Thanksgiving {2013}

Late last week I was admiring some amazing photographs taken by my cousin's daughter Ana, when I stumbled across some words on her blog that really resonated with me. Words that remind me to approach days like today, Thanksgiving, with a gracious heart...even when I know that there are parts of me that hurt. 

Ana ever so wisely said...

"Thanksgiving isn't only about the good stuff.  The delicious food, family gathered, new jobs and a blossoming photography business. It's about finding the good in the not-so-good. Thank you God for my difficult college classes, they helped me appreciate my free time more fully. Thank you God for that terrible cold, it gave me a week to rest. Thanksgiving is about recognizing God in it all and bowing down in praise."

And while this kind of graciousness doesn't always come as second nature, her words hold so much truth. 

Today (and every day) I am thankful. Thankful for the good days - those filled with family, laughter, snuggles and new milestones. Days where I can sit back at the end of the day and watch my baby boy and his daddy roll around on the floor, play catch in the living room and chase each other around our kitchen island, screeching and giggling all the while. But I'm also thankful for those inevitable days that are a little more challenging.  Days where tears seem to outweigh giggles, where new teeth get the best of us all, where a determined spirit feels more like down right stubbornness.  Days where I just want to be angry that my little family will always feel somewhat incomplete. Despite it all...and in it all...we remain so incredibly blessed.

So today among all of the obvious, I'll say out loud...

Thank you God for little boy tears, for they provide the opportunity for extra snuggles and loves.

Thank you for teething.  CRAZY, I know, but Charlotte never had teeth. Each new one that pops up in our little guy's mouth is a reminder of how blessed we are to have had him for 17 months, 8 teeth and counting.

Thank you for stubbornness, for it teaches me much needed patience.  

Thank you for early morning wake up calls, for we know that tomorrows are never guaranteed.

Thank you for this life that we have been blessed with.  It hasn't been, and probably never will be, easy, but I have learned so much because of its challenges.  I appreciate and celebrate the little things in a way that I know I didn't just 3 short years ago. Today we are thankful.  Thankful for the good and for the ability to find the good when it's a little less obvious.

Baby Ritchie #3 {29 weeks}

This showed up in my inbox today...

Day 207:  Excuse Me

"It's any lady's worst nightmare:  flatulence in the presence of others.  But as your uterus continues to grow, it may be harder to control these impulsive bubbles."

Bwahahahahah!  I can't stop laughing!  I should probably try to get a hold of myself...I wouldn't want to let any "impulsive bubbles" escape!

So here we are, 29 weeks and 5 days into pregnancy #3.  I'm feeling well, sleeping okay, eating like I'm carrying triplets, starting to have more and more heartburn, and struggling a bit with the whole tying my own shoes thing!  Harrison routinely uses his baby brother as a step stool (sorry buddy!) and officially called my "bump" a baby this morning.  I won't lie...I've started to freak out a little bit at the fact that d-day is only 10 weeks away!  Time has gone so quickly with baby #3 and I'm struggling to comprehend how much this new addition to our family will change us, our routine, our everything.  It's a challenge I'm excited to face head on...yet still grateful at all of the helping hands that we have nearby.

28 weeks with sweet baby Chuck

28 weeks with crazy Mr. H

 28 29 weeks with baby #3...more commonly known as "Raymond Cassanova" 

Bring on the turkey, mashed potatoes and now that I learned that I passed my glucose tolerance test, any sort of dessert other than pumpkin pie.  This lady's wearing her big girl maternity pants to dinner and she's ready to eat!

Harrison the Entertainer

Do responsible parents let their kids play with the string on their blinds?  Let them drape the cords across their head, fling them over their shoulder, walk with them until they can't walk any farther? 

When they're this cute, they do!

Luckily he's not strong enough (or doesn't realize he's strong enough) to actually raise and lower the blinds....cause you know....then I might have to lay down the law!  You know...because I'm responsible like that.

Halloween 2013 {Herbie Husker}

October came and went in the blink of an eye, and with it came a flurry of activity and excitement in the Ritchie home.  We kept busy with a rapidly growing baby boy (well...2 for that matter!), work schedules, a road trip to Indiana for our godson's baptism, late birthday celebrations, trick-or-treating, and capped it off with some exciting news!

Last week we wrapped up October, like most of you, with Halloween festivities.  When Halloween rolled around last year, Harrison was only 4 months old.  We dressed him up like an adorable little football, snapped some pictures, and then went into full "Ba-Humbug" mode (translation: turned our lights off to ward off trick-or-treaters).  This year, however, we had a crazy little 16 month old on our hands, and we were excited to start implementing some Halloween traditions.  We knew that H would love showing off in his costume...and show off he did!  Meet Nebraska's biggest little Husker fan....Harry "Herbie" Husker!  (the University of Nebraska mascot for those of you non-Nebraskans!)

He knew he was the center of attention and absolutely loved it!

I wasn't sure how the hat would go over, but he's a big fan!  

And of course Herbie needs an ear of corn (courtesy of the owners of the lot next door to ours...thanks whoever you are!)

One of the best parts of living back in Omaha is knowing that Harrison will grow up surrounded by his family.  This year (and hopefully years and years to come) we were able to spend Halloween night with Matt's sister and her family.  Harrison and Benson are only 9 months apart in age and I'm positive that they will be best buds growing up.  Here's to many more Halloween pictures of these two cuties together.

I mean really...Isn't Benson Knievel the cutest little daredevil you've ever seen!  AHHH I LOVE HIM!

Our best attempt at a family picture (with the hat).

This little boy doesn't have time for silly things like pictures with his mom and dad!

Last year our Halloween was all closed-doors, and this year it consisted of more photos than actual trick-or-treating, but we still had lots of fun!  Hard to believe that this time next year there will be THREE little boys to corral!  What do you think....the 3 stooges??

Curious about the "exciting news" I mentioned at the start of this post?  This lady landed herself a new job!  No more working every other weekend.  No more 11 hour days or getting home at 8:30 at night.  No more shuffling H from house to house when our schedules overlap (which happened way too often).  I'm beyond excited for what this means for our little family and can't wait to get started in a few weeks!  YAY!

Perfect Little Pumpkins

I grew up in a home where it was more common to decorate Halloween pumpkins with some paint and/or colored Sharpies than it was to carve them into jack-o-lanterns.  As a matter of fact, last year was the first time in my 30 years that I had ever carved a pumpkin on my own!  My opinion?  While the finished product was absolutely perfect...the whole process was a little on the messy/stinky side for my liking!  H was only 4 months old last Halloween, so he didn't get to take part in the pumpkin decorating festivities.  This year, however, seemed like the perfect time to introduce a new Halloween tradition.  I'm sure that some day we'll transition into carving, but for now a pumpkin, drop cloth, muffin tin, paint and our fingers worked out perfectly!

Checking our our canvas

 He needed a little coaxing at first... 

 But then jumped right in!

 The makings of a masterpiece!

 Holy cow!  Is it just me or does he look like a TOTAL big boy here?! 

In the end, the pumpkin wasn't the only thing that got a makeover!  Here is H doing his new signature pose.  Who knows where he comes up with these things!

While H and I headed upstairs to wash off all of the paint that "missed" the pumpkin, daddy stayed behind and painted another very special pumpkin.  Have I ever mentioned here how much I love him?! 

Our pumpkins are painted and proudly displayed on our front porch, and Harrison's costume is ready for Thursday night.  We didn't trick-or-treat last year, so this will be a first for us as a family.  Stay tuned for lots of pictures of our little guy with his sweet cousin Benson.  

Hope you all have a very SPOOKY and HAPPY Halloween!

Baby Ritchie #3 {24/25 weeks}

Six weeks ago they told us that our baby's tiny heart looked beautiful - that the ventricles looked perfect, the plumbing was all in the proper place, and the blood was pumping just as it should be.  Yet, despite all of these "assurances"....I still walked into today's fetal echo/ultrasound with a pit in my stomach.  I was the same way with Harrison.  I'll probably be the same way with any future Ritchie kiddos.  It's a fear that is engrained into me.

Today, at 25 weeks, Matt and I once again sat in a darkened ultrasound room as they examined every square inch of our sweet little boy.  The sonographer couldn't get over how cooperative this little guy was and commented about how easy he was making the scan.  There may have even been a few "amazings" dropped in the conversation.  Good job little guy!  When it was all said and done, we were once again told that everything was just as it should be.  His heart looks healthy, his weight is spot on and he's pretty darn cute to boot!

It's insane too me how much I already think that he looks like his big brother and sister!  

I can't stop staring.

I've raved about our doctors here before - Charlotte's cardiologist, Dr. Sami, her heart surgeon, Dr. Hammel - but I don't think that I've given an appropriate amount of credit to the man who has taken care of ME through all of the chaos.  If you are EVER in a situation where you need to be followed by a high-risk OB, please please please go visit Dr. Robert Bonebrake at Methodist Women's Hospital.  I love him.  Seriously.  100 gold stars.  This man has welcomed both of our children into the world (even though I wasn't high-risk with H) and is one of the most compassionate, comforting, down to Earth physicians I have ever met.  He's wiped away my tears on many occasions (today included) and never lets me walk out the door without a hug.  And while I love that I don't have to be followed by a high-risk OB again this time around, I love that we still get to see him on these big days!

So here we sit...25 weeks, 3 days pregnant.  I've been pretty quiet about this pregnancy here on the blog.  It might have something to do with the fact that we have a crazy, goofy little boy running all over the place these days!  I'm starting to see why my baby book was a little more bare bones than my sister's who came before me.  I promise, baby boy, it doesn't mean that I love you any less!  

Curious what else is happening on the baby front?

-I continue to feel FANTASTIC!  Yes, heartburn has started to rear its nasty head...but nothing near what I know is in store for me in the next few months!

-I can still fit into my favorite pair of non-maternity jeans....BUTTONED even!  Their days are limited, though.  Guaranteed.

-They told us today that this little peanut weighs about 1 pound 11 ounces.  That means I'll only gain about 6 more pounds during this pregnancy, right?!?!

-Our list of names is shrinking (in a good way!)  We always keep the final decision to ourselves until d-day....so don't hold your breath for a big reveal!  

-My sweet tooth is out of control.  Period.

-A new baby started at Harrison's daycare this week, and rumor has it, we have a little big of jealousy to contend with!  Turns out H likes being the center of attention...go figure!

Sticking with tradition, I took my 24 week belly picture wearing the same shirt that I wore with Charlotte and Harrison.  What can I say...I'm a little bit weird like that!

Charlotte - 24 weeks

Harrison - 24 weeks

Ba-ba-ba-baby #3 - 24 weeks

The days weeks months seem to be flying by, and this little guy will be here before we know it.  We're so excited to meet you, baby boy!

Say CHEESE!

Harrison finally had his "official" 1 year pictures taken a few weeks back, and though he tried his best to beat himself up the night before (translation, fell flat on his face in the driveway), his pictures turned out AMAZING.  I promise that I'll give you a sneak peek of his cuteness...but I feel like I need to give a little bit of background into why these pictures were extra special to our family. 

Rewind to 2010.  We were living in Sioux Falls with our little girl.  She was happy, thriving, and rapidly approaching her first birthday.  First birthdays are a big deal.  First birthdays in the heart community are big beyond explaination. Anyway, one night I got a phone call from my sister Jill "proposing" a gift that she and her family wanted to give to Charlotte for her birthday...a one-year photo session with the amazing Amanda Fish.  Jill and her family have been going to Amanda for years, and their pictures are always beautiful.  While hesitant to accept such a large gift, I was very excited for the opportunity.  I just knew that Amanda was the perfect photographer to capture the true beauty of our sweet Charlotte.

We scheduled Charlotte's session with Amanda for the same weekend as her first birthday.  We were going to be back in Omaha for Matt's sister's graduation and for Charlotte's big birthday celebration, so the timing was perfect.  That weekend rolled around and on the morning of our session we woke up to find lots of clouds, lots of gloom, and lots of rain.  All.  Day.  Long.  Not a good thing for outdoor photos!  The simple solution would have been to move the session indoors, but knowing that Amanda's specialty is natural light photography, we opted to reschedule for another day.  We went about our weekend, celebrated Charlotte's one year milestone with family and friends, and headed back home knowing that the photos would have to wait.

Two weeks later, she was gone.

Her photo session left unused.  Her brand new picture outfit left hanging unworn in her closet. 

I've regretted rescheduling that session for so long. 

Sigh. 

So now here we are.  Two years later.  Harrison turned 1 in June, and again, my phone rang.  Jill and her family were never able to follow through with their photo session gift with Charlotte, but in a tearfilled conversation let me know that they wanted to do the same for Harrison.  We graciously accepted.  It took me over a month to get the date on the calendar, and no face-plant, forehead goose egg was going to get me to reschedule.  I snapped a few photos of our bruiser's injury and sent them to Amanda who assured me that she could work some of her magic to disguse the lump/bruise.  As long as I could help it, these pictures were happening!

The night of our session was absolutely perfect.  The sun was shining.  The temperature was just right.  And Harrison gave us some killer smiles/giggles with just a little (or a lot) of goofy entertaining from mom and dad.  Amanda sent us the link to our online gallery last night....and I haven't stopped smiling since.  I'm pretty sure Charlotte was smiling down on us that evening.

Our little boy is pretty darn adorable.  If you need proof....

Thank you, Amanda, for sharing your talent with our family.  We've been waiting two whole years to have this "one year" photo session with you and couldn't be happier with the results of that night!  You captured Harrison's personality perfectly - his grins, his shy glances with his finger in his mouth, his fake half cry/half smile, his goofy giggles.  These pictures mean more to me than you could ever imagine.

If anyone in the Omaha area is looking for a photographer...call Amanda Fish Photography.  I promise that you won't regret it!  The professional pictures on H at the blog header were also taken by Amanda and were just as perfect as his year ones.  We can't wait for Baby Ritchie #3 to get here so that we can finally have her take some family photos!