Great Weekend in the 'Ville!

Last week, Mike took Friday off and we packed up the whole family, including our poor dog who has been neglected of late, and headed to our hometown to visit family and have a little down time. Luckily, Mike's parents were also off work last Friday, so we dropped Sam off with them on Friday morning and spent the majority of the day by ourselves. It was awesome. We had lunch at one of Mike's favorite home-town dives, did a little shopping at the mall, took an awesome bike-ride on a beautiful trail, and just basked in each other's company. It was really great, and was a good reminder for me that we need to find a local babysitter and get more one on one time. It's so important, and so refreshing. Of course, by the time we went to pick Sam up, I was missing him terribly, but I had a good time nonetheless.

I think the mall shopping was one of my favorite activities, mostly because I got the opportunity to try clothes on without a stroller taking up 90% of the dressing room. Normally I'm crammed into the corner, trying my best to entertain an impatient Sam, while shimmying into the clothes and trying to make a decision within 5 seconds in an effort to not push Sam into full melt-down mode. I learned my lesson after the unfortunate Kohl's meltdown of '09 a couple of weeks ago.

We stayed with my parents and got some good visit time with them, and also got to spend some time with Mike's fam. Sam really enjoyed seeing everyone, and did SO GREAT on the trip. We discovered the he loves to climb stairs, and LOVES all the attention that comes with being around lots of family.

Sam wearing Grandpa Pruitt's boots

Getting into the true spirit of being on the farm

It was a great trip!

To make up for the dryness around here lately... a super long post.. almost as long as this title, but there are baby pictures so stick with me

I know I’ve neglected my blog lately, sorry about that. Sometimes life gets a little bit crazy and I let it slip. Other times we get our new Office Season 5 DVDs in the mail from Amazon and I spend every free moment I have watching deleted scenes and gag reels, and otherwise just being a nerd. But I’m back and loaded with updates!

First off, I know I promised some new house pics awhile back and never delivered. I've decided to wait until I get the house decorated for Fall before I take any pictures. Because frankly, right now there are no decorations whatsoever, so the pictures would be really boring. (Sorry Chris, I really am!!)

There are so many Sam updates and stories that I can’t possible tell them all here, so I’ll just highlight the big one. My boy is WALKING!! I don’t mean kind of taking a step here and there, I mean full-blown, my life is over – WALKING. I suppose we have officially entered into toddlerhood, so your prayers would be much appreciated.

Sam beating up some balloons at Aunt Christina and Uncle Brandon's house!


On the subject of Sam, (I knew I wouldn’t be able to just tell one thing), he is a sick little hombre right now. The doc says it’s not the flu, but he’s running a fever, and has bouts of acting lethargic. I never thought I would use the words Sam and lethargic in the same sentence, but there it is. He’ll actually crawl up in my lap and lay his head on my chest… this, I am not complaining about. But I do hope he gets better soon. When I took him to the doctor, I was waiting for the lady to get to the check-in counter when Sam starting throwing up all over both of us. The waiting room was packed and people were watching us in horror. A kid who I’d peg at about 8 years old started gagging, and I just knew we were about to start the puke domino effect. A couple of kind souls offered to go get paper towels for us but frankly, I don’t think a paper towel would have removed all the puke from my hair, let alone the rest of us. We got whisked to the back in our full glory where we were brought wet towels, so regretfully, I didn’t stick around to see whether or not we’d set off the puke wave. [Update: I wrote this paragraph before the latest episode of ‘The Office’ where there was an actual puke wave… just thought you should know. They must have been in the dr.’s office that day.]

I don’t know how to transition from ‘puke wave’ to my next update, so I’ll just skip right to it.

Weekend before last, some of the girls from small group rented a cabin in the wilderness of the Davis area, and just got together for good times. I got to go on Friday and spend the night with them, and it was really great to have a night away and hang out with some really great girls. We ate, played games, did karaoke, and danced. Well, they danced… I made a fool of myself. It will shock you to know that I didn’t get any pictures, but there are plenty of embarrassing ones floating around out there (you know who you are), so if you are on facebook, I’m sure you can get your fill.

Saturday morning Mike and Sam came and picked me up and we drove to the Dallas area to visit my sis and brother-in-law and their new baby boy. Ya’ll, it was amazing. When I got there, Isaac was sleeping in his crib, but my sis let me go in and peek at him, and I was just overwhelmed with emotion. He was laying on his side with his little arms folded up by his head, and he was so perfect that it just didn’t seem real. (Go visit her blog and you’ll see a pic of what I’m talking about). It really was a special moment meeting my sister’s son for the first time. Very surreal, and so exciting. Isaac is the most laid-back baby I have ever been around. He just let me hold him for the longest time, without making a wimper, and only fussed a little when it was time to eat. My sister says he’s sleeping well and eating well, and so basically, they have the perfect baby. I am just so thrilled for them. I would say I am 95% thrilled for them, and only 5% jealous. Maybe more like 80/20. I can’t wait until Isaac gets a little older and can go on adventures with Sam. I’m hoping they’ll be good buds. That’s why I'm only 30% jealous…

Holding Isaac for the first time. He's awesome!

Well, I think this post is already past way too long, so I will leave it until next time. Hopefully next time won’t be too far off. Although we did just get DVR, so I can’t promise anything.

Have a great week!

Aunt Stephanie x 3!

At 12:30 a.m. yesterday morning, my newest nephew was born! His name is Isaac Aiden Ritter, and he weighed in at 8 lb. 4 oz and 21 inches long. Praise the Lord for a big healthy boy!! My sister is amazing, I am so proud of her. She did this with NO EPIDURAL, PEOPLE!! Let me repeat that: NO EPIDURAL.

We got a text message Sunday night that they weren't going to be able to give her one, and let me tell you something, I started sweating bullets. Sometimes my sister and I have this strange twin-like connection about things, and my stomach started churning and I felt like I was about to have a nervous break-down. I thought surely I was somehow feeling a smidge of what she was feeling. And then I talked to her the next day and found out that she had been completely mellow and calm about the whole thing. Well then. I guess we know who the more stable sister is.

Feast your eyes on this precious boy, and my gorgeous sister, somehow looking totally beautiful after having given birth to a big baby boy with NO EPIDURAL.




I can't wait to go visit and get my arms around them. I love you Ritters so much!!

I Love Ya Tomorrow, You're Only a Day Away

The weeks of torturous waiting are almost over... I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. The new season of The Office starts tomorrow. TOMORROW! NBC Thursdays at 8. Don't miss it!

They really don't pay me, but they should.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Earlier this week, our little family got to go out to a Redhawks game downtown. Mike's work has a box at the stadium, so we got to watch the game in style. They even gave us a parking pass - the "GOLD" pass, which is right by the entrance to the stadium, so we didn't even have to walk to get there. It's a good thing, because normally I'm not inclined to exert much physical effort to watch baseball. (It's a totally different story with Sooner football, by the way, and I am PUMPED about watching the first game of the season this Saturday!)

When we made it to the box, we got to visit with some of Mike's co-workers, and chow down on the food provided. We even got a visit from Rowdy the Redhawk. Sam got a kick out of him!

It was great to casually walk outside and pretend to pay attention to the field, but then retreat right back to the air-conditioning and partake of the munchies. We felt so VIP, even though we're so not. For example, I mistook the honey mustard salad dressing for dip for the chicken fingers, because how on earth could you possibly eat chicken without gravy or some other such cream sauce? We had a great time, and I hope we get to go back again sometime, as long as Mike's work doesn't get stingy with the gold passes.

Birthday Bash

Well, we're all moved in! At least, all of our stuff is here. It will probably be awhile before everything is actually put away and set in place, but at least we are functional at the new place. We moved in on a Saturday and the next Saturday we had Sam's birthday party here. I don't know what we were thinking either. There's been a wee bit of psychosis on my part the past week or so. And more Dr. Pepper and Oreos to help it go away.

The party went well, and I think Sam had a good time. He downed his cupcake and ice cream like a pro. My genes really shone in him during that moment and I was so proud.

I think the sugar crash came about an hour after everyone left and the house was quiet again. In time he'll learn that's a sacrifice you have to make to enjoy the good stuff in life, like Dr. Pepper and Oreos.

It was really special to us to have so much family at the party. Both sets of Mike's great-grandparents live within a day's driving distance, and made the trip to be here, and we're so glad they could make it. I have to give a big shout out to Mike's parents for coming early to help around the house before the party started. I don't think I could have pulled it off without your help, Cindy! My Mom was home recovering from surgery, so I'm glad they didn't try to make the trip, but we missed them anyway. I hope you're feeling better and taking it easy, Mom!

Here are a few more pics from the party:

Sorry to disappoint you, but my baking skills are not for hire. This is supposed to be a white, cock-eyed teddy bear face, not a pig as my father-in-law thought. Easy mistake to make. Sadie in her birthday hat. She was the only child who wore one without complaint. Isn't she precious?

The birthday boy was not so compliant.

In true one-year-old fashion, he enjoyed eating the cards and wrapping paper more than playing with the toys.

And this pic wasn't taken at the party, but it seemed appropriate since it looks like he was having a little too much fun at a party and took a pic of himself.

And in totally unrelated news, I am extremely pumped because I have found THE BOOTS I want for this Fall/Winter. My boots are very important to me and play a huge role in my Fall/Winter life, so choosing them is like looking for a best friend. At least until a cuter, more stylish friend comes along in just the right shade of brown, in which case the old boots are toast. Anyway, here they are:

Aren't they cute?

Well, I'd better get back to unpacking while Sam is still napping. I'll post some pics of the new place soon, promise!

Samuel Keith

August 25, 2008

One year ago today, my life was forever changed. At 6:35 p.m. I was doing some of the hardest physical work I've ever done, and through the blur of pain, a sea of medical staff, and near-mental shut down I heard Mike say with a broken voice, "He's out Steph, he's out!". In that surreal moment I looked to my left and saw my son. Oh, my heart.

Before my mind could really register much besides "SAM!!!", I heard all of the nurses (I think there were approximately 237 of them) start saying "Woah he's HUGE!", and "Wow, look how BIG". All I could think was that he was perfect. They put him on the scales and sure enough, he was a whopping 10 lbs 5 oz. My big Sam boy.

I'd say that's a pretty accurate overall description of him. He's a big boy physically, but also in personality. He's loud, he's fast, he's active, he's strong, and boy is he ever cute. I think as a Mom you always feel like you come up about 1,000 times short of expressing how you feel about your child, but suffice it to say that I think he's the greatest thing on the planet and it feels like my heart is physically outside of my body. He just rocks.

Happy first Birthday, my sweet Sam! I'm forever grateful and proud to be your Mom and you'll never, ever know how much I love you.