Update on the Adoption Process

Well we are officially in our 90 day waiting period before the adoption is finalized...well as of June 15th. We can't be more thrilled. Our social worker Hollie will be coming to do our post placement visit next Thursday and then we will have our "Gotcha Day" court date sometime in September. Expecte a big party!! Tobi is growing so much everyday it's hard to believe that he will be two months old in two weeks. We are going to be taking our first family vacation soon to the mountains which I am excited about to get away from this heat! Anyway here are some pics of the baby because each post needs to have some.

Until later
Take Care,
Michael, Merrissa & Tobi

Tobi is 6 weeks old!

Today Tobi turned 6 weeks old. It's hard to believe that he has already been in our lives that long. Anyway here is his 6 week photo:

It's been a busy week here in the Ritch house. Sunday was Michael's first Father's Day and also Tobi's first time in nursery. It was a nice day we went to lunch at O'Charlie's and came home and had a relaxing day in. I will have pictures later of Tobi and his Dad and the present Tobi made for him.

Michael and I also decided to make a plan for the summer to get some stuff accomplished. We hope to put our house on the market by the end of the year because we need more room. Our plan for this week was to make sure the nursery got put into order. First that meant going through all the gifts and returning/organizing some things. Once we got that accomplished we realized we really needed to put a new organization system into the closet because the old one didn't make too much sense. So off to Lowe's we went to purchase two shelves. Michael installed them while I looked after Tobi. I totally forgot to take a before shot but I will post an after shot later. So here is what the nursery looks like currently:

Still a work in progress but we are getting there. Not only did we return some things this week but also purchased some things. One big purchase was breathable bumper to put in Tobi's crib. So now we have started to put Tobi in his crib for some nap time. We are going to wait until we get a monitor before we put him in there for the night. Here is Tobi in his crib:

We also got him a new pacifier that has a frog on the end and it is so cute! Here are some pictures with him and his new friend:

We have also spent some time talking to MeMe on Skype and Tobi is so funny looking wide eyed at the screen. The other night he was tired while we were talking and all of a sudden he fell a sleep in such a funny position here is a picture:

Thursday Michael and I celebrate four wonderful years of marriage. We spent the day at Concord Mills and bought some outfits for Tobi then had a nice seafood dinner at Red Lobster. It was a great day spending time as a family. I married such a wonderful man. He is an awesome hubby and a wonderful father. Love you hubby!! Anyway that is all for now! I promise I will try to write more frequently.

Take Care,
Michael, Merrissa, & Tobi

Tobi is 5 weeks old!

Tobi is five weeks old today. I know I have been posting a lot of things back to back but we were out of town. Oh well! Here is Tobi's 5 week picture:

He looks like he is smiling in this picture but he was actually a little fussy but we got a good one. Until later!

Take Care,
Michael, Merrissa & Tobi

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