Friday, March 28

Family Firsts

Dad took the day off on Friday so we could all goto Busch Gardens for the first time as a family. Mom and Dad both got season passes this year so Addy was excited to show off Dragon Land. The highlight of the day was the Octoberfest Dancers at lunch who had Addy dancing in the aisles. She even went up on stage with all the kids to do the chicken dance.

And to top off the great day, we went to Chili's and Cold Stone with Ryan and Cassidy and when we got home, Addy asked to pee on potty and ACTUALLY DID IT. When we tried to make a big deal about it, she just said, "yep" and walked right past us to her bedroom to goto bed. Already too cool for our compliments.

















Monday, March 24

Battle of the Sexes

Here is Addy and Jeremiah in the Inaugural Small Group Egg Hunt. Cara Ellis was DQ'd earlier in the day for failing her physical. Officially, she had a fever, but you know how those Ellis' are, she probably just didn't want to take her drug test. Word on the street is she is juicing.

As you can see, all of Jeremiah's practice at the town egg hunt backfired. His parent's claimed that on Saturday, they simply lay the eggs out in the field and he wasn't prepared for the "hunt" part of the Egg hunt. But Dad thinks he just wasn't prepared for the speed and agility of Addy, aka The Pink Bunny Bandita.







Jeremiah finds a way to get some candy eventually.



The Tomb is Empty...Lets Eat Some Candy!

We had a great Easter dinner with our small group. We all chipped in and made a pretty respectable meal for a group of 30 somethings.



Addy playing with baby Abby Eason after dinner.



Addy and Jeremiah eating some serious Easter candy.


Addy checking out the bunny trail on Easter morning. Interesting Addy fact, when she gets cold, she always complains that her knees are cold. Weird.


Finger Paint

Addy is more and more into painting and drawing/coloring every day it seems.. Which is amazing, since neither of us are artistic. Well, thats not totally true... Mom can make great poster size lettering, and Dad can draw trees pretty well.


Annual Tag Sale


Palm Saturday was our annual garage sale with Aunt Susan and Uncle Len. The weather was fantastic and Addy had a great time modeling all the items we were trying to sell.










Tuesday, March 18

Growing Pains

Well, we thought Addy was excited about Baby Boy Ritner, that is, until she saw us looking at the ultrasound pictures and hit them out of our hands when we tried to show them to her. Oh well, this will be the first "second child" in the Ritner house, so it will take some adjusting for all of us oldest kids, Mom and Dad included.

Specialized ultrasound yesterday showed that all is healthy. Praise God.

And finally, from the files of "You Can't Make This Stuff Up," last night we asked Addy to pray before dinner, and she began with, "Dear Bob..." We had to cut her off and tell her we pray to Jesus, not Bob. Man, those religious cults are targeting our kids younger and younger these days!

Addy starts her new twice a week, Day Care school today and has officially made the sleep transition to a Big Girl bed and no pacifiers at night. Potty training is next....

Monday, March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Finn!

One of Dad's groomsmen and old Kanakuk friend, Doc Murphy and his wife, Katie, had their first baby on Saturday night, a little boy named Finnegan Henry Murphy. Finn weighed in a 8 lbs 8 oz. and took his sweet time coming into this world. Happy First St. Patrick's Day to our new Irish friend. See you all for a Cubs/Cardinals or Niners/Rams game soon!






Wednesday, March 12

Finally, Something to Report

Yea!! Today we found out that we are having a little boy!! We are SO excited!! His name will be...well that is still being argued over. But Addy is already calling him "Choochie" (long story)

As always, this pregnancy is without complications however and we have to have a specialized ultrasound to make sure that nothing is wrong with his heart or kidneys. His heart looked great but apparently he only has one vein and one artery in his umbilical cord and should have 2 artery's. It is not totally uncommon and the Dr.'s have told us not to worry because typically everything is fine. So...we are just trusting the Lord again knowing he is allowing the best for us! We will let you know what the specialist says in the next few weeks after our appointment which is not scheduled yet. Please pray for continued good health for all of us!!

Thursday, March 6

Final Memories...The Lego Store

Addy loved the Lego Store on Main Street Disney. It had a lego house, legos out that you could build with and several huge lego statues. Include a dog that Addy gave some lovies because he looked like Braden's dog, Rosie.




Dad trying to feed Addy to the Lego dinosaur.


Giving Rosie some lovies.







Final Memories...Seeing Old Small Group Mates

We had a great visit with Karin and Chad Warner and their two little girls, Aly and Caroline. Aly was born three days before Addy in the same hospital while Chad and Karin lived in the Burg. Chad is now the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Shorter College in Rome, GA. Addy and Aly took some time to warm up to each other, but as you can see by the end of the second day, they were old friends again.

While in Orlando, we got to see Jon and Laci Lowe who moved from Williamsburg in January. Laci is expecting in April and ready to get on with the next phase of motherhood. Jon heads up Marketing for Island One Resorts. We had a great dinner at Maggianos together and got a tour of Jon's new office.

Vacation Outtakes: Addy Gets Run By a 4 Year Old

It is okay to laugh. She was fine once we got there and comforted her a little bit




Vacation Theme 1: The Magic of Disney

The highlight of the trip was by far our last day when we went to the Magic Kingdom. Addy loved it all. At one point while we were waiting for a show to begin, she turned to us and said, "I love you Mom, I love you Dad. (then turning to random strangers sitting behind us) and I love all of my friends." Then she sang the Barney Song and gave us each hugs and kisses. We were in tears, it was so sweet.


Addy loved the musical show in front of Cinderella's castle.

Here she is during the afternoon parade.



Rather than wait in line for an hour to take a picture with Disney characters, we just sent Addy to the exit of the area and let her work her charm. Here she gets Tigger and Eeyore to wave and then come Tigger comes over and tries to give her a high five.

Of course, once he came over, she freaked out, and we didn't stop to see any more characters all day long. She told us, "Maybe they are scary. Yeah, maybe."

Here she does a little better when Chip, or Dale, comes over to get a low five.



Addy had been couped up for a while in her rented stroller (a Disney must) so we decided to let her out to walk around in the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Of course we had no idea that she would take so long. The family behind us was so supportive of letting her walk on her own, that we let her walk the whole thing herself. Only as we reached the halfway point on the way down did we realize that we had backed up the entire ride to the entrance.




Ride Along with Addy on her favorite rides, the Tea Cups, It's a Small World, and some version of the Tea Cups that went up and down as we spun.







By the end of the day, Addy was pretty wiped out. Here we are watching the closing parade.

Thanks for the Magic, Mickey. See you again soon.

Wednesday, March 5

Vacation Theme 2: Say Cheese!

Mom and Dad took as many pictures as we could of our second family vacation. Addy's hair was pretty out of control in the humidity (and the lack of bathing all week) but that didn't deter us. As you can see, she had some good moments....






...but eventually the photo fatigue set in....

...and by the last day at Disney, she was actually trying to ruin the family pictures!

Vacation Theme 3: Dancing Queen

Kristyn and I were amazed at how much Addy wants to dance. Anytime she heard music playing at one of the parks she would break into her own freestyle moves, and then turn to us and say, "Dance with me, Mom/Dad!" Of course, we don't have the heart to tell her that her dancing makes Elaine Benes look like Paula Abdul (pardon the Seinfeld reference.) Ah the joy of being 2 and not caring what anyone else thinks of you.

At Sea World






In the Room waiting for Mom and Dad to get ready



At the Pool



Singing Its a Small World after her first ever Disney ride



Main Street Disney

Vacation Theme 4: Fun in the Florida Sun

We had great weather in Florida. 70s and 80s all week with a cool breeze. The resort we were at had a mini water park with some water slides that Addy was able to go down herself. However, Mom and Dad did miss the long afternoons of paperback reading that came in the poolside days before we had to chase a two year old around.





Vacation Theme 5: Icees!

Everywhere we went, the girls had to have their ice cream (Dad made sure to taste test it first). A Rocky Road cone at Sea World, a Pineapple ice cream float at Disney, a sundae at the Rainforest Cafe, and some great ice cream and pound cake at Maggianos.









Tuesday, March 4

The Happiest Place on Earth

For years, Kristyn has recounted her family trips to Florida and told me over and over again that Disneyworld is "the happiest place on earth." So Addy and I finally caved and agreed to take her there so she could be happy again. (you know, the second pregnancy has been pretty tough.)
We just got back home after 11 hours in the car today making the trek home. More pictures, videos, and stories to come tomorrow night when I get a chance to get them up. For now, it is off to unpack and hit the sack.