It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well Christmas this year is going to be so much fun! 

Adam and I never really give each other Christmas presents because it's been just the two of us and each year we've been married we have usually had a big purchase for the house, and we have counted that as our major Christmas present.  But this year there will be lots of presents under the tree!

I'm excited about starting our own Christmas traditions this year.  When I was growing up we would wait for the sun to go down and all listen to my Father read the story of Jesus birth out of the bible and my Mother would make pizza.  Let me tell you how hard it was to wait for it to get dark when I was young; the evening could get there fast enough!  After that we got to open presents on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas morning Santa would bring us our other presents and our stockings would be filled and we would eat cheese sausage balls (which my mom continues to make, and will probably always make them).

When Adam was growing up his mother would make lasagna on Christmas Eve, and they were allowed to open one present.  Then in the morning she would make an egg souffle.  He told me that he always waited until Christmas day to open all his presents so he could have them all at once.

So we will have to come up with our own Rice family traditions.

Last weekend we got most of the decorating done, there are just a few more things I want to do to the house.  Emma helped me decorate the tree while Adam worked outside on the lights.  Here's a few shots from our work.

Emma supervised the decorating from her bouncy seat

Our mantle decorated

Emma's stocking

Our entryway

I tried to get a shot of our tree, but it came out blurry.  We are getting a new camera soon, so I'll be posting better shots soon hopefully.  This last picture was me playing around with Emma trying to take some festive pictures of her.  This was the best one of the shots....she's pretty frisky and it's hard to get her to stay still, and since she can't hold her head up completely on her own yet, it's challenging to get a sitting up shot.

More Christmas posts to come!



Two Month Update

I took Emma to the doctor on Monday for her 2 month check up.....here are her stats and picture below.....she's getting bigger every week and a little personality is starting to peek through!

Height: 23 inches 50 percentile

Weight: 11.1 lbs  65 percentile

I feel she looks a little stiff in these pictures but until she starts holding herself up more on her own it's the easiest way for me to take a picture....oh well.

Let's compare to her two week picture:

I can't believe how much she has filled out in such a short period of time!  Here are just a few things about Emma at 2 months:

• She has completely outgrown her newborn sized clothing and can easily wear 0-3 months clothing.  There are some 3 month pieces that she can wear but a lot of them she is still not able to wear.
• She has started smiling A LOT and it's so awesome!  She loves to smile when you are changing her diaper or right after she has eaten, or any time of day really.  Just sweet talk her a little and you can usually get a smile out of her.
• She's "talking" a lot more now as well, and her and I have all kinds of conversations :)
• She'll grab onto rattles or other small objects for a bit, and she loves to pull on my necklace.  She also LOVES chewing on her hands and sort of sucking on her thumb.
• We have started doing more tummy time, but it's still not her favorite thing. 

Things have definitely gotten easier for me as a mom, but I'm still figuring things out between Emma and I.  I think there's a lot of "winging it" when it comes to being a new parent because you do a good deal of learning by experience, but I also think you have an internal gauge for what you feel is good or right for your child.  And I fully believe everyone is different and you have to figure out what works for you; and those things might not work for someone else.  I have a  new respect for anyone who is a parent, and I can't even imagine being a single parent.  Our lives have completely changed with a focus on Emma. 

Here are some more pictures taken recently:

There's that smile I was talking about :)

It melts my heart!

Bathtime, all clean!

Daddy daughter time on the couch

She's starting to get sleepy

Emma lover her playmat....she kicks her legs and tries to grab at some of the animals





Thanksgiving in West Texas

1 Thessalonians 5:18:

Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

That was a verse from the sermon at church recently and it really has weighed on me.  I feel that our family has so much to be thankful for....for Emma being born healthy, for my work allowing 16 weeks PAID maternity leave so that I can spend time at home with my new little one, that Adam and I both have jobs, that we have family and friends who love us despite of all our shortcomings, and that we have God as our savior, and even if there are circumstances in our lives that are hard or don't make sense at the time that in everything God is there. 

This past week we went to Lubbock to visit my family for Thanksgiving.  Since we have Emma and our two dogs, Adam and I decided that I would take one car and go early to spend some extra time with my family and he would come the day before Thanksgiving since he had to work some that week.  So Emma and I took our first road trip together, and I'd say she did a really good job.  We stopped once to eat and once to change a dirty diaper and other than that she slept the whole time.  She did get a little fussy towards the end both going there and coming back, but I figure she was just tired of being in her car seat for 6 hours.  I know I was tired of being in the car myself!

My parents' house was packed to the gills this year.  My sisters and brother were there, Adam, myself, Emma, my Grandfather, and 7, YES, 7 dogs!  No one could leave their dogs behind so we all brought them.  Ha!  That was interesting to say the least! 

We had a great visit with my family and Emma got to meet lots of new people....my grandfather on my Dad's side, cousins, aunts, and several family friends. 

I'm not the best at taking pictures, so sadly I don't have much of those to show.  We did get one family picture the day of Thanksgiving, which was a feat in itself.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Emma with her Auntie Laura

Emma taking a bath in my parent's big tub....I imagine when she's a little bigger she'll really have fun taking baths in this tub.  I would pretend I was in the pool when I took baths in tubs like this one.   :)

All clean and dry!  Just look at those rolls!  Baby girl likes to eat!

Happy Halloween!

Well today was Emma's first holiday, so we dressed her up in her Halloween outfit.  It was a little big, but I couldn't resist having her be festive today.  I can't wait until next year when she can wear a real costume.  Friday we had dinner with our friends Gabe and Shelley who live one street up from us.  It's so nice to have friends in the neighborhood because we can just walk across the street and don't have to go far to have interaction with other adults since getting out is somewhat of a challenge at this point. 

Last night Adam got to go to the World Series!  I was jealous, but I'm glad he was able to experience it.  He's a huge sports fan and loves the Rangers.  Of course I asked him to take pictures but being a guy, he didn't want to do that. 


This evening we went back over to Gabe and Shelley's and had some yummy chili and cornbread (very fitting for this time of year) and Tripp and Nicole also came over with their little ones.  Gabe and Shelley had their son Bennett on October 1, and Tripp and Nicole had their twins on July 6, so the house was full of babies!  Since putting them in their car seats is the easiest way to get 4 babies in a picture together, we lined them up and took a picture.  I'd like to see what they look like next year, that will be an event....4 children all one year old.

Here's some pictures from the weekend.....

Weekend Fun and One Month update

This past weekend we took Emma for her first trip to the mall, something every girl loves to do :)   was getting a little stir crazy from being at home so much, so Adam humored me and we all went up there together.  I was a little paranoid that she would get fussy and we would have to leave as soon as we got there, but she did great and slept the whole time.  We walked around the Galleria, did a little shopping at Macy's and the Gap and went home.  I wanted to take pictures at the mall for the blog, but I didn't want to subject Adam to that, so here are pictures from before we left.  Please excuse Emma's pants, they are huge!  It was a little chilly that day and she really doesn't fit into any of her pants yet so I had to roll them up a little, MC Hammer style.

In other baby news:

Yesterday Emma turned one month old!  I can't believe it's already been a month.  In a way time has flown by but at other times I feel like this has been the longest 4 weeks ever.  We went to her doctor's appointment and I am happy to say that she is turning into a little chunk one month at a time.  She weighs 8lbs. 9oz and was 21 inches long.  Not bad since she left the hospital weighing 6lbs. 2oz.  She must like to eat as much as I do ha!

Here is her in an action shot (no one said how hard it would be to make a baby stay still long enough to take a picture!).  And after that is her one month picture compared to her 2 week picture previously posted.  I think she changes every day, do you?

Don't you just love the fat rolls that are starting to show up?  I love them, but I'm her mom, so that's my excuse :)

Two week update

We went to the pediatrician yesterday and had Emma's two week checkup.  She is over her birth weight which was good news and our doctor was very pleased with her progress.  In the overall percentage categories she is still small I guess, but she's doing great.  We did learn last week that she is somewhat tongue-tied and we need to decide if we want to take her to an ENT and get it checked out.  She can't really stick her tongue out that far and it was somewhat affecting her ability to nurse, but so far we haven't had too many troubles.  My only concern would be for her to be able to speak properly. 

I can't believe it's already been two weeks.  I feel like she is changing a little more every day.  I still can't tell who I think she looks like.  Some people have said that she looks like Adam, but I don't really think she looks like either of us.  A few things we have decided on so far.....she has Adam's toes ( they are kind of long and we call them monkey toes), we think she also might have his ears ( but not totally sure on that one).  I'm not sure about her nose, but the hair color is definitely mine, but not as spiky as mine was as a child.  She is SUPER squirmy and could almost jump out of your arms if you aren't careful.  And she loves to curl up like a roly poly or something.  I think that must have been how she was inside me.

I found these cute stick-ons online for each month up to 1 year so I'm going to be taking a picture each month so that I can track how she changes.  Here are her stats from the doctor visit:

Height: 19 3/4 inches  35%

Weight: 7lbs. 5.5oz  25%

Head: 50%

Emma's Nursery

Welcome home to your nursery Emma!  I had so much fun getting everything for her room.  I have to say it's probably the nicest room in the house just because it's the first room that I really got to put together from scratch and really do whatever I wanted.  I really wanted it to feel fresh and cheerful and I hope that she is able to enjoy this room for a while.  One of my favorite things in the room besides her bedding is her bookshelf.  At one of my showers, instead of everyone bringing a card people brought books.  Which was great because I was able to fill up a lot of space in her bookshelf already!  Reading was something that I loved as a child and I hope that it's something she enjoys as well.  Even though she is a newborn I still love reading books to her, it's a little bit of time we share together and I find it very relaxing.  Here are some pics, but I think the room is much better in person.  Come by and visit any time!

Happy Birthday Emma Caroline Rice!

Well, I had so many good intentions of getting this blog up and running before Emma was born.  But like so many other things in my life, when I try to plan it out to the "T", it seems God has other plans for me.  I have told this story to a few people, but I really wanted to get it written down because to me its such a crazy story and Emma's birth was so different than anything I had thought it would be.  So I will warn you in advance that this is a little long.  I promise I will try to not to get too into the details.

I think maybe this all started on Friday September 25.  Adam had gone with a co-worker to the SMU vs. TCU game, so I was looking forward to a relaxing evening at home.  I went on a walk, watched TV and enjoyed the quiet time at home.  Adam got in around 10:30 and we watched a movie together, and went to bed around 12:30. 

Then at 4:30 I woke up startled because I was pretty sure I had just felt my water break.  I still wonder if it's because of the walk I took on Friday.  Emma's due date wasn't until October 6, and I really didn't think that she would be coming early, so I hadn't even let the thought enter my mind.  She was going to be an October baby and she was going to have a cool birthday since it's 2010 and her month would be "10" as well.  But once I stood up and woke Adam up all that changed.  

I called my mom and my doctor; my doctor told me that I didn't have to rush to the hospital but that I needed to head there in the next hour to 2.  Did I tell you it was a monsoon outside as well?  I wanted to take the time to take a shower and get myself all dressed in case so that if I was to deliver I would at least feel somewhat put together with my hair and makeup done.  We got to Presby Dallas at about 7, said a prayer before we walked in that God would be with us on this special day, and the woman in the triage room confirmed that yes, my water had most definitely broken.  For those of you who don't know, when you water breaks, it's no joke, your WATER BREAKS.  Adam and I both knew the clock was ticking on us because once your water breaks you only have a certain amount of time before you start to run the risk of infection, so we were really hoping that this meant I would have a fairly short delivery time.  Unfortunately I was not very dilated, but we thought given time I would progress. 

Adam and I both felt really strong about having an unmedicated birth, and my OB, Dr. Liaci, was totally supportive of that as well as the nurses at Presby.  They wanted to give me as much time as possible to progress on my own before we started medical intervention.  Unfortunately, by noon, I had only progressed to a 2, and had been in labor for almost 8 hours, so we needed to start a small dose of pitocin.  Once the pitocin kicked in I could definitely notice a change in the frequency and strength of contractions, but I felt confident I could handle it.  Since my water had already broken, I wasn't been examined very often so as not to risk infection, but I thought, "I must be making good progress because these contractions are really starting to hurt". 

Then by about 5, the pain really set in.  I was going to get checked at 6 for dilatation, but I didn't think I was going to make it.  Each contraction was so intense and just felt like my body was being torn apart.  I really wanted to scream out in pain each time they peaked, and there was only about a minute of relief before then next wave came.  Adam and my mom were trying to keep me calm and focused, but I felt like no one on earth could possibly understand the pain I was in.  Only by a miracle I made it to six, and to make matters worse I was only a 4!  I was so devastated.  I said, I want an epidural NOW!.  Part of me was upset because I know that I didn't to go down that route, but the fact that I was only a 4 meant that I had so much further to go, and  I had been in labor for over 12 hours.  I got the epidural and I can't tell you how much better I felt.  It was like I had my second wind, and I was going to get this baby out......but I also had to have more pitocin in me to get me further along.  And still no progress.  By 10:30 I had made it to an 8, but I had also been in labor 18 hours, and at that point we needed to evaluate what the next step was going to be.  I continued to labor until 12:30, when I was FINALLY a 10.  I pushed for an hour, and of course, no luck.  My nurse let me take a break and Adam and I must have passed out for a little while (keep in mind we got up at 4:30 the PREVIOUS morning).  I woke up when Dr. Liaci got to my room around 2am.  I pushed again for another 30 min, but for some reason nothing was happening.  Dr. Liaci said I had plenty of room, but we couldn't tell if Emma was stuck or what.  Each time they said it was time to push, I gave it everything I could, I wanted Emma out and I was ready to be done.  After a while, I couldn't tell if I was more tired from pushing or from being up for almost 24 hours, but I didn't know how much more I had in me.  By about 3, I knew what was going to come next.  She said I was going to need a C-section becuase I had been in labor for so long and we were getting in that danger zone. 

So they gave Adam a set of scrubs and we were on our way.  I'm impressed at how quickly the doctors and nurses worked.  Everyone was so wonderful.  Adam sat by my side and told me that he was so proud of me and that he loved me and even though this wasn't how we planned it, all he wanted was to have a healthy baby and wife; he didn't care how.  He is such a wonderful husband, I tear up even as I write this.  The whole time he was there by my side saying he knew I could do this, that I was doing a great job, and that he loved me.  I will say I caught him looking at the TV a few times because football was on, but I won't hold that against him  :).  At 3:44 am, our wish was granted.  Our beautiful daughter was born.  I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to stay awake to see her, but Adam brought her over to me and I FINALLY saw her.  6lbs 7 oz, 19 1/4 inches long.  For the first time, this amazing miracle that I had been carrying for the last 38 weeks was here.  There was so much anticipation of what she would look like, what her hair color would be, etc.  And I couldn't have cared if she came out purple with spots.  She was my daughter, and Adam and I were parents.  Our lives were never going to be the same again.  I never knew that I could love something as much as I do this wonderful gift from God.

I'll be posting more as I have time, so check back often!