Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays - the excitement of costumes, parties, trick-or-treating with cousins in the perfectly festive neighborhood - its just hard to beat. Pair all of those things with the unseasonably warm temperatures that we've been having here in Nebraska, and it made for a perfect night!

Harrison (4) Max (2) Benson (3) June (1)

In the words of Harrison Paul Ritchie, "This was the best night ever."  

I agree, sir. I agree. It was absolutely SPOOK-TACULAR!

The Great Pumpkin {2016}

When unexpected circumstances cause your sister's annual pumpkin carving party to be cancelled, the party moves to your house (on a much smaller scale!). It was a low-key night with family, complete with beautiful weather, burgers on the grill, little boy giggles, and lots of baby snuggles. Absolute perfection in my book.

Grandma Debbie, aka "The Gut Scooper," is always a VIP at a carving party! Thanks for doing all of the dirty work.

Pumpkin carving power couple - they even came dressed alike for the occasion. 

 Love.

Who knew that picking the perfect mouth would be so complicated??

When temperatures soar into the 80s at the end of October, the Ritchie boys lose their minds clothes. Love these 4 kiddos and the friendships that they are building. 

 "Hey, mama! I'm mad like my pumpkin!"

Totally normal, right?!

 Brooks had the best seat in the house <3 font="">

Thank you, Kinney family and Grandma Debbie for spending the evening with us! The Ritchie's had so much fun!

Brooks {1 Month}

Last week held some pretty lofty significance in the short life of Mr. Brooks Ritchie. On Monday October 10th, we celebrated 1 month since he made his surprise arrival into this world. In that time he spent 2 weeks in the NICU learning how to do "big kid" things like eating from a bottle, and another 2 weeks at home showing his mom and dad (and brothers) who's boss! At the time, those early NICU days felt like they stretched on forever, but now here we are questioning how he can be a month old already - especially given the fact that Tuesday, October 11th, was his original DUE DATE! 

Sweet baby Brooks, life with you has already been an adventure. You threw us back into NICU life (though on a much less critical level than we experienced with your sister) and reminded us that we should never the "normal" new baby experience for granted - or a good eater for that matter! It was so hard to leave you behind at the hospital each night - but we knew that it was very short-term and that you were in great hands. And we're eternally grateful for the arms that were there to snuggle with you when ours were busy at home with your brothers.

I can't even begin to describe how it felt to finally walk into our home with you in my arms - though my own excitement was greatly eclipsed by that of your brothers. They were absolutely giddy! That day also brought with it a sudden change in your eating habits. The feeding frustrations that consumed me for the previous 2 weeks became a distant memory and you became very vocal of your need for immediate food! Patience is not your strong point, sir, and you go from sound asleep one minute to a shrill scream the next when you're hungry. Amen for hungry little boys.

You are certainly the center of attention in our home these days. Max smothers you with kisses at every opportunity, and Harrison tells me daily that he loves you with his "whole heart." My own heart swells just thinking about it. I can't wait to watch you find your way in this crazy Ritchie brotherhood. It is certainly something special beyond my comprehension.

Sweet Baby "Bwooks" - our home feels more complete with you in it. I'm trying my best to soak in every moment - each snuggle, each coo, each sleepy sigh - as I know that this phase of life goes so quickly. I hope that you know how loved you are.

Happy 1 month (and 1 week) my love.

He's Here! {Brooks Edmund Ritchie}

Just after midnight on September 10th, our newest little love decided that it was time to make his appearance in this great big world of ours. Leave it to a Ritchie babe to show us who's boss right from the start!

Brooks Edmund Ritchie

6 pounds 3 ounces, 17 1/2 inches

Because he was born at only 35 weeks, Brooks earned himself a mandatory trip to the NICU. We've spent the last 10 days here working on taking a bottle and growing stronger. While it breaks my heart to leave him at the hospital each night, I know that 1) he has some pretty amazing nurses taking care of him and 2) there are 2 little boys at home who need some sense of "normal" in their lives as well. We pray that Brooks will be strong enough to come home soon and are so excited for the chaos that lies ahead. 

Welcome to our crazy, Mr. Brooks. We love you with all our hearts.

Oh, Baby! {Sweet Baby Ritchie #4}

I, Kristen Ritchie, am the youngest of 5 children. And while being the "baby" of the family came with its fair share of perks, I can also say that there were situations where I've always felt like I drew the proverbial short straw. One such instance is fairly obvious when flipping through the pages of my baby book. The book starts out strong containing everything from a list of my first visitors and photos of my baptism to a little envelope containing locks of wispy baby hair from my first haircut. Continue through the book, however, and you'll start to see more and more blank spaces. 

Fast forward 34 years and 3 kiddos later, and I kind-of-sort-of feel like I owe my mom a bit of an apology (sorry, mom) for giving her a hard time about my swiss cheese baby book. While my own kiddos don't have traditional baby books, I've always used this space to document the happenings in our lives. With previous pregnancies I've been really good about sharing monthly updates - either with words or simple photos of my growing baby bump. This time around, however, I seem to have dropped the ball. Eighteen weeks ago I posted a photo of myself with my hand gently resting on my 16 week pregnant belly.  Since then....well...its been all crickets on the baby front.

Sweet #4 - I promise that your absence does not mean that I love you any less than your big sister or brothers. I promise that I will do my best to be better at documenting YOU. I promise that some day you'll be able to look back at the pages of Little Miss Ritchie and see just as much of your story as those of Charlotte, Harrison, and Maxo. And it all begins right now!

At 8 weeks I got to see you for the very first time. You would think after experiencing this moment 3 other times, it might become less "exciting," but that simply wasn't the case. Seeing your little gummy bear body and the rapid flutter of your heart was enough to bring this mama to tears.

At 16 weeks we officially shared you with the world. At about that same time, your dad and I got a super early sneak peek at that little heart of yours thanks to a fetal echo study being conducted through Children's Hospital. After months of wondering "what if," we sat in a darkened room and watched (through tear-filled eyes) as the study coordinator checked all of the major heart structures off of her list. Four perfect chambers. Outflow track. Arteries. Arches. Valves. They are all there and they are all perfect. 

"Mama, will you take a picture of me with the baby?"

 17 weeks

At 20 weeks we got another look at your during our routine anatomy scan. Once again they were able to check all of the "healthy baby" items off of their list, and we left with an even stronger sense of relief. 

 22 weeks

 24 weeks

 28 weeks

They've been keeping super close eye on your mama this time around due to some complications that we've run into from 3 previous c-sections. We started monthly ultrasounds at 20 weeks, then transitioned to every 2 week and then weekly scans.  While I wish that there were no "issues" to begin with, I'll never complain about an opportunity to see your sweet face. The minute I saw this picture I blurted out "holy cow, it looks just like Max!" I can't wait to kiss those squishy little cheeks! 

  32 weeks and feeling good.

And now here we are - marking just over 34 weeks together and starting the official countdown to your arrival. The big day is going to be sooner than expected and to say that your mama is a little....well....frantic, is a pretty accurate statement. For now I'm doing my best to slow down (something that's not always easy with your 2 yahoo brothers running around) and hoping you stay put until your planned arrival.

 Its just a matter of time, sweet love. Just a matter of time.