Back to Blogging

During the kids' afternoon nap yesterday, I created a chore calendar for myself. I always feel so overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning the entire 2,000+ square feet of our home at one time or updating the blog when it has been too long since my last post. I think that having a 'chore calendar' will make accomplishing tasks more manageable when broken down into a few items per day and therefore make me more productive. So I have designated Wednesday's chore as "Update Our Blog." Here's to hoping you'll be getting weekly updates again on our wonderful family ♥ Gosh, my last post was December 12, 2010 - almost 3 whole months ago!! Time FLIESSS! So much has been going on with all of us during this time. Alexa is completely potty trained, Jack is sleeping through the night and eating solids, I am at pre-pregnancy weight, and Dan is busy as ever at work. That's the quick catch-up. Want more details? I'll do Milestone Charts again to breakdown what Alexa and Jack are doing these days. Remember, the bullet points are skills that are Mastered (most kids that age can do it), Emerging (half of kids can do it), or Advanced (few kids can do it) by the listed age.

Alexa Rose - currently 28.5 months old
The home scale has Her Highness weighing in at 27.6 pounds this morning.









27-28 Months

• Jumps with both feet (M) - Not yet, she is still a little behind in gross motor development, but she can hop back and forth from one foot to the other.
  
• Understand descriptions, e.g. big, soft, nice (E) - ABSOLUTELY!!
• Starts to recognize ABCs (A) - Probably 18/26... Cuteness alert - Alexa singing the Alphabet Song (see video below)

29-30 Months

• Brushes teeth with help (M) - Check, actually she pretty much does it on her own.
• Draws a circle (E) - Not really, she mostly scribbles :)
• Names one color (A) - Seriously??? She can name EVERY color (and even differentiate between 'light' and 'dark' of various colors)

31-32 Months

• Recites own name (M) - Yes, although she pronounces it A-wex-a (she has issues saying the 'l' sound)
• Balances on each foot for a second (E) - Check
• Uses two adjectives (A) - Our talkative girl uses way more than two adjectives! She is very good at describing things :)

Alexa loves

• her stuffed friends, in particular Twinkly twinkly (adjectives!) Mickey & Minnie, Charlie Brown, baby Meka, and Barney.
• anything Pinocchio or Disney Princess.
• puzzles and books.
• swim lessons, which we just started taking on Thursday nights.
• Skyping.
• going to Perry.
• Jack (and Mommy & Daddy too).

Alexa is

• potty trained!! Hurray! She stays 'clean and dry' day and night. She will even wake up in the night sometimes and call us to take her to the bathroom :)
• not eating dinner very well. It is like she has lost interest in food because even getting her to eat her favorite things at dinner can be struggle.
• a wonderful big sister! She will give Jack his pacifier and sing him Barney's "I Love You" song when he is crying ♥
• the most wonderful little girl in the whole wide world!

Recent Alexa quotes/conversations

• Jan 10th
  When pulling out of the garage. The moon is watching me, Mommy. Upon arriving a CVS and opening the van door. Thanks, Mom. I can see the moon better now. It wants to come in CVS with me.
• Jan 10th
  (Daddy) Do you have to go poopy, Alexa?
  (Alexa) Yeah, it's gonna smell. *giggles*
  After pooping. (Alexa) I pooped a lot!
  (Daddy) Wow! You did!!
  (Alexa) Thanks, Daddy! As if being told pooping a lot is a compliment, hahahaha.
• Feb 14th
  The wind is blowing my hair away. I don't want the wind to blow my hair. I like my hair.
• March 9th
  Overheard on the monitor. It's Ash Wednesday. I get ashes on my head. The ashes tickle a little bit. I don't eat the ashes that would make me sick.
  

Jack Walter - currently 5.5 months old
The home scale has Mr. Man weighing in at 19.4 pounds this morning.









4 Months

• Smiles, laughs (M) - ALL THE TIME!!! He is such a happy baby!
• Can bear weight on legs (M) - Check. He LOVES standing!!
  
• Can grasp a toy (E) - Check, his favorite toys are the beads and a butterfly.
• Cuts first tooth (A) - No signs of teeth yet!

5 Months

• Plays with hands and feet (M) - Hands, yes. Feet, no.
• Rolls over in both directions (E) - While Jack can roll front to back, he hasn't quite gotten from back to front (although he is soooo close! Videos to follow.).
• Mouths objects (A) - Everything that Jack grabs goes straight to his mouth.

6 Months

• Turns towards sounds/voices (M) - Check
• Is ready for solid foods (E) - Absolutely!! Jack started waking up several times throughout the night for his pacifier; when Alexa was his age this cued me to realizing she was hungry b/c a. my milk supply had gone down and b. she was ready for baby food. So this time we knew what to do! My OB gave me a prescription to boost my milk supply and then we began giving Jack solids. So far he has had and liked squash, broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, avocados, and bananas. He has had and hated applesauce and prunes. Jack also tried oatmeal cereal (mixed with expressed breastmilk) and started to get a pretty terrible diaper rash; so just like big sister Alexa, he is not eating cereal. I have never seen a baby do so fabulously at eating baby food right from the get-go as Jack has! I swear he has a "waste not, want not" philosophy when it comes to food... which is illustrated by all of his cute little rolls :-)~ As a side note, I've been making Jack's baby purees instead of giving him the jarred stuff... So far it is easy, I'm able to keep up with supply/demand, and I like that he is eating the exact foods we are just blended up so it's not loaded with salts/acids/etc. for long shelf life, ya know?! Pictures of various eating times are on Facebook and I'll post a few videos below.
• Lunges forward or starts crawling (A) - Jack definitely attempts to move when he is on his tummy, although he can't get the big belly off the ground hehe! This past Sunday he rotated himself about 90* during tummy time :-)

Jack loves

• his big sister.
• swinging.
• putting toys in his mouth, in particular the butterfly.
• eating (both 'booby time' and solids).
• Auntie and Francesca <-- he creepily stares at both girls.
• dogs. Jack's eyes follow Chloe, Dixie, and Meka wherever they go!
• being held ♥
• his tag blankie (a yellow & green version of Alexa's pink one).

Jack is

• sleeping from 8ish pm until 7ish am - wahooooo 11 hrs!
• taking 2-3 naps a day. Morning nap is usually 2.5 hrs after he gets up and is about 1-1.5 hrs long. Afternoon nap is around Alexa's naptime and is 2-3 hrs long. And sometimes he'll take a 30 min power nap at like 6:00 pm.
• wearing 9 month clothing!!
• preferential to sleeping on the right-side of his head and therefore has formed a little bit of a flat spot. We are attempting to get him to sleep more on his left side and to spend more time on his tummy or in the exersaucer; hopefully it will start rounding out.
• the happiest baby I have ever met (partially thanks to the Prevacid, I'm sure).

For pictures, please view albums on Facebook:
December 2010 Part I
December 2010 Part II
The Kids - Professional Photos
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011 (I will continue to update this album throughout the month!)
Wall Photos (I occasionally upload pics here from my phone)

Movies Galore!!!
12/17/2010 Alexa decorating Christmas cookies with Auntie.

12/18/2010 Alexa "whisking" some cookie dough with Daddy.

12/22/2010 Mom/Noni doing a cartwheel...


12/22/2010 Dad/Papa doing a cartwheel...


12/22/2010 Alexa attempting a cartwheel (see why being in Perry is extremely entertaining LOL).

12/22/2010 Jack telling a bit of a story before bed.


12/25/2010 Walking out on Christmas morning.


12/25/2010 Despite being sick for several days around Christmas time, Alexa was in great spirits while opening gifts! The gifts she had asked Santa Claus for were a rocking horse, Charlie Brown, make-up, and a vacuum (no worries, Santa made sure she got everything & more!).


1/5/2001 Just a regular afternoon in the Ritchey household.


1/7/2011 Talking/laughing time with Jack Attack.


1/11/2011 Alexa playing in the snow.


1/29/2011 Sledding in Perry #1.


1/29/2011 Sledding in Perry #2.


2/8/2011 The Alphabet Song.


2/8/2011 During Jan/Feb Alexa took a Gross Motor Skills class at the community center once a week. Class was 30 minutes long for 6 weeks... here is a 1 minute example of what she did.


2/12/2011 A random "I Love You" singing session in Perry.


2/12/2011 Noni gave Jack the stick of pepperoni and every time we took it away he cried; it was hilarious!


2/15/2011 Jack is soooo close to rolling from front to back! He's got his legs and hips, now if only he would lift his big head!


2/17/2011 Jack's 1st solid food - squash.


2/28/2011 Laughs with Daddy.


3/1/2011 The ugly faces Jack made when he tried applesauce.


3/1/2011 Laughs with Mommy.


3/1/2011 Jack figured out how to play the music in his exersaucer!

3/1/2011 Jack trying out the jumper for the first time.


3/1/2011 Alexa playing with Jack in the jumper.


3/3/2011 Alexa and Daddy doing "Humpty Dumpty Sat on the Wall" at Swim Lesson #1


3/5/2011 Jack hanging out in the walker at Noni & Papa's house.


3/8/2011 Jack talking from the exersaucer.


Dan and I are part of this family too, so I'm sure you want updates on us as well :-)

I love

• working out - I'm going to the gym 3-4 times per week. I've continued to do ZUMBA and have also become dedicated to a weightlifting class.
• the kids. I am having so much fun being a stay at home mom and feel so blessed to have this job ♥
• sleeping through the night! So thankful that both Alexa and Jack are such great sleepers!!
• our wonderful neighbors - we've been spending loads of time with them and it is fantastic.
• trips to Perry. We've cut back to traveling up there every three weeks, but it makes us enjoy our time there even more.
• Skype. We've been having frequent chats with my parents, and have also had the opportunity to talk to my Aunt Janine, Uncle Ken, & Gram (who are in FL), [Aunty] Kat (in London), and Hope (Dan's daughter who is in Taiwan).
• my new laptop :)

Dan loves

• researching watches and wallets. Thankfully he finally ordered a watch and is no only obsessing over wallets, lol.
• working on his "new" laptop - he is the recipient of my old computer and is upgrading a few things like memory and DVD drive and is excited to have a home computer that actually works.
• being so close to finishing his undergraduate degree - he is getting an A in his current class and only has a few left to graduate! Hopefully 2011 will be the year!!
• the kids. He is an excellent Daddy and makes sure to spend time focused on Alexa & Jack individually when he gets home from work each night.

Exciting "plans" for the Ritchey family

• Alexa, Jack, and I will be joining Noni, Papa, Auntie & 2 friends at Kalahari in Sandusky for a Spring Break-cation at the beginning of April :)
• The four of us will be going to North Carolina in April to visit Dan's sister and brother (and their families) and to spend a long weekend with my family too!
• In June, Dan and I will be going to the Kenny Chesney concert with my parents, sibs & their significant others while Alexa and Jack spend quality time with Gram, Aunt Janine, and Uncle Ken.
• Also in June, Dan and I will celebrate our FIVE year wedding anniversary!!! We are planning a trip to Dominican Republic - thanks in advance to my parents for taking the kids so we can have some alone time :)
• I have been asked to be in two weddings - my childhood best friend Nicci Evanchuck (in Feb 2012) and my BFF Kat Apfeldstadt (in Aug 2012 - in Ireland)! Alexa is going to be a flower girl in both weddings and Jack will be a ring bearer in Kat & Dave's wedding.
• We've also been discussing more and more lately the possibility of Baby Ritchey #3 (and #4 because I am set on having an even number of children)... not prego yet, or anytime in the next few months for that matter, but hopefully we'll be having another little one between my two stints as bridesmaid (so Spring 2012).

Well, that's all I've got for you my dear followers. Hopefully in upcoming posts I'll be able to focus on weekly highlights in our family... until next time. Ciao.