Baptized

Jane Ritchie was baptized yesterday at Ashland Place, complete with water from the Jordan River that May May has had in the freezer for 10 years! She was a good girl and did not cry in church. She "talked" alot and everyone laughed. Lots of people came to see her including her Grandma Marty and Papa Bo, Great Aunt May and Great Uncle Jim, Aunt Catherine, Uncle Keith and cousin Campbell, Aunt Ruth and Uncle John, Great Aunt B and Great Uncle Eddie, cousins Montgomery, Elizabeth, Mary Creigh and Anne Eloise, and friends Larkin and Jim. She looked beautiful in her dress and bonnet that Grandma Marty made!

Christmas Morning pics

Baby's First Christmas

Here are a few pictures from Jane Ritchie's first Christmas. Not all are downloaded so there will be more posted later. She has been having fun with the toys she got from Santa!

Ready for Christmas Eve in my new dress!

Looking like an Elf on Christmas morning. I think Alex is jealous!

Aunt Angela and Uncle Sam, Grandaddy and May May, Uncle John and Aunt Ruth, Mommy and Daddy and Jane Ritchie!

Christmas Laughs

My Johnny Jump Up!

Too bad I look like I have no arms!

At Church with Daddy

Daddy is Home!

Waiting in the airport in my pajamas! I can't believe I stayed up so late!

Reunited and it feels so good...

Come home soon Daddy! Look how cute I am!

New Things

On Friday Jane Ritchie had her four month appointment with the doctor. She weighs 14.5 pounds and is 24 inches long. She cried and cried when she got her shots but didn't get a fever or anything.


Friday night we went downtown to see the lighting of the Christmas tree in Bienville Square. It was great fun and Jane Ritchie even got her picture taken with Santa.

Today Jane Ritchie had her first taste of rice cereal. It was pretty amusing!

Home!

We made it home....all three of us! Jane Ritchie and I arrived in Birmingham around noon on Sunday and Alex, the dog, arrived at 9 p.m. that night. The next day we packed up and drove down to Mobile. We are busy getting settled here and are waiting for Paul to get home. We hope it will be at the first of December. We had a very successful move out of our home in Hawaii thanks to Grandma Marty who came to help us! Our things should be waiting for us when we arrive in Monterey at the first of January. Yippee!

Reunited with Granddaddy!

Arriving Mobile with a smile!

With Aunt Angela!


Playing with May May

Meeting my Great Grandmother!

The countdown is on!

We are counting down the days until we get home! I saw a countdown like this on a friends blog and I couldn't resist!


Create yours at BlingyBlob.com!

I Bee Tired!

Happy Halloween!

Dog the Bone-ty Hunter

You may recognize little Hale from a previous post where she is giving Jane Ritchie a kiss, or you may not because this time she's dressed up for Halloween as Dog the Bone-ty Hunter. She even has beads in her hair! Hale is sweeping the island of Oahu this week winning every doggy Halloween costume contest you can imagine. Her parents are very proud!

Laughing

Jane Ritchie started laughing today. I thought she had laughed a little bit before, but when I heard her today, I realized that she wasn't really laughing before. What was so hilarious, you ask? The fan in our bedroom! Click here to see some video:
http://picasaweb.google.com/maryabigail808/101807

Randomly, today I read this in a magazine. Very interesting!

According to Navajo (or Dine) tradition, a baby is considered to be of two worlds at birth: that of the holy people and that of the earth people. As weeks pass, adults wait and listen for the child's first chuckle -- a sign of joy that signals his desire to join his earthly family and community. In Navajo culture, it is believed that a child assumes the qualities of the person who witnesses, or coaxes, his first giggle. (So it might be wise to keep your less noble relations away!)

To commemorate this event, the laugh witness hosts a A'wee Chi'deedloh ("The Baby Laughed") ceremony. Guests, often bearing gifts, file past the infant with plates full of food. With help from the host, the baby holds out salt crystals for each of them. Placed on the food or tongue, the salt is meant to rejuvenate the good character in each recipient and serve as the first in a lifetime of generous acts by the child.

At the meal's end, either the host or a community or family elder blesses the baby, wishing him a life of generosity and gratitude. -- Putnam Goodwin-Boyd

Introducing the sensational and fabulous

DANCING PRINCESS POODALEENA ROSE!!!!

My good friend Chuck Steelman sent this to Jane Ritchie. Once she is old enough she can strap her shoes to Poodaleena's shoes and dance! It is fantastic! Here's a picture so you can see how tall Poodaleena is.

Alex was very excited when Poodaleena emerged from the box. I think he thought she was for him. Poor Alex.

Baby Pool

Jane Ritchie had her first trip to the pool today. The baby pool on base is really nice because it is totally covered with a canopy. You don't have to worry about sunburn. But, the canopy makes the water pretty cold! I put Jane Ritchie's feet in and she immediately started crying! But, we had a nice time just sitting outside.

Blue Angels

The Blue Angels are in Hawaii this week. Our friends Carin and Allen invited us over to their place in Kaneohe to watch. They have had a pretty good view of them practicing the last couple of days. We got to see a few of the planes up close and experienced the very loud noise a couple of times!

Here is Jane Ritchie sleeping in the papasan.

The noise only woke her up once, but she sure was wide eyed!

The view from Carin and Allen's is fabulous.

It is normally very peaceful but today there was some action. The Blue Angels.

And the best shot of the day...