Birthday!!!!

It was hot, sticky...but so fun:)  The kids had a riot!  Lots of fun with family and friends.  On Noah's actual birthday, we went to Chuck E Cheese...his FAVORITE:)  We had a good time and it was much calmer to go during the day!  The boys had a super hero birthday theme party.  I'm not super crafty or creative...but we incorporated the idea where we could! 

I will post later about baptism day...and next week when I go back to work!

8 weeks old!

Parker is 8 weeks old!  July 2nd:) He is a smiling machine...cooing and getting really close to a giggle!  The big boys are having more fun with him as well.  Parker is content in the swing or on the floor under the playmat...wiggling around.  We like to make sure he isn't held the whole time and gets his wiggles out...otherwise he doesn't get worn out.  Carseat is not his fave...so we are trying to stay out of it as much as possible.  Sorry if this is too much info...but this is how I keep track of things.  Parker went from pooping every day to every other day in the last week.  Not sure why...he seems fine, but the poops are HUGE...I luckily have caught them all (knock on wood) before a huge mess.  He is still eating every 3-4 hours and sometimes even every 2 1/2 hours.  I am trying to build my supply so I am feeding him whenever he wants and pumping after every other feeding.  Makes for some long nights but so far so good.  I have 2 weeks left of maternity leave :(  I can't believe how fast it went.  Seems like the first month was SUPER SLOW...and then it just blew by.  We have a busy few weeks ahead as well...swimming lessons, doctor appointments and baptism.  So instead of getting a lot done...I am napping with Parker anytime I can...laundry and dishes can wait.  Pictures and snuggles are more important.  We had the boys pictures taken by a new photographer and I think they turned out great.  Both boys are at a stage where taking pictures is a GIANT pain:)  I think we might use this photographer for our whole family pictures in the fall.  Softball is wrapping up...first round of districts is on Tuesday...cross your fingers for a win!  DNH won against Union 6-5 last night...and beat Wapsie the night before...wahoo!  Ryder is really into Pete the Cat (the author came to the Cedar Falls library and we had a RIOT watching him).  One of his favorite sayings (book and Ryder), "Goodness No"...which comes out a bit funny...more like "oodness no" and he does a cute head shrug:)  Noah still has one more tball game left (postponed because of weather)...and is quite the helper when he wants to be.  Attitude is something we are working on...and he is getting there.  I still need to post pictures from the birthday...next time!

Another picture update!!

Parker is a growing machine!  He is 6 weeks old and starting to smile...we will say June 20th was the day for the first documented smile for the book!  He continues to be a very calm and content baby:)  He has a bad case of baby acne, some cradle cap and a diaper rash...poor kid...but he is healthy and that is all that matters.  He is a good nurser and I have started pumping after feedings to build a supply (ugh...I HATE pumping).  I have 4 weeks left of leave and I know it will fly...so I am trying to soak up every minute and ignore the constant mess in my house.  The big boys are doing well.  Noah is wrapping up tball and loves it...will do bible school soon as well.  Ryder continues to be our trouble maker and makes us laugh A...LOT!!!  The boys do fight and it DRIVES me nuts...usually about something really silly...they are always better when Scott is around.  Almost done with softball...he has a great group of girls...just a crappy schedule with double headers.  Another story for another time.  We had the boys birthday party this past weekend and it went great!  Lots of good people and fun!  Here are a few pictures:

 Last day of preschool!!

 Content baby:)

 First walk as a family of 5!!

 Tummy time!!

 Gotta get the wiggles out!

 3 kids and a tub :)

 Tball...running man!!

 Catching the ball!

 Dr. Girardi and Parker!!

 Daddy and his boys!

 Great grandma and Parker

 Pool in LaCrosse...we survived our first road trip!

 Snoozing while the big boys swim!

Picture update!

We have been busy!  Ryder turned 2 on May 23rd:)  He had his cupcake from Scratch and a few presents.  We decided to give him his presents from us on the actual date instead of waiting till the party.  Ryder loves pizza (which we had) and he loved his Hulk, Ninja Turtle sword and his cleaning supplies (his own broom!!).  Noah and Ryder had their first smores...lots of fun:)  And Parker is getting bigger every day.  He is more awake every day...a bit cross-eyed still but straightening out every day.  Keeping busy!

Parker Rokes Connolly is here!

Parker Rokes Connolly was born on May 7th at 8:02am!  8.06 pounds and 20 and 3/4 inches long.  We were supposed to get induced on May 6th...we were supposed to be there by 7am.  5am the phone rang...it was Covenant.  They were too full for us to come in at 7am and we could call back at 11am.  Not what we were expecting at all.  There were too many women in labor and they were not progressing.  So...we loaded up the kids, stopped at Panera to get the kids a treat for breakfast...took Noah to preschool.  Dropping him off was hard...he knew something was going to happen and mommy and daddy were going to be gone for a few days.  He got very teary in the classroom, but two little boys were very sweet and asked him to play as well as one of the teachers.  As I watched him walk away...my heart hurt watching him as I knew his life would change again.  We drove to daycare and dropped Ryder off...he trotted on in...not knowing how much life would change.  We called back at 11am...and again they were too full.  At this point, I had a mega meltdown...no one's fault...I was ready and Scott only gets so many days off.  The nurse was very sweet...and Dr. Girardi was near as well...telling me to not cry:)  They told us to call back that night to see if we could go in the night.  Scott hopped on the phone and called school to figure out what our game plan was going to be for the next few days.  Luckily...they were great about being flexible as this was not our fault. 

We had supper at home and started watching a movie with the kids.  We called at 6pm and they told us they would call us back.  7pm the phone rang...could we be at the hospital around 8pm?  We said yes!  Called my parents...they came to get the boys...both did ok leaving...Ryder more so than Noah, but they were our brave little men!  We headed to Covenant...talking a mile a minute...is this baby our last?  Would we go for a 4th?  What are we having??? 

8pm...checked in...Pitocin around 9/9:15pm.  Covenant has walking monitors now...which was awesome.  We were only at a 2...so walking could only help!  We walked for about an hour...contractions were 2-3 minutes apart.  They got stronger each lap.  A bit before 11pm...Dr. Girardi stopped in after a c-section with the anesthesiologist (I was at a 3).  Got the epidural and she broke my water.  Hurry up and wait.  This was around midnight...Scott went to bed...I had to be moved every hour to even out the epidural.  It was super strong...I couldn't move at all...a bit nervous at this point.  At 2:45am...I was at a 5 and at 5:30 am I was at 8cm.  6am moved to 9cm.   The nurses started watching the baby's heart rate as with each contraction the heart dropped.  They went and got Dr. Girardi around 7am...they inserted some fluid into my uterus to give the baby more fluid.  The doctor thought the baby's cord was bunched up near his chest so with each contraction it got pretty tight.  The put the bed as vertical as it could be...and the heart rate evened out.  Scott and I thought the team of nurses was getting nervous and letting us know it was more serious...but they know what to do:)  Dr. Girardi decided we could start pushing!  Scott held one leg...another nurse the other (again...the epidural was so strong, I couldn't lift my legs!!!!).  I began to push and Dr. Girardi was pretty sure the baby's arm was stuck.  The nurse hopped on the bed...she began to push on my stomach as I was pushing.  The baby's arm came out and out came baby!  I wanted to baby on my chest...and they announced, "it's a boy!"  I was crying and he began to cry as well...all good things!  Scott took pictures and the team of nurses and Dr. Girardi did their thing:)  Scott did not want to cut the cord (he hasn't done it with any of the kids:)...even thought the nurses tried to convince him!  Sorry if it is TMI...but trying to remember everything!!  Had a small tear...but otherwise, all looked well.  We had narrowed down the names to Walker or Parker by the time we were in the hospital...we went with Parker (also a name we had when we were expecting Noah).  Parker latched on right away which was great.  My mom got there around 8:30 and then Scott's parents and grandparents.  Brittany stopped by and my dad...then my grandparents as well as Scott's teacher friends and our neighbor friends.  Parker had to have a quick x-ray because of his shoulder/arm...all was good.  The boys came that night.  Noah was excited about Parker...Ryder wasn't really interested!  Saying goodbye to them was hard...Ryder cried the whole way out and Noah got teary as well.  We continued to work on breastfeeding during our stay...Parker got circumcised...everything went well!  Thursday...the big boys got the pukey flu...my poor parents had to do a lot of clean up!  Friday morning we headed out...and went home:) The boys got home and chaos began!  Ryder gave Parker a good push in the swing...anything and everything that could make noise...well...it got turned on:)  But...Parker slept through it all!  Hopefully we continue down this path!  So far...Parker is a lot like his brother, Ryder...calm and chill.  Here are some pics: