MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours has been wonderful. We have gotten to spend some quality time with friends and family and just relax. We have been here in Troy sinced Friday night and we are having a great time. We opened presents this morning and everyone got what they asked for and more! Nick is most excited about his new Flip Video (a little video camera that plugs into the computer, it is awesome!). Katie got a new scanner, printer, copier that she can't wait to start using, and Max got a basketball hoop!

Today we had Grandma and Grandpa Powell in for lunch and then the Bahr Family and their niece Ava (family friends) came to spend the evening. We all played Wii (Dance Dance Revolution and Bowling) and had an awesome time.
Max is in heaven spending so much time with his grandparents. He and Grandpa have spent a lot of time playing with tools (Grandma has a play workbench!) and Grandma has been great for snuggling and chasing cats with.
Tomorrow the girls are going to see Wicked at The Fox and we are so excited. I got the soundtrack for Christmas and have been listening to it to get ready. Seeing live theater is one of my favorite things in the entire world so I can hardly handle the anticipation.
Well, I better get going. My husband is waiting for me to play a round of Wii bowling. I hope I win.
I wish you all a wonderful and blessed holiday!
Love,
Katie

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! Life at our house has been wonderful and crazy! During one busy week in December I graduated college and we found out we are expecting baby #2. So basically, the Ramsey family couldn't be happier!

Max is doing great! He is walking... when he feels like it! He is such a smart little guy and he amazes us everyday. Yesterday we were reading a book and when we saw a picture of a baby Max did the sign for "baby". We had never taught him that one but it is in the Baby Einstein sign language movie he has! It is amazing the things they pick up!

We are headed to Troy today to celebrate Christmas with my family. We are super excited. Max will have so much fun being the center of attention and playing with his grandparents and Auntie M. I am looking forward to a little extra help keeping him entertained!

Well, I guess I should get to packing and wrapping presents. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy Friday everyone! It is definetly a happy one here at the Ramsey house! I have been super busy finishing up the semester. Graduation is December 14th and the count down has begun! I have a few really big projects left before the end of the semester.
Max is doing really well. He still isn't walking yet... but he finds crawling so efficient he doesn't have much a desire to! He is using basic sign language a lot which has made our lives so much easier. He is able to let us know when he is hungry or finished. He has also started having a few of his own words for things... he LOVES bananas and refers to them as "nanas" which he wants several times a day. He has also referred to his Grandpa Don as "Papa" when we look at family pictures.
Our family is very ready for Thanksgiving. We are going to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson with my parents, sister, and grandma. We are so excited! It will be so nice to get out of town and spend some time with family!
We will post some pictures of our trip when we get back!

Max is 1! I can't believe how quickly the year has flown by. We celebrated by having two very fun birthday parties! Check out Picasa to see more pictures!

Hello Friends and Family!

I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy! Here at the Ramsey House things are great. Life is keeping us very busy but that is generally how we like it! Max is getting a new tooth in (top left) so he is quite a bit fussier than usual but still tolerable.

School is going well for me this semester. Lots of projects, but it is already over 1/4 of the way through so how can I complain?? My favorite class is probably my Scientific and Technical Editing class. My instructor is fabulous and I am actually learning some things!

Nick is keeping busy at work. He enjoys his job most days and loves the people he works with. Nick watches Max on Fridays while I have class and so Max gets to hang out at E.B.I. and flirt with all of the girls. He loves it.

Max of course is doing great... except for the teething. He has totally mastered pulling up and is enjoying his mobility. He has starting making the "ma" sound so I am hoping that is a sign of things to come!

My mom and grandma are coming to town for a visit today so we are looking forward to a fun weekend with them. I hope everyone else has a great weekend. We are still downloading most of our pictures to our Picasa site, http://picasaweb.google.com/KatieLRamsey, so check there if you are interested! Here is one of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks...

Hello!
I just wanted to announce that last night Max said his first real word! He has said words before but this is the first one he seems to know the meaning of! He said, "duck". We happen to have a lot of duck toys so there ya go!

Wow, it has been a super busy week. It was my first week back in school- one down, sixteen to go! I think it is going to be a really good but busy semester. It looks like I might actually learn a few things in a few of my classes which I am looking forward to. But, I think they are going to be a lot of work. So... if you don't hear from me much this semester, I appologize!
Max is a lot of fun these days... if you can keep up. He crawls everywhere and has very little interest in being held! He is into everything! But, we LOVE it!! Everyone kept telling us... "you don't want them to crawl", "enjoy them now because you are going to go crazy after they start crawling". Well, I must say I appreciate the advice but you are wrong. We love it that he can crawl! He has so much fun exploring his world and we love watching him learn more everyday!
He also has two new tricks, he dances when you ask him to, and does a "touchdown" (put his arms in the air) when asked as well. Both are soooo cute!
Well, I guess that is about all we have to report from Nixa! Hope everyone is doing well in your part of the world!

Nick and I are in awe of how quickly Max is growing and changing. He crawled for the first time on Saturday night! He has to really want something to do it at this point, but we have a feeling any day now he will just take off!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! Things are going well here with the Ramsey family. Today is Nick and my 2 year anniversary! We are so excited! It has been a great 2 years!

Max is doing great and getting so big! He is pulling up and almost crawling. I think this is my favorite age so far. He is getting such a personality.

My mom and sister are coming to visit tomorrow evening until Thursday morning so I am really excited about that. Max is head over heels in love with his Auntie M so he will have a great time. I love having some company during the day!

Not much else is new. Nick is still enjoying his job at E.B.I. and we are staying busy. We try to have friends over for dinner about once a week and we are really just enjoying our life, family, and friends.

We hope all is well with all of you. Please drop us a line sometime and let us know how you are doing... KatieLRamsey@gmail.com

Love,

The Ramsey's

Hey Friends! Since I haven't been fabulous at updating I have started posting are pictures on Picasa since that is a little easier. http://picasaweb.google.com/KatieLRamsey We will still post on here too, but for those of you who like to see pictures a little more often, here you go!

Max's newest trick... scooting backwards!! It is so cute. He has no idea what he is doing but he tends to get further and further away from whatever toy he is reaching for! I feel a little bad for him!

I just wanted to make a comment to all of our friends out there who are soon to be parents or are planning to have babies in the future... read BabyWise! We constantly have people telling us how good our baby is (and yes, he is pretty good natured anyway) but really it all comes from BabyWise! BabyWise has taught Nick and I to put our marriage first and to focus on helping Max become a secure and moral person from day one... even if that sometimes means he isn't totally happy with us for that moment. But, in the end he is a happier baby because he feels secure and although he is totally loved, he is not the center of the universe!! If you want to learn more please check out a copy or we would be happy to lend you ours. We are so grateful we found a parenting philosophy that we totally agree with and that has worked so well for us!

Max is getting so big and amazing us every single day. He is starting to show some interest in crawling and pulling up. Along with the amazing things he is doing he has also started screaming when he gets upset which hopefully won't last too much longer, we don't encourage it!

Hello Family and Friends!

We hope you all are enjoying the summer as much as we are! Max loves being outside so we go on about two walks a day! Very good exercise for Mom and Dad! Last Saturday we went to Mountain Grove to visit with Nick's family. Nick's mom had foot surgery but seemed to be doing well! Max enjoyed showing off for his grandparents! He really loves showing off in general!

His newest "trick" is giving snuggles. He has always snuggled a little bit but now if you snuggle him and then ask for "some snuggles" he snuggles you back! It melts my heart everytime! Nick and I are so blessed to have such an increadible little boy! Nick and I are enjoying Max so much that we look forward to seeing if the Lord has any other children planned for our future and what they will be like!

Here are some pictures from this week!

Wow, I have been intending to do this blog since Tuesday and I am just now getting around to it. Ahh life with a 7 month old! It is wonderful, but everyday is a new adventure! Our family spent Memorial Day weekend in Troy with the Powell''s. So much fun, as always! Max had a great time and was totally content being snuggled by his grandparents and Auntie M all weekend. Coming home and getting back to normal was definetly an adjustment! My mom and sister came down yesterday to attend a conference today so we got to spend yesterday shopping in Branson, Max and the girls, Nick had to work. Max loved it. He got two new pairs of shoes and he was so excited. As soon as we put them on his feet he started bouncing around and showing off. He definetly knew he was getting something new! And of course his grandma had to get him a few outfits to match the new shoes! We all had a great time! And we even got to see Aunt Teri working at her new store at the Landing, Justice! Here are a few pictures from Memorial Day.

Max is getting so big. His new favorite trick is getting on his tummy in his crib and trying to climb up the bumpers. Of course he isn't successful at all but it is pretty funny.

Our family had a pretty relaxing weekend. We went to Mountain Grove on Friday to attend Nick's sister, Kaite's graduation party. Then on Saturday night my old roomate Meghan and her boyfriend Danny came over for dinner. We had such a great time catching up and hanging out with them. Other than that we just hung out as a family. It was really nice!

The semester is over!

Two finals left to go and the semester is over! I can't wait. I will be busy with my internship this summer but that will be more of my own schedule.

Let's see... another super busy weekend! My parents came down Friday night (yay!) so my mom could come to Christina's babyshower and so they could help Emily pack-up to go home for the summer. Saturday morning Sarah, Katrina, and I threw a baby shower for Chrsitina at my house. It was so much fun. Then Sunday was my first Mother's Day! It was wonderful. There was a baby dedication at church which was so special. Then Nick took me to lunch at Panera and then we went to the zoo. The only animal Max got really excited about was the raccoons. He is so silly!

Max is 7 months old now and amazes us every day! He is getting so big. Unfortunatly Max is down with an ear infection today. Here are a few pictures from this week... Like the new Spidey p.j.s?

Katie was sick most of the weekend:-( But we did manage to get a little bit of fun in before it really hit! Friday we spent some time at our friend's the Jordan's house. So much fun. Then Sunday Katie went to Bolivar with Christina for her Jenkins' Family shower. Hopefully she will be better tomorrow and we will have a good week.

Goodness! What a busy week! I am taking a QUICK break to do a little blogging but after that I have to get back to homework. Nick and I have been so busy lately but it has been really good.

Friday we got to spend some time with Nick's parents. Then we got to go mini-van shopping and we bought one! I never thought I would be excited about getting a mini-van but I am! I love it!

Saturday we worked hard and cleaned out our garage and second bedroom, giving Nick some "man space" in the garage and me a scrapbooking room. Yay! Then Saturday night we got to hang out with The Jenkins' which is always so much fun. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Sunday we went to church and then in the evening we went to our Sunday School class party. We met up for Mexican food and then went back to the church for some desert and games. We love our church family so much!

Monday night we had our birthing class reunion. It was so fun to see everyone as parents and to have so many babies in one room.

Last night we went to the EBI Uno de Mayo party. We had a great time there too. We ate some Qudoba and the Skinny Improv performed. Nick and I had never watched them before but we definetly plan to again sometime!

Tonight we are having our good friends, The Wolf's over for a little pizza and American Idol. It will probably be our last chance to get together with them before they move to Kansas City. We will miss them so much!

Here are a few pictures...

Another weekend has quickly flown by! Wow, I can't believe it is almost May. School is almost out... I have a lot of homework to do before then! Pray for me!

The Ramsey Family had a great weekend! Nick was wonderful and encouraged me to go out Friday night and spend the evening scrapbooking with girlfriends at Scrapbook Generation. I felt like a new person afterwards! It was so great to get to spend some time doing something I love and getting to have lots of girl-talk and junk food at the same time!

Saturday morning Nick went out to Northside's new property and helped with some clean-up. He said things are really coming along out there. I think the plan is that we will be in the new building late this summer. I can't wait! After Nick got home we went to lunch and then took Max to the park for the first time. He really liked it! Although, he was much too busy watching the "big kids" to have his picture taken! Saturday night we hung out with my sister and our good friends the Jordans. We tried out Luigi's in Nixa (delicious!) and then played a board game.

Sunday we went to church and then got to see the Jordan's new house (pre-remodel). I took an evening nap which is why I am wide awake at 11! Oops.

Anyway, we hope everyone had a great weekend!

Nick and I have been feeling so increadibly blessed lately. I think the spring weather has renewed our spirits! But aside from the weather we have so much to be grateful for! We just wanted to use today's blog to just express our gratitude to all of those who bless our lives every day.

1. Obvioulsy we are most thankful to God! He has showered us with blessings since we have been married! He is so gracious with us and is constantly leading us closer to him through our daily experiences. And He is the reason for this list all together!
2. We are so thankful to our family. They are so loving to us. They are always willing to come down and babysit, help us with a project, or just spend time with us. And of course we are thankful to have my sister Emily living nearby... and not just because she babysits! Although, we REALLY appreciate that too!
3. We are thankful for our friends who have become our "Springfield/Nixa Family". We are so blessed to have an amazing group of people who have been by our sides during the big milestones we have had lately. We are so blessed to spend so much of our time with the people who rejoiced with us on our wedding day, helped us move into our new house, brought us meals when we had a baby at home, and the list could go on forever. We are so grateful to our friends who have taken us into their lives and have become a part of ours!
4. Our church family who has made us feel so welcome and has helped us grow closer to God and other people.
5. And of course we are thankful for each other and for our wonderful baby boy! Life has changed so much in the past few years but we have seen God's hand in it all.

Thank you all for being a part of our lives. We love you!

Yay! We have new floors! Katie's parents came down this weekend to help us install new floors in our kitchen, laundry room, and entry. We are so excited! We feel like we have a brand new house! Plus, it was fun seeing family two weeks in a row. Max might be getting a little spoiled... but only in the best way possible!

Max is getting so big and is so much fun lately. He has almost mastered sitting up. He is also loving solid foods and is starting to feed himself some finger food. Here are some pictures from the past week!

Happy Birthday Nick! Today is Nick's 25th birthday! Today is also Easter! Max's first Easter!

We had a super fun weekend! Katie didn't have school Thursday or Friday! Thursday night we hung out with our good friends that Hatfield's. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then dyed Easter eggs. It had been years since any of us had done that.

Friday Katie's family arrived to celebrate Nick's birthday weekend. They celebrated Nick's birthday here last year as well so Nick is getting used to a pretty special birthday!

Max had a great first Easter. He was a little bit spoiled. He got two Easter baskets and a stuffed bunny from Grandma "Louis". Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa all went a little overboard with his Easter baskets... but he is just too much fun to shop for!

Here are some pictures from our weekend!