The title of the post is my attempt at humor in relation to Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince, which came out in theaters this past week (and I've been re-reading the book).
Like I stated in my last post, Gram rode back to Columbus with us on Sunday night. On Monday morning, she enjoyed some quality time with Alexa. Gram fed Alexa her breakfast and played with her.
Shortly before Alexa's morning nap, Aunt Janine arrived to pick up Gram. She was able to feed Alexa her before-nap bottle. We are really looking forward to our car ride to Perry with them on Tuesday!
On Monday afternoon, we went to the pool with our friends, Tim and Becky. Alexa much preferred to be sitting on the lawn chair playing then in the pool. And just because it hadn't happened in awhile... Alexa had a nice diaper explosion while we were there, lol.
Chloe's 5th Birthday was on Tuesday! I remember picking her out at the animal shelter when she was just 2 months old (and weighed 8 lbs)... I cannot believe we've already had her for 5 years (and she now weighs 70+ lbs)! For her birthday, Chloe got a new ball with ropes in it and two marrow bones. I know my postings never focus on our puppers, but we really do love Chloe and she has been WONDERFUL with Alexa :-)
Daddy is constantly working with Alexa on pulling herself up to stand (and on crawling too). Once in a standing position, Alexa can hold on by herself!
Somewhere along the way, Alexa has learned to share!
Yup, right now those pretty seem to remain hazel colored. Although lately I've noticed 'em darkening a bit. FINALLY... I caught Alexa's smile on camera (pic on the right). She smiles soooo much but always seems to make weird faces when the shutter snaps.
The beginning noise ("ehhhhh") is how JaJa taught Alexa to talk. I got her to mimic me with the "wa-wa-wa" sound.
The VERY talented Alexa Rose holding her bottle in one hand and her foot in the other, haha.
Alexa enjoys looking at books. I'm really happy because if I place toys and books around her, she almost always would rather look at a book then play with one of her toys :-) When she was looking at the book with the babies (animals and humans), Alexa would look back and forth between the pictures then finally settle on staring at the human baby. She is brilliant!
We went back to the pool with Tim on Thursday. Alexa really enjoyed being in the water this time! She stayed in her raft for a really long time. Her little legs were kicking away, too cute. Again, another photo of Alexa "reading."
Close-up of Chloe. I don't know why, but I find this picture of Alexa hilarious.
Alexa building some leg strength in her jumper. The whole time she is staring off, she's looking at Chloe :-)
Alexa has figured out how to get from a sitting position to her tummy. Now if she could only figure out how to move FORWARD instead of spinning or backward!
On Friday night, Pat & Becky came over to babysit Alexa while Dan & I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I was quite disappointed with the film (because I felt like they had omitted some pretty important scenes from the book), but we enjoyed a yummy dinner at the Movie Tavern (this cool theater that serves dinner while you're watching a movie) and a "butterbeer," which is what the characters in HP drink, consisting of Killian's and Butterscotch Schnapps.
I feel like so many of my posts lately have focused on our busy life that I keep forgetting to update you on what's new with Alexa. So here goes :-) On the "movement" front, Alexa is rolling tons! She has even gotten the hang of a barrel roll. Alexa also scoots on her butt and semi-crawls. By semi-crawling, I mean she can turn herself in circles and go backwards. This morning Daddy got her to go forward a teeny bit. I know people say once they start moving you will miss the days when they stayed still, but we are really looking forward to Alexa keeping us on our toes!
One of Alexa's new "tricks" is waving. She does the open-close-open-close hand wave. Most of the time she does it to herself, lol. From the movies, I'm sure you can tell she is quite vocal. Dan and I are pretty sure her vocabulary has expanded from "Mama" and "Dada" to now include "Hi" and "Book." An amusing note on her vocabulary is that she seems to always say "Mama" when she a. is hungry or b. has pooped her diaper, and she says "Dada" whenever she wants to play. We also enjoy getting Alexa to imitate sounds we make. Like the "ehhhh" or "wa-wa-wa" from the videos.
Alexa continues to do great with food! We've been testing the waters with more and more self-feeding foods, meat purees, and green vegetables. Last week we eliminated the before-bed nursing session and are now just breastfeeding when Alexa wakes up. She has increased her "snack" bottles from 2 to 4 oz, and her meal-time bottles are now 6 oz. We go to the doctor on July 30th for Alexa's 9-month check-up, and I cannot wait to see how much weight "Skinny" has gained since her sick visit on July 3rd.
I know there is so much more that I am forgetting to put on the blog, but it seems to be escaping my brain at the moment (and Dan's too because I asked him). What I need to do is create a list of reminders for myself ;-) Well, I gotta boogie Dan's hungry and wants me to get lunch. We're looking forward to having the gang over tonight to visit with Art! Ciao.
You read correctly: Perry-cation #1. Which implies there is going to be a #2. Today we made plans for our second Perry-cation to begin next Tuesday! We were all going to be headed there next weekend because Aunt Kathy & Uncle Dave will be in town from North Carolina :) The plans changed when Aunt Janine offered to pick up Alexa and me next Tuesday on her way up there. Aunt Janine (and her best-friend, Chris) will be driving Gram home and they'll have enough room for us! Dan and Chloe will come up as scheduled on Friday :-) We will all be staying until the following Wednesday. I ♥ these week-long "vacations" to Perry!
There are two other things I want to tell y'all before I get to the highlights of our first Perry-cation. One, I forgot to mention that when we took Alexa to the doctor for her cold, she weighed in at 17 lbs 8 oz - a whopping 2.5 lb gain in 6 weeks! I've been jokingly calling her "Skinny." Two, if you haven't done so already, please vote for Alexa in the Beautiful Babies contest!!!!!!! She could win $5,000 and a professional photo shoot :-) Help a girl's college fund out!
On Monday, Alexa and I headed up to Perry. The trip took us 2 hrs 26 min. Thankfully, Alexa slept most of the way so I didn't have to stop at all. She hung out with Noni immediately while Danielle and I went shopping for a bit. In the evening, Alexa enjoyed playing with Papa (while eating watermelon). Gram & Noni found an old phone for Alexa to play with... chewing on the phone cord was her favorite!
On Tuesday, Alexa went to the Cleveland Metropolitan Zoo with Mommy, Noni, and Auntie :-) While there she got to see her great-uncle (Noni's brother) who is working on the elephants' new home! We had a really fun day!!
On Wednesday, we had a "Babe" (which is what we call each other) Day at the pool with Kelly, Bry, Rissy, and Regan. Alexa & Regan kept looking at one another with fascination... we're all happy to see their BFF friendship is off to a great start! After being at the pool, Alexa came home and played with JaJa. She seriously smiles EVERY single time she either sees him or hears his voice - she creepily stares at Auntie, like a stalker haha. After Alexa went to bed, I was able to go hangout with Lindsey Klco for a few hours. It was so great spending time with one of my dearest friends :-)
On Thursday, my good friend, Kristin Saywell, came over for four hours to visit. We had a great time catching up and playing with Alexa! A little bit before bedtime, Daddy arrived!!!!!!!!!! We were SO HAPPY to see him because we missed him SO MUCH!
On Friday, we hung out at home with some of Paul's friends, Jeff & Allison. We also layed out in the backyard. In the evening, Alexa stayed home with Papa & Daddy while we had a Girls' Night Out. Every month my mom's high school friends get together and this month the daughters were invited :-) We had so much fun seeing each other and celebrating Jess' last night single! The pic on the left is our sisters photo - Rissy & Bry and me & D. Then, of course, a pic of Mom with her daughters.
On Saturday, we had a lazy day because it rained for a bit. Later in the day we went to the Saint John Vianney's Festival in Mentor. We watched a Duck Race and danced to Michael Jackson music :-) After getting Alexa to sleep, my parents taught us how to play spades. The guys beat the girls - blah, that's all I have to say about that, lol.
On Sunday, we FINALLY were able to go jet skiing! The weather (rain, winds, waves) had prevented us from going all week. So we spent the entire day on the lake :-) Noni & Papa bought a big pop-up tent so that their baby could be protected from the sun a bit (which she definitely utilized for her nap). We didn't leave until much later then planned because a 12-year old boy went missing and the entire beach was in lockdown searching for him. The were searching cars that were leaving, as well as doing a water search with volunteers and the Coast Guard. It was so scary! It ended up being that his older sister lost track of him, and he walked home (Fairport is a really small town). Thank goodness he was okay! We had a tearful good-bye and headed back to Columbus with Gram in tow. Bringing her back with us made leaving home a little easier :-)
Here is Alexa playing in the sand with Noni.
Obviously, I have WAY more photos then the two per day highlights from above. So if you want to see more, check out my Snapfish photo album. I already cannot wait for Perry-cation #2 in ONE WEEK!!!!!! We'll enjoy some time with Aunt Janine & Gram, get to hang out with Aunt Kathy & Uncle Dave, get Alexa's 9-month photos taken, and go to Cedar Point with Danielle & Anthony! Never a dull moment in the Carroll household, that's for sure :-) Busy and noisy - just the way I like it!
We've had a great week so far back in Columbus. I'll post about it later in the week. We're looking forward to seeing Arthur this weekend (he lives in Florida) and having a get-together at our house with friends on Saturday :-) Hope you are all doing well. Ciao.
This was Alexa on Friday afternoon. The doctor said she just had a cold... the good news was there was no fluid in her lungs or ears, the bad news was that it would take 3-5 days to work itself out of her system. After lots of watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, and sleepless nights, Alexa is feeling MUCH better! Yesterday was free of all cold symptoms, she was in a fabulous mood, and last night she slept (in fact as I type at 7:22 am, she's still sleeping). Thank you all for your prayers for her health!!!
Alexa and Natalie at our 2nd Annual 4th of July Cookout.
Baby Alexa & Mommy posing for a quick pic. Leylynn and Alexa playing in the grass.
Cathy and me with our daughters. Spending some time with my girl, Tiffanie.
Happy 4th of July - Love, The Ritchey's :-)
Daddy has Alexa all ready for bed. Daddy and Alexa on Sunday morning.
David playing. Dan and Alexa with the BEAUTIFUL sky yesterday.
Natalie and Alexa playing in their grandparents' backyard.
The grandkids from oldest to youngest. Alexa and Natalie fascinated with one another.
It was frustrating to start our holiday weekend off with Alexa being sick. As I already wrote, the doctor pretty much told us there was nothing we could do. So we stayed home Friday night, gave Alexa some Benedryl and hoped that sleeping would make her feel better. She didn't sleep well at all and woke up pretty much the same on Saturday. She began to feel better though as the day progressed. We had a wonderful cookout on Saturday afternoon with various members of Dan's family and a hodge-podge of our friends. We had tons of delicious food, and it was just nice to visit with everybody! Who knows when our 3rd Annual Cookout will be because next year (I've already informed Dan) we're going to be in Perry for July 4th (so that we can show Alexa fireworks on the lake!). Some of our friends stuck around into the night and we enjoyed a little campfire (thank you boyscout/pyro, Dan). It was a really long day for the two of us, especially since Alexa not sleeping the night before meant neither had we! It was worth it to spend time with family and friends though :-)
After going to church yesterday morning, we went out to Pataskala to have brunch with Pat and Becky, Andy and Cathy, and the kids. Unfortunately, Natalie was beginning to feel sick so I set the boundaries that I didn't want the kids next to one another and I didn't want P&B or A&C to touch Alexa. I know that's harsh, but she was just getting over being sick, and I didn't want her to have to go through it all over again!!! Anyway, we enjoyed a nice lunch and then went out back to play. David played with a little football, golfed, and played with bubbles. Natalie crawled around. Alexa, well, she just sat there and watched her cousins :-) Us adults sat around, enjoyed the gorgeous day, and took pics. When it was time for David and Natalie's nap, the three of us headed back to Dublin. We were really sad that Alexa and Natalie were both under the weather this weekend! Hopefully, everyone will be in perfect health in September at Maureen and Dan's wedding!!!
Well, today Alexa and I leave for our Perry-cation!!! Get it? A vacation, a stay-cation, a Perry-cation :-) I came up with that clever name yesterday, lol. I'm almost all packed up, just waiting for the munchkin to get up (she's still sleeping now at 7:36 am), eat, and we'll head out. I am going to miss Dan soooooooo much - I've already teared up a few times just thinking about it!!! We're hoping that maybe he'll be able to join us on Thursday! That's all I've got for now. If you are in Lake County and wanna see us this week, call my cell or my parents' house. Ciao!
