Jules, Jules, Jules

We are so lost we don't know what to do....we walk around the house calling for Jules, Jules, Jules, but no answer:):) Jules came to visit us last Thursday and sadly left early Tuesday morning. We had such a wonderful visit and Walker enjoyed her so much. He doesn't get to see Jules and Pops very often and for the first time he recognized her as soon as she got out of the car. I know it melted her heart and caused me to get a little emotional. Just another hint of him growing up and becoming more aware. He immediately ran to her and gave her a giant hug....WOW!! It's awesome to hear Walker call for her. She couldn't leave the room without him calling, "Jules, Jules, Jules" until she answered him. On a sad note, we came home on Tuesday afternoon and he walked around the house saying, "Jules, Jules, Jules....it actually sounds like "Ules, Ules, Ules":(

She came just in time for some fun in the snow too. She thought she left the snow behind in Kentucky, but instead it followed her. We always get so spoiled when she's here. Great food is cooked, laundry is done and it's just something about having a "grandma" around that makes life so much easier. Jules if you're not busy, please come back really soon:) We love you and thank you for everything!!

Fun in the Snow

Who says it doesn't snow at the beach? The excitement was killing us on Friday night with the possible snow fall during the night. Everybody was talking about it and I was so sure it wasn't going to happen, but starting around 7:30pm the snow began to fall and continued through the night. With much anticipation on Saturday morning, we jumped out of bed to find a little over 4 inches of snow outside. We bundled Walker up around 7:30am and headed outside to play in the snow.

Walker was showing Jules the way to see the tractors

Baby Keeley made her first snow debut:) How adorable does she look!! Walker wasn't sure why she couldn't run around and chase him in the snow.

Some more of Walker's friends came over to play for a while. It was so much fun to watch the kids play and hear their laughter all around. They also enjoyed chasing the dogs around too.

Laughter, Love and Endless Fun

I feel like my title truly says it all about this wonderful little guy. He is so full of laughter, love and endless fun. It definitely wears us out some times, well most of the time, but I love ending the day with just as big of a smile on my face as he always has on his:) He continues to talk up a storm and learn new words every day. On the way to school yesterday I really wanted to turn around and tell him to hush....that sounds ugly, but as most of you know I'm not a morning person and usually don't speak until about 10am:) He is really good at telling you what he wants and REALLY good at telling you what he doesn't want. He continues to be an excellent eater and a really good sleeper. He has started to make a face when he doesn't understand or when he's in trouble. He crunches up his eyebrows and looks up at you with these big eyes...it's quite funny, but it's hard especially when we are trying to discipline him. I have yet to catch a picture of "the face", but as soon as I do I will post an example. Speaking of discipline, that continues to be a big challenge for us. We are working very hard to stay consistent, but some times it feels like nothing is working, hopefully, it's just the age:):)

Walker loves to lick the beaters. I really don't bake that often, but when he hears the mixer he comes running. I can hear my mom saying, "Don't let him lick those, it has raw eggs in it" well Moppy, it never hurt us, right? And excuse the hair, he had just gotten up from a nap:)

Walker is obsessed with the tractors in our neighborhood. Every morning and every afternoon we have to do a "drive by" to see the tractors. Before we even turn in the neighborhood he is already pointing and saying, "Tractors, Tractors, Tractors"...over and over. I'm sure the neighbors think we are stalking them. He also loves seeing the school buses. He gets soooooo excited to see the buses in the mornings.

His three favorite things to do at the basketball games is watch for our mascot, dance to the band and run around wild after the games on the gym floor. He is so funny to watch and the faces he makes watching the bigger kids run around is priceless. He loves to run around in circles while sticking his belly out and waving his arms. I really don't think he knows what to do with his arms:):)

We've had lots of rain lately and what better way to show it than running around with no pants on in his frog rain boots:) Moppy and Papa gave him these frog rain boots for Christmas. We have definitely put them to good use with all this terrible weather.

We are really enjoying playing with our Ribbie girl. Walker loves to play fetch with Ribbie. He thinks she is hysterical. Also, check out his second haircut. It's getting easier for me, but it makes him look like such a big boy.

We have a special guest coming on Thursday to stay for the weekend and we are so excited we can hardly wait. Jules is coming, YEAH!! We can't wait to see you Jules!

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:)