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.

The rest of last week...

A photo of us at the library (non self-portrait for once).

Alexa in her exersaucer.

Tummy time!

She's just got the biggest, most beautiful eyes :)

Alexa snuggling on Daddy's chest for the first time since she was like a week old.
For whatever reason, she hasn't liked laying on him like this.

I'm extremely exhausted from a fun-filled weekend in Perry, but I wanted to quick post a few photos from the end of last week (I'll post about our trip home in the morning). Alexa and I went to story time at the library, out to lunch with my friend Jess, and to the mall on Tuesday. I saw the best Alexa smile ever on Tuesday when we arrived at the library - I was getting her out of her carseat when Ms. Allison started "Skinamerinky Dinky Dink" and her face just lit up! It was AMAZING! Among the things we bought at the mall was a bubble kit from Gymboree (because I have been so impressed with how great the bubbles are at the library and Alexa is fascinated with them). They are not a sticky mess, and they don't pop right away! Wednesdays I teach PSR so I don't really do much but hang out at home. So I decided I was going to start putting Alexa on a nap schedule based on some magazine articles I have read recently. She is napping around 9:30 am for just under an hour and then again at like 1:00 pm for 2-2.5 hours. She has a 20 minute catnap around 7 pm and then goes to bed around 8:30 pm and wakes up at like 7 am. This schedule seems to be working out pretty well, even with our trip home this weekend. I'm thankful to start having a routine with Alexa because it really helps me to plan my day. Dan worked from home on Thursday because we took my car into the shop to make sure it's in good shape for our drive to NC. We leave on Wednesday! I'm super excited about the trip!!!
Anyways, like I said I am exhausted so tomorrow I will post about Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Nighty-night :)

Sarah's Baby Shower

On Sunday, Alexa and I went to Sarah's Baby Shower :) Sarah's husband, Adam, is Dan's cousin. We had a great time seeing a lot of the Ritchey women, celebrating the soon-to-arrive Baby Ritchey, and talking wedding with Dan's cousin Brittney! Below are some photos from the shower.

Alexa and Mommy in our party dresses.

Aunt Therese feeding the baby... nice diaper, Alexa.

Jaclyn, Dan's cousin, is great with Alexa!

Soon Laura, another cousin, will have one of her own :)

Sarah and her "audience" - Kaycee, Kailey, & Emi

Aunt Susan getting creative - trying to guess how big Sarah's belly is with ribbon.

So pretty!

Me & Sarah at the end of the shower.

Yesterday, my friend Becky came and spent the afternoon with us. We've been trying to get together on Mondays, so that has been really nice! We had lunch and just visited for hours :) Thank goodness, I still have a couple really good friends! Other than the update, I have a few questions to put out there...
Does anyone have suggestions on how to stop Alexa's "bald spot" from getting worse? I have her sleeping on her side at night now, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to get Alexa to nap in her crib? She seems to be a cat-napper, short 20-30 minute naps, multiple times a day. She falls asleep while I hold her, and then when I set her down she wakes up.
How long is a baby obsessed with putting their hands in their mouth? It is honestly driving me crazy, I try to give her things to put in their instead (like the rings) but she much rather eat her hands. Help!
Alrighty, well we are off to Babytime at the library, lunch with my friend Jess, and then to the mall for a few things.... ciao.

A Week in Review

The first time Alexa got a bath without the netting in her tub.

Wrapped in her cute puppy towel :)

Right before she (and Bear blankie) fell asleep.

Alexa eats her 'fun hands' everywhere (even Babytime @ the library)!

"Look, Mommy & Daddy, I have soft hair!"

"Tummy time is not so frustrating anymore!"

Dan teaching Alexa the ropes at work - according to his boss, Adam, the "ropes" are creating diagrams and then knowing how to bull*hit about them, lol.

Talking to Noni.

"Can't wait to see you next weekend, Noni!"

Playing tug-of-war with some rings.

Alexa's snuggles warm my heart :)

"Grandma, I'm hungry!"

Grandma's partner for Sequence :)

Just a cute video of Alexa with her Bear blankie.

I feel like I start many posts apologizing for being MIA for so long - however, anyone who has ever had a kid knows that the baby keeps you busy all day and by the time she goes to bed you're exhausted. So I'm guessing no apology is necessary...
Anyways, it has been another busy week!! On Monday, Dan wasn't feeling well so he didn't go to work. By the end of the day he was feeling much better, and in fact, brewed his first batch of beer! He promises to post later about the whole brew thing!!! Alexa and I went to our usual Babytime on Tuesday, which is always a lot of fun. Ms. Allison, the librarian, is thrilled that I started to bring Alexa at such a young age! And she always comes and blows Alexa an extra round of bubbles during "Bubbles in the Air." Wednesday evenings I teach 5th grade PSR (Parish School of Religion). Our lesson was really interesting! We toured the sacristy and got to hold many of the items used during Mass. I also found out that next year I will be teaching 2nd grade - which means FIRST COMMUNION! I'm super excited about this, as 2nd graders are my FAVORITE of school-aged children and First Communion is a huge deal in the Catholic Church :) On Thursday, Alexa and I picked up her pictures at Target. If you click here and type "nicole ritchey" in the guest name, you can see the fabulous 3 month photos! After we picked up the pictures we ordered, we went to have lunch with Daddy at work :) As usual it was a nice time. Lots of Dan's coworkers walk over, visit with us and tell us how pretty she is - I love hearing that. There was just a minor glitch to this visit... as we were getting ready to leave Alexa pooped. And when I say pooped, I mean through all of her clothes. She needed to be changed, and naturally she screamed her head off [much to my embarrassment] as Dan's coworkers were on conference calls. Nice. On Friday, Alexa and I went to Pei Wei and ran errands with Becky. We had a nice afternoon with her too, until Alexa pooped [again] through her clothes! I mean, come on, Alexa! This time she needed a bath because it was halfway up her back. I think I am beginning to pay someone's salary at Shout, lol. Well, I've learned my lesson though - Alexa's ready for size 2 diapers! On Saturday, we had a bit of a lazy morning in bed then ran to the grocery store and the beer brewing store. In the evening Pat and Becky came over for dinner, and we played Sequence. This morning we went to church, and this afternoon Alexa and I are going to Sarah's (Dan's cousin's wife) baby shower. Can't wait to see all of the Ritcheys!
In developmental news: Alexa continues to amaze us every day! After discovering her 'fun hands' (I've been trying to use lots of adjectives to describe things for Alexa so she'll have an extensive vocabulary) over the past few weeks, Dan suggested we see if she would like the Bear blankie that Auntie Danielle bought her when she was born. As you can see in the photo and video above, she really loves it and does a great job of grabbing onto it! We've also gotten other things out (like the linking rings) that she loves to hold on to and explore with her mouth. The slobber is gross [in my opinion], but Alexa doesn't seem to mind. She also enjoys reaching up with her left hand and stroking her 'soft hair.' Too cute. Our favorite thing is to try and get her to smile at us or stick her tongue out. She does a great job mimicing both things. Also, she used to get extremely frustrated during Tummy time, but yesterday she did it for 15 minutes without crying!!! She is doing such a great job of holding her head up :) Alexa is also getting really good at tracking. When Dan and I walk around the room we call her name out until she turns to look for us, which usually doesn't take long at all. Okay, I'll stop bragging about my brilliant baby and just say that I'm thankful to be with her 24/7 so that I don't miss any of these moments because they are priceless.
Finally, before I sign off I want to take a moment to thank all of you for your care and concern for me. I know many of my posts have been a little on the depressing side. It really is just very hard to be away from my family. I'm homesick, it's true, but I am trying hard to mask those feelings so that Alexa doesn't sense it. Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks for the love and prayers - they mean a lot!

Superbowl

We stayed home to watch the Superbowl, and more importantly, the commercials. Although I must say I was disappointed with most of the them. There were a handful that were hilarious, such as my top favorite - the LMAO commercial, haha. But many were just plain stupid. I miss the days of looking forward to the Budweiser frogs debuting a new ad. Anyways, after a day of running errands, we settled on the couch to watch the game and eat take-out BW3's. At halftime Dan and I showed Alexa how to ROCK out to Bruce Springsteen :)
The past few nights Alexa has really established a sleep pattern. She is going to bed around 9 pm and waking up around 730 am! Let me tell you how much I love my sleep!!! She is still really fascinated with her hands and recently has discovered the softness of her hair. She lays down, puts her left hand up and rubs her head. It is too cute. We've been spending loads of time reading books and helping her grasp small objects. I force her to do tummy time everyday, but she hates it. She gets so frustrated! Her ears seem to be healing just fine. She doesn't cry when I sterlize the pierced area. Overall, Alexa is just a really pleasant baby :)

Diaper change during the Superbowl.

Singing "Born to Run"

Dipping to "Glory Days"

Hanging out with Grandma & Grandpa

Pat feeding Alexa part of her daily bottle.

Alexa is soooo interested in books (and her hands).

Bouncing on Daddy's leg!

On Thursday night, Pat and Becky came over to finally celebrate Dan's birthday since they have both been battling pesky colds :( Dan made us breakfast for dinner - omelets, sausage links, hash browns, and english muffins. After dinner Dan opened his gift, a coat to do yard work in. Then we spent the remainder of the evening watching TV, reading books, and visiting. On Saturday, we drove out to Pataskala for the second part of Dan's birthday celebration - a rib dinner and German Chocolate Cake (his favorite). While there, Alexa played on this little floor mat and really got into kicking this ball that rattled. I know it'll be a big hit for her anytime she visits Grandma and Grandpa!
If you're looking for entertainment check this out. Pat showed it to us yesterday :)-