Summertime in CO

It has been a while since we have updated the blog. Since I have taken the summer off from grad school I figured I would procrastinate my house projects/honey do list and give blogging a whirl.


Every year field day marks the end of the school year. It is hard to believe that our eldest daughter is done with 4th grade. The whole family went up to have lunch with Kate for field day. Here are the Ritter girls enjoying the sunshine! (It was on this exact day last year, Kate's field day, that we found out we were expecting baby Grace. -SR)


While we were at school we got to tour the halls and see the Sand Creek Art Show. Kate was very proud that she had four pieces of her art on display. She is a very talented artist.


We also got to see the tape manikin that Kate made with two friends in art class. They each made tape wrappings of the Kate's torso, arms, and legs and then put them together to make the sculpture. You might recognize the blue dress and leggings. Kate wanted to make sure their manikin was fashionable for the art show.


Kate had her first dance recital in Colorado. It was at the University of Denver theatre. Quite a swanky place. On the way in, we passed a huge stone sculpture that included a chair. As you can see, Kate still has some growing to do.


Before the show, we ran into one of the girls from her ballet class whose name is Grace. They are hoping that they will have a class together again this fall.


Once it was time for the show to start, we found our seats in the balcony. Kate didn't perform until the after the first intermission. Believe it or not, there were three intermissions during the show. I thought this action shot came out pretty good for our little camera from so far away.


The next adventure of the summer was to deliver Kate to girl scout camp. This year she went to Magic Sky Ranch which is northwest of Fort Collins which is about 3 hrs from our house. The drop off day was on a Sunday, so Dad, Kate, and Grace loaded up and headed out. The trip went pretty smooth and on our way down the camp road we had some wildlife there to greet us. (And pick up was on a rainy Friday; the 3 hour trip ended up taking us almost 6 hours because our little one screamed most of the way up & the whole way home, even with Mom or Dad sitting in the back. I think by the end of the car ride we were all crying! -SR)


Magic Sky Ranch was pretty cool. Sarah and I both tell Kate how lucky she is to get to go to camp in the mountains every summer. After we checked in, we walked back over to Kate's cabin to drop her off. We passed a huge rock and decided to see if Kate could hold it up. Who needs man strength?


When we got back to her cabin, we made sure she had everything and Dad actually got a hug and kiss this year. This is a picture of us in front of the cabin.


Now that Grace is getting bigger, it is pretty rare that she will fall asleep laying on Dad. This is a pretty special picture!


Our next trip after Kate got back to camp was to Smith Center so that Grandma and Grandpa could meet Grace and so we could deliver Kate to Nana Laurie and Papa Homer. She spent almost a month with them this summer in Kansas City and Bella Vista. We got some great pictures of Grace with Grandma Neola.


Our cousin Pax William rode to Smith Center with Nana Laurie and Papa Homer. He and Kate had a great time playing in the water playset in the backyard! (After playing with Pax in Smith Center & Kansas City, Kate is convinced that she needs a little brother too. Maybe you will have a son one day dear? Yesterday she told me that she should get some say in how many children we have, since she is a part of the family too. Nice try, but no cigar. -SR)


Grace even put on her swimsuit too, but the water was a little too cold, and she wasn't to sure about Pax splashing the water. -AR

I guess I will take over from here since AR is not finished yet & neither is my honey-do list. Thank you dear, now that I know you know how to blog, you can't claim not knowing how as a reason not to blog (did that make sense)?


I title this picture "So Kate, tell us how you really feel?" (Click on the picture to enlarge for a closer look at the facial expression). Getting Kathyrn to ride her very expensive birthday present is like pulling teeth. You would think we were asking her to go bungee jumping into a volcano. The conversation usually goes something like this:

AR & SR - "Kate, we are going for a walk up to the open space, then you can ride your bike while we are there."

Kate - (Sits in sheer terror thinking of any possible reason on earth why she can't possibly ride her bike today)... Awkward silence... Crickets chirping...

AR & SR - "Hello Kathryn, did you hear us?"

Kate - "Huh?"

AR & SR - "We are going up to the open space & you are riding your bike, capeesh?"

Kate - "Why don't we just go for a walk with the dogs, plus my stomach hurts, what if I fall off, Dad will let go, how about later, why not tomorrow, bike... what bike, want to read a book or magazine, maybe even an encyclopedia, umm... (nervous laughter) what did you say again?"

AR - (in a calm voice) - "Kate has Dad ever let you fall? I will be right there with you. It with be okay, you will see. Come on, how about we go just for a little bit and then you can have some ice cream & camp out in our room tonight."

SR - (at the exact same time & in a "stern" voice - as Kate would call it) - "Kathryn Elisabeth, we are going for a bike ride, that is final, some people don't even have a bike, like mom, let alone a nice one like you, now you keep your mouth shut, get on your bike and stop being a wussy."

AR - "Kate, don't cry, just ignore Mom, she is obviously cranky. Honey, when was the last time you ate something?"

SR - "Excuse me? Clearly that is not the case, forget this, we'll try again tomorrow."

Kate - (Sighs under her breath, "Victory!")

RIDICULOUS!


Another, much less traumatizing sport of jump roping. She came home from Kansas jump roping. Have you jumped rope lately? It takes up quite a bit of energy, therefore, I am sure that is why Nana Laurie adopted it as Kathryn's nightly activity. Very wise!


Grace didn't mind Papa Homer snacking on her foot, but if he kissed her face with his mustache then she was not happy. It was actually pretty funny. Whenever she thinks she is hurt there is always a delayed reaction prior to the scream. Andrew now shaves on the weekend for his baby girl because "she doesn't like it when my face is scratchy." Me neither princess!


This was right before our nightly meltdown, in which Grace lets us know that it is time for her bath. Grace doesn't mind when Nana or Papa holds her, which is nice, and she will tolerate Kate for a little while (minutes). She loves watching Kate & smiles and coos at her all the time, but she doesn't really want Kate to hold her. I get the "Mother, what have you done" face whenever Kate has her for longer than a few seconds, followed shortly by crying, in which Kate then hands her back like a smelly piece of garbage. I have come to the point where I "wear" my baby everywhere in her pouch, don't offer for people to hold her, and if they ask to, preempt it by letting them know that it isn't them, it's Grace, and she doesn't like anybody except for me & Andrew, and his parents (thank God). My mom is coming to visit soon, but I have yet to meet a baby that doesn't love her, so I am not worried.

On another note, thank you Laurie & Homer for a wonderful visit! We had fun at the museum (pictures on my blackberry, forgot the camera that day), and all the good food & wine that came along with our time together. Summer has quicky become one of my favorite times of year because we look forward to spending time with both sets of our parents, who work in education and have the summers off. Love to you all!


Grace has adopted her high chair as her favorite place to sit when not being held. Finally we can cook dinner again before the other parent gets home from work! We tried bananas & apple sauce last week, but she got a raging stomach ache, followed by an awful night of screaming, and we decided she wasn't quite ready for solids yet. Funny enough, I think I started feeding baby Kathryn at 3 1/2 months without issues, and Grace is almost 6 and is not ready yet? Well, whatever... as long as she likes to play in her high chair, we are all happy.


This is our upstairs bouncy, that Grace sits in & plays with her rubber ducky while Andrew or I takes a shower. She is pretty happy if you leave the door cracked so she can see you, and doesn't seem to mind that her legs are soaked by the time you get out. What a funny little creature she is! I look forward to comparing her personality when she is older back to when she was a baby. Baby Kathryn was a very easy going baby, and not that she is super high strung, but she definitely has my personality now. Maybe since Grace is so high maintenance now, she will be super laid back like her old man later on. One can hope.


We are rolling over both ways (when we feel like it of course), and almost sitting up without help. Everywhere we go I always get, "wow, your baby is so big"; yes my baby is a chunk, I don't over feed her (and by the way, you can't over feed a breastfed baby), and hello, Andrew & I are not tiny people. Yes she is quite chubby, healthy, and perfect that way! We go for our 6 month check up next week, at which point I will share with you the stats of our baby chub-a-lub! I have no doubt she will be in the upper percentile.


Daddy is pretty smitten with his girls. I've asked him before is he hopes for a boy in the future, and the answer is always the same, "Nope, I love my girls!" And that is very apparent Ritter:) -SR

Birthday, Wedding, Baptism

We had such a lovely weekend (almost a month ago now), I took off from work; Friday we celebrated Kate's 10th birthday; Saturday Andrew, Grace & I attended Luz & Tylor's wedding; Sunday we baptized Grace; and all this while Nana Laurie & Papa Homer were here visiting. Lots of pictures ahead, 25 to be exact! I knew this would be a long post, and therefore I have been putting it off. Well, here it goes.


Friday when Kate walked in the door from school, she was ready to see what preparations had been done for her guests, who would be arriving in less than an hour. Nana Laurie did the grocery shopping & the majority of the preparations for our gourmet cooking themed party (and sleep-over), and with Grace in her pouch, I was merely the helper.


Nana Laurie made these aprons for each one of the girls, complete with embroidered names & embellishment! How many weeks of preparation did she spend before coming to Denver? I even got an apron that was black with ruffles & pink lining, also with my name embellished!


We cleared out the formal dining area, aka baby play room, for a place for the girls to sleep. Grace & I wrote on Kate's easel, and Andrew picked up the balloons on his way home from work. If I had a scanner, I would scan in the invitations we sent out. They were fabulous! Little aprons with the invite stuffed in the pocket. My favorite part of any party is the invitations & thank you notes. I love stationary... Hallmark, Papyrus, you name it!


Nana Laurie also made each one of the girls a cookbook to take home with the recipes we prepared that evening. Here the girls are toasting with pink lemonade & shirley temples. For appetizers there were vegetable spring rolls & Kate's version of bruschetta (tomato, basil, olive oil on top of a toasted crustini); the main course included pizza squares & inside-out cheeseburgers; the dessert round was decorate your own mini cupcakes, marshmallow squares, & Oreo truffles. Andrew & I traded off Gracie and helped where we could, but Nana really ran the show.


10 year old girls being goofy! Every picture I took of them, we did a serious one, then a goofy one. Oh to be 10 years old again without a care in the world! (And to convince Kathryn to just enjoy being a kid and not try to grow up too fast, is a whole other issue in and of itself).


All the girls with their lovies, some dating back 10 years, others brought their latest and greatest Webkin. Some girls have 20+ Webkins. Kate probably has somewhere between 10-15. For those who don't know, these are little stuffed animals that come with a code that you put in the Webkin website where you get to name your animal, decorate their room/house, earn money by playing educational games, do virtual gardening, feed & care for your pet, and meet up with your friend's Webkins at the park or playrooms. Sound like fun?


Whenever Kate is having a melt down or too hyper or just needs a reality check, Andrew has always done this with her. "Time for a deep breath, come on, do it with me", you breath in while lifting your arms in the air, then out while lowering your arms. It was getting quite loud before bed, Laurie & I were in the kitchen, and we hear Andrew say "okay girls, time for some deep breathing, do it with me." Had to grab the camera for that one!


After reading the back of 3 movies aloud, discussing the options at length, then voting, the girls decided on The Princess Bride for movie time. Perfect choice, nice and slow, so we were hopeful that they would fall asleep sooner rather than later. They brushed each others hair, and decided they needed some popcorn, after brushing their teeth of course. "Really girls, you are still hungry after all you ate tonight?" Growing boys eat a lot? Watch out, growing girls can put it away with the best of them. Sometimes Kate eats more than Andrew & I. Umm, where are you putting all that?


After water, a coughing spell, talking/whispering, giggling, many trips to the bathroom, and a few friendly reminders, the girls finally fell asleep, somewhere between 11 & midnight I imagine. Peaceful; still the sweetest when they are sleeping!


In addition to their aprons & cookbooks, the girls took home these goodie boxes ala Nana Laurie filled with the dessert goodies from the night before. I had never had Oreo truffles before, but you better believe I'll be making them again. Yummy!

Thank you Nana Laurie for all that you did to make Kathryn's 10th birthday a very special & memorable one! We appreciate you for all that you do!


Papa Homer was wise and arrived the next morning right before the girls left. He is quite taken with his newest granddaughter and was ready for some Papa/Gracie time right when he walked in (after washing his hands of course). Just for the record, he sings to her in Latin while rocking her in the lazy boy in the nursery. It is too sweet! Grandpa's with their granddaughters is really a special thing to watch.


Our little sweetie pie, who is turning out to be a perfect blend of Andrew, Kate and I. On a side note, she had her 4 month check up last week and is doing wonderfully, growing appropriately & developmentally, hitting all important milestones right on time. Now for the stats: 15 1/2 lbs (80th percentile), 25" (65th percentile), and head 41.7 cm (70th percentile). The pediatrician said breastfed babies are generally chunkier in the beginning, and round out later after solids are started. We have a few more months before we start solids, so our little butterball may get even chubbier. I had a friend at work tell me that babies should be fat, there is just something not right about skinny babies, and imagine this being said in your best "Aunt Jemima" like voice/accent.


Gracie at the ceremony of our friend's wedding. She was quite well behaved, we were impressed; although I did bring the pouch, which she stayed in for most of the evening. This was also the first time that all of Andrew's friends from college were able to meet baby Grace.


Andrew, Grace and I with Tylor & Luz at their wedding reception. Don't they look lovely! These are some of Andrew's friends that have been dating since the beginning of college, so for close to 10 years. I think everybody pretty much considered them married, and we are so pleased that they finally tied the knot & joined the ranks. Andrew said that this was probably the last time everybody would be together in the same room, as Luz & Tylor were friends with everybody.

On another subject, isn't Grace's carrier too cute? For those looking for a carrier that won't kill your back (like the Baby Bjorn), and that you can use to carry them in the front, back, and hip until 45 lbs, then check out the ERGObaby. I LOVE this carrier and take it everywhere. I don't even bother carrying her in anywhere in her infant carseat because I know she will not last in there. She can sleep & nurse in here, and I can get things done because I have both of my hands. They even made "suck pads", those white things that the baby can chew on, then you can remove and wash. The only think I haven't figured out is how to change her diaper in here? Rest assured, I may figure it out before it is all over with.


While we were at the wedding, Nana & Papa took Kate to the rec center for some indoor swimming. I know they had a wonderful evening together, and Kate got some much needed one on one attention. Nana also took her to the Museum of Nature & Science that weekend, but that picture didn't make the cut. I started with 40 pictures and decided I had to trim it down.


The next morning prior to getting ready for church, Kate & Grace doing their morning routine of hanging out in Mom & Dad's bed. I love seeing my girls together! We are so lucky to have two healthy, beautiful, intelligent young girls and are enjoying all the special moments that entails. Who knows what the future might hold, the possibilities are endless!


Grace's baptism was so very special! We stood up there as a family and took the vows to raise Grace in the church and in God's word. It wasn't too long ago, only 3 1/2 years to be exact, that we stood up as a family and took the same vows for Kathryn. What a glorious moment and one we will never forget!


An upclose shot of our baby girl. She wore the same dress that my mother made for my dedication to the church when I was a baby. It was just perfect! Our good friends Brittany & James joined us and took pictures for us to remember this day by. Can you tell that Daddy is proud?


Reverend Cindy said a few words to the big sister who had attended the baptism class with us. Kathryn of course had questions during the class and Cindy referenced them during the baptism. And for those who know Kathryn well, they were very thought out, in depth questions, and the people attending the class were quite impressed. At this moment, however, her exact questions have seemed to allude me. Kate also walked around the sanctuary with Cindy while she was introducing Grace to the congregation.


Not to lessen or down play the significance of this moment, but this picture reminds me of the movie The Lion King where Simba is held out over the cliff for all to admire. Andrew concures.


The actual baptism with the sprinkling of water on Grace's precious little head. I love that Kate wanted to be a part of everything. She wanted to carry Grace back to our seats afterwards, but it made me nervous having her carry Grace down the stairs, so I said no. She was very disappointed.


But then her opportunity came during Children's Time, when they call all children to come to the front of the church. She looked at me, "please Mom?", so I let her take her. After service she said to me, "Mom, did you hear when I carried Grace up to the front how everybody said "Ahhh"?" Yes Kate, I did. Boy was she a proud big sister that day!


Grace sitting in Mommy's lap during service, no doubt taking it all in. This is after we spent most of the service in the hallway making lots of noise, nursing, and needing our diaper changed multiple times. What a busy little baby she is when I don't want her to be, and not when I have the time. Babies will definitely teach you a lesson in patience, and lessening your grip on a strigent schedule. You think you are going to do one thing and the baby dictates otherwise. Fortunately when they are 10, you are able to regain control (for the most part).


Afterwards we went out to lunch with Andrew's parents, and Brittany joined us too (James had to head out to work). I love this picture. It captures the essence of the day perfectly, beauty in its purest form, children being children. Kate picked this dress out with Aunt Justina for her birthday for this occasion. Do you think we had to twirl in the dressing room to make sure it made the cut? Absolutely!

What a wonderful weekend, that we will never forget! -SR

My Nephews

I have 2 younger sisters, Rachel & Anna, who both live in Texas. Anna, the youngest, aka Aunt Boo, is not married (yet, uh hum, Daryl, time to propose already), but has built a brand new house that she & Daryl will be moving into this summer. My other sister, Rachel, the middle child, is married to Uncle Richie, and they have 2 boys. We do have an older brother also, Daniel, who is divorced (a good thing), and has two adorable kidos, a boy (Stephen) & a girl (Linnea). You may be asking why I am telling you all of this? Before I launch into this post, I just thought you should have some background information on my siblings and our kidos. On a side note, Rachel & I are convinced that no matter how many children we would have, she would always have boys & me girls. Hence, I don't have an overwhelming desire to have a boy because my nephews (all though far away) are very special to me.


This is Gavin Pierce, he was born in August of 2009. I haven't met him yet in person, but am looking forward to meeting him this fall. I hear he is a very sweet natured baby, always happy, and he does coo affectionately at his Aunt Sarah on the phone. I am also planning on getting Skype set up for my Houstonian family so that we can "see" each other more regularly.


Mister Gavin in my parent's backyard, Gram & Pops, riding in his wagon. He has such twinkly little eyes that he got from his dad. All of us Laughlin kids have giant eyes and he is the first grandbaby to not have these. We think that is a blessing, see next.


Gavin with his Aunt Boo! The whole reason I decided to do this post was to ask for prayers for my youngest nephew Gavin. He was diagnosed just a couple weeks ago with a very rare (like one in a million) congenital anomaly called Morning Glory Disc Anomaly. As you can see, his left eye is crossed, and he is also mostly blind in that eye. There is no cure for this. They have started him on wearing a patch on his right eye to strengthen what little sight he does have on the left side. He hates this, as you could imagine, going from seeing just fine to barely being able to see & not being able to understand why would be very upsetting. We know that God can heal all & provides miracles everyday. We are thankful that there are no developmental issues associated with this and that he does have sight. Of course, Nurse Aunt Sarah did as much research as she could and guess what... there isn't much of anything on this because it is so rare. The most I learned was on a message board for people living with this disorder.

So here is what I need from you... Prayers! I know that God has wonderful things in store for this little one and I also know that God never gives anyone more than they can handle. It breaks my heart to think that he may get made fun of in school, because let's face it, that's what kids do. I pray that God helps the doctors he sees have the knowledge to give him the best treatment available, and from that that Gavin has the best possible outcome. I also pray that God gives Gavin the strength in life to stand up to those who don't understand and therefore say hurtful things. Most of all, I say thanks that he has sight in his right eye & that so far there are not any other comorbidities associated with this that we know of. I feel very blessed that Gavin is a part of our family and is a happy, healthy, normal baby boy!


This is Ethan Nicholas, Gavin's proud big brother. He is and has always been a character. He wants to be just like his Pops! He is wearing a pair of cowboy boots that belong to my dad, the only pair that he is "allowed" to wear. Ethan is also very mischievous, he wants to do grown up things just like "Pops"! This gets him into trouble a lot! And although he is almost 5 years old, you can't take your eyes off of him or you never know what you might find.


He is ALL boy! Like I said before, whatever Pops is doing, Ethan is doing too. My mom said that she wouldn't put it past him to try and use one of my dad's power tools that he has seen him use, so for that reason, my dad only works with these when he is not home or out of sight.


Mister Ethan being his normal goofy self. I wish I had a picture of the face he makes when he knows he is being mischievous. I am sure I do somewhere; or Mom send me one if you are reading this, you know the face.

Anyway, these are my precious nephews and as close to sons as I will ever have. Thanks for letting me share my extended family with you! -SR


Thanks Aunt Boo for sending me this one of Ethan when he was 3 years old. This captures that infamous mischievous face he makes perfectly. What a pumpkin!