The naked photo is one of my favorites ever! Alexa & Chloe napping in our bed one morning.
The flowers that Dan got me for our date night. Daddy & Alexa on our date.
Alexa & Mommy on our date. The 3 of us at Brio.
Alexa with our friends, Kelly and Charlie.
Trying rice cereal for the first time!
She did a pretty decent job.
What a good girl - wiping her own mouth, lol :)
Cuddling with Papa and telling him stories.
Mom had the best [toilet paper] diaper at Bry's baby shower!
Bry reading my message in the book. Watch out for Flying Alexa (she loves when Noni does this to her).
Bry & I are 5 months apart in age, and our daughters will be 5 months apart too! Regan Isabella will be here sometime this month!
She fell asleep in my arms - it was too precious!
Sitting in her booster chair.
Hanging out at the library.
Alexa in her new winter hat.
Obviously, a lot has gone on since my last posting! But before I get started, I want to thank you all for being supportive/understanding as to why I have "protected" our blog. I know it may be a bit of a hassle to sign in, but it protects our family and that's important.
So in the past week we have had two library visits, Ash Wednesday (and the start of Lent), date night, lunch with my friend Becky, a trip to Perry (which included trying cereal for the first time and a baby shower), and a doctor's visit. That's the short version, ready for the details now? Ok... Dan had called me a few weeks ago and invited me and Alexa out on a date. He picked us up (at the front door with a bouquet of flowers) last Thursday evening and took us to dinner at Brio. It was a really nice meal, and it was nice to get dressed up! Maybe one of these days we'll get to have date night minus the kiddo any volunteer babysitters? ;) We left for Perry on Friday and were able to hangout with our friends Kelly and Charlie. On Saturday, Alexa had her first taste of rice cereal. She did a pretty good job, but I think it'll probably be a few more weeks until she is really ready to have cereal twice a day (which is what the pediatrican instructed me). It was really cute to watch her little tongue trying to figure out what to do with it :) Then, on Sunday us girls went to Bryanen's baby shower. Bry is due at the end of the month with a little girl, Regan Isabella. I have known her since I was a little girl - our mom's graduated together - and cannot wait for Alexa and Regan to be BFFs! Anyways, the shower was a lot of fun, especially watching my mom's friends use toilet paper to make a mock diaper on her - hilarious. All in all, our trip to Perry [as usual] was great and too short! Looking forward to going back next weekend for my cousin Erin's baby shower :)
Yesterday, I took Alexa to her 4 month check-up with Dr. Jacob. Immediately upon entering the room and seeing Alexa holding and chewing on her beads (that Noni bought her), Dr. Jacob told me she was really impressed with her fine motor skills (i.e. finger dexterity). She was also pleased with her gross motor development (i.e. how she "stands" and does tummy time). Alexa weighed in at 12 lbs 4 oz and is 23 3/4" tall. Both of these measurements are in the 20th-30th percentile, but Dr. Jacob is not concerned. She thinks that Alexa is doing great! She also said Alexa's eyes are going to be brown or hazel - they've started to darken so she says there is pretty much no chance of them going back to blue. Let's cross our fingers that she gets the gorgeous deep brown eyes that run in my family :) There were more shots (*tear*) yesterday, but she didn't cry as bad as she did at her 2 month appointment. I had read in a magazine recently that feeding them before the shots can ease the pain, so I fed Alexa while we waited for the nurse to get the shots ready, I'm thinking that it helped. Yesterday and today Alexa has been running a slight fever - I think in response to these shots - but she is still a happy baby, just a little more cuddly :)
The other major thing going on right now is Lent... so I did a lot of thinking about what to do for this special season in the liturgical year. I have always felt that one should give something up and do something too. I have decided to give up the 'f' word - no small feat for me - and have commited to attending Mass every week. Thus far, I am doing ok (only saying the 'f' word 3-4 times a day, but catching myself). I'm really hoping that in the next week I have completely eliminated the word from my vocabulary. I'm enjoying attending Mass, and we (Dan and I) have been reading daily devotions from this Little Black Book put out by the Catholic church. Lent is a time to grow closer to God, and I'm defintely feeling that happening. It's a great feeling!
Alright, well we're watching American Idol - and making fun of the awful performances - and enjoying our nightly post-Alexa-bedtime glass of wine. Ciao.
I had a talk yesterday with my grandma, and she brought some valid points to my attention in regards to the 'publicness' (if you will) of this blog. I had not thought about when I post how we are going out of town that I am announcing on the world wide web that our house is unattended. I also hadn't thought about the fact that I am declaring to potential kidnappers or pedafiles that I have a young baby in my house (I know, I know, I sound a tad dramatic, but people are freaking crazy!). I am stubbornly admitting that my grandmother is right about the safety issues my postings potentially create for Alexa, Dan, and me. Therefore, next Sunday (March 1st) I am going to make my page only accessible to people who have 'permission.' Simply put, I will provide Blogspot with a list of email addresses of people who can check our blog. So, if you are a person who wants to continue to have access please email me at nicoleritchey@gmail.com. Thanks for your understanding and continued interest in our lives!!!
We had a lovely time our last few days in North Carolina. We stayed in Greensboro with Dan, Maureen, and Maddie :) It was great to finally see Dan & Maureen's house. They have done a ton of work on the house, and it looks fabulous! On Friday night, we went to dinner at a pub in downtown Greensboro then went back to the house for some ice cream and TV (yea, for Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice crossover event! Although Dan, Maureen, and Dan would say yea for Battlestar Galactica, nerds). On Saturday, we spent most of the day in Durham at Andy & Cathy's house. Natalie, our niece, was baptized Saturday evening. There was a gathering at Andy & Cathy's house afterwards. Andy made a chicken chili that had just the right amount of kick to it. We spent more time in Durham on Sunday. We ended our time in NC with a dinner at Cracker Barrel, shakes from Cookout, and the Oscars. It was really nice to be able to spend so much quality time with all of Dan's family because it's not often that the 11 of us are able to be together! Here are some pictures... Enjoy!
Alexa with her Uncle Dan. Alexa & Me in Durham.
Alexa with her Uncle Andy. Alexa and her cousin, Natalie.
Alexa & Natalie in their Bumbos. Alexa sleeping in my arms at Mass.
Natalie being baptized.
Natalie being baptized. Alexa eating during Mass.
Us with Dan's parents, siblings & significant others, and nephew & niece.
Our family dressed up :) Alexa getting a bath.
Natalie getting a bath. Dan and Maureen on David's choo-choo train.
Dan 'working' with our nephew, David. Natalie & Alexa napping.
Alexa with her Auntie Cathy. Kick, kick, kick - Alexa loved this thing!
Dressed up like a ladybug with Daddy :) Natalie & Alexa in their matching bunny hats.
The girls with their BFFs - their pacies. Alexa with her Auntie Maureen.
Alexa in her car seat as we made our way to Monroe, NC. Alexa meeting Uncle Dave.
Bella, Alexa, and me. Bella adored Alexa.
So cute - Alexa and Bella holding hands. Auntie Kathy/Grammy with the girls.
Bella played photographer for a bit (hence Dan's crazy pose and Uncle Dave giving bunny ears). Then, Auntie Kathy took a photo of Roxanne and me with our girls :)
Auntie Kathy with Rox, Bella, me, and Alexa. Uncle Dave and Alexa saying goodbye Thursday night (because he had to work on Friday).
A happy Alexa with Auntie Kathy (it was hard to capture a photo of this, lol). Dan with Gypsie - we tried to steal her, Aunt Kathy told us NO.
Sick Jack :( Auntie Kathy saying goodbye to Alexa.
Aunt Kathy & me :)
After getting on the road at 8:30 am, we arrived in Monroe at about 6:00 pm on Wednesday. We had been making really good time (including the two stops we had to make for feedings), but then we got stuck in AWFUL traffic just outside of Statesville and again on 74 leaving downtown Charlotte. It was so great to see Aunt Kathy's face when she saw Alexa. She just kept saying, "She's beautiful." Alexa immediately warmed up to Uncle Dave, but was still a bit sour towards Aunt Kathy :)- On Thursday, we hung out around the house for awhile before heading to Rox & John's house. Jack was sick so we obviously steered clear of him. But it was nice to sit and visit with Roxanne, and Bella adored Alexa. All of the above photos of Bella and Alexa were taken at Bella's request, lol. Rox took us to the mall for a bit while Dan and Uncle Dave played pool in the 'man hut.' That night we (minus John and Jack) had dinner at Aunt Kathy & Uncle Dave's - lasagna, yummy! We rented a movie on the TV (My Best Friend's Girl) and went to bed. Friday morning we packed, visited, and went over to Rox & John's house for a bit. Bella didn't want Alexa to leave without saying goodbye :)
It was really sad to get on the road at 2:00 pm yesterday, but while we were there I made plans to come down again in April so that made 'see ya later' easier. My plans: Mom, Danielle, me, and Alexa are going to have a girls' road trip to Monroe. Then, we are going to head to Myrtle Beach for a few days with Aunt Kathy, Rox, and Bella! It is going to be so much fun!!! I'm so thankful that Alexa was already able to meet my family down here (Aunt Kathy didn't think she'd meet her until Alexa was almost walking). I hadn't been to that side of NC in years and years and hadn't seen my aunt and uncle since our wedding. So it was really wonderful to have quality time with them! And of course, I'm really excited that I'll see 'em again in 6 weeks!
Well, that's all for now. Alexa's napping, and I have a few things to do before she gets up. Happy Saturday everyone :)
Three great things about today:
1. We are headed to Monroe, NC to see my Aunt Kathy, Uncle Dave, Rox, John, Bella, and Jack.
2. I only have 4 pounds of baby weight left to lose. Considering my boobs are bigger then pre-prego, I'm pretty happy!
3. My boots (that were a Christmas gift from Dan) were finally available to order online!
For now, I sign off. We are leaving in the next 45 minutes... So excited!!!
