Down on the Farm

Last Thursday I met Moppy and Kathleen in Columbia to pass off the best little 2 year old in the entire world for a weekend stay at Moppy and Papa's house. Columbia is half way for both of us so we met, had dinner, visited a little and made the very important exchange. My parents have been begging me to let him spend the weekend with them, so what better weekend than our anniversary weekend. Daddy was very busy this weekend with work events, which I participated in a little, but also got to relax. I think my body was in rest shock, because I spent almost all of Saturday laying on the couch catching up on shows. I haven't spent a Saturday laying on the couch in two years:)

We met my parents this afternoon to get Walkman and had a lot of fun at dinner listening to how much fun they had playing on the farm, seeing the cows, horses, chickens, tractors and playing with his cousin Logan and his friend Zuri. Thank you Moppy and Papa for taking such great care of Walker. The pictures show what a wonderful weekend he had and we love you both dearly. Thank you for a much needed relaxing weekend.

Walker was in "tractor heaven". He's already totally obsessed with tractors and he sure got his fix this weekend. I wonder what Papa and Walker were discussing in the picture above? It looks like Walker is saying, "Papa can I stay with you forever and help you on the farm?" It's hard to believe, but I used to do that every day. I guess that's why I don't mind getting down and dirty with Walker outside. Reminds me when I was a daddy's little girl:)

Wow, my Papa and Uncle Ben have all sorts of cool tractors. Mommy, are you sure I can't stay here forever:)

Papa took Walker into one of the chicken houses on the farm. Mom said that Walker's eyes got so big when they first opened the doors. I hope we can time our trip one day when the chicks are first delivered and Walker can actually hold one in his hands.

Walker had two very special visitors while at Moppy and Papas. His cousin Logan and his friend Zuri. Zuri's mommy and I have been best friends since middle school and Moppy and Zuri's grandmother, Kathleen are very best friends. Logan is 3 and Zuri is 1 1/2. They had such a good time together.

Walker finally got to play on the swing set and playhouse Moppy and Papa bought for the boys to enjoy. The playhouse is so cool and he LOVED it. Logan showed him all the tricks to the playhouse.

Two peas in a pod! Walker gets to eat lots of powdered doughnuts and who knows what's in his cup...I'm afraid to ask...LOL! I thought this picture was absolutely hilarious. It looks like they have been caught doing something very very wrong:):) They were caught eating powdered doughnuts and either drinking sweet tea or Dr. Pepper.

Last weekend we got to see some of my avid blog readers our dear friends: Mandy, Tucker, Mrs. Shealy, Mr. Shealy and Brittany. They were here on vacation and we spent last Sunday morning hanging out at the beach with them. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and I was so upset. I have to say Mrs. Shealy is going to be the BEST grandmother. She just loved on Walker and even took him for a stroll down the beach. Walker also loved Mr. Shealy, because he dug a big hole in the sand...one of Walker's favorite things to do at the beach. It was such a pleasure getting to see you all. Mrs. Shealy, thank you for loving on Walker like he was one of your own! We look forward to seeing you guys next time you're here on vacation.

Finally, Happy 6th Anniversary to the BEST husband in the entire world. This was taken on Friday night at the "Feel the Teal" Athletic Gala. I am such a lucky girl to have such a wonderful husband who continues to make all of my dreams come true. Thank you to all of our family and friends who continue to support and love us. I love you, Patrick!!

Poor Littly Guy

Let me just tell you we came very close to experiencing just what the Devil can do this past week. Last week was absolutely terrible. We started off last Monday morning with our first true gushing blood every where from Walker's head experience. He was getting ready to eat breakfast and was playing under the table in our foyer and busted the top of his head on the table. Blood was every where...I didn't know a little boys head could bleed so much. Luckily, we were able to get the blood to stop and all was fine. Walker was more concerned with the blood all over Daddy than him. He kept saying, "Uh oh Daddy, boo boo". I'm not really sure if he knew the blood was actually coming from his head and not Daddy. I will definitely say in those type of situations Daddy is A LOT calmer than Mommy. It's sort of weird, because I usually handle blood a lot better than Daddy. I guess it's different when it's your baby boy.

So we got through Monday and then comes dreadful Wednesday. I got the call to pick Walker up at school at 10:30am because he had a fever. Yep, we took a trip to the pediatricians office and what do you know....strep throat....who gets strep throat in the summer....not only Walker, but Daddy too on Thursday. I had to take care of my 2 baby boys. Okay, so I was handling my boys being sick just fine up until Thursday afternoon when we noticed ulcers all in Walker's mouth and a few small bumps on his hands and feet. Back to the pediatricians office on Friday morning only to find out not only do we have strep throat but now he has Hand, Foot and Mouth...aka...THE DEVIL! I'm not kidding when I say this was truly THE DEVIL virus. Walker's entire mouth was nothing but one GIANT ulcer. The terrible part is HFM is a virus and you have to let it run its course up to 5-10 days:( It was very difficult trying to get him to stay hydrated. Daddy and I counted and Walker did not eat anything for 92 hours until Sunday at 1pm. The picture above shows Walker eating his first meal since Wednesday. I haven't been that happy in a very long time. I actually called Patrick (he was in the office catching up on work) crying to tell him Walker had just eaten 2 dino peanut butter/jelly sandwiches.

Let me back up just a second. We prayed so hard hoping on Sunday we would begin to see some improvement. Walker has been waking up every morning at 5:30am since last Wednesday. So on Sunday when we all woke up and realized that he wasn't better, Mommy had an emotional breakdown. Moppy begged me to let her come help on Friday, but I told her that we could handle it and not to worry. Well, Sunday came and no improvement.

Moppy and Papa came Sunday afternoon to save the day:) I can't tell you how blessed both Patrick and I are to have them here with us. I am truly so grateful to have such wonderful, loving and caring parents. Walker was so super excited to see them. He wouldn't let Moppy out of his sight. It felt so good to see them and to know they were here to help us. We love you two soooooo much! You will never know how much we appreciate your support and your willingness to help. Moppy and Papa will leave tomorrow and I know three people who will miss them greatly! We love you guys and from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

Turns out all Walker needed was little lovin' from Moppy and Papa. As you read above he started to eat on Sunday afternoon when I told him Moppy and Papa were coming to visit and he needed to feel better. He is doing so much better and we never ever ever ever want to see Hand, Foot and Mouth again. Moppy and Papa took him to Toys R Us yesterday and he was able to pick out a few new toys (just what he needed) but hey as long as my baby boy is feeling better...it doesn't matter!! Thanks to all of our friends and family who prayed for us!! We love you all!!

Sending Smiles Your Way Jules!

Jules-
Sending lots of smiles your way hoping you feel better really soon and recover quickly! We thought sending you pictures of your two favorite boys would cheer you up:) We hope you get lots of rest and we know that Pops will take great care of you. Recover quickly because we know a little boy who can't wait for you to come visit. Enjoy these pictures and know that we LOVE YOU LOTS!!

I love you Jules!!

Sugar Sand and Crystal Clear:)

Oh boy did we ever have a TOTAL BLAST last week in Destin. Oh, how we've missed the sugar white sand, the beautiful crystal clear water and the condo:) Can you believe it's been 3 1/2 years since we had been to the condo?? It was so easy getting there when we lived in the wonderful state of Mississippi, but my have times changed. After driving from "our beach" to another beach and spending 10 very long hours in the car together.....when our feet hit the sand the next day Patrick and I both looked at each other with huge smiles on our faces and said, "The drive was well worth it baby!!" Oh, and I might add that Walkman was a complete ANGEL in the car!! We could not have asked for a better trip with him.

The second best thing from visiting the sugar white sand and the crystal clear water was seeing POPS and JULES!! Yes, that's right we were able to spend the week with Pops and Jules. We were so excited to see them. I guess you could say the "crazy" Ransdell's crashed Pops and Jules' week of relaxation and added a 100% nonstop fun to their week:) Pops and Jules helped us out so much and we were actually able to spend some time on the beach relaxing and reading our books without chasing Walkman from the pool to the beach. I actually told another mommy friend the other day that I picked up my first summer book a few weeks ago and thought to myself, "Do I even know how to read a book anymore"..LOL!

Walker absolutely LOVES the pool. He was a total pro with his swimmies on. He also enjoyed watching the other children in the pool. One day he refused to wear his swimmies, so Pops swears it's because of the big girls in the pool:)

We built holes in the sand, turtles, crabs and sandcastles. Walker was more interested in sitting in his hole or chasing the sea gulls. That was a big hit for him. He didn't understand why they always flew away, but he never gave up. If you ask him what a sea gull says he will say, "Cau Cau" and flap his arms...so stinkin' cute!

If there is water Walker will find it. I thought he would be soaked before dinner if I didn't get him away quickly from the fountain. It was like a stand off with him. Jules and I couldn't make any sudden moves or he probably would have sat in the water. After we ate dinner it started to rain and Walker had so much fun running around in the rain and holding the umbrella.

We can't thank Pops and Jules enough for such a wonderful well rested relaxing vacation. Jules stayed with Walker every afternoon while he napped and even woke up with him most mornings bright and early at 5:30am. I think she really enjoyed their early morning walks on the beach with breakfast:)

This kid absolutely loves milkshakes or as he calls them, "Shake Shake". If we would let him he would have a "shake shake" ten times a day:) and he can finish the entire thing!

We are so lucky to have a beautiful place on the beach to call home and most importantly a place where family can all come together to make long lasting FOREVER memories!!

Happy 4th!

We had a wonderful 4th of July LONG weekend. The festivities started early on Friday morning when we attended Walker's school parade. It was so fun watching all the kids. Walker is not quite big enough yet to ride his tricycle/bicycle, but next year his bicycle will be decorated and ready to go:)

This is Walker's new class lined up ready to go. Walker is in the very back holding Christiana's dads hand. He has two teachers, Miss Tina is in the front of the line and Miss Tommie is in the back in the white shirt.

Friday night we enjoyed our neighborhood friends at happy hour. Since the beginning of summer all of our friends in the neighborhood meet for drinks and appetizers around 5:30pm in our neighbors yard. It's great because the adults enjoy yummy food and cocktails while the kids run wild. Happy hour last a few hours and before you know it it's time to go home and straight to bed we all go:) I have yet to remember to bring my camera, but I promise I'll post some pictures of the gang soon. We are truly so lucky to have such great neighbor friends!

Saturday we headed to the beach bright and early. Sorry, forgot my camera again. I promise a lot of fun was had by Walker splashing in the waves. H also got a thrill out of Daddy building him a big hole in the sand to sit in. After the beach we all headed back for nap time before heading over to The Hatchell's for a cookout.

Walker is actually laughing in the picture. They had a blast with the spray beach ball.

The kids had so much fun splashing in the pool. Annika was trying to teach the little kids how to play Mother May I.

Sunday we headed to church. Don't you love how we match and we didn't even know it until I looked at Patrick in the car and said, "Oh my, we match:)" Just a side note, Walker refuses to wear anything but his Crocs, Sperry's and his tennis shoes. He will absolutely not wear his scandals. I've tried to trick him and put his scandals on while watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse. Nope, he says, "No Mommy, tennis shoes". To hear him say tennis shoes is pretty funny. One more side note, you know how much he loves tractors. Well, he is really good at differentiating between garbage trucks, cranes, dump trucks, cement trucks, bulldozers and backhoes. Well, when he says the word "backhoe" it sounds like "butthole". We have the BEST time with all of our friends listening to him say "backhoe". We laugh every time and he looks at us like whats so funny:):)

After our naps we went to our 2nd families house to play in the pool and cookout. We had so much fun. Each time we go the pool gets more and more fun for Walker. It's also so nice to have sweet McKenzie to help us. We had so much fun and can't wait until next time. You all are so good to us and we can't thank you enough for always including us in the family:) We love all of you!!

On Sunday night we headed back home to host our neighborhood friends for dessert and fireworks. Everyone brought their favorite desserts and favorite fireworks. The party started about 8pm and sparklers began about 8:45pm. Walker loved playing with the sparklers. A little after 9pm we headed to the culdesac behind our house for the BIG fireworks. The dads put on a great show for everyone. It was a lot of fun to see all the kiddos having a blast. Walker wasn't a big fan of the loud fireworks. He didn't cry, but held on to me for dear life. He definitely broke a night time record..heading to bed about 10pm and as always woke us up at 6:30am:)

Monday morning Walker and I headed to the beach to meet Kristy, JD, Baby Allison, Abby and Peyton for a play date. Each time we go we have so much fun. These boys are a hoot together. It is so funny to watch them. The moms always have such a great time and yes, we do get to relax a little and have "big girl" conversations:) It's amazing how many people stop by to say something about the three of them. We are three lucky moms to have such three beautiful little boys!!

As you can tell we had a very busy long weekend, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!! I hope all of you had just as much fun. I can't wait to celebrate America's birthday next year!

So Proud....

When I picked Walkman up this afternoon at school I found this hanging above his cubbie. Yea, I was so excited for him. This has been a tough 2wks for him with his birthday, being sick, Moppy visiting, moving up to the BIG 2 year old room and Moppy coming back to visit and Mommy and Daddy going out of town. He definitely had a harder time adjusting to his new room and it broke my heart every time I dropped him off, because he would cry and cry. He has really never cried before. The reason for getting the Teddy Bear Award this week is because he went all week without shedding one tear when I left the room...YEA! I am so proud of him. This morning his teacher and I were shocked because he said, "Down Mommy, bye bye Mommy." Holy cow...Mrs. Tommie and I both looked at each other in shock:) He loves his new class so much, it just took a while to finally adjust! Good job buddy...we are SOOOO proud of you!!