Arkansas/Texas A&M Game

Last weekend was a great weekend for the Parnells! Carrie & Chris, Cliff & Edie (Chris' parents), Darien & Jennifer (Darien is Chris and Wayne's cousin), and Buddy & Nancy (Darien's parents) all came to Dallas for the Arkansas game which was at the new stadium. We had a full house, and Nathan was so excited to have everyone here!


"Auntie Carrie! What have you got in here?!"


Aunt Edie, Nathan, and Grandmother


Auntie Carrie always has a treat for Nathan!




Daddy, Nathan, and Uncle Chris calling the Hogs!


Auntie Carrie with Charlotte all dressed up in her flower bow :)


Mommy and her sweet girl


Uncle Cliff with Charlotte


And Nathan had to get in the picture too!


We had a yummy taco dinner, and then Charlotte had Aunt Edie's finger as dessert!




And then she fell asleep sucking her thumb...Nathan never sucked on his fingers, but Charlotte loves them!

The next morning, we woke up bright and early and were in the car heading for the stadium at 7:30! My dad came over to pick up Charlotte, and Grandmother stayed with Nathan. He stayed up until 12:30 the night before with the guys and slept late the next morning. I couldn't believe he slept through all of the commotion of us getting ready.

We got to the stadium around 8:30 and were one of the first cars in the parking lot (of course we had to get the most perfect spot!) So after getting the tent set up, the guys got out all of our other supplies. We had tons of snacks and drinks, and then Chris grilled hamburgers and brats for lunch.





Edie, Carrie, Nancy, and Jennifer


Carrie, Jennifer, and Me


Me and my sissy :)


Jennifer and Darien


No kids, tailgating, and about to watch Arkansas play at the new Texas stadium...Wayne was one happy guy!


The three Musketeers: Chris, Darien, and Wayne


Darien and Wayne


Here is Cliff serving up a special recipe of Darien's...it's called "Whoop Juice" I have to say it sure is tasty, but you only need a little :)


Chris and Carrie


Darien, Buddy, and Wayne


And here is the whole group relaxing under the tent.

The game started at 2:30, so we headed into the stadium around 1:30. This was the first time Wayne and I have been in the new stadium, and it was truly amazing!


Look at this TV screen! It is 60 yards long and 72 feet tall!





These next pictures are ones I took of the video screen :)






What made the day even better was that Arkansas won! The score was 24 to 17, and the guys were ecstatic! After the game, we tailgated some more and then braved the traffic as we headed home.

Since Nathan and Charlotte were both spending the night at our parents' houses, I was thinking about how great it was going to be to sleep in the next morning, and not have to worry about being woken up in the middle of the night...well, on the way home, my parents called and said that Charlotte wouldn't stop crying and had been crying for the last hour and half and would not go to sleep for the night. It was her first time to be away from me at night, and she missed me too much :) So I told them just to bring her home. Then as soon as I hung up with them, Helen called and said that Nathan had thrown up in her bed and wanted to come home! Wayne and I said that it was a conspiracy between the two of them...they just wanted to be part of all of our fun! As soon as they got home, both seemed perfectly happy :)

Nathan is a Growing Boy!

I just realized that I never wrote about Nathan's 3 year appointment at the doctor's office! He weighs 33 lbs, 6 oz and is 37.5 inches tall. He's in the 75% for both. He even got his blood pressure taken which was 99/62. Nathan was such a good boy. I was so proud of him! He was a little worried about getting a shot at this appointment because we had just taken Charlotte for her 4 month appointment and she got 2 shots, but I told him that he didn't have to get a shot this time. Since he's 3 now, instead of getting the flu SHOT, he could get the flu MIST, and he's not supposed to get his next round of shots until he's 4. So as Dr. Geutersloh was looking over Nathan's records, he realized that Nathan was a shot short...he still needed a Hepatitis booster that he was supposed to get at his 2 year visit, but he was sick at that time, and I forgot to re-schedule (bad mommy). So he had to get it this time. I felt so bad because Nathan was in the best mood and was being so good. When the nurse came in to give him the mist, he laid on the table, sniffed it up his nose, and didn't mind it at all. Then he saw the shot. He looked at me and said, "Mommy, you said I wasn't going to get a shot." He had tears in his eyes, and I was so mad at myself. He's so much more aware now, that it makes it harder for me to see him hurt. I had to hold his arms down, and he cried so hard when he first got it. I told him he was so brave and that we could go get an ice cream cone. So that made him feel better, but he sure laid on the guilt for me telling him the wrong thing!

Here are some pictures of Nathan with his favorite little baby. He ADORES her, and loves to make her smile. It is so sweet to see the two of them together.

The Pledge of Allegiance

Wayne and I had no idea that Nathan knew the Pledge of Allegiance, but it turns out that he says it every Tuesday and Thursday at school and already has it memorized (kind of). He first said it to me last week, and I thought it was the cutest thing, but I didn't get a video of it. Then we ended up buying a flag...really Wayne just wanted the flag pole to hang his Razorback flag, but we're glad we have the American flag too :) Anyway, we brought it out last night to show Nathan, and he got so excited! So here are two videos of his version of the Pledge

Happy Birthday Shaedon!

Two weekends ago, Nathan was invited to the birthday party of one of his friends from school, Shaedon. He was SOOOOOO excited to go because it was at the Indoor Safari Park. There's a smaller version of this place right by us that Nathan has been to, but this one was HUGE! Several of Nathan's friends from school were there so he was having so much fun. They rode a train, mechanical animals, and Nathan's favorite thing was the indoor play area that had a trampoline, a slide with a pit of balls at the end, and a climbing wall. That's where he got hurt :(

Nathan and his friends were running around like crazy, doing as many things as they could do, and having the best time. He was already sweaty after 20 minutes! Nathan kept climbing these big steps to go down the slide and play in the balls. He LOVED this section, and he and two of his friends kept racing to see who could get up to the top first. They did this over and over. And then it was like Nathan just lost his mind with having so much fun...he climbed up these steps but instead of going down the slide, he turned and said, "To Infinity and Beyond!!!" and jumped off the top onto the floor pretending to be Buzz Lightyear...well the floor was not soft and cushiony like he thought it was going to be. He landed on his right foot and immediately started screaming and crying. At first I was scared he broke it and didn't know quite what to do. A few of the moms there said that if it were broken, it would immediately swell. It ended up not swelling too bad, but Nathan couldn't walk on it. We stayed a little longer and then went home for Daddy to look at it.

We decided to give it a few days (until Tuesday when I took Charlotte to the dr. for her checkup) to see if it would get better on its own, and we just tried to keep Nathan on the couch and not put a lot of weight on it. Nathan was so funny. He'd say, "Ok Mommy, I'm going to try to walk on it." Then he'd limp around and say, "It's better! All I need is some wings from the toy store so I can fly!"

As of now, he can walk and run without limping, but it hurts when you push on his foot. His doctor said to call him this week if it's not better so we might have to go get an x-ray. I just hope he learned that he CAN'T fly!

Finding Clifford...and Making a Big Mess!

A few days ago, Nathan was watching Clifford on TV while I was getting lunch ready. He just HAD to have his Clifford dog to watch it with him but couldn't find it and asked me to find it for him. Well, we've been trying to teach Nathan to be self-sufficient (as much as possible for a 3 year old) so while I'm fixing our sandwiches, I told him to keep looking. Maybe he's under the couch or coffee table. Or he might be in your toy box. All of a sudden I started hearing all of this noise and thought "What in the world is that?!" When I get to the living room, I see that he has taken EVERY SINGLE toy out of his toy box and is actually climbing inside! Although it was a huge mess, I got my camera :)

Maybe next time I should just help him find his toy :)

Charlotte is 4 Months Old

Charlotte Rose is already 4 months old! She is such a happy baby and smiles and laughs all the time. She really loves to laugh at Nathan. It makes Wayne and I so happy to watch the two of them interact with each other! Nathan and I took Charlotte to her 4 month check-up this morning. She weighs 14 lbs, 12 oz (75%) and is 24.3 inches long (75%). Nathan was such a good big brother to her and held her hand when she got her two shots. He kept saying, "It's OK little baby, they won't hurt." And then when Charlotte started crying after the shots, Nathan looked at the nurse and said, "Awwwwww, they did hurt her." It was like he felt bad that he just told her something that wasn't true :) Nathan loves going with Charlotte to the doctor and always pulls up a stool to stand on to watch everything that the doctor does.

Charlotte is now going to bed around 8:30 or 9:00 and usually sleeps a full 12 hours unless I have to wake her up early to take Nathan somewhere. She also takes 3 good naps during the day. Right now she is still sleeping in her bassinet, but we're wanting to move her to her crib. I have been putting this off because I worried that she would wake Nathan up if she woke up during the night or early in the morning, but she's such a good sleeper that I don't think that would happen. Then I started worrying that she wouldn't like her crib as much as she likes her bassinet, but we've got to make the switch sooner or later. Maybe this week will be the week :)

Here are Charlotte's 4 month birthday pictures in the hat that Marla made her and the dress my mom made.





Look at those chubby arms and legs! I love to squeeze her fat rolls! We keep joking that she's a fat, happy baby, and now Nathan will say, "Hi fat baby! Can you smile for me?" or "Look at that fat baby. She's so sweet." He says it in such an adoring way that it makes me laugh every time. I hope we don't give her a complex :)

Playing with Andrew

I'm a little behind on my blogging, but I promise to get caught up this week! Here are some pictures of Nathan and Andrew. Andrew and his parents, Meredith and Darin, came over during
the Labor Day weekend to swim, play, and eat! Wayne grilled chicken k-bobs, I made chocolate chip cookies, and Meredith brought over a bean and rice dish, chips, and watermelon. We ate like pigs! Nathan and Andrew had fun swimming, playing on the swing set, and playing with Nathan's trucks and trains. They are so sweet together because they really do like the same things, and they both think the other one is the greatest friend.