Tobi is 4 months old!

On Wednesday Tobi turned 4 months old. It's hard to believe that we have this precious little angel in out lives. We went to the doctor for his four month check up on Thursday and everything looks great. He moved up to the 25th percentile in weight which is exciting but is still in the 5th percentile for height and head circumference. Anyway here is our sweet baby in his four month picture:

So sweet. Tobi had to get two shots on Thursday and he was not happy about it. He actually ran a fever yesterday and I had to call the doctor. Everything is fine today other than being a little extra fussy he seems to be getting back to his normal sweet self.

Last Saturday Tobi turned 17 weeks old. To celebrate this exciting time we went shopping. Just kidding there were two big consignment sales going on last weekend so we went to both. One on Friday and one on Saturday. We got him so new books, a pair of shoes and a cute sweater vest outfit. The greatest thing we got from visiting the consignment store on Friday was this:

That's right folks we are attempting cloth diapers. I had researched them a lot at the beginning of the the year because I was interested in trying them. Well when Tobi came things just didn't work out to start them but on Friday we ran into a student and her mom selling new cloth diapers at the consignment sale as part of her business. They are super cute. We are hoping to get some more of them soon. But look at our little man in his diaper:

He is just too cute for words. We have tried them already and like them a lot. Michael even change a poop diaper. We are definitly going to need to buy some more to be more consistant. Next pay check perhaps or any donations will be greatly accepted! Just kidding! Anyway here is Tobi at 17 weeks:

We chose the picture of him grabbing his feet because it is what he does all the time now. We also put together his Baby Einstein jumpy thing last weekend which he is loving now that he can grab all the toys:

Today Tobi turned 18 weeks and so we took his weekly picture and also did his footprints on the canvas that Lauren gave us for his 4 months to show a time line of his growth. Here is Tobi's 18 week picture:

Well nothing too much happening today except a great day for college football. Here are a few random pictures to end this post on.

Take Care!
Merrissa

Weekly Photos, Birthday Parties, College Football, and Sewing!

**Readers beware there are a lot of photos!!**

Well it has been a busy couple of weeks. School is going smoothly and I can't believe we are already into the month of September. I also can't believe that Tobi will be 4 months old in 11 days. Today was a fun and exciting day. First we went to Charlotte to buy some clay for school because that was cheaper than shipping it. Then we went to Old Navy to find a Mr. Potato Head lunch box (which Michael's students swore they had) but they were out instead we walked out with these awesome shoes for Tobi:

Aren't they precious! He looks so cute in them. Here is a picture of Tobi in his shoes:

Our son is so cute!! After our trip to Old Navy we headed down to our friend's Joe and Laura's house for their son Noah's 2nd birthday party. It was really cute. The theme was Dr. Suess and even the food was in Dr. Suess inspired plus there was a bouncy house which Tobi was too small to get in but this Mama wasn't!! THankful there were no pictures taken of the moms playing in the bouncy house. Laura even went to the trouble to make all the kids a birthday hat with their name on it. I was going to take a picture of Tobi with his Suess inspired outfit and hat but he wasn't having it and then he spit up all over his outfit. Oh well. After naps and chicken nuggets we geared up for college football. One really great sign that fall is on the way. Tobi had a Gamecock onesie on the other day but I only remembered to take a picture of him sleeping with it on. I got some close up shots of his butt and chunky legs because they looked so cute.

Go Gamecocks! Well we had another photoshoot today with Tobi decked out in Georgia gear. There was definitly a proud papa! Here is some of the better shots:

Although I am not a Georgia fan I must say my guys look pretty darn cute! So after Tobi went to bed tonight I got to sew one of my favorite things to do! And what am I sewing...why matching bowties for the boys! Tobi's is on a white onesie and I made Michael a matching bowtie. Pictures to come since they will be sporting them tomorrow at church. Since I didn't post this last night here are the pictures of my two handsome boys:

I feel like this post is just full of information probably because I can't seem to get it together to write on this thing regularly. Anyway here is what Tobi is doing now:
1. Starting to laugh
2. Grabbing his feet
3. Smiling when I tell him good morning
4. Talking a lot
5. Drooling a lot
6. He is holding up his head great!

Here are some pictures of my little cutie pie grabbing his feet:

So I will leave you with with some more cute pictures of Tobi and his weekly photos (week 15 and week 16).

Here is one final picture of Tobi with his new favorite toy given to him by his Nana:

Until later,
Merrissa

Tobi is 14 weeks old!!

I can't believe it but Tobi is now 14 weeks old! School has started back and we are in full swing. So here is his 14 week picture:

Things have been crazy but good. It's hard for me to be at work all day and not be able to see his sweet face. I want to be with him all the time. Maybe one day I will get to stay home with him.

Tobi is 3 months old!

Happy 12 weeks..and 10..and 11 to Tobi!

Ok I need to say to all five of my devoted readers that things have been crazy these last few weeks as we prepare to go back to school. We have been renovating our bathrooms and on top of that trying to see all the family before we are in school for a while. So here is Tobi's last three weeks of photos:

I can't believe how big he is getting! It's hard to imagine that in a week from tomorrow Tobi will be three months old. I am sad that I have to go back to school but also excited!! I have looked at my rosters and I have a lot of my kids again!! We have hired a nanny to watch Tobi at our house while we work but you better believe I am going to be out the door as soon as I can leave. Anyway we have been hard at work here in the Ritch house. Today for example we made a big purchase!!! No hints I will post a picture next week when it arrives at our house. Well I know that some of you are dying for a before and after picture of the bathroom and all we did so here it is:

We had already painted the walls a sky blue which brightened up the small space. We also replaced the builder grade mirror with something that has a little more character. We plan to the same things to the master bath but haven't gotten around to it. But back to the current list of to dos:
First we took the ugly brass light fixture and used oil rubbed bronze spray paint to see if we can make it look better without having to totally replace it.

I think it turned out well! I am so impressed with what a little spray paint can do. After tackling the fixtures I went to work on the the floors. We found some peel and stick tiles from Lowe's that looked like travertine for only $11 a box. I am a novice when it comes to this but I think it turned out well. Michael also fixed the toliet and volia the new bathroom:

Well that's all for now! I am tired and there is church tomorrow. Until later.

Take Care,
Merrissa

Time flies when your having fun!!

Whew what a crazy week. My life has be a crazy whirlwind this last week because I have been living it up as a single mom. Michael has been busy at a camp all week training up middle school leaders. So Tobi, Gabby and I have been holding down the fort and let me tell you I have a new appreciation for single moms. I don't know how they do it. Especially my sister with a bouncing, jumping, non-stop two year old. Last Thursday Tobi turned 2 months old! I can't even believe it. I cannot begin to share how much of a blessing Tobi has been to us. God knew what he was doing when we where put together. I love him so much! Well we went to the doctor on Thursday as well. He got two shots which broke my heart but he is continuing to do well. Tobi now weighs 9lbs 12oz and is 21.25 inches long. He is getting so big. Here is his two month picture with his turtle friend and bowtie onesie.

I made Michael a matching bowtie so now they can dress alike. We had a busy week. Gabby got sick with a ear infection, eye ulser and fleas. After a very expensive vet visit she is doing much better now. On Saturday Tobi turned 9 weeks old and we went to a wedding. For this photo I choose some fabric that we picked up in the mountains. It has sea turtles on it! Here is the cutie pie:

Our friends TJ and Elizabeth got married on Saturday night and the wedding was beautiful! It was Tobi's first wedding and he was a perfect angel, as always. He almost stole the show..Almost Elizabeth looked beautiful. After the wedding Tobi, Gabby and I decided to take a surprise trip to see my family and spend the day with them on Sunday. This week as been busy with VBS stuff with church. Tomorrow we go get Michael and I can't wait I have missed him so much. Oh here is a cute picture I took of my two guys before Michael left:

And Tobi looking cute:

Take Care,
Michael, Merrissa & Tobi

Tobi is 8 Weeks Old!

Tobi turned 8 weeks old on Saturday. It's hard to believe that Tobi is almost two months old. Before we get to his super cute 8 week picture I wanted to update you about the home visit. Our social worker came on the 7th to interview us and check and see how we were doing so we can finalize our adoption. It went well and we have already gotten the report in the mail. Things have settled back to normal around here as we are adjusting from our vacation. Here is Tobi's 8 week picture:

It's not an illusion Tobi is SMILING!!! He just started doing it last week and I can hardly believe it. It is so awesome when he looks at me and smiles a smile that lights up his whole face. It melts my heart. If he could talk right now I would give him anything he wanted if he would just smile at me.

We have had a pretty busy few days so far. We had our home visit and then my sister Kari came up for the weekend. It was so much fun to have her here. We did our favorite thing and went to IKEA yeah shopping!! Tobi really enjoyed it too. In fact I think his favorite part was getting a feeding in my favorite kitchen!! I picked up a bookshelf for Tobi's room, some storage containers, and some cheap white sheets that I am going to turn into shower curtains. I think I will start sharing my sewing projects with you guys too. I have already made Tobi some pants and I am currently working on a jumper. I also got some fabric to make Tobi and outfit for a wedding we have coming up.

On Sunday we went to church and then later to a baby shower well really a get together with presents for Tobi. It was a lot of fun! There was great food, great company and several great games of the couch game!! I almost didn't want to go home but Tobi was needing to eat again. On Monday we went shopping at Hobby Lobby and they were having a huge sale. I tell you Kari has a lot of paitence for looking at things in the clearance section. So good she got a $119 mirror for $5. IT WAS AWESOME!! I ended up with a corkboard with pictures frames on it to hang in my classroom to put pictures of Tobi in it. It was a good day but then she had to go home. Sad! On Monday our friend Chris celebrated his birthday so we took him to lunch and hung out with him for a little while. I guess that brings us to today. Well today was a rough day...Gabby was sick. We had to take her to the vet because her eye was swollen. Come to find out she has a eye ulser, she also has fleas (which I knew about because I was trying to get rid of them and I thought I did..bad mountains!!), an ear infection and really bad tartar build up. Well we got four different medicines and it cost us over $300 and we still haven't gotten her teeth cleaned yet. We did make her an appointment to get them cleaned at the end of the month so at least now she will have clean breath. AWESOME!!! Michael will be leaving on Thursday for a week at camp so it will be just me and Tobi and Gabby holding down the fort. Tobi also has his two month appointmen ton Thursday so I will update with stats then. Until later!

Take Care,
Michael, Merrissa, & Tobi