Ryder’s First Christmas

"Grandpa's sidekick"

     We had a nice, quiet Christmas this year.  My parents came up from Portland on Christmas Eve.  After a crab dinner we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church.  We got there a bit late and unfortunately the only seats left were in the lobby.  We were bummed, but it was our own fault – well, mostly mine really.  I HATE being late for things but no matter how well I plan, it always seems to be a mad dash to get out the door (especially now with Ryder). 

Christmas Eve from the "crying room."

     Not long after church started, Ryder began to fuss.  He had gone to bed before the service (and we thought he’d sleep through it), but the excitement proved too much and our tired little guy could not get back to sleep.  So we grabbed our things and headed up to the church’s crying room.  As it turned out, the seats up there ended up being WAY better than those in the lobby below (the crying room is on the 3^rd floor and overlooks the entire sanctuary).  Sure, we had to endure some fussing from the little ones but we got to enjoy the service lounging in rocking chairs.  It was like “box seats” for church.  I kept hoping someone would offer to sell me a pretzel.  Thanks, Ryder, for being our ticket in!

New Christmas pajamas!

     After the service we headed home and opened our new Christmas pajamas.  We also busted out the box of See’s candy – an entire box of Scotch Mallows, oh boy – and that was all the Christmas present I needed (thanks mom!). 

     On Christmas morning we started things right.  With a Dutch Baby, of course.  The Dutch Baby has been a Thompson family tradition for as long as I can remember.  It is one of my favorite foods.  If you’ve never had one, tell me and I’ll have you over to enjoy one with us.  It is a sort of pancake meets French toast meets custard-y heaven type of thing.   

A Christmas Chia Pet!  Thanks Dad!

     After breakfast we opened gifts (yeah, I got a Christmas Chia Pet...don't be jealous!) and then took a nap.  Then it was time for more food and a few rounds of cribbage (another Thompson family tradition).  Jesse and I have been on a major losing streak (I’m about to trade him in for a new partner ;-).  In my house if you get “skunked” there is a rule that you have to run around the block naked (I think my brother is the only one who’s actually done it).  Well, Jesse and I got skunked.  Fortunately my parents were gracious and allowed us to maintain our dignity with the neighbors (we didn’t run, we merely strolled).  But you can bet we will be training hard in order to crush them next time we meet.

     The following day my parents had to head home.  But first we enjoyed a wonderful brunch at Hector’s (a Kirkland favorite).  They also watched Ryder so Jesse, Boone, and I could go on a run just the 3 of us.  Thanks mom and dad!

Christmas Ships

     One of our new favorite traditions since moving to Washington involves the Christmas Ships.  Every year around Christmas, these big lake-sized cruise ships get all decorated and loaded up with choral singers.  They then move from port to port around Lake Washington over the days leading up to Christmas.  At each port (okay, they’re just docks), the big boats stop and the choral singers sing and crowds gather to sing along and it’s all very festive.  Smaller, privately-owned boats join the fun too, by getting all decorated and following around the big boat. 

     Last year we enjoyed the Christmas Ships from one of our friend’s smaller boats (and by “smaller” I mean large enough to carry 20 or so other people besides us) as we followed the leader.  We even floated by Bill Gates’ place, which was tastefully and subtly lit up such that you could probably see it from space.

     But this year, we took Ryder to see the ships from the luxurious comfort of his BOB (stroller) at nearby Waverly Beach Park.  We live about 2.5 blocks from the Park so when we heard the ships coming, we got bundled up and made our way down.  The place was packed but we found a little spot to watch and sing along with the rest of the crowd.  And of course, the ships were beautiful.  The choir on the main ship serenaded us as people on shore sang along – some on the dock, some by the bonfire.

Twas’ the week before Christmas…

     The week before Christmas we headed to Depoe Bay, Oregon to celebrate Christmas a little early with our families.  The drive to Oregon was much easier than when Ryder was 2.5 weeks old (that trip took twice as long as normal and involved lots of stops in darkened Taco Bell parking lots to nurse).  This time, Ryder slept the whole way!  Such a champ! 

     It was a low-key weekend of celebrating.  There was a lot of playing and laughing with the babies.  A LOT of yummy food consumption.  We took the dogs for a walk on the beach (Boone and Corey both stayed at a nearby doggy daycare and we had visitation rights).  We played and lost a cribbage game.  One day, Jesse took a four-hour nap, the lazy punk.  But more than anything, we just relaxed and enjoyed being together.  We also enjoyed four rare days of Oregon coast sunshine!

     Ryder got to see both sets of grandparents, his Uncle David and Aunt Erin, and his cousin Alex.  Here are some more pictures from the weekend:

Walk on the beach with the dogs.

Gorgeous!

A Grandma's "happy place."

We had some similar ideas about gifts this year.  So funny!

Our beautiful boy.

     And I just had to post this picture again in case you missed it:

Alex and Ryder at the beach.

Santa Baby

     We bought this Santa suit for $15 at Target and BOY did we get some mileage out of it!  Here are some pics of Ryder in his cute little Santa suit (a picture of him was even featured on a parenting website:  www.peps.org). 

Santa baby

Happy boy!

Mama and her boys

Boone and Ryder

The Rice Fam

At the beach with my little Santa

And the best one yet...

Alex and Ryder

Meeting Santa for the First Time

About to meet Santa

     We were excited to take Ryder to meet Santa for the first time.  But like all parents, we were dreading the long lines.  Would it really be worth standing in line for an hour and a half to meet someone Ryder would never remember?  We decided we wanted the picture bad enough and headed to the mall.

     On a tip from a friend, we went to Nordstrom (having heard their line was shorter).  Sure enough, when we arrived there was no line at all and Santa was already waving excitedly to Ryder the moment we stepped off the elevator.  It turns out Ryder was quite content sitting on Santa’s lap (he probably thought it was the warmest, snuggliest blanket he’d ever sat on).

Ryder and Santa

     To our surprise (and you should make a note of this), Nordstrom will also let you take pictures with Santa using your own camera (rather than spending the ridiculous $20 for one 5x7).  So we took some of our own pics.  And since there was still no line, they let Ryder spend some extra time with Santa.  Santa kept asking Ryder if he wanted an Xbox 360.  I told him we only buy Apple.

     When we were done taking our shots we thanked Santa and his elves and headed out.  We were so excited about our pictures that we pulled over in the children's shoe department to take a look at them.  That's when we discovered our camera’s settings had gotten messed up by a certain member of the Rice family whose name, I can only say, rhymes with "messy."  The pictures were all grainy.  Christmas was ruined.

     We shyly went back and asked if we could have another sitting with Santa.  The pro photographer stuck up his nose but Santa was thrilled to have another chance to hang with Ryder.  We got some more shots.  Thanks Nordstrom!  We’ll be back next year for sure!  (ed. note:  The Rices do not officially endorse Nordstrom.  Unless for some reason it meant they'd want to compensate us.  Then we'll totally do it.)

Oh dad!

     After pictures with Santa we went and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  In a happy coincidence, we were seated at the very same table where we first learned we were having a boy!  So fun making new memories with our growing family! 

The Day We Met Ryder

     3 months ago today, at 1:08 in the morning, we met Ryder James Rice for the first time.  My heart still feels like it might burst when I think of that first moment I held him in my arms.  He was perfect.  He still is.  Here is the story of how he came into our lives.  I tried to make this blog post short, but couldn’t.  It was too wonderful of a day to shorten.

Ready to pop! (9/11/2011)

     On September 13, 2011 Jesse and I woke up knowing that on that day (or most definitely the next) we would have a son.  I had been due Sept 11th and since Ryder didn’t show up on Patriot Day, my doctor decided she didn’t want to wait much longer and scheduled the induction (I was a high risk pregnancy and on blood thinners).  So on the morning of September 13th we called the hospital to make sure everything was a “go.”  It was.  We called our family to let them know and we started getting ready for one of the biggest days of our lives.

     We spent the morning cleaning the house (nesting instincts going strong up to the last minute), loving on Boone (poor guy didn’t know his world was about to change forever), and writing a letter to Ryder from each of us.  Finally, we were ready.  And surprisingly calm.  We had been waiting for this little guy for so long and couldn’t wait to meet him.  Around noon we headed into the hospital. 

     On the short drive down to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, we listened to the “pump up” mix we’d made (I made a “pump up” mix before I ran my marathons, so it felt only appropriate to make a “pump up” mix before labor). 

     When we got to the hospital and started going through paperwork, the nurse told me I had to stop eating.  Now if you know me, you know this was a bad idea (I get very low blood sugar).  We told the nurse that my doctor had wanted me to eat throughout labor to keep my blood sugar up (honest – she said it!).  The nurse then confidently informed us that in all her 10 years in labor and delivery she had never once had a patient be allowed to eat during labor.  We asked her to call my doctor and check.  To our relief she came back and said that sure enough, my doctor wanted me to eat.  Thank goodness!  I quickly sent Jesse off to the cafeteria to load up (FREE food!  Well, kind of :-).

     The nurse started the labor-inducing Pitocin and we had our parents come into visit while it started to take effect.  But there wasn’t much effect.  For some reason, I had always thought I would have a quick labor.  I think I’ve always trusted my body would know what to do.  In fact, I had told my doctor that my “birth plan” was to have a 3-hour, pain-free labor.  She laughed at me.

     Around 7pm on the night of my induction, my nurse informed us that I just didn’t seem to be going into labor and that I wouldn’t have a baby before noon the next day.  I was crushed.  I had hoped to try for a natural birth but it felt like if I was going to be laboring through the night, I would rather have us get a little rest for when Ryder was finally born than try to labor through the night without an epidural and be exhausted once he showed up.  So after talking with Jesse we decided that once I started dilating I would get the epidural.  And so we waited.  At around 9pm we sent our parents home to get some rest (no point in them staying up if we weren’t going to meet our little guy until the next day).

     But what we thought was going to be a very long, slow night took an unexpected turn.  Around 10pm my water broke and things finally started moving.  In fact, they started moving very quickly.  Each contraction felt exponentially more painful than the last.  At about 4cm I decided I was ready for the epidural.  My nurse left to get the anesthesiologist.  A few minutes later she came back and told us that unfortunately both my doctor and the anesthesiologist had just gone into an emergency c-section and were not available.  In answer to our obvious question, she said it would take longer to get another anesthesiologist there than to wait.  That was fine with me.  Sure, I was in a horrific amount of pain.  But I could hold out.  About another 10 minutes.

     An HOUR AND A HALF LATER the anesthesiologist Kevin walked in.  I had never been SO happy to see someone.  My contractions had become incredibly painful very fast and were about five seconds apart.  I was miserable and could not imagine 12 more hours of torture.  Kevin (“blessed, wonderful, amazing Kevin” as I will forever think of him) did a perfect job with the epidural (apart from dropping the needle the first time).  Soon I was in no pain at all (but thankfully I could still feel my legs and even move them a bit).

     I suddenly felt the urge to push and told my nurse as soon as Kevin left the room.  She looked at me like I was crazy.  Usually with a first baby you dilate about 1cm per hour and you have to get to 10cm before you can push.  It had only been about an hour and a half since I was at 4cm.  There was no way I was ready to push.  But I asked her to check anyways.  So she did.  And then she checked me again.  “How dilated am I?” I asked, wondering why she kept checking.  “All the way,” she said, looking shocked.  “You are about to have a baby, I’m going to go get the doctor.  You might want to call your family.”  I had gone from 4cm to 10cm in an hour and a half without an epidural.  No wonder it hurt SO MUCH!

     But! Jesse and I were not prepared for this.  Yes, we were thrilled.  Yes, we were excited to meet our little boy.  But we had thought we still had 12 hours left. We hadn’t watched our movies that we brought.  Or read our books.  We hadn’t even listened to any of the songs on my “push playlist!”  

     But it was time.  Our little guy was almost here. 

     My OB came in and she and Jesse sat at the end of my bed (they had discussed Jesse “catching” Ryder as long as everything went smoothly).  I pushed for 20 minutes.  It was a wonderful time of laughter and excitement, thanks to Kevin’s perfect epidural.

     ** SPOILER ALERT:  Before you read on, the next part of the story does involve BLOOD so read at your own risk. **

     When Ryder’s head came out the cord was wrapped around his neck (which of course I couldn't see from my perspective).  I was looking down at Jesse and my doctor, waiting to see my son for the first time when “POP!!!”  There was a loud pop and blood sprayed everywhere.  Now when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.  Ceiling, walls, my OB, Jesse, me, the nurse standing 5 feet away, the rocking chair in the corner of the room, the white blinds on the windows.  Everywhere.  My thought process went like this:  “I’ve just exploded.  I’m going to die.  No one told me that could happen.  Stupid birth classes.”  A split second later Jesse and my doctor (who had both jumped backwards at the “pop”) started laughing.  If they were laughing, I decided, then I probably wasn’t going to die.  It turns out that when my doctor went to pull the cord over Ryder’s head it had burst and sent blood flying around the room (it looked like there had been a chainsaw massacre).  I guess it is pretty rare, but can happen (which I did not know).  Nevertheless, Jesse caught our son and handed him to me. 

     Ryder James Rice was perfect.  He cried for just a bit, telling me the story of his own trauma.  Then he quickly quieted down and just gazed at me.  What must have been going through his head?  I wish he could write down the story of that day from his perspective.

     They asked Jesse if he wanted to “trim” the cord (since it was kind of already “cut”).  He did and we then got to hold our little boy in our arms.  He was here. 

     We had picked out the name, Ryder James, 3 years earlier on a wedding anniversary trip.  So in a sense, we had been waiting for our Ryder for years.  How wonderful to finally have him with us.

     (Sidenote: In the end my labor was almost exactly 3 hours.  Just like I’d “planned.”  Although not pain-free as I’d hoped).

     The past 3 months have flown by, and yet it is hard to remember a time when Ryder wasn’t in our life.  Everything is so much richer, more colorful, and more meaningful now that he is here.  Last night we were reading to him before bed.  I know he does not understand the words or the story, but he sure does love all the different voices his dad does as he tells it.  Then we sat and watched him as he smiled his way off to sleep.  How can you only know someone for 3 months and be so madly in love? 

     Everyday we discover something new about him.  Something more to love.  Ryder James Rice, we thank God for the miracle of you.  We thank God for trusting us to be your parents.  And we promise to love you each and every day as your wonderful story unfolds. 

Rice Family Christmas Traditions

     Every year since we’ve been married, we spend a day doing "Christmasy" things and getting our house ready for the holidays.  It includes the same thing every year.  This year was no different - apart from the fact that it was made all the more fun because we got to include Ryder.

     The day started with a family run.  We bundled Ryder up in his new snowsuit (which he loves!) and went for a run. 

     Then we came home, showered, and headed to Starbucks for some treats before driving out to the Christmas tree farm.  While usually we are able to find our tree pretty quickly, this year it took us a little while to find “the one.”

     After getting our tree, we headed home to bake cookies, set up and decorate the tree, eat our favorite pizza (spinach, grilled chicken, and feta) and watch “Love Actually” – our favorite holiday movie.  Our house feels so cozy.  And there’s nothing better than watching a 3 month old experience Christmas for the first time (Christmas lights are amazing!).

Loves his snowsuit!

Sleepy And Ready For A Run!

Ryder And Daddy

Helping Bake Cookies

Our Tree

Ryder’s First Thanksgiving

     We had a wonderful, full Thanksgiving week.  Katie's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, as well as Jesse’s dad and stepmom joined us for Thanksgiving.  It was our first time making a turkey, so needless to say we were a bit nervous.  Although in the end it turned out great, we did have a few hiccups.  The first was that two bullets (yes, I said bullets) fell out of the turkey and got lodged in our garbage disposal (don't worry, no damage done).  However, in addition our kitchen sink decided not to drain and we ended up having to prepare much of the dinner in the shower.  But in the end, our “shower” turkey turned out pretty good.  It was a very fun night of family, babies, and food.

All Dressed Up For Thanksgiving

The Fam

The Turkey

Ryder's First Bite of Turkey ;-)

     The rest of the weekend was filled with even MORE good food and lots of family and friends.  On Sunday, Jesse preached at all 5 services at our church.  You can watch him here. 

Boys and their mamas.

Uncle David and Ryder

Grandma and Grandpa, Ryder and Alex

Ryder and Alex

     Ryder and Alex are getting more engaged and expressive every day.  Here they are having a little conversation with grandma.

     For more pics from Thanksgiving and Fall, click here.