December 2011....

I know, I know, pretty spectacular title.... This really has been an awesome month! TJ and I continue to count our blessings :) Barrett had his six month checkup at the beginning of the month. He's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. He's just over 18 pounds and 28 inches long! I love that he's such a big boy! :)

Barrett, my dad, and I flew to St. Louis for five days in mid December. It was my grandpa Andert's 90th birthday and it was such a treat to get to go out and celebrate with everyone! Barrett did really well on the plane ride there mostly flirting with the girls in the row behind us and sleeping a little bit. Crazy boy pooped four stinking {hehe so punny} times on the plane so that was a challenge. Other than that he was so great! We got there and spent some time with his aunts Lisa and Michelle. It was the first time he had met Lisa and the first time I had seen her in well over a year and it was SO fun! We ate a lot of yummy food, celebrated Christmas [sans gifts... which I much prefer!] and enjoyed family. On that Sunday, we had a birthday party for grandpa with all of our extended family. It was so neat to see everyone and visit and hear their memories of grandpa. Lisa also made a really nifty slide show of his life. Pretty much it was awesome! :) Grandpa and grandma loved seeing Barrett and it was neat to have four generations together. We got a picture but I don't have it... I'll have to steal it from someone :)

One highlight to me was getting to go to an actual store that sells cloth diapers! SO FUN! I haven't found one here yet... It was so neat and I got two of the new bumgenius freestyle diapers and so far I really like them. Not as much as their 3.0s but much much more than their 4.0s. I hate those. Ugh.

Aside from the vacation, we're recovering {Barrett got a little cough and runny nose from the plane} and getting ready for Christmas with TJ's family. Anyway, here's a few pics for you to see :)

 I was baking and he reached down for the sugar... Uh oh he's a "likkerbekker" like his mom. That's a Dutch word by the way.... :)

 "Oh no! I'm caught!"

 "what are you looking at?!"

 He got really good at holding his own bottle while we were in St. Louis

We officially have a sitter! He does really well! I think the cloth diapers help him balance a little....

 He's eating an orange rind... I'm pretty sure it's good for him to chew on plus it has Vit C!

 See his hair is growing in a little...

 He loves his puppy!

 Lookie there at his two teeth!!!!!

 Barrett and grandpa Verhoeven

                                                                       The newest addition to the Ridl family! Little Lexi was born Tuesday December 20 and we couldn't be happier to have a baby girl in the family! I'm so excited to meet her!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

family pics and resolutions....

Hi there! I cannot believe how quickly this year is passing us by! I feel like next Tuesday I'm going to wake up and be 54. Anyway, TJ, Barrett, and I got some family pictures taken this year and are sending out a Christmas card to our family and friends. I'm so excited to be doing this! Here are a few sneak peeks for your viewing pleasure:

The Ridl's

Christmas 2011

I love this boy so much it's unreal. His smile makes my heart melt and I'm so thankful God blessed us.

 I love this picture! Even though I HATE working, I am so grateful to have such an amazing hubs who appreciates that he gets to spend so much time with our little munchkin. I love how close they are and all the love they share! A mom's love is expected, but a child who is loved by his dad is so lucky! Barrett is one fortunate kiddo!

Barrett is at a stage in his life where he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth! Even glittery Christmas ornaments! After our little photo shoot he was absolutely covered in blue, pink, purple, green, and red glitter and it made me laugh!

Some other things I want to remember about Barrett and his little life right now:

He LOVES to play peek-a-boo! The best part is that he plays it all by himself. {I know, you think I'm lying but I promise it's true!} When he's laying on the floor, he'll find whatever is near him, like his burp cloth, pants, blanket, or toys, and he'll cover his eyes with it then kick and breath loudly until you say "Where's the baby?!" and then he'll pull it down and wait for you to say "There he is!" and he will kick and smile some more! He is so fun!

Bath time is still his favorite.

He is super ticklish! Pretty much anywhere you get him he'll laugh. Most ticklish places are his collar bones, feet, and his inner thighs.

Best giggle ever. It's kind of a combination of a scream, a giggle, and a gasp. Super cute :)

He loves food. Anything he can eat that isn't the icky bottle he loves! Sweet potatoes and pears are his favorite, followed closely by peas, carrots, peaches, pineapple, and apples with blueberry. The only thing he "doesn't like" is broccoli but I firmly believe that's only because he hasn't eaten it very many times.

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Some things I've been think about lately and some "resolutions" I'm pondering now are making healthier food choices, greener living, and not wasting so much time!

Healthier food choices: Ok, so I feed Barrett a variety of fruits and veggies throughout the day. Rarely does he eat the same thing for breakfast and dinner. So why don't I mix up what I eat a little bit better? I think if I were to eat more fruits and veg I would be so much better off! So that's one thing I plan on working on. I think one of the biggest reasons I don't eat better is because I am lazy. Which leads to the "not wasting time" thing.... I want to get more accomplished! But sitting around isn't going to get it done! I need to turn of the stinking boob tube! Why is TV so dang addicting?! Is it just me? I already know the answer to that. NO. It's a pretty big population. Especially here in America.... LOL if it was less addicting we would be thinner and more productive. So there you go!

As far as the greener living, I would like to start a compost pile, recycle, and use more eco-friendly cleaning solutions. The biggest reason for this is just to have a healthier home. There is no reason to bring all those yucky chemicals into my house and expose my family to them. I know there are amazing options out there for cleaning, laundry, and health and beauty care. I just need to search a little more. Sure it might be tough at first but I truly believe my family and I will be better off in the long run!