New Truck

Cope and I have had a very enjoyable weekend. We were able to find and buy his new truck which he has anxiously been waiting for since we sold his old one right before he deployed. We also were able to get a big TV to go over our mantle. So we've been shopping and enjoying our new toys. Ramsey has been in good spirits and we've all played and continued to get reacquainted with each other. Poor Cope has to leave his new truck behind and fly back to NY today. He has my Acura up there since it is older and the snow is often hard on vehicles we didn't want to chance a brand new truck getting banged up by the bad weather. I suppose it is true love when you buy the truck you've been dreaming of for 14 long months and leave it in the care of your wife. I'm a little nervous to keep it in mint condition. All I can do is try my best, no pressure right???

Cope and his latest new purchase:Mr. Ramsey:Ramsey being serious:Playing with the fireplace screen which is a big NO, NO. He really seems to care right?:

Cruising the hallway:

Diaper Boy

A diaper and t-shirt has been Ramsey's attire around the house this past week because of his diarrhea due to his antibiotic. My head is still stopped up so I can't smell when the bombs go off so I have to use the look and see method. He hasn't had to wear pants so I can check and change him as fast as possible. Ramsey had to go back for a recheck on his ears yesterday which are both still infected. They put on the antibiotic for 7 more days. AWESOME! I love trying to wrestle the wild beast to give him his meds and not to mention 7 more days of meds means 7 more days of booty blisters. Good times!

Reflecting

I've had a few moments of quite lately where I all of the sudden find myself completely overwhelmed with my life. Overwhelmed because I am truly happy. I knew we would get to this place in our life but often I forget to breath and take it all in. I am so happy that Cope is finally out of Iraq. It is wonderful to be able to talk anytime of the day we want. Whenever I have a quick funny story about what Ramsey has done or how I'm about to loose my mind I can just call him up and be comforted in an instant. Cope is coming to visit Ramsey and I for the weekend and see his new house finally. We have dreamed of our first house for 5 years and 2 deployments. To finally be living in it and loving it makes me very satisfied. Then there is Ramsey, the child beyond my dreams. He gives me such purpose and he challenges me to grow myself up. As I look around at what my life consist of these days I am more humbled than ever. It wasn't always a given that Cope would come home safely but thankfully he has and we are looking forward to our future as a family and all the fun and possibilities it will hold.

Recap on a Crazy Day

I suppose crazy days are a given with a child but today was a little more than normal. It started off wild because I had to get Ramsey and I out the door for my GYN appt. at 9:30 in Marietta. Yep, they let kids go to those things. Ramsey's antibiotic is doing a number on his booty and he had 2 outfit changes before we got out the door due to his plumbing working a little too well. Our female dog peed out bed. She isn't allowed on our new bed since the bedding is a little expensive and nicer than anything we've had in the past. I think she is protesting but I'm determined to win that battle in a hurry. Our other dog, Bentley, decided to throw up his entire breakfast on our new carpet and his dog bed. Have a mentioned our stuff from storage hasn't arrive yet so we don't have a washer or dryer. So all of Ramsey's poopy pants and our peed on bedding have to make a trek across town to my moms tomorrow for some laundering (just what I was hoping to do with my afternoon). The rest of the day was fairly okay except that Ramsey is in serious booty pain. Poor kid. I checked with his doctor and she assures me it is normal and to just keep ointment on him at each change. We're going through diapers like they were free. So that was my day in mommy land and I'm hoping for a little smoother sailing tomorrow???

11 Months!

Ramsey turned 11 months old today. I can't belive his first birthday is just around the corner. He is so much fun and I love being his mom. What a treat!

Baby Bootcamp

Yes, Ramsey has entered baby boot camp here at the Rowell home this week. I decided to switch him from two naps a day to just one. The reason for this is that we're just coming of a 10 days trip where there was not much schedule and also he has begun to sleep up to twelve hours at night making two naps painful for us both. When he was still taking two they we're lasting only about 30-45 minutes each and getting him down for that late afternoon one was horrible as he would cry and fuss even while laying down. So I've decided we'll just try it this week with the one nap and see how it goes. I have to remember that every day won't be perfect but so far so good. He is now getting ready for bed at 7:30 and asleep by 8:00pm. He hopefully does not wake until between 7:00-8:00am the next morning. Then he is napping from noon-2:00pm or so. The two hour break is WONDERFUL!!!! I have time to eat lunch and enjoy it, I can catch up on emails, and recharge for the second round. So far it seems to be working for us both!

Lots Of Pictures From Our Trip to Ft. Drum

Ramsey and I made it safely home yesterday from our 10 day adventure to Ft. Drum, NY to welcome Cope home. It was quite the adventure to say the least. Ramsey had a terrible cold the first part and an ear infection the second part. Fun times. Cope and I both have horrible colds now and we're not sure if it is from Ramsey or something about the heating system in the hotel? The flight back to the ATL was bliss. Yes, Ramsey did AMAZING! I seriously could not have hoped for better. He did not cry once but I almost did b/c the cabin pressure on my head cold made me feel like my ears might bust at any moment. Surprisingly Ramsey's ear infection didn't make him hurt and I just kept feeding him cheerios so he would keep swallowing to get his ears to pop. We we're both very glad to get home to our own bed but miss Cope very much. We'll get to see him this next Saturday when he flies down to spend the weekend with us and gets to see his new house FINALLY!
WARNING: This is a long picture post but I wanted to include them all.

Ramsey getting psyched for his trip to Ft. Drum to see his Daddy:

Ramsey on the plane. We flew on buddy pass as infant in arms but the seat next to us was empty (thank God!) so he had some room to move. This was Ramsey's 2nd round trip flight and he isn't even 11 months old yet. I did not fly until I was 18.:

We arrived at our hotel at Ft. Drum on Thursday afternoon but Cope did not get in till Sunday so here are some of the things we did while we impatiently waited on him to get in.

We watched some TV. Ramsey's choice of course:

We played in the massage chairs in Bed Bath and Beyond:

We bundled up for the terribly cold weather:

We took pictures:

We explored every inch of the hotel room:

FINALLY it was Sunday afternoon and we waited in the Ft. Drum gym for the guys to get there.

Ramsey decked out in his American Flags:

Posing for some photo ops before hand. Ramsey had an awful cold and you can tell he felt bad by the look on his face:

The guys marched in in formation:

A reunion 14 months in the making:

The Rowell family is finally as it should be. ..TOGETHER!:

Checking out his adorable son:

Cope's parents made him a sign. Welcome home Cope!:

Father and Son getting to know each other again:

More exploring:

Trying on Daddy's hat:

Taking a nap with Daddy:

Watching TV with Dad:

Hey Mom:

Ramsey's first snow:

Photo op with Mom:

Posing with Cope's parents:

Still feeling poopy but comforted by some cartoons:

We steamed the bathroom for Ramsey and here is Cope holding him over the steam. Cope called it the man spa:

Ready for trick or Treating. Not really b/c he had an ear infection but we costumed him for a few pics and then went on just one stop to our friends house:

Can you tell how excited Ramsey was? Again, not really:

1st and only stop at our friends Dave and Christine's House:

Posing in Daddy's hat:
Overall it was a good trip in that we were there to welcome Cope home. If anyone has not ever spent 10 days in a one room hotel with a 10.5 month old with a horrible cold and ear infection I suggest you try it b/c after that experience I know we can get through ANYTHING. Ramsey is starting to feel better but I however am not. I'm hoping it is not the flu but the cold chills, fever and body ache are making me wonder?