The rest of last week...

A photo of us at the library (non self-portrait for once).

Alexa in her exersaucer.

Tummy time!

She's just got the biggest, most beautiful eyes :)

Alexa snuggling on Daddy's chest for the first time since she was like a week old.
For whatever reason, she hasn't liked laying on him like this.

I'm extremely exhausted from a fun-filled weekend in Perry, but I wanted to quick post a few photos from the end of last week (I'll post about our trip home in the morning). Alexa and I went to story time at the library, out to lunch with my friend Jess, and to the mall on Tuesday. I saw the best Alexa smile ever on Tuesday when we arrived at the library - I was getting her out of her carseat when Ms. Allison started "Skinamerinky Dinky Dink" and her face just lit up! It was AMAZING! Among the things we bought at the mall was a bubble kit from Gymboree (because I have been so impressed with how great the bubbles are at the library and Alexa is fascinated with them). They are not a sticky mess, and they don't pop right away! Wednesdays I teach PSR so I don't really do much but hang out at home. So I decided I was going to start putting Alexa on a nap schedule based on some magazine articles I have read recently. She is napping around 9:30 am for just under an hour and then again at like 1:00 pm for 2-2.5 hours. She has a 20 minute catnap around 7 pm and then goes to bed around 8:30 pm and wakes up at like 7 am. This schedule seems to be working out pretty well, even with our trip home this weekend. I'm thankful to start having a routine with Alexa because it really helps me to plan my day. Dan worked from home on Thursday because we took my car into the shop to make sure it's in good shape for our drive to NC. We leave on Wednesday! I'm super excited about the trip!!!
Anyways, like I said I am exhausted so tomorrow I will post about Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Nighty-night :)

Sarah's Baby Shower

On Sunday, Alexa and I went to Sarah's Baby Shower :) Sarah's husband, Adam, is Dan's cousin. We had a great time seeing a lot of the Ritchey women, celebrating the soon-to-arrive Baby Ritchey, and talking wedding with Dan's cousin Brittney! Below are some photos from the shower.

Alexa and Mommy in our party dresses.

Aunt Therese feeding the baby... nice diaper, Alexa.

Jaclyn, Dan's cousin, is great with Alexa!

Soon Laura, another cousin, will have one of her own :)

Sarah and her "audience" - Kaycee, Kailey, & Emi

Aunt Susan getting creative - trying to guess how big Sarah's belly is with ribbon.

So pretty!

Me & Sarah at the end of the shower.

Yesterday, my friend Becky came and spent the afternoon with us. We've been trying to get together on Mondays, so that has been really nice! We had lunch and just visited for hours :) Thank goodness, I still have a couple really good friends! Other than the update, I have a few questions to put out there...
Does anyone have suggestions on how to stop Alexa's "bald spot" from getting worse? I have her sleeping on her side at night now, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to get Alexa to nap in her crib? She seems to be a cat-napper, short 20-30 minute naps, multiple times a day. She falls asleep while I hold her, and then when I set her down she wakes up.
How long is a baby obsessed with putting their hands in their mouth? It is honestly driving me crazy, I try to give her things to put in their instead (like the rings) but she much rather eat her hands. Help!
Alrighty, well we are off to Babytime at the library, lunch with my friend Jess, and then to the mall for a few things.... ciao.

A Week in Review

The first time Alexa got a bath without the netting in her tub.

Wrapped in her cute puppy towel :)

Right before she (and Bear blankie) fell asleep.

Alexa eats her 'fun hands' everywhere (even Babytime @ the library)!

"Look, Mommy & Daddy, I have soft hair!"

"Tummy time is not so frustrating anymore!"

Dan teaching Alexa the ropes at work - according to his boss, Adam, the "ropes" are creating diagrams and then knowing how to bull*hit about them, lol.

Talking to Noni.

"Can't wait to see you next weekend, Noni!"

Playing tug-of-war with some rings.

Alexa's snuggles warm my heart :)

"Grandma, I'm hungry!"

Grandma's partner for Sequence :)

Just a cute video of Alexa with her Bear blankie.

I feel like I start many posts apologizing for being MIA for so long - however, anyone who has ever had a kid knows that the baby keeps you busy all day and by the time she goes to bed you're exhausted. So I'm guessing no apology is necessary...
Anyways, it has been another busy week!! On Monday, Dan wasn't feeling well so he didn't go to work. By the end of the day he was feeling much better, and in fact, brewed his first batch of beer! He promises to post later about the whole brew thing!!! Alexa and I went to our usual Babytime on Tuesday, which is always a lot of fun. Ms. Allison, the librarian, is thrilled that I started to bring Alexa at such a young age! And she always comes and blows Alexa an extra round of bubbles during "Bubbles in the Air." Wednesday evenings I teach 5th grade PSR (Parish School of Religion). Our lesson was really interesting! We toured the sacristy and got to hold many of the items used during Mass. I also found out that next year I will be teaching 2nd grade - which means FIRST COMMUNION! I'm super excited about this, as 2nd graders are my FAVORITE of school-aged children and First Communion is a huge deal in the Catholic Church :) On Thursday, Alexa and I picked up her pictures at Target. If you click here and type "nicole ritchey" in the guest name, you can see the fabulous 3 month photos! After we picked up the pictures we ordered, we went to have lunch with Daddy at work :) As usual it was a nice time. Lots of Dan's coworkers walk over, visit with us and tell us how pretty she is - I love hearing that. There was just a minor glitch to this visit... as we were getting ready to leave Alexa pooped. And when I say pooped, I mean through all of her clothes. She needed to be changed, and naturally she screamed her head off [much to my embarrassment] as Dan's coworkers were on conference calls. Nice. On Friday, Alexa and I went to Pei Wei and ran errands with Becky. We had a nice afternoon with her too, until Alexa pooped [again] through her clothes! I mean, come on, Alexa! This time she needed a bath because it was halfway up her back. I think I am beginning to pay someone's salary at Shout, lol. Well, I've learned my lesson though - Alexa's ready for size 2 diapers! On Saturday, we had a bit of a lazy morning in bed then ran to the grocery store and the beer brewing store. In the evening Pat and Becky came over for dinner, and we played Sequence. This morning we went to church, and this afternoon Alexa and I are going to Sarah's (Dan's cousin's wife) baby shower. Can't wait to see all of the Ritcheys!
In developmental news: Alexa continues to amaze us every day! After discovering her 'fun hands' (I've been trying to use lots of adjectives to describe things for Alexa so she'll have an extensive vocabulary) over the past few weeks, Dan suggested we see if she would like the Bear blankie that Auntie Danielle bought her when she was born. As you can see in the photo and video above, she really loves it and does a great job of grabbing onto it! We've also gotten other things out (like the linking rings) that she loves to hold on to and explore with her mouth. The slobber is gross [in my opinion], but Alexa doesn't seem to mind. She also enjoys reaching up with her left hand and stroking her 'soft hair.' Too cute. Our favorite thing is to try and get her to smile at us or stick her tongue out. She does a great job mimicing both things. Also, she used to get extremely frustrated during Tummy time, but yesterday she did it for 15 minutes without crying!!! She is doing such a great job of holding her head up :) Alexa is also getting really good at tracking. When Dan and I walk around the room we call her name out until she turns to look for us, which usually doesn't take long at all. Okay, I'll stop bragging about my brilliant baby and just say that I'm thankful to be with her 24/7 so that I don't miss any of these moments because they are priceless.
Finally, before I sign off I want to take a moment to thank all of you for your care and concern for me. I know many of my posts have been a little on the depressing side. It really is just very hard to be away from my family. I'm homesick, it's true, but I am trying hard to mask those feelings so that Alexa doesn't sense it. Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks for the love and prayers - they mean a lot!

Superbowl

We stayed home to watch the Superbowl, and more importantly, the commercials. Although I must say I was disappointed with most of the them. There were a handful that were hilarious, such as my top favorite - the LMAO commercial, haha. But many were just plain stupid. I miss the days of looking forward to the Budweiser frogs debuting a new ad. Anyways, after a day of running errands, we settled on the couch to watch the game and eat take-out BW3's. At halftime Dan and I showed Alexa how to ROCK out to Bruce Springsteen :)
The past few nights Alexa has really established a sleep pattern. She is going to bed around 9 pm and waking up around 730 am! Let me tell you how much I love my sleep!!! She is still really fascinated with her hands and recently has discovered the softness of her hair. She lays down, puts her left hand up and rubs her head. It is too cute. We've been spending loads of time reading books and helping her grasp small objects. I force her to do tummy time everyday, but she hates it. She gets so frustrated! Her ears seem to be healing just fine. She doesn't cry when I sterlize the pierced area. Overall, Alexa is just a really pleasant baby :)

Diaper change during the Superbowl.

Singing "Born to Run"

Dipping to "Glory Days"

Hanging out with Grandma & Grandpa

Pat feeding Alexa part of her daily bottle.

Alexa is soooo interested in books (and her hands).

Bouncing on Daddy's leg!

On Thursday night, Pat and Becky came over to finally celebrate Dan's birthday since they have both been battling pesky colds :( Dan made us breakfast for dinner - omelets, sausage links, hash browns, and english muffins. After dinner Dan opened his gift, a coat to do yard work in. Then we spent the remainder of the evening watching TV, reading books, and visiting. On Saturday, we drove out to Pataskala for the second part of Dan's birthday celebration - a rib dinner and German Chocolate Cake (his favorite). While there, Alexa played on this little floor mat and really got into kicking this ball that rattled. I know it'll be a big hit for her anytime she visits Grandma and Grandpa!
If you're looking for entertainment check this out. Pat showed it to us yesterday :)-

Bragging Rights :)

Every wife and mother has moments when she want to shout to the world how lucky she is - this is one of my moments!!!
First, the husband - he shoveled like a mad man today! We have 6+ inches on the ground with a layer of ice, and he went outside and shoveled our entire driveway (unlike many of you Clevelanders who "cheat" with snow blowers). Although he did say if we ever move up north, one of his first purchases would be a snow blower :)- Anyways, he is tired and sore now. So the good and appreciative wife that I am will have dinner ready any minute and have promised him a rub-down of Icy Hot! We (Alexa, Chloe and me) are so lucky to have Dan in our life. He is an amazing man!
Second, the daughter - so you all know that we've been nursing since like the fifth day of Alexa's life. However, we were having problems latching so the pediatrician gave me something called a nipple shield to use. This has been a God-send, for without it we wouldn't have been breastfeeding these past three months. I don't know why, but while Dan was shoveling I decided to see if she would nurse without the shield (the last time I tried was beg-Dec. and she had no idea what to do with my bare boob)... and SHE DID IT!!! She ate on both sides for 12 minutes without the shield :) Those of you who have tried nursing know what an accomplishment this is, and for those of you who don't know, trust me this is huge. I am just so proud of my little girl. She is a good eater (even before this monumental occasion), a great sleeper and a fantastic bubble maker, lol. She has a loving personality and is just amazing!

Self-portrait of us at la biblioteca yesterday.

Distracting Dan while he was working this morning.

Dan & a squirmy Alexa.

Eating her hands, playing in the exersaucer, watching Baby Monet - all at the same time! She is a great multitasker just like me, lol!

She used to hate the bar that goes across the bouncer, but now that she is learning to use her hands it is great fun.

Dan beginning to shovel.

An action shot.

He decided to not do the little corner there on the right because he figures he'll just maneuver his car to the left and pull out from there, lol.

My hardworking hubby :)

Alexa exhausted after nursing off the bare boob (I don't know if that was really it or if she was just plain tired, haha).