Pics of the Week

I Wonder Where She Gets it From

For two weeks we have been laughing at how Addy contorts her body when she sleeps into a ball. It never looks comfortable, but it seems to be her default sleep position, since she won't sleep on her back. Well today, Dad caught Mom and Addy taking naps together and tell me if you don't see the resemblance.

The Family 's Night Out on the Town

The End of an Era

Friday night we brought Addy to a going away party for our friend Craig who is moving to Steamboat Springs, CO at the end of the month. Some combination of Craig, Andrew and Jon have lived together, or in the same town, for most of the last 10 years since we attended WM together. In the last year, Andrew married Charis, Jon and Kristyn have had a baby, and now Craig and Sally are moving west. The Times They Are a Changin'...

The End is Near

Jon and a couple of friends are working on another blog, since parenting obviously isn't time consuming enough. Check out This Week's Sign that the Apocalypse is Upon Us at http://plague8.blogspot.com/

Ear Muffs, Addy, Ear Muffs

It is a vulgar world out there with all the language that some people use, so it is never too early to teach your children to cover their ears and keep out the naughty words...rememember what our Sunday School teachers taught us, "Be careful little ears what you hear...for your Father up above it looking down in love, so be careful little ears what you hear."

Mom and Dad had their first disagreement about Addy's continual eye gunk problem. Mom was sure it was normal, Dad thought it was a clogged eye duct, and since this blog is written by Dad, you already know who was right. Turns out she has a clogged duct and some other form of ___- tivitis (not conjunctivitis, but some other thing like that) No big deal, a couple of eye drops a day makes it all go away.

Addy is up to 8 lbs 6 oz and growing more each day. She has turned into a great night sleeper, but doesn't like to settle down for more than 30 minutes between day feedings, making Mom a little nervous about going back to work from home soon. Dad is already getting ready for his sermon next Sunday at church, just in time for our move to 3 services. We will have to find a way to use Addison as an illustration of something.

This Is Why A Dad Gets Out of Bed in the Morning

Aunt Caroline Comes to Town

We had a great visit this weekend with Jon's sister Caroline who is a junior at Clemson University in South Carolina. She was only here for an overnight, but got to spend several hours holding Addy and visiting with us. Addy still has her moments of being really gassy and not being able to settle down (like tonight during the Academy Awards as we watch WM Alum Jon Stewart host). She is sleeping pretty well through the night (11-3, 3:30-7:30), Addy that is, not Caroline..who knows when those college kids go to bed these days!

Dad is busy working each night on his new part time job with Church Communication Network (www.CCN.tv) building the website www.leestrobel.com which will officially launch this Wednesday with over 25 video clips that I have selected and our team has edited and posted on the web. Bookmark it and check it out on Wednesday. I am now working on videos for upcoming websites in the works for Henry Cloud and John Townsend (authors of Boundaries) and John Maxwell.

Getting Closer and Closer to a Real Smile

As we close in on Addy's one month birthday on Sunday, she shows more and more signs of wanting to smile. She continues to stick out her toungue and is much more expressive with her face in between feedings when she is awake. Aunt Caroline is coming in this weekend to see Addy for the first time and Mom and Dad are going on their second date Friday night since Addy was born. The Ritner home is getting ramped up for UNC v. Duke Saturday night as the official beginning of March Madness. And to top it off, the Cubs are only a month away from opening day! It is a great time to be alive!

So Many Boys To Choose From...

Well Addy met her second male classmate this week as Pete Cook paid a visit to the Ritner home. Addy has 3 future WM Class of 2024 boys to choose from living within a 3 hour radius, the most recent of whom is Clayton Andrew Boyer, born to Scott and Lisa just this month. Braden was kind enough to stop by and see Addy in hospital, but she gave him the same cold treatment she gave Pete on Tuesday night...here is Addy's first date with Pete...way to play hard to get girl!



Addy's father is pondering the benefits of marrying into each of the three prestigious families and as he sees it, here is the breakdown.

Addison Ritner Boyer: +++ Addy sure to learn how to fire a shotgun and make crepes, Father in Law will build stellar wedding website, and Mother in Law can teach her the finer points of the scissor kick ---Marrying into a Redskins Family

Addison Ritner Lee: +++Long summer days for Addy with future grandparents in Virginia Beach, wedding guaranteed not to be held during a major sporting event, and Braden sure to have his parents great sense of humor ---Marrying into a Yankees Family

Addison Ritner Cook: +++Petey's pro sports paycheck will set Addy for life, endless hours of fun hearing GrandPapa Cook stories, a lifetime of trips to Hershey Park---Parents will never be able to agree on a church to hold the wedding...and marrying into an Eagles Family.

Well, I guess it's a toss up for now. We will see who has the gumption to ask her out first...