Happy 2 Months Old!

Miss Carsyn is 2 months old today! Not sure how that happened...

Between having a new baby and the craziness of summer, life has been a blur! I heard someone say that the days are long but time flies by. So true. There are days when I think Brent will never get home or that bed time will never come - but at the same time, I wonder how Carsyn has already been a part of our lives for 2 months!

 Griffin curled up with Carsyn while watching a movie one afternoon - so cute!

 Carsyn is not a great napper. at all. She loves to be sleep while laying on your chest - but wakes up within minutes of being put down. I can't decide if its the pain of reflux or just that she is rotten already. But she sleeps fine in the carseat or swing so that is where she is naps during the day. She sleeps in the crib at night though...speaking of nights, she has been really consistent since night one - she normally wakes up at 2 and 5, although she's started throwing in some longer spurts here and there. I'm hoping to see some progression soon!

 I'm thankful that she likes her carseat...as child # 4, I foresee her spending lots of time in it!

 She has been smiling at me for about 3 weeks now and I have yet to catch one on camera...here is my attempt!

 Graham is remarkably gentle and sweet with Carsyn. He loves to pat her and hold her and get all up in her face!



Pool Party!

We had a great weekend this weekend. We were home - no commitments - no one was sick - just good ole family time! We played in the yard, grilled out, took walks, made cookies, Brent took the 2 big kids to see a movie, and we spent an afternoon swimming with friends. I am a "quality time" person so I enjoyed all of the above!  Here are some pictures that our friend Erin took while swimming at her house....

 Avery has mastered swimming!  She was all over the place. Off the diving board. In the deep end. Doing handstands. Retrieving dive sticks. 100% Fish.

 And Griffin is doing great too!  This big old turtle was a favorite of all the Parnell children!

 Mommy getting attacked by an Avery!

Swimming Lessons

Avery and Griffin have been having swim lessons this week at the Club pool. They have both done great. Avery could already swim - so she has been working on technique and breathing properly. She's just about mastered free style and backstroke. And Avery is thrilled that she can jump off the diving board and swim to the side without her vest. And mommy is thrilled that Griffin is finally able to swim!  He needs lots of practice still but he can swim 10-15 feet by himself.

I had the challenge today of having all 4 kids at the pool for the first time...can you say NUTS? At one point, Graham was running on the opposite side of the pool and I was walking after him...and Carsyn was screaming at the top of her lungs from the stroller on the other side of the pool! Good thing I am not too easily rattled!!

Graham "cooking"

 

fishy #1

 

snack time

 

fishy # 2

Trophy

Griffin's teeball team had their year-end party last night at a pizza joint. Griffin was thrilled to receive his first ever trophy!

Summer Fun

We have done a lot of "hanging out" this summer. I tried to plan our summer so that our time was divided up - between travel, activity, and nothing...I wanted to have a chance to enjoy the kids but avoid complete boredom! So far, we have gone to Mobile, participated in a week of VBS, and currently this is our second unplanned week...all that to say, mommy was having to get creative to entertain everyone!

Avery got a new slip-n-slide for her birthday so we filled up one morning with that. I will admit that I even suited up to slide!

This is the red-neck version of a water table! I mean, what kid doesn't like to splash and play in water??  This too occupied an entire morning...and an afternoon!

The big kids were playing outside while I cooked dinner one night - and I saw Avery, Griffin, and Cassidy making laps up and down the yard...the kids were chasing her with their water guns!!  I bet it was more exercise than she has had in a long time!

and this is what I am normally doing while I watch the kids play outside...

Next week Avery has dance camp and Griffin has soccer camp - and I am thankful its a "planned" week!

Avery's Birthday Party

Our first princess turned 6 yesterday!  Yikes!

Avery wanted to have her party at Build-a-Bear this year. We invited the girls from her kindergarten class (there are only 5 of them!) and of course Griffin came. We did BAB, had lunch in the food court at Chic-fil-a, and then celebrated with cookie cake. (I said this was the easiest party ever - no cooking, cleaning, planning, shopping, etc!)

here is avery, helping get her bear stuffed

 

hugging Rainbow

 

and showing off Starry

 

Lola, Emma, Lindsay, Georgia, Avery

 

bathing their bears (Avery, Griff, Lola)

 

Cookie Cake time!

 

making a wish

 

getting her first peek at her birthday present!

Carsyn Pictures! (finally...)

Its hard to believe that our second princess is already 6 weeks old. Time truly does fly!

Overall, Carsyn has been a really good baby...nursing great; only waking up twice a night most of the time; sleeps great in her car seat...The past week she's been a little bit of a pistol though - every evening she insists on being held for hours and wakes up instantly when you lay her down!  Thankfully, by bedtime, she's so tired that she finally cashes out!

I got my first real smile out of her last Monday, at 5 weeks old. It takes her a minute to focus in on your face, but once she does, she gets a big grin on her face!

Most of you know, but Carysn has a heart issue called pulmonary stenosis. Basically, the valve between her right ventricle and the artery that goes to the lungs is hardened. Cardiology is following her - she had her second ECHO (ultrasound of the heart) done last week - it showed that the stenosis was a little worse. She gets her next ECHO in August. The MD feels pretty sure that she will need a heart cath to fix the valve - but he prefers for her to be 6 months old and over 5 kgs before the procedure. I'll keep you posted. She weighed 9 lbs, 10 oz at her appt this week.

All of the big kids have been great with Carsyn. They still love to hold her and kiss on her. They even fight over who she is "looking" at! Avery loves to help bath and change her. Griffin uses his highest, squeakiest voice and says, "Hi cutie pie!" to her at least once a day. And Graham says "Up Baby" when he wants to hold her, which lasts about 20 seconds each time.

With all 4 kids, I've tried to nap with them on the couch in the afternoons for the first few months of life. Somedays I read for a little bit; some days I doze off; and some days, I just sit and stare at her!  But I never want to have a "I wish I had..." moment in regards to cherishing the baby days in the midst of surviving the chaos!

Mobile

Here are a few more pics from our trip to mobile over memorial weekend.

We spent a little time with our friends Lena and Kevin and their 3 kiddos. Pure chaos of course but lots of fun!

And one evening, we went to Uncle Gene and Aunt Sue's...I went inside to lay Carsyn down and came out to find our 3 fully dressed children running thru the sprinkler! They were soaking wet and grinning ear to ear!