Dance Party

Sometimes in the late afternoon, we get a little wild in the Ritsema home. We like to turn up the music and dance. Here are a few priceless pictures of our star dancer.

Warming up...


DJ Skill Spins trying to decide on the next song


Breaking it down


Did you see that?

Sunny Days

A few weekends ago, the temperatures reached into the high 50's. It was a heat wave of sorts which provided much needed relief from the extremely cold winter that we've had. I know, I know, we really have no reason to complain seeing as the Northeast and Midwest are covered with inches upon inches of snow every other day. It's just that I've grown accustomed to moderate winters and this one has been downright cold.

During the weekend, we enjoyed our first picnic of 2010, checked out a new local playground, and walked along the Chattahochee river. I was reminded of how much I love nature; I felt such joy and peace as we relished in God's creation. It was definitely hard to get back into the groove of real life after such a wonderful weekend.

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ohhhhh, Baby!

John Parker has been making the most hilarious face over the last few weeks. He loves to make the "Oh" face as I like to call it when he's really excited about eating or when he wants to play with a particular toy. Needless to say, it makes me laugh and just love how expressive even little babies can be.

Little Boy Blue

Lately, I've had some time to reflect on how wonderful it is to be a mom. It's definitely the hardest and yet most rewarding job that I've ever had. It requires more of me than I ever could have thought or imagined. It's truly a gift to be able to celebrate the little and big accomplishments of your child's life. I never knew that my heart could well up with so much love. Sure, there are times of sheer exhaustion when he's fussy or when you tire of yet another load of laundry, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

To Grandma's House We Go

The past two weeks have been quite busy as John's parents moved into their new home. They have been working tirelessly to settle in and make their house a home. This is an excited next step in their life in Atlanta. We're thankful to have them close.

John Parker as always was there to offer morale support, but he left the heavy lifting to the movers! :) I love this picture of him in front of Grandma's rocker...so sweet!

Baby, it's cold outside...

I've got major spring fever right now. I just got home from a consignment show where they had the most adorable spring and summer clothes. I have to admit I am ready for short sleeves and sandals not to mention putting my little man in adorable little spring smocked outfits. However, after taking a picture of him all bundled up yesterday in the 30 degree weather. I realized I will miss my little bundled baby.

7 Month Photos

Last month, we had Carrie Tabb, a local photographer, take pictures of John Parker. This has been such a fun stage since he's sitting up comfortably, eating solids, and just all around more giggly. Two of our favorite activities to do with John Parker are read books and play airplane. Carrie Tabb did an amazing job capturing our everyday life. I would highly recommend her! Here's a link to her blog with some of the photos. (If you have time, please post a comment on the photo entry of JP that is below. 10 comments gets us a free 5x7 and 20 gets us a free 8x10 :))

Enjoy!

http://www.carrietabbblog.com/2010/01/your-life-is-beautiful/

Comfort Food

The one thing that I love about the winter is that it's the perfect time for comfort food. I love recipes that are short on prep time, but taste delicious. Here's a great recipe courtesy of Southern Living.

This recipe gets an "A" for easy and an "A" for convenience since most of us keep these staples on hand. However, it gets a "D" for healthiness. Well, you can't have it all! :)

All American Meat Loaf

2 pounds ground round
3/4 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup of ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Combine the top 8 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Place in a baking loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Combine the last 3 ingredients in a smaller bowl. After baking the meatloaf for 40 minutes, spoon this mixture over the meatloaf and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Get ready for a delicious treat of winter goodness!

Snuggle Time

I admit that even though it's the dead of winter; I love JP in his diaper. He much prefers no clothes to clothes; let's hope he'll grow out of this before he reaches grade school! :) Just in case you worried that he might catch a cold, note that I let him cuddle with his little fluffy lamb and cranked up his space heater. Ahh to warmer days ahead...

No More Peas Please!

We are about a month and a half into eating solid foods. We've established that we really like rice cereal--bland as it may be. However, peas and bananas well those are another story. I think these pictures below sum it up pretty well.

Yummy, it's lunch time!


Hmmmm, what do you have in mind?


Are you really going to make me eat one more bite?


Ugh, these peas are disgusting!!