"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that's what little boys are made of!"
Surrounded by my sweet boys (hubby Eric, sons Connor and Ramsey, and our dog, Jango), I thought this a rather befitting name for my crew's blog. To our cherished friends and family, happy viewing! We love you!
Master Speller Connor took first place at Holgate's spelling bee recently. Competing for top honors were all students from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades; around 450 students. WAY TO GO BUDDY!!
Here he is featured in the school's newsletter.
He'll be going to the regional competition on February 7th. If he places there, he'll go on to state.
We're studying like mad with him in the interim. A lot of his study guide words are insanely difficult to spell (and some even to pronounce!). Being the spelling nerd, I LOVE that. There are some really great words.
January 24th, 2015... Ramsey is ONE year old now! It is amazing how time flies.
Everyone says that, but as I reflect on the year that has gone by, I truly am in awe how quickly it has passed!
Last year at this time, we were leaving the hospital a day early (to avoid the blizzard) and bringing home our new tiny bundle of joy. (And he is absolutely that... pure joy.)
This year, we're celebrating our high-energy, loving, happy, awesome little Doodlebug as he transitions from "baby" to toddler. (He'll ALWAYS be my little baby though!) :-)
The weather was poor, so our party was even smaller than anticipated; just Ramsey the Birthday Boy, Eric, Connor, Nana Karen, and me. And.... Connor's Mom Kristi and 4-year-old brother Bridger came for the day! We really had a fun happy time!
Ramsey got his own double-decker cake (one blue cake layer and one red layer on the inside) covered in buttercream frosting. It turned out quite well, but I think I need to work on my piping skills a little bit!
Thinking that Ramsey could make too much of a mess of this cake for anyone else to want to eat it, I also made red velvet cupcakes with marshmallow centers and buttercream frosting.
Ramsey before he dove into his cake:
Eric and I made a bet whether or not Ramsey would go ballistic on his cake. Eric thought he would, I didn't think he would so much. Here's what happened:
Needless to say, there was plenty of cake that went unharmed and could be devoured by the rest of us.
Ramsey was a good little eater and picked away at his birthday cake.
He wanted to feed some to Daddy too!
Awww.....
Then it was time to open presents!
I was inspired to design a "chalkboard" of "Ramsey Facts". Easy as pie with Photoshop and Illustrator!
We gave him a customized plate and bowl set with a little blonde boy in an airplane. It is so precious!
He was trying to tell us something here.... um....???!!!
He had fun scavenging through his boxes and then putting things back in them. He's wearing his "first Notre Dame Cap" here and biting on his police officer rubber duckie.
Baby smart phone... tasty.
...Looking for more things to pound with his new musical hammer!!
He was loving the bows!
Nana Karen gave him a Giddy Up 'N Go horsie named Thunder. He'll be growing into this toy, but for now, he loves to give him kisses! Of course, I can't seem to catch the kiss-giving on film. Arrgh! :-)
I also thought it would be a fun gift to put together a time capsule. This way, everyone could put their little notes and wishes for him inside of it, along with any current items for him to look at when he's older. I think he'll get a kick out of the magazines, newspapers, and tchotchkes from the time when he was just a little scrapper.
Ramsey received many nice gifts to play with and lovely cards.
Moreover, he has many special friends and a wonderful family to treasure the rest of his life.
Happy Birthday Lil' Mouse. We love you SOOOO MUCH!!!
For those of you who don't get to see these two little Muxhouses, here's a couple of videos of them playing together on the floor. The videos aren't roller-coaster-ride-thrilling, but just day-to-day stuff and sort of cute. :-)
MAN, they grow fast!
What is a Muxhouse you ask? No idea. :-) Grandpa Russell used to call me that when I was a little girl, after I'd "beat him" at a game of Old Maid, sitting on the arm of his broken-in leather chair.
