Lisa and Steve

Almost 6 months have passed...Eeek! 1 year old and growing.....

2011-08-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe how time seems to move so quickly. Emma turned 1 year old on May 7th, 2010. My once 6 lb. 5.5 ounce peanut is now a full-fledged toddler weighing in at 21 lbs at her 1 year check-up and 30 inches long (2 months later, she is 23 lbs and 30 3/4 inches tall). Her 1st birthday party was great and she has such a blast. She was dainty about her cake, but loved the frosting. Many people showed up to help us celebrate, the theme was Cupcakes! She has grown to be such a smartie. As of now, she has about 15 words and she gets into everything! Emma crawls everywhere, loves to eat almost everything, follows one-step directions, reads books non-stop, loves playing with her toy kitchen and pretend food, pulls herself up on anything she can grab, and loves sticking her face in the water. She is not walking independently yet, but we are in no huge rush for that! She will walk along anything she holds onto and will walk while holding one of our hands. I am sure the walking will come any day now; for now, we will relish in the fact that our daughter isn't running away from us yet!

Here are some of our faves from the past 6 months...I promise I will be better about blogging from now on!

Surprise! I can get into the laundry basket and tip it back up by myself!

Kiss me, I'm a wee bit Irish! :)

Soooo Big! Look at my cute pigtails, courtesy of Auntie Joy!

Easter Egg hunt at Grandpa and Grandma's house!

I'm 1 year old!

(photo courtesy of Zorophoto - Anna Zoromski-Linde)

Cute Photographs.

2011-02-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

I love to photograph Emma. Capturing her various faces on the camera is such an easy thing to do, because she is such a ham. She now realizes what the camera is and will smile for when I point it at her. Here are a couple of my recent faves:

Being brave and letting go from holding on the couch

Sitting pretty.

Huh?!? Whatcha talking about mama?

Emma is growing up so fast. She is already 9 months old...less than 3 months until she is 1. That is crazy!

Christmas, 7 and 8 months, and much more!

2011-02-18T12:29:00.000-08:00

Emma's new cozy coupe car!

Christmas morning

Christmas Craziness

Going to see Santa in jammies :)

7 Months old!

8 months old!

Decorating the tree, Thanksgiving, and Emma's fun with a new toy!

2010-12-05T19:52:00.001-08:00

Here are a few more pictures that I was able to upload because my daughter has a new earlier bedtime! Hooray to us for pushing it back another hour. Emma now goes to bed at 8:30-9:00. I don't think I can push it back any further because I like having the time to play with her when I come home from work.

Emma was a good helper with putting ornaments on. She liked a lot of them so much that she didn't want to let go of them to put them on!

Emma in her Thanksgiving dress.

Thanksgiving Family photo

4 generations picture

Emma absolutely loves this activity center. It first belonged to Hanna and Rylee, but now Emma gets to enjoy it. Thanks Auntie Joy for letting us have this. :)

Dells Weekend, 6 months, and Fun all wrapped in one!

2010-12-05T19:34:00.001-08:00

Hi again! I feel like I don't ever have the time to blog and update pictures. Time just flies by. I can hardly believe it is December already! Here are some of the latest of Emma Grace and our Family.

Happy 1/2 a year, Emma! We actually let her eat some banana ice cream to celebrate!

At the Wilderness Hotel Waterpark. Emma's 1st time in a pool.

Yum, the water tastes good!

Playing with Daddy!

We had lots of fun at the Waterpark!

Emma's face was priceless as we introduced her to the water. Here is the 1st picture of her in the water. She wasn't sure at first, but she grew to love it. We had such a good time. We can't wait to go back.

5 months, Halloween, and everything in between!

2010-11-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

Life is busy as usual! Here are a bunch of pictures from the latest and greatest of the Rychter Family!

The Ladybug and Minnie

I can sit all by myself. :) Neat Trick, eh? Now, gimme some candy! J/K

Daddy and Emma :)

Emma + me in our Costumes

Cute.

Look at me during tummy time and I am not crying!

I looooooooooooooove sweet potatoes!

Ahhhh.... stroller rides. How we miss you already!

Michelle and Derek's Wedding!

2010-10-15T19:48:00.001-07:00

I had the privlege of being a bridesmaid for my bestie Michelle's wedding. She married Derek Bollig on 9-25-2010. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a blast. Little E stayed with the Arnold family while Mommy and Daddy had a night away. Here are some pictures from the day:

Michelle and me at the nail salon

The Whole Bridal Party

Steve and me on the wedding bus

The 'Maids and The Bride

Michelle, Sarah (one of the flower girls), and me. Sarah was my little dancing partner all night long; she was such a sweetie and wanted to dance for all the songs.

5 Months, fall pictures, starting food, OH MY!

2010-10-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, time is sure flying by! Emma turned 5 months old on October 7th and she started Rice Cereal that Sunday. After the 4 day waiting period of doing Rice Cereal (you have to wait to see if there is an allergic reaction), we are on to carrots and squash. She is loving food. The fall weather is a nice refresher from the heat and Emma loves to go for stroller rides. She now is rolling over, sitting on her own for short periods of time, and talking/giggling/shrieking/laughing up a storm. Emma loves to read books and she will sit so great for multiple books. My baby is getting very big.....where are the days when she would just sit and snuggle?

Nice job, Dad, you got it in my mouth! :)

Yummy Rice Cereal. As you can see, Emma got 90% of it on her face!

Stroller Rides are fun on warm, fall days.

Emma sitting by her pumpkins.

5 months old already! Woo Hoo!

I Heart Bucky!

Tummy Time with Mama.

Go pack Go!!! Emma likes cheering on the Packers.

4 months and more!

2010-10-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Emma is getting so big. She had her 4 month dr. appointment on September 7th and she was 13 lbs and 6 ozs. and 24.5 inches long. She was in the 50th percentile for everything, which is a great accomplishment because she was in the 5-10th percentile at birth. Here is a smiley 4 month picture:

We have been busy with life, as I have gone back to work. At least, Steve is now home during the weeks (he was gone Monday-Thursday for most of the summer). Grandma Judy has been doing a great job baby-sitting while Mama is at work :) We have been getting ready for fall to come and we are excited about dressing Emma up soon for Halloween. Costume possibilities are a monkey, cow, or ladybug. Here are some new pictures of Miss Emma:

Pretending to ride on Daddy's 4-wheeler

Emma is joining us in her highchair now for dinner. She may be ready to start on solids...look at the way she is devouring her toy.

Emma's 1st Basketball....Mama is lovin' it!

Go Bucky!!! :)

Emma's Baptism and other things

2010-08-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Emma was baptized on August 8th, 2010...which coincidentally was mine and Steve's 1st anniversary! A great way to celebrate our love; to baptize our baby! :) We had a party at our house that was a combination housewarming/baptism party. It was a lot of fun.

Emma is growing like a weed! I posted her 2 month and 3 month pictures. She is already 12 lbs 9 ounces, just about double her birthweight at only 3 months old! She is also a little over 23 inches long (she was 18 1/4 inches when she was born). Everyday she is doing something that amazes me, more recently, she is starting to have more body and head control...so she likes to sit in her Bebe Pod seat (same as the Bumbo chair). She also is reaching for things, laughing, "having conversations with people," and using some primitive consonants (m, b). I love watching all the changes happening with my little girl!

I have to go back to work in 9 days, which is going to be tough. However, knowing that Emma will be with Grandma Judy is comforting.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-07-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

It was Steve's first Father's Day and he loved spending lots of quality time with Emma. Emma got him a super cute sign that says "Dad's Garage" because Steve is obsessed with our garage and putzing around in it! She also got him his favorite treat, a giant bag of Sunflower seeds, and some new, snazzy work gloves.

She totally is going to be a Daddy's girl! I can already tell.....she loves to stare into his eyes.

Emma sleeping in Daddy's arms :)

One Month Old already!

2010-07-01T10:40:00.001-07:00

Emma's One Month old picture!

I can't believe how fast time flies. Little Emma is already 1 month old and she is growing lots. At one month old, she grew 1.5 inches and almost 3 lbs. We are truly blessed to have a great baby. She is now sleeping about a 5 hour chunk at the beginning of the night and then she will wake up, eat, and then go back down for another 3 hours. That definitely helps mommy gets some rest.

Here are some other pictures of our sweet girl:

Emma and Mama

It almost looks like Emma's rolling her eyes!

Baby Emma Grace Rychter

2010-05-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a loooooooooooooong time, but I figured I should catch up. The last time I blogged, it was February and I was only about 24 weeks pregnant!!! The rest of the pregnancy went well and I was induced on May 7th at 38 weeks 3 days. Emma Grace weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 18.2 inches long. She was born after 6 hours of labor, not too bad for a first timer! She is truly a joy and we absolutely are in love!

Here are some pictures:

Bump Watch 24 weeks

2010-02-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest Bump picture! I am officially 6 months pregnant and loving it. I love feeling her move and kick. She even had the hiccups today, every 5 seconds I felt her bounce! Too funny :)

I can't wait to meet this little bundle of joy.

Update on House....long overdue! :)

2010-02-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

Painting the baby's room

Great Room

Baby Room

Steve hanging in the Great Room

Here are some updated photos of Steve and I and our building process. You can see that the drywall is up and that we painted! Steve's brother-in-law Mitch, nephew Hayden, and Steve's mother Judy.

Baby Rychter, 19 weeks

2009-12-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

We had our big ultrasound today and it was amazing. We are officially members of TEAM PINK! We are having a Baby Girl! I knew I was having a girl, those dreams were right! I can't believe how much she has grown in the last few weeks. How great is it to say "she" and know that I have a teeny, tiny daughter growing inside me. My mom and mother-in-law came with us to view the baby. Everything looks great and she is developing on schedule. Her heart was beating at 146 bpm and her brain was looking great. She weighs 9 ounces and is about 9 inches crown to rump. I can't believe the love I have for her already. It all seems so real after this ultrasound. We are going to be a family. For your viewing pleasure, I got the ultrasound pictures from today to post. Enjoy!

Practicing basketball stance in utero.....triple threat!

I'm number #1!

Hi! Here's my cute face.......

I am putting my hand on my forehead, ahhhh it is a tough life in here!

Baby Bump

2009-12-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Well I got Steve to take a decent picture of me, I feel so chunky these days. This is my 16 week baby bump picture. Baby Rychter is starting to make her or his presence known. I find out in less than 2 weeks what the sex is, I hope!! If baby cooperates...we shall see. It will be the best Christmas present ever.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the start of my "bump."

House developing on schedule!

2009-12-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

The house building is moving right along.....In fact, I am shocked at how on schedule the builder is. He and his crew even work on Saturday and Sundays. Here are some pictures of recent developments:

Front of the house

Steve in the Great Room (which will be our kitchen and living room area)

Future Room of Baby Rychter :)

Update on House!

2009-11-22T18:38:00.001-08:00

More work has been done on our new house, they are moving quickly and working dilligently because of the nice weather we have been blessed with. I love watching all the progress being made. Here are some updated pictures for you to see:

Cheese! Our first picture together at our new property. :)

Here is a picture of the concrete poured for our 3 car garage and the exterior walls framed in :)

A picture of the house from the backyard. On the far right-hand side, is our covered patio and we still have extra concrete included in our budget. We can't decide where to pour the rest of it!

That's all for now, we will see what the builders accomplish this coming week!

House Work!

2009-11-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

The title implies that there is some sort of cleaning going on, but that's not the case! Here are some of the latest pictures of the building of our house in Stevens Point. We are so excited and it is progressing quite quickly because of the nice weather. I can't wait until they have the 1st floor in and then start putting up the walls!

I'm excited because they are already putting in the floor supports for the basement!

The hole is dug and ready for building!

Here they have already started to put the block up for the basement!!!

I can't wait unti we are in our new house and we can unpack all of our things. However, I can't complain because I have dinner cooked for me every night by my mother-in-law. :)

Ultrasound picture!

2009-11-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

I have had 3 ultrasounds so far. The 1st one was to date the pregnancy and the other 2 were to follow up on a subchorianic hematoma, which is basically a blood blister that forms on the uterine wall between where the placenta develops. It was only 1 cm and it is now gone, but the doctor said that they are very common and most pregnant women don't know that they have them. It was very great to get to see how the baby develops early on, especially the last 2 ultrasounds (1 at 7 weeks, 3 days and another at 11weeks), because we got to see the heart beating.

Also, I had my 12 week appointment and the doctor put the doppler on my tummy and the baby has a heartbeat of 164bpm. He said that everything appears right on track and that things are looking good! Woo hoo! Here is the 11 week ultrasound picture:

We are so excited to become parents! We can't wait to find out what we are having!

We're Pregnant!!!!

2009-11-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

For those that do not know yet, Steve and I are expecting our first baby! We are incredibly excited and can't wait to meet this new little person. It came as quite of a shock how soon it happened, but that's life right?

Currently, I will be starting into my 2nd trimester this week and baby Rychter's expected arrival date is May19th, 2010. So far no icky throwing up, which has been a good thing, but there has been nausea, fatigue, and a chicken soup aversion! We will be finding out if it is a girl or boy in December; I can't wait! I will be posting our 1st ultrasound pics soon hopefully, once I figure out the in-laws scanner. Did I mention we moved in with my in-laws while we are......

Building a new house in Stevens Point! We decided we loved the house so much in Reedsburg and were so sad to see it sold that we would build a replica of it here. The digging of the basement has begun and the foundation will soon be laid. Can't wait to post pics of that as well. I guess that's all the news for now, stay tuned for updated pictures, etc.! :)

We are Married!

2009-08-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

We did it! On August 8th, 2009 we became Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Lisa Rychter. The day went by so quickly, I couldn't believe it. The ceremony was beautiful, the food was great, and the dancing was so much fun. We kept getting compliments over and over again about the decor (shout out to Embellished from Arnott, they rocked!), our DJ (way to go, Bill Hill!), and the ceremony sermon. The Reverend delivered a great sermon about love and she actually tied in some anecdotes from love letters she had us write to each other before the big day. Awwwww! I almost lost it 2 times, once coming down the aisle and then when Steve started to say his vows. We were truly blessed with the great weather that day and with all the family and friends who came to celebrate with us. I loved everything about that day and I had such a great time. I am so lucky to have found an amazing husband, who truly is my soul mate. I love you Steve. Above are some pictures from the wedding that others took, hopefully soon I can post some professional pics from our photographers.

Only 1 week until the big day.....

2009-07-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

The wedding is finally a week away....ahhhhhhh! So much stuff to do, so little time! As I type this, I am procrastinating from finishing my seating charts because they are so hard to do. I am having trouble trying to place everyone and make everyone fit with people then can chat with.

Steve and I have been counting down the days the last week until the wedding, because we are so excited. I can't wait to be in the big, white dress and walk down the aisle to meet my future hubby. I also can't wait to celebrate with our friends and family. This is going to be a busy month for us, wedding, moving, honeymoon, starting a new job, and we even have something else huge going on, but we will save that for a later blog. It is still in the works..... :)

ta-ta for now, the next blog I may very well be a Mrs.

Busy, Busy, Busy Bee

2009-07-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

Wedding Planning=My Life. Enough said. These past 3 days I have been busting out lots of wedding tasks. Finalizing DJ lists, program templates, welcome notes, continually adding to the head count, and my 2nd dress fitting. I almost had a minor problem, because I was on WW and lost 25 lbs., they had to take my dress in 2 in. on both sides of the bodice part of the dress. When they took in the dress, I was afraid that the length was going to be affected (because it was just right before alterations). When I tried it on with my shoes, it was indeed too short for my liking. I got a panicked look on my face in the mirror and my mother says "Relax, it will be okay!" OKAY?!??!?! This is my dress that I am supposed to look perfect in as I walk to meet my future husband, that I am supposed to dance around and feel special in, that I am supposed to wear with confidence. I was not confident at all looking at the length of this dress. I suppose my "tallness" has been somewhat of a snag in the bridal wear department because it is A) hard to find dresses that look okay with someone with a long torso and long legs and B) hard to find shoes that are low-heeled, open-toed, and cute.

However, the seamstress at the bridal shop is a miracle worker! She discovered that there was an inch of material on the bottom hem and she was able to work the hem so that there can be an extra inch added to the bottom of the dress. WOO HOO. I breathed a huuuuuuuge sigh of relief. All was okay again. Things have been going relatively well other than that brief 3 minute scare about the length of the dress. Now, I just need to get going on displays for the design of the escort card table.......hmmmmmm, this is never-ending. :)

New Job

2009-06-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

Sooooooo amidst all the crazy wedding planning and end of school stuff to do, I applied for a new job in the Stevens Point area. I had 2 interviews and I got offered a full time position, in 1 building (which is awesome), because I am not a fan of traveling between 3 buildings. The staff in Reedsburg has been great and I have really gotten along with everyone and developed great working relationships (I will miss everyone, especially the S/Ls). I student-taught in the Stevens Point district and went to school at the University there for my bachelor's and master's degree. I feel as though Stevens Point is my second home. Milwaukee will always be my 1 and only, but all of our close friends are in S.P. However, we have made lots of great new friends in Reedsburg. It is a hard decision to make....today my mood is sad and happy at the same time.

Holy cow. Almost 2 months until the wedding. Planning Overload

2009-05-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

So I decided I needed to chat about wedding planning. Not to say it hasn't been fun doing it all on my own, but there is SOOOOOO much to do. This past Memorial Day weekend some of my bridesmaids and my awesome usherette came to my house to do heavy wedding work. We made the favors, addressed envelopes, and did the table tents with table numbers on them. We got lots done, thank GOD I had help. I can only imagine what it would have been like trying to do those things by myself. On Monday, after the girls had left, Steve was looking for something to do. I put him to work too, we made the welcome bags for our out of town guest that are staying at the hotel where the reception is being held.

Here are some pictures from the some of the products we were making:

lol, boxes galore! Anyways, wedding planning has been stressful, but when the girls came up this past weekend, it was so much fun. There was a crazy invitation incident, but we got through it.

Wedding Stress.........

2009-04-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

With all the fru fru stuff involved with planning a wedding, I have to wonder.....is it all worth it for one day?

I continually have to tell myself that a simple, but fancy, a traditional, yet modern wedding is all worth it. Is a tasteful affair of 400 that goes off without a hitch too much to ask? I am beginning to think that I should have a professional wedding planner. I do have my good buddy Michelle helping me out with advice and suggestions every step of the way, along with my other bridesmaids, but jeeeeesh, this is hard work. I used to think that my job was hard work......boy, was I wrong. Hard work is making sure that what you want/need happens and it isn't easy to guarantee that. As they say, nothing in life is guaranteed. We finally found a new photographer after Steve's uncle needed to step down due to his wife's illness. It is tough finding a photographer that fits your style and is going to deliver what you want when you are only 3 1/2 months away from your blissful day. I just continually pray to God that everything will work out in the end, because this is who God wants me to be with!!!

On a side note, I am blogging from Milwaukee tonight, because I am at an out-of-town conference, but it sure felt good leaving all the school stress in Reedsburg to come where I always feel giddy when I pull into the city limits. It feels weird to say "out-of-town," because I am from here, but Reedsburg is where I live and Milwaukee will always be my home.

2009-03-16T19:59:00.001-07:00

So it has been a super looooooooooooooooong time since I blogged. I figured I should catch up on some stuff and blogging is one of those things. I have been a busy girl with wedding planning and school. Everything has been kicked up into high gear, Spring is a busy time of the year, I tell ya!

I picked up my wedding invites this past weekend and they are super cute. I am so excited about them. They are black with cream writing and then I plan to add a red ribbon around it. Our wedding colors are red, black, and ivory (with a bit of white too), the dresses for the bridesmaids are red.

We have been busy taking marriage prep classes and "jetsetting" back and forth from Reedsburg to Stevens Point. In the past 3 months, we have also been to Milwaukee and Appleton (for Steve's nephew's 9th birthday). Some of the pictures we posted are from the Appleton weekend! The little girl is Rylee, our niece, who is an absolute jokester. She is taking after her Uncle Steve. She put on Steve's glasses and then pulled up her dress to show she was shaking her leg while dancing! Talk about hilarious. The other picture is of Steve and I with Hayden, it was his birthday that weekend in Appleton.

2008-12-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

Okay so snag in the NYC plans....my friend's sister who was going with us has a class starting on the 30th and she can't come anymore. We don't want to pay even more than we already were...boo hoo. Maybe another time. :( :(

So on to more positive things. I had the end of my 12th week of Weight Watchers and my total losses add up to 19.4 lbs!!! I am so excited about this! :) This is the only thing that has really worked for me and I'm loving watch the weight come off. Wedding plans have been picking up again and I have booked transportation for our wedding! We need an extreme amount of seating because our wedding party is large. Anyways, I sent out our xmas cards with our save-the-dates in them....I finally finished them! whew...it was a lot of work, but totally worth it. I am also excited about Christmas coming...I love the holidays and watching people open presents!

I finally finished the Twilight series and to anyone out there who hasn't read it, you NEED to! It was absolutely amazing to read and I was obsessed. Poor Steve, I think I was neglecting him a bit with my insane need to constantly read these books. The 4th book was the longest, but like the others before it, I couldn't put it down! Team Edward! :)

NYC BABY!

2008-11-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

So I just received word that my awesome friend Michelle and I are now officially booked on a vacation to New York City over New Year's Eve! New Year's Eve in Rockefeller Center will be insanely great! :) There are so many things that I want to see and do there, it will be impossible to fit it all in. For sure, I will be going on the Sex and the City tour to some of the show's film spots, the Empire State building, Statue of Liberty, and the Met. I also want to go to the Guggenheim and I want to visit 5th Avenue stores to window shop and the cheap street vendors by Central Park. I have tried to get tickets to Rachael Ray, Today show, Live with Regis and Kellly, David Letterman, The View, and Martha Stewart. We shall see if I am lucky enough to get some tickets.

I leave for NYC on Dec. 29th...so much to plan in a short period of time....plus trying to plan wedding stuff and to do school work. TOO MUCH! EEK!

Our First Blog.....

2008-11-13T16:41:00.001-08:00

So all I hear is that blogging is the new rage! Well, I will give a try then! I guess our lives are pretty crazy right now. Steve's business has really taken off in Reedsburg and he has done better than he thought in the 1st six months of business. For those that don't know, he started V.I.P. Tree Service in Reedsburg, WI in April of 2008. He has been busy, plus he is still working for Asplundh full time during the week (Mon.-Thurs.).

I have been busy with school, wedding planning, and keeping up with friends, family, and cleaning the house!!! Haha. Wedding planning is going okay...I think I have everything done that I am supposed to at this point. I am in the process of finishing our save the dates and thinking about invitations. Ahhhh.....invitations, so many choices. Oh well, plus I have been busy buying Christmas gifts and scrapbooking! I also decided that this pesky weight I have been carrying around since college needed to goooooooooooooo! I joined Weight Watchers this fall and I have lost 10.8 lbs. so far. It really works, no joke. I thought that I wouldn't be able to watch what I ate and write things down, but after the first week it has become habit. The 1st trip to the grocery store after I started the program was a pain in the you-know-where! It took me 2 hours to find foods that I would like and could make for Steve and I (cooking for two on Weight Watchers=tough business)!

Anyways, this was fun, I think I could start to get into this blogging thing! :)