THE RITTER LIFE: January 2010

I can hardly believe it... Isaac is officially eating solid food... kind of. We started him on rice cereal this weekend, and he LOVES it. The first several feedings of the cereal are supposed to be really runny - more like soup than anything, but he doesn't seem to mind! The funny part is that his favorite part of eating like a big boy seems to be sitting in his booster seat. It's so cute... he smiles and giggles the whole time!

Loving my big boy chair!

And, on another note, Isaac (ok, Mommy) has been thoroughly enjoying his new hooded towels that Aunt Melissa made for him for Christmas. These things are GREAT! The store bought hooded towels are really small, so these fluffy, oversized ones are amazing. Thanks, Mel!

Isaac post-bath, all dry and cozy.

That's all for now, folks! :)

This Christmas was spent with my side of the family, but we always have a Ritter Christmas celebration regardless of where we spend Christmas day. It seems rare that all of us Ritters are able to get together these days. Between all of us having kids of our own now and managing our hectic schedules, and my sister in law and niece living in China, it's difficult to find a time when everyone can make a get together! Here are some pictures of our oh-so-fun gift exchange.

Alicia and Bella

Dylan can't get enough of Cars!

Mark delivering gifts to everyone

Audrey looks happy!

The whole Ritter clan

Our time at my parents house was great... although we sorely missed seeing my brother and his family. Brandon, Isaac and I made the trek to B'ville the Wednesday before Christmas, which wound up being just on the nick of time seeing as a "blizzard" came through the next day! It dumped 5 inches of snow on us and the surrounding areas, which made getting around town for the next several days a little hairy. We've not had a white Christmas since we visited Minnesota two years ago, so it was really fun! Brandon and my brother in law, Mike, made the best of the snow by getting out and making a snow man and an igloo.

Brandon, Isaac, the Snowman & me

Opening presents on Christmas morning was fun! Sam really enjoyed ripping the paper off of packages and playing with the boxes. He'll understand next year that the exciting part is supposed to be what's INSIDE of the box. We all came away with quite a loot... Brandon was barely able to squeeze us back into the Accord for our drive home! Many thanks to Mom and Dad for putting up with us all, and a special shout out to my Mom for her endless hours in the kitchen. She kept all of us full and happy with her many wonderful meals and treats.

Sam tears into his gift...
...and it's a vacuum cleaner!!