.:Meet the Ritchies:.

Are you getting ready for the holidays that are fast upon us?  We have been very busy with holiday parties, DIY gift projects and cookie baking!  The girls are with their other parental units this week. so Mark and I have a few days to prepare their Christmas gifts.  We are hosting Christmas Eve at our house this year for my side of the family and I am super excited for this!  We recently hired our good friend Andrew, who happens to be a contractor, to build us a dining area that would allow us to actually sit at the table and eat dinner like a civilized family!  What a concept!  Our “dining area” is pretty much non-existent, so we had to be creative.  I had envisioned a bench seating arrangement with a long table that folds down out of the way when not in use.  Well, Andy has made it happen even more beautiful than I had pictured!  He has finished the bench and will begin work on the table after the New Year.  I can’t wait for us to be able to sit down as a family and have dinner at the table, instead of in front of the TV and actually share in some quality time with each other.  I did this as a kid, and never realized how important it was to me until I wasn’t doing it with my own family as an adult.  Here are some pics of this project…

BEFORE

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AFTER! Isn't it gorgeous??

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And the bonus part, there is storage room inside the bench!

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The girls and I made some Christmas cookies and candy on Saturday morning, because Veda was headed to ballet at 11:30am and then we wouldn’t see her again until after Christmas.  So we fit in as much as we could, and it was really fun!  I had to purchase a spritz cookie gun thing, since I don’t own one but had my heart set on some spritz cookies.  I added a little peppermint flavor to the cookie dough, and I must say it was super yummy!  The girls had a great time using the cookie gun and playing with the different shapes. And of course, the decorating part!  Then we melted some chocolates and they made some Santa and Snowman lollipops.  It was really fun, as you can tell…

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I love that she has red chocolate on her nose!

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Sorry I have not updated my weekly belly picture in awhile.  We are now 31 weeks, almost to 32 actually which means we just have two more months to go.  We get to have another ultrasound this Wednesday to see how everything is going with the placenta previa.  The doctor wants to be sure that things are good for a natural delivery, since I delivered Claire by cesarean section.  I appreciate that my doctor is taking all the necessary precautions to ensure that things go smoothly this time, but as you know, anything could happen no matter how much you prepare.

Holiday dress for work (Dress: Target, Necklace: Forever 21, Headband: My own)

We will share pictures of our holiday gatherings, and more DIY gifts (don’t want to ruin the surprise!) soon!  I hope you and yours have a wonderful (and productive, if you are like me and still have a ton of shopping to do!) week!

xoxo

Claire is playing club volleyball this winter/spring for PDX-VB on the 12 & under team “Fire”. She is really excited about volleyball and shows a lot of potential at being as talented as her Aunt Justine who plays for Clark Community College in Vancouver. Justine has played volleyball since she was Claire’s age, starting club ball at 12 and playing pretty much all year long. It paid off, as Justine is super skilled at the sport. And Claire has watched her play since she was about three, and is definitely inspired by her. So it was fitting that this weekend at Claire’s first tournament with her club team, we were at the same venue that we watched Justine play when she was Claire’s age. Of course, Claire was only three then so she doesn’t remember it. And from what I remember she got bored rather quickly, but she was a toddler, what do you expect?

Her team is made up of 10-12 year olds and includes one boy. They did really good, considering they are young and eager to learn but still very new to their positions and rotating. They played a total of three games and one the last one. But I think the fun they had was worth every minute I sat on those hard metal bleachers. I did take a padded seat thing, but I think next time I will take a blanket to fold up and sit on. The added weight I have right now takes it’s toll when sitting for long periods of time. It’s no bueno.

Anyway, I took a few pictures, and I apologize for the blurryness of them. I’m still trying to perfect the art of the action shot inside a gym. Her next tournament is in January so hopefully I can get it figured out by then! Or maybe have a new lens to paly with? Christmas is coming, after all…

Her position is "setter" and hopefully soon she'll get more comfortable with actually setting the ball instead of doing a bump set. It's easier said than done!

This is her doing an overhand serve, which is new since she started playing club. She was determined to get this down during her school season, but never quite got it. Look at her now!

High fives with her teammates after their win!

Hope you all have a great start to the week!

xoxo

On Sunday morning we headed up to the mountain to find us the perfect Christmas tree.  The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and the roads were clear.  When we got to the Zig Zag Ranger Station to purchase our tag for cutting down a tree, we finally found a little snow piled up.  The girls were excited and anxious to search out the tree.  We chose one of the forest roads and decided to park and walk a bit, mainly because the packed snow was making me nervous (I would not be okay with getting stuck because of things like, oh you know, my pregnant self needing to use the bathroom frequently, or getting hungry all the time and not having snacks on hand).  We walked a little ways up the road, the girls were having fun stomping in the snow and asking us if they could eat it (which the answer was no because it was on the road, um dirty, gross,no).

Zig Zag River

We weren’t having any luck finding a tree so we decided to load up in the trooper and try another road.  We chose Lolo Pass Rd, which seemed to be quite popular judging by the rest of the people out doing the same thing.  We drove up pretty high, until again the roads started to get a bit dicey, and parked near a couple other vehicles.  We walked up a hill and were blasted with a very, very cold wind, but still no trees.  So we decided to take some pictures and then hop back in the trooper to thaw out.

It was beautiful.. and cold...

So happy!

How about this one?

At which point Claire says “I think we should just go to a lot and buy a tree and then get some lunch, I’m starving.”   And since the rest of us admitted we had also entertained that same thought, that’s exactly what we did.  And we found the perfect Christmas tree!  Thanks to Rainbow Hill Tree Farm outside of Sandy!

What a couple of tree huggers...haha...ha

Mark chopping it down...

Then we went home and got out all of our decorations, and went to work Christmasfying our house… do you like that word?  It’s new, I just made it up…

Claire decorating herself... instead of the tree.

After chopping the tree down, Mark needed a nap... but if you fall asleep while the girls are decorating, then you are fair game!

The tree with lights!

Veda finger (and toe!) knitting a garland for the tree...

..and then placing it on the tree.

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...and one final touch, the star!

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Happy Holidays!

xoxo

Yesterday I was treated to a very special gathering of all the lovely ladies in my life to celebrate the upcoming little person currently being created in my belly!  It was SO MUCH FUN!  I could not have asked for more beautiful friends to host it for me, so a very special thank you to Brandee, Julie, Sascha & Constance!

It was really great to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends and family members, most of whom are Mom’s themselves and know that this time around I will be never far away from a “life line” should I have any questions or concerns.  They are all full of wisdom and kindness, it really doesn’t get any better than that.  I mean, seriously, if I have a question about breastfeeding (which I’m sure that I will) all I have to do is call one of them up and I know that they will have the sound advice I will need to be successful.  Or if I am nervous at all about having a natural delivery (which I didn’t have the choice of the first time around unfortunately), or what cream to use if he gets a bad rash, or what to do if my breast pump isn’t working right, the list goes on and on.  And it feels so good knowing that these wonderful people in my life will be there for us, every step of the way!   It’s been awhile since Mark and I did the baby thing, so it will be an adventure for sure!

Julie graciously hosted the party at her lovely home in Vancouver, it was the perfect setting! And Evan entertained all the ladies, melting their hearts one by one with his adorable sweater!

Sweet Matilda!

Oh beautiful baby Anika! Clearly, our little boy will have lots of girlies to flirt with!

My Mom and Stepmom

The girls painted their baby brother's name on their fingernails.

Here are all those beautiful ladies I was speaking about!

My sweet sister!

Cheers from cousin Molly!

We played the game where you guess how far it is around my belly using string...

I love these chicks! Ali, Kristi & Leah

My buddy Kira! She was cleaning up in the prize department with the games...

The lovely Morgan and sweet Matilda again!

My bestest friend Brandee!

Brandee  had the fun task of writing down who gifted us with what, and reading it later I was laughing at her additional notes.  Such as:

Mom – she’d like to have a quilt that is forest theme, you know, the next time you need a project!

Here is the quilt my Mom made, it's absolutely perfect! I can't wait to finish sewing up the crib bumpers and sheets so I can put this in his bed!

Sascha – that amazing knit cocoon that you made for me, yes Brandee would like me to re-gift it to her WHICH ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN.  But when she decides to have another baby, you can bet I’ll be ordering her up one!  I wish I would’ve gotten pictures of it, but I didn’t.   Although you’ll be seeing it when my friend Elena takes the newborn photos when Enzo is a week old.  It’s definitely going to be used in those!

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Leah got us this adorable little elephant, and I'm pretty sure I'll be snuggling with him often over the next couple months. you know, I'll get him all broke in for Enzo...

..And he was a good model for the onesies as well!

Mom-in-law Betty made him this beautiful crochet quilt, I love the colors and the pattern! It will look beautiful in the nursery!

Our friend Sara gifted us with a little tee shirt in a bag that said "Mysterio predicts your baby's future, pull the string and find out!" It was pretty great, we all got a good laugh out of the "Conspiracy Nut" prediction..

Curious George from cousin George, haha!

Veda trying on a baby hat! It's a little small...

And the girls got some fun stuff too! Peggy got them these adorable Santa themed socks, which I will be getting a pair for myself as well because they are super cute sticking out of the top of boots!

Me and the Mom's! (Oh wait, Claire just corrected me, they are the GRANDMA'S...)

I can’t believe we only have 10 weeks and 3 days left until the due date.  I’m feeling good and getting ready for the holidays.  We went and got our Christmas tree today, I will have a post on that fun soon, don’t worry!  We are planning to host Christmas Eve this year at our house for my side of the family, so we are thinking of creative ways to put 15+ people in our cozy little house.   The girls are looking forward to holiday break and getting to reap the benefits of being a kid at Christmas time.  Claire is busy with volleyball and Veda is busy with ballet.  We have some holiday parties in the next couple weeks to look forward to.  It’s a busy time of year!

Do you have big plans for tho holidays?  Have you already gotten your Christmas tree?

xoxo

Today is a very special day indeed!   This day marks the 40th wedding anniversary of one of the most kind, loving and supportive couples I have ever known!

Happy Anniversary Bill & Betty!!!

We love you!

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As your daughter in law, I would like to personally thank you for not only creating the man of my dreams, but also being the best people I could ever hope to call my in-laws.  Your never-ending thoughtfulness and love is just so special to me and my family and I love you both so much.  I hope that you have a wonderful day today and celebrate your marriage and all that you have given to this world.  You are loved by so many, and I am proud to call you my family.  And yes, thank you for giving me the love of my life, who has all the goodness and honesty that you brought him up with and is every day paying it forward.

LOVE!!!

xoxo