Adore

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Adore

Ready?

GO.

The things that came to mind when I read this prompt were:

"Oh Come Let Us Adore Him"

How much I adore my little girl

How the word adore has come to have a bit of a trite meaning, as in "Adorable!" but I prefer the connotation found in "adoration" that is a bit more reverent.  Adoration, to me, implies respect as well.  Like, I might look up to someone with adoration and admiration.

Also, I had someone ask me today if we had taken Christmas pictures of our baby.  Well, not really.  I guess that must be a thing, but it was so difficult to get any non-blurry pictures at her 6 month photo shoot, and we really like those pictures, so we'll just keep trying to get some mileage out of those.  You can look forward to her 1 year mark in February when I guess we're supposed to feed her copious amounts of cake and get stunningly cute photos at the same time.  

Caroline can now wave, recognizes "hi" and "bye," and mumbles "all done" after I say it (it's happened at least 3 times, so I think it's legit).  She is VERY close to walking - maybe after Christmas we'll finally have one of those baby-taking-first-steps videos.  I kind of think I'll be too excited to hold still to videotape anything, but we'll see if I can't find a third party in the room to capture the moment.

Prepare

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Prepare

Ready?

GO.

This week I studied Luke 1.  In verses 46-55, Mary praises God.  This section of scripture is generally known as the Magnificat, or Song of Mary.  Obviously, this song of praise comes before Christ is born in Luke 2.

I like the idea of songs of praise preparing us for something.  I like the Primary song "I Wonder When He Comes Again," will heaven's angels sing?  I like singing Christmas songs to prepare us to celebrate Christ's birth.

So with that, I am off to play my clarinet as part of a community band - it's our annual Christmas concert at a local rest home!  I have to admit, the absolutely best piece we are playing this year is "The Grinch."  Next time you hear "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" on the radio, listen for the clarinet part.  Awesome.

Dear

Ooops, sorry, this was last Friday's.  Never made it from "draft" to "publish."  

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Dear

Ready?

GO.

I needed some help getting started today, so I searched for "dear" in my e-mail inbox.  Which of course is an incredible fount of knowledge.  

The search results made me laugh - they were almost entirely from my bank, the airlines, our health insurance company etc etc.  Customer service representatives.  "Dear Ms. Ritchie."

Because "Dear" is the polite, albeit formal, way to start off an e-mail.  Which  most of us don't do anymore.

Politeness and manners are really important to me.  My parents were great in that they gave us the option to respond "Yes" or "Yes Sir/Ma'am," but "Yeah" was off the table.  I thought it was a pain growing up but now I appreciate the fact that saying "Please," "Thank you," "Excuse me," "I'm sorry," come out of my mouth often before I realize.

I want being polite to become second nature to Caroline as well.  We're (as in Mike and I) are working on saying please and thank you to her if she hands us something, or puts something back in the dishwasher instead of throwing it on the floor.  You'd be amazed, but at 9 months, I'm pretty sure she already gets it.  Can't say it, and I'm sure she often thinks "Yeah, I know what you're trying to get me to but I'd rather not."  Still, the few times she's handed something to me and clapped make me clap too :)

Notice

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Notice

Ready?

GO.

My thoughts on the word "Notice" actually blend very well with the theme of giving thanks.  

First of all - who doesn't like being noticed?  I recognize that people differ in the way they prefer to receive recognition.  Some like some fanfare.  Some like a wordless pat on the back.  But we all like to be noticed in one way or another.

I am trying to become more aware of things people do that I am grateful for, and consciously and verbally acknowledge my gratitude toward them.  I especially try to do this with Mike (secret's out, Mike, now you know).  I think about how much I love it when Mike notices something I've done, so I figure if he filled up the car with gas while he was running errands, he would probably love it if I noticed and told him thank you (am I right, Mike?).  

Of course, we all notice when people don't do something.  Like if someone doesn't do the dishes or doesn't take out the trash.  When I was in high school, I remember thinking to myself "[they] Don't notice if you Do, Do notice if you Don't."  This is so true.  Homework.  Cleaning.  Brushing your teeth.  Putting on makeup.  So I want to focus more on "noticing if they Do" and complimenting people for whatever it is they've done.

Unrelated: I want to say thanks as well to those of you who read my blog.  Thanks for noticing me!  

STOP.  

Still

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Still

Ready?

GO.

Yes.  Being still is good.  

But it is also fun not to be still.  My now-9-month-old is NEVER still.  I'm sure every parent says that.  However, if I were a betting woman, AND if I had a fitbit I could strap to her, I would bet GOBS of money that my baby would win any wiggle-worm-fit-bit competition.  Anyone up for the challenge?

I love that Caroline can't hold still.  She is EVERY MOMENT excited to explore and thrilled each time she discovers something new (when you've only been alive 277 days, this happens every 5 minutes, give or take).  Lots of clapping and squealing.

A good friend of mine recently blogged about her son going off to kindergarten and having a hard time sitting still to learn.  He misses his "freeplay" at home.  I can't imagine trying to get Caroline to sit still to learn; I can't even get her to stay put to change her diaper - I have to strap it to her as she's crawling away from me at a speed you wouldn't expect from something on all fours unless it was a cheetah.  

I have to admit, I don't do too well sitting still to learn either.  I remember trying to do my homework at home, and thinking "Oh, I wish Mom would come over and help me focus!"  She usually did.  I'm still not sure how I made it through college, I fell asleep in every class.  I don't mean every class maybe once a semester.  I mean every class, every day, every semester.  That was actually the main factor in me choosing to jump into a career after college instead of pursuing a masters, as most Poli Sci majors do.  Which means I met Mike.

So, not staying still is OK.  Keep moving, Caroline.

This is Caroline with her five month old cousin!  They're buddies!  And both bald.

Leave

I can't believe this week's Five Minute Friday prompt (see http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/)  is "leave."  Can we just count my post from Monday? :)

Well, I'm sure the idea is probably for me to discuss the verb, rather than the nouns.

I've been taking a leadership course this week, and we've spent A LOT of time talking about how people are different and will think about or react to things in different ways.  For me, "leave" has a negative connotation, because I don't like to leave people and don't like it when people leave me.  But for an introvert, "leave" might have a different connotation.  "Why don't they leave already?" or "I wish they'd leave me alone."

Ok, gotta go, it's Halloween!  So exciting to be in the US and to see all the neighborkids in their Elsa dresses, I mean "in their wide variety of costumes."  So cute!!!

Leaves

Caroline LOVES leaves.  We know this because:

- She would rather eat leaves than any other food (quite literally).  She actually swallows them.

- She wildly smashed and threw and swiped at the leaves outside this afternoon and cried when I picked her up and took her inside, trying to get back down to the leaves.

- She checks everyone's shoes that come in the house, to see if they brought in any leaves she could eat.

Dare

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Dare

Ready?

GO.

OK, so in the interest of full disclosure, I took two minutes to prep this time.  That's because as soon as I saw the prompt, all I could find in my head was "Dare to do right, Dare to be true!" but I couldn't remember the rest of the Primary song, so I had to look it up.  Then I saw that the scripture reference for the song was Matthew 4:1-11.  When Jesus fasts 40 days and then is tempted by Satan.  Did the Savior "dare" to do things?  I dare say he did!  Remember how aghast the religious leaders in his town were when he started preaching in the synagogue?  And how he caused a lot of concern among the Pharisees when he would heal on the Sabbath?  The words to the song are below (sing it in your head if you know it :).  I hope we all can "dare" to do right, since these days it does sometimes take courage to be the tender voice in a conversation, to show kindness to an outcast, or to talk about your faith.

STOP.

Lyrics

1. 1. Dare to do right! Dare to be true!
   You have a work that no other can do;
   Do it so bravely, so kindly, so well,
   Angels will hasten the story to tell.
2. Chorus. Dare, dare, dare to do right;
   Dare, dare, dare to be true,
   Dare to be true, dare to be true.
   
   


3. Words: George L. Taylor, b. 1835
   Music: Arr. by A. C. Smyth, 1840-1909

   

Fall Fun

We had so much fun on the farm today.  Caroline is such a trooper - even with a yucky cold and being exhausted, she was so excited to be there.  She lit up when we saw the farm animals and walked through a hanging garden of black tubes in the corn maze.

Unfortunately, none of the happiness was caught on camera.  

Long

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Long

Ready?

GO.

Wait, am I writing about Long the Verb or Long the Adjective?  I think Kate Montaug wrote about the Verb, but looks like I'll be in good company if I write about the Adjective.

This week has been SO LONG!  Why is it that short weeks with a holiday in them always seem longer than the regular weeks?  Just goes to show that time is so relative.  

Haha, I think that's about all I have.  Maybe I would have had more to write about if I had gone for Long the Verb.  I still have three minutes, I'll give it a try.

OK, right now I am LONGING for chocolate.  And longing for playing outside in the sunshine among the pumpkins tomorrow with Caroline - we're taking her to a farm for some fall fun!  Maybe that's why the week has been so long - anticipation seems to slow time down, and dread seems to speed time up.  Pretty sure I got that from Harry Potter.  When he's trying to get ready for the challenges in Goblet of Fire.

So, the lesson here is - if time seems to be dragging on, life must be pretty good because you're anticipating something awesome coming up?  Sounds good to me.  I remember in 4th grade thinking how SLOW time was passing for me.  Must have been my first realization that the coming summer was going to be more fun than school.  I cried the day second grade ended because I didn't want school to stop.

Love how our perspective changes.  With time.

STOP.

Care

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Care

Ready?

GO.

I had a hard time just now deciding what to write about for this prompt (and sorry it's a day late.  My in-laws are in town and we've been catching up and out and about, Caroline is loving the extra attention, and I'm loving the help with her and the dishes and cooking!).

As I prepared to become a parent, and since becoming a parent, I've frequently heard some variation of this comment: "Becoming a mother/father has given me real insight into how much our Heavenly Father loves us."

I have to say I haven't had an epiphany like that yet.  When I try to compare my love for Caroline to the love I know God has for me, I find myself truly lacking and inadequate.  But rather than criticize myself, I think it actually means two things:

1) I have a sincere belief that God loves me and loves me perfectly.  I feel there is such a gap between our levels of love because I think I have been shown over and over again in life how much he loves me and takes care of me.

2) I am human and not perfect, but I know the more and more I get to know Caroline, the more and more I care about her and love her.  And the more and more I worry about her and try to protect her.  I think Mike and I are both the types of people that can easily form friendships but need lots of time (i.e. years) to really develop that friendship and come to care deeply for that friend.  I assume it's similar with kids - you have an initial love for them but it only grows. And maybe God's love for us is so perfect because he has a much longer memory than we do and has been caring for us for the past.......eternity.

And I have a husband who cares for me enough to take me to my first NFL football game!  Go Washington (Redskins)!

New

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: New

Ready?

GO.

I love fall.  And I love that it is new to Caroline.  The cooler temperatures turn her nose red, and the leaves are an endless source of fascination to her (see picture below).  

Lots of folks have warned us that as soon as we think we've got our baby figured out, she'll change and we'll have to figure things out all over again.  Sometimes this takes conscious thought, and sometimes you adapt without realizing your behavior has changed.  For instance, on our walk today, I almost pulled a flower off a bush for Caroline to play with as we strolled, but then I remembered that since her SIXTH tooth started coming in, everything goes straight into her mouth, instead of studiously turned over and over in her hands.  So, we went home to play in the leaves, and I tried to teach her to spit them out after she ate them (since another new-found talent of hers is blowing raspberries).

I know it's sad to see your baby grow up, but I am so excited for her to explore her world more and more, and I'm excited to teach her new things about the leaves she's eating, among other things.

Because

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Because

Ready?

GO.

"Because I have been given much, I too must give" is the first line of one of my favorite hymns.  I'd like to take a minute (or five) and think about all the gifts I've been given this week, and how I can pay it back or pay it forward.

Because my sweet dog (see below) gave Caroline a huge loving lick on the face last Saturday, and because Caroline loved it, I will try to spend some quality time with both of them the next time we're at my parents' house.  Poor Tess is getting older, the dog I wanted my whole life, and I'm going to give her a bit of extra attention.

Because I was in a training class all week with a group of the nicest strangers you could ever meet, I am going to try to keep in touch with them, and try to be friendlier with people I don't know very well -- it might turn out you have a lot in common and could become fast friends, even in just a week!

Because my husband helped cook dinner tonight, then did the dishes, and folded the laundry, AND has listened to me talk for two days straight about this book I just read that is not really of any interest to him (though he listens attentively), I am going to make him peach cobbler for breakfast. 

And of course, I hope by paying things back and forward, I can pay back a little bit of my debt to my Heavenly Father.  Because I have been given much.

STOP.

Hold

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Hold

Ready?

GO.

You won't believe me, but I actually picked out the "picture of the week" before I saw the prompt.  The only way Caroline will sit still long enough for us to read her a book is if we give her a bottle at the same time.  I was talking to a friend last night, who also has an exceptionally active baby, and turns out we both love it when our babies fall asleep in the car and we can carry them inside, all snuggly against us.  Both of us admit to stalling putting them in the crib, just to get a few extra minutes of that quiet peace with a baby nestled in our arms.

I have thought several times this week about how important physical touch is for humans.  I gave out a couple of extra hugs this week (one to my brother about 10 minutes ago for babysitting for us while Caroline is cutting her 5th tooth).  I hope that even though my baby is so wiggly, we can find quiet (or loud) moments to snuggle or play pattycake or eat each others fingers.

STOP.

Ready

For an introduction to Five Minute Friday, click here.

This week's one-word prompt is: Ready

Ready? 

GO.

Oh, I'm not ready to write a 5-minute blog post.  I've got a pretty terrible sinus headache this afternoon.  But I guess that's the point - we're never ready.  I've been doing a lot of introspection lately (apart from these 5-minute Fridays), and I'm realizing more and more that I am a planner, and I tend to end up with very set expectations (not necessarily high expectations, but just a pre-conceived notion in my mind of how something is going to go).  More often than not, obviously, things don't go according to plan.  Most of the time, that's a good thing!  I thought I'd join the Foreign Service, do two tours overseas, come back to the US when I was 29 and try to get married.  And instead I met Mike four months into the Foreign Service and now I'm 29 and we are married with a baby.  Or......we were really planning to go overseas again for our third tour, but ended up in DC, which turned out to be such a blessing with Caroline's colic.

So yes, when things don't go according to plan, it's usually a boon for us.  But sometimes when things don't go according to plan, it shakes me up.  I feel like I have to go through all the very intricate details about the future that I had organized in my mind and replace them one by one with reality.  With the reality I was unprepared for.  That I wasn't ready for.  Like trying to calm a screaming baby for 10 hours when I thought we would get lots of quiet, sweet cuddle time.

But now I'm trying to be ready for anything, and to just accept life in the moment, enjoy it if I can, and if not, just.....well, hang in there.  And know there will always be another moment in the future to get ready for, that won't be what I expect, but that maybe I can enjoy even more than I expected to enjoy the last moment.  Like seeing Caroline's face light up when she rode in a swing for the first time.  Biggest. Smile. Ever.

STOP.


I don't think the picture needs further explanation.

Whisper

If you missed my Five Minute Friday introduction last week, check it out here.

This week's prompt is: Whisper.

Ready?

GO.

"Whisper" makes me think of quiet people.  I had lunch today with my husband (a quiet introvert) and a friend who is also quite softspoken.  We sat outside and I thought "How on earth will they be able to understand each other?"  But quiet people are often good listeners, and they made do, despite the noise of sitting by the street.

I am going to start reading "Quiet: The Power of Introverts" or something like that (no time to look it up, have to keep writing!).  I haven't even opened it yet but I know I will love it because I'm pretty sure I already understand the premise (actually, I'm pretty sure I live with the premise).  Introverts like Mike are often misunderstood and pushed aside in our society, to make way for the loud extroverts.  Oh, extroverts have their place too - but introverts have excellent analytical, detail-oriented qualities that are often passed over in the rush of the extroverts getting their ideas out there.  Or, the introvert is labeled as "I can't read him," or "She never says hi, I don't think she likes me."

Look folks, get to know them.  And if you're an introvert, start with your fellow introverts and just try to say hi.  You don't have to be best friends right off the bat.  Or ever.  But don't let us continue muddling through life without your amazing friendships, ideas, and advice.

STOP.

Picture of the week:

My sisters' 17th birthday dinner!!!!  I can't believe it, poor girls, I think I still treat them like they're 8 sometimes.  But they are most certainly lovely young ladies and have come of age (in the wizarding world, anyway).  The introverts outnumbered the extroverts at the table that evening, but Caroline's incessant extraversion may have evened out the balance.  She won't stop moving!  She started crawling this week, and immediately tried pulling herself up on anything within reach.  All so she can be where the action is, with all the people all around her.  ALL the people.

Five Minute Friday Introduction

Hi everyone, sorry it's been awhile.  Instead of going back and trying to recap the last few months, I am going to introduce you to something called "Five Minute Friday."  I discovered it through a friend from church, Holly, and I am hoping that by writing for five minutes every Friday, I will be able to keep you all up-to-date a little better.  And since I enjoy writing, I'm hoping for a fun challenge!

So, every Friday (well, Thursday night to be exact), Kate Motaung posts a single word prompt.  On Friday, all who want to participate spend five minutes writing about that prompt.  They can then add a link to their post to her blog.  I'm probably not going to join the link party yet, since I see many of the posts are spiritual and inspiring, and mine for now are going to be random scatter-brained thoughts (and I'll always post one unrelated picture!).  But I love this idea, and I'm going to roll with it for a little while.

So, the one-word prompt this week is "Reach."

Ready?

GO.

Reach.  I've seen a lot of people reaching on the Internet lately.  They're reaching buckets over their heads (or someone else's head) and dumping ice water on themselves.  Some people found out later in the game, but I think by now everyone knows that the ice-water-dumping is to promote awareness of the disease ALS.  This is a serious degenerative disease that often strikes young men.  My Grandfather passed away from ALS, and so anytime I hear it mentioned, it kind of jolts me.  It has been, well, weird to see all these people (on Facebook, the news, in somebody's yard down the street) laughing and throwing ice water on themselves.  Like, how is this helping?  Why is everyone laughing?  But I guess it is helping, money and awareness are coming in in droves.  I don't think I'll be doing the bucket challenge, but I think I will find an organization to donate to, instead of just glumly thinking of my Grandfather and how it's too late for him.  He was already over 80 years old and had lived a full life.  I hate to think of these young fathers, professionals, athletes, husbands, never reaching their potential.

STOP.

Random picture:

Here is Caroline with her second cousin at my cousin Doris' wedding!  She (Caroline, not my cousin) isn't what you would call crawling, but rather launching herself onto her face, then picking herself up to do it again, all in the name of forward progress.

Flag Day in the USA!

(Caroline helping me with the laundry :)

Hi everyone, I am finally ready to catch you up on the last few months.  We are finally settled into our new house in Arlington, and Caroline is doing 110% better. 

Let me explain.....no, there is too much, let me sum up.  (Princess Bride :)  Pretty much, Caroline had pretty bad colic the first few months of her life.  Colic is defined as screaming 3+ hours a day (not right in a row) 3+ days a week.  There were a few weeks when Caroline could scream 10+ hours a day.  The pediatrician's office tried to reassure us at first, "All babies cry" etc etc, but after we came in and told them that in the last 24 hours she had only slept 4, they took us seriously.

We tried everything under the sun, including a really strict elimination diet for me.  After cutting dairy, then soy, then all legumes like peas and peanuts, something out there was still bothering her, but it is really hard to diagnose allergies at this age, and an elimination diet is tricky because of the lag time between when you eat and when the baby is affected.  This week, we made the switch to hypoallergenic formula, adding some rice cereal to help settle her stomach, and it has made a world of difference.  It was a little scary for awhile a few weeks back -- her stomach was bothering her so much that she was eating less and less each time, until she was hardly eating anything at all, just screaming.  She may have lost about a pound in weight, which is a lot when you only weigh 12 pounds.  We will see if she has allergy issues in the future, but we're hoping she is able to grow out of them after her stomach heals.  I definitely felt a lot of societal pressure to continue breastfeeding, but as soon as I mentioned that I wanted to switch Caroline to formula, all the doctors were very supportive.  I get the feeling that no matter how beneficial breastfeeding might be, it's not going to help as much as a happy, healthy mother, and a non-screaming baby.

Meanwhile, we've been trying to work our way back to reality.  I made pancakes this morning, and I kid you not - I felt as proud as if I had won an Olympic medal.  Bursting with pride.  Mike has been working non-stop on setting up everything in.....our new house!  We bought a townhouse in the Shirlington area, and we love it.  Parks and trails and restaurants all nearby. 

I had a bunch more I was going to blog about, but I can't remember what it was.  More later!  Here is our Flag Day picture with our brand new flag!

Moving Day

Well, the moving company showed up a day early today, to pack our stuff and send it from Argentina, South America to Arlington, VA.  We weren't quite ready with everything sorted (air freight vs slow boat vs suitcases), but we decided to roll with it instead of sending them home.  You never know, if you send them away, if they'd actually show up again on time, two days in a row.  This is Argentina.  

The movers were surprisingly efficient, and finished almost everything in just 5 hours.  I'm sorta glad they came today - Mike and I sorted everything in 20 minutes, that probably would have taken me all day today by myself (I'm easily distracted, until the pressure is on!).

In other news, Caroline is doing great!  Her intense colic/reflux appears to be due to dairy/soy/all legume allergies.  Now that I've cut those from my diet, she is doing 100% better.  She naps well during the day, sleeps mostly well at night, and is super fun to be around while awake.

Except for the fact that she is screaming her head off in my arms right now for no apparent reason.  Guess I jinxed myself.

My Mom

My Mom (Carol) just left Argentina after spending 10 days here helping us and little Caroline settle in for our last month at post.  Thank goodness she came!  

She jumped up everyone time a diaper change was needed, she got Caroline to laugh and smile, and held her for hours when she was fussy.

She let us show her around town even though I'm sure she was exhausted.  And it was so nice to know she was just across the aisle ready to help on our 10 hour flight down.

But the real thing I'm thankful for is the new bond we have now that we are both mothers.  She knows just what words if encouragement I need to hear and knows what I'm going through, and I now realize how much I've under appreciated all the sacrifices she's made over the past 28 years.

Thanks Mom!

Baby's First Nap

Well, yesterday (March 24, my blogger app is apparently not publishing) Caroline hit 6 weeks.  Poor girl still has some tummy troubles but is doing much better than the first 5 weeks.  We've tried a dozen things and we're not sure which is working but at least something is.  She went from 4 weeks of crying all day to 2 weeks of being consolable if held and rocked (but we couldn't put her down).  Yesterday she took her first nap lying down on her own!!!

Oddly enough, rather than relief, I felt kinda sad.  Though it wasn't by choice, holding her 12+ hours a day helped me get to know her really well and understand how much she was reliant on me and Mike.  She'll just keep getting bigger and bigger till she won't even fit on my lap, much less want to be held.

Well, she has been really squirmy and has needed me to hold her for the past 1/2 hour.  Guess it's a little too early to get nostalgic!  :)

One Month

We survived the first month!  And when I say "we," I mean Mike and I AND Caroline.  Poor girl has had a rough go, some serious stomach discomfort about 24/7.  My heart melts when she looks at me with those sad eyes that say "I'm TRYING to tell you what's wrong, why can't you understand me?"

Although it has been a difficult month, when I say "we survived," I really feel like our little family has had to be a team, which will hopefully be a sweet memory to look back on in the future.  I'd like to remember the countless wonderful meals Mike has made me (y'all seriously need to try his meatloaf, outta this world).  I'll remember the few quiet moments we've had with Caroline, when she made a silly face or fell asleep exhausted in our arms.

And I'll remember how funny it seemed to my sleep deprived brain when we were checking out at the pediatrician's office, the baby screaming, and the lady at the desk said knowingly "Oh, she's had her shots today!"  "No," and I thought to myself laughing, "now I know we have had a rough time if her modus operandi is what other babies reserve for getting shots." I felt strangely validated and Mike and I had a good laugh.

Caroline is a healthy eater, growing well, and we have a very attentive pediatrician's office we're working with, right across the street.  But please forgive the shortage of pictures, texts, phone calls, and blog posts.  We'll get there!  Team Ritchie is on the up and up!

One Month on March 10th

Selfie :)

Introducing.....

Caroline Mackenzie Ritchie

Born February 10, 2014

8 lbs 1 oz 

20 inches long

We're all doing great so far!  Mike and I are actually getting quite a bit of sleep (she's sleeping well, and big thanks to my mom for spelling us off for naps during the day).  It seems, however, that no amount of sleep can make up for the mental exhaustion of trying to figure out what your baby needs.  We're learning a lot, but she is a fun and beautiful baby.

Sorry for the short post, but I'm typing on my phone with one thumb, as the other has been claimed in Caroline's mourh's death grip.