~My Little Rodeo Star!~

About 3 weeks ago, Hazen was in a little Rodeo out in Tooele. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law entered him in a few events. I wasn't able to go, which I was so bummed about, but I just couldn't risk taking Rhett out. But Ryan got lots of pictures and he videoed the whole thing. He is going to be in another one in a couple weeks. Hazen thought it was the greatest thing ever! He is still talking about it every day! He had to run the barrels on his stick horse, rope a cow, chase a goat and get a ribbon off of his tale, and he had to run the barrels on his pony, Taffy. He had a blast! He didn't win anything, but he had lots of fun. He has loved riding Taffy lately, and asks if he can go to Grandma's and ride her almost every day. It's so fun to see him riding with his daddy! Ryan has had a lot of fun teaching him to ride the pony. And he hasn't even gotten bucked off this year! :) Well anyways.... here are a few pictures!

Singing the National Anthem.... I love how he has his hat over his heart! What a cute boy!

Getting ready to rope the cow. Uncle Blake is giving him some tips!
Roping the cow! He is one cute cowboy.....

Getting ready to run the barrels on Taffy with Amanda, Blake and Grandma.

Running the barrels on Taffy. I love his face in this picture.....he was laughing so hard!

Hazen and Aunt Amanda.... he is so excited!

Grab that ribbon!

Around the barrel!

Running the barrels on his stick horse!

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It's been a lot of fun to have Rhett home and to be able to relax a little bit and not worry so much about work! I have enjoyed my time off. I have to go back to work in about 2 1/2 weeks now, so I am a little bummed :( Time goes by so fast! In another way, it will be nice to get back into the routine of things.
Hazen has been having fun playing at home and at the grandma's houses. He hasn't been a problem at all with Rhett-he loves him so much! He hasn't been jealous at all. I was a little worried that he wouldn't like him, or he would try to pick him up or something, but he has been so good with him! He is always wanting to help with him or hold him or something. It's cute to see the two of them together, Rhett absolutely LOVES his big brother! He just stares at him, and so far Hazen is the only one who has gotten him to smile. So cute!

Hazen and Rhett in Hazen's bed one night just before bedtime.
Big eyes! I love his little hat!


He loves to sleep with his arms up by his face.

He loves his binki!
Daddy and Rhett taking a sunday nap! :)
Big eyes again! So comfy on Uncle Kendall!

My big helper!

Sorry for the picture overload! I guess I should update more often?!?

The little man is home!

First, I want to thank everybody for your comments and thoughts and prayers... we have amazing friends and family! You guys are the best!
Rhett is home! He spent a LONG 11 days in the NICU. We brought him home last monday May 10. It has been nice to have him home and to not have the stress of him being in the NICU. But, I have to be honest by saying I was a little nervous to bring him home. I was so worried that he would have to go back or that he would stop breathing or something. Luckily, he has loved being home and we haven't had any problems :) I took him to the Dr. last tuesday and he had gained an ounce, which was good. He now weighs 5lbs 5oz. and he was 19 inches long. So, he is growing and gaining some weight. He is still so tiny though! Most of his premie clothes are too big on him! He has about 3 things that actually fit him good, other than that, everything is huge on him. He is such a cute little guy! He has been a pretty good baby thus far, other than I think he has his days and nights a little confused :) I am trying to keep him awake more during the day, but he sleeps most of the day. He doesn't cry a lot, just when he gets dressed and when he gets his diaper changed. Hazen thinks it is hilarious when Rhett is crying. He laughs as hard as I've ever seen! I'm trying to tell him that he needs to be nice and try to talk to him when he is crying because he is sad, but he just continues to laugh. He has been pretty good with him, he asks me all day long if Rhett is sleeping or if he is awake. I am so happy to have Rhett home! Now, we are just confined to the house for 4-6 weeks, so the little man doesn't get sick. It won't take much to put him back in the hospital, so I am being super careful.... (maybe a little too careful, but I would rather be safe than sorry!) I haven't gotten a ton of pics since he has been home, but here are a few.

This one is obviously not at home.... this was the day he was born. He is on the ventilator, and I finally got the picture off of my phone!

Cute little guy! I took this one from my phone, so it's not the best picture.

Full body picture in his bassinet.

This one is also still at the hospital, but I love his big, bright eyes.

Another pic at the hospital, feeding my little guy.

Daddy trying to burp Rhett at the hospital.

This was the day everything changed, he got his feeding tube taken out and his oxygen off! He looked so different without all of his tubes!

He loves to have his hands by his face when he sleeps.

Ignore the fact that Hazen is naked.... he had just gotten out of the shower! He had to come and check on his little brother!

He finally got his first bath yesterday... he thought that was pretty nice, until I had to actually wash him! Then he screamed!

We are loving having him home. We are so grateful for all the prayers that were said for us. Rhett came home much sooner than expected, and I know that is because of all the prayers that were answered. Thanks again!

Rhett is here!

Well....Rhett decided he wanted to come into the world a little sooner than planned! He was born April 29, 2010 at 4:42 am. He weighed 5lb 1oz and he is 18 inches long. He is one tiny little boy! He is still in the NICU and he will be for a few weeks :( He was 4 more weeks early and his little lungs just weren't ready. He was on a ventilator for the first 24 hours and he has had all sorts of tubes, iv's, moniters, etc.... hooked up to him over the last week. He is on oxygen, moniters for his heart rate and respiratory rate and he still has an IV in his head (SO sad). Hopefully they will be able to take the IV out tomorrow. He is a week old today! Time flies-thankfully. I had another C-Section, so I got released from the hospital on Monday. It was so hard to leave the hospital and leave him there. But he is in the best place possible for him to be. They are taking good care of him. I am going up to the hospital once a day to feed him and see him. I usually try to spend a couple hours when I am there, but I can't drive for 2 weeks, so someone is taking me up there every day while Ryan is working. Luckily our families have been GREAT to help us out with driving up to the hospital, taking care of Hazen, laundry and cleaning my house, among everything else. He is a cute little guy, he has lots of hair and big eyes just like Hazen. His hair is a lot lighter than Hazen's and I am still trying to decide if he has more hair than Hazen had when he was born. We weren't able to really see him much the first day and a half of his life, but we finally got to hold him on Friday night. Once they took him off the ventilator and the IV out of his artery in his belly button, they let us hold him. I was so happy to finally hold my little guy! It has been so weird to have him and not be able to hold him when we want, change his diaper, or bring him home with us. It almost feels like I haven't had him, but I no longer have a belly! I would much rather have him in the belly still! Oh well.... he needed to come to earth I guess. He has such a sweet little spirit. I am so grateful that I can be a mommy to this little spirit and to Hazen. I am so lucky to have my boys. I know that Rhett will be just fine, and it is just going to take some time for him to grow and develop more before we can bring him home. It will be here before we know it! He is already a week old today! I'm sure Heavenly Father has a lesson for all of us to learn from this and I just need to have faith.
Sorry this is such a scattered post, but I mostly just wanted to let everyone know that he is here and to keep him in your prayers :) I will try to update as often as I can, but it might be hard to keep up. It is a lot of work by the time I go to the hospital every day, pump every 2-3 hours and eat every 2-3 hours and try to rest in between! I hope my energy will keep up with me. I am just extra tired, but I guess it is getting me prepared for when he does come home. It is going to be a lot of work, and totally different from Hazen. Wish me luck! Here are a few pictures!



Full body shot. He is so little!
Bright eyes!
Not a good pic of me!
Cute little nose! And lots of hair!

1 day old