Cecilia update

Now that I've done a general update it is time for one specific to Cecilia. A few weeks ago we put the toddler conversion piece on her crib so she can get in and out of it by herself. I was a little worried about her staying in bed during nap time (quiet time most days) but over all thought she would do well. And she has. She stays in her bed for nap time until I come get her and no problems at night. The only problem has been in the morning. She really needs to fully wake up before she gets out of bed or she is really grouchy, and sometimes she doesn't stay in there long enough. But I think that is getting a lot better now too.

The second way Cecilia is becoming a big girl is potty training. We started the day after we converted her crib. I was thinking about potty training her right before I got sick and obviously decided to put it off. So I think she has been ready for awhile. Right before we started Shaun and I were talking and he mentioned how we had to get our carpets cleaned after the water pipe incident anyway and how I wasn't going to feel any better than I do now so it really is the best time to potty train her. He was right of course, I just needed the push to make me take the leap. Monday morning we put her in panties, talked about them, and said no looking back. It was so much easier than I thought and probably should have done it long ago. But a month or two really doesn't make that much of a difference in the long run. She had two accidents the first day, one the second, and none for the rest of the week. She has only had a few accidents here and there since then. We have been so amazed and proud of her. We've even taken a vacation with plane rides and busy days and she had two small accidents the whole week. I can only hope all of our children will be this easy to potty train, hope is the operative word.

Mexico pics

Two weeks ago we went on a family vacation. Now that I'm feeling better I've been dying to get out and go somewhere, somewhere warm. I was first thinking about Costa Rica because there was this incredible place we stayed at for one night on our honeymoon that we've dreamed about going back to. But once I looked into the flights (10-12 hours) and then driving a car to the beach from the airport (a few more hours) I decided that was too much for an almost 3 year old and pregnant woman to do. So then I looked at where we could go on a direct flight on Delta (Shaun has miles). That narrowed it down to a couple of places in Mexico and finally settled on Cancun. In just over 4 hours we could be in a tropical place with warm ocean water and tons of things to do. It was perfect. We asked my parents to come, they have done so much for us, especially with this pregnancy and we thought they would enjoy the vacation too (which they say they did). We swam in the ocean, played on the beach in the super soft white sand, snorkeled in caves and caverns and in the ocean with fish and turtles, saw some Mayan ruins, watched a Mayan fire dance, saw tons of butterflies and different kinds of birds, and were woken up by a flock of flamingos. All of which Cecilia was able to do. Not to mention the yummy Mexican food we ate. Only when we vacation to Mexico do we come home and want to make/eat more Mexican food. Shaun and I want to go back to Playa del Carmen just so we can go back to Yaxche and try more dishes. He wants to convince the owner to open a restaurant in the states :) It was that good.

Playa del Carmen was the perfect vacation and the only reason I got on the plane to come home was I wanted a good night sleep without being woken up by a ton of birds at 6 am (Cecilia needed it too, she slept almost 15 hours the first night we were home). I was also hoping my swollen ankles would go down (which thankfully they have, but probably only temporarily). In fact I felt really good the whole time we were there. I hardly had any nausea despite waking up at 6 am every morning. I don't know if it was vacation, the elevation, the warmth, the humidity or what, but I felt great. The few days after we got home I felt really crappy and wanted to hop on a plane to stay in Cancun 'til this baby is born. But my doctor told me I really didn't want my baby born in Mexico and that I should stay here. We'll just have to keep Cancun on our list to revisit someday, there was so much we didn't get to do, the zoo, Chitzen Itza, swimming with dolphins, and of course more food :)

Here are a few pics at Tulum.

Life update

Usually when it has been a long time between posts I say "I can't believe it has been that long since I posted" but this time it feels like forever. This is because my last post was before the fog of pregnancy set in. And anyone who has been caught in a storm can attest to, time goes so slowly it seems to stand still when you can't see 2 feet in front of you and you have a long way to go to get out of the storm. I'm sure all of our readers are aware that we are expecting, if not this is your announcement. One thing not all of you may know is, we are going to have a baby GIRL in June. We are very excited to have another girl. Cecilia is so girly that a sister will be much more fun for her. Plus we already have all of the clothes and I know what to do with little girls.

Back to the reason I haven't posted. This baby girl made me very sick. Late October I was in the hospital for about 4 days because I couldn't keep anything down, liquid or food (and hadn't for a couple of days). Finally after IVs for a couple of days I kept down some ice cream and they sent me home with an order for 2L of IV fluid 3 times a week until Christmas. Many people have said "how horrible, having to get an IV 3 times a week" to which I say "it was my life-line, I loved going." Needless to say I was worthless at home. I couldn't take care of Cecilia, or the house. We had so much help during that time, neighbors, friends, and mostly my mom who came and stayed with us for days at a time weeks on end. Thank heavens she and Cecilia get along so well together, it eased the fact that I dropped off the face of the earth. Shaun had to pick up extra duty too and we hunkered down for 10 weeks on survival mode. Hence no postings. We didn't go anywhere, we didn't entertain, I hardly saw anyone that whole time. People at church thought Shaun was a single dad. It was rough. But the silver lining was I knew it would end and knew about when that would be from my pregnancy with Cecilia. It was what we all clung to during that time get to Christmas/New Years. My trips to the IV clinic made me grateful my illness was temporary and not chronic like so many others there. And gratefully it did, around Christmas I stopped throwing up and started the slow recovery to life. Not full life, that doesn't come to until after the baby, but manageable life.

It came at a good time too, right before Christmas Shaun's grandfather passed away and we had family come and a funeral. What a blessing we had already planned on having Christmas here with his family anyway. It was an enjoyable holiday, way too many presents though. Took us all day to open them and Cecilia is a true Ritchie and wants to play with each present she opens rather than open another present.

I was excited for New Years, a new year with a new baby and put all of the illness I had last year behind us. A fresh start. Well we had a big surprise waiting for us New Years day when we got home from church. A pipe broke in our attic, soaked the insulation and dry wall which fell in our entryway, spraying insulation all over the entryway, front stairs, front room, half bath and down the hall to the family room. Plus water was pouring down the wall and dripping from the hole soaking the hardwood, carpet and stairs. It found a way down into the basement behind walls and reached the carpet in the basement. I was the first to get home while Shaun walked home with Cecilia. I stared shocked for probably a full minute before I came to my senses and ran for the phone to call Shaun and run downstairs to turn off the main water valve (which gratefully I knew where it was and you should too). Happy New Year to us. When Shaun and Cecilia came running in the door they also stared in unbelief and then Cecilia said "why is there dirt all over our house?" referring to the insulation splattered everywhere. It struck me really funny and helped me relax and get to work. We had some great neighbors come help us sop up the water and get things drying. But soon realized this was pretty extensive damage and decided to call our insurance. Here we are, almost 2 months later and still tying up loose ends in the repair. But it could have been worse so we count ourselves lucky (we didn't have to refinish all of the hardwood floor throughout the whole main level). Well that is about it for the general update. We are still happy to be in a New Year and wish you all one as well.

My Pooh bear and hers.

Happy Halloween! This is probably the last year we will get away with a non-princess costume for a while so we had to take advantage of it. Isn't she so cute? Daddy got to take her trick-or-treating and she got a "couple" of pieces of candy which was more than mom would have let her eat. She loved it so much didn't want to stop. She knocked on our door and after it was answered wanted to leave again.

Engagement!

Shaun's brother Mike came to visit us two weeks ago and I've been meaning to write a long post about the excitement we had while he was here. But then I noticed he did it for me, and better than I could do it. So head over to his blog and read all about it, it's worth your time.

http://ritchierambler.blogspot.com/2011/10/so-big-news-is-that-on-october-8th-i.html

Cecilia on the 80 yr old carrousel

Shaun had free tickets to lagoon so we decided to invite my parents and go. Saturday was the perfect day to do it too. The sun was shining, and warm. I'm sure it was the last short sleeve and flip flop day of the year. We really couldn't ask for a better day and tried to take advantage of it. Ceessa got to ride every ride she wanted to, include her favorite, the carrousel. The adults got to ride several rides too and fun was had by all. Couldn't ask for a better mid-October day!

Albuquerque

I almost forgot to tell you about our trip to Albuquerque. We went down to see the balloon festival. It was the most fun I've had getting up at 4:30 in the morning. They were trying to set a world record for the most hot air balloons set off in an hour. I don't know if they made it or not but I heard there were about 500 balloons that took off in two hours. It was so much fun and I went crazy taking pictures. Here are a few.

The next day Shaun, his mom, his brother, and his girlfriend (now fiancee) went on a balloon ride. They said it was really cool and got to touch the river with the bottom of the basket. Here are a few of their pictures.

It was another sleepless weekend with the Ritchie's, but again so fun.