Snider Family Website » Parents

Ryan Koufax Snider is here!

Jeff J. Snider — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 05:17:25 +0000

Let’s not bury the lede: Ryan Koufax Snider was born on June 14, 2011, at 6:13 p.m. He was 19.5 inches long and weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces. If he had been born 47 seconds later, he would have been born on 6-14 at 6:14 and weighed 6-14. We may just decide that their clock was off by a minute, because that’s cool.

The birth was a bit scary. As labor progressed, the nurse noticed that Ryan’s heart rate would spike and plummet, which indicated that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. She called the doctor and told him it was time to hurry over, and then she told us that we were going to have a full house in the delivery room just in case there were any problems. They also prepped the operating room for an emergency C-section, although she didn’t tell us that until afterwards (thankfully). Beth was very scared, and I pretended not to be to help calm her down. We said a prayer, and then everyone came in and suddenly it was time to have a baby.

Still no doctor.

They started prepping Bethy, got her legs in position, and when they lifted the sheet, Ryan was crowning despite not a single push yet. The nurse, Annette, said, “Okay, we’re having this baby now.” One push got the head most of the way. Quick break, then a second push got the rest of the head. They quickly unwrapped the cord from his neck. One last push got his shoulders out, and they realized that the cord was around his neck a second time. They quickly undid that and pulled him the rest of the way out, only to discover the cord ALSO wrapped around his chest. So they unwrapped that, too, and he finally started to cry for us.

Still no doctor. He showed up about 30 minutes later. He was stuck in traffic. Luckily, we had Annette, who has been a nurse here for 40 years and is absolutely amazing. She took charge and delivered the baby like it was no big deal. Her calm demeanor helped us not to panic. We can’t thank her enough.

Bethy got to snuggle Ryan for a few minutes, but then the nurses noticed that he was having a little trouble breathing, so we took him to the nursery and they put him in an oxygen mask for about an hour. Then he had a bottle, and he’s been asleep for the two-and-a-half hours.

He is a beautiful, healthy baby, and we are in love with him. He is much smaller than we are used to, which is interesting. I don’t know what else to say, so here are a bunch of pictures, and then I’ll throw our timeline in at the bottom:

Bethy’s belly on birth morning:

Our last picture as a family of four:

The view out our delivery room window. It really made the experience a little more special:

Ryan meets his mommy:

Ryan with Annette, the Super Nurse who delivered him:

Ryan with his sad little oxygen mask:

A kiss from his big sister:

A kiss from his big brother:

All three of our beautiful children:

Meeting Grandma Madsen:

Meeting Aunt Laura:

Meeting Uncle Lane:

Meeting Aunt Kelly:

And finally, a picture with Daddy:

Here’s the timeline we kept track of:

8:45 am – Call from hospital to be there by 10:00.
9:45 am – Got to hospital.
10:15 am – Found out Beth was positive for Group B Strep, which meant she needed to be on antibiotics for four hours before delivery.
11:00 am – Started first dose of antibiotics.
12:00 pm – Started Pitocin to induce labor.
12:25 pm – Contractions started.
2:35 pm – Dr. Young broke water.
3:15 pm – Nurse anesthetist arrived to do epidural.
3:25 pm – Epidural in place and delivering its magic sauce.
5:40 pm – Dilated to 6 cm.
5:45 pm – Third dose of epidural.
5:50 pm – Nurse puts on an internal heart monitor and notices the mucus plug come out and bloody show.
6:05 pm – Fully dilated, concerns about Ryan’s heart rate.
6:11 pm – Started pushing.
6:13 pm – Ryan is born.

Baseball with my kids

Jeff J. Snider — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:03:09 +0000

(This post is about baseball, and how it brings families closer together. But seriously, there’s LOTS of baseball in this post. Just fair warning.)

Yesterday evening, Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in his first career postseason game. I turned the game on in the sixth inning, and when I saw that the Reds hadn’t scored yet, my first thought was, “I wonder if Halladay has given up any hits.” With Roy Halladay, that’s a logical thing to wonder.

It turns out that he hadn’t, and I knew immediately that he wouldn’t. I had Beth sit and watch with me, because I knew it was something special. I explained to her and our kids that the last time someone threw a no-hitter in the postseason, my parents were the age that our son is now. (Craig Calcaterra should have tried something like that with his son — kids need a frame of reference.) Anyway, so we watched the end of the game, and it was a pretty awesome thing for a baseball fan to do with his wife and kids.

Lindsay is at the age where she loves to hear stories about when Mommy and Daddy were kids. A while after the game was over, she asked me for a story. Still in a postseason-baseball-history sort of mood, I told her about when I was 11 years old, when the Dodgers (she KNOWS about the Dodgers) were losing by one run in the last inning in the World Series (she doesn’t know what the World Series is, but the girl’s got a knack for context, so she was appropriately enthralled), and a man named Kirk Gibson came up to bat even though both of his legs hurt so bad that he could barely walk. I reminded her from her T-ball days that you need your legs to do a good baseball swing, and Kirk Gibson’s legs hurt so bad that he didn’t know how he was going to swing. I told her how my whole family was watching the game together, and how much we wanted Kirk Gibson to hit a home run. And then I asked her to guess what happened next. This girl, she knows how to tell a story, and she knows that it would be a pretty lousy story if the last line was “and then Kirk Gibson struck out.” She said, “He hit a home run!” And I said, “He sure did!” And then I told her how her grandma started hyperventilating, screaming “He did it! He did it! He did it!” I did an awesome impression of Grandma Snider, and both kids got an enormous kick out of it.

And then Beth had a great idea: “You should show them the video.” I got the 1988 World Series on DVD for Christmas a year or two ago, but I hadn’t yet had occasion to pop it into the DVD player. So I pulled out game 1 and queued it up to the bottom of the ninth inning. Mike Scioscia popped up, and Beth and I marveled at how young he looked compared to when we met him a few months ago. Jeff Hamilton struck out looking, and we felt bad seeing how overmatched he was against future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley and his mullet. At some point during Hamilton’s at-bat, the camera showed Gibson in the dugout with a helmet on, and Vin Scully mentioned that it would be up to Mike Davis to extend the inning to give Gibson a chance. Sure enough, after Hamilton struck out, Davis came up and worked a walk against Eckersley.

And then I started saying every word along with Vinny. “And look who’s coming up. … All year long they looked to him to light the fire, and all year long he answered the demand. Until he was physically unable to start tonight, with *two* bad legs! You talk about a roll of the dice, this is it.”

I could write a book about how much I love Vin Scully. (And really, after the way Curt Smith botched an unbotchable topic, maybe I should.) Everything about Vinny is magical. I watched — and LOVED — “For the Love of the Game” with Kevin Costner just because Vinny was the announcer throughout the movie. I pay many dollars a year for an MLB.tv account just so I can watch a Dodger game and listen to Vinny. So I think it is perfect that Vinny was doing the World Series in 1988. Joe Garagiola was there in the booth with him, and he was good, but Vinny was magical.

One thing I often forget about the Gibson at-bat is how long it was. There were seven pitches (including two foul balls with two strikes). There were three or four throws to first by Eckersley. There was a throw to first by catcher Ron Hassey, whose curly mullet was a perfect compliment to Eck’s feathery straight mullet. There was a stolen base by Davis on the 2-2 pitch. I didn’t time it, but I bet it was close to four minutes between when Gibson came to the plate and when he hit it out.

And it almost didn’t happen. There were a couple close calls. Strike two was a weak ground ball down the first base line that went foul just before Mark McGwire could pick it up. When Davis stole second, umpire Doug Harvey very easily could have called Gibson out for interference as he stumbled into Hassey’s throwing line. But he didn’t, and everything was set up perfectly.

At this point, Beth looked at me and giggled about how into it I was. It’s been 22 years next week, and I’ve seen it literally hundreds of times, but I love it just as much every time. Logan kept asking me, “Is this were you’re gonna scream?” I kept telling him he’d know it when he saw it. And now, finally, I told him, “It’s this next pitch!”

“High fly ball into right field, she is … GONE!”

“He did it! He did it! He did it!”

The kids were jumping around, half in excitement that Kirk Gibson hit the home run, and half in excitement about how excited Grandma Snider had been. They watched Gibby pump his fist twice as he rounded second. And we listened as Vin Scully said … nothing. And that’s what makes him so great. My brother and I have often wondered what happened in the booth. Did Vinny put a muzzle on Garagiola, or did they both know to shut up. It’s a full minute at least, nothing but crowd noise. Then, a long time after saying “she is gone,” as Gibson celebrates with his teammates, Vinny says:

“In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.”

Joe Posnanski recently wrote about Vinny for Sports Illustrated, and he said Vinny believes that line was a gift from God. I think it was just an extension of the gift from God that is Vin Scully. (That article by Posnanski is 100 times better than Curt Smith’s biography.)

Look, I know it’s just baseball. I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things. But I also know that I am closer to my family because we grew up watching baseball together, and I hope to be closer to my kids through baseball too. And if it brings families closer together, then it’s a good thing.

Pioneer Day 10K

Beth Snider — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:33:39 +0000

Today I ran in the Pioneer Day 10K down in Provo. I had two reasons for wanting to run this race. The first reason was because I hadn’t done a 10K in a year and I wanted the challenge. The second reason was because I wanted to do something for my good friends, Niki and Flavio, who are anxiously waiting to find out if their in-vitro worked. Niki has been on bed rest for 4 days and has one more day to go and then they still have another week or two until they find out. I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to help with that process, but I knew that I could show them how much I love them and how amazing I think they are. I chose the 10K over the 5K because it had what they called “Goliath Hill” at the beginning. This hill was high. It was steep. And it was long. As I was thinking about Nikio and their experience and the journey they need to take to have a child, I felt that the 10K was a good representation of that. I started out good and once I hit the bottom of the hill I still thought I could run up the whole thing, but halfway through it, I had to stop and walk. The hill won and I was okay with that. I kept thinking of Nikio and all of the ups and downs they have had and once I got to the top of the hill I never walked again until I crossed the finish line. My legs got really tired at about mile 4.5 and I really wanted to quit, but Nikio’s example of never giving up kept me going.

I truly enjoyed running this for them and want to publicly thank them for their wonderful example of enduring to the end and having faith in the Lord. Love you guys!

The course for this run was absolutely beautiful. Provo is one of my favorite places to go in Utah County. It reminds me of my childhood, of when Jeffy and I met, and it is so pretty. As I was running, I thought a lot about Nikio, but also of the Pioneers. Looking at those beautiful, magnificent mountains, I thought of how those Pioneers had to walk up and over mountains, pushing and pulling their belongings and loved ones in handcarts and wagons, and suddenly my race didn’t seem so difficult. All I had to do was run. I am so grateful for the Pioneers and the sacrifices they made to get here and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank my Heavenly Father for this beautiful land. We truly are blessed to live where we live.

Near the beginning of the race, at about 1/2 mile into it, a dad pushing his disabled daughter in a stroller passed me, and I was overcome with emotion. He reminded me of the sweet love a father has for his child and the willingness to do anything for that child.

I was lucky to have Jeff and the kids cheer me on during the race. This was the first race the kids got to come to and they really enjoyed watching me take off and then continuing to drive around the course, stopping and waiting for me so that they could give me high fives, cheer me on, blow me kisses and tell me they love me. It helped so much to see their cute little faces and to hear their encouraging words. I am so lucky!

I highly recommend a good run like this every Pioneer Day to help remind us of all the blessings we have in our lives.

Happy Pioneer Day!

The Six Best Years Ever

Jeff J. Snider — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:28:17 +0000

I am sitting in the car at the 1-mile marker of the 10K Bethy is running, and she just ran past. I think they staggered the starts, so its tough to tell how shes doing compared to everyone else, but shes not too concerned about anyone else (except that she doesnt want to finish last). Its a fun way to start our anniversary, and I am super proud of her.

I am thankful every day that Beth decided to marry me, because she is absolutely perfect for me. Shes my best friend, a wonderful wife, a nearly flawless mother, and pretty much everything I ever would have dreamed of in a wife if I were smarter and knew all the right stuff to dream of.

We spent last night at the Grand America hotel in Salt Lake, capping off six years of marriage with the most wonderful Cobb salad weve ever had. Seriously, if you like Cobb salad, you have to come up here. But anyway, we had a great evening with good food, some time in the hot tub, a movie in our hotel room, and some nice child-free relaxation (thanks Mimi!). Then we got up way too early this morning and watched SportsCenter as we got ready to go (the Dodgers won last night). Its been perfect, although I acknowledge that I think every day with Beth is perfect, so I may not be the most objective person in the world.

I think Ill go drive around and see how shes doing. Happy anniversary, Bethy! Six down, eternity to go! I love you!!!

Trial Run

Beth Snider — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:52:16 +0000

So, the crazy chick that I am, I signed up for a 10K this Saturday. You know, for our 6th anniversary, I’m gonna run 6 miles. I’m insane. Heidi was so nice to watch the kids for me this morning and off I went. Between new shoes, numb toes, and a constant stitch in my side, I ran it in 1 hour and 20 minutes. It didn’t take me as long as I had feared it would, even though I know it’s not a great time. I’m not doing this to prove anything to anyone. Mostly doing it just to say that I did it, and of course the health benefits of running. But 6 miles is so FAR! Man oh man. But now that I’ve done it once, I can’t use it as an excuse to not ever do one again. I really do enjoy running. Wish me luck this Saturday! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Hiking the Y

Beth Snider — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:05:56 +0000

We’ve finally done it. I grew up here and Jeff went to BYU for like a hundred years and neither of us had ever hiked the Y. And since we’re all healthy and active now we decided it was time. It was a lot harder than I had expected it to be but it was beautiful and worth it and fun to be able to do it together. If you’ve never hiked it, there are 12 switchbacks and the 11th switchback is the longest and steepest one on the whole thing. A pretty cruel trick if you ask me. We were about 1/4 of the way up this switchback and Jeff says, “Let’s run it.” I was shocked and proud at the same moment so we started running up this beast of a switchback and about 3/4 of the way to the end we stopped because it hurt so bad. But you should have seen the faces of the people we passed as we were running. They really thought we had done that the whole way up! Totally worth it! Going up was hard and going down was obnoxious. We had a really good time though and thanks Laney and Kelly for watching the kids and sorry again for the throw up.

I’m blowing this baby up.

I don’t care what anyone says, Utah is fan-freakin-beautiful and I’m so proud to call it home.

For some reason these rocks reminded me of New Zealand or something.

Centennial Apartments. That’s where Jeffy and I met.

Side view of the Y.

The Y from the top. If I was still 15, I would have hiked up higher to get a better picture of it, but I’m not, so deal with it.

Movie Flowers

Beth Snider — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:00:35 +0000

Picture this: a woman who isn’t showered, her house is a mess, her kids are half dressed, she’s on the phone with her mom. The doorbell rings. She walks to the door, looks in the peep hole and sees a man she’s never met before, with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a balloon. The woman says to her mom, “I just got a beautiful bouquet of flowers!” The mom says, “Is it from your husband?” The woman says, “I hope so!” The woman then walks to the kitchen to put the flowers on the table, during which her son trips on one of his millions of cars and is screaming, so she still doesn’t know who it’s from. She’s pretty sure it’s from her husband but she just can’t wait to see for sure. She goes back to comfort her son and then asks him if he wants to come see who the flowers are from and he sobbingly says yes. She goes over to the table, takes out the card and reads this:

“Roses are red, pickles are green
You’re not part of my life,
You’re the whole blasted thing!
(I bet you didn’t know you were married to a master poet!)
I love you SOOOOOOOOO much!”

The woman then starts to cry and calls her husband to thank him and tell him that it truly made her day awesome and that she loves him too.
And scene.

Best. Day. Ever.

Snowmobiling

Beth Snider — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:54:01 +0000

Today was the annual Digicert snowmobiling trip up out in Midway, which is right by Heber. It’s beautiful up there and it’s such a cute, little town. Jeffy and I always say we’re going to move there every time we go there. (Don’t worry Mimi!) It just has such a good feeling about it. Anyway, Auntie Laura came and watched the kids for us and we had a really nice time together. I was a little bit nervous this year because last year I went off a jump and got thrown off the ski-doo and was in LOTS of pain for a couple of days. I knew that once we got started I would be fine, but it actually took me a lot longer that I had expected to feel comfortable on it. For the first 10-15 minutes, I was actively scared but then once I got the hang of leaning while turning and all that stuff again, I was just fine. We were out for about 3 hours and I wished we could have stayed out longer, because I felt like I was just getting to the point where I wasn’t scared at all anymore, and then it was time to leave. Oh well. I still had a great time and there is always next year! Afterwards, we had some time to shower and relax and then we had a really nice dinner there at the Homestead.

I love the company Jeffy works for, Digicert. They genuinely care for their employees and are always treating them with wonderful experiences to thank them for all of the hard work they do to help the company move forward. Thank you Digicert! We are so grateful to you (and for you)!

Jeffy and I on our ski-doos sporting our sexy jumpsuits!

Me on my ski-doo on the side of a mountain. I was still a little nervous at this point.

Us and the Heber Valley behind us. Gorgeous.

Another shot of Heber Valley, taken at the top of the mountain. I think the guy said it was 8,840 feet up.

Us taking a break at the top of the mountain. I’m seriously buying myself a pair of these goggles to wear as sunglasses…

Everyone that came.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Jeff J. Snider — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:06:17 +0000

It’s Valentine’s Day morning, and Beth is lying in bed next to me in a hotel room in Salt Lake, so I thought I’d sneakily pull out my phone and blog about how perfect she is for me. We’ve been best friends for six years and four days now, and I don’t know how I was ever happy without her. Probably had a different definition of happy back then, I guess. She has strengths that complement all my weaknesses, and she has just enough weaknesses to make me feel like I’m contributing something to the relationship too. And now she’s waking up, so I’ll stop.

I love you, Bethy!

Free Labor

Beth Snider — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:50:26 +0000

So, if any of you live close by, you have seen the awesomeness that has been going on at my house. We have lived here for three full winters now and not once have we ever shoveled the snow on our driveways or walks. That’s why we paid the extra $500 to buy a south facing lot so that we wouldn’t necessarily have to. The sun was our shovel. No longer my friends. My most wonderful brother-in-law Lane has come to the rescue. Not only was he excited about doing it, he did it without a coat on! The kids and I had a great time watching him from inside where it was nice and warm.

I can’t and shouldn’t offer him to any of you but I’m sure if you asked him, he would be more than happy to shovel your walks as well. Right Laney?