Tobi is 1 month old

On Tuesday Tobi turned 1 month old. It's hard to believe that we have been parents for 1 month. Our little boy is growing up so fast. On Wednesday we went to the Peditrician for Tobi's 1 month check up. Everything is looking great! We can now space out his feedings to every 4-5 hours instead of every 2-3. Yeah more sleep for mommy and daddy! Well here is his 1 month photo. We decided to make little Tobi onesies with bowties on them for his monthly photos and take his picture next to the turtle his aunt Kari bought for him. So here is his photo and his stats:

Eight pounds! I can't believe it! Our little boy is growing up! We also did footprints on canvas to hang in his room. A gift from his aunt Lauren. Pictures to come soon when I get them hung. Until later.

Take care,
Michael, Merrissa & Tobi

Tobi is 4 weeks old! And other stuff...

I know what you may be thinking...where have you been?? The Ritch family was out of town visiting family so my weekly post is a little late. So let me tell you all of the goings on this past few weeks. Last week we went to Aiken to visit Tobi's Nana and Papa. Tobi also got to meet his Great Grandfather which was good because he got moved a Veteran's care facility in Anderson. Here is a picture of four generations:

Tobi also got to spend some time with his Uncle Dave and Uncle Jason. It was a good trip. Here is a picture of Tobi cuddling with his Nana:

After Aiken we headed to Lexington to celebrate Matthias' 2nd birthday and have a baby shower for Tobi. The party was Saturday and it was fun I can't wait until Tobi is big enough to play with his cousin. Tobi was also 4 weeks old Saturday. So here is his 4 week picture:

He is getting so big! Then on Sunday my cousin and sisters threw us a baby shower. It was awesome. We got a lot of stuff that had to do with sea turtles and a diaper genie! Here is a picture of us in front of a diaper cake that Kari made us:

Here is a picture of Tobi with his MeMe:

So needless to say it was a busy week but it was awesome to spend time with family. Another post to come soon.

Take Care

Michael, Merrissa & Tobi

Tobi is 3 weeks old!

Yesterday Tobi turned 3 weeks old and my super cute nephew Matthias turned 2 years old. What an awesome day! Here is Tobi's 3 week photo: (the fabric is for Matthais' book hammocks!! So cute!)

This past week has been a busy one. My sister Lauren and nephew Matthais came and stayed with us for a few days. We had a great time hanging out and Matthais LOVES Tobi! Except when MeMe and PopPop hold him!! On Monday Mom and Dad came up and we went to eat BBQ and went shopping for some things that Tobi needed. On Tuesday Lauren and I took the boys to a clay painting studio to make Father's day presents for Michael, Pop Pop and a sign for Matthias' room. Matthais loved to paint, a future artist in the making. I would post some pictures of this put I don't want to spoil the surprise! On Wednesday we took the boys to Rock Hill's Childrens Museum. It is based off of the artwork of Vernon Grant who was born in Rock Hill. It was fun. Matthais got to dress up as a horse and a knight. Here are some pictures from that day:

We also had a little photo shoot with cute little Tobi!

Well that's all for now! Take care!

Michael, Merrissa, & Tobi

Tobi is 2 weeks old!

Today Tobi is 2 weeks old. It is so hard to believe that we have had our own special gift for 2 weeks now. I love him so much. Michael and I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby today and it is perfect for his photo today. Here is his 2 week photo:

This week was a pretty productive week. We had a weight check on Wednesday and Tobi has gained 4 oz. He is now 6.7 lbs. He has also started to eat 3 oz at every feeding instead of 2. He is such a great eater! Tobi has also been sleeping very well.

Last night Tobi had his very first bath. He did not like it very much. I guess I wouldn't either if I was that cold. Oh well here is some pictures of Tobi taking his first bath.

Well that's whats going on in the lives of the Ritchs this week. Until later! Take care!

Michael, Merrissa, & Tobi

Tobi is 1 week old!

So I meant to post this on Saturday but life happened. My wonderful parents, sister and nephew came up on Saturday and hung out. It was a fun day. So I have decided to document Tobi's weekly progress by taking pictures of him in a white onesie on different kinds of fabric. Now I can't say that I came up with this idea I actually saw it on my favorite blog Young House Love. The idea was perfect especially for a sewing nerd like me! Anyway at the end of this journey I plan to make a quilt for Tobi using all of the fabrics from his photo shoots. So here is week 1:

More pictures to come!

Take care,
Michael, Merrissa & Tobi

The First Five Days

Well life has definitley changed for the Ritch family over the last five days. Tobi has been doing well although Gabby is having a hard time not getting Mom and Dad's attention. Yesterday Tobi's umbilical cord fell off which is great! We also went to the doctor's office for the first time. Tobi has gained and ounce since we left the hospital. Last night Tobi had his best night ever. He slept after every feeding which meant we got some much needed sleep. I can't get over how blessed I am. It still seems so surreal to me that I am a Mom. He is so beautiful and he's just as healthy as he can be. All I can do is stare at his beautiful little face. I love our life as a party of 3.

Michael, Merrissa, & Tobi

A Party of Two Becomes a Party of Three

So the past couple of weeks has been a whirlwind of emotions. On Friday April 29th we got a call from our adoption agency about a baby and after tons of waiting we finally got the call on Cinco de Mayo that she chose us to adopt her baby boy. It was the best day of our life...honestly the days leading up the that day was full of emotions and sleepless nights. Well we found out that she was due on May 18th! That didn't give us very much time. Our wonderful Sunday school class threw us an impromptu shower on Mother's Day so we could have some supplies. They are a great support system and have been with us through this whole journey. I don't know what we would have done without them. Well we trudged along going to work waiting and waiting for our son to be born. On Saturday May 14th at 4am we got the call that our son was being born and by 7:51am he was here. So we packed up the car and drove to the beach to meet our son for the first time.

The hospital staff was awesome and let us stay there so we could bond with our son. All the official stuff happen on Sunday and we brought him home on Monday. So world meet our son Tobias Bennett (Tobi). We love him so much already. Well enough talking here some more pictures of our son.

More to come.
Take care!
Michael, Merrissa & Tobi