Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday and some time off work. We're still at Ryan's parent's house and having a great time. After a night in the ER and a day at home in bed, Ryan is back with us. Unfortunately, now Lindsay and Jan are locked up in their rooms with the same thing. And I just found out Mandy was sick the same night as Ryan. Something is obviously going around. Hopefully the rest of us stay healthy this next week while we're still all together.

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On Christmas Eve, while Ryan was home in bed, Westin and I hung out with the cousins and got ready for our Christmas Eve festivities with the Richs. Westin loves following the big kids around the house, and I think they're having some fun with him too.

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Grant showing Westin how to play basketball on the iPhone. Lily playing dress up with Westin (pretty sure this was only able to take place because Ryan was 30 miles away and couldn't stop it).
Westin hanging out with Gemma and Miranda
All the cousins (minus Emery): Delaney, Lily, Gemma, Miranda, Grant and Westin Westin and me getting ready for Ryan to arrive and for the evening's fun to begin

For the Richs Christmas Eve dinner, we had chicken tortilla soup (best around), ham, homemade rolls, and some of Doug's homemade appetizers (some roasted tomato thing, and a red pepper dip - both are served with goat cheese on either bread or chips - SO GOOD). Ryan made it home in time for dinner, but didn't really get to enjoy the food as much as he would have liked. This is probably one of his favorite meals and he looks forward to it all year. Poor guy was only able to have a few sips of broth and that's about it.

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After dinner, we had dessert and then a Christmas program. The kids got to bed around nine and then it was time for the parents to finish wrapping presents and get to bed themselves so Santa could finally come. Throughout the evening the cousins kept checking some website that showed what part of the world Santa was in. They loved that. It was so cute to see how excited they got over it.

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Alright, now to Christmas morning. What you're all really waiting for.

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There's no sleeping in at this house. The kids were up at 6 a.m. and we were all headed downstairs by 6:30.

Westin's first look at Santa's surprises

Westin's Santa pile

Ryan and Westin looking at all the fun things Santa dropped off for our good little boy

Westin and his new set of sports balls

Westin checking out his new FisherPrice Learn and Play house.

Westin with Grandpa Rick

Playing with a new puzzle

Westin showing uncle Adam his new Buzz Light Year cell phone

Opening a gift from Grandma and Grandpa (yes, we had to stop him from eating the wrapping paper... several times)

After about 2 hours of playing with Santa toys and then opening all the gifts, it was time for Christmas breakfast - another big tradition in the Rich home. This meal consists of ham, eggs, hashbrowns, chocolate chip scones, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Here's Westin enjoying the chocolate chip scones. It didn't take long for him to figure out that he could pick out the chocolate chips and only eat those.

Later that day I tried giving Westin a mohawk. It didn't really work, but I did get a picture at least.

That night, Ryan, Westin and I drove to Agoura for another one of our favorite holiday traditions - the annual Philpott Christmas is Over Party. I've been going to this since high school and haven't missed a year. This was actually Westin's first appearance at the party, since he was too little to come last year.

Mandy was also recovering from the flu, but you wouldn't be able to tell - she looked fab!

So despite a couple bats with the flu, Christmas was fabulous this year. It was such a treat to share it with Westin. I know that every year will just get more and more fun, and I can't wait!

What's a holiday without a trip to the ER?

Let me start off by saying, everything is ok, so no need to worry... though, I was doing quite a bit of it last night.

Not long after we arrived at Ryan's parent's house yesterday, Ryan started feeling a bit sick. Around dinnertime he was feeling worse and started throwing up. We wrote it off as a little bug and thought he might be better off sleeping at our apartment back in Santa Monica where it would be quiet and he could hopefully sleep it off. Ryan's brother Adam drove him home and got him in bed. I was hoping that would help. Not the case. Around 12:30 a.m. Ryan called me, barely able to speak, saying things were not getting any better but that he was feeling worse. I immediately called me friend Trina who's a nurse and asked her to check in on him while I told Ryan's parents I was leaving and drove home. Trina also seemed pretty concerned - his blood pressure was low, he had horrible abdominal pain, was dehydrated, and couldn't stop throwing up/dry heaving. At that point, we pretty much thought it could be two things: a stomach virus or appendicitis. If it was the latter, I really didn't want to take any chances and wait it out at home and then have his appendix burst, so off to the ER we went (we did try for an urgent care, but couldn't find any close by).

We arrived at the UCLA Hospital ER at 2 a.m. and were admitted right away (such a blessing - you never know what kind of chaos could be going on in an ER). He was immediately hooked up to an IV to get fluids. About two hours later he started feeling a little better. In his words, "I don't feel like I'm going to die anymore."

The doctor checked for appendicitis and said there's a slight chance his symptoms are the early signs of appendicitis, but he wouldn't bet on it. Whew! He gave Ryan the option of going home and seeing how things progressed. If his stomach pain got worse, we could always go back. Otherwise, we could assume it was either food poisoning or a virus.

We finally got out of there at 6:30 a.m. I've stocked up on Gaterade, chicken broth, and jello, and the patient is currently sleeping. I think I'll head back to Valencia in a little bit and hopefully be able to come back to get Ryan in time for our Christmas Eve festivities.

Here's a picture I snapped of Ryan while I was waiting (I was bored). I don't think he knows I took this, otherwise I'm sure he would have sat up and smiled.

Shortly before I took this picture, the following conversation took place between Ryan and the nurse:

Nurse: when did you start throwing up?

Ryan: around 7 p.m.

Nurse: about how many times since then have you thrown up (current time was 2:30 a.m.)?

Ryan: several hundreds

Me (saying this in my head as to not embarrass my clearly distressed husband): {really, several hundred? Wow, that's amazing. Probably some kind of record.}

Me (what I actually said to the nurse so that my husband did not further embarrass himself with his slightly exaggerated version of the day's events): um, nurse, I think it was closer to a couple dozen. In fact, why don't I just answer your questions and we'll let Ryan rest.

So all is well for now, and we're hoping it stays that way.

Also, I'd like to share a quick message; just something to think about as we head into the New Year next week. While I sat at the foot of Ryan's bed this morning, I read the January Ensign (an LDS Church published magazine). In it is a fabulous talk by Elder Holland about not dwelling on the past (a very summed up summary), be it our own mistakes or those of others that continue to hurt/affect our lives at the present. He says that while we're of course supposed to learn from our past experiences, we should not dwell or beat ourselves up for the mistakes we've made (when we've fully repented). He also says we shouldn't continue to condemn those who have caused pain in our lives if they too have repented.

"When something is over and done with, when it has been repented of as fully as it can be repented of, when life has moved on as it should and a lot of other wonderfully good things have happened since then, it is not right to go back and open some ancient would that the Son of God Himself died to heal. Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve..."

Elder Holland goes on to say,

"Dismiss the destructive, and keep dismissing it until the beauty of the Atonement of Christ has revealed to you your bright future... God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go."

"Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the high priest of good things to come (Hebrews 9:11)."

And here's the New Year's resolution I'd encourage us all to keep,

"Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever."

And I promise the next post will have pictures of Westin :)

Best Week Ever

I can already tell this week is going to be a good one. "Why?", you may ask. Well, for starters, our car hasn't been towed and I'm feeling much better (got sick over the weekend from a sugar OD from baking all day Friday - not cool). Anyway, we've got a couple days of running around and getting things ready to head out of town (we're really make a trek this year and driving all the way to Valencia - total distance = 35 miles). What's amazing is that no matter how close you travel, you still have to pack like you're headed cross country, especially with a kid.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and wish everyone a wonderful week and a very Merry Christmas. We'll be with Ryan's family this year and we're really excited to see everyone. I think we'll have a total of 19 people in one house. Should make for some good times. This is the first Christmas in a long while that I won't be seeing my family (insert sad face here). (Seriously guys, why did you move to Utah?) I'll take lots of pictures of all the events, so you'll feel like you were here with us (again, that's mainly for the fam, unless there are others of you who wish you could be here with us. And in that case, the pictures are for you too.)

Merry Christmas!

Risky Business

Lesson of the Week: Patience

Apparently I'm supposed to be learning a little something about patience this week. How do I know this? Well, let me share a few experiences from the week already and you tell me if the Lord isn't trying to teach me a lesson or two.

Situation #1: Car gets towed at 7 a.m. Monday morning, (while forgetting to move the car may be our fault, we only had to park there because we only have one parking spot and trying to find parking on our street on a weekend night is ridiculous thanks to the bars on Wilshire. Ugh! Done with apartment living! Clearly, I haven't learned the lesson at this point in the week.)

Situation #2: After retrieving the car from the impound lot for a small pricetag of $243.80, we see that the City of Los Angeles left us an early Christmas gift - a parking ticket. And instead of it being the normal $50 ticket, it was $80. (Yeah, go ahead and kick us a few more times while we're already down. Also, how can the state of California be bankrupt when they're towing hundreds - probably thousands - of cars a day for upwards of $300?)

Situation #3: Monday finally ends and Tuesday arrives with a little more hope that the week will turn around. HA! Now some movie company is filming down the street at the high school and has blocked off even MORE parking. After returning from the gym, I spend 15 minutes driving around finding a parking spot that I'm 100% certain isn't a tow zone.

Situation #4: I'm on the road again this week and yesterday I flew to Atlanta. The trip was off to a good start until we landed and had to sit at the gate for 30 minutes, with no AC, while the gate crew tried to get the jetway secured to the cabin door. This never ended up happening, so they towed us to a different gate.

Situation #5: Two words - inexperienced travelers (or maybe the better phrase would be, oblivious travelers). I don't think I need to say more.

So you tell me? It's pretty clear the lesson of the week is supposed to be about patience, right?

Westin's Party

It's gorgeous today. Blue skies and 65 degrees. A perfect day for a birthday party. Too bad Westin's party was YESTERDAY during a torrential downpour. I know I can't count on great weather for a December birthday, but I was being optimistic and hoping for weather good enough that we could party outside. Wishful thinking. Instead, we rearranged our tiny apartment and crammed everyone inside... and we had a blast.

Here are the details. I'll start with the boring stuff first - the decorations...

Here's the spread (minus a couple food items in the middle). My friend Allie made the "Happy Birthday" sign - so cute!

Another look at all the goodies.

I used pictures of Westin throughout his first year as decorations. I had so much fun going through them all and deciding which ones to use.

The centerpiece (four layer chocolate cake and yellow cupcakes)

Alright, now on to the fun stuff... the party! Despite the rain, Westin was all smiles as the party began. I think he just liked how open the apartment became once we moved things around. He was running all over the place.

A quick family photo before all the madness ensued

Mandy's parents were some of the first to arrive, and Bob didn't waste a minute finding Westin. Mandy, I think it's safe to say your dad has gotten a good baby fix for a while... at least until the Christmas party ;)

Grandpa Rick with the birthday boy. Grandma Connie was in Utah for cousin Lily's choir performance (she had a solo!). We missed you grandma!

Our best man and maid of honor reunited... now as uncle Cole and auntie Mandy

Westin with his gal pal Vivienne.

BTW - Why is it that kids (i.e. Westin) will not even look at some toys for weeks and then the second another kid is interested in that toy, your kid (i.e. my kid) instantly becomes territorial and doesn't want to share? That does happen to other people, right?

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Charlie's here!

Westin and his buddy, Harrison

Playtime

When it came time to sing "Happy Birthday" and give Westin his very own cupcake, we didn't quite get the reaction we were hoping for. I'm not sure if it was all the attention at once or if it was how loud we were singing, but Westin was not happy about the happy birthday he was getting. I think someone actually got video of this moment, so I'll have to track that down. For now, here's a picture of the unexpected reaction. Do you see the frown?

Once we were done singing, I thought for sure Westin would cheer up when he got hold of the cupcake... no such luck. He was SO not interested in the cupcake. He touched it a couple times, crumbled it in his hands a little, spread a bit of it on his head, but never actually ate any until we fed it to him. What parents force their child to eat a cupcake? Apparently, we do.

We finally gave up and let Westin go play with his friends... but not before a few more pictures.

Grandpa Rick and Grandpa Steve with W (who was clearly ready to get down and play)
Westin happy to be with his grandparents

More of our guests: Jacque, Chase and Cole

and Nate and Abby... with a very tired Westin

Mandy, Jen, me and W

We had such fun day - exhausting for mom and dad, but very fun nonetheless. Thanks for celebrating Westin's first year with us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Westin... till next year.

Mommy Mandy and Some Long Overdue Videos

I'm back in LA now after barely surviving a Midwest snowstorm. Well, maybe not barely, but pretty close to barely. After being away from cold weather for even just a little while, you forget how cold cold really is - especially Chicago cold. It was about 30 degrees, but with the windchill it felt more like 0 degrees. Our California winter coats just aren't made for Midwest winters.

While I was away and Ryan was at work, Mandy filled in as temp mommy. She's babysat a few times before, but this was her longest stint yet (two 10-hour days with the little guy). The first day sounded a bit rough because Westin wouldn't nap. Apparently he was way too pumped to have a new buddy to play with. So, as most of you know, a child who doesn't nap can be a bit of a challenge. Pretty sure Mandy went to bed at like eight that night :)

Westin finally passed out on Mandy's shoulder early in the evening.

The next day was Westin's birthday, and Mandy did a great job of celebrating his birthday sans mom and dad. After he napped (on time, yay!) she took him to the party store to get a birthday hat and balloon.

The birthday boy with his birthday treats

Here is one of Westin in his Christmas colors with his new balloon.

Mandy kept me updated the whole time via texts. There were a couple that made me laugh out loud:

"Lesson of the day: if it's just a little poop... he isn't done yet and diaper should not be changed too soon."

"The best part of the day is being able to dress him up in adorable outfits. Today I put him in Christmas colors. He's going to hate me when he's older."

Mandy, you did a great job. Thank you!

Also, as promised like several posts ago, here are some videos of Westin. The first is of Westin answering the phone. He'll take just about any toy and hold it to his ear/shoulder/neck when you say "hello." The second is from our trip to Utah at my mom's house. He loved moving that box around.