2021 was a crazy year, as I’m sure you’ll agree. But where 2020 was a bit challenging to reflect on positively (for obvious reasons), this year was… well.
Incredible.
Yes, in lieu of a more chronological approach to this year’s Christmas letter, I’m starting with the headline: our family grew just a little this year! Emma Deanna Rice was born on October 25, 2021 at Banner Health Center in Fort Collins at 6:42 AM.
Sometimes she’s friggin’ adorable:
Sometimes she looks… kind of like Mini Me?
But we love her all the time!
As of this writing, Emma is almost two months old. She has learned to do… nothing, basically. Well, she can hold her head up a little. Sometimes she sleeps, too!
But it’s worth it. No, really. I think the things that get lost in translation between parents and not-parents when they talk about having kids are that your baby will be adorable, and your baby will be hilarious. You can probably guess that you’re all biologically wired up to think your baby is the cutest and most precious one in the world, but will anyone else sneeze so hard they poop in front of you this year? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
All right, let’s let Emma take a nap while we talk about what else happened this year. Our work lives were mercifully uneventful this year. Aarica and I stuck to the jobs we had at the beginning of 2021 and made the most of them: Aarica is in the process of her fourth house transaction as a real estate agent, and I am wrapping up my first full year contracting with Plan to Eat, a meal-planning app available on iOS, Android, and the web.
A maternity photo from the pre-Emma era
We also pursued a few of our favorite hobbies and side projects. Aarica knocked out a few photoshoots with her fellow moms and moms-to-be, I wrote a couple of blog posts, and I made sure to remind everyone I’m a big nerd by posting about my playthrough of the entire Zelda series on social media. We even got a few workouts in, including some pregnancy workouts Aarica found in Apple Fitness+.
Yosemite was beautiful!
But if we exclude Emma from the conversation for a moment longer (she’s going to start fussing if we keep ignoring her), our babymoon in San Francisco was certainly the biggest event for us this year. We got to visit Yosemite National Park, Alcatraz Island, and even Apple’s crazy spaceship-looking headquarters in Cupertino.
Alcatraz prison cells
On the boat to Alcatraz
Fisherman’s Wharf panorama
It’s hard to get the whole spaceship into one photo
There was also a ton of incredible food; lots of fun to be had in Fisherman’s Wharf; some amazing art and history at the Legion of Honor, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Palace of Fine Arts; and a robot that made me coffee at the airport.
Lapisara Eatery’s Mussamun Curry was unbelievable
Sweet Maple’s phenomenal Millionaire’s Bacon and french toast
A souffle from L’Ardoise Bistro that looked too delicious to leave sitting there until we took a picture
The robot says hi!
A favorite from the Legion of Honor: “The Russian Bride’s Attire”
Golden Gate was relatively clear, but windy
The Palace of Fine Arts was very beautiful, but also very closed due to COVID
We were also fortunate enough to celebrate some huge life events with our friends and family. TJ (Aarica’s brother) graduated from high school in Alabama in May, and Meghan (Dan’s sister) got married to Jake Clement in September. We enjoyed spending time with both sides of the family during these big events, and supporting our younger siblings - Meghan moved out and TJ moved in with us this year.
All right Emma, all right. You get all the attention again. Aarica was quite thrilled that Emma was born before Halloween, so we could be Woody, Bo Peep, and Bo’s sheep while we gave out candy:
And that also meant Emma got to meet Santa and Dancer in our neighborhood:
It’s a miracle we got the briefest of moments to do these things, because her family can’t get enough of her!
Uncle TJ is always happy to help us get a fussy Emma back to sleep!
We’re glad Emmett had Mia to keep him company during these trying times! Although I’m not sure he agrees.
Suffice it to say, Mom and Dad have their hands full. We’re so grateful for her, and for all our family and friends supporting us through these crazy times. I just have one favor to ask of all of you:
Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
Post number 75.