tooth fairy visits the Parnell house

Lila lost her first tooth last night!!!!

Both of her bottom teeth have been extremely loose for a while now, but by yesterday the left one was REALLY dangling. Her permanent tooth was already cutting through behind it. We kept trying to talk her into letting one of us pull it, but she didn't want any part of that. It bled a little off and on all day- it was literally hanging by one little piece!

Finally, we were all in Elise's room for prayers and Lila had a wash cloth in her mouth to soak up a little of the blood. David said, "If you bite down on that wash cloth and tug I bet it comes out!". So, she did just that and out popped the tooth! I grabbed it off of her lip and showed her and she couldn't decide if she should scream, cry, or jump up and down! So, she did a little of both!!!! Then she ran to the mirror to look and let out one more HIGH PITCHED SCREAM (she has a knack for those!) and then finally had a big smile!

After that she was ready to pose for some pics...

It finally clicked with me yesterday that one of the reasons she was trying to put off losing it (besides feeling bad that her big sis still hasn't lost her first tooth) was that she was scared of the idea of the Tooth Fairy coming into her room at night while she was asleep. So, we told her that of course the tooth fairy would understand, and we put her tooth in her special pillow out in the hallway.

This morning she found this:

Four gold coin dollars and some special correspondence from the Tooth Fairy assigned to our family!

It was an exciting night for all of us. It finally hit me around midnight that my sweet little one is old enough to loose teeth!!! Growing up too fast!

Dolls

Elise and Lila have been really into their American Girl dolls lately. Lila has the twins, but has pretty much abandoned the boy twin- I guess she is only ready for one child at this point. Ha! So, "Savannah" and "Melody" have been joining us in many family outings the past few weeks. They sit in the car during church, the girls set places for them at the table for family dinners, and Lila babysits Savannah for Elise while she is at school. Last night we were eating dinner, and the dolls had joined us yet again. Toward the end of the meal I noticed Lila laid Melody down on the table. She saw me looking at her and said, "Mom, Melody ate too much pasta and passed out."
Seriously.
I could barely get the words out when I was trying to tell David last night...I was laughing so hard.

I love watching and listening to them play together and love how close they have gotten. Last  night the girls and their dolls had a sleepover in Elise's room. On the other hand, my heart hurts a little for Bennett because he is more and more the odd man out around here. Thankfully most of the time he seems content to hang with me. Last night (David was gone) we had our own little slumber party and watched the Saints game. Sometimes he jumps in and plays with them, but other times he just wants someone to play rescuebots or cars with?

We are easing back into our fall schedule and still have a few weeks before dance and soccer start back up, so for now we are really enjoying the quiet time around the house. Lila and Bennett are soooooo ready for school to start...only one more week. At least for now Lila has her babysitting gig to keep her busy. :)

finishing off the summer- cool zoo

 We haven't gotten to see much of some of our favorite friends, the Kitchens, this summer so we were so super excited that we were able to put together a last minute trip to the Zoo today!

These three are getting so big!!!

And little sweet Hayes....

With the weather as hot as it is, we spent pretty much our whole time there at the new "cool zoo" water playground.

The girls with their unplanned matching pigtails! They were so excited! 

Bennett and Hayes had fun too!

These two get along like "old" friends...they just pick right back up and have a blast together!

And check out Miss Lila's two bottom teeth....think the Tooth Fairy will be paying her a visit VERY soon!

We finished off the day with a Carousel ride...and my camera died before I snapped a pic of Bennett! Darn!

We had a great day! We did miss Will and Elise, and I have a feeling they will not be too happy when they find out about our little adventure! But they had lots of their own adventures together before Lila, Bennett, and Mary Miller joined the party! :)

new

With this being the start of the new school year, we decided to start a new routine at our house. It has always been a goal of ours to eat as a family together and we have eaten together as a family as much as we could over the past few years, although that often took many different forms. Sometimes it is me standing at the counter while the kids sit on bar stools and eat; sometimes it is kids eating dessert while David heats up his cold food after getting home late. Every once in a while we would all make it over to the breakfast room table.

We decided this year we are going to eat at least 3 dinners a week in the dining room! Yes, the special room that has been only used for Holiday or parties at our house over the past 3 years since we have lived there. I mentioned this to the kids last night and they got so excited! Even the complaining about having to wait until 6:30 to eat (when David usually gets home) was minimal. The girls got very involved in setting the table, and no one once asked to turn on the T.V. last night. David and I are hoping it will be a good opportunity to practice manners and actually remaining seated for the entire meal (a challenge for all of our kids!), catch up on our days, and enjoy special family time. Life gets busier and busier each year and we want to make the most of the time we have together as a family. We are really excited about our new routine! I am hoping the 3 nights will turn into even more, but wanted to have an attainable goal to shoot for in the beginning, so that is where we are starting...

first day of first grade

First grade is a big deal. Just ask Elise.

Real back pack, real desk, real homework.

And she couldn't be happier....

swim banquet

The swim team banquet was Wednesday night, and as usual, it was a blast! They really make it special for the kids, with a balloon man, face painting, cake, and lots of awards!

Elise and Constance

MeMe, Meredith, and Lila

Lila getting her trophy from one of her favorite coaches, Kylie 

And Bennett getting his from another favorite, Alexis

Our girls thrilled with their trophies!

                                                   

Bennett pretty excited too!

Lila with her Swimmer of the Week certificate

Sweet Charlotte congratulating Bennett.

B with his Swimmer of the Week certificate

Lila also received "Most Improved" for her age group!

And "Cutest swimsuit" during the fun awards...

Sweet girls watching the slide show.

And Bennett and his swim b.f.f., Hale hugging it out!

We are so thankful to all of the amazing coaches who go above and beyond to try to make our swim team the most fun around! The kids had a blast!!