Visit from Nonnie

My mom has been here since Hartwell was born. She has been such a great help with both kiddos, but she goes home soon and I don't know how we'll survive.

More of Hartwell

Hartwell keeps his eyes open a lot more lately. Only problem is when they stay open at night.

Laralee is such a good big sister.

Our adorable chickies

Laralee loves her baby brother "Hartful".

She loves giving him hugs and kisses.

I hope he gets her big blue eyes. This was a rare occurance to catch his eyes open.

Hartwell does this very well!! He sleeps all day and night. I hope we have another good sleeper. I can't believe he is 1 week old. This past week has flown by. Thanks to everyone for their calls and good wishes. I haven't been good at returning calls because he has been wiping me out with the feeding issue but please know I have got the messages and will eventually get back to real life.

A Name:

Before we tell you the new baby's name we wanted to tell you how we have decided to name our children. It is important to us that a name mean something other than just being a name we liked. To us a name should be a name we like plus a reminder of someone or something good. For instance, we named Laralee after Kaytee's aunt Lara, who died a few years ago, and my dad, Lee. So, whenever we call Laralee or say her name we will forever be reminded of a stop over visit in Kentucky when Kaytee and I traveled across the country from Utah. It was meant to be a one or two day stop in Bowling Green that ended up being a 2 week visit where Kaytee learned to quilt and I met one of the greatest families that has since been a part of our lives daily for the last 8 years. Or her name will remind me of Saturday's under the car working with my father. Something that may not have seemed to be special at the time, but the experience with my father has blessed me with the talent of working on cars and repairing just about anything. When I think back on those times with my dad it brings back great memories of my dad teaching me what tools where and what each tool was for. The time with my father also provided me with opportunities to discuss the gospel and led me to greater knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ.
So now on to the new babies name. We have decided to name him Hartwell Ryan. Most of my siblings remember who Hartwell was. But let me explain why we have decided to give him such and "unusual" name. When I was just about 2 years old my parents moved to Dahlonega across the street from Hartwell and Annette. They had one daughter, Stephanie, who was my brother Jason's age (about 5 years older than me) . We all grew up playing together just like Stephanie was another sibling. When I was about 5 or 6 I learned that Hartwell had animals just down the hill from his house and it was not long before I started tagging along with him on a daily basis to feed orphaned calves, little pigs, rabbits, chickens and sometimes deer. I spent the next 7 or so years tagging along with him every day after school driving his old truck or tractor and feeding the animals. I am almost positive the guys at the co-op were confused as to whose kid I was. One day I would walk in with my dad and the next I would walk in with Hartwell. When I finally got into Junior High I got involved with sports and started getting home later and later until finally going to feed the animals with Hartwell no longer happened. Then several years later he was killed in an accident while I was serving a mission for my church. Even though Hartwell was as old as my own father I still considered him my best friend. So, we have decided to name him Hartwell because of the special memories the name brings to mind.
When our kids get older and they ask how we came up with their names we will be able to share these special memories with them. Hopefully, their names will mean as much to them as they do to us.

IT"S A BOY!

Most everyone knows that Kaytee was scheduled for a c-section May 20th. Which was perfect because her mother was going to be coming on the 8th and would finally be able to see her little girl as a pregnant mother-to-be. Well, unfortunately for Nonnie, things did not work out. This morning Kaytee woke up at 4am and her water had broken. So we went to the hospital in town and they performed an emergency c-section (they do not do vbac) and at 7:10am our little boy was born. He came in at 6lbs 10oz and 20 1/2 inches long. He is tiny but long. Both mother and baby are doing well. We don't get to see him much because this hospital is really protective of their early babies. This is a big change from 2yrs ago when we had Laralee at East Cooper in Charleston. Babies there are like hot potatoes. We are not yet announcing the name so you will have to stay tuned. We can tell you that he has a lot more hair than his older sister ever did/does and it is black and all over his body.