Christmas time is here!

Christmas is, without doubt, my favorite holiday. I love the lights, the music, the smells, the decorations, the colors... it's all so beautiful. I enjoy every minute of it. I especially love decking the Ritter halls in preparation for the day we celebrate our Lord's birth. As I decorate the fireplace and dining room, Brandon hangs lights on the house. We top off the day by decorating our Christmas tree together and tidying the house of all the boxes and newspaper that house our decorations in the off-season. Here are a few pictures of the end result:

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

The Fireplace awaits the stockings...

The dining room adornment

This Christmas is going to be particularly special for us now that we have Isaac. I know he's too young to ever remember his first Christmas, but I'll ALWAYS remember it. I can hardly wait for Christmas morning... helping him open his gifts and playing with him and all his new toys. I have a whole new understanding of the miracle of Jesus' birth and the magnitude of the sacrifice God made for the human race. It's a sacrifice I cannot comprehend... which makes His love for us even more amazing and has made me realize how truly undeserving I am of His mercy.

And, last but not least, here are some recent pictures of our bundle of joy.

Chillin' with Dad

Relaxin' in my relaxin' chair

Dressed for the cold weather (finally!)
Playing with Mommy

I can't help but look good in orange... I'm part Cowboy!!

Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Season!

Short & Sweet

When I went to wake my bundle of joy this morning to feed him his breakfast, I found him in the most peculiar of sleeping positions. Brandon and I got quite a kick out of it!



It was completely dark in his room, although it looks like he was trying to block out the sunlight. His plan was working well... the flash from the camera didn't even phase his slumber! :)

That's all he needs. He needs this....

Brandon and I went to the mall tonight to get some much needed clothes for our boy. He's had a MAJOR growth spurt this week, and has gone from wearing 0-3 month to 3-6 month clothes in a matter of days. Cu-razy. We had so much fun shopping for him, but I must say it was a challenge. We kept finding adorable things all over the place, but knew we couldn't go crazy buying a million things that he'd only wear for a little while. So, we did our best to go the sensible route, buying several pairs of pants, lots of onzies and one splurge. He'll probably be able to wear the splurge for like, a day, but Brandon and I both agreed we couldn't possibly leave it in the store. You better believe I'm going to put him in that outfit as many times as I possibly can before he has another growth spurt!

Here's a picture of Isaac and Mommy just before our trip to the mall. That adorable outfit he has on was bought by Daddy. Does my husband have good taste or what?

How fast they grow...

I've always heard parents talk about how quickly children grow and change and, now as a parent myself, I'm getting to experience this first hand. Isaac is growing so quickly! Brandon and I are running out of season appropriate things to put him in, despite the truckload of adorable hand-me-down clothes we got from my wonderful sister-in-law, Karen. While getting hand-me-downs is awesome, I have to say that I'm REALLY looking forward to shopping for Isaac!

On another note, Isaac is starting to enjoy his bath, which is so much fun! Here are some cute pictures of him after his bath last night.

I love bath time!

In my jammies and ready for bed.

Not only is Isaac getting bigger by the minute these days (at least it seems that way!), he's also becoming more alert, more responsive and... a totally new thing... he's cooing! This has got to be the single most delightful sound I've ever heard. Brandon and I do whatever we can to get a coo out of our little man.