Star Wars Birthday Party

After much preparation and anticipation, we celebrated Ramsey's THIRD birthday on Sunday.  It was a fun Star Wars themed party (could it have been anything else at this stage of the game?!?).  :-)

The lucky little birthday boy had a table-full of wonderful gifts.  He was excited to open them.  He had found a few of them early and thought he might get away with peeking.  Nope!  :-)

 Ramsey was so thrilled that many of his family could come.   We were missing a few key people, but they were there with us in spirit (love you guys!).  

Cousin Isaac came to celebrate....

 And Uncle Troy....

And Bumpa....

And Nana Vicki....

And Nana Karen ("two Nanas", as Ramsey excitedly noted)...

And, of course Connor, Daddy, and me.

Everyone pigged out on pulled pork sandwiches ("Bantha Burgers"), chips ("Princess Lays") and dip ("Dip Fortuna"), punch ("Yoda Soda"), crudites ("Dippin' Droids"), homemade Star Wars-shaped peanut butter cups ("Vader snacks"), etc.  Isaac noted that the Star Wars food puns were "bad".  Ha!!  Yes, they kind of were.  :-)   But, they were fun. 

 Ramsey received a lot of super cool presents; a BB8 bicycle helmet (so cute!!), Dino Trucks toys, wooden toy cars on a trailer with a cool crane, Kylo Ren bubbles, a spinning top, funny potty books (how apropos!), learning activity books and puzzles, musical instruments, a fuzzy monster bowling set, a Star Wars sleeping bag, Star Wars play figures, Star Wars tennis shoes, a big BB8 sipper, BB8 wall art, a nice chunk of cash to put into his savings account, and more.

Here, he loved the helmet, but wasn't so sure about it being strapped to his head! ha!  He'll get used to it.

  Here's Ramsey, trying out his new saxophone!

and trumpet!

 and checking out some of his new Star Wars dudes.

 After present-opening, it was time to sing to the birthday boy and eat white cake with a buttercream and raspberry coulee layer. 

This was my first attempt to make a fondant-topped cake.  Ramsey loves BB8, so that was my cake challenge.  It was quite a process and I learned a lot (thank goodness for my hours of 'experience' through watching Food Network cake shows!).  I drew BB8's details on with a food-safe dye pen and then painted the colorful accents with food paint.  It was a fun creative project!

  

 Ramsey doesn't always like people singing (oddly, since he's fine with music on TV!), but he did well and only covered his eyes a little bit.  :-)

 Time to blow out the candle!  He needed a tiny bit of help.  :-)

Happy Birthday, sweet Doodlebug!

And thanks to everyone who made it to his party and a big hugs to all who weren't able to make it.  Love you all!

Ramsey's First Day of Preschool

We awoke an hour earlier than we normally do to get Ramsey ready for his first day of preschool.  I was excited.  He was excited.   Donned in his R2-D2 shirt, storm trooper hoodie, and a little bit of gel in his hair (gotta look good for the new little ladies, ya know), he was ready.

Of course, I took lots of pictures before I put Ramsey's coat on and he and left with Daddy for his new adventure.

I was "good".   Ramsey was going to preschool and I was excited for him to learn new things and meet some friends.   Yup, I was good.  Truly... fine.  :-)  That is, until the minute Eric walked out the door, carrying him away to the truck.   Ramsey was grinning from ear to ear and waving at me, saying "Bye bye, Mommy, bye bye!"
Then, I lost it... just a little bit.    So bittersweet.

I thought Ramsey would do fine being "left" at preschool.   Eric wasn't so sure and joked (ok, so it was only sort of a joke) that we'd be getting a phone call within the hour for us to come pick up our child.

Eric had butt-dialed me by mistake, so when the drop-off was made, I heard it!  :-)   Ramsey was good.   I heard "Bye bye, Daddy, bye bye!" and that was that.  Eric called me to confirm the news.  :-)

Doodlebug had a great day!  Mom and I picked him up (Mom wanted to see the facility) and he was happy.  He has talked about going back to school constantly ever since.  And, he's been talking about going on the field trip to the fire station non-stop.  He has to wait a few more days.   Day 1: Success!

Happy Birthday, Doodlebug!

Three Years Old?  Unbelievable, isn't it?!?

Since his birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, his actual birthday was quite low key.  Nana Karen, Ramsey, and I ran a few errands in the afternoon.  Ramsey and Connor played "scare and laugh" (until Ramsey got the hiccups) and then we sat together and chowed down on one of Ramsey's favorite suppers (wiener wraps with mac and cheese - so NOT nutritional, I know!).

We let him open one of his presents before his party on Sunday.

We gave him a new BB8 Droid backpack (complete with flashing lights when his tummy is pressed).  He will need this on Thursday; his first day of preschool!

This weekend, we'll have a birthday party, with much of the family coming!

Notables for Ramsey:

Favorites:

Foods: Peanut butter, donut holes, chicken Alfredo pizza, anything BREAD-related (such a little carb freak!), french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, wiener wraps with mac n cheese, fruit/veggie "on-the-go" packs (mango-banana-kale and pumpkin-mango are currently his favorites), Oreos, Star Wars graham cookies, yogurt.

Activities:  Ice-fishing in the "Star Wars Fort", playing outside, hiding under pillows, RUNNING, counting.

TV Shows: Paw Patrol, Lego Star Wars, Annoying Orange (*sigh* - Don't ask!).

Movies:  Star Wars Episode III, Wreck-It Ralph

Toys: Star Wars figures, Legos, Play Doh, his Kindle (s)

Books: "Goodnight Forest Friends", "The Cat in the Hat", Dr Suess Medley book.

Music:  Ramsey loves music (but he doesn't like anyone else singing - most of the time!).  He still adores barbershop and AC/DC's "Thunderstruck", Star Wars parodies on YouTube (during the last few months, he's really started singing and humming).

Stats:

Height: 36"

Weight: 29.5 lbs.

"Bye Bye Amy" :-(

"Amy's home!", my little 3-year-old exclaimed early Monday afternoon when his dear friend walked through our front door.

Well, it was a bittersweet afternoon.  Today was Amy's last day to come to the house for Ramsey's speech therapy.   Last Friday (I was gone on a business trip), it was Karen's last day for his occupational therapy.   Their individual assistance towards Ramsey's educational path will cease because he will turn three years old on the 24th.  From there, he will transition into the public school's preschool education system.

Amy's been with us for well over a year (she's family!) and Karen's been coming since September (we barely had time to break her in!).  It was really hard to say goodbye!

When Amy was here, Ramsey was very energetic and happy!  It was sad for me,  thinking this would be "the end" after this session.   Here they are for a big hug (geez, getting all vaklemp thinking about it now).   Ramsey's goodbyes to Amy were nonchalant, as if she'd be back next week.   I know he'll be sad too though, when he asks about her in the near future, but then is reminded that her sessions here are complete.

"Bye bye Amy!", Ramsey said with a big hug, a waving arm, and a cheerful grin.

We were very blessed to have the two special ladies in our lives.  Another chapter has closed and another will start.

Ramsey's new journey is that he will be starting preschool soon (two days after his birthday).  He'll be attending the program two days a week.   We know it will be a terrific experience for him.  And, he will get to make friends!  We are so thankful for that and can't wait for fun new stories from school

Winter FUNderland

Living on the lake has a few advantages in the chilly months.   When it's not too cold and blistery or windy, it's certainly a winter wonderland.

The boys have been out ice fishing and sledding quite a bit lately.  It's nice that the guys can just walk a few steps to their activity destination.

Riggs is a fan of sledding.  Er, make that nipping at the sled while Connor proceeds to blast downhill!  I don't praise our steep hill too often (man, it's a rough workout on the quads and hamstrings!!), but in the winter, it is the perfect sledding hill.  Connor and Riggs spent a ton of time marching up the hill, then quickly speeding down it, over and over again.   The pair have such a fun time!  (And, apparently 10 times more stamina than I could fathom!)

 I pulled Ramsey down the hill in his toddler sled (he was a little unsure of that this year, but I still got some laughs), but wasn't too interested in continuing.  We tromped through the snow over to the "Star Wars Fort" (aka ice-fishing shack).  He seems to find ice fishing an activity to be treasured.

Checking out minnows is especially fun as well.

He's been telling everyone he sees that he's been ice fishing.  Pretty exciting stuff, I guess.  :-)  

Pillow Fightin' Fun

A typical evening in our home; a toddler and a teenager, duking it out with pillows.   

....My sweet little treasures!  :-) 

A Day With Daddy

Eric had MLK Day off from work, so Ramsey got to spend the whole day with Daddy, playing away.  From my office downstairs, I could hear the giggles and play.  It went on for a few hours!  When I was able to break away for lunch, here's what I found:

That day, they had gotten out every single Star Wars character that Ramsey had and played "battles" with them on the kitchen table.

  They also watched some Lego Star Wars and a Star Wars movie.  ....pretty darn good day, having "guy time"!