Summer Fun

This summer has been filled with barbeques, hikes, pool time, and lots of family.  We have been so blessed in the last year to have our Colorado family expanded so greatly.  For years it was the two Rittenhouse familys here in Colorado and now we have grown and constantly have family around and we LOVE it.  It is great for the kids and wonderful for the adults to have family support around.

Here are some pictures of our summer fun and adventures:

Preston spending the day with Gramma, Gigi, Noahbaby, Paypay and Bubba (not pictured)

Preston becoming an expert hiker and checking out a sweet chimney.

 Mommy, Daddy and Preston loving our Colorado life.

Gramma, Noahbabes, and Preston under a rock.

 Preston napping at the pool with Mimi.

 Rittenhouse Family hike.

Uncle Bruce and Presto being silly (like usual).

 Cousins :)

 Preston & Mimi doing their favorite thing - Pool time!

Our handsome boy.

Preston and his Great-Grandma, Gigi.

We are so thankful that God has chosen this life for us.  We couldn't be happier here in Colorado and love that we have been able to share with our family by our side.  We can't wait for the many years of fun and adventures that lie ahead.

Pearly Whites

Today Preston went for his first appointment with the dentist.  All morning he was so excited about going to the dentist.  I kept praying that all of the excitement wouldn't be immediately halted as soon as we arrived and they asked him to open his mouth.

For the past month or so in preparation for the dentist, we have been "practicing" going to the dentist.  During that time we would ask Preston to open his mouth nice and wide so I could see his teeth... I would feel around in there and then he would get to do the same to me.  He loved it!

Today was a complete success and all of our preparation paid off!  When we got to the office, Preston was greeted by bright fun colors (of course he immediately named them all for me) and lots of toys.  He played for a bit and then the hygenist came out to see Preston.  He immediately followed her back and was ready to hop on the bench so she could check out his toofers!  He laid down and opened wide so she could polish his teeth with the SUPER cool tiger polisher.  Then she applied the flouride with the tooth brush.  Preston laid there perfectly still the entire time.  After she finished up, Dr. Beth came over to check out Prestons teeth.  She said his teeth were perfect, strong and spaced nicely.  We are going to start working on flossing his front teeth and by the time he REALLY needs to be flossing, he will be used to it and it will be routine for him.  She said to keep doing what we are doing because he teeth were perfect!!!  Ah, music to this Mama's ears!

Overall, we had a WAY better experience than expected and I was beyond proud of how well Preston cooperated with everything. 

Each day I am seeing more and more of my little baby growing up and becoming a big kid.  And each day Daddy and I are reminded of how sad we are that our baby boy is growing up.  In spite of all that, I am so ready to see the strong, compassionate, loving and Godly young man he will grow up to be. 

What happened?

It's been a while, but our little boy is now officially TWO and has the personality to prove it! 

P has grown up so much in the last few months, we had hardly even believe it.  He is talking ALL THE TIME and saying things that truly amaze us day after day.  One of his favorite questions (along with WHY?) is "what happened?".  It's the cutest thing.  He is beyond the stage of parroting what we say and now he truly gets what he is saying with every word or sentence that comes pouring out of his little mouth. 

I know every Mama thinks their little boy is soooo smart, but I think he really did get his brains from his Daddy. 

We so lucky and blessed to have been chosen to be this little boys parents. More updates to come later!

We had an amazing Christmas this year and having my parents here to enjoy this special time in Preston's life made it that much better.  We are truly blessed in every way possible.  Preston is the light of our lives and God couldn't have made our little family any more perfect.  

We hope that everyone had a special and meaningful Christmas as well.

Latest happenings

I will be the first to admit that I have totally dropped the ball on updating our little blog.  I feel like time is something that I have been lacking lately between work, illness, OH and raising a toddler BOY.  And let me tell you, this child is ALL BOY.  I blame his father :)

New things in the Rittenhouse world since the last update:

• P now climbs up into his chair when he is hungry
• P no longer uses a bottle... EVER.  We are officially a sippy-cup household.
• P has a potty chair in the bathroom and it is waiting for him once he decides he likes it. :)
• "Mama" and "Dada" are now "Mommy" and "Daddy"... occasionally Mommy is called "Mom"... not cool!
• P thinks its hysterical when Mommy and Daddy mimic his sweet dance moves.
• P lights up when it is time to brush his teeth... he runs to the bathroom and can't wait to sit on the bathroom counter and brush away.  
• Speaking of teeth... we now have 4 molars, 4 front top and bottom teeth and the others are filling in daily.  
• P experienced his first stomach bug = HORRIBLE experience.  Mommy and Daddy were heartbroken watching our boy throw up.  
• Mommy, Daddy and P starting going to a new church about a month ago and love it.  P has a great time in the toddler room and Mommy and Daddy really enjoy the time together as well.
• We are anxiously awaiting the arrival and Mimi and Papa (my parents) next week as they are moving to Colorado from Florida.  We are absolutely thrilled and can't wait for them to see the fun and craziness that we experience with this little boy.  
• The house is decorated for Christmas and so far P hasn't broken anything :)  Although he is quite intrigued by the lights on the tree and other places in the house.  I predict it won't be long before he gets his hands on something and it all comes crashing down :) 

There are probably a zillion more things that I am forgetting, but I think you get the idea.  Life is good.  We are so blessed and thankful for the friends and family in our life.  We hope that everyone has a safe and healthy holiday season.

Below are a few pictures from the last few months :)

- The Rittenhouse's

 Thanksgiving Day

 My BIG boy.

 Thoroughly enjoyed dessert.

Cousins!!!

 Cool kid .

 My little dragon - Halloween

Happy guy!

Hittin' the Trail

On Sunday, Brennan, Preston and I went for a beautiful drive and hike in the mountains around Mt. Evans.  The weather was perfect - 65-70 degrees.  Yup, eat your heart out Floridians :)  It was absolutely the best day for a hike.  Sadly, it was our first real hike of the summer and Preston loved it.  We bought a Kelty backpack carrier off Craigslist and it is really a great way to get him around until he is a bit bigger and can hike on his own.  Not to say that carrying him around in that is easy.  Whew!  Brennan carried him up and I carried him down.  I thought I was going to make out on that deal, but going down was insanely hard.  I felt so top-heavy that any time I would get the slightest momentum I felt like I was going to tumble down the mountain. 

Just about as soon as we started heading down to head back to the car, Preston fell asleep.  He was literally snoring in my ear most of the way down.  I am so thankful that my child will sleep on the go.  We had a great time and couldn't have asked for a better day or time with our family. 

Daddy & Preston - getting ready to hit the trail

Mommy & Preston - heading down

Hiking wore him out!!!

We absolutely love our life here in Colorado.  We realized this weekend that like most things, we were starting to take this beautiful state and scenery for granted.  Getting outdoors in the mountains and enjoying being together as a family reminded us exactly why it is that we moved here.  God has blessed us so much here and we need to be better about appreciating everything around us.

Ironic

I find it quite interesting and ironic that now that Preston is actually able to say words and starting to put words together, he has mastered the ability to sign for "more".  When he was younger and not really talking at much, we tried so hard to get him to sign for "eat" and "more".  He has decided that now is the time to put that into practice when he can actually just say them. Ha.  Kids are funny and truly do things at their very own pace.  Even though he can say the word, I think I am more proud that he is able to use sign language and totally understands what he is saying and doing.

I love my smart and sweet little boy.