"Kiwi"

Okay so my sister pointed out to me that some people may be wondering where the nickname "kiwi" came from. So here is the story. (It's very short) Brigen was asking me one day what I thought we were going to name the baby. So I told him that we were thinking of naming her Keelyn. So he sat there for a minute thinking. Then he replied that if we named her that we should call he Kiwi for a nickname. So that's where it came from. I thought that it was so cute that he really thought about it and came up with it on his own. I'm not sure how long it will stay so we do have other nicknames that will work when she's older but you never know it may stick forever!

Birthday present to me!

Ok so I gave myself a birthday present by dressing Keelyn up and taking pictures!

Our little Kiwi

Ok so every picture we take of Keelyn makes her like kind of chubby and she is so not chubby. I think it's her very round face and checks that make her look this way. So here is a video and hopefully it shows how small she actually is. Everyone that has seen her after seeing a picture can't believe what a difference there is!

Keelyn Photos Phase 2

All smiles

Getting love from her older brother

Keelyn meets the boys

Hover......hover.....

Our little girl

Tired dad

Momma and her little girl

Keelyn Lynette Parnell

The newest addition to our family, tenatively named Keelyn Lynette Parnell was born at 6:53 AM on Saturday, June 13th. She was 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 and 1/4 long. Details to come, know that we are all healthy happy and very tired. I'll do my best to refresh the page with more pictures and details as I have the time to do so.

"Enjoy the sleep while you can"

With only a few days left before our newest child joins the family (note counter to the right) people tend to think it is funny to rib us about getting all the sleep we can. What people fail to realize is the humor of that comment hinges seriously on the current state of sleep in the house. Something that should be investigated or at least considered before making such a hilarious comment. Note the bags under the eyes, the sluggish responses, the heavy sigh that overtakes our bodies as we settle into our seats. Get all the sleep while we can? Right. Because Ricki is just as comfortable as can be and sleeping soundly as it is right now. I'm free of any stress, my insomnia is not acting up and my bed is so comfortable that I look forward to getting into bed at night. And because Krevan isn't anything like me and sleeps like the dead from dusk to dawn......... And if you believe all of that....

Krevan, as many of you may know has picked up a few of my bad habits. For one, he doesn't really like to sleep at night. In the past this meant that we would be visited several times throughout the night. I usually hear him shuffling into the room, but after a turning him instantly around and putting him back in bed, he now walks to Ricki's side of the bed. It's worse than a newborn because even if you do feed him, there is no guarantee he will go back to bed.

On a side note, and in the spirit of relevant additional information pertaining to the story, Krevan is getting big. Both the boys are. And in anticipation of having a new child hanging around, we are trying to enable the boys to to take care of things themselves. Get their own cereal, make their own bed, and if they wake up in the middle of the night just go to the bathroom without us. I mean come on, you have to pass the bathroom to get to us so they might as well cut the whole experience short. I thought the nightlight in the bathroom would work.... something like a bug zapper. The kid wakes up, stumbles into the hallway bleary eyed and half asleep, but instead of walking to our room gets hypnotized by the glowing blue light and bbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzz (insert tracterbeam sound effect) they get sucked into the bathroom with no need of parental supervision. etc. I think the boys find it empowering.

So last night Ricki and I are unjustly ripped from our sleep by a strange noise....... (Pause for dramatic affect).

And there is a light on in the house. I look at the clock 2:30 am. We both get up, (sigh), and walk to the boys room. Feeling empowered Krevan decided he wasn't tired and woke Brig up. The lights were on, and they were both sitting comfortably on the top bunk, blankets in hand watching a movie.

This is not what I had in mind when I took the whole "empowerment" route.
I think this is something along the lines of the "I hope your kids are exactly like you" curse that our parents place on our heads. Get all the sleep that we can? Uh-huh. Then there was Kre's 4AM escapade to get snacks, and several other events for which I remember no details because I was delirious. Now, where did I put those Ambien pills?

Lasts

I love taking the last sip of a cold Mt Dew. I love the last mile of any race because I know I'll be done soon. I love reading the last few chapters of a book. Taking the last piece of watermelon at BBQs. The last set of a workout. These are excellent "last" things. They mean the end, finality, or the depletion of an excellent resource. They put a smile on my face.

The last week of pregnancy - you can have it. This is a "last" that I don't care fore. More pain, more anticipation, more discomfort, more time to second guess the names you have picked. More time to hope the kid comes safely and is healthy. More time to think about all the things you still haven't done.

Now I recognize that I am not the one actually experiencing the discomfort or pain, but it isn't the pain that actually bothers me. It's not knowing how much longer it will continue. In a hard race you know how many miles you have completed and how many you have to complete. During a hard workout you know how many sets you have left. Christmas kills you with anticipation but you know with confidence, that December 25th you get to open presents. I think the last week of pregnancy is like working out with a really hard core trainer. You are working so hard that you've lost track of time. You don't know how many more sets of torturous exercise they will put you through. All you can do is keep going and hope that you pass out.

No reprieve from the last week. Ricki is more uncomfortable than ever but she never complains. Instead I'm the one sitting around complaining. I'm usually the one racing so I don't know how it feels to sit for hours and wait. I imagine this is what it is like. You know they are out there on the course. You want to help them, to give them aid. But all you can do is sit and wait. Then, suddenly you will see them and it will be over. Here's to the finish line - may it be here soon.

Fathers & Sons Campout

This weekend was our annual Fathers & Sons camp out. We drove up into Wyoming into a beautiful area called Happy Jack Recreational Area. Brig has begun asking to listen to "guitar" music when we are in the car. He further clarified that he like electric guitar not the sound of wooden or acoustic. So on the way up I introduced him to Led Zepplin which has, arguably some of the greatest guitar ever. At one point he asked me why I was shaking my head. I told him that is how you dance when you are sitting in a car listening to good music. He picked it up pretty quick. We got to the campsite and set up the tent in a very nice spot. We did the typical stuff, roasted hot dogs and made smores. At night the boys ran around with their flash lights playing with their friends and I roasted marshmallow's on demand. Brig pretty much stuck with his friends and close to the fire, but Kre is a bit of a wanderer with no fear. I had to occasionally drag him back to the camp. It got pretty cold at night and after only 30 minutes in bed Brig started to shiver. I had them wrapped in heavy quilts inside of their sleeping bags (probably indoor fun sleeping bags) with another blanket around them both. I put Brig into my nice down bag and he quickly stopped shivering and fell asleep. Then Kre started shivering. I zipped both of the boys bags together got in it with Kre and threw the quilts over the two of us with the spare blanked underneath to insulate us from the cold ground. Kre quickly warmed up and fell asleep. Hunkering down in the bag which was too short, under the quilts, which were too short holding Kre very quickly did two things. First were the cramps in my hip flexors trying to fit in the bags and under the quilts, second was a numb right arm from holding Kre. I didn't get any sleep that night...... and I mean that literally. I got to listen to the night noises and watch it get progressively lighter. But the boys were warm which is better than I can say for others. I heard several small children cry at different times throughout the night. The next day we ate breakfast with everyone else and sat by a fire to warm up. Then the boys and I headed out on a beautiful hike. For lunch we started our own little fire and roasted the rest of the hot dogs. It was fun to sit there with the boys. I hope they remember it and look back with fond memories of our camp outs. On the way home we stopped at a memorial for the old Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway. Once in the car Brig asked for some "guitar" music. I put something on, evidently he didn't like it and asked for some "Awesome" guitar music. We went back to Led Zepplin. I got plenty of sleep Saturday night, back in a bed that fit me and even a bit on Sunday afternoon too! Thanks to Ric for documenting the occasion.

Mothers Day!

It's mothers day and I am blessed with 2 beautiful boy's and a great husband and hopefully sooner than later a beautiful little girl. I was given a great breakfast to start off my day. I really wish I had a picture of it because it was so creative. Brig being the creative mind that he is made a face out of my breakfast. Eggs for hair, then hash browns for a forehead, a kiwi slice for the nose, bacon for the mouth, and a slice of apricot for checks. Had I not been feeling sick I would have thought to take a picture. Thanks to Bard for all the work that went in to Brigs creative breakfast!  Any way to get to the picture's below. Brig made me some very great art for mothers day at school and even drew a picture on the wrapping paper. I must say I'm not sure if I should laugh or be concerned of the picture he drew. He told me it was a picture of me and him, and that he wanted to look really cool! So he has a cell phone in his hand and skull earrings. (Of course this is the concerning part) We are hoping that the idea of skull earrings is just a pirate thing and will soon be forgotten. One can hope right!

A caterpillar, Lion, and polar bear

No this isn't suppose to look scary. It's a picture of himself. :)

Easter