The Ritger Roost: January Happenings

Typically, January is cold, grey, and miserable resulting in us being cooped up in the house, longing for the days of spring. However, this year winter has yet to hit in Atlanta for the most part so we've been lucky to have lots and lots of 65 degree days to enjoy the outside. We're keeping plenty busy enjoying our last few weeks as a family of 3-lots of outside time, feeding the geese, taking hikes, zoo time, playground time, and a trip to the train museum. As of today, which is actually in February we have at most 5 weeks until BabyGirl's extraction from my uterus. I will be full term in 3 weeks so really just a month until we should be ready to welcome her into the family. Her nursery is filling up quickly with adorable pink, purple and floral onesies. I've been up in the attic pulling down all of our old baby stuff from Hank and still need to sort through all the boxes-nesting is in full swing at the roost! Hank is really into "helping" mommy and daddy at every available opportunity, so he's been helping me fold, unpack, organize baby sister's room. He is really starting to talk about her all the time-and claims that he "loves her"....we'll see how long that lasts :) BabySister isn't the only one who got a full room makeover...my big boy is out of the crib and into his big bed-which he loves and actually sleeps better in than the crib. He loves to show people his "new room", and I am really pleased with how they both turned out.

In other new additions to our house, we finally got around to putting a roof on our deck. Our deck is miserably hot about 6 months of the year and basically goes unused. Adding the roof has to be one of the best additions we've done to the house yet! I haven't gotten around to furnishing the new room yet-but it's like we've added a whole new room onto the house. Hank loves to "camp" on the deck-and I'm hoping it becomes a great playspace for the kiddoes in the months to come.

Johnny has been crazy busy (aka working every night after a full workday until midnight) getting Ritger & Ritger properties up and running with its first investment property. Our first tenants moved in February 1st to the "rental house"-and Johnny has officially added landlord to his many hats. Johnny has spent so much time at the property this month that anytime Hank can't find his dad he tells me "Johnny's at the rental house". (yes he still refers to his dad exclusively as Johnny-they are on a first name basis). Hank and I are thrilled to have Johnny back at home in the evenings (especially this 9 month pregnant, overtired mama). Although, he is over there now responding to a call that " the dryer was shooting sparks when it turned on".....

31 weeks with Baby Girl

So add in preschool open houses and crazy enrollment processes for next fall, the busiest time of year for me at work, a head cold that hit the house and doesn't want to leave, a great baby shower brunch thrown by my wonderful Becky, Valentine's Day activities, and preparations for Johnny's upcoming 30th birthday...and that's been our last 6 weeks in a nutshell....whew..no wonder my back is killing me.