A Day in the Life of Alexa Rose Ritchey

"Good morning, Mommy & Daddy!
That flash is bright!!!"
Alexa wakes up around 6:30 am,
give or take a half hour. Today it
was 7:10 am :-) First thought on
her mind: FOOD!




"Ahhh, thank goodness Daddy took
that super wet diaper off of me
and got me dressed."
Dan is usually great about changing
Alexa's morning diaper and getting
her dressed so that I can shower.




"What is Daddy doing? I wish he
didn't have to go to work!"
After she's dressed, Alexa sits on
our bed, plays, stares at the fan
or alarm clock, and watches us
both get dressed for the day.




"I LOVE to play in this thing! Who
is the pretty baby in the mirror?"
The red thing has a mirror on
the other side. Once Daddy
leaves for work, her and I play
and read downstairs.




"Mommy, what is that beeping
and flashing while I'm trying to eat?"
She has been squeezing in a second
feeding before morning nap. Today
Alexa ate a jar of pears and then
nursed.




"Yay! I get to wear another outfit!"
Yes, that means Alexa had a diaper
EXPLOSION. I can hardly believe
she had that much in her considering
she pooped 4 times yesterday!!!





"And mischievous monkeys shout
down from the trees, "It's not really
dark yet, five more minutes please!"
Alexa went down for her morning
nap at 9:50 am.





"Ahhh, I feel so much better now
that I got a nap! What can I eat
now?"
Alexa woke up from her morning
nap at about 12:25 pm.





"Well, I guess this will have to do
until Mommy can get my lunch
ready."
She ALWAYS twirls the beads until
she finds the pink pig, then she
eats it.




"MORE MORE MORE!"
For lunch today, Alexa had peaches
and carrots. I've discovered that she
doesn't like vegetables as much as
fruits, so Gram suggested that I
"motivate" her with 1/2 a jar of fruit
and then give 1/2 a jar of veggie.



"I love eating like a big girl!"
Here she's eating her carrots.
After she finishes her solids, we
usually nurse for about 10 minutes.






"Wonder where we're off to today.
It's always a fun adventure with
Mommy!"
If I have errands to run, we do them
in the afternoon. Alexa will take
cat-naps while we're out and about.




"My favorite store again - Walmart!"
Almost always are errands take us to
Walmart. Today we also went to the
bank, a photo studio, and to drop a
present off to Dan - a Tide To Go
pen, lol.




"Weeeeeeee!"
One of the sure-fire ways to bring a
smile to Alexa's face is to say,
"Weeeeee" and give her a ride in the
air of some sort.
Also note, at some point in the
afternoon she does breastfeed
(but I didn't photograph it, lol).



"I want that block! How do I get my body over there to get it?"
Alexa is squirming and rocking her body. She is so ready to
crawl! Every day we give her lots of tummy time so that she
can start to figure out how to move on her own.

"Why do you keep taking pictures
of me, Mommy? Am I really that
cute?"
She usually will take a late-afternoon
nap in her swing. Today she didn't.





"Dinner!!! More peaches!"
Obviously, used the second half of the
peaches and carrots at dinner time.







"Why does everyone make that AHHH
face when they feed me?"
She definitely likes her orange veggies
(carrots, squash, sweet potatoes)
better than the green ones (peas,
green beans).




"Phew, this bottle is heavy!"
Her dinner feeding is always followed
with a bottle so that it gives my milk
enough time to come in for her bedtime
feeding. Alexa is learning to hold the
bottle on her own, but she can't quite
hold it up for the entire feeding.



"Yay! Time to help make dinner for
Mommy & Daddy."
Alexa sits and plays with kitchen stuff
while me, Dan, or both of us are getting
our dinner ready.





"I missed you, Daddy."
Dan and Alexa spend time together right
when he gets home from work.







"I'm not quite sure how to get this thing
outta my hand?! Daddy, help me!"
We're trying to teach Alexa hand-eye
coordination and how to "self-feed" with
the Gerber puffs.





"There was a farmer had a dog..."
Alexa loves playing with this little
keyboard. It was the greatest $3.00
I ever spent!






"Zzzzz...."
Okay, I'm totally guilty of taking a
nap a few days a week with Alexa in
the evening.






"Thank goodness you covered me up,
Daddy! I hate when my private area
is showing."
Dan and I take turns on baths, tonight
was obviously Dan's bath night.





"Ahhhh, please rub my feet just a little
bit longer."
Alexa LOVES a foot massage, just like
her mommy :-) After getting ready for
bed, Alexa nurses one last time.





"Stars twinkle brightly, the moon softly
gleams. Snuggle up, sleepy ones, hush
now, sweet dreams."
Whoever's night it is to do bath, also
reads Alexa's bedtime story.





"You are my sunshine, my only
sunshine. You make me happy..."
We always rock Alexa and sing Hush
Little Baby before bed. I also sing
You Are My Sunshine





"Goodness, enough with the pictures
already! Can't a girl get her beauty sleep?"
Alexa went to bed at about 8:10 pm.







Hope y'all have enjoyed hanging out with Alexa for an entire day - I know I sure do! Ciao.

7 Months Old

I can hardly believe that Alexa is 7 months old already! Time has FLOWN by!!! I've enjoyed [almost, lol] every minute of her life :-) Sometimes I look at her and think, "Gosh, is this my kid? How did she get so big?!?!" Yesterday afternoon we went to see Tiffanie and Ben's new house (love it!), and while we were there, Alexa just sat on the floor and played. She is becoming so independent! And Tiffanie taught Alexa how to clap - it is so cute. Here's a video of her clapping this morning:



Besides our fun afternoon with Tiffanie, yesterday was a hard day for me because I made the decision to not babysit this summer. There are many reasons I decide to not babysit, starting with Alexa's schedule. As most of you know, she gets one great nap a day (and a few "cat naps") - her morning nap from 9ish - 11ish. Babysitting would have interfered with that good nap because I would have to be in Gahanna at 10:30 am. Her routine/schedule is so good right now, she's happy and thriving, and I think changing it would be unfair to her. Other things that would have been effected by babysitting are: Babytime at the library, swim lessons (I'm currently looking into them), picnic lunches with Dan, etc. I want to have freedom this summer with Alexa ~ Mom and Danielle are off of work/school for the summer, and I want them to be able to come visit us during the week and vice versa. Paul, Danielle, Dan, and I have been talking about taking a Sibs Trip to Cedar Point :-) Again, babysitting conflicted with that. And I know it may sound selfish, but I am enjoying my time with Alexa and don't want to have to share my attention with other children [at least until we decide to have another]. There were just too many ways that babysitting would have restrained Alexa and me... so I let the family know yesterday. They are obviously hurt/disappointed, but I hope in time they'll be able to forgive me for my last-minute retraction. As awful as I feel about this, I also feel a sense of relief. ***If anyone knows someone in the Columbus area looking for part-time work this summer, let me know. They have 3 wonderful kids (an almost 9 year old and twin 6.5 year olds). It would be T, W, and every other R - 6 hours a day.

Here are some photos of A yesterday (her 7-month birthday) right before heading to bed:









I'm taking photos of Alexa's day today, so that I can provide y'all with A Day in the Life of Alexa Rose Ritchey :-) Will try to get it posted tonight! Ciao.

Memorial Day Weekend

When Alexa's in Noni's kitchen,
she gets to play with all sorts of
fun things! Like wooden spoons,
measuring cups, and measuring
spoons. She's gonna learn to be
a great cook just like all the
women in her family :-)















Not happy to be wearing JaJa's gross hat. Mike Burr, JaJa's friend, feeding Alexa her bottle.











Alexa & RJ - they really are enamored with one another!














Noni painted Alexa's toe nails for the picnic. Don't we look pretty for the picnic?











Daddy & Alexa hanging out on the patio at the start of the picnic. Alexa was really hoping Aunt K was going to share her food, lol. Her eyes kept following that fork from the plate to my aunt's mouth and back :)-











Friel, Ben, & Dan ~ Bry & Regan











Dan & Me ~ D & Me











Regan & her Nana ("Babe") ~ Paul & Derek v. Friel & Bry with Danielle watching











People hanging around after eating.











More of our family & friends in the backyard. Nancy trying to calm a fussy Alexa Rose.











Chris & Regan. Jilly-poo is probably going to kill me for posting her playing with Alexa the "morning after."











Daddy & Alexa hanging out on the swing on Monday.











We got a blanket to play/layout in the backyard. Alexa had on SPF 50 so she didn't get burned, but she does have some nice color finally.














Playing with our baby girl :-)











Swinging with Noni.











Playing with JaJa.











Daddy & Noni played with Alexa, and so did Papa.











Dan & Paul playing corn hole. I can't tell you how many games they played, but I can tell you that Dan never won, even when Paul threw lefty. Moral of the story: we're getting our boards out to "train" after Alexa goes to bed at night so that we can kick some butt this summer!











Tummy time outside with JaJa's gross hat!











Chloe always lays in the SUN, and Dixie always lays in the SHADE. Opposites do attract though because these two dogs are the best of friends!

I feel like I always say the same thing when recapping our weekends in Perry - we had a great time! This weekend was no exception. We were able to leave around 12:30 pm on Friday afternoon, which was nice because we avoided a ton of holiday traffic! After getting Alexa down for bed, Dan and I went out for a bit to watch part of the Cavs game. On Saturday, we spent a good part of the day shopping (stood in line at Old Navy for an hour for $1 flip flops, went to Half-Price Books, and of course, went to Sam's Club). Dan, Alexa, and I were also able to go see my BFF, Sharon, and her family. RJ and Alexa just adore one another, and it's so cute to watch them looking at and touching each other! In the evening, we made a quick cameo at the Beer Bong Tourney, and I ran into a TON of people from high school. It was nice to catch-up with familiar faces :-) We spent the remainder of Saturday evening helping my parents get ready for the picnic. Of course, Sunday was our picnic with family and friends. It was fabulous to see everyone! Especially Rylee & Regan... babies grow so fast, I just cannot believe how big these two have gotten!!! We did lots of eating and visiting, played some corn hole and bocce golf, and I got to have a few Margaritas (yummy, I really missed 'em last summer!). It was truthfully one of the best days we've recently had, not to be outdone by our quiet/lazy Memorial Day at home with just the immediate family. After the hecticness of the party, it was nice to relax with my hubby, daughter, parents, siblings, and the dogs. We headed back to Dublin after dinner on Monday, and Alexa slept like a baby (no pun intended) until 7:30 am today. Guess all the fun festivies of the weekend even tired her out!!! Thanks again to everyone for coming over on Sunday ~ it was so great to see all of you! I hope we'll be seeing your faces more often this summer!!!
Tomorrow Alexa will be 7 months old ~ where has it all gone?!?! I am officially done pumping for Alexa's one bottle a day, so when we run out of our freezer stash in a couple of days we are going to start introducing formula. After she adjusts to the formula, I will gradually start weaning her from breastfeeding. It's time. My body was a baby growing machine from Jan 08 to Oct 08, and has been a baby feeding machine since then. As selfish as it sounds, I'm ready to have my body back for me. I am sad that our breasfeeding relationship is coming to a close but also a bit relieved. I'll keep y'all posted on how it's going. Well, I better get some stuff done while Alexa's still napping. Ciao.