Old videos

Here are 2 videos from last fall. What really stands out to me is how much her hair has grown and gotten thicker. She's got a fro now. ;)

Random Videos

I was looking through the video camera and found lots of videos that Chris took and we meant to share, but never did. So here's to a few fun clips of our action filled lives :). I'll add a few videos at a time to different posts because videos take so long to load - boo.

Easter Egg Hunt in Grapevine

Yesterday we went to an Easter Egg Hunt in Grapevine at Nash Farms with the Downing family. It was a really fun day with great weather! The girls, Piper and Sally, started out at the petting zoo. There were goats, chickens, bunnies, horses, llamas, and donkeys. Sally was much more adventurous with the animals than Piper, but Piper did get brave and pet a few of them. Then we got our faces painted like bunnies and got our bunny ear head bands. We took pictures with the Easter bunny, which was a better experience than Santa, but Mommy still had to sit there too. Piper tried to hold a baby chicken like Sally did, but as soon as those webbed feet touched her palms she freaked out. I guess she's picked up on her mom's fear of touching animals. But I can say that she's really good at using the hand sanitizer after touching animals. Another quirk she picked up from Mom. I wasn't sure Piper would understand how to do the egg hunt, but she took off and was really good at getting eggs even though the field was packed with parents and kids. She would try to pick up 2 eggs at once with one hand, but this is major improvement from last year when she would get one egg and then stop to open it not caring if she found anymore eggs. After the egg hunt the girls jumped in a princess bounce house and a tiger bounce house. At the tiger one they learned some pretty aggressive jumping from the boys in there, but everyone was ok when it ended. Then we had to have a snack break with Dora fruit snacks. Since it was Ted's birthday we headed to Central Market for lunch in the cafe. I know Piper is looking forward to the egg hunt at Ms. Joyce's later this week.

Mimi's 80th birthday

Last weekend we traveled to Kerrville to meet all the fam and celebrate Mimi's 80th birthday. The weather was so beautiful in Kerrville and we had a great time seeing everyone. The weekend went way too fast. All these pictures are from Mimi's birthday dinner at a German steakhouse in Comfort. I'm already wishing there was another family event planned to look forward too.

Sweet Treats with a Birthday Buddy

Piper has a special friend, Sally, that she shares her birthday with. Her mom Rikki is one of my dearest friends and it was so fun being pregnant together and now raising our little girls together.

We got the girls together for a special birthday treat. We took them to Swirl bakery and let them pick out a dessert to eat. They had a great time being together, making a mess around the restaurant, and maybe eating a bite or two. Oh well! It was a fun time with sweet friends!

Piper's 2nd birthday party

We had Piper's birthday party a week earlier than her real birthday because we were going to be gone on her actual birthday. It was a fun celebration here at our house in the backyard. The girls did play-doh and enjoyed the playhouse and wagon rides. It was a bug/garden theme and her birthday cupcakes were "the hungry caterpillar." We are so thankful for those friends who came to celebrate with us and make Piper feel so special.

opening presents

Tiggeman offering wagin rides

eating worms, cupcakes and capri suns

Piper - we love you so much and enjoy spending time with you. You are such a caring, sweet girl who wants to follow the rules. You enjoy being outside and playing with friends. You love seeing family. You are a good eater and a good sleeper, growing so much. - Love Mommy and Daddy

Here are some videos Chris took during the party. Enjoy!

Spring Break

So this post starts with pictures and ends with stories, it's been so long I've almost forgotten how to blog.

Spring Break is here - yea! It gives me a chance to catch up on life and our blog :). (ok so I wrote this over spring break but its taken me another month to get it posted - sorry.)

First of all we are so proud of Bash and his DI (destination imagination) team as they have made it to the state competition again this year, but more importantly have helped make life special for a little girl battling brain cancer. The team has been featured on the local news, in the newspaper, and on Extreme Home Makeover. We are so proud of them and with them the best of luck in a few weeks at State!

Bash's news story

In February we had 5 snow days which was great to spend some time at home with Piper. We've been potty training since MLK day in January and she's made great progress being under 2, but of course accidents happen and we're still working on it. So needless to say 5 days at homoe with Mommy and Daddy helped, although our daycare is wonderful and have been so encouraging to Piper and to us to stick with it.

For Valentines Day Chris treated his two ladies to outdoor dining at Central Market complete with playtime and then bouquets for each of his dates. About a week later he surprised Piper, the baby, and I with our own bouquets again. Of course they were tulips - my favorite :).

For Chris' 38th birthday at the end of February we went to Ovo, the Cirque de Soleil show in town. It was really amazing, we had a great time and Piper made it through the whole show. Afterwards we ate dinner at Sauced, a wings place owned by Chris' friend.

For spring break we've had a great time just hanging out here at the house getting things crossed off our to-do list before the baby comes. Chris drove to Lubbock on Friday, picked up Bash and they drove back on Saturday. It was good father-son bonding time. While they were gone, Piper and I went to 2 birthday parties for friends, and then we all had dinner with some great friends at Esparza's, excellent Mexican food in Grapevine. On Monday I had my 3 hr. glucose test and then a prenatal massage. THe first half of my day, not so great, but the 2nd half much better, and things are all fine with my glucose levels. Tuesday we took Bash and two of his friends ice skating for his birthday treat. The boys all had fun. That night we cooked brats for Bash's birthday dinner. On Wednesday Piper and I went to the Arboretum for Dallas Blooms with Abby, Tilly, and Ellie. We had a wonderful time and it was so fun to see the girls playing/interacting. Thursday Piper and I had a playdate with Sally and Rikki while Chris and Bash played golf. Friday was a day of running errands and preparing for Piper's birthday party the next weekend. I got after some weeds in our flower beds while Piper helped :) and Chris finished our taxes. It was so warm that Bash went swimming. It has been a great spring break, although I have not documented enough of life in pictures.

In other updates -

The baby is super active, she does gymnastics in my belly all the time and seems to be stretching for more room, but she can't be running out of space yet, still got 2 months left. We have moved Piper into her big girl room and she's adjusting. The first night as we were kissing her good night she climbed out of bed and crawled all the way back to the nursery and wanted to sleep in her crib, but she's slept in her big girl bed ever since. She really likes it if momma lays down on the floor next to her until she falls asleep. She has only taken on nap in there and has just "rested"/read books for 1 hour the other days. Chris and I are really hoping this is not the new norm. But I've been able to get some things ready in the nursery. I pulled out the baby clothes, gosh are they small, but it's exciting getting ready for her arrival! Piper adores Bash, calling him "my Bash" and following him around wanting to do everything he does. She also talks to my belly and gives the baby lots of love everyday. She is a sweet girl and Bash has been such an encouraging big brother to help her follow the rules and learn how to listen and obey momma and daddy. It's been so sweet having our whole family together before the baby comes and our family grows.