Baby Rhett's Blessing

What a cRaZy month this has been! And I am so behind--so be sure to scroll down because I'm going to be posting some belated stuff: Annie's bday, Visits from Family, and a much-overdue reminiscing post from last years' trip to CT.

I digress. . .

We decided (with so much of my family in town for a visit) to combine Rhett's baby blessing party with Annie's birthday party. I knew this would be a little nutso, but it worked out okay. I learned to ask for help (Oma offered to arrange the bday cake and after initially saying, "no, it's okay. I can handle it" I let her help. She did a great job!) But I'll post pictures of her birthday later, lest she not get the attention she deserves for HER special day. . .

It was so nice to have so many of my family members here and we were THRILLED to have Ryan's Uncle Ken's family (Carla, Holly, Annie / Ryan and kids, and John / Amber and kids) travel so far to see us. I don't think we'd seen Annie or John's family in about five years!

All in all it was a great day. I'm so grateful for a wonderful family that supports us and that Ryan was able to give Rhett a beautiful blessing. I'm very proud of him for all he does for our family!

Here are some random pictures from Blessing Day:

My mom getting Rhett in his blessing outfit before church. I have done / assisted doing this three times now with fear in my heart that a diaper blowout or upchuck would ruin a blessing outfit. So far we've been lucky and he looked so cute!

My mother in law and my Mom: thanks so much for all your hard work, you two!

Mommy and Rhett



Daddy, Mommy, and Rhett

Our little family!



Our friends the Martins (minus Kaden--he was busy elsewhere!)



Ryan's cousin Brian and his kids Meg and Adin. Where's Heather?



Annie with her beloved Aunt Kelli, beloved Aunt Gretchen, and beloved baby Kate. This was the "cool kids" table as far as she was concerned!

Grandpas, Dad, and the Droubay of honor (Rhett!)

The boys: My dad, Ryan's Grandpa, Ryan's dad holding Rhett, Ryan holding Carson

And of course, Papa Foof (Abraham), for whom Rhett Abraham was named

My Friend Michelle ROCKS!

My college friend Michelle Willis took some pictures of the kids a few weeks ago and I think they are awesome. Check her out at www.edreamphotography.com. I think she's got a great eye and some serious talent (and I'm not biased at all with the subjects being my kidlets!) . Here are some of her pics:

I have to say, Carson was not very cooperative during this photo shoot. He actually makes some super cute faces right now, but was a little somber this day. But his outfit was cute, right?

Here is another one with the three of them. I LOVE this picture because this is how they are with Rhett--always checking out how tiny and cute he is. Plus they look so dang calm and quiet! Love it.

This is my favorite picture of Annie. I was impressed because Michelle was able to get Annie to do her normal smiles and not some silly ole' fake picture smile. Where do kids get their "picture smiles" from anyway? I love this picture!

I thought this was cute, too.

I know I know I know. I'm totally biased 'cause she's my little girl, but how cute is this picture? What an adorable face! There's mischief in those eyes, however. Look closely and you'll see it. Makes you wonder what she's thinking, no?

This might be the only picture where he was doing a natural smile or any smile at all for that matter. And holding still too. Two year olds. What else can I say?



So tiny!

I love this picture because it captures Rhett's "sleeping face" so well. They grow so quickly and change their habits so frequently. I'm glad I have this picture to remember that cute face!

And last but not least is one of the pictures I got to take! Woo hoo!

Baby Rhett is finally here!

HALLELUJAH!!!

Here he is: Rhett Abraham Droubay, born June 10, 2009 at 11:22 AM. He weighed (so they say--I have a hard time believing it because he is soooo tiny to me) just over 8 pounds and was 19.5 inches long. Neither Annie nor Carson were this tiny in their clothes, but I'll believe the hospital scales, okay?

First things first: Ryan chose the name Rhett (which I struggled with at first, but it has totally grown on me now) and I chose his middle name. I named him for my Dad, whose response was: "why would you do that to him?" Well, I'll tell you why--because my dad is an honorable man who I really admire and who means the world to me. I wanted to honor my dad as well as give my son a name he could wear proudly. Both Carson and Annie have also been named for people who are important to Ryan and me.

Well, as many of you know, the births of our first two children were lengthy and quite traumatic for poor ole' mommy. So, my doctor, who is AMAZING by the way, made the decision to take him at 39 weeks, with the hopes that he could spare me a little trauma. This pregnancy was really difficult and very painful toward the end--I know I'm not unique in this--and I was glad as induction day approached, let me tell you! The only thing that made me sad was that I absolutely love feeling the baby inside my tummy, and I knew I'd really miss that when it was over.

Anyway, we reported to the hospital (Mountain West Medical Center in Tooele--AMAZING Labor and Delivery nurses and staff, by the way) Tuesday night (June 9). They started me at about 9:30 and again at 1:30 AM and gave me some medicine to help me sleep. I woke up at about 5 AM or so (I think) feeling some stronger and more regular contractions and dilated to a 4. I am sure I speak for laboring women everywhere when I say that there is not much more frustrating than feeling the pains and hearing some pathetic number like 3 or 4. GRRRRRR!! Anyway, about this time, I felt a huge kick from the baby and immediately realized my son had broken my water! This has not happened to me before, so I was unprepared for how fast labor progressed after that. I think I was on the Pitocin drip by now, and the contractions started to worsen. By the time the blessed nurse anesthetist arrived (LOVE her and her little cart of joy), I was dilated to a 7. Then, immediately after the epidural, I was at a 10! I have not progressed like that ever before. I almost couldn't believe it. But, I couldn't push and the baby was high, (and I still had the sleeping meds in me), so I rested for three hours. At 11AM we prepped for the Great and Terrible Pushing of 2009 and holy moly, he was born on the FOURTH contraction! I almost don't know what to say about this. I am accustomed to pushing for two hours and pleading for the vaccuum, and thinking I'm going to collapse from exhaustion, but I actually ENJOYED this experience, if you can believe it! My epidural was perfect, I felt great, and it could not have gone much better than it did.

Here is his first picture:



Here are some other pictures:

Here he is with Carson and Annie. I put this in because it was really cute to see the kids with their new baby brother. They both wanted to hold him constantly and this is actually when Carson would NOT release his grip. We kept asking him, "can Daddy have a turn? Can grandpa have a turn? Mom? Annie?" and to each question his answer was the same: very serious face, "No. It's Carsie's turn now." Very matter-of-factly. You can tell that he really likes this little man. Here he is, petting his face--I know, it looks like poking, but he was actually petting it. hilarious.



Annie was super cute as well. She raised her hand (like in school) when the nurses brought him in the room and immediately asked if she could feed or hold him. Here they are right before we brought him home on Thursday:



Here are some pictures (the best I can get so far) of his face and features. We think he looks alot like Carson's baby pictures as well as my dad. So appropriately named, I guess!

getting ready to go home from the hospital

chillin' on the couch

three days old

Here is his royal tininess:

this is the day we brought him home. I love this picture!

We are so happy he's home and healthy. We are truly blessed!

Feelin' Nostalgic

Okay. So I know pregnant women can get a little neurotic and most definitely emotional toward the end. I am SO not the exception to this. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to meet this little baby who's been somersaulting around my tummy for the last who knows how long. I can't wait to see what color hair he has, what he looks like, (the thrill of being able to pick something up off the floor is in there somewhere), etcetera, but I'm a little sad too. I have been hanging out with the coolest toddlers ever for the last little while and I'm a little worried I'm going to be totally abandoning them. . . is that crazy?

I just have loved watching Annie and Carson grow older and older, being able to hang out with them in the backyard, play with them, and talk with them. They are so fun and SO DANG FUNNY!! I've accepted that I must once again return to mustard-poo filled diapers, and sleepless nights. I don't love the idea, but I'm fine to do it. It's totally worth it, and babies smell so good, ya know? But my heart feels a tad sad to think about those little kiddos having to share their mom more than they already do. I know it's not the end of the world. . . .

I just wanted to throw that out there to the Land of Blog.

And then, to share some of what we've been up to lately:

I already told you about the tire swing. Still a big hit, for the kiddos and neighbors too. It is so fun to watch them spin and spin and spin. So far, we've had no tossed lunch or any other meal for that matter. All's well, folks.

About a month ago, I had to go to Park City to put on a conference for the Utah Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. I do this every year in my role as the work-from-home Administrative Assistant that I am. I absolutely love doing this. It is the perfect job for me and the weekend away does wonders for my soul. . . . . . . ahhhhhhh. . . .

Anyway, while I was gone, Ryan took Annie and Carson to the zoo. They are still talking about this. Annie has been doing this new thing where she wants to dress herself, and most days, we just let her do it. I tell you this to explain the hat she is wearing. She just loves this hat.


Here she is BEING an elephant. Check out that trunk! For those of you who don't know, Annie is obsessed with elephants. I'm sure this exhibit was the highlight of her zoo experience.


The highlight for Carson, on the other hand, was of course the zoo train. Trains are referred to as either "trains" or "choo-choo planes." Don't get it, but okay. I'm not gonna argue with a 2 year old about that one! Ryan said that Carson started getting a little stressed as they were waiting their turn for their 2 minute zoo train ride. "Carsie turn! CARSIE TURN!" Can you imagine how frustrating that wait must have been? My goodness!

And how cute is that tender sibling moment, eh?

Other highlights of the past little while include Annie's first dance recital -- NOTHING short of hilarious! and graduation from preschool. This I missed, but I hear it was quite the show. They made a video of the children that were graduating and I'm so glad we got one because it was so funny. Annie was in it a few times and definitely has a flair for the dramatic. So like her dad.
Ha ha! Note the sarcasm. . .


Another thing Annie and I have been doing is gardening. Here she sits, my little preschool graduate, in the front garden amongst the bee-you-ti-ful flowers we've been caring for. I can't believe how much she is growing up.

Well, on to packing and bed. We are headed to the hospital tomorrow evening to be induced for (hopefully) a Wednesday delivery. So far so good--I'm excited and happy, nervous and a little overwhelmed, but we'll make it through!

A Kid's Life

Alright, it's been THIRTY years since I was her age, but my memory has not dimmed such that I don't remember the utter joy of a hot, stinky tire swing on a warm summer day. I'm telling you, it does NOT get much better than this! You can see the relaxation in her face. Ryan decided today to put up the tire swing and you should have seen the smile on his face when he heard her shrieks of pure elation. It is far enough away from the trunk of the tree that we can get some serious rotation and height on each push. Classic. Absolutely classic. And major daddy brownie points today, dear.

I can remember being a kiddo and turning the tire swing so many times there were huge knots in the rope, and releasing, fully knowing I'd be moments away from tossing my lunch by the time the spinning ride of death was complete. Didn't matter. The tire swing is a childhood must. I'm so excited to watch her experience this and all the other joys of summertime this year. Maybe I'll start to feel like a kid myself! Wouldn't that be nice!

Battle Chicken

Well, our roosters (and hens too) were getting pecked to death by each other, so Ryan decided to let our rooster roam our horse corrals and the barn area. This has turned out to be quite entertaining for me. First of all, call me a city girl if you want, but I just think it is so funny/interesting that the thing just is content to strut around our back property all day long. He stays within the property (with the exception of two days ago when he went a-calling over to the ladies in the chicken coop). For a few hours at least, he paced back and forth in front of the window. Anyway. The first night he was out, Ryan said that Maisey was sleeping on the barn floor and the rooster had stolen her bed (up on the haystack--its a Maisey-sized burrow she's dug out for herself. . . ) So, I had to check it out for myself. (Okay, really lame here) So I went outside, in the cold, with a flashlight, at 11PM and there was Maisey curled up in the middle of the garden and yep, you guessed it, the rooster was cozily squatting away up on the haystack.

But, sadly, it hasn't been all fun and games. This crazy rooster likes to intimidate Annie and Carson. It chased Annie twice before her dad and Dennis taught her how to assert herself with the barn animals. It involves an uber-confident persona and a long stick. She's learning quickly. Carson, on the other hand, is utterly defenseless. The rooster had him down on the ground and had backed up and rammed him twice before Mr. Droubay reached him. It did not go well for the rooster. Then, today, the rooster was crowing and I crowed back, just to amuse myself. He ignored me. I walked away and heard him chasing me. We had a chat about that.

Then, Ryan decided to rope the chicken. I happened to have a camera and preserved the moment for all to enjoy:



So, yesterday, Annie and I were discussing the rooster and I said it was time to name him. She has been wanting to name the baby "Nemo" for about two weeks now, so I suggested that this might be a better name for the rooster than for the baby. Oh no, she said. The baby was now going to be named "T-Rex" and the rooster's name was "Battle Chicken."

Battle Chicken? nice.

So, thus concludes the anecdote regarding Battle Chicken. It has it all: suspense, humor, violence, triumph, and perhaps a smidgeon of boredom for the reader.

Thank you for your attention.

You may need to admit you have a problem when. . .

Your darling 2-year old refers to diet Dr. Pepper as "Mama's ba-ba."

ha ha ha.

I'll NEVER give it up!. . . . . . . .