She's BAAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!!!

OUR RIBBIE GIRL IS BACK.....YEA,YEA,YEA!!

That's right, Ribbie past her recovery visit last Friday for the first time since, September 15, 2009. Yes, that date is correct. Since, September 15, 2009 Ribbie has had 4 surgeries to correct her ACL/knee cap. She went for her 6 week check up last Friday in Charleston and the doggy orthopedic, who Patrick has become BFF with said she can start being out in about with us again. She's been confined 24/7 to either our laundry room or her crate since September. Bless her heart, we never thought that it would have turned out this way, but hopefully she has finally seen the end of surgeries. We have to still take it very slow. He suggested her not going on a walk until it warms up a little more. Her knee will always be arthritic, so the colder temps will bother her.

The hardest part this weekend has been trying to keep Walker from jumping on her or riding her like a horse. It was funny when he was smaller and she was healthier, but not so much now. We are having to teach him again how to treat her and not pull her tail or her ears or poke at her eyes. She gets so upset when we use the word, "NO", because she thinks she's in trouble, but its Walker who is getting fussed at:)

I have definitely missed Ribbie cleaning up under Walker highchair. Tonight she was licking his chair trying to reach some green beans. So funny, because Walker after watching her for a second decided he should lick the highchair too:):

"Gentle" is becoming a very popular word or "Love Ribbie". Here he is giving her a hug. Thank goodness Ribbie doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She takes so much from him and never once has she snapped or growled at him. We are truly so lucky to have the BEST DOG IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!

Just Hanging Around

Yes, that's what we've been doing lately, just hanging around. Finally, we have experienced what "beach weather" is supposed to be like in January. We were able to get outside and finally have fun again in the warmer weather! Keeping a 19 month old inside all weekend is very difficult. All three of us start to get really crabby if we stay couped up in the house:)

Walker is really getting good at saying words, especially if you ask him to repeat something. He will hold up 1 finger when asked to count to 1. We are working on 2 and 3. He says slam dunk when throwing his ball in the hoop. He can say football when watching it on TV. If you ask him what a horn says, he will say, "Honk Honk" making the funniest sound. He also can make a siren noise for a fire truck. At school this week he is learning all about policemen and firemen.




Walker had so much fun playing and crawling in his new toy chest. The chest was a Christmas present from Jules and Pops. It was on back order and we finally received it this week. He loved laying in it looking up at the TV watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He fits perfect in the toy chest. After his fall last night we decided it was time to actually put his toys in it. This morning when he came downstairs he looked at us like, "What in the world are these toys doing in my toy chest?" Thanks Jules and Pops. Learn more about the fall in the next pictures.


See my new bump/bruise on my chin. Yes, last night right before bed he decided to almost cause us to go to the emergency room. He loves to crawl in and out of his new toy chest and he fell in it last night. So hard it made a dent in the wood. Let's just hope mahogany is a softer wood. I was a little freaked out, because his chin turned purple so quickly and was so swollen. I was convinced he had a concussion. Then when I picked him up at school today he had a slip in his cubie saying he fell on his chin and it was very bruised and swollen. They were so worried, but I reassured his teachers it was his fall last night that caused the purple bruise. So, I guess you would say his poor chin hurts:):)
Walker is obsessed with the vacuum. Here he is helping Daddy put together our new AWESOME vacuum. Thank you Moppy and Papa for getting us our new Dyson "Animal" vacuum. It was actually a Christmas present, but they were out of stock. Anything specializing in sucking up dog hair is a best friend of mine!! I have used it every night this week and Walker is such a big help.



One of my favorite things to do with Walker is read. It's actually one of his favorite things to do too. When he's ready to read at night, he says, "Book, Book". He goes over and picks out his fav's and crawls in my lap. I cherish every moment he crawls over to sit closer to me or looks up at me and leans over for a kiss. I love and cherish every single second he's with me!!

Hard day for Mommy

Today was a very hard day for me! Today was Walker's first official haircut and yea, I was pretty much a nervous wreck. Truthfully, I had a knot in my stomach all day. Yes, I'm sure you think I'm crazy just like Patrick told me all day. It was so hard to see the curls drop on the floor, but we both made it and he's as happy as ever and thats all that matters.

He is just as cute as ever, but it's just the next step of him becoming more a little boy and not a baby anymore. Patrick thinks it should be shorter, but I convinced him he needed a little extra hair for the winter:) I need to pull another trick out of my bag when summer time arrives:)

Before Pictures with cute curls

After Pictures with no curls

The after pictures are not the best, so we will take some this weekend. He was very squirmy in the beginning and calmed down by watching a video on our DVD player, but by the end he was hysterical. I told him that it was all daddy's fault....HAHAHA!!

New Slide Show

Right before Christmas we met with our fabulous photographer! I hope you enjoy all the new pictures of Walker. It's so hard to believe how much he has changed since our last shoot Mother's Day weekend. I am so excited to share these with you all. Enjoy, sending lots of love from The Ransdell's!!

Jump, Jump, Jump

"Baby, it's cold outside", but that doesn't mean we can't have fun inside. Walker went to his friend Conner's fourth birthday party today at a local indoor fun house (lots of inflatable jumpy things). We were really looking forward to the party and we had a blast!! Conner is a friend in the neighborhood who is so good to Walker. I think Conner will always refer to Walker as, "Baby Walker"....it's so sweet. I didn't get a picture of the cute birthday boy because he was all over the place having a great time.

At first he wanted us to go down with him, but after the second time he realized how much fun it would be by himself. He totally had NO FEAR and would go down without any hesitation. Patrick and I actually had fun sliding down too:)

Walker had so much fun playing with his friend Caroline. They loved to play in the inflatable with all the balls. I wonder what Caroline is thinking? She's going to be a big sister in June. I bet she's thinking...."So, is this what its going to be like with a BOY around the house":)

Having fun chasing around the ball. He definitely did a lot of falling down today:) Actually, Mommy and Daddy did a lot of falling around too. I bet tomorrow we will wonder why our body is sore:)

I will take any opportunity to get a hug from a busy busy little boy! We had a blast and look forward to going back to jump around some more! He wasn't too sure when we first got there, but was 100% sure he wasn't ready to leave:)

Ho, Ho, Ho

Christmas 2009 will always be remembered spent with all of our wonderful family and friends!! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and wish ALL OF YOU a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you enjoy all of our fun:):) Watching Walker and seeing the excitement in his eyes is something I will look forward to each and every year!

When you ask Walker what Santa says, he will say, "Ho Ho Ho". It is soooo cute. We had such a wonderful Christmas spent at Moppy and Papa's house. We were able to see lots of family and friends and eat lots of yummy food, especially the desserts. We spent most of the week just hanging around the house spending time together. Walker wasn't quite sure what to think of all of his presents. It definitely took a lot longer than I thought to open presents. Walker would stay focused on the present he just opened making it very hard to move on to the next.

He is all boy climbing on the box before opening it. Our present to Walker this year was a basketball goal. We taught him to say, "Slam Dunk". He loves his horse that Moppy and Papa gave him. The big smile on his face is priceless.

Santa brought Walker a harmonica and a kazoo in his stocking. I couldn't believe he knew exactly what to do with them. It's hysterical listening to him play the harmonica. I tell you what....he can rock out with it. I keep telling him he's going to play in a blues band:)

Check out Walker's booties from Moppy and Papa:) Look at those chubby legs...are they not irresistible or what?? He enjoyed wearing his booties around the house.

Don't you like our matching candy cane PJ's?

We always enjoy spending time with Uncle Ben, Aunt Mandy and Cousin Logan. It is so fun to watch the boys play together. They are one year apart and love each other so much. Aunt Mandy and Walker enjoyed opening one of his presents with all the barnyard animals inside.

We always love catching up with old and new friends:) Walker's friends Zuri and Mason stopped by to see us. It's amazing how fast they all are growing up. Zuri is almost walking and turns 1 at the end of January. We can't wait to help celebrate her first birthday. Mason will turn 2 in January and will be a BIG brother in March. Mason enjoyed showing us a few tricks with the football and basketball.

A few more of our favorite people stopped by to see us, "The Walkers". Megan and Brian are expecting their first Baby Girl in April and we couldn't be more excited for them. We hope before April, Megan will learn the proper way to hold a baby:):) Megan, you must not be reading the books I sent you...LOL!! Walker was so excited to see his Godparents:) and he loves his new baseball tee set. We love you guys and can't wait to visit Charlotte and see the nursery.

I'm telling you he would not put his harmonica down even for a picture:) Here are my favorite Thrasher's in the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD:) I love them more than they will ever ever know. They helped me become the "old lady" that I am today and it makes me so happy to see Walker feel the same LOVE I have always received from them. We love you Uncle Doug, Aunt Patsy and Cody!!

Not Much Lately......

Yes, that's what we have been doing lately...not much! It's always amazing when you have so many plans for the weekend and it changes in a second. Walker started feeling under the weather on Saturday and continued to get worse through the weekend. We spent most of Sunday morning in our weekend pediatrician's office. Walker has an ear infection. He is finally feeling better today with NO fever. I'm so glad he is feeling better, because I'm not sure if we can stay couped up in the house another weekend. I will admit is was fun staying in our pj's all weekend and spending quality time together, but it's hard to stay inside with a 18 month old:)

On Tuesday, Walker had his 18 month check up. He weighs 29 pounds and 33 inches tall. He is growing like a weed and taking in everything. He is so much fun and its getting easier communicating with him. He says everything lately...most of the time when you ask him to say a word he will repeat you. It doesn't always sound like it should, but it's so sweet to hear him try to say it. The funniest lately is the word, "Wow". He also is very good at saying, "Snowman" and for Santa he says, "Ho, Ho".

He loves to play with the snowmen that sing from Hallmark. He turns them on one by one and dances to the music. I've already had to change the batteries:) He has done very well with the Christmas tree. We decided this year to go with a smaller tree with less ornaments. He goes over and looks, but doesn't show any interest in messing with the ornaments. I hope next year he can have his very own tree to decorate.

It's that time a year again when Dairy Queen makes Patrick's favorite blizzard...."Candy Cane Chill". This is actually very terrible, but Patrick has gone there every night this week. His excuse is....Walker loves it too:) Walker definitely takes after his Daddy and LOVES eating ice cream.

Check out my shirt......Mom's favorite gift. I recently celebrated my birthday and both my boys made my day extra special. Patrick and Walker gave me a really cool camera for my birthday/X-Mas and I'm enjoying taking photos with it. I can't wait to get to Moppy and Papa's this weekend to practice more.