Welcomed with Open Arms

In the true spirit of my "Old Year's Resolution," I'm calling this one a better late than never post.  

This summer, Matt and I finally had the boys baptized into the Catholic church.  St. Patrick's in Gretna was super accommodating and allowed us to have the baptism on a Wednesday night...which in turn allowed for the boys Great Grandma Delene to attend.  It was such a special evening.

  Godparents Dan and Jenni Metzler & Angie Goeser

We were so happy that GG Delene was back from California and could celebrate with us! 

 Best.Grandparents.Ever.

 Oh my goodness...look how little our baby boy was!

 Charlotte was baptized by a hospital chaplain on the morning of her first open heart surgery.  I look back on that day and the peace that it brought to us knowing that she was able to receive the sacrament before her procedure.  During her baptism the chaplain poured water over her head using this shell.  I know that she was with us as her brothers received the same blessings...but it made it all the more special that we could incorporate her shell into the ceremony.

 "AGGIE!"

 After the baptism, everyone came back to our home to continue the celebration.  Cake, conversation, little friends running around the back yard, and a quick golf lesson with uncle Brad made for a perfect end to a perfect evening.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.  ~Jeremiah 29:11

Maxwell Thane {11 months}

December has been a month full of activity.  Santa visits.  Christmas programs.  Gingerbread house making.  Present wrapping (and un-wrapping!).  Holiday celebrations.  And last but not least, today we're celebrating 11 way-too-fast months with our little Maxo! Yes, you read that right.  Mr. Max is ELEVEN months old.  Each month passes a little more quickly...each bringing more big boy moments and milestones.  And as much as I miss that snuggly little baby of ours, I'm quickly remembering how much I love this age.  So as we make our final approach to the one year mark (sob!) here's a little recap of what our sweet 11 month old has been up to.

{Busy Boy} We somehow forgot how insane this age can be!  It is SO much fun, yet exhausting at the same time.  You, sweet Max, are one busy little boy and are always on the go.  You walk along furniture and walls, love chasing your brother, and want to have your little hands in everything!  You discovered the stairs this month and love to "sneak" over to them as often as possible.  You know that you're not supposed to climb on them, and that makes them all the more desirable.  You let out the loudest giggles and take off at top speed when you see us coming to steal you away from them!

There is such a thing as being TOO curious.

{Ears}  Unfortunately, you spent most of the last month dealing with a yucky ear infection.  You started on antibiotics shortly after Thanksgiving and have been on them ever since.  We tried 2 different oral antibiotics before finally giving you a shot of Rocephin in the doctor's office just after Christmas.  Apparently you've got a resistant little bug!  Through it all, though, you've remained a pretty happy guy.  So tough.

{Chompers}  Adding to the "yuck" mentioned above, you also decided to FINALLY start cutting some teeth this month.  You've for 1 big one through on top, 1 on the bottom, and 2 more trying to push their way thru.  Needless to say you've been a slobbery mess lately!

{Soooo Big}  You are tipping the scales at a whoppin' 23 pounds.  That's only 3 pounds less than where your brother was at 18 months!

{Jibber Jabber}  We've noticed that you talk a whole lot more when your ears are healthy.  Having said that, its pretty obvious that your last round of antibiotics is finally kicking in.  You have a new-found love for screeching back and forth with your brother and are constantly babbling.  You can say "uh oh," "ho-ho-ho," "ba" (ball) and do your best to "moo" whenever you see a cow.  Little baby voices are the best.

{Odds and Ends}  You love bath time, despite the constant splashing from your brother.  Now if only I could get you to stay sitting during the whole process.  You don't quite understand the whole concept of "slippery when wet" and it makes me super nervous!  You have THE fluffiest hair I've ever seen, especially the day after a bath.  You are a pro at giving high fives, but are adamantly against giving your mama kisses.  Your favorite food is our remote control.  You've started to realize when you are being silly - giggling, making goofy faces, covering your eyes like you're being bashful - I have a feeling that we're going to have another little ham on our hands.

Maxwell Thane {11 months}

Happy monthaversary baby boy!  

You melt my heart every single day and I'm so thankful 

that God chose me to be your mama.

Cookies with Santa {2014}

Santa, Santa, Santa.  How can you be so insanely jolly, yet at the same time elicit so much fear when children confront you face to face?  Someday I'm sure that we'll have a successful "sit on Santa's lap" experience...but this sure as heck wasn't the year. 

It was pretty obvious from the get go that Santa wasn't going to be able to handle both Ritchie boys at the same time, so we decided to start with Max.  I'll let his face in the pictures below tell the story.

 I am SO in love with this picture.  Best. Santa. Ever.

 Potentially scarred for life...

 Next up was Harrison.  Equally terrified. Equally anti-Santa.

 In the end, however, he was able to spit out that he wanted cars for Christmas...and even snuck in a high-five.  I'm pretty sure there was candy cane bribery involved.

We love you, Santa!  HoHoHo!

{A HUGE thank you to our friends at Heart Heroes for yet another wonderful Cookies with Santa event.  Every detail was perfect...the quaint coffee shop location, the sweet snacks, the presents for our kiddos.  What you do for our local heart community...and for our family...is nothing short of amazing.}

Just a Trim

Maxo, much like his big sister and brother, was born with a head full of hair. 

He went through a bit of an awkward "transitional" phase where it seemed like his head was growing too quickly for his hair to keep up....

but by mid summer his bald patches were gone, and in their place was a much lighter (and a little more "ginger") head of hair.

And while he lost most of that early baby hair...there were a few strands right up on top that stuck around for the long haul, growing longer and longer with each passing day.  They had a mind of their own...flopping here and there and acting like a little baby comb-over.  It was a little ridiculous.  

 One day in October I decided that enough was enough and set out to give our littlest guy his very first haircut.  There wasn't much to it...just a few snips up top...but it made a pretty huge difference.  

He looks thrilled, yes?

 This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever.  Pouty Max.  Eek I think I got to short mom.  

 They always say not to run with scissors.  I think running with them is probably a better idea than using them to give a haircut to a newly mobile baby who isn't restrained in any way shape or form.  I thought it would be quick and easy but Mr. Max had other things (namely escaping) on his mind!

Farewell flop.  Hello handsome.

LRSH Christmas Program {2014}

Tonight we had the opportunity to attend a Christmas program at Max and Harrison's school.  We love Little Red School House and were so excited to see Harrison and his adorable little classmates all dolled up for the big event.  In my mind I figured it would go one of two ways.  1) Harrison would be a total clown, showing off for all to see or 2) MELTDOWN.  The pictures below tell the story.

 If you guessed meltdown...you would be correct.  This little guy has never been happier to be back in his daddy's arms.  

Despite all of the tears, it was a fun night.  There was singing, dancing, kiddos doing everything except what they were supposed to be doing.  It was everything a Christmas program is supposed to be!  We love all of our friends/teachers at Little Red and are so grateful for all of the love and patience they show our boys.  It was obvious that a lot of hard work and preparation went into tonight and they should all be applauded!  

And just an FYI - On our way home tonight Harrison told me "Mommy, I do good at my pwogwam" and proceeded to give me an encore performance of  the "Reindeer-Pokey."  Better late than never, baby boy.  Better late than never.

Here's to the start of a fun-filled holiday season!

Halloween in December

Every year around this time you start hearing more and more talk about New Year's resolutions.  I've never been very good at making (and sticking to) resolutions for the new year, so this year I've decided to do something a little bit different.  Today I'm declaring my OLD Year's resolution.  Yup, you heard me right.  Old Year.  There are 10 days left in 2014, but I don't quite feel like I'm in the right place to say goodbye.  This blog has forever been my journal...its a baby book for my kiddos, a therapist for my heart, a chronicle of the day to day happenings of the Ritchie family.  In 2014 I feel like I really lost my footing when it came to this space.  I have a list of moments that I hold near and dear to my heart...but most of the items never made the transition from list to blog.  

And I'm not ok with that.

So hear you have it, my Old Year's resolution for the last 10 days of 2014...

Drumroll please....

To catch up.

Some posts might have extensive narratives.  Some might just be big ol' photo dumps.  Either way, I'm bound and determined to get our family's special moments from 2014 onto Little Miss Ritchie!

First up, Halloween.  Matt and I were drinking cocktails on the beach in the Dominican Republic over Halloween this year, so our boys got to spend some quality time with all of their grandparents.  They were at NamNam and PopPop's house for Trick or Treating, and from the looks of these pictures, they had a great time!

Baby Clark Kent

 PopPop and the boys

Looks like our little construction worker stole Clark's glasses.

 Eyeballing cousin Benson's M&Ms

 Rumor has it Harrison was NOT a big fan of this cat.  

Harrison perfected his trick or treating process (I knock knock knock on da door, den I say Twick o tweat and dey give me CANDY!) and still talks about when we was a "construction guy."  While I'm sad that we missed it all, I'm kind of glad that someone else got to deal with the sugar high that I'm sure occurred that night!  Happy INSANELY LATE Halloween from the Ritchie boys!  

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