Lunch with Santa on the Train!

Back in June I purchased tickets to do lunch with Santa on the train in Monticello. It's unbelieveable how quickly they sell out! I'm glad I was able to get tickets and we were able to go. Ramsay didn't really get to nap that day so he was a bit cranky but for the most part did a great job. Before heading to Monticello we stopped at Lou Taylor Photography and got his picture taken with Santa since they were handing out free CD's with the picture on it. Ramsay was all for saying hi to Santa and giving him a high five but he didn't want to sit on his lap or stand very close to him.

Boarding the train, getting ready to have lunch with Santa!

After our train ride was over we headed over to Peoria and had dinner at the restaurant in Bass Pro Shop and then went through the Festival of Lights. The wait was so long that we were in line for an hour and a half before ready the park. By the time we got in Ramsay had fallen asleep so he missed the entire thing. It was pretty neat though to see all the lights they had!

Things our 2 year old says...........

I'm mad at myself for not starting a journal right away with Ramsay but at least I'm not to far behind. It will be fun later on in life to look back at the things he first said when he began talking. We find ourselves laughting a lot at most things he says. First word: Bubble..........that was interesting! lol Daddy Mama, Mommy Nanny Pawpaw Tete (Auntie Brielle) Emma (cousin) Grandma PP "What is sat" (What is that) "Yay, ok!" "Oh church, there it is!" (This is just on example of what he says with There It Is!) "Hi there mama!" Milk Juice Eat, eat Popcorn Please - he can also sign please which is super cute More - he can also sign more Help Thank you Welcome Ok Play Slide Balloon Car(s) He's starting to learn a lot of animals now: Cat - with the sound meow Dog - with the sound ruff Cow Duck Giraffe Lion Tiger Dinosaur Ramsay has also known his alphabet since he was about 20 months old. He knows all the letters and can tell you what they are out of sequence. :) Things that our 2 year old loves! Mommy and daddy of course. Cat in the Hat Sid the Science Kid Super Why! His blanket Gold fish crackers Playing at a playground Popcorn (definitely his mother's child!) French fries Yogurt Music - he loves to sing! The Wheels on the Bus, She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain, Itsy Bitsy Spider are just a few that he sings along to.

Halloween 2012

I decided to make some little treats for Ramsay to take to daycare on Halloween so I made mini cupcakes and put buttercream icing on them and topped them with a marshmellow looking ghost. Super easy and pretty cute!

Since it was pretty cold out and we really don't know a lot of people in town, we decided to take Ramsay to our church's Simply Fun Fest which was so much fun! The church had bounce houses, games, food, and face painting. Ramsay had a blast and I was thankful we were inside where it was warm! Of course Ramsay mostly enjoyed playing on the indoor playground.

And finally, my super hero, SUPER WHY! Mommy and daddy even dressed up as super letters! Ramsay LOVES Why so daddy thought it was only appropriate that he go as Super Why this year!

Cat in the Hat Party

I've already done a posting about Ramsay's birthday party with pictures but thought I would do a seperate posting of just party planning and decorations! The invitations for Ramsay's party was my absolute favorite part of the party. They were so unique and I knew everyone would love them. I found them on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/people/kcjones032) and the designer was great to work with. I couldn't have picked a better invitation!

Since the party was held in a location that most of the attendees hadn't been to before, I made signs directing people where to do. Nothing major but they still turned out pretty cute.

Since Ramsay has a peanut allergy and buying cakes/cupcakes from a bakery is not an option, this mama got busy and spent an entire day baking and decorating for this party. I must say, I do enjoy it and I would do anything for my little man to make sure he stays safe. I was pretty proud of the way my baked goods turned out.

I made one banner to hang at the party that said Happy Birthday Ramsay and I had another banner made through Vistaprint.com and paid next to nothing for it. The nice thing about the Vistaprint banner is that it's vinyl and since we recently made Ramsay's bedroom a Cat in the Hat room we'll be able to hang the banner on the wall for a decoration.

We asked guests not to bring any gifts for the birthday boy but if they would like to bring a favorite Dr. Seuss book we would make a donation to the church where the party was held and another local organization. People really loved that idea and we ended up with a good amount of books which was great! I had also purchased the Happy Birthday To You book and asked that guests sign the book with a birthday wish for Ramsay and we would add that to his birthday collections.

Another great addition was that I had Thing shirts made up for a bunch of us for the party. Everyone was great sports about it and jumped at the chance to wear the shirts to help celebrate with the birthday boy! Of course, the birthday boy had his own special shirt that his Auntie made for him.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Well, the day finally arrived. My baby turned the big 2! Yesterday was a great day from start to finish but am exhausting one! Ramsay woke up to a floor full of balloons for the big day and then his big birthday party was held at our church's indoor playground. It was so great having a bunch of kids running around and having fun. The theme for the party was Cat in the Hat and it was so much fun! I didn't get a really good picture of the birthday boy in his birthday shirt since he was to busy running around playing! It was so much fun though and a great time. Time to relax for a bit before I ever think about his 3rd birthday! lol Good thing I have an entire year.

I had shirts made for a bunch of us for Ramsay's party. We were all "Thing" something. Everyone was great sports wearing the shirts and they turned out so great!

Ramsay's Dedication

What an amazing Saturday we had! Ramsay was dedicated at church and I'm so excited that so many people were there to take part in his special day. Not only did Larry participate in the ceremony, but Ramsay was also surrounded by his grandparents, great grandmas, and his great-great grandma. All of his grandparents (except for one) was in attendance for the big day.

Countdown to the big birthday bash!

We're gearing up for Ramsay's 2nd birthday party and I just had to share the adorable invites! I found this fabulous design on Etsy and couldn't be happier with it. The invitation is made to look like a Cat in the Hat book and inside it tells a story about Ramsay and his friend Emma (who is really his cousin!). I can't wait for the party and all the fun we will have!

Couch to 5k

Well, I have taken the plunge. I started the Couch to 5k program and I am now in Week 6 of the program. At first I was worried about finding time to commit to it but oddly enough, I seem to make the time to do it before anything else. I must say, I have more energy now then I thought I would! So far the weightloss has been slow, maybe 5 pounds gone, but the inches are going away. I ran into a couple from my small group at church the other day and I hadn't seen them for at least a month and they were commenting on how good I look. It was a great feeling! I was looking back at pictures from Ramsay's birthday last year and I was a little smaller and really want to be back there, and even smaller. I'll get there one run at a time. I even downloaded the 10k app last night so who knows, maybe I'll continue on with that once I complete the 5k program!

Sneak Peek at the birthday party invite..........

One month from today is the big party to celebrate Ramsay's 2nd birthday. Hard to believe he is 2!!

Life has been so busy...........

Wow, I didn't realize how behind I was getting on my blog. Life has been so busy I can barely keep up with myself! This fall marked a HUGE accomplishment in my life journey, which started 3 years ago. I FINALLY received my Associates in Science from Parkland in August. Those of you that know me and have watched me on this journey know how important this is for me and how hard I have worked for that one piece of paper! It's been an amazing journey with some ups and downs along the way, but 3 years after going back I can finally say that I finished it and have my Associates degree!!! This semester I am taking Statistics at Parkland (which is a requirement for my Business Administration degree) and let me say that it's not an easy class by any means. I love math and enjoy the challenge of math, but this math doesn't make any sense to me! I'll be happy when this semester is over with, as long as I pass! I am also now officially a University of Illinois at Springfield student and am taking my very first class with them this semester as well. My Parkland class is on campus but luckily my entire program at UIS is online so soon enough I won't have to step foot on any campus again until I'm walking across a stage to get my diploma for my Bachelor's. I think I've figured it will take about 10 semesters to complete that, if I continue to take 2 classes per semester. My goal: to have my Bachelor's by the time Ramsay starts Kindergarten and as long as I stay on track there won't be any issues with that. :) YAY ME!! Ramsay has a pretty busy month coming up in October, but it's going to be a great month! Ramsay is being dedicated at our church on October 13th and we can't wait to share this special moment with his grandparents and great-grandparents. Both he and I have enjoyed attending church so much and I am thankful we found such an amazing place to attend for Ramsay's Christian journey. We're looking forward to the service and celebration soon to come! Hard to believe, but Ramsay is also turning 2 in October. Seriously, where did the past two years go? I have been planning and preparing for this party for a few months now. Silly, I know, but I knew once classes got started this fall I would have much time to work on the party. We're having the party at our church since they have an indoor playground so it's going to be a lot of fun. It's also a Cat in the Hat theme party and the decorations are going to be fun and colorful, but not to many decorations since the playground itself is pretty colorful. I still have a hard time believing he is going to be 2. :( Of course the month of October brings Halloween as well and even though Ramsay can't eat the candy, we'll still be going trick or treating. This year he is going to dress up at Super Why from the PBS show Super Why. He LOVES Why and that's probably an understatement. Because of that show he knows his entire alphabet and can pick out the letters from anywhere he sees them. He's just so darn smart. :) He's also to the point now that every time we go by a park he either whines or says "play". He loves to be outside and play at the playground or even just outside at home with sidewalk chalk. He's the greatest little guy on earth and I couldn't love him more!

Holiday World 2012 - Arnold Style

Ramsay and I both got to experience Holiday World for the very first time at the end of July. The Arnold family all packed up and headed to Santa Claus, Indiana for a couple nights stay at Lake Rudolph Campground. We had an absolute blast and definitely something I can see us doing every summer for years to come! Larry's family used to go every year themselves but hadn't been for a couple years. It was nice to his parents to be able to experience it with both of their grandkids. The traditional stop at The Big Peach!!

Ramsay chilling in the camper, coloring while Nanny gets dinner ready the first night we are there.

Ramsay going down the gator waterslide at Holiday World. This kid loves water and loves slides, so you put them together and he's in total heaven!

Waterslide fun with Mama!

Water slide fun with Daddy!

Ramsay driving Mama around in the Jeep!

Ramsay got to meet Rudolph at the campground our last morning there. He gave Rudolph a great big high five!!

We all had so much fun at Holiday World! Ramsay really enjoyed riding around in the golf cart as well all over the campground. Everytime he went for a ride he would say "Weeeeee". It was so cute!

Iowa 2012

Ramsay and I traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to spend a weekend with our friend Katie in mid-July. This was the first time Ramsay had been in a car for such a long period of time but he did amazing! Slept about an hour both going there and coming home, but the rest of the time we sang songs or he watched Dr. Seuss on the dvd player. We had a fabulous time with "Tatie" (as Ramsay says). Ramsay and Katie checking out some toys at the toy store in Main Amana, Iowa. I LOVE the Amana Colonies and it had been a few years since I had been there.

Ramsay and I sitting in Iowa's largest rocking chair at the Broom and Basket shop in West Amana, Iowa.

Katie took us to the beach at Coralville Lake. Ramsay had never played in sand before so at first when we put him down to walk to our area he freaked out but once he was in it for a bit he really enjoyed it. He kept taking his shovel and pouring sand on himself. Needless to say, it took me quite a few shampoos to get the sand out of his hair. It was worth it though to see him so excited!

Ramsay and Katie playing in the water. Of course my child LOVES any kind of water so he was super excited. He wanted mommy close by though and didn't want me sitting on the blanket at all. He wanted me right by the water.

Before coming home we went to the Iowa Children's Museum in the Coralridge Mall, Coralville, Iowa. It was very cool! First thing we saw was the grocery store with the mini shopping carts for kids. Ramsay got a hold of his shopping cart and just kept pushing it around and around in circles. He wasn't interested in taking anything off the shelves to put in the cart which was funny. He was determined just to push the cart in circles.

This is Ramsay flying a plane at the Children's Museum. He had so much fun there. Every time we left an area he cried because he was having so much fun!

Big Boy Bed Flop

Well, there's been an issue with the big boy bed. The rails that came with the bed are spaced pretty far apart and two nights in a row Ramsay fell out of his bed. :( Poor guy. At least his bed isn't that far off the ground. Luckily, daddy went shopping and found a mesh bed rail at All Things Kids and so I took the rails off of his bed that came with it and replaced it with the mesh bed rail. SUCCESS!! It's perfect and leaves just enough room at the head of his bed for him to get in and out all on his own. He's such a big boy now! I'm still working on the decorations for his Cat in the Hat room. I started working on the roman shade last night and ran out of red/white striped material so I need to get some more. The shade is going to be super cute once it's all done and hanging up at the window. Once it's complete I can begin working on the quilt!

Here we Go, Go, Go, Go.......on an adventure!

This weekend didn't start out to be busy but it ended up that way. Ramsay's room was transformed into a big boy room! His crib was converted to the toddler bed and his room got a makeover with some paint. He now has his very own big boy Cat in the Hat room! I'm still working on some decorations and a new roman shade for his room, but the walls are done and they look awesome. So good that I want to hang out in his room!