Blog Permissions

I had a talk yesterday with my grandma, and she brought some valid points to my attention in regards to the 'publicness' (if you will) of this blog. I had not thought about when I post how we are going out of town that I am announcing on the world wide web that our house is unattended. I also hadn't thought about the fact that I am declaring to potential kidnappers or pedafiles that I have a young baby in my house (I know, I know, I sound a tad dramatic, but people are freaking crazy!). I am stubbornly admitting that my grandmother is right about the safety issues my postings potentially create for Alexa, Dan, and me. Therefore, next Sunday (March 1st) I am going to make my page only accessible to people who have 'permission.' Simply put, I will provide Blogspot with a list of email addresses of people who can check our blog. So, if you are a person who wants to continue to have access please email me at nicoleritchey@gmail.com. Thanks for your understanding and continued interest in our lives!!!

Greensboro/Durham

We had a lovely time our last few days in North Carolina. We stayed in Greensboro with Dan, Maureen, and Maddie :) It was great to finally see Dan & Maureen's house. They have done a ton of work on the house, and it looks fabulous! On Friday night, we went to dinner at a pub in downtown Greensboro then went back to the house for some ice cream and TV (yea, for Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice crossover event! Although Dan, Maureen, and Dan would say yea for Battlestar Galactica, nerds). On Saturday, we spent most of the day in Durham at Andy & Cathy's house. Natalie, our niece, was baptized Saturday evening. There was a gathering at Andy & Cathy's house afterwards. Andy made a chicken chili that had just the right amount of kick to it. We spent more time in Durham on Sunday. We ended our time in NC with a dinner at Cracker Barrel, shakes from Cookout, and the Oscars. It was really nice to be able to spend so much quality time with all of Dan's family because it's not often that the 11 of us are able to be together! Here are some pictures... Enjoy!











Alexa with her Uncle Dan. Alexa & Me in Durham.











Alexa with her Uncle Andy. Alexa and her cousin, Natalie.














Alexa & Natalie in their Bumbos. Alexa sleeping in my arms at Mass.











Natalie being baptized.











Natalie being baptized. Alexa eating during Mass.











Us with Dan's parents, siblings & significant others, and nephew & niece.











Our family dressed up :) Alexa getting a bath.











Natalie getting a bath. Dan and Maureen on David's choo-choo train.














Dan 'working' with our nephew, David. Natalie & Alexa napping.











Alexa with her Auntie Cathy. Kick, kick, kick - Alexa loved this thing!











Dressed up like a ladybug with Daddy :) Natalie & Alexa in their matching bunny hats.














The girls with their BFFs - their pacies. Alexa with her Auntie Maureen.

Monroe, NC

Alexa in her car seat as we made our way to Monroe, NC. Alexa meeting Uncle Dave.











Bella, Alexa, and me. Bella adored Alexa.











So cute - Alexa and Bella holding hands. Auntie Kathy/Grammy with the girls.










Bella played photographer for a bit (hence Dan's crazy pose and Uncle Dave giving bunny ears). Then, Auntie Kathy took a photo of Roxanne and me with our girls :)










Auntie Kathy with Rox, Bella, me, and Alexa. Uncle Dave and Alexa saying goodbye Thursday night (because he had to work on Friday).











A happy Alexa with Auntie Kathy (it was hard to capture a photo of this, lol). Dan with Gypsie - we tried to steal her, Aunt Kathy told us NO.































Sick Jack :( Auntie Kathy saying goodbye to Alexa.


Aunt Kathy & me :)











After getting on the road at 8:30 am, we arrived in Monroe at about 6:00 pm on Wednesday. We had been making really good time (including the two stops we had to make for feedings), but then we got stuck in AWFUL traffic just outside of Statesville and again on 74 leaving downtown Charlotte. It was so great to see Aunt Kathy's face when she saw Alexa. She just kept saying, "She's beautiful." Alexa immediately warmed up to Uncle Dave, but was still a bit sour towards Aunt Kathy :)- On Thursday, we hung out around the house for awhile before heading to Rox & John's house. Jack was sick so we obviously steered clear of him. But it was nice to sit and visit with Roxanne, and Bella adored Alexa. All of the above photos of Bella and Alexa were taken at Bella's request, lol. Rox took us to the mall for a bit while Dan and Uncle Dave played pool in the 'man hut.' That night we (minus John and Jack) had dinner at Aunt Kathy & Uncle Dave's - lasagna, yummy! We rented a movie on the TV (My Best Friend's Girl) and went to bed. Friday morning we packed, visited, and went over to Rox & John's house for a bit. Bella didn't want Alexa to leave without saying goodbye :)
It was really sad to get on the road at 2:00 pm yesterday, but while we were there I made plans to come down again in April so that made 'see ya later' easier. My plans: Mom, Danielle, me, and Alexa are going to have a girls' road trip to Monroe. Then, we are going to head to Myrtle Beach for a few days with Aunt Kathy, Rox, and Bella! It is going to be so much fun!!! I'm so thankful that Alexa was already able to meet my family down here (Aunt Kathy didn't think she'd meet her until Alexa was almost walking). I hadn't been to that side of NC in years and years and hadn't seen my aunt and uncle since our wedding. So it was really wonderful to have quality time with them! And of course, I'm really excited that I'll see 'em again in 6 weeks!
Well, that's all for now. Alexa's napping, and I have a few things to do before she gets up. Happy Saturday everyone :)

Safely in NC

We arrived safely in North Carolina at about 6:00 pm on Wednesday. We spent the past two days in Monroe with my family! It was a really great time (minus the fact that lil Jack was so sick). I'll post about our trip and share photos tomorrow because I'm too tired to do it tonight. But I figured y'all might want to see a few new photos of the princess from before we headed south...










Alexa being a big girl in her new Bumbo seat!











She just loves looking at Chloe from this seat.











Us at Babytime.

Oh, Happy Day!

Three great things about today:
1. We are headed to Monroe, NC to see my Aunt Kathy, Uncle Dave, Rox, John, Bella, and Jack.
2. I only have 4 pounds of baby weight left to lose. Considering my boobs are bigger then pre-prego, I'm pretty happy!
3. My boots (that were a Christmas gift from Dan) were finally available to order online!

For now, I sign off. We are leaving in the next 45 minutes... So excited!!!

Another weekend in Perry

Alexa watching TV with Jaja - right after she drooled in his mouth, lol.










Alexa and Dan with their Valentine's Day gifts - she got a bib and chewy rattle, he got chocolates and shirts, and I got chocolates too.











My dear friend, Kristin, was finally able to come meet Alexa on Saturday morning, and I got my nose pierced!










After I got my nose pierced, Mom got her cartilage pierced.










Another girlfriend, Nicci, came to meet Alexa Saturday evening.










Aunt Kathy was our final visitor of the day before we went to Storm Cellar to hear Roo's band play & to celebrate Nut's birthday.










Mom & her childhood friend, LeeAnn. Dan & Me at the bar.











I seriously thought I was wasted when I saw the blurry spot on the pic of Mom & Mark (it was really a smudge on the lens). Me & brother.










Paul & Dan got off their stools and started goofing off. Mom & Me - BFFs











Roo singing, and the birthday boy having a lil fun! My second mom, Chris, & Me.











No words to describe Dan's or Paul's faces.











Me obviously talking. "Babe" (mom's friend, Kelly) & Me after doing these awesome shots (Black Apples, I think).










Sharon & RJ came to visit on Sunday. RJ kept giving Alexa kisses, it was too cute!










Noni & Papa reading Alexa the 2-part book - "What Grandmas Do Best" and "What Grandpas Do Best."










Gram brought Alexa a cute lil teddy bear bank for V-day. Sisters with our nose piercings!














"There are bubbles in the air, in the air... there are bubbles everywhere..." Our new Gymboree bubbles just like at Babytime!

So as you can see we had an AMAZING weekend in Perry!!! We got to town on Friday night right around 6:00. Per Dan's request we had cheeseburgers for dinner - yummy! It was kind of a lazy/relaxing evening, and we all went to bed fairly early. Valentine's Day was super busy. We started the day opening gifts - Alexa got a new 'Be Mine' bib and a chewy rattle from us, and my parents got her a Care Bear and a Care Bear DVD. Dan got me some great chocolates, and I got him some chocolates and new polo shirts. My mother got us Lovers' Dice and these scratch-off things - she is so corny! A little bit later, my good friend since 5th grade, Kristin, came to meet Alexa finally. It was so great spending time with her and reminiscing!
Then, mom, Danielle, and I went to All Tattoos to get my nose pierced and mom's cartilage. Neither of us chickened out, so that's good. My nose didn't hurt, it burned though and was quite sore Saturday night. It's feeling fine now, even when I clean it. Another girlfriend of mine, Nicci, came over to meet Alexa too. While she was over, Aunt Kathy stopped. I swear Alexa has more visitors than anyone I know! Danielle babysat Alexa on Saturday night so that Mom, Dad, Paul, Dan, and I could go out. We went to Storm Cellar in P'ville to see Andy's Last Band for Nut's 50th Birthday. We had so much fun! All of my parents friends were out. We drank beer, did shots, and danced our butts off! I don't think I'll get the image of Paul shaking the maracas out of my head for a long time :)
I was hurting quite a bit on Sunday, but pulled myself together to visit with my friend, Sharon, and her son, RJ. He is such an adorable little boy. He kept giving Alexa hugs and kisses. It was really cute! Gram stopped over and had an early dinner with us - Dad and Dan grilled a huge top loin to medium-rare perfection.
Our drive back to Dublin was sad, but I didn't cry (for the first time in almost a year). I just kept telling myself that I'll be busy this week/weekend with our trip to North Carolina, and then we'll be back in Perry the last weekend of the month for my friend, Bry's, baby shower. The first weekend of March we have quite a few couples who are going to come hang out with us on Saturday night, and then we'll go to Perry the following weekend for my cousin, Erin's, baby shower. So as I thought about our weekend plans for the next month (or so), I wasn't too sad. I feel fortunate that we get to go home so often - Dan is so understanding! And we've talked about when we will be able to move which quite honestly keeps me sane. But enough b****ing, I'm grateful that we get to Perry as often as we do, and I'm grateful for my fun pup, beautiful daugher, and hard-working, supportive, loving husband. Life could be worse.
Speaking of the daughter her face is covered in slobber from eating her 'fun hands' so I must run... take care y'all.