Alexa in her new hat.
Ready to go on her first stroller walk outside (just us two).
On our walk.
More on our walk and arriving home.
One of my BFF's, Tiffanie - the group taking a pic of her new ring.
Tiffanie's engagement ring. Amanda & Me after a few drinks.
Two different group shots from Saturday night... yeah for self-timers!
Alexa & Daddy napping. Daddy & Alexa enjoying the nice outdoors. (Isn't her smile amazing?)
Doing bubbles in the air at home - we missed the library today because of Alexa's nap.
She obviously loves the bubbles. On another walk through the neighborhood (this time with Daddy).
Getting back to the house. Reading with Daddy.
Alexa during one of her bath times this past week.
Another week has gone by before I finally found the opportunity to write a new post. I never would have thought that having an infant could be so time consuming! Trying to find the time to do household tasks like grocery shopping, cooking dinner, laundry, and cleaning is hard enough - blogging on a regular basis, forget it. Alexa continues to grow everyday, both physically and intellectually. Just this evening she was lying on the floor trying to look at Dan and I (we were behind her head), and she almost rolled over from her back to her front... she was so close! Of course, I went over and "helped" her do it so that she could get used to the motion.
A lot of great things have happened in the past week! In no particular order:
#1 My longest friend in Columbus, Tiffanie, got engaged last Friday and asked me to be a Matron of Honor!!! Ahhhh, I am so excited for her and Ben, and of course, I cannot wait to help her start planning :) #2 I am 1.8 pounds from my pregnancy starting weight! I've made a pact with myself that once I reach that weight (and if it is before our Girls Weekend) I am going to buy a few new clothes (maybe a shirt, pair of capris, and bathing suit). Dan has really been supportive and encouraging. I hope to get these < 2 lbs. off in the next two weeks! #3 We had a get-together on Saturday night. Tiffanie & Ben, Sean & Stephanie, Amanda & Dave, and Eric all came over to hangout with us. They came early enough to see Alexa before bed, and then once she went to bed we drank and played Catch Phrase and Apples to Apples. We had the greatest time! It was really fun to have friends over, and we hope to do it again next month :) #4 Kat was able to call me finally. Her work was kinda not happy with her phone bill recently, so we hadn't gotten to speak on the phone in a few weeks :( So it was fabulous to hear her voice!!! #5 The time change has helped Alexa sleep until 8 am the past three mornings! #6 Dan's parents came over for dinner last Thursday. I made this white lasagna that is a twist on a Weight Watchers white lasagna recipe that I found, and it was divine. There's nothing better than really YUMMY and HEALTHY Italian food! #7 The weather has been warm enough to take Alexa on TWO walks outside! Being born at the end of October and living in Ohio has meant Alexa's contact with the great outdoors has been in and out of the car and that's it. She loves sticking her tongue out at the wind. I cannot wait until it is nice enough to actually play outside with her :)
Well, I'm getting kind of distracted with American Idol - I've picked Danny as my winner, and Dan has picked Anoop - and my waiting glass of Pinot Grigio so I'm signing off... but I'll be back probably sometime over the weekend. Of course, this is another Perry weekend (for my cousin's wife's baby shower - yea, Erin), and I have time to blog there because Noni hogs Alexa all weekend, lol. Can't wait to see the fam - less than 72 hours!
Dan should be blogging any day - his brew has been bottled! So be on the watch for the first brew tale & pics soon.
Ciao.
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.
