Last weekend was a Columbus weekend. My in-laws invited us to their house for a visit (and dinner) last Saturday evening. After dinner Alexa enjoyed coloring with Pat. Then we took her downstairs where she was fascinated by the piano. She has always been "musically inclined;" even when I was pregnant she moved the most (probably her version of dancing, lol) at church during hymns or if we were out & there was loud music.
Maybe she could be a professional pianist one day?!?!
Alexa entertained Dan's parents with her farm animals puzzle (which she can do by herself & tell you what each of the animals says). And what child doesn't like to be confined to a box? She wanted in this wicker box and sat down to read her book, haha.
When Alexa was a baby-baby I would put her in the bouncer to watch a half-hour Baby Einstein DVD so I could cook dinner, but she hasn't done that in over a year. For the past year our television has remained off as long as Alexa was awake per the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (who state that children under 2 should not watch TV). However, for the past two weeks we have allowed Alexa to watch one show before bed - I'm thinking that one show, that lasts about 22 minutes, will not harm her development. In fact, I had a literacy professor tell me that when shows are chosen with care by adults, children can actually learn skills they will use later when reading (for example, prediction & comprehension strategies, just to name two). So it is with that mindset that I have selected The Backyardigans to be Alexa's nightly show. Here is Nick Jr's description of it (for those of you who are not current on children's cartoons, hehe): In each episode, the show's five high-spirited preschool friends--Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin--rely on their vivid imaginations to transform their backyard into a fantastical 3-D landscape, and together they embark on amazing epic journeys.
Clearly, Alexa LOVES the show... (this is the opening of the show)
Here are Daddy & Alexa cuddling up during The Backyardigans.
I haven't mentioned my favorite part of watching The Backyardigans ("Back" as Alexa calls 'em)... Alexa ironically clapping & crying when the show ends :-)~ I know, I'm cruel for finding entertainment in my daughter's sadness.
Here is Alexa at Babytime last week. Ms. Allison got out the scarves to play with. On the right side, Alexa is looking at the CD player because Ms. Allison had just turned it on. The photo on the left Alexa is blowing a kiss at the end of "Skinamarinky Dinky Dink." I cannot believe she remembers the motions to songs!!
Here is Alexa playing in the Playroom at my gym. Each day she is doing better & better (And so am I - I've been increasing my crosstraining & resistance on the elliptical and doing great with my lifting exercises!!).
Alexa, Mommy, & Piggy (Alexa's new favorite obsession) watching our nightly show. Piggy pretty much goes everywhere with Alexa these days.
Here our some pictures from our first See Me Run class last Wednesday. Alexa had tons of fun pushing around a stroller & baby, doing puzzles, playing in the cars, throwing balls, etc.
The craft time was a little difficult - she kept sticking her hand over the dotter thing (instead of really decorating her name tag) and she through a tempter tantrum (a think I got a preview of the "Terrible Twos") when I said all done. But after I cleaned her hands and moved her on to another task she forgot all about it and had fun again!
Some nights Alexa does a little bit better with saying "buh-bye" to her TV friends :-)
We're having another fun weekend in Columbus (because I did not want to drive in the winter weather storms that Perry has been getting since Thursday). This morning we went to Polaris Fashion Place for some playtime and shopping. It was a fun morning for the three of us :-) After nap we are heading to a hotel in Dublin to see our good friends, Kelly & Charlie, who are in town from Buffalo for the night. We haven't seen them in forever so it'll be really nice to catch-up! Then later tonight, Francesca (the neighbor girl) is coming over to babysit (although Alexa will already be in bed) so that we can go downtown for a few hours to celebrate Eric's 30th Birthday! I can hardly believe it is the end of February... where have the past two months gone? I mean, my gosh, we are already almost 10 weeks (1/4 of the way) into this second pregnancy!! Wow! Will post again soon. Ciao.
Last weekend was a Perry weekend. It came at just the right time for me! I've been feeling really exhausted and mildly nauseous so it was great to have my parents (and Dan) to watch after Alexa while I caught up on some rest, and some homework. It amazes me how different I feel this pregnancy. On Saturday, I was able to go to the gym with my brother to get tips for working out and that night we played Apples to Apples as a family. It was a really nice weekend :-)
For some reason, Alexa kept looking under the bathroom doors at people. Here she is trying to catch a glimpse of "Yannie" (what she is now calling Auntie).
Auntie put on her bathing suit and had some bath time fun with Alexa!!
This is Alexa's first time coloring a picture. As you can tell, she was loving it! We tried to give her different color crayons, but she kept wanting the red one. I wrote Alexa's name & the date on the top of the picture, and it is now hanging on our fridge - our 1st piece of artwork from one of our kids ♥
Alexa made out on Valentine's Day... she got a new dress & book (from Noni & Papa) and another book & some chocolate, that was really for me (from Mommy & Daddy).
I was totally impressed when Alexa (who was wandering around the Story Garden) stopped what she was doing to make her hands go "round and round" when Ms. Allison played Wheels on the Bus! She even knows to clap during "all through the town." She is so bright! :-)
We made cookies for Fat Tuesday - Alexa loves helping, but more importantly, she loves eating!
Already getting a bit of a baby bump at 8 weeks!!
Since Sunday, Alexa has discovered the long 'e' sound and now says Mommy (instead of Mama), Daddy (instead of Dada), and Noni (instead of Nona). It is really cute to hear her say, "Mom-me," but I was actually happy to be known as "Mama," it sounds southern and cute :-)~
Alexa did a great job at the gym today!! Christi said she cried for like 30 seconds when I walked out of the room, but then she had fun playing with the other children. When I went to pick her up she was sitting in a high chair happily enjoying her snack :-) She actually cried and was saying "baby" over and over again (she calls ALL kids, no matter how old they are, baby) all the way to the car. I'm glad that she is beginning to enjoy her time there because I am really enjoying my workout sessions!
We are starting a 6-week class together next week at Worthington Community Center. It's called See Me Run. Here is a description for the course:
There will be singing and circle time, simple crafts and games. These activities along with open play will help to enhance their listening and thinking skills, imagination, coordination, language skills, and more, all while having fun!
We haven't taken a class since swim lessons ended in October, so I'm really excited to begin something new together! Our daytime schedule will be VERY full now! Mondays - Babytime, Tuesday - gym, Wednesday - See Me Run, Thursday - gym, and (every other) Friday - gym. It is nice to be busy doing things that are beneficial to Alexa intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. It is also nice to get out of the house ;-)
Our house may fall apart thanks to all of the snow and ice we've accumulated. On Monday afternoon I noticed a brown spot on part of our kitchen ceiling (the part that sticks off the backside of the house and has a mini-roof). It has continued to grow over the past few days, and last night Dan drilled a small hole in it to drain the water. It has been steadily filling buckets for the past 18+ hours. We've also got two windows that are dripping. We don't know why. Our insurance agent told me that they cannot send someone out to begin working on it all until all of the snow and ice are melted from the roof, gutters, etc. Hopefully this time next week we'll know how much damage has been done.
Finally, when we are home next weekend we are going to BEGIN test-driving minivans. It'll be much easier to do this without Alexa, thankfully when we're home we have built-in babysitters ;-) Haha. Seriously though, Noni & Papa are thrilled to have a day alone with Alexa!! Although we don't need to get a minivan for a few more months, we want to go drive them and see what ones are our favorites (so that way we can just keep watching prices for awhile). I have a list of "must haves" that I think will drive my dad and Dan crazy while we're looking (leather seats, sunroof, DVD system) because it makes it harder to find a used vehicle with those features and low miles (another requirement). I'm really stoked to begin researching, test-driving, and eventually buying a minivan!! It is going to be SO NICE to have all the extra space and will make our travels more comfortable :-)
Well, Baby #2 is apparently hungry AGAIN -- gosh, I feel like all I've been doing this pregnancy is eating (to keep the nausea and dizzy spells away)! Hope y'all are having a great week!! Ciao.
Alexa has some news she has been waiting to share with y'all for the past few weeks...
And just to be sure you heard her...
Yup, we are expecting Baby Ritchey #2 on September 28th!! Words cannot describe how thrilled we are to be adding another member to our family :-) We went to see the OB, Dr. Davey, this morning and she said everything looks great. I got teary-eyed when I saw the little bean's heartbeat. It's so relieving to know that the baby is healthy and is the right size for how far along I am (7 weeks 1 day). The end of Sept is FILLED with other family/friends' birthdays, so I told Dr. Davey that #2 has to be born anytime before the 23rd or on the 26th if he/she wants to have their own birthday (and going overdue is not an option, lol). She laughed and said she'd see if she could make that happen ;-)
Here is #2's first photo :-) He/She will definitely get used to the camera living in our house ;-)
As promised here is a video of Alexa stomping her feet.
And the other much anticipated video, Alexa's fake laugh. Normally she does it over and over again (here she only did it twice).
On a side note, I bought Alexa the baby doll the day our pregnancy test was +
She has really enjoyed carrying the baby around, feeding it the bottle, and giving it kisses for the past several weeks. Alexa will tell anyone she is going to be a big "sisr" with a huge smile on her face -- little does she know how much her world is going to change in 7 months! Hehe. There is so much to do and so many changes that will be happening in the Ritchey house, but we'll be sure to keep you up-to-date on it all!
Also, I had mentioned that we were having issues with Alexa during bath time. She would scream anytime she got a bath, no matter who gave it to her (me, Dan, my mom, my sister). So last week, I did what any good mom would do, I climb into the tub with her. We played with a washcloth puppet, splashed, and cuddled. I made the whole experience FUN (and not scary). Now, she loves bath time again (as do I because it is my break time - Daddy gives the baths in this house)! Well, this tired Mama is going to go relax the last little bit of Alexa's nap. Ciao.
Last week I was changing the sheets on Alexa's crib and rediscovered the rocking chair that my cousin, Lauren, had painted for my baby shower. I got it out for Alexa...
Since this picture, we've moved the rocking chair into the Playroom. Alexa likes to grab a book and go climb into her chair and "rock."
Last Tuesday, Pat & Becky came over for a visit. We had dinner together and enjoyed some playtime too! Alexa is taking after her daddy & grandpa (using her laptop). And the picture on the right... well, when you ask Alexa what Mommy's car says, she goes, "Vroom" and throws her arms in the air (like I'm a wild woman driver, hehe).
Oh this was too funny -- Alexa hand (instead of head) butted Grandpa.
Sharing her necklaces with Grandma.
Last week we went for a free class at My Gym in Powell. Alexa had a BLAST!! She loved exploring the mats, the various climbing things, and most especially playing in the ball pit :-) This is the beginning of class, which is free time.
My Gym is one hour long and semi-structured. Here is Alexa doing two of the activities that were setup for the Waddlers (that's what her class/age group was called)... flying on the trapeze and walking across the wobbly balance beam. She did great!
Then during another free time, Alexa got to swing! It has been so cold out so it'd been awhile since Her Highness had gotten to do one of her favorite summertime activities.
Another thing Alexa enjoyed were these bouncing ponies. She neighed anytime she looked at them (even from across the room), and she always made the "ahh, ahh, ahh" sounds when bouncing. She is such a silly duck (that's what I call her)!!
The end of class is separation time, where the parents "walk away" and leave the children to socialize amongst themselves and with the two teachers. Alexa did GREAT during this time! She was very friendly with the other children and helped the teachers put the whiffle balls in the crate when it was time to clean-up (FYI: she was the only child cleaning up!).
After we were done at My Gym, we called Daddy to tell him how much fun we had had. He promptly told me that we could NOT join because it is so expensive (however, after being stuck inside with Alexa all weekend he retracted this and said we can join next winter for two months). He also asked us if we could bring cookies to him and his team because they were coming off of a "sugar-high" from donuts that morning. So we stopped at Kroger, got some cookies, and then visited Daddy at work.
Alexa and Daddy spend lots of time building (with both the cardboard blocks and the Mega Bloks).
Here is a video of Alexa doing her shapes puzzle. I think I mentioned in my last post how great she is getting at it :-) She can completely do this puzzle, as well as an emergency vehicles puzzle, by herself. This is pretty awesome considering these puzzles are 2+ years and she is 1 year 3 months!!!
We got a whooping 8-9" of snow in Dublin on Friday. So we ventured out Saturday morning (probably not our best idea because the roads were awful) to get Alexa some boots. When we got home we took her out to play in the snow. We were a little nervous because she did not like it in December in West Virginia, but apparently she's changed her mind in the past month... The three of us had a great time outside together!!
Alexa kept eating the snow, haha. I taught her how to make a snow angel (and she smiled while I moved her arms/legs back & forth).
A video of us making a snow angel.
Isn't her angel beautiful?
Alexa & Daddy worked on the bottom ball of a Snowman. That's as far as they got though.
She was so funny eating the snow...
Here are Daddy and Alexa playing with the giant ball (i.e. pile of snow).
Mommy called an end to playing in the snow because Alexa's cheeks started getting red, and I was worried that she was cold.
We spent the remainder of Saturday and most of Sunday indoors because it was sooo cold and apparently there are no plows in Columbus. I mean, I grew up in the snowbelt, and I'm used to the roads being cleared AS the snow is falling. But here it's almost like the city does not own trucks to plow. Here it is Tuesday and we are getting dumped with MORE snow and our street STILL has not been plowed! It is just ridiculous. Okay, now I'm done with my soap box about how dumb it is that no one plows in the Columbus Metropolitan area. On Sunday, we enjoyed watching the first half of the Superbowl at our friends' house, Don & Kim Branham. It was nice to visit with our Nationwide friends, and of course, Alexa had fun following Leylynn around :-)Here are Alexa & Mommy at Babytime. I think she was the oldest (the second oldest, tops) at storytime yesterday. It was so strange to watch her doing some of the rhymes & dances and wandering around the Story Garden confidently while other mothers were supporting their babies' necks!
We went to my gym (Urban Active) three days last week, and Alexa cried all three days. She kept signing "all done" to the ladies, which they thought was hysterically. And apparently, Alexa so desperately wanted to leave the second day that she stopped asking for "Mama" and started crying for "Dada." I think she was adjusting a bit though because every time that I've gone in to pick her up Cristi, one of the staff, has been holding her - the first two days she was crying in Cristi's arms (and had cried the entire 1 hr+), but on Friday she was not crying in Cristi's arms (although she had cried off/on while I was at Yoga I'm told). I was hoping to consistently go on Tuesdays & Thursdays to workout and then go every-other Friday for Yoga (on our non-Perry weekends), but unfortunately the weather kept us home today. Hopefully, we will be able to go on Thursday!
Alexa has this new "laugh" she started doing the last time we were in Perry, but every time I go to record her doing it she stops (of course!). What she does is tilts her head back & forth with her mouth wide open & eyes closed with a silent laugh. It is so funny!! The other thing I need to get on video for y'all is Alexa stomping her feet (as in, If you're happy & you know it stomp your feet) because it'll make you laugh too!
Well, I think I'm going to go do some reading for school (which means I'll end up taking a nap, lol). Will post again soon. Ciao.
