cope

Addison's Birthday Party

2012-02-05T04:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Ramsey and I (Cope had drill) went to our good friend Addison's 4th Birthday Party. The theme was a pizza party and was super cute. When kiddos came in they got their own aprons and chef hats and then headed into the party room to make their own pizzas.

Chef Addison Theme photo album I made the Birthday girl. I also made her a shirt to match and my mom did her invitations too!:

Our Little Italian chef ready to make a pizza pie: Ramsey just wanted LOADS of cheese on his:

And more cheese:

The adorable Birthday cake that was super yummy too:

While the pizzas bakes Miss Katie from kindermusik came to do fun activities with the kids:

Ramsey enjoying his pizza creation. There was also pizza from Big Pie in the Sky for the adults. My waistline hates me but darn it was all sooo good!:

Watch Out Ladies!

2012-02-03T03:35:00.000-08:00

A little crazy dressing stud muffin is on the loose:

PJ Day at Pre-K

2012-01-28T18:41:00.001-08:00

Friday at Preschool Ramsey had PJ day in honor of the letter "P" week at school. I volunteered to help with the class for the day and Ramsey was stoked that I was coming to school with him all day. In honor of the fun day he of course had to get new Pajamas and can you believe he chose Star Wars pajamas? Crazy Right?

Here are he and some of his buds from class:

One of Ramsey's favorite friends JT:

Painting with shaving cream was one of the activities:

There was also face painting and Ramsey asked me to paint the Millennium Falcon (ship from Star Wars) but I made him settle for light sabres:

His whole class in their PJ's (notice how many boys have on super hero pajamas):

One stop was popcorn and a short movie:

Cheesin' for Mom:
One stop wait hair painting. Ramsey picked green and gold. Nice! After activities it was back to the classroom for a late breakfast:

Fun day at Pre-K and I am so thankful to work from home and make my own schedule so I can do these fun things with Ramsey. I love it as much or more then he does.

Go Cope!

2012-01-27T04:22:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday Ramsey and I attended a change of command ceremony for Cope. Cope has been the company commander of his unit and now will be joining a different unit as the G-6. Military positions change fairly often but none the less it is still pretty important stuff. I was given flowers for being his wife and there was a nice speech made about what a great job he has done and how the new guy has big shoes to fill. I don't brag on Cope often enough but he is a HARD worker. I know he does a good job because he cares and really enjoys what he does. I am really proud of how he leaves a position better then when he found it and I just know he will do great at his new gig. Oh and Ramsey thinks his Daddy is a total bad ass because he gets to play with guns and every night a dinner Ramsey ask Cope "So, Dada did you get to use your rifle today?"As if that is in any realm of Cope's daily task.

After the ceremony and cake Ramsey and I went to lunch with Cope.

I am so happy that Ramsey has a Dad that is such a good role model.

Wordless Wednesday- Watch OUT!

2012-01-25T04:19:00.000-08:00

The Things We Do For Love

2012-01-21T03:55:00.000-08:00

So when Ramsey was a tiny baby I was such a freak about not having anything in the crib with him like a blanket or stuffed animal. I know that sounds harsh but that is what the books say and I am a RULE FOLLOWER! When he was about 6 months old I decided to put what we now refer to a "Buddy" in his crib to give him a comfort items to hold at night. Well he took to it like a duck to water and loved Buddy like it was his job. I also love that Buddy was a gift from my friend Ashley from Ft.Drum and it reminds me of her often.

Over the years Buddy has been a constant. The one thing that goes on all over night trips. I typically don't let buddy leave our house but occasionally I will let him take it to Nama's for nap time that day. I know he is 4 now and I should make him give Buddy up but it is his thing. He never took a pacifier and I know he can sleep without buddy (had to use it as punishment before) but he and buddy are bonded.

So this past Thursday which is a Nama Day he wanted to take Buddy with him for his nap later that day. It was one of those morning where I was like "fine, whatever. Your will power is greater then mine today. You win! Bring Buddy". So he goes with Nama for the day and they run all sorts of fun errands and she doesn't know he isn't supposed to take Buddy in stores and you know he doesn't make this fact known. So into Home Depot, Ingles, and Arby's Buddy goes. Ramsey never takes a nap that day cause he declared "he had wayyy to much energy".

Thursday night Cope and I are tucking him into bed and he says "Where's Buddy"? Like it is my job to keep up with his most prized possessions. I checked his backpack from Nama's and no Buddy. He couldn't remember if he had left Buddy at Nama's so at 9pm we call her. She and Ramsey retrace their steps from the day and the last place Nama remembers seeing buddy is Arby's. So she lets Ramsey go and says she is calling Arby's and will call us back.

In the meantime Ramsey is so sad. He is crying "No Buddy!" "He is my best Friend" Part of me is thinking this must be a sign that it is time to get rid of his comfort item. But in my heart I was sad too. Buddy is a part of the family now. As Ramsey was crying and praying (asking God to make Buddy not be lost) I found tears coming down my face too. Seriously? It is only a doll head with blanket attached. Get a grip Lady! Knowing what Buddy means to the little Boy I love most in the whole wide world trumps any rational thoughts.

By that time Nama calls back and says Buddy is at Arby's!!!! On a back shelf being kept safe. (Ramsey is a regular at Arbys and knows most all the workers) Mom aka Nama couldn't stand the thought of Buddy sleeping on a self or the risk that someone from the morning crew might not know and toss him. So at 9:30pm Nama goes to Arby's to rescue him. There are seriously not much bigger acts of love that I can recall.

So yesterday after School we pick up Buddy from Papa's law office (the whole staff now knows the importance of Buddy and everyone is so happy to see he and Ramsey reunited). Ramsey loved on Buddy and took and excellent 2 hour nap with buddy safely tucked in next to him and all is right in the world of this little boy!

Ty's Birthday Party

2012-01-20T03:33:00.000-08:00

This past Monday Ramsey's best buddy Ty had his 5th Birthday party. It was at Devil Rays tumbling place where the majority of birthday parties we attend are held. It is the best place and never gets old (Ramsey has had his party here 2 years in a row and so has Ty). The kids can run wild and the parents can play and/or chit chat all the while. Here are a few pics from the fun party:

Eating Pizza with the Birthday Boy:

The Party was a Transformer Theme:
Playing with his friend Avery. Silly boys:

Letting Mom take just posed picture. Sweet boy:

Sunday Night Fun

2012-01-17T04:09:00.001-08:00

Sunday night we had a few friends over for a big pot of homemade Gumbo and then some Guitar Hero and Dance Party fun. Here are some videos and photos of the kids (Ramsey, Addison, and Bailey) doing Dance Party. They have mad Skills!

Snow Mountain

2012-01-14T04:32:00.000-08:00

Over the Christmas break we took a day to go to Stone Mountain for their snow. We went with our friends the Brown who have Addison who is just like 2 months younger then Ramsey. We stoped in Roswell for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen then then took a little trip to Trader Joes. Here are Ramsey and Addison arguing about who gets to pretend drive the handicap chair: Super excited to go see snow!:

They both fell asleep about 10 minutes before we got there:

We're here!:

Our sledding on the BIG slopes wasn't until 6pm so in the meantime we played i their snow area:

Bundled up and ready to go!: (this is Addison's sweet pose and Ramsey's spider man pose)

The snow was really fun except that there were like 100's of people on about an acre of snow. Despite the crowd we had a blast with snowball fights:

Both kids loved making and throwing snow but man oh man don't throw one at them, especially Addison. So funny! She would give you the look of death. Why is aggravating our kids so much fun?:

Ramsey:

Addison:

Me posing inside of Mr. Snowman:

Our little Family after a fun day:

One Last Christmas 2011 Post

2012-01-12T04:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our Christmas celebration at Cope's parents. I just had to share.

The Rowell/ Steed Family:

Mattie, Caroline, and Ramsey passing out gifts:

Ramsey has mad present opening skills:
Rocking OUT!:

The Rowell/ Dobson Grandchildren in order from oldest to youngest:

Bedtime reading with Mattie and Caroline. I just love how Ramsey is holding Mattie's hand here:

Silly kiddos:

Family Lunch:

Man I love this Boy!

2012-01-10T04:42:00.000-08:00

His Preppy Look:Studying his Star Wars book with his back pack on and night vision goggles. In his PJ's and drinking milk in the morning: Construction man with his walkie talkie on his waist:

New Years Eve

2012-01-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

We didn't have any New Years Eve plans as of Christmas time so we decided to invite a few friends and their kids over and just have a low key, game night at our house. It turned out to be super fun and all the kiddos made it to midnight with no problem. This was the first time I had stayed up to ring in the New Year in several years. Here are some pics from our fun evening:
Cope on the mic during Rock Band: Ryan on drums:

Saunders on guitar:

Ramsey and Cope playing Wii:

The whole gang in action with Katie on drums:

Look at the concentration on his face:

Get it Saunders!:

Katie and Saunders doing some Dance Party:

Heather and Stephen battling in Dance Party:

Get it Browns!:

Nice moves Stephen:

Katie dancing with Katie Anne and Bailey:

The Rowell family at midnight:

Confessions

2012-01-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

I sort of stole this idea from another blog but only cause it is a great idea. We so often on our blogs gab about how great life is and how awesome our kids are but thought I'd take a minute to be honest and confess some of my less then ideal attributes as of lately:

1) I don't work out- Why? I hate it. It hurts. I don't want to spend any part of my day in pain. I know I should do it for my health but I don't! Maybe one day I'll be insane and think it is a good idea, but that day isn't today.

2) I didn't wrap a single Christmas gift this year. Nope, every gift from the Rowell house was in a gift bag with white tissue paper that I stuffed in the bag right before the get together. I mean I am just not crafty in this area. Why spend hours making a present super cute only to have it ripped apart?

3) I hardly cook anymore. I have about 7-8 meals in my repertoire that I constantly rotate. Mostly it is tacos, meat/fish and veggies, or the occasional turkey burger. Cope has been very forgiving in this department. I love to cook but just don't much these days. With a sewing job that has be using up my creative juices I don't have any leftover at the end of the day to whip up miracles in the kitchen. I do plan to get back there one day.

4) I don't read. I don't want to take the time or brain power to do so. I would rather veg out in front of the TV and let my brain be mush during down time. Again, this is an area I hope to pursue later in life but not right now. I think I have read like 2 books in the past 5 years. Where do you people find the time?

5) I am not Mom of the year. I let that title slip from my resume so long ago I can't even remember when I let it get away. I love Ramsey. He knows that. I would give my life for his but on a daily basis I am not perfect as a mother. I find humor in my mistakes. I mean just this morning I got him to school 30 minutes late and forgot his backpack and snack. Smooth Move! So instead of beating myself up we just ran into the gas station and got apple juice and cheeze its. Problem solved. I want Ramsey to see I am not perfect and every issue has a solution. I also let him eat waayyy to much junk. He just loves sugar and sometimes instead of going head to head with him about it I just give in. I mean he plays me like a fiddle. I am not as strong willed as my kid. Shoot!

6) I don't keep my house all that clean. I have a house keeper and I am a work from home Mom. You would think I could find the time but nope, don't want to. I would rather work harder to pay someone else to do it. Just being honest. Also, during the day the inside of my house looks like a bomb exploded. Dishes are in the sink, toys are everywhere and I usually forget to make my bed. I mean my Mom raised me better. But when Cope calls to tell me he is on his way home from work I usually run around like mad woman picking up the whole house (not that Cope really cares) but when he walks through the door I want him to think I have it all together. He knows better but it a fun little dance I like to do each day.

So there are about a million more confessions from this stay at home mom but I won't give away all my secrets in one day.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T04:29:00.001-08:00

We had just had the best Christmas this year. We went to my Mom and Morgans for our annual Christmas eve celebration. We always exchange our gifts and celebrate with them on Christmas eve. We have a snack supper with delicious foods. This year some of my favorites were Morgan's saucy wings, my buffalo chicken nachos, stuffed mushrooms made by mom and Paige brought hot Brie with preserves. There was also shrimp, veggies, cheeses and Champagne. Holla! It was super yummy!
We had 1,000 piece puzzle if the UGA stadium that we could work on, Ramsey had a game of Dominos going and we also played our favorite family game of Greedy, which is a dice game. There was also "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" and the "Elf" movies playing in the background.
We opened presents which is always fun especially with a little boy who totally gets excited over gifts at this age. I got a new Coach purse and beautiful coat from Express. Cope got a hunting trip to Burnt Pines Plantation, and Ramsey got Legos and star wars galore along with a fire station play house.

Ramsey helping Nama make the meringue for the baked Alaska dessert:
The next morning after we had a little family time out our own house we headed to Church for the 11:00 service.
Cope and Ramsey at Church: After that we drove on to Cope's parents house in Bowdon. We got there and had a good lunch of soups and snacks. It was so good to see everyone and especially Cope's sister Julie and her family. Ramsey L-O-V-E-S his cousins Mattie and Caroline. They live in North Carolina right now so we haven't seen them since summer. They didn't miss a beat and were instant best buddies right away.

After lunch and some play time it was on to presents!!! Ramsey got Legos of course, a Tractor supply play set, a Lego Digital camera, and lots more goodies. I got a dirt devil, gift cards, coffee, a 31 purse, and more and Cope got bike stuff, gift cards, and more. Everyone is always so generous and we appreciate it so much.

After we played with our new loot and cleaned up it was time to set up for a big extended family party. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the annual ornament exchange. There are some funny ornaments and the stealing can get pretty intense. We ended up with an Epcot and a cute crab ornament. We also had tons of snack type foods. Yummy!

After the party I gave Ramsey a bath and then it was upstairs to the kids room for he and the girls to settle in to bed. This was about 9:30. The had so much fun talking and talking and telling jokes that they didn't fall asleep until like 11:00pm. Oh well, he was so happy to be with his girls!

Thanks everyone for wonderful 2011 Christmas!

Odd n Ends

2012-01-01T05:49:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas Ramsey and I took an afternoon to go to Cope's work and see his new office and go out to lunch together. Here a few pictures I snapped of Ramsey at Cope's office. He was so happy to be at his Dad's work:

Decorating Daddy's white board:One of the place we can find Ramsey these days...Studying Lego and/or Star Wars:He was able to get this huge lego set (the Lego Police Station) with some of his birthday return money. Cope and I tag teamed putting it together. Ramsey is in L-O-V-E!

Christmas Celebration at Megan and Toms

2011-12-30T04:20:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we went to Lawrenceville to celebrate Christmas with my Dad and Donna and Megan (Donna's daughter) and Tom (Megan's husband). Again, I could call them my step-sister and step-brother-in-law but they are more like friends and since we didn't grow up together I prefer to think of them as good quality friends who we always enjoy spending time with. Megan and Tom hosted at the fabulous house in Lawrenceville. We had a wonderful dinner that made by Tom. He's a great cook! The night was super fun and it is always just relaxing and easy to be around them.

Megan, Tom, and Harper the Bulldog: Megan, Paige (my sister), and Me:

Dad and Donna:

Dad and Ramsey. Dad had back surgery 2 weeks earlier (the second back surgery in 3 years) so he couldn't pick Ramsey up but still made him laugh:Donna, Dad, and Ramsey:Ramsey's Lego helicopter from Dad and Donna. He was stoked!:

Little Boy Christmas Exchange

2011-12-28T04:46:00.000-08:00

Ramsey had a great group of little boy friends, some from pre-school and some from church. All of us mommies are good friends too so each Christmas we get the little boys together to exchange old toys they don't play with anymore. There are actually about 8 little boys in our group but we had to reschedule the original date (since I offered to host) due to Ramsey having pink eye and an ear infection. Unfortunately some of the little boys couldn't make it but we still had a blast.

Colin, Ramsey, Ty, and Kobey:

Opening a Thomas DVD:

Posing for the mommies:

Such sweet boys:

Christmas Morning

2011-12-26T15:49:00.001-08:00

We had an awesome Christmas here at the Rowell house. Santa was certainly good to our little guy. Here is the plate Ramsey made to leave out for Santa. Guess he thinks Santa likes sugar?:

Santa Loot. Can you tell there was a lego theme this year?:

View from stairs:
We finally woke Ramsey up at 6:45 because Cope and I were so excited to see his reaction. He usually gets up by 6:30 but darn if he wasn't snoozing Christmas morning:

Checking out the goods:

Brunch with Akins

2011-12-22T05:07:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday morning we had our annual Christmas celebration with Mom and Morgan and all their kids and grand kids. My sister, Paige hosted at her apartment which was super fun and each year it gets a little more WILD as the kids get bigger and more are added. I sort of love the chaos and the Christmas magic kiddos bring to the party. Here are Ramsey and Connor being big buddies:

Sweet Sophia (she's going to be a big sister in march!): Some of us at Paige's dining table:

Paige explaining the White Elephant swap rules:
Our whole crew with Will as a cardboard cut-out. He is in the navy and out at sea until Feb.:

So happy to see Cindy and hate that Will wasn't there but was in spirit:

The kiddos with Uncle Will:

Ramsey and Connor playing Star Wars:

Me and my hubby. Love him so much!:

Ramsey's Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

Ramsey's pre-k had their annual Christmas program last Friday. It is always super cute and the kids are so excited to sing for their parents. Each time it just reminds me of how much Ramsey is growing up. My Mom, Morgan, Paige (my sister), Jim, and Judy (cope's parents) came. Yep, we have our ow little fan section. Ramsey seemed less then excited at this performance and mostly just yawned the whole time.

Picture by the tree after the performance:

Next it was on to the classroom for a party: They decorated gingerbread men and had tons of snacks and sweets:

I love sugar!:

The class each brought a book to exchange with each other. Ramsey got a cool super hero book. He was excited!:

Now he is out of school for 2 whole weeks. Such a blessing to get full days with him but pray my sanity holds up for the long haul :)

Ramsey Push-Ups

2011-12-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

Sunday Brunch with Santa

2011-12-12T04:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our annual brunch with Santa at our local Country Club. Ramsey and I had talked lots about Santa and how he should act like a big boy an not be scared so Santa would know how serious he was about wanting Big Boy Legos for Christmas this year. He got all dressed up and we were ready to go see the big man:

We met up with his cousins (actually step cousins but I hate that word "Step"-it tends to be, little the relationship) Ansley, Connor, Sophia, their parents and my Mom and Morgan. :
We also saw some of his favorite friends Kaden and Kendall:

Cute boy pose of Kaden and Ramsey:

Ramsey was timid at first but after about 30 seconds he hoped in Santa's lap and showed him his list:

Best Buddies:Santa and Sophia:Santa with Connor and Ansley:Connor and Ramsey playing around after brunch. It was also a celebration of Ansley's Birthday which was the 7th.:Later that Day we went to a small theater in Downtown Cartersville to see "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever":Ramsey was by far the littlest kid there but he did great and claimed to "love it!":Ansley and Ramsey after the show:

Picture Post

2011-12-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Our Bulldog Sage holding hands with Grampy at Thanksgiving:

Ramsey reading with Nama and Papa after dinner:Ready for the parade downtown with his buddies Ty, Addison, and Emma Grace: Buddy Ty on the sidewalk waiting for the parade:

Ramsey is 4!!!!

2011-12-06T20:59:00.001-08:00

Our little WILD man turned 4 this past Sunday on December 4th. Here are a few pictures from his celebrations:

Cupcakes for his school party

Breakfast at Cracker Barell with Mom and Dad:Posing with Daddy:That afternoon we went to see Happy Feet with out friends Katie, Kaden, and Kendall: He had to pose in the star wars thing that the movie theatre had on display:After the movie we went to LaParilla for a fun dinner where they sang to our Birthday Boy:He's 4!!:Best Buddies-Ramsey and Kaden:Opening a gift from aunt Paige:Sooo Excited!:ohh, the Lego Bank!-Thanks Aunt Paige (Guess who got to put it together the next day?)

It's begining to look a lot lot Christmas!

2011-12-04T18:57:00.001-08:00

Last Wednesday I decided it was time to decorate our house. I can honestly say I love Christmas and our house looking like Christmas vomited in your face when you walk in the door but I HATE decorating. It is one of those things like painting our moving that makes a big difference but the process stinks. Just being honest here people. None-the-less it must be done! So Cope and I tag teamed it (with Ramsey trying to be helpful-but you mommys know how that goes). We got it done and I am so happy to see it each day now. Here are just a few pics from Ramsey posing with the finished product:

Sporting his French Bulldog Christmas shirt I found at Target. I mean I can can make most any Christmas shirt but I love this cool find:

He wanted to pose with frosty on the couch:

Posing with the tree. It is new this year. Cope made us throw our old one out since he spent over 24 hours last year trying to fix all the light on the "pre lit" tree: Our tree topper this year. I mean when you just have one kid why not go all out with their theme?:

Graci's Birthday Party

2011-12-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

Our neighbor Graci had a spooky costume party at our clubhouse for her 8th Birthday. Ramsey was pumped to sport his new "clone trooper" costume. All the little girls were cute witches or princesses ad then Ramsey bust in in this get-up:

Ramsey standing with Graci listen to instructions for the game:
They divided in 2 teams and it was a contest to see which team could make the best mummy:

Kelly as the finished mummy:

Opening presents. Ramsey patiently sat and watched as all the girly stuff was opened. Notice he has his arm around Emma Grace in the pic below. Oh dear!:

Boy eating spider. Ahhh!:

Thanksgiving at the Johnson's

2011-12-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

The week before Thanksgiving we go to Bowdon to have a Thanksgiving feast with family friends, The Johnson's. It is always so much fun because they have 4 Grandson's who adore Ramsey. Ramsey has a great time and is inspired by the boys that are older then him. Here are all the boys before lunch behind the couch playing with Ramsey's Legos:

After lunch it was off to the front yard for some football: Go Ramsey Go:

Little boys doing what they do best. Being wild!:

Ramsey's Thanksgiving at Pre-School

2011-11-29T04:15:00.000-08:00

Right when he got to his class his teacher had a Thanksgiving movie on for them so she could work on getting their faces made up like Indians and costumes on:

Ramsey and his buddy Thomas:
On Stage. Ramsey is pounding on a drum:

In Action:

More singing. Ramsey is 3rd from the right with the feather hat on:

Then it was back to the classroom for a party. They had cupcakes, cheetos, chic-fil-a nuggets, ad of course juice boxes. Meal of champions. Of course Ramsey had to pull his chair right between his buddies JT and Thomas:

Party Boy:

Ramsey's 4th Birthday Party

2011-11-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we had Ramsey's 4th Birthday Party. He doesn't actually turn 4 until Dec.4th but we wanted to do it a few weeks early due to Cope's drill schedule. Ramsey of course chose a Lego theme this year. I can say this was my favorite theme thus far. So fun and so many options! We had the party at the tumbling center (Devil Rays) again this year and had about 35 kids. It was WILD but so much fun and Ramsey had a blast!

The amazing Cake my friend Shawnee made. Each Lego piece was a different flavor:

Party Decor. Hanging pics of Ramsey from our trip to LegoLand:
Lego man pops also made by friend Shawnee:

Lego Candy Bags for guest:

The party guest sitting and listening to the play instructions:

Party Decor:

Ramsey laying down during his party studying the star wars gift bag:

Cope sliding with Ramsey and our friends little girl, Mya:

Very Full and fun party room:

Ramsey and Thomas in deep conversation (I'm am sure it is related to Star Wars):

Happy Birthday Boy!:

Ramsey with buddies Kaden and Kendall:

Our Friends Cristin and Katy drove from Athens with their kids to join in the party fun:

Proud Parents with our almost 4 year old:

Ramsey and his buddies Thomas and JT:

baby Aspen gnawing on some pizza:

One Proud Mommy!:

Singing Happy Birthday:

Playing in the foam pit:

Opening gifts at home (we ran out of time at the party):

Posing with Grammy and Grampy:

Posing with Pops and Miss Donna:

Posing with his Birthday Loot: Thanks to all our families and friends that came to celebrate with us. We had a blast!

What I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-24T04:50:00.000-08:00

I can't let Thanksgiving get away without giving a shout out to the two best aspects of my life. I am so thankful to hubby for working so hard for us, for loving me despite my quirks, and for being such a good friend. I am thankful for the best little boy who makes me laugh, makes me stretch my patience, and fills my heart with love every single day! I am so thankful to be his mommy. What a treat! Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Kelly's Baby Shower

2011-11-23T13:59:00.001-08:00

The weekend before last me and some of my friends threw a baby shower for our friend Kelly. Kelly is Ty's mom who is Ramsey's best little buddy. She is pregnant with a baby girl this time so having a girly shower was a must! Here are some pics of our finished products for the shower:

The yummy cake and cupcakes Shawnee made:

I was in charge of the majority of the food:
I had leftovers for weeks:

Hostesses from left to right- Mackenzie, Anne Scarlette, Kelly (Mom-to-Be), Shawnee and Me:

One of Anne Scarlette's cute decorations:

Ramsey's Time with Grammy and Grampy

2011-11-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Ramsey went to Bowdon with Cope on Friday night. Cope had a mountain bike race in Birmingham Alabama the next day so Ramsey stayed with Grammy to enjoy the West Georgia football game:

He had a blast!:

He loves their big tub and enjoyed playing in the body foam:

Cope's bike group won first place!!! I stayed back at home to get ready for my friend Kelly's baby shower. I was in charge of the food so I had to cook all day and I knew Ramsey would have way more fun at a football game the stuck in the house with me. I love that he has so many grandparents that adore him so much.

Grand Finale of our Trip- LEGOLAND!!!!

2011-11-17T03:49:00.001-08:00

After our 4 Disney parks in 4 days we couldn't stop there. We had heard of Legoland before but didn't know much about it. Cope looked it up and found out it was only 45 minutes away and had just opened this fall. Since we were so close and Cope was done with his conference and had the last day free we just had to go. We didn't tell Ramsey until the morning of. Needless to say we were all pumped the the days BIG adventure.

Ramsey entering the park: The Holy Land!!!:

Keep in mind as you scroll through the millions of pics I have below that everything you see is made out of Legos. A dream come true for Ramsey:

Inside of a Lego Man:

R2-D2. At the end of the day Ramsey ran up to him and hugged him and said "R2-D2 I love you":

Playing in a Lego playground:

Weee:

Cope inside of the lions mouth:

Cute ride. You got to get inside of these fire ladders and they raised up and you used your fire hose to put out the fires:

Team Rowell fighting the fire:

Ramsey and I on a roller coaster. Super fun:

Ramsey of course loved the playground area:

Posing on the camel:

Life size Lego giraffe on the safari ride:

Cope and Ramsey on safari passing a lion and zebra (made entirely out of Lego's again):

Ramsey the driver:

Posing with a triceratops:

Fire truck and firefighters:

Ramsey at the Drive-In:

After lunch he drove Monster Trucks:

Then it was on to driving school:

Trying to crash. Such a Daredevil:

Cope and I pumped this firetruck and Ramsey drove and showed us where to go to put out the fire:

Then is was on to the boat ride. Posing inside of a sharks mouth once again:

Lego Boats with Daddy:

So much fun! (hey is that lady behind them picking her nose?):

Adorable Lego scenes on the boat course:

Einstein:

Inside the "Imagination Station" was a chance to build Lego race cars:

The you got to test drive your race car on this cool track:

Posing with this crazy Lego Bunny:

Lego foxes just for Grammy and Grampy:

Crossing the river in the Lego "Mini Land" was this beautiful waterfall with Lego deer. I mean it's in the details!:

Lego Mini town. This was our favorite part. There was about an acre of about 100 mini Lego towns. The details were amazing. I mean Ramsey could seriously spend an entire week "studying" these towns:

Las Vegas:

NYC:

Lego Space Shuttle:

Lego Pirate ship that had battles with guns and bombs:

Posing in front of some of Lego town:

Cope and Ramsey posing with a knight:

Silly Lego clowns:

Darth Vader made out of Legos once again:

Lego store that had a Lego movie and movie seats. Needless to say Ramsey just had to sit down and watch for a bit:

Posing (only with Dad's help of course) with Lego people:

Posing with a Lego princess on our way out: I can't really express how amazing it was and how detailed everything was. It was the best day! All in All our Disney vacation was the best trip I have ever been on. Everything is geared towards kids and makig them smile. As a mother that is what counts! I now totally get the Disney hype. It is the worth every penny (and it cost lots of pennies)!

Disney Day 4- Epcot!

2011-11-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

On Thursday of Disney week is was off to Epcot. Cope once again had conference in the morning so Ramsey and I were on our own. No worries, we are a good team. By Thursday I totally felt like a professional. I could hold a little hand, read a park map, and hand out snacks and juice on demand. I was in sync with asking Ramsey is he needed to potty before we entered a ride. Yep, we were running like a well oiled machine.

Ramsey in front of the famous Epcot Ball:

Disney Cutie:
Ramsey wanted NOTHING to do with characters. We saw Daisy with absolutely no line so I convinced Ramsey to give it try. He would not dare stand next to her alone. So I took one for the team and the love of pictures. Notice the look on Ramsey's face:

We did the space ride inside of the Epcot ball and after the ride they had cool space games we would play. Ramsey and I won our game. Go team!

Then it was onto the Finding Nemo ride:

Inside the mouth of Bruce the Shark from Nemo:

Watching the Sting Rays:

Then we moved on to walking around the lake and visiting the different countries. Ramsey found the mini train city the adored:

Posing in Africa with some creatures:

Eating Lunch in Mexico:

After Lunch we headed back to the hotel for a nap and to wait on Cope to get doe at his final day of conference. Around 6:00 we headed back to Epcot with Cope. It was the food and wine festival so we had a fun time touring the countries and their specialty foods.

Posing with Daisy and Donald: Ramsey in Norway. He had to get a viking Hat:

Cope and Ramsey having an little sword fight in the store:

Getting ready for the "Illuminations" fireworks show. It was awesome. Cope said it was watching the opening ceremonies to the Olympics:

A better view:

Disney Day 3- Animal Kingdom

2011-11-11T18:49:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday morning we once again woke up when Cope got up to go into his conference. We were headed for Animal Kingdom. I can say I knew the least about this park but thought "what the heck" we'll make the most of it". Man was I wrong it was great! I decided Ramsey would skip nap for the day and we would take full advantage of the day!

Once again he loved the silly hats:

So excited to be getting in the Safari ride:
It was so neat! The picture below looks like a 2 headed giraffe huh? It is actually one standing behind the other (I like to tell the truth :)

If you look closely you can see a lion on top of the rock sunning:

Once again if you look closely you can see a face in the triangle of a leaf woman. Very creepy!:

Showing off his drumming skills:

There was this sweet squirl that ate cheerios right out of Ramsey's hand:

They also had a game around the park for kids to play. If you could stick you hand in the tree log and identify what they felt that got a prize:

Ok, hands down the best thing ever! The Lion King Show!!!! It was so Broadway:

Next it was on to "A Bugs Life" inside the Tree of Life. It was in 3-D. Hence the glasses:

Our self photo:

Then it was off to Lunch. I had a delicious Asian chicken salad and Ramsey had chicken fingers. We fed lots of our lunch to the cute ducks walking around:

Posing:

More Posing

We then hit the petting zoo(tiger NOT real):

Ramsey loved petting the snakes:

He would pet any snake but asking him to stand next to a Disney character forget it!

He loved the goats:

We stayed at Animal Kingdom until 4:00 (no nap, up since 7am, needless to say we had a few "come to Jesus talks"-you moms out there know what I mean) Then it was back to our hotel that had the coolest pirate pool. It was about 72 degree out but Ramsey was determined to visit it so who am I to oppose him?

Cope met us at the pool with snack and drink and we chatted about our day and watched with smiles on our face as Ramsey played:
Water Sliding:

Ramsey in action (he is the one at the top of the slide):

So fun and cold!:

Day 2 at Disney Continued

2011-11-11T03:03:00.000-08:00

There are so many pictures from our trip that I am breaking them up the best I can so you can see them and I can brag about our trip and you don't have to look at 200 pictures at once and be bored out of your mind. Bare with me.

The night of our second full day in Orlando we took Ramsey to Downtown Disney and had dinner at T-Rex. It is dinosaur theme resterauntvery similar to a Rainforest cafe but just all dinosaurs. It was very cool and the food was good!

Having fun at Dinner with Daddy:

After dinner we ventured out to some shopping since we knew the Lego store was right next door to T-Rex that was of course our first stop. In case you didn't know Ramsey is obsessed with Legos. His birthday party is Lego theme this year it is literally Legos and Star Wars that Ramsey talks about from sun up to sun down each day.

No that isn't Candy it is all Legos!:

There was even a little how to class for kids. Ramsey and I took it and we made little Thanksgiving turkeys:

Proud of our work:

Buzz Lightyear made out of Legos:

A whole doggie crew made out of Legos but of course our favorite is the Bulldog:

Dragon in the water made out of Legos:

After the overwhelming excitement of the Lego store we hit Ghiradelli for sundaes. It was delicious!!!:

Disney Day 2- Hollywood Studios

2011-11-10T03:48:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning we woke up when Cope got up to get ready for his conference (around 7:00am and that is sleeping in for us). Ramsey and I got ready and headed to catch our bus to go to Hollywood Studious. We are super excited because we knew there would be Star Wars stuff there (for the record I have NEVER cared for Star Wars actually never watched the movies but Ramsey loves it for some reason and now I know way too much about it). Here is Ramsey waking up and wanting to check out his Trick-or-Treat loot from the night before:

Our first stop at the park was Jedi school. You have to be at least 4 years old to do it. We were totally disappointed at first but just watching seemed to be fine with Ramsey. To tell the truth he would have been scared up there all by himself so in the end it was just fine:

Darth Vader appears:
It was cute the little Jedi trainees had a chance to prove their skills by fighting Darth Vader: Next we hit the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground. Ramsey could have played in there all day:

Ramsey wanted to take a picture of me and I let him as proof I was actually there since I only have like 3 pictures form the whole week with me in them. Price we Mommy's pay for being the photographers:

More Sliding:

Riding the Aunt:

Posing with the giant dump truck:

Of course for his toy of the day he chose a Star Wars set the he was super proud of:

Juice Box break on one of the rides:

Posing with his favorite site:

They had a Toy Story ride that was super fun:

It was in 3-D and was all carnival games that we got scores for. I think Ramsey totally beat me:

He loved trying on silly hats:

We watch Disney Junior most every morning so we had to visit the live stage show for it:

Me and my little park hopping buddy:

The stage show was really cute and we sung along and danced too. He this mom has no shame when it comes to making my kid smile:

Trick or Treating at Disney

2011-11-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

Monday night our first evening at Disney was Halloween. We pre-bought tickets to "Mickey's No So Scary Halloween". Basically eveyone there on a regular ticket had to be out of the park at 7pm and we got the park until midnight! There were trick-or-treating stations where we were all given handfuls of candy. Also, all the rides were open so we walked right onto most of them. I even got Ramsey on the Thunder Mountain roller coaster (he stood on his tip toes when they measured him). It was scary in the dark but still super fun! Here are some pics from our super special 2011 Halloween night:

Right when we got there at 4:00 we got to watch the end of the regular day parade. Perfect timing!:
Goofy:

Woody and Jessie from Toy Story:

Cope and Ramsey on a ride:

Getting mounds of candy:

Cutest Army Man trick-or-treater with his custom bucket:

Riding Its a Small World:

Posing with Dumbo:

Buzz:

There was even a dance party with the characters before the fireworks show:

Ramsey in Action:

Posing with a pretend army man and a real one!:
We stopped by the candy shop on our way out and this was this sweet girl who had a game for Ramsey to play. He had to taste different jelly beans and tell her what the flavors were:

Bus ride back to our hotel. Sign of a well spent day:

Disney Day 1- Magic Kingdom

2011-11-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

Our First full day at Disney we woke up bright and early. Cope headed out to his work conference and Ramsey and I geared up for the day. Unfortunately it was raining but we had tickets and an agenda so we were going rain or shine. This was also Halloween day so I of course had to dress Ramsey theme appropriate:

Pouring rain but Ramsey was such a trooper. He even stepped in a puddle up to his knees but we had so much fun wet pants, socks, and shoes couldn't keep us down:
Tea Cups. It was not crowded and it was raining so Ramsey and I were literally the only ones on the tea cups ride. I mean when will that ever happen again? The workers were so sweet and made Ramsey feel so special:

He loved the tea cups! I let him drive:

Next it was on to Winnie the Pooh ride. Again no wait at all: Pooh swinging from the trees:

Pooh is soo cute:

Carousel:

It's a Small World ride: Ramsey and I both loved this one:

Cheese!:

My favorite we're the Hawaiian girls

Can this kid pose or what? By the end of the week he was a total professional:

Trying on silly hats in the gift shop:

Buzz Light year ride. This was one of our favorites:

Zurg behind bars!:

His toy for the day. We were going to buy something at one of the stores on our way out but once we looked he said "Mommy I want the Monster's Inc. set we saw back at the Perter Pan ride" Was he kidding? It was pouring rain and we were soaked and tired. Yep, you guessed it he was serious. So we we walked all the way back to the far end of the park where he remembered he had seen it. He was sooo happy! Oh, the things we do to make our kids smile.

More to come...

First Trip to Disney!

2011-11-06T03:28:00.000-08:00

We had been wanting to take Ramsey to Disney for a while and we had originally thought we would go after the first of the year but Cope was sent on a conference for work this past week. They had Cope staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort which is on the Disney property so the room was paid for. Cope asked me if we Ramsey and I would come along and at first I hesitated because Cope would be in conferences all day it is also my busiest season with my sewing business. But I though you know what, when will be ever have a room paid for and it is a great time of year to be at Disney (with low crowds) so we were in!

We left last Sunday morning and the whole trip took about 7 hours. We borrowed a DVD car player from our friends and Ramsey was in heaven:

We got there around 4:00 on Sunday and got checked into our room, then went to Shades of Green to get our military discounted tickets. We got the 4 day Disney park hopper passes. We decided to make the rest of the day getting settled in and making out of plan of attack for the week ahead. Cope and Ramsey had a little gun fight in the store at our hotel:
Arrrg!

I have about 1,000 pictures from our super fun adventure. I will break them up by each day over the coming week. So prepare yourselves I was a total paparazzi parent this past week. But come on, what is better then your kid at the the most Magical Place on Earth? :)

Annual Fall Festival at the River House

2011-10-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

Every year my Mom and Morgan throw a fun fall festival at their River House. It begins in the afternoon with pumpkin carving, followed by games for the grand kids, a yummy dinner, lots of snacks, a hayride, and then finally dessert (yummy apple pie) and pumpkin judging. I won this year with my Yoda design pumpkin!

Ramsey doing the candy toss into the pumpkin:

Hayride:
Pumpkins lined up for the judging:

Yoda was the winner!

Ramsey's weekend with his Grammy and Grampy

2011-10-25T20:29:00.001-07:00

I took Ramsey to Bowdon last Friday to spend a fun weekend with His Grammy and Grampy (Cope has been a Captain Career course in Augusta) so it was so nice to have a 2 day break for myself and know Ramsey was in such loving and fun care. He had a blast! Here are some pics from his adventure:

Baking brownies with Grammy:

visiting Historical things Saturday Morning:

posing:

Tractor Driving:

Posing with a pig:

Posing with his newest and most favorite "gwirl": Juliette:

Playing with Grampy:

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2011-10-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Bundled up and ready to go:

Ramsey and his buddy Thomas: His whole class ready to go on the Hayride!:

Excited!:

Class in the Maze (Ramsey is the second to the right):

Sliding through the corn maze:

Petting the baby rabbits:

Watching the ducks in their bath:

Petting another bigger bunny:

Ring Toss:

Riding the tire horses:

Posing for Mom (Crazy pic):

Ok, serious face among the pumpkins:
Ramsey, Ty, Connor, and Thomas in pumpkins:

Fair with Aunt Paige

2011-10-18T21:28:00.001-07:00

My sister (aunt Paige) took Ramsey to the fair a few weeks ago. He was so excited! Also Cope and I were excited to go on a date night ourselves while he was away. Here are some pics from his adventure:

Readey to go: In the car on the way to dinner at Chic Fil A:

Nuggets and Apple Juice. Yum! 5 minutes to play:Time to go to the fair:

Aunt Paige ad Ramsey:Riding in the Monster Trucks all by himself!:Light Sabre!:Ice Cream to top off the night!: (Banilla to be exact)On the way home:

Thanks Aunt Paige, he had a blast!!!!!

Picture Post

2011-10-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Early morning colder weather asking for a blanket before milk and Disney channel:

Yesterday we went to a party for Ramsey's friend Sophie at Devil Rays tumbling center. It is the place Ramsey take tumbling at and the place he had his party at last year and once again this year (coming in a few weeks). It is so much fun and so easy. Ramsey had a BLAST!

Pretending this was a restaurant and he was the cook. Delivering mom a hamburger:

Serious conversation with Daddy at the top about how to get down:

This was Ramsey and his bud TY this morning at church:

Painting some Fall Decor

2011-10-15T04:21:00.000-07:00

2 weeks ago I went on one of my favorite outings...Painting with the girls! What a fun way to spend an evening.

Pumpkin Trio Step 1:Coming along:Ta Dah!

Friday Night Football Fun

2011-10-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

This past Friday night we (Cope, Me, Ramsey, and our friends Heather, Stephen and their little girl Addison) headed to Gainesville to my Dad's football game. He is the head football coach for Gainesville High School. I try to take Ramsey to at least one game a year and the older he gets the more fun we have. Here are some pics from our super fun adventure:

Ramsey and Addison:

Addison and her Mommy Heather: Go Red Elephants!:

My Dad's wife Donna thought it would be fun to have the kids ride the bus the 2 miles from the school to their field downtown with the football players and coaches. They LOVED it! I was so proud of them for being so brave:

So excited to be on a real school bus:They got do get off the bus and do the elephant walk with "Pops":

Ramsey and his handsome Daddy:

Stomp Em':

Coach Pops and his biggest fan:

2 cuties ready for the game to start:

Ramsey dancing to the band:

Addison:

They also got their pictures made with the cheerleaders. Ramsey just loves the "red gwirls" he has been studying this picture ever since:

Gainesville beat Oconee County 66-7. Fun game!:

He loved running around on the field after the game:

Good game Pops!
Addison and Ramsey loved "Mary Michael". Her Dad won a raffle to be assistant coach for a week and game it to his 10 year old daughter for her birthday since she loves football so much. The little kids totally thought she was a celebrity:

The whole gang:The after affects of a great time!:

Self Pictures

2011-10-08T04:51:00.001-07:00

Ramsey has a slight obsession with wanting my camera to take pictures. He LOVES it! Mostly his pics are of walls, the floor, his toys, etc. Today he figured out how to take pictures of himself to keep entertained while I got my haircut. Here are some of his favorites (and mine too):

Tailgate Party at Preschool

2011-10-06T03:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday at Ramsey's preschool was the annual tailgate party. Each of the kids comes with a parent and dresses up in their favorite football teams colors. It's a fun morning filled with wild little boys, games, prizes, and a little snack picnic. Here are some pics from the morning:

Ramsey at the bubble station:

Posing for Mommy with Laffy Taffy in his mouth:

Ready to throw the football through the hoop for a prize: He Loved these sticker things on his face:

This game was race around the cow:

Ramsey and one of his best buddies Thomas:

Our Little UGA boy:

He has the best group of little friends at school. They are all good kids with super nice parents. I feel so grateful we have found such a good preschool for Ramsey:

Conversation with buddy Connor over what each other brought for snack. Serious Stuff:

Hanging with Daddy

2011-10-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

Ramsey watching some Star Wars cartoon with Daddy. Ramsey is VERY into Star Wars these days. It is all he and his little buddies talk about. I personally can't stand it and have never been into it. Maybe it's a guy thing? Anywho, our new rule is Ramsey can watch some of the cartoon episodes but only with Daddy. So here they are in serious concentration and you know Ramsey's little brain is soaking it up like a sponge.

Alpaca Farm Field Trip

2011-09-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

Ramsey's preschool class had a field trip to the Alpaca farm this past Friday. Cope took the day off to go with us and we had Ramsey's buddy Ty with us too. The Alpaca farm is in Cartersville at one of the kids houses in their class. It was a very clean, nice farm and the little boys of the class loved being able to run around and not be confined to the wall of their classroom. Here are some pics of our morning adventure:

Ramsey and Ty:

A short lesson on the Alpaca: Buddies:

Class Picture 1:

Class picture 2. Notice their is like one girl and 12 boys. I'm not sure how his teacher does it?:

Picture Post

2011-09-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few fun pictures of Ramswy from this past week.

Studying his Lego book:Trying on my boots this morning. He said "He Mommy, I have boots like Minnie Mouse":

Sporting a new fall outfit:

Having fun at Emma Grace's Birthday Party:

Sitting with some of his favorite girls from our neighborhood watching Emma Grace open her presents:

Braves Game

2011-09-17T04:01:00.000-07:00

Last night my sister invited us to the Atlanta Braves game. It was a fun evening and nice to take a break from football for an evening. Ramsey was pumped and was most looking forward to "candy cotton". They were playing the Mets and got stomped by them so we left early. It was a little cool but it was fun to be out and break out some of our fall clothes.

Ramsey woke up from his nap on the way home to do a little dancing:

Ramsey's weekend with Grammy and Grampy

2011-09-14T03:59:00.000-07:00

Ramsey had a blast staying with Cope's parents while we went to Athens on Saturday. Here are some pics from his adventure:

Quick Photo with Mom before we left:

Jim (AKA Grampy) is working on a new garden so Ramsey got to help with the process. Here he is taking one of his many breaks. Is that a cow skull next to him?: Helping plow the fields. Not sure why he wanted to wear a knight helmet to do so but then again he is 3 so I may never understand fully?:

Catching a ride from Grampy:

Uncle Eddie, Grampy, and Ramsey:

On his way home Sunday they stoped by Walmart to look at toys and get birthday/Christmas ideas from him:

Check out the concentration on his face. This is serious business:

Football Weekend

2011-09-12T03:31:00.001-07:00

Friday afternoon as soon as Cope pulled in from work we all hoped in the car and headed to Cope's parents house in Bowdon. We got there in time to have dinner and then all of us headed down to the Bowdon football game that night. I haven't been to a High School football game in forever and it was fun and good people watching. Ramsey had a blast and his favorite part was the "cheerweeders". After a great nights sleep Cope and I headed out Saturday morning for Athens: Ramsey getting in on picture taking too. Although he stayed with Cope's parents for the day and another night so Cope and I could have a date day. Ramsey did lots of fun things while with his Grammy and Grampy. (those pics to follow in the next day or so)

We met up with our friends Elic and Sandyn at their tailgate. They are expecting their first baby in 10 weeks!:

Me and my sweet date:

Katy Toole and Me:

Cope and Justin Toole:

Katy and Justin live in Athens so we stayed the night and enjoyed some low key time with them after the game. The game was a bummer since UGA lost but it was still fun. We are so thankful for such good friends and the activities we get to enjoy.

Morning Dance Party

2011-09-09T03:40:00.000-07:00

Chatting with Ramsey

2011-09-07T12:57:00.001-07:00

Today when I picked Ramsey up from pre-K, I was asking him all about his day like what he ate for snack, who he played with etc. I also asked him how many time he went potty and he said "umm, hold on let me think (as he put his finger to his chin)" and then he said "None". I said you mean you didn't go pee all morning and he said "No, but speaking of that I need to pee right now" I busted out laughing because where in the world did he learn the term "speaking of". Needless to say we hurried home to let him potty but I guess when your having so much fun playing with your buddies you just can't take time out for silly things like going potty. At least he's good at holding it :)

Boy In The Box

2011-09-04T03:32:00.001-07:00

Last night we watch the UGA game over at my Mom and Morgan's and Ramsey found interesting ways to keep entertained. He decided he wanted to try to fit into a lego holder box. He tried tons of different strategies until he decided he was just slightly too big. It was good entertainment:

Studying

2011-09-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

Ramsey studying the Halloween Costume we recieved in the mail. He wants so much to be a serious character like a Storm Trooper or a Transformer. I am just not ready for him to be character with a mask and all. I have tried to convince him to to a cute pirate but he said "No, I want to be something with a gun". My goodness where do they get this stuff??? So I have come up with the idea of him being and army guy like Daddy and carrying a rifle. He has seemed to like this idea so far as long as I promise him he can be a storm trooper next year. I mean he has never even seen Star Wars so what is the obsession? Anyway he seems to be ok with the theme for now but at 3 they change their minds constantly. So we shall see...

Ramsey's 1st Time Bowling

2011-08-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we (my mom, Morgan, and my sister, Paige-Cope was out of town on a work trip) took Ramsey bowling. I thought it would be a fun little last field trip before he started school last Wednesday. It was fun and with a ramp for his ball and bumpers in the gutters he loved it!

Ramsey and Nama watching the ball hit the pins:
Sweet little shoes:

Of course he loved the arcade too:

1st Day Back To Preschool

2011-08-27T04:03:00.001-07:00

Ramsey started back to preschool this past Wednesday. His teacher is Mrs.Rosemary this year and we are both excited he got her. She is very laid back and patient with the kids. There are like 10 boys and 2 girls in his class. Most all of his favorite buddies are in his class. He loved his first day and talked my head off the whole way home about how much fun he had and who was naughty and who did their work good. Ramsey is still just going 3 days a week this year and next year being his official Pre-K year he'll go all 5 mornings. I am so thankful we have found a preschool that is a great fit for our little guy.

One Word Wednesday- Cousins

2011-08-24T03:42:00.001-07:00

Our Summer

2011-08-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

Ramsey starts preschool back this Wednesday and for me that mark the official end of our summer vacation. Even though Cope and I both work during the summer, my sewing schedule allows me to be flexible and take more time off to enjoy fun things with Ramsey. We have had a GREAT summer. Hot, but great! We have done so many fun things and I am super satisfied that we made the most out of our long days. Here are some of the fun things we have done over the past 12 weeks:

Went to the ATL Aquarium with Connor, Metta, and Landon:

Ramsey had lots of fun time with his Cousins Mattie and Caroline:
We had an overnight trip to the Tooles in Athens:

We went to St.Simons for a long weekend vacation:

We celebrated my sister Paige's 34th Birthday birthday with a roof top band party (Ramsey was the back up singer)

: We enjoys lots of pool time:

We went to INK kids museum in Gainesville with Addison and Heather:

We went to Jacksonville, FL to celebrate my step brother Andrew and Liza's wedding:

We enjoyed lots of beach time while in Jacksonville:

We celebrated the 4th of July with our local parade:

We went to see the much anticipated Cars 2!:
Of course no summer is complete without ice cream and we enjoyed many, many trips to Menchies:

Ramsey had a week of swimming lessons:

His swimming lesson partner Connor:

Ramsey enjoyed a whole week of Vacation Bible school:

I celebrated my 31st Birthday:

We had a blast at our annual Lake Winnie adventure:

We enjoyed going to the petting zoo in Canton with Heather and Addison:

2011 Summer was a great one. Now on to a new preschool year!

One Last Summer field Trip

2011-08-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

Monday Ramsey and I were invited on an Aquarium adventure with my our friends Metta and her two boys, Connor and Landon. Ramsey and Connor are in the same class at pre-school and are big buds. They were so happy to see each other. Thanks to Metta and her season passes Ramsey and I got in the aquarium for FREE! We had a great day. The kids were pretty well behaved minus one incident at the penguin exhibit (couldn't find Ramset for about 20 minutes while he was in the penguin tunnel and refused to come out, needless to say I was furious and he had to get a spanking). We had lunch in the cafe there and just enjoyed a mommy/kid day with our little cuties:

3 sweet boys:

Landon practicing his cruising skills:

Showing off their loot from the gift shop. Of course Ramsey picked out legos:

St.Simons Part 3

2011-08-17T03:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday after some beach time and naps. We just hung out for a bit. Ramsey so loved playing pretend with Caroline all weekend. Here he is being an "airport man":

After dinner we hit an ice cream shop where Ramsey discovered Super Man ice cream. It is really just vanilla colored in Super Man colors but of course he thought it was the cool and made his muscles big:

Caroline and Ramsey playing a video game (Angry Birds) together:

St.Simons Part 2

2011-08-16T03:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning we headed out to the beach at St.Simons. We found a nice little spot and set up our ez-up and a chairs. Ramsey had a blast on the beach and he and Mattie and Caroline spent most of their time with Cope building a dam in a little tide pool. I enjoyed relaxing in the sun. Here are some pics of WILD man:

St.Simons Part 1

2011-08-15T04:02:00.001-07:00

Cope took the day off of work this past Friday and we headed for a quick last summer vacation in St.Simons. Cope's parents have a few weeks each year at a condo there. Cope's sister and her girls were there (Derrick had to stay back home and work). We arrived Friday around lunch and the fun began. After lunch Cope and Ramsey took a nap and Julie, Judy, Mattie, and I all went to the Bailey Boys store. It is their warehouse store so things are like 1/2 price. I got this cute little outfit below that I adore:

We went to dinner Friday night at Iguanas and it was super yummy. I had crab legs and was in heaven!:

Ramsey munched on crackers while he waited on his dinner:
Cope got steamed oysters which I think are gross but he LOVES:

After dinner we his the big playground nearby:

Silly boy:

King of the mountain:

Paige's 34th Birthday

2011-08-10T04:14:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday night I helped host a party for my sister's 34th Birthday celebration. We held the party on the roof of her downtown loft apartment in Cartersville. It was the perfect setting for a summer party. The rain held off and we had a good turnout. I hired a one man band to play. We enjoy Sam's music at our local Mexican restaurant each week so we were thrilled when he was able to play at Paige's party. I should have paid him extra for babysitting because Ramsey pretty much hung right next to Sam the whole night.

Here is Ramsey talking to Sam about Lego's. Sam just nodded politely ad smiled:

Ramsey also helped him get set up:

Sam turned his guitar case over for Ramsey to use as a drum set:

Ramsey singing backup:Shirt I made for Ramsey to wear for his aunt Paige's celebration:

Ramsey's Idea of child care

2011-08-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ramsey's best buddy Ty is going to be a big brother and Ramsey and I were talking about it. I asked Ramsey if he wanted a little brother or sister one day and he said "Yes, so I'll have someone to play with me". I said but do you also realize that would mean mommy would have to divide her time with you and a baby. He said "Mom, you can just put them in one of those chair things (meaning a bouncy seat) " . Then he said "or you can just put it in the car in their car seat". So easy in a child's mind. I wish it were so easy :)

Truth be told I am really happy with just one child for now. Who knows what the future holds but for now am so satisfied. I can't imagine Ramsey being an only child but GOD totally knew what he was doing when he gave us Ramsey. He is like 10 kids in 1. So thankful for my WILD child!

Ava's Birthday Party

2011-07-31T03:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for our good friends daughter, Ava who was turning 3. Ava's parents Vince and Erin are are good friends from college and they now live just 30 minutes from us. It was a pool party so it was fun for all. Here are some pics from the party:

Ramsey had the best time playing with Cope in the water. Stuff like this makes me nervous but Ramsey giggles with delight the whole time:

Ready for launch:

Being Man Handled:

My two favorite guys. So sweet!:

Weee!:

Ava's little brother Tripp:

Trying to Hula Hoop:

Opening presents. Erin was telling Ramsey to go ask Cope if he could get a doll like Ava's:

Ramsey asking Cope for a mermaid doll like this one:

Nice glasses Erin:

Ava thanking Ramsey for her present:

Several of our other college buds ad their kids were there too. It was so nice to see everyone and how much our lives have changed since having kids and being in the real world. I can say I am thankful we have such good friends to enjoy this crazy time in our lives with. What a joy!

Happy Birthday Ava! Thanks for inviting us to your super fun princess birthday!

Bringing Back the 80's!!!

2011-07-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we brought back the 1980's for sure! My friend Katie was having her 30th Birthday party and since she was born in the 80's that is what she chose for her theme. Cope couldn't go because he had a boys weekend with his college buddies already planned before we got the invite, so I carried enough 80's energy for both of us. I chose to go with the 80's workout gear:

The Party Crew:

Foot wear:

Me and Katie, the birthday girl:

Heather and Stephen Brown:

There was another party person dressed as Richard Simmons so we preformed a workout routine to "Lets Get Physical". :

Singing "Total Eclipse of The Heart":

Such a fun party! I have never had so much fun acting like a complete idiot. Happy Birthday Katie! Awesome Party!

Field Trip= Fun Day!

2011-07-20T17:55:00.001-07:00

Today was our much anticipated field trip day to INK (the kids museum in Gainesville) and the water park in Gainesville. We left Cartersville early and made our way to G'ville. Since my Dad and Donna live in G'vill they met us at Ink and spent the day with me, Ramsey, My friend Heather, and her little girl Addison. We had been to Ink before but were eager to go again. Ramsey ask all the time "when can we go back to INK" Hopefully he will be appeased at least for a bit???

First stop was the playground room: Next Ramsey hit the Vets office where he gave medicine to the pretend sick doggies:

Choosing meds for a kitten:

Next we moved on to the grocery store:

Customer in training:

Then it was to the post office. He goes to the post office with me several times a week so this was super fun for him to pretend to be the worker:

Checking out the super cool train set:

At the doctors office he found two cute girls to to be his patients:

Fire Chief Ramsey:

Of Course he had to get o the 4-Wheeler:

He was totally into it if you can't tell"

Milking a cow:Police Man Driving to get the bad guys:

Ahoy Matey!!!:

Ramsey and Addison:

After a quick lunch at Moe's it was on to the aquatic center. Unfortunately as soon as we got there it started thundering so the outside water slides and splash park we're closed. No worries they have inside pools so we had fun anyway:

Before we left the aquatic center we made a stop at their playground:

Ramsey loved this spinning thing and Pops would spin him until he was dizzy and he'd try to walk and fall down and just laugh his head off:

Of course we could not have a field trip day without some frozen yogurt. Gainesville doesn't have a Menchies but they do have a "Sweet Monkey". It was pretty good and a great end to a FUN day!

My 31st Birthday- Girls Night Out!

2011-07-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

My 31st Birthday was on July 5th and with vacation and all I haven't had a chance to post about it. My sister planned a fun night out in Atlanta for me. The day started off with lunch at Nava and then it was on to the W hotel to check in and get some time by the rooftop pool.

After some sun we got ready and downstairs was a bottle of champagne waiting on us at the bar. Yum!
Me and My sister Paige:

After a quick drink we got a taxi to meet up with 10 more of my friends at a Mexican cantina. I was so flattered so many of my friends would come all the way to Atlanta to celebrate my birthday. After dinner we headed to Sips N Strokes for an evening of painting.

Katie and Metta:
Everyone concentrating on their paintings:

Me and Heather Brown:

My finished Painting!

The whole gang:

After the painting a few of us went out for some more fun. It was so nice to have a girls night out especially with such a fun group of girls!

Beach Trip Part 4

2011-07-14T04:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday of our beach trip we checked out of our condo on the beach and headed to the Omni hotel in downtown Jacksonville. Nice hotel! We chilled out in the room and the after naps got dressed for the main event, Andrews wedding. We were nervous having Ramsey at the wedding since he was the only kid there and not always the quietest guest, We bribed him by telling him he could pick out a lego toy if he stayed very quiet the whole time. Yep, we are those type of parents. Don't judge. He did great! Not a peep!

The new Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Thacker. Liza was beautiful:
Our crew at the reception (Allister, My sister Paige, and Cope):

Ramsey took this picture of Cope and Me:

Me and My Dad (AKA Pops)

Pops and his little buddy:

Our Little Family:

Allister and Paige:Tom, Megan, Liza, and Andrew:Wiped out on the way back to the hotel:The next morning at brunch before we headed home to Georgia: We had a blast the whole week. So relaxing! Vacations sure take on a whole new meaning when your a working Mom. I know now how to take full advantage of time away and just chill out!

Beach Trip Part 3

2011-07-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

The third night we were at the beach it was time to start some wedding events. So the bride's (Liza) parents had us all over for a cookout. It was lots of fun and just good to hangout and enjoy some fun.

The Guys: (Andrew, My Dad, Tom, ad Ramsey)The Ladies and Andrew:This looks like a serious conversation:Ramsey enjoyed some major dancing on the back patio and danced himself right out of his pants:

Beach Trip Part 2

2011-07-12T03:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning we woke up to beautiful beach weather. Enjoyed coffee/juice on the balcony and then headed to the beach for some fun.

Ramsey and his custom beach bucket my Mom made him: Ramsey loves to take pictures these days:

Playing soccer with Andrew:

After some nice beach time and bocee ball (we stayed out on the beach until like 6:30 this day) I made tacos for everyone for dinner and we just stayed in and played games. FUN!

Beach Trip Part 1

2011-07-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we headed down to Jacksonville. Florida for a beach week concluding in my Step-Brother, Andrews wedding. My Dad and Donna had rented a 3 bedroom condo for us all to share. It was tight with 8-10 people at a time but fun to all be together. Everyone played with Ramsey and I can honestly say we will probably never go on vacation without family again because it is soooo much easier with a kid. Ramsey had a constant playmate and if Cope and I wanted to do something someone was more then willing to help watch Ramsey. It was such a fun, relaxing week. We stayed up late, slept late, and took naps like it was our job. The weather was mostly perfect too!

View from our balcony:

Ramsey relaxing after coming in from the beach:
Snacking on the balcony:

The night we got there it was my 31st Birthday so we went to a seafood place that was delicious!:

Me and my guy:

4th of July Parade

2011-07-05T03:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning our town had their 4th of July Parade. Boy, I sure never cared about the parade until I had a kid. Now we wave like crazy people and run around helping our kid gather candy. Yep, we're those people. Here are some pics from our festive morning:

Ramsey took this pic: Sweet Addison and her parents watched with us:

Hiding from the loud firetruck siren:

Kona Ice Man:

Is that Fillmore:

Waving constantly. He ended up propping his hand up cause he little arm was getting tired:

Checking out his loot:

Dance Machine

2011-07-04T04:13:00.000-07:00