Another three weeks has come and gone since my last post :-/ Gosh, when I made my "promise" to try to post once a week at New Year's, I had no idea how insanely busy our life would become this year! Not just with keeping up with Alexa and preparing for Baby Boy, but also with making new friends and continuing to spend so much time traveling!
Regardless, since Baby Boy Ritchey decided to wake Mommy up with his acrobatics at 4:45 am, I figured I would take this time to be productive and write a quick blog about our 4th of July weekend and the few days leading up to our vacation...
Saturday, July 3rd
So I realize that Daddy & I are probably going to get "yelled at" by someone, but we thought it was hilarious that Alexa was walking around & trying to drink from my empty mini-wine bottle so I had to capture it on camera ;-) This was the first time Alexa was up late enough to see fireflies come out - she LOVED them, of course!
We enjoyed watching the Dublin fireworks with a few of our friends that we hadn't seen in a long time, like Jamie and Rachel.
Sunday, July 4th
We had our 3rd Annual 4th of July Cookout in the afternoon/evening. Although the "crowd" has changed over the past three years, it was still an excellent time! Alexa had so much fun playing with friends, Kyla, Leylynn, & Avery (not pictured), and cousins, David & Natalie.
Me at 27.5 weeks and Michelle at 36.5 weeks (both pregnant with Baby #2 and they are both boys!). Alexa really enjoyed her "red, white, and blue popsicle" (she can tell you that's what it is!). Thanks to our amazing, ever-supportive friends for continuing to celebrate our Nation's Independence with us each year!!
Due to the hot & humid weather, my cake did not turn out like I wanted it to... it was supposed to be blue with a red shell border, red letters, and one red, one white, & one blue star. Obviously, only my blue icing was cooperating :-)~
Monday, July 5th
We spent the morning at Pat & Becky's house to have a little extra time with Andy, Cathy, & the kids. The Daddys worked on an art project with the kids: a stepping stone with fingerprints for their grandparents.
In the evening, we went to Brian & Anne's house (Dan's uncle & aunt) for a small cookout. Along with discovering that she actually likes corn but prefers to "Alexa do it herself" (a sentence I hear 100s of times a day!), we learned that she likes watermelon when it is cut into wedges. Her Highness is certainly independent!!
Here are the kiddos playing in the pool.
An attempt to get a picture of Great-Grandma Ritchey with five (of her nine) great-grandchildren. Pictured here: Alexa, David & Natalie (Andy & Cathy's kids), and Aidan & Addison (Erin & Miles' kids). Baby Boy is going to be great-grandchild #10!!
Tuesday, July 6th
Alexa and I returned to our normal routine for a few days before we left for vacation - So we went to Babytime in the morning. Mrs. Jenny always greets Alexa by name when we walk into the Story Garden and lets her help a lot throughout Babytime. She says Alexa is "showing the ropes" to the younger kids because it is almost time for her to move up to Tales for Twos & Threes! I must tell you though, that on this particular day, we tried T for T & T (because we had plans that prevented us from going to Babytime later in the day), and those kiddos are w-i-l-d! Alexa held her own among the older children, but I think we'll be attending storytime with younger friends for a little longer :-)
Thought I would share with you the progression of the belly... left (8 weeks), center (24 weeks), and right (28 weeks). My appointment with Dr. Davy was uneventful. I haven't had a phone call from them, which I'm assuming means my glucose levels are fine. She said that at this point she typically starts the bi-weekly appointments, and when I groaned she said that since I had a great pregnancy with Alexa & since I've had a great pregnancy and been so active thus far with B.B. that she would let me go a month one last time before we begin bi-weekly visits. Bi-weekly visits are going to be a P.I.T.A. with trying to entertain Alexa during the inevitably long waits for uneventfulness, but on the positive side, they mean (to me) that the baby is going to be here in the blink of an eye!!!
In the evening, we went for our first maternity photo shoot at Homestead Park. Our photographer, John Caputo took engagement, wedding, maternity, & newborn photos for his friend Jen & her hubby George (who is one of Dan's co-workers/friends). Based off of Jen & George's photos, he was hired to do Tiffanie & Ben's engagement & wedding pictures. And now we have hired him to take maternity (and eventually newborn) photos for us. Shows just how important networking is when trying to start a business! Our maternity photo shoot was an awesome experience!! I'm still waiting to get the DVD with all the images from that first session, but here is a sneak peek at John's awesomeness...
We are actually going this evening to attempt to get some family photos of the three of us because Alexa was not smiling during our first session. In her defense, it was 92* and humid - plus we took Francesca with us to help but I think she ended up being a bit of a distraction too. Most of the good photos of that night are of just me, me & Dan, or me & Alexa - none of the three of us. That's why we are going to re-attempt family photos (and one pose we forgot to shoot last time of Dan & me) tonight. And then next week, I am going to do some more artistic/studio type shots of just me to help John "complete the traditional maternity photo set" for his portfolio.
Well, that catches you up on The Ritchey's until before we left for vacation. I will post about our vacation soon, I promise! I have 315 pictures uploaded to Snapfish and ready to share. Now I just need to find the time to select a few to post as teasers on the blog and to write my commentary (i.e. stories) about our wonderful Family Vacation 2010. No idea when that blog will be posted though because tomorrow Alexa & I are headed to Kentucky for an overnight visit with Aunt Janine & Uncle Ken! Then, on Saturday we are taking Alexa halfway to Perry because she is having a "sleepover at Noni & Papa's house" (she's uber excited!) so that we can attend Kelly & Jarrod's wedding kid-free and not pay Francesca an arm & a leg. Which means, I'll head to Perry on Sunday for a few days of Perry-cation :-) Ciao.
My sincere apologies for being MIA for the past three weeks!! The entire month of June has absolutely flown by!!!!! I can hardly believe a good chunk of summer is already gone, that we leave for vacation next week, and that Baby Boy is going to be here in less than 3 months! Anyways, I have some stories, a few videos, and loads of photos to share - so without further ado, a recap of our life the past few weeks:
Wednesday, June 9th
Alexa LOVES snacks and fortunately for her, Mommy craves ice cream A LOT during pregnancy (both with her and with B.B.). She is such a big girl holding the cone by herself!
A video of Alexa at Dairy Queen.
Thursday, June 10th
This is the Splash Pad in Powell. It is part of park in the downtown area and is free to use. It is really nice and so much fun! We've been going at least once a week, sometimes more, either by ourselves or on numerous playdates.
Kyla & Alexa exploring the Splash Pad.
Kyla & Alexa sharing snacks - they like to feed one another usually, it is really cute.
I cannot express how great it is to finally have a few Mommy friends to hangout with during the day!! In particular, Alexa & I have been having such a blast with Bobbi & Kyla. For me, after losing quite a few friends when Alexa was born, it has been wonderful to have a new friend to bond with. I have felt so lonely for so long and it is nice to not feel that way anymore. There are so many things/events in mine and Bobbi's lives that are parallel and our friendship is just easy. Our girls get along great and are only two months apart in age, and our new babies will be about six weeks apart. I'll stop blabbing about my "boyfriend" as Dan teases us, haha. Nah, he's happy for me too because he can tell that having friends has been great for both Mommy & Alexa! And I definitely think Alexa is benefiting from all the socialization too! She asks to play with Kyla daily (and no, I am not exaggerating) and has started to run. Kyla is more advanced then Alexa physically, and this has really encouraged Alexa to be more brave and to try new things I guess to "keep up" with her new BFF :-) It's also been good for Kyla who was pretty non-verbal before they started spending so much time together and now has added a few words to her vocabulary from our lil Chatterbox's example ;-)
We found a Backyardigans book (and duck puppet) to enjoy at the library! Alexa also played with the felt board. While she was doing this a dad asked Dan & I how old she was and was amazed when we told him -- this seems to be a trend EVERYWHERE we go because people are shocked by her vocabulary, pronunciation of words, and just her ability to communicate so well with us. Besides reading to Alexa and just narrating my day to her, I haven't really done anything special to make her so advanced. She just seems to soak up language like a sponge. I will say, that I've noticed the past few times after returning from Perry that Alexa's vocabulary grows even more when we are with my family. She learns new words almost every day at home with just us, but after a weekend surrounded by lots of grown-ups (Noni, Papa, Auntie, JaJa, and many others) she is learning new words AND phrases! Yes, PHRASES!! Here are some of the phrases/sentences Alexa has been using on a regular basis for the past several weeks: Yes, I do. Alexa does. Pick me up. Having fun. Play with Kyla. Hey, you guys. God bless you. Excuse me. Mary watching you (the stained glass window at church - I tell her Mary is watching & telling her to be quiet). Thank you, Mommy (Daddy/Noni/Papa/whoever). Knock it off. Mommy, coming upstairs too. Go to Zoo/Splash Pad/Library. I want it. There are many others, but I am drawing a blank at the moment. Let me just finish this "bragging moment" by saying that it is absolutely amazing to have a 20-month old who talks in short sentences!!!
Friday, June 11th
Enjoying ice cream with Noni & Papa
Saturday, June 12th
We went to a winery in Madison for a hot air balloon launch. Unfortunately, it was too hot for us to handle so we left before actually seeing the balloons.
Alexa protecting her Dora cup from Noni's abduction, lol.
Waiting in line at the beer cart with Papa at St. Gabriel's Festival and our 3 generations photo ♥
Watching Noni play a game - she won Alexa a duck!
Eyeballing the Merry-Go-Round from atop Noni's shoulders and then taking her first ride with Daddy! (Mommy attempted to ride it with her first but was informed I was not allowed to because of being pregnant. I definitely teared up that her first ride was not with me but it didn't matter once I saw the joy on her face!) She had a blast making Daddy, Noni, and Papa take her time and time and time again!!!....
Walking around the festival with JaJa.
They told Daddy that Alexa had to walk about the entire set of stairs to go down the Fun Slide!
She wanted to go again but Daddy didn't want to hold up the line again for so long while Alexa climbed, lol.
Alexa posing with Daddy & Mommy and Katelyn & JaJa and Noni & Papa before leaving the festival.
Sunday, June 13th
We went to see JaJa's new apartment. Surprisingly it was completely kid-friendly (because there is nothing but the basics in there, hehe) and he even had a toy for her to enjoy (corn hole bags, lmao).
We had Family Dinner on Sunday night before returning to Columbus. It was definitely weird to not have my brother living under the same roof as us all weekend, but he stopped by Friday to see us and then we saw him & Katelyn at the festival on Saturday and for dinner on Sunday, so I actually think we saw him more than when he lived at home!
Tuesday, June 15th
Babytime resumed at the library in June and we've been really enjoying it! Obviously, Alexa missed Ralph on our 6-week break. She also missed Mrs. Jenny (whom she calls by name). She is signed up for Summer Reading Program and has completed more than half her gameboard! Alexa will go get books off her bookshelf and either read to herself or ask you to read to herself.
Thursday, June 17th
For our anniversary we enjoyed a quite night at home. We ate a wonderful dinner and enjoyed our girls, Alexa and Chloe ♥
Friday, June 18th
Alexa & Mommy went to the Splash Pad and had a picnic lunch just the two of us. Lots of fun!
This is what happens when Mommy is not around (Bobbi & I went out to dinner and each left our daughters home with their daddies - we have a hard time completing conversations because of the girls' distracting/interrupting us, so we had a Mommy Night Out)...
A happy Fudgsicle Thief (yes her thievery shifts from Popsicles to just about anything, lol).
Saturday, June 19th
We have a Backyardigan obsessed monster living in our daughter's body ;-) Have no fear, while at Barnes & Noble earlier this month Alexa located Austin, Uniqua, & Pablo (to add Tyrone that she already). When I texted Daddy to ask him which one to get, he said "All of them. Anything for my little girl." What did Noni say? "She's spoiled." Wonder who taught me to spoil my daughter?!?! (And just this week Tasha arrived at our house courtesy of Amazon.com, so now Alexa's collection of friends is complete)
This video of Alexa talking and singing was too long to post, so that is why it is "choppy" (I edited out the boring parts). Isn't she a. too brilliant and b. too funny?!?!
We enjoyed a wonderful Date Night thanks to Francesca! Sometime soon I am going to get a picture of Alexa with the Perito family (our neighbors) because she positively adores all of them and they adore her too! Anyway, we celebrated our anniversary by having dinner at the yummy Bonefish Grill and by playing putt-putt at Magic Mountain. My ball literally skipped over top of the rock my foot is on and went in the hole for a HOLE IN ONE - WAHOOOO!!
This was the first time Dan has ever beat me and he was pretty stoked about it. Me not so much.
We played some games inside of Magic Mountain and got Alexa a bracelet with our tickets. Here is Dan doing the Price Is Right type spin-wheel in honor of it being Dad's fave game show (we sent him a picture message). After this we went to Coldstone for ice cream (even though we were both stuffed from dinner). It was crowded in there so we laid the back seats down and sat in the back of the van. We heard a kid say, "Hey Mom, look at those people eating in the back of their van." HAHA. We're old. It was a wonderful 4th Anniversary celebration!! And we're already looking to the future: we've decided to take our first kid-free trip at the end of next June to celebrate our 5th Anniversary. The kids will spend a week with Noni & Papa while we take a vacation to who knows where... somewhere with beaches and is all-inclusive, like a mini-version of our honeymoon ♥ ♥ ♥
Sunday, June 20th
This is what Daddy woke up to on Father's Day :-) Well, actually he woke up to Alexa saying, "Get up. Happy Father's Day" and then pulling him out of bed.
Alexa picked out the Minnie Mouse card all by herself at Hallmark! And since these two love to do stuff outdoors so much, Alexa got Daddy a daddy-daughter gnome set for the front yard (which he really liked!).
Alexa has become our resident Zoo Expert with all the recent trips we've taken to the zoo either by ourselves, with Bobbi & Kyla, with Daddy & Grandpa, with Noni, with Auntie. She goes on and on about ducks, elephants, koalas, kangaroos, flamingos, gibbons, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, etc. She will tell you that koalas and kangaroos are "always sleeping." And she knows the bonobos like to play on their "jungle gym." She tells you when you are approaching the flamingos and makes the sound they make. I'm telling you what, the money for our Zoo membership was money WELL SPENT -- not only do we have a blast (by ourselves and with others) but Alexa has learned so much about the animals already!!!
We went to the Zoo on Father's Day with Daddy & Grandpa.
Isn't the baby gorilla adorable? She is about 4 months old and always has a zookeeper to play & cuddle with. The bonobo scared Alexa by the faces he was making at her from the other side of the glass.
Swinging with Grandpa & Daddy and checking out the kangaroos with Mommy.
Mommy & Alexa in front of our favorite exhibit, the koalas. They have always been my fave and Alexa always asks to see them the moment we walk into the Zoo. YAY, at the Zoo they let Mommy ride the Merry-Go-Round even though I'm pregnant!!
Alexa will tell you that the horse goes "up and down." A family photo in front of the [disappointing] new Polar Bear exhibit.
Tasting Dip-n-Dots for the first time!
After the Zoo we took naps and relaxed at home. We had to have a pizza picnic in the family room because Alexa REFUSED to leave the room while the Nascar race was on. Papa has created a Jimmie Johnson fan to watch races with him!! Daddy & Alexa's tomato garden is a-growing!
Like I said, she loves Jimmie. When he won the race, she started spinning in circles (like he was when burning rubber) saying "Ta-da!!" Too cute.
Wednesday, June 23rd
Noni surprised us with a visit last week! We took her to the Splash Pad for our playdate.
As always, Kyla & Alexa do a great job of sharing with one another :-) They are both gonna be great big sisters this fall!!!
Noni treated us to Pei Wei for dinner. Alexa really enjoyed the Asian cuisine. Then we treated Noni to Menchie's (see, we get ice cream/frozen yogurt A LOT when Mommy is prego, hehe).
Thursday, June 24th
We had a girls' morning at the Zoo. Alexa entertained and impressed Noni with all of her knowledge and convinced her to ride the horsey up and down :-)
Friday, June 25th
The Huston's (Zach, Bobbi, & Kyla) came over to grill out and play. This was the first time we included the husbands on our time together and it went great! In fact, they set up their Pack n Play so that we could have adult-time once the girls went to sleep. I definitely think that all three of us have made new friends now :-) Here are the girls enjoying the outdoor playhouse.
Saturday, June 26th
There was a small festival in Powell (actually on the same property as the Splash Pad) that the three of us went to. Alexa got this hat (that we say is a firefighter hat because she is enamored with firetrucks) and balloon.
There was a band, so we enjoyed eating on the hill while listening to good music.
Here is Alexa dancing (you can't hear her but she keeps saying "firefighter hat" over and over again).
Tuesday, June 29th
Told ya I'd get a video of her singing for you :-)
And here is a little clip of her doing the Alphabet Song. It is not one of her best performances, but it is still pretty cute (and quite brilliant). As a side note, in reference to my last post, Alexa is doing a bit better with her counting. Several times we've heard her start to count, 1-2-3, on her own (instead of us saying 1 then her saying 2-3), then she gets stuck before finishing 6-7-8 (always) and sometimes even 9-10.
No one was more excited then Alexa when Auntie arrived on Tuesday. She just about jumped out of her crib when she woke up from nap and saw her standing next to me! We had a wonderful rib dinner (one of Auntie's favorite meals at our house) and of course went to Menchie's for dessert! Here is Alexa enjoying "corn on the cob," for the second time. She actually does a decent job all by herself!
Wednesday, June 30th
This was an action-packed day!! We were at the Zoo by 9:00 am. Showed Auntie all of Alexa's favorite animals and saw some of Auntie's faves too. It was actually a great trip because so many of the animals were awake and active! We saw lionesses playing and the lion chewing a bone. The tiger was alert in his cave. The male kangaroo was digging and the koala was awake again. Honestly, it was the best Zoo trip, animal-wise, this year!!!
Afterward we went to the doctor's office just for an ultrasound (because the technician is going to be out of town next week, which is when my actual monthly appointment is scheduled for). He confirmed that it is indeed a boy :-) and had some shocking information for us too (see below). For now, just enjoy the ultrasound pictures!
After lunch and nap, we met Bobbi & Kyla at the Splash Pad for about an hour. I'm so glad my mom and sister have gotten a chance to meet our new friends and like them as much as we do!
After the Splash Pad, I took Danielle to Movie Tavern in Hilliard to see Eclipse (the new Twilight series movies). It was FANTASTIC!!! Then this morning we did some shopping before she left for home. Just like our visit with Noni last week, our time with Auntie went by way too quickly and was so much fun! So glad we'll get to spend a lot of time with them starting next Friday when we meet up in Monroe, NC for VACATION!
In other news, we went to see Dr. Jacob in the middle of June and PRAISE GOD Alexa's ear infection is gone!!!!!!! She does not have to see the pediatrician again until her 2-year check up in October. Although we'll be seeing the great doctor before then - when Baby Boy arrives :-) Alexa is consistently using the potty for pee and poop whenever we put her on it. However, we had a break-through the other day... she started walking toward the bathroom then looked at me and said, "Poopy." As soon as I got her on the toilet, she went #2!! I hope this means she is beginning to recognize "the urge" because when we get back from vacation we are going to try big girl underwear :-)
Back to B.B. Things are great with him too! I had my monthly check-up on 6/9. Dr. Davy said I am measuring right on schedule, not too big or too small. B.B.'s heartbeat is usually in the 150s and he is a moving machine! I swear I do not remember Alexa being this active in utero (and as I type this he gave me a shift kick to the ribs, lol). I enjoy it though, it is so nice to bond with him and not have to share him with the rest of the world quite yet ♥ We actually went yesterday (6/30) for what I thought was going to be our last ultrasound. It was great because not only did Alexa & I get to go but so did Daddy and Auntie! The reason I don't think it is going to be our last ultrasound is because B.B. is measuring large. He is already 2 lbs 15 oz!! At 27 weeks pregnant, the average baby is right around 2 lbs. Marshall, the ultrasound technician, said he was going to recommend to Dr. Davy that we do another one at 32 or 34 weeks to get a better reading on B.B.'s birth weight. Right now he is guessing 8 - 8.5 lbs. He was shocked to hear that I am not measuring any bigger than I was when I was pregnant with Alexa since she was 1 lb smaller. I'm not too concerned about his size though because on 6/9 Dr. Davy agreed to induce me a week early (we haven't decided on a specific date yet) so that B.B. will not have to share his birthday with anyone! I had expressed my desire for this since the very beginning of this pregnancy, and since I had a great induction with Alexa she feels comfortable letting me have this baby early. Hopefully, she can do it on 9/21 (I would be exactly 39 weeks) because no one else has that bday and it gives my family enough time to come down, help out with Alexa, meet the newest addition, and get back for Danielle's 18th birthday! I go for my actual appointment next Wednesday. Will keep you posted on B.B. and how my glucose test goes.
Thank goodness I have jotted down a note or two here and there to include on the blog, otherwise I'm sure I would have forgotten many of these things to share with y'all. Hopefully, it won't be so long before I post again! I'll try to share with y'all about our 4th of July weekend and maternity photo shoot (which is next Tuesday) before we leave for vacation. VACAY --- Can't wait to spend an entire week with my family!! And can't wait to see my relatives in North Carolina. And can't wait to get some sun. It is going to be really great to relax and rejuvenate because when we get back we will be hitting the grind with only about 10 weeks to prepare for B.B.'s arrival. We will be re-doing Alexa's room, setting up B.B.'s nursery, changing some things in the playroom, and moving the office upstairs to the living room! LOADS to do!!!!!!!!
Well, Alexa and I have to cook dinner. She would tell you we are making "pasta sauce" (it is her fave thing to cook) but in reality we're having tuna melt sandwiches. Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!! Ciao.
