My Handy Man

As many of you know, my husband is quite the handy man. He can tackle just about any plumbing, electrical, or construction project out there. We have enjoyed the end result of many of the home improvement projects we've completed. The process, though... now that's a whole other story. We always seem to hit a major bump in the road, turning an hour long project into an all day affair.

Yesterday, Brandon decided to install a four way switch to the hallway outside of our bedroom door. The hallway is perilously dark in the early morning and evening. So dark that our dog has just about taken me down several mornings as I've made my way out of our bedroom. The hallway already has two three way switches in it, so Brandon gathered the necessary wire, junction boxes and switch to tie into the existing wiring to complete the project. It was supposed to be a simple project... until he began cutting wire in the attic, only to find that the existing three way switches had been wired in an unexpected and unconventional way. This "bump"
caused a two hour delay as Brandon and I, and my wonderful father in law, Mark, began muscling our way through analyzing the circuit to deduce how we were going to be able to tie into it and make the new switch work. I'm glad that we were able to figure it out (ok, it was Mark and Brandon... but I was nodding right along!), because the hole for the new switch had already been cut in the sheetrock.

I look forward to the luxury of turning on the hall light as I step outside our bedroom door without worry of tripping over Cooper in the process. Never fear, the new light switch is here! Check out Brandon and Mark in action, as well as the beautiful new light switch.

Toolbelts are all the rage this season...

Almost there....

Voila! C'est fin!

Good-bye, toothless grin...

Isaac has definitely been displaying the classic signs of teething - buckets of drool and chewing on EVERYTHING, but no teeth yet. Until today. When the tooth is more visible, I'll be sure to post a picture. The crazy thing is that it looks like a second tooth is about ready to make it's way into the open as well. I've gotten more than my fair share of teething bites during our nursing sessions (um... OW!!), so needless to say, I'm a little nervous about teeth actually being in the picture nowadays!

Here are some recent pictures - I just cannot believe what a big boy he's getting to be! These five months have absolutely flown by... I'll cherish them always.

Tolerating tummy time

Who needs toys... I have these things!

I see the bowl... patiently waiting for more...

Leave me alone, I'm watching Hockey.

Yes, that's drool on his chest!

Have you ever seen anything more adorable?

Jumperoo

Isaac is getting to be such a big boy. We're currently working on his sitting skills - he gets closer and closer every day. As of right now he can sit, or prop himself on his hands, for about 30 seconds before he takes the face-first dive into the floor. We do everything we can to keep him from smacking his face on the floor, but there have been a few times that we haven't been fast enough. And, at the risk of sounding like a terrible mother, it's actually pretty hilarious to watch!


Since all of his muscles are getting to be so strong, I decided to try out the jumperoo to see if he likes it. Once I finally got his chubby little legs through the holes of the seat, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his little toes were making good contact with the floor - enough for him to push off of it and have some fun. He was quite intrigued with the toys in front of him as well, studying the sliding rings and trying to push them all the way over to the other side of the arch. What a smart little boy! We had so much fun exchanging smiles, laughs and squeals of delight. And, even though I can't tell you what we talked about, we had a wonderful conversation. Isaac did most of the talking. :)


Have I mentioned that being a Mom is AWESOME?! And, if I do say so myself, so is our little man. Check out the video of him in his jumperoo... it's sure to make you smile.

For real?

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! :)

Christmas with the fams

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!!

Dad's new remote for the visually impaired. :)


Isaac's hand-held keyboard... so cute!

The after-math of the gift exchange.

Hope your Christmas was full of fun with family as well!!

Isaac says HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas shopping... and the wedding story

Wow... I've only been on an official Christmas shopping outing once this year. I went with Isaac and, because of his schedule, we were only out for about an hour. I got one thing... which is still the only thing I've gotten so far for my husband. The other Christmas gifts I've managed to pick up have been for nieces and nephews, and for my brother and his wife. The nieces and nephews are lucky that there now exist Super Wal-Mart and Super Target and that my grocery shopping time can double as Christmas shopping time. How did my parents do it before Super Wal-mart or Super Target? It's a mystery to me!

Having a baby changes everything. I wouldn't say that having a baby makes things more difficult, it simply makes simple, every day tasks far more time consuming that you could ever have imagined. For instance, this past Saturday one of Brandon's long time close friends got married. Brandon was a groomsmen in the wedding, as was his cousin Jeremiah. Jeremiah's wife, Jennifer, and I decided that we should hang out while our guys were doing wedding stuff, so she came over to our house with Brenner, their 5 month old son. We had plans to go shopping for a wedding outfit for Brenner, then come back to our house to change before the wedding. Once she arrived, however, she quickly discovered that she had left her change of clothes for the wedding in another town where she and her husband had spent the night. So, we began to get ready to make the trek to Mesquite for her clothes, and then back to Garland to shop. By the time we had moved car seats, changed diapers, fed our boys, and unpacked her car to make room to pack the strollers, we had been preparing for our trip for an hour! The trip to Mesquite and back cost us another hour, which left us with 30 minutes to shop. So, our shopping trip together turned in to Jennifer running into two stores alone while I stayed in the car with the babies. By the time we got back to my house, fed the babies, changed the babies, and threw on our dresses, we arrived at the wedding 15 minutes late! We were running so far behind that, as I was putting Isaac in the car, my purse fell and dumped stuff all over the driveway and I left it... yes, me... I left the mess of stuff sitting in the driveway! The good news is that our baby boys were perfectly content with their full little bellies during the wedding ceremony, and made nothing but precious cooing noises for the entertainment of those around us. As they said about Apollo 13 - it was a successful failure. But I tend to lean more toward the successful part myself. Oh, and in case you're wondering... my mess of stuff was still in the driveway when we got home. :)

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!