BREAKING NEWS!!!

Well, well, well...

After spending the last 9 months almost POSITIVE that little Charley was teething, we woke up today to find the teeniest, tiniest little white speck poking through her bumpy little gums. Trust me, its not noticeable unless you are playing Sherlock Holmes or own a magnifying glass....but it is there...I promise. WOOHOO!!! At the rate she's going, it will probably be all the way through by the time she heads off to kindergarten! I was starting to think that we were going to need PopPop to set her up with some dentures!

Speaking of her little mouth, I am proud to say that this Mama has not stressed about Charley's eating for almost a whole week now. A week might not sound like much, but trust me...it is. Want to know WHY I have relaxed????

CHARLOTTE IS EATING TABLE FOOD!

You heard me right...TABLE FOOD!

She had gotten to the point where she acted like baby food was poison, but would gag and puke every time we tried "food food." Then last weekend something clicked. I was literally in tears as she sat in her high chair eating mac and cheese, green beans and watermelon. She even ate part of a grilled cheese sandwich yesterday at daycare and pieces of a taco burger today! WOOHOO LITTLE GIRL!!! Wait wait wait....thats not all....she is drinking from a sippy cup like a pro. Ok, so she will only do it laying down (you should see her try it sitting up. HILARIOUS.)

Eating has always been a struggle with Miss Charley, but it appears that we have finally made it.

Sigh....we've made it.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Today was pretty much the perfect day. I got a solid 8 hour of sleep last night (YAY!) and woke up to the "jibber-jabber" of a happy baby in her crib. We spent some time snuggling and laughing at the puppies and then enjoyed a nice breakfast (Pediasure and pancakes for Charlotte, Fruit Loops for Mommy and Daddy.) It was supposed to rain all day, but we were blessed with unexpected sunshine and got to spend lots of time outdoors. It was such a quiet and NORMAL day that I almost forgot about its significance.

Rewind to one year ago. Instead of 8 hours of sleep, I got maybe 2 at the most. Rather than a morning of snuggling and laughing, it was one filled with a last minute baptism and lots of tears. In place of pancakes and Fruit Loops, we downed coffee and forced ourselves to eat something as we anxiously waited for words on progress. There was no sunshine (at least that we got to enjoy) and there was no outdoor time.

One year ago today Matt and I handed our 1 week old, 6 pound little girl over to the team of surgeons, doctors and nurses at Omaha Children's Hospital for her first life-saving open heart surgery. I've thought about what words I would type here as I reflect on that terrifying day, but I can't come up with anything effective. It was awful. It was gut-wrenching. We gave a million kisses that morning, fearful of what the day would bring and knowing the risks associated with such a big procedure, yet we remained faithful and confident that we would see sunshine in the end.

Here we are, one year later, enjoying that sunshine that we longed for so much last summer. Charlotte has fought hard to get to where she is today and is showing no signs of stopping. She is a fighter and a survivor.

Today we celebrate our beautiful heart warrior.

Strong, beautiful and brave--Charlotte Delene Ritchie.

Cute as a Button

I thought that I would post some pictures from Charlotte's "Cute as a Button" birthday party this past Sunday in Omaha. While the weather didn't exactly cooperate, the day was pretty perfect overall. Thank you again to everyone who helped us celebrate this GIGANTIC milestone, and especially to my sister Jill and her hubby for lending us their house for the day!

I decided that I want to be a "make the cake" mom. Here is year #1. Cute and simple.

Yummy button cupcakes. They were so cute!

A thank you gift to Charlotte's grandparents, aunts and uncles for all that they did for us this past year. We truly could not have done it with out them.

CUTEST PICTURE EVER (Thanks, Erin!) This was taken while we were singing "Happy Birthday." She looks like she's loving it!

Getting curious...

She is very good at sharing.

Its not a party until there's frosting in your ear.

All cleaned up and heading up for a nap. She definitely partied her little booty off!

Family picture...Mom, Dad and one tired one year old!

If anyone has more pictures, feel free to send them my way. I managed to keep myself busy enough that I didn't take near as many pictures as I had wanted to. Go figure.

So, that about wraps it up...we successfully conquered YEAR 1, the first chapter has come to an end. Something tells me that year 2 has good things in store for Little Miss Ritchie. We keep trusting that God has big plans for us and we live each and every day appreciating the little things.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I started writing this post on Thursday knowing full well that

1) We would be out of town on Charlotte’s actual birthday

2) It was going to take me some time to come up with the appropriate words given the enormity of this day

3) It was going to be hard to write with blurry, tear-filled eyes…and I’m pretty sure that will be the case through this whole post!

Alright…deep breath…here we go.

May 14, 2010 was the most unexpected, overwhelming, exciting, anxiety-inducing, INSANE day of my entire life. I was 37 weeks pregnant and working my last day before a planned “move” to Omaha to sit and wait for our little baby girl to arrive. What started out as a normal Friday quickly began to swing out of my control. Two OB visits, one shot of terbutaline and a frantic search for my husband later, we were on our way to have a baby. We pulled into Omaha at 6 PM and by 10:15 PM we heard the strong cries of our little Charlotte Delene for the very first time. The chaos of the day melted away and the months of fear for her health were forgotten. In that moment, all that I could think was “My gosh…she’s perfect.”

Life hasn’t slowed down since that day. It has been the most stressful year of my entire life, but at the same time it has been incredibly rewarding and has taught me so much about myself. It has reinforced my belief in the goodness of God and reminded me just how lucky we are to have incredible family and friends. I have felt so weak and helpless, but was able to discover strength within my self that I never knew existed. I have embedded myself into the heart community and met so many incredible mommies and heart kiddos. I am different today than I was a year ago…I am better, I am stronger, I am more in love with my husband than ever before...and its all because of our little Charlotte.

Charlotte,

Sigh….I don’t even know where to begin….I guess I should start with HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY! I can't believe that you are ONE YEAR OLD already. Your first year has been anything but easy, yet through it all you have displayed such strength and resilience.

You made lots of big strides this past month, all reinforcing the fact that my little girl is not so little anymore.

-You are getting better and better at playing on your tummy. You haven't shown much interest in crawling, but you discovered that rolling from tummy to back to tummy gradually inches you forward.

-You LOVE to stand and are getting very good at walking with a little support from Mommy and Daddy. Tonight you even took a few steps with only one of my fingers to steady you. We've got a lot of work before you are flying solo, but you are getting stronger every day.

-We FINALLY found a sippy cup that you like. You would prefer a bottle any day, but I suppose its a step in the right direction.

-You are getting better at table food every day. Your sensitive little gag reflex has been a challenge, but we're learning what works and what doesn't. So far mandarin oranges and green beans are the best. And Cheetos....but babies aren't supposed to eat Cheetos so we'll leave it at that.

-You laugh A LOT. Mostly at your Daddy because he is soooo silly. You like to laugh at your puppies as they chase each other around the yard, too.

-My favorite thing you learned this month is to show us where your heart is. You even decided to show off at your birthday party (of course your hands were covered with sticky frosting when you did it). Everyone was very impressed!

Baby girl, you made it. I can't even to begin to tell you the significance of this milestone, but I know that one day you will understand it all.

Daddy and I love you with all of your hearts. Thank you for making this year the best yet!

(Stay tuned for birthday details and pictures later this week!)

Happy Mother's Day

Last year on Mother's Day I was 36 weeks pregnant with Miss Charlotte. I worked an evening shift at the hospital and came home to find that Matt had finished the nursery as a Mother's Day gift. You may remember my excited post about the rocking chair he gave me....it was perfect and totally unexpected.

That chair has gotten a lot of use over the past 52 weeks. I sat in it and rocked before Charlotte was even born, tears running down my face out of fear for our future. I sat in it for the first time holding my little girl who was finally home after an insane month in the hospital...what a feeling. It has been the perfect place for bedtime stories, prayers and countless late night feedings. That chair has seen both of us cry, laugh and rock in absolute silence. That chair as seen the evolution of me as a mommy--starting out terrified about my ability to care for a sick baby and growing in confidence day by day.

The thought of rocking this precious little girl and knowing that she is mine is overwhelming.

I am her Mommy. She needs me. She loves me no matter what.

Today we celebrated our first Mother's Day together and it was perfect. I am honored to be your Mommy, Charlotte, and I love you more than I could have ever imagined.

A Party in Heaven

A few years ago for Christmas Matt got me a frame painted with the words...

"There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and leaving it behind when they leave."

In the middle of the frame is a picture of me sitting on my dad's lap while he reads me a book.

This frame hangs on the wall at the very top of our staircase. I pass it every day when I get up in the morning and smile at it every night as I walk up to bed. Some nights when I'm going to lay Charlotte down we stop and talk about "Papa Paul." I tell her how much he loves her. I tell her how proud he is of her. I tell her that he is always with her, watching over her and keeping her safe....her very own guardian angel. Every once in a while when we get to the top of the steps Charlotte will reach her arm out toward the frame and get the biggest smile on her face. While I know that she is too young to really understand, I can tell that she knows there is something special about that picture...

I have so many wonderful memories of the time that I got to spend with my Dad and I do my best to pass those memories on to both Matt and Charlotte. We talk about his love for the Yankees, listening to Buddy Holly records, playing Jeopardy on the computer....The list goes on and on. Dad's memory is alive in our house and we feel his love every day.

Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope that you are doing something 100% awesome today--maybe an afternoon Yankee game with the Mick?? If so....maybe you could help Jeter out a little bit?? =)

Sunday Sunday

Wrapping up a nice quiet weekend at home. It was nice to do "nothing"...though its never really "nothing" like it was in the pre-Charlotte days! She always keeps us busy with something!

Here's a sneak peak into Charlotte's Sunday.

We started out with cinnamon roll pancakes for breakfast. Ok....Matt and I did anyway. I thought Charlotte would like them but she wasn't in the mood. Her loss...they were seriously yummy. I tried to post a picture, but for some reason it wouldn't let me. Go to recipegirl.com if you want to check them out. There is a recipe for a cream cheese glaze as well, but we passed and they were still delish.

After breakfast Charlotte practiced kneeling. She used to cry and have a death grip on the bin when I would make her do this. Now she is perfectly content and will dig for toys. Little by little baby girl!

When she got sick of kneeling, she used her legs to stack rings. I only helped with the yellow one because the hole is small and she was coming from a weird angle. Otherwise, it was all her doing. What a goof! And notice the sippy cup by her head....we finally found one that she likes!

Last but not least, she made some phone calls to catch up with friends. I caught a photo of her actually using a phone, but before that she was using the rings seen above.

Hope you all had wonderful weekends!