Johnson & Johnson

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T21:25:00.000-08:00

* I have 7 new posts! If you're interested in reading them then click on the links on the right on the pink bar under the month of December. Hope you enjoy catching up on our lives and seeing pictures of the kids.

What a fun Christmas season this has been!

We had a great small group Christmas party at the Lisenby's house. Here are all the munchkins!

Miss Sherry let me borrow these Christmas costumes she uses in her classroom. Piper kept telling me that "He (Bash/Frosty) is melting!"

Bash and Piper enjoying some Christmas gifts from Miss Sherry. :)

My whole family came to visit for Christmas. When they arrived on Friday Chris had to take my brothers shopping as they had procrastinated on their shopping while my parents and I took the girls to Bass Pro to see Santa. When we got there they gave us a ticket to come back in 6 hours to see Santa so we didn't actually get to sit on his lap this year. I don't think it would have gone well anyways as Piper would freaked once it actually got to be her turn and Campbell is so clingy to mommy right now, but we looked at Santa, his elves and reindeer. We also saw the fish and waterfall at Bass Pro and rode their reindeer carousel.

Piper was showing off her dress-up clothes, listening to music, and dancing. Then she decided that she had to dance with a king. Uncle Craig couldn't be a king so Popsy was the king and danced with Princess Piper! :)

Check out those socks with high heels!

Pops bundled up the girls and took them for a stroller ride - his favorite!

On Christmas Eve Bash and Piper put out a plate for Santa and his reindeer - carrots, sopapilla cheesecake, a cookie, and a tamale. He ate everything, but not the whole cookie. Then Bash and Piper slept in her room inside her little house with Uncle Craig being the guard so no one peeked at Santa presents before we were all awake.

Coming downstairs.....

Bash got some crazy Texas Tech argyle socks

Cam got bath toys and fake fruit to go with her shopping cart

Can you see those two bottom teeth she cut at Thanksgiving? :)

Chris and I love this pic - how true

Piper got a bike!!!

Popsy sporting his Panthers hat for the his Carolina Christmas

Bash got a kinnect to go with his x-box

Uncle Matt and Piper reading a book during present opening

Grammy and Popsy got Piper her own ipad- a Leappad - and she loves it!!!!

She also got a new baby doll and stroller from Grammy and Popsy. Piper likes to walk on her tippy-toes and push this stroller all over the house :)

On the 26th we had a big family dinner at our house - Chuck, Kelly, and Jake McCarter, Gram and Gramps, Mimi, my brothers and parents, and later Uncle Randy's family stopped by. There were a lot of people but it was so fun and we loved having everyone come visit us this year.

Early morning playtime with Grammy!

We were sad to see my mom leave today and it is so quiet around the house now, but we sure loved having everyone!!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Memory post

2011-12-29T21:19:00.000-08:00

This post is mostly for me - to document Campbell's first food besides rice cereal. She had sweet potatoes and liked them. She doesn't seem to really love any food, except she sure does enjoy eating and filling her belly. Oatmeal and peas are definitely not favorites, and the first time she tried bananas it wasn't good, but we have tried them again since and she enjoys them now. I will also say that she is much better at tolerating having her face wiped off after eating. She closes her eyes knowing it's coming and sometimes she fusses, but it is nowhere near the fits Piper would throw when she had to have her face wiped off. :)

This girl has such beautiful big eyes! :)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-29T20:50:00.001-08:00

For Thanksgiving 2011 we went to Midland to visit my grandparents. It was a much needed break after dealing with a horrible lice infestation in Piper's hair the week before, we needed to get out of the house while all the lice suffocated inside trash bags in our house. We dropped Bash off in Lubbock to spend the week with his mom. We had a few days in Midland with Gram and Gramps to ourselves before my uncles and their families came to hang out.

We took the girls to the park by my grandparents house. I have so many memories of going to this park everytime we visit Midland.

Cam is happy to be swinging

Pouty face

Me and my girls

Hanging like a monkey

Crawling through the tunnel

Climbing on the caterpillar

Swinging like superman

We also took the girls to feed the ducks at the pond on A street, another childhood memory.

Happy girl

With daddy

Gramps loved holding Cam and she sure enjoyed being in his comfy lap.

Squirmy girl

Don't they have the same facial expression?! :)

Piper with her cousin Kelsey. She had a great time with all her cousins and is still talking about all of them, although she has a special spot for Garrett and he is so sweet with her.

Waiting for the food to be ready

In the kitchen with Gram

Of course I always feel like I didn't get enough pictures to document the fun we had, but we so loved being in Midland and having our kids spend time with their relatives, plus we sure enjoyed some good food from Gram and Aunt Brenda :)

Fall fun

2011-12-29T20:17:00.001-08:00

Our family had so much fun this fall - hanging out, enjoying Halloween decorations, going to the Pumpkin Patch, going to fall festivals, and trick-or-treating.

The kids have Miss Sherry to thank for their cute Halloween clothes!

I took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch one Saturday afternoon. We had a GREAT time! Cam enjoyed the sites from her stroller with no complaints. Piper squealed and giggled with everything she saw. It is so fun experiencing holidays through the eyes and excitement of a little one.

Some pictures with the pumpkins in the field

I have Piper's picture in this exact same spot when she was 6 months old in front of the pumpkin house.

This is one of my favorite - holding/hugging baby sister

Getting her face painted - Piper is so big, when it was her turn she walked right up to the lady, sat down and told her she wanted a pumpkin.

Checkin' out the final results in the mirror. She loved the glitter on her pumpkin!

With Snow White, we took lots of pictures with all the cutout characters they had.

We also had a snowcone, went on a crazy train/barrel ride, played in the bounce houses, took a hay ride, and ran through the corn maze.

Another weekend we went to the Central Market Halloween event. Piper got her face painted like a butterfly, decorated a cookie, and participated in the costume march around the store.

Both girls dressed as ballerinas when we went to a local church's fall festival/trunk-or-treat. Piper loved seeing all the kids in their costumes and was so distracted by all the pretty costumes that she didn't quite get the concept of trick-or-treating. Bash was at the church youth group retreat that weekend, but on Halloween he sure did teach Piper how trick-or-treating is really done.

For Halloween Bash was a wizard, Piper was a ballerina, Cam was a dalmation puppy, and I was a witch. Chris, the scrooge, didn't dress up since he doesn't enoy participating in holidays, but at least he came trick-or-treating with us :)

I just love this picture of Piper with her arm around Campbell. So Sweet!

After going around the block the girls and I came home to pass out candy while Chris took Bash around the rest of the neighborhood so he could score some candy.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2011

Crazy kids

2011-12-29T20:10:00.001-08:00

These are just some crazy family pics of us hanging out - enjoy!

Cam loves to suck (really suck or slurp) on her toes

My what big teeth you have Piper!

Piper showing us she can suck on her toes too.

Sweet Sisters

2011-12-29T19:58:00.001-08:00

Piper and Campbell sure do enjoy being together. Piper is so kind to Cam, talking to her, reassuring her, bringing her toys, giving her a bottle, sharing with her. I love all these sister pictures!

First bath together (without Cam's baby tub)

These next three pictures are so true to life when trying to get all kids to cooperate, look at the camera, and smile - all at the same time.

kisses!

holding hands

wagon ride to the park :)

snuggle time in mommy and daddy's bed

Monthly pictures

2011-12-29T19:42:00.001-08:00

Here's a little monthly update on our sweet Campbell!

5 months in October - sitting up independently, hair is pretty thin :)

6 months in November - weight 15 lbs - still 50%. she's got some chubby cheeks and thighs but otherwise isn't a big baby. we're starting acid reflux medicine to see if this helps with the nighttime sleeping.

7 months in December - sorry no close-up, my camera battery died right after this pic. this girl is now on the move - crawling, well it looks more like an inch worm but she's definitely moving around the floor. and we're happy to report that Cam has now had some nights where she slept all night - praise the Lord!!!! we're currently battling a little winter cold so that has set us back in the sleep dept but still mommy and daddy are feeling so much better with a little bit of sleep themselves.

Campbell is definitely a happy baby! She loves her family and being around people. So far the only foods she doesn't like are oatmeal and peas. She plays so well with her brother and sister and is very ticklish! We sure do love this precious baby girl!

Blog update

2011-10-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

There are 5 new blog entries. Look to the right side, month of October, to catch up on our kids.

SO CUTE!!!! Cam's three month pictures

2011-10-11T15:23:00.001-07:00

The company who took pictures of Campbell in the hospital called and did a free photo session of Cam at three months in our house. (they did this with piper too, I didn't buy the hospital pics of either girl, but was happy with Piper's 3 month shots and thrilled with Cam's.) She was so photogenic this afternoon when they came. Piper was sleeping so she wasn't a distraction and Bash and Chris were in Lubbock. I just love how the pictures turned out and probably bought a bigger package than we needed, but she's just so cute in these pics!

We have this same naked pose of Piper and the girls look almost identical.

I ordered this face collage for her room.

MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE! LOVE IT!

Cam tries cereal

2011-10-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

At four months our Campbell isn't so little anymore. She's gotten quite chubby! She can also roll over from her tummy to her back. She scoots around on both her tummy and her back. She has started spending time in her exersaucer and loves it! She really likes standing up. In the evenings she gets really vocal telling us all about her day. She likes reading books with Piper and being outside.

What a sweet sleeping baby!

All snuggly next to Daddy

She gets about halfway over from her back to her tummy and then quits, not realizing that she's about to roll over (or not caring.)

She also loves sitting up - in the bumbo, the stroller, with the boppy. She's been hearing all the action go on around her and now she wants to see it.

After her four month check-up we started cereal. It is definitely helping her sleep at night.

Here's her 4 month picture in the chair.

She weighs 13 lbs. 10 oz. (50%) and is 23 1/2 inches long (30%).

P-I-P-E-R spells Piper

2011-10-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

Our special 2 1/2 year old knows how to spell her name although most times she says "pieeeeer" which is pretty close. :) This year at daycare there's a new teacher who is working on curriculum with the older kids. Piper is picking up so much information and new vocabulary. She knows her shapes and colors. She's concerned with colors matching. She is learning some letters, sounds, and words that start with those sounds. But with all this new, good knowledge she's also learning how to manipulate. She often says "my teeth hurt" or has some other form of pain when she doesn't want to do something her parents ask her to. If she's supposed to eat a food she doesn't like she will gag and say it makes her throw up. Oh the excuses! She gotten very good at putting on her clothes and going potty all by herself. For over a week now she's stayed dry while sleeping so I'm not buying another package of pull-ups for her. Chris doesn't ride to school with us anymore so Piper gets super excited when he rides in our car. She also loves to tell knock-knock jokes she's made up. :) We sure do love this little girl and the smiles she brings to our faces. She's a great big sister and loves doing things for and with Campbell. Enjoy the sister pics!

Family Pictures

2011-10-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

We took some family pictures in August. These were our first outdoor pictures and first pictures as a family of five. We think they turned out great despite taking these pictures during the record heat wave. Temps were over 105 degrees during our photo session at 7:00 pm but all that sweating paid off for the smiles she was able to capture.

Bash Update

2011-10-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

At the end of the summer Sebashtian decided to live here with us this year. We were thrilled and quickly got him enrolled in middle school two days before it started. He is loving his new school and is doing well in his classes so far. He's very responsible - gets himself up everyday, ready for school, packs a lunch, and gets to the bus stop on time. He's such a great kid! He plays with his neighborhood friends most days after school and on the weekends. He's also loving Crash, the middle school class at church. He's made some friends and enjoys going to all the events. He and Chris are gearing up for winter basketball which is right around the corner.

July 2011 - Campbell's 2 months old

2011-07-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here's our sweet girl Campbell. She is so alert and I love looking into her eyes, they are pools of chocolate. She loves interacting with people and talking. She and Bash have had some very opinionated conversations and staring contests :). Piper loves to take care of Campbell in many different ways. Campbell loves chewing on her hands and she can hold her passy in with her hands most of the time. She still enjoys being swaddled, especially to sleep at night and she is sleeping about 5-6 hours at night. Of course when I had given up on her sleeping through the night before I had to go back to school she started doing it. She still sleeps in her swing in our bathroom, but why mess with a good thing. She's also on a good feeding schedule of every 3 hours. She really only gets upset right before she's about to fall asleep. She loves being held, especially by mommy ;). She will start daycare in a few short days, the summer/maternity leave has gone by way too fast.

Getting so big - she has started to enjoy tummy time more and has gotten very good at holding her head up.

We have enjoyed seeing our friends Tilly and Ellie. It is so cute to watch the girls play together (and imitate James so the moms can take pictures)

Big yawn!

Campbell's 2 month picture in the chair.

Her stats - 11 lbs. 2 oz - 50%, 22 inches - 50%, she gained 4 lbs and grew an inch and a half! She definitely seems longer, most outfits she's outgrown because of length.

Piper and Campbell both in their tutus - thanks Grammy! When Chris came home and saw what Campbell had on he said, "What IS she wearing?!" referring to Campbell. He's given up hoping Piper won't be too much of a princess, but I think he still wanted Campbell to be a little less girly. :)

We had 2 fun weeks of swim lessons with our sweet friend Sally. Each day Rikki and I got to get in the water with our head-strong 2 year-olds who preferred to dance or act like baby dolphins and try to get them to cooperate with the teacher and the required skill. It resulted in afternoon naps for kids and mommies. But really Piper learned how to blow bubbles, kick her legs, paddle/scoop her arms, jump in, and she has much more confidence in the water. She will go under on her own after she has slowly inched to the deep part and can't touch anymore, not quite what we were going for by hey at least she doesn't panic.

We also spent the 4th of July with Sally, Rikki, and Ted, except the kids couldn't quite make it for live fireworks so we watched the NYC show on tv. Kinda sad, but Campbell was having a horrible night. We have since watched some live firework shows over Grapevine Lake so we made up for it.

These two big girls love looking out for Campbell and I know she'll be looking up to them and their examples very soon.

My two baby burritoes - every night Campbell loves to lay in bed with Piper and listen to books. It is so sweet to see both my girls getting ready for bed together. It's definitely the best part of putting Piper to bed. Can't wait for more sister moments like this!

Bath time - Campbell loves it!

Campbell's 1 month old

2011-06-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Campbell is one month old! Yea! Well actually (6 weeks at this point) but who's counting. She is a very happy baby during the day and likes being on the go with the family. She gets pretty fussy in the evenings and we can't quite figure out why. Maybe it's gas or constipation or her fussy time or that she's still little. The nighttime feedings are getting easier though and she seems to have learned how to soothe herself. She loves her passy, enjoys the swing (thanks to baby Ansley), and goes back and forth on enjoying being swaddled. She likes to eat every 2 hours on the dot. She has taken a bottle twice and does really well, one time it was even from me. She's a noisy little sleeper grunting quite a bit which makes it hard for us to tell when she's really woken up. She's not quite on a schedule yet, but has some predictable feedings - 11:00 pm, 3:45 am, 7:00 am, and 9:00 am. She takes a pretty good morning and afternoon nap, but I think she still needs a little bit more napping and that would also help with her fussiness. She has started to smile and talk/babble. It's so cute! She likes staring at lights, fans, and the animals on her bouncy chair. In some ways she looks like Piper, but then they are also very different. Their cries are very similar. Piper was a great sleeper and not so good nurser, Campbell on the other hand is a great nurser but a not so good sleeper. I think those things are correlated. But of course both my girls are projectile spitters so you better beware after they've eaten. Bash is less interested in this sister as he was with Piper. He acts more afraid that he's going to break Campbell. Piper on the other hand loves her and is always in Campbell's face. The only time I worry is when Piper gets on the couch with Campbell. Someimtes she gets too close and bumps/smushes the baby's body parts. Of course Campbell never cries or even sqwuaks at Piper's demonstrations of love.

That first picture up there is her 0 month picture, just a few days after coming home from the hospital.

Here she is at one month

Posing with sister, it sure is hard to get a good picture of 2 kids, especially at these ages.

Sitting with sister

Can you tell how much Bash is enjoying having his picture taken during his favorite cartoon?

The girls and I love the new double stroller, for Chris - the verdict is still out.

Piper "nursing" her babies. She's named all of her baby dolls - Baby Campbell. She has been so funny about her body since I've had the baby.

When Campbell is happy she looks so big to us, but when she's sad and crying, she looks so small and still like a scrawny newborn.

Sister is real good at keeping the volume up while Campbell is trying to sleep

First and only time we've gone to church so far, we intend to make it every week, but by 5:00 on Saturday I'm wiped out so...

She and Grandma have their arms crossed the same way :)

Chris' mom, Clara, helped us with the girls for 10 days after Campbell was born. It was wonderful to have another adult in the house!

Piper is just "wild" about Campbell

Me with both of my girls

Daddy teasing Piper and taking her passy, of course she said "I need it!" we hear that a lot these days.

Daddy with both of his girls

Had to sprinkle a few Piper pictures in here

Sitting with Mimi, her great grandma, who came to visit along with my parents for a week after Chris' mom left. We had help for 3 weeks straight and then our small group and friends so generously provided dinners for the next 2 weeks, so we've been in withdrawal these last few days but we sure feel so blessed by all the love and support we've received.

Piper and Pops

Piper and Grammy

The girls with their Grammy and Pops. I think everyone looks so cute matching in this pic, my parents in black and the girls in this flower outfit, but Chris always groans when I put the girls in matching outfits (we only have 3) - like "are we going to be THAT family?" but I sure think it's cute for sisters too match and since I can't dress Bash in a matching outfit too I'm living it up with Piper and Campbell especially while I can control what they wear. :)

my parents with their newest grandchild

my grandparents with their 2nd great grandchild

On Memorial Day weekend my uncle and his family drove down to visit and meet Campbell. They also brought my grandparents to meet her. It was so great to see them! Campbell got to snuggle with her cousin Kelsey while Piper wore out Molly and Garrett. She sure has a special bond with Garrett.

A 4 generation pic on the McCarter side. Campbell gets her name from Mimi as it was Mimi's maiden name. Her middle name Claire comes from Chris' mom's name - Clara.

A Martin 4 generation pic

Our two year old

2011-06-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so Piper turned 2 on April 2, this post is really late, but I'll say that she didn't have her 2 y.o. check up until the end of April and then life got busy for a little while and I'm just now getting to have some time on the computer.

These pictures were taken by the photographer who did Campbell's newborn pictures. We love the shots she got of Piper. Of course she was there for Campbell but Piper was in a better mood and much more photogenic that morning so...

Piper weighs 28 lbs and is 35 inches tall (65% and 75% percentiles - a huge jump for this little girl who used to be in the 20% percentile in growth). Although we know she's healthy and normal even if the dr. didn't tell us that. She loves to go for walks or to the park, playing in her playhouses, coloring, singing, dancing, and reading books. Any time she hears music she runs to get her tu-tu because you can only dance when wearing your tu-tu of course. Anyone she sees wearing a dress or skirt is a princess. When you tell her that she's a princess, she says, "no I'm Piper." She says that in response to any other adjective you call her. :) She is potty trained, finally, with no regressions since little sister was born thankfully. Piper eats and drinks everything, I'm so thankful that she's not picky. She is still attached to her passy, but the goal is to be rid of it by the end of summer. Wish us luck! Here are some really cute Piper phrases that I want to remember later -

bay-oon = balloon

cu-me = excuse me

airpork = airport

hold you = hold me mommy

mulk = milk

Piper Kistine Johsin = her full name

I go po-ty = I need to go potty right now

buf-a-yo = buffalo

Dowa and do iego go = Dora and Go Diego Go (she's progressed from only knowing one tv show to now being able to name every show and all the characters on Nick Jr. - thanks to baby sister and mommy needing piper to be contained while nursing. she gets to sit on her potty and watch a tv show while I nurse which means no accidents and Piper is happy but now she will sit on the potty just to get us to turn on a tv show so the potty will be moved from the family room to the bathroom - a more appropriate place of course but don't judge us because she is potty trained.

Anyways we love this girl and she is a super sweet big sister. She also loves to be with and do everything her brother does much to his pleasure. She loves to sing, especially the ABCs, knows most of her colors, and is working on touching items while counting them. She's also enjoyed going to the library this summer to get books.

Campbell's arrival (from the mother's perspective)

2011-06-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

Campbell arrived on May 13, 2011. This is a shortened version of her birth story. I journaled more for her baby book, but I also want to remember the details on the blog. I started having contractions around 2 am, finally got up at 4:30 and decided that I wasn't going to school that day to allow labor to progress. Chris and Piper went about their normal routines. My contractions slowed around 11 am, his mom arrived at 1:30 pm. I was waiting for Chris to get home and then my plan was to walk to increase my contractions. We did one lap around the block and Chris said it was time to go the hospital because my contractions were 2-5 min. apart. We came inside, took a "family hug" picture at Piper's request and then left. It was 5:30 pm on a Friday evening, and he had to get gas. I did not tolerate contractions in rush hour traffic very well, but we finally made it to the hospital at 6:15 pm.

Our last picture as a family of 3

One final shot of my pregnant belly

It was shift change for the nurses when we got there so it took a while for someone to check me. I sent Chris 3 times to get a nurse and tell her I needed my epidural, when she finally came she didn't say anything but ran right back out of the room. We heard her yelling in the hall to call anesthesia ASAP because I was at 8 cm. Then 5 nurses came rushing in the prepare me and I lost it. I thought there wasn't going to be enough time for me to get my epidural. Fortunately, there was.

Feeling good after the epidural. I was a wreck before it.

After being at the hospital for 2 hours, it was time to push. I pushed 3 times and she was out. Chris cut the cord and they laid her on my belly. It was great! She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 20 1/2 inches long. She was much smaller than Piper.

Her eyes are different from Piper's, but she has the same ears, nose, and mouth - all from Chris.

Uncle Alwyne and Uncle Marqus were our first visitors at midnight that night.

The next day Chris went home and got his mom and Piper to bring them to the hospital to meet Campbell. Piper was so excited to meet her new sister.

She couldn't wait for her turn to hold the baby. She climbed right up and sat down on the couch like we had been telling her for weeks she had to do when she held the baby.

A sweet kiss

Love at first sight!!!!

In grandma's arms

With "grandma Cindy"

Snuggling with Jackie

In the traditional "McCarter" going home outfit

Riding out with my two girls

We were very fortunate to have Chris' mom with us for ten days after Campbell's birth to allow us time to adjust and rest. We all love Campbell so much and can't imagine how life was without her!

mothers day 2011 and fathers day 2011

2011-06-19T16:56:00.001-07:00

We had such fun fathers and mothers days. Today for fathers day we took Chris to Red Robin so he could enjoy the steak fries. Piper treated Bash like a horse and did some "horse eats the apple" in honor of my dad.

For mothers day (way back in May) we went to the Ft. Worth zoo. Piper loved it and it wasn't too hot for a 9 mo. pregnant lady. That night Chris got a babysitter and we went to a dinner and a movie. Turned out to be our last date before baby Campbell.

Adding to the madness

2011-05-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Now that the dust has settled it's time for an update. Campbell Claire Johnson is now a part of our world. Our little bundle of sporadic movement was 7lbs 3.8 ounces or 4 ounces if you want to round up. She comes in at 20 1/2 inches long and arrived on Friday the 13th (yes, Friday the 13th) at 8:51pm. She immediately opened her eyes and had them open throughout the night. Taylor was absolutely amazing during the whole experience. We arrived at the hospital after battling traffic and a short discussion on whether we had enough gas to get there, just after 6pm. At that point, pleasantries had dissipated and there were crazy colors in Taylor's once green eyes. Since we arrived at the hospital at 8 centimeters dilated we sent the room into a tailspin, there were people flying around like acrobats at Cirque de Soleil and plastic tubes, gloves, and wrappers all over the place. Things quickly got more comfortable after the epidural and two hours later, after a short 10 minute intense ab workout by Taylor, Campbell had arrived. Both girls are coming along fabulously at this point and the fun really began when big sister, Piper, got to meet her little sister. At this point, Piper loves her little sister. I wonder how long that will last and if that will change?

easter weekend

2011-05-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

Piper sure had a fun easter weekend and she knows how to hunt for eggs. Friday Joyce had her easter party at daycare and Piper cleaned up on eggs. On Sunday we went up to Wichita Falls to see my grandparents and uncle's family. Piper had a great time with her cousins. Pictures with captions are below. I've made lots of blog updates recently so you can click on the months on the top right of the blog if you are interested in catching up on our family. I'm hoping my next post is announcing that the baby is here, but we'll see. 2 weeks left - yea! So excited to meet this little girl!

With Gram and Gramps, cousin Garrett, and the girl cousins - Kelsey and Molly. Piper was so smitten with Garrett.

Probably our last picture of just the three of us.

hunting eggs, she even found some that the big kids missed

All the kids at Ms. Joyce's, including Macey, Foster, and Melanie

She wanted to pick up four eggs before stopping to put them in her basket

Old videos

2011-04-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

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.

The Holidays (and baby info at the bottom)

2011-01-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long time between updates. The pictures below range from Thanksgiving thru New Years, out of order of course :). We have had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. Piper has been so sweet and helpful, practicing her manners and speaking in short sentences. Of course she's still in love with everything animals, but is also enjoying baby dolls, stuffed animals, books, and her new dollhouse from Ms. Joyce. Bash is just Bash, he's lost another tooth while he's been here, grown over an inch this past year, and really enjoying 5th grade. He's been spending a lot of time with the boys in the neighborhood too.

Here's what we've been up to:

We celebrated Christmas at our house on the 27 once Bash got here. Piper (and us too) has loved having her big brother here. They have been so cute playing together and she looks for him all the time.

We spent the week before Christmas in Charlotte with my family. Mimi was able to join us too. We took Piper for portraits in her beautiful Christmas dress from Tilly and Ellie. We also looked at lights at the Botanical Gardens and had lots of fun hanging out at the house, most of it centered around food. Unfortunately a cold spread through the family so we were under the weather while we were there and spread our germs - sorry Mom and Mimi. It was also our last Christmas with our family dog, Colby. She had to be put down on Dec. 30 and she is dearly missed. Piper had a great time with "Kabe" while we were there and has truly overcome her fear of big dogs. Also it snowed Christmas night and we woke up to 6 inches on the 26th which was great, except that was the day we had to fly home.

Opening presents Piper started copying my dad and saying "oh cool" with each gift she pulled out of the wrapping.

Another try with Santa, he's just not her favorite person to sit with.

Getting a close look at a train at the botanical gardens

Piper thought these fish were so cool jumping out of the water.

We went back to ICE again at the Gaylord hotel. The theme this year was Charlie Brown. We weren't quite as impressed this year, the ice display was shorter so not really worth the money, but Bash and Chris did try the snow tubing hill and had a great time.

The kids love watching fountains, we have many pictures of them enjoying the water sprays.

Bad lighting at the snow tubing hill

Piper loved going down the ice slide and went about 4 times because it wasn't crowded at all when we were there.

Piper waddled like a little penguin in her parka that you have to wear going through ICE. It sure was freezing in there!

We had a great time playing with Sally the week before Christmas, decorating a gingerbread house and cookies. We are so glad our good friends have made the permanent decision to stay close. These girls are so cute playing together and have both picked up some sayings from the other.

Watching themselves on video

Enjoying all the hard work

Piper enjoyed licking the icing and Sally enjoyed eating the candies, I think we're lucky anything stuck on the house, and Rikki was so sweet to let us make such a fun mess at her house.

For thanksgiving we spent half the week here and half the week in Midland visiting my grandparents and two uncles and their families. Piper had fun playing with Molly and watching her favorite DVD - Yo Gabba Gabba

Sebashtian and Garrett stayed up late and slept in everyday, but they had a great time hanging out. We also ventured out to the sand dunes at Monahan State Park. It was really cool, it felt like a beach with no water. It was pretty sandy and windy so I don't have any good pictures to include.

Piper playing in a storage cube, great smiles from this girl.

This is the picture we used for our christmas card this year, it took so many shots to get both kids looking and smiling at the camera.

Playing in the fountains again.

We have been trying some potty training education, but not full blown potty training yet. I am hoping we can master this before she turns 2. Sometimes she asks to go on the potty and is successful, but many other times she doesn't want to try so we are not making this a battle, just praising the successful times.

Being silly and stuffing a big bite of banana in our mouth :)

I love this zebra sweater and Piper is showing her "cheesy" smile with squinty eyes, the face we so often get when taking pictures, but I love seeing her teeth.

For New Years Eve we stayed in with the Downings and made it to midnight, such fun catching up with old friends. On New Years Day we celebrated with our traditional fondue dinner with the Tiggemans and the Schweers (minus Abby who was under the weather). It was a great feast and Bash wanted to do it again today. We love making memories and having traditions with good friends!

Happy Holidays folks!

PS - We found out that our second baby is..................... another GIRL! We are thrilled and can't wait for this baby to be here. I am excited about the sister bond that will be formed between Piper and her. We are also so thankful she is healthy and measuring just right for her arrival on May 19. I have also been feeling the baby move quite a bit during the day, but she is letting me sleep at night. We're halfway through this pregnancy and everything has been so smooth, we are praying everything continues to be smooth since time will fly from here on out.

Happy Fall/Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T18:41:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy fall with two visits to the pumpkin patch, trick or treating at the arboretum, and fun times with family. On one trip to the pumpkin patch we were with our friends the Downings who are back from Tulsa. Yea! Piper and Sally had fun exploring the pumpkins.

Our other trip to the pumpkin patch was with our small group. Piper and Mackenzie followed the big boys around. Piper really likes to sit on top of pumpkins for some reason. She also got her head stuck in the bars on the window of the play house, after laughing at her I quickly pushed her head back through which she didn't like but I made sure we weren't really stuck.

With mommy

Enjoying the view with Kaleb on top of the dads shoulders.

We were so dusty when we came home we all had to wash our feet. Piper helped Daddy.

The day before Halloween we went out to the arboretum with the Downings to enjoy pumpkin village. Piper followed or chased after Sally the whole afternoon. It was so cute to hear her calling "Sally." The girls wore their costumes, Sally was Minnie Mouse and Piper was a fairy.

Crawling on top of pumpkins

It felt like we saw more of the girls backs all day as they kept running off to enjoy something new.

The one and only sitting posed picture with both girls semi-looking at the camera out of the 100+ taken. :)

Piper actually fed a goat and let it eat out of her hand at the petting zoo. This is the closest she's ever gotten to an animal's face/mouth. I couldn't believe she did it.

Say cheese!

Enjoying a popcorn snack with Daddy.

On Halloween night we started out sitting on the sidewalk handing out candy til Piper got the idea of trick-or-treating. Then she was willing to put on her costume and get her bag. We went to four houses and then came home, she only said "trick-or-treat" for Daddy at the last house. Then we came inside and she continued to stuff her bag with candy from the bowl.

We ended the night with a bedtime story from Daddy.

Just had to sneak this picture in too. Piper playing with her new favorite toy, a stuffed lambie she calls "mimi."

Bash's summer blog

2010-09-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Even though school has started and I'm late posting this, technically it's still summer. :)

This boy had a very busy summer here with us. It all started when he came home with us from Midland after visiting for Memorial Day weekend. We still had a few days of school left so Bash came to school with us. On the last day we were at school Bash was playing in the gym and he slipped and fell backwards hitting his head on the mop bucket. Well of course he split his head open so we had to take him to the emergency room and he came home with one staple in his head. What a way to start the summer – couldn’t swim for a week. But he sure healed nicely and it didn’t affect his lovable personality or extensive vocabulary.

At the end of June Bash went to overnight church camp at Mount Lebanon. He had an awesome week filled with swimming, a climbing wall, swimming, field games, swimming, bible study, swimming, and theme nights. Bash’s favorite person all summer has been his counselor Marco. He was a wonderful young man aspiring to be a doctor and inspiring young boys to live a life dedicated to the Lord. Bash can’t wait to go back next summer.

On our summer vacation to North Carolina Bash was an excellent car rider and so sweet to his sister sitting right next to him. His favorite part of the vacation was going golfing with Chris’ best friend Nathan in Mississippi. He also really enjoyed the Georgia Aquarium and hanging out with Uncle Craig who came over everyday after work to swim and eat dinner.

Bash has been very busy playing with the boys who live behind us. There’s a group of boys in the neighborhood who all get along and love to be outside playing capture the flag, basketball, Star Wars, swimming, riding scooters, or riding bikes. These boys play all afternoon and then head back outside after dinner to play until dark. We are so thankful that Bash has a good group of boys to hang out with here in the neighborhood.

Bash has also been playing on a basketball team this summer through the YMCA and Chris has been his coach. It’s been fun to have these two bond in a coach/player relationship. Bash has really gotten into sports more this summer and all the technical aspects of the rules. He listens to his dad now and tries to apply his new skills. Bash is an excellent rebounder and has gotten more aggressive on defense, going after the ball to intercept passes. Bash also really understands zone defense. He likes basketball and we hope he continues to play and improve on his skills. Unfortunately the team has only won one game, but they keep playing each week giving it their all. During the double elimination tournament, they one the first game and then lost the next two. The boys played great, but they were very tired at each consecutive game.

Sebashtian really wanted to stay here this year for 5th grade, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. He got to go back with a new cell phone and he really feels cool. It is my old phone and of course he already knows how to do more things on that phone in 3 hours of having it than I did in two years. That’s a digital native for you!

Being a jungle gym for Piper, he sure was patient with her.

In the team huddle

From our vacation at the children's museum in Charlotte, climbing across a rope bridge, laying on pins and needles, and building a race car.

Bash filming the penguins in an underwater tunnel at the Georgia aquarium.

At the Dallas Zoo with the Tiggemans, there was more for older kids here and Bash had a great time.

His wonderful counselor at camp - Marco, Bash's favorite person all summer!! That sure speaks volumes of Marco's character and connection with young boys to sow seeds of the gospel.

Happy Father's Day!!

Learning from his sister :)

Gently spraying sister with the hose, definitely not torture :)

Blowing bubbles for Piper

Congratulations Chris!

2010-08-19T18:31:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Chris graduated with his masters degree from Lamar University. We are so proud of him! All of his hard work has paid off. He is now the proud owner of a Masters of Educational Technology degree.

Piper's summer update

2010-07-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

This summer has been so fun with Piper. She loves going swimming or playing in the splash parks. This girl is not afraid of water. She is climbing on everything and trying to jump. She understands the concept, but can’t seem to get both feet off the ground at once. We are breaking the attachment to the pacifier. When she gets up from sleeping she throws the paci and her lovey into her crib and is ready to play again. Piper is very into books, pretend talking on the phone, pushing buttons on the remote, playing with balls, being outside, and blowing bubbles. She’s taken to carrying around her teddy bear like a baby doll and pulling her toy cart everywhere. She likes to dance and her favorite tv show is Yo Gabba Gabba. She is trying to climb the stairs up and down like adults which is very nerve racking for us.

Her daily routine is – wake up around 7:30, get a cup of milk and play in bed with mama and daddy. Then she has her breakfast on the kitchen floor while mama makes coffee and cooks breakfast for everyone else. She plays and is a happy baby, no toddler, going with the flow until naptime. We are working down to one nap which is usually from 11-1. The afternoon is full of more fun playtime usually with brother, until dinner which is immediately followed by bath and bedtime at 7:30. She is now climbing out of the bath tub. Piper got 4 teeth during our construction in June which was no fun, but she is loving eating meat now, especially if she gets to dip the bites in ketchup. She eats pretty much everything we give her, especially frozen treats. She is getting very good with a fork and spoon, and she actually eats more because she is motivated to use these items. She now knows how to take her bib off when she’s finished eating.

Words she can say now are – “daddy”, “no”, “please, sounds like peas”, “ball”, “food” which is sometimes “fo”, “hot” which is said in a whisper, “more/mo and does the sign”, “bubble” then she blows, for dog she “pants” and then says “woof”, “up”, “thank you – with the sign and gibberish”, “hi” (also she’s good at waving, giving leg hugs, and kisses/blowing kisses). She still uses her sign language a lot. She can identify herself in pictures and we’re working on the rest of the family. She likes to pretend clean – wiping up messes, throwing trash away, washing hands, picking up things and putting them away, and blowing her nose. She will dig in my purse looking for her paci, lovey, or milk cup. She can even upzip it to get inside. She can point to her nose, teeth, hair, ears, and belly button. The body part we started with first was feet, but she can’t seem to get that one.

She’s been testing the limits with throwing things and hitting. She gets crushed when we tell her “no” or “stop”. She’s been throwing temper tantrums which makes Chris very nervous about the terrible twos and we have even started trying time out. She loves seeing kids, especially older kids and thinks everyone wants to play with her, by that she expects them to give her whatever toy and let her play with it by her rules. She’s learning to throw the ball with people and even kick, but it sure is hard for her when she can’t do whatever she wants to with the ball. At her 15 month check-up in July she weighed 21.6 lbs. and was 31 ½ inches tall. She has been really healthy her whole first year with only one virus and fevers when she was teething. We pray it stays that way this next year. She has a little eczema in her elbows though. This summer has been so fun with her, I wish I could stay home all the time and enjoy this little girl.

Piper we love you so much and are so grateful for the opportunity to be your parents. We hope and pray that you will quickly come to knowledge of the Lord as your personal savior, seeing his grace and love for you. You bring so much joy to our family, you are LOVED – your parents

Pics - being silly in her chair, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, and a random aquarium pic

At the zoo with Tilly and Ellie

Teaching brother to use a pacifier

Resting in mama's bed when she was running a fever getting new teeth

Family breakfast in bed to watch an early World Cup soccer game

Wearing her backpack to her last day of daycare at the beginning of the summer, we're gearing up to go back again next week.

Eating blueberry breakfast

Want some?

Getting squirted with the hose by big brother

She liked it

Blowing bubbles

Sporting pigtails

Shaking the maracas at her great grandparents birthday party

Floating in the pool

Swimming with mama

Happy 4th of July

Enjoying the zero entry baby pool in NC

Bash's summer update soon to follow :)

Summer Trip

2010-07-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

We started our summer trip in Atlanta with a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. It was awesome!!! My parents joined us and we all had an excellent time. We also got to see our good friends, Matt and Amy Tuggle, while we were there and it was great to catch up.

Then we headed to Charlotte to my parents house. We don't have pictures of the all the fun we had, but it was a great time - swimming, golfing, playing cornhole, going on bike rides, acclimating Piper to the dog Colby, going to the Children's museum, hanging out with my brother Craig - we were sure sad to leave. Below are pictures of the kids at the children's discovery museum - which was awesome.

We ended our road trip with a stop in Mississippi to see Chris' best friend, Nathan and his wife Beth. We had a great time at their house and it was a nice reprieve from the road. The kids did great on the trip, especially in the car, but Piper sure was glad to see our house and be home again.

Housework

2010-07-20T16:20:00.001-07:00

So the housework is finally finished. We have new floors throughout the dining room, entry, living room, and hall all thanks to Ylati. We chose to put tile in the half bath. And there is now slate around the fireplace with major thanks to our dear friend Cindy. Chris added new trim molding to the fireplace and got a saw to complete the job. I guess it's a late father's day gift, but either way we are so thankful not to be living in a construction zone anymore.

Also does anyone notice anything different about the kitchen? - That's right I finally finished taking down "the border from ____" and have given the room a fresh coat of red paint.

Still Waiting

2010-06-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

At this point we are still waiting to get our floor replaced. Meanwhile, we've decided that since we're getting a new floor we might as well take the opportunity to replace the fireplace tile with slate so, with that said, we've purchased slate to replace the dull, white, ceramic tile framing our fireplace. We'll see how this goes; pictures to come soon!!!

Water Damage

2010-05-26T04:38:00.000-07:00

There are no words to describe this so here's a video!!

Summer Looms

2010-05-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

We're now 11 days from summer vacation for students and I think we are all feeling it at our campus. Everyone seems to be a little run down but we're all still pushing through. Taylor became a college grad again over the weekend graduating from the University of Lamar with her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and I couldn't be a more proud husband. It's been tough getting through it but she did and I'll be graduating in August and we'll both be a little less stressed. Well, we are anxiously anticipating Sebashtian's summer visit and we can't wait to see him. He'll be playing basketball this summer so we're really excited about that and I haven't told him yet but I might be his coach - that would be fun!!! Anyway, Piper can now say, "ball" and we have the whole thing on video:

Other words she's working on are "banana" "peek-a-boo" and "bottle." She understands so much language too. She follows simple commands as evidenced in this next video. Good thing Taylor and Piper aren't sick.

D.I. and the Bluebonnets

2010-04-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend Bash was in town for the State Destination Imagination competition. His team from Lubbock qualified in February and we were so glad the state competition was here in Dallas. His team did a great job even though they didn't place. It was great to see Bash perform. He also had a fun time at the team mixer trading pins with teams from the rest of the state.

Last week we also took Piper to a pretty bluebonnets spot for pictures in her dress from Mimi. Piper felt more sure of the grass in our yard than being by all the bluebonnets, but oh well.

She wouldn't let me put her down so Chris had to do his best to capture pictures without me in them.

Also we had Piper's 1 year old doctor visist. She is 19 lbs. 10 oz., 29 inches tall, and keeping right on her growth track. We are starting to experience some tantrums, that don't last long but we are afraid it may mean staying home for awhile because in public she wants freedom and doesn't understand safety. Even with the tantrums, she is still the sweetest little girl and we love her so much. She has brought so much joy to our lives and continually makes us smile with her energy, explorations, and noises.

Birthday/Easter recap

2010-04-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Chris is quicker than I am at updating the blog, but I like to use this blog as a scrapbook of sorts so I'm going back in time on some of these pictures.

For three days over spring break we went to Kerrville to see Mimi and we made a stop in San Antonio at the Alamo and the Riverwalk. Bash was kind enough to carry Piper in the backpack for a little bit. They also had fun playing with a ball in Mimi's driveway and watching some cartoons.

When we returned home Saturday night, DFW was covered in snow again. The boys had a snowball fight Sunday morning before Bash had to catch his flight.

We did a small group Easter Egg hunt at the school by our house. Of course once Piper had an egg in each hand that rattled when she shook it, she was done hunting.

Just looking pretty!

Here starts the birthday fun - she had a party at daycare and loved the cookie more than the cupcake or ice cream.

This is my new favorite pic of Piper. I made her a tu-tu and got her a fairy wand to go with it for her birthday.

On her birthday we went to the Arboretum. I loved it! The tulips were gorgeous and Piper warmed up to the place. This is such a cute father-daughter pic in front of the waterfall.

Me and gram by the snowball tree.

Pops and Piper - another fav!

Sitting in the grass

4 generations picture on my mom's side

Hunting eggs at our house with help from Pops. Of course Molly and Garrett really showed Piper how it was done.

This Dr. Seuss ABC book is her current favorite.

Easter morning with Grammy and Pops

Our Easter family pic (minus Bash, but we get to see him this weekend and cheer him on at the State Destination Imagination Competition!!!)

The ladies :)

One final pic with Grammy before taking her to the airport, at least we'll get to see her again soon for Memorial Day.

Being silly with Dad

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an amazing weekend! Piper turned 1, we visited the Dallas Arboretum, and we had family in town for the weekend. It was as always, lots of fun and Piper had the best time with everyone. I threw some pics together on Animoto and created this video, there are a couple of mistakes but I won't tell you where so enjoy :)

Spring Update

2010-03-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

We've been busy playing - here are some photos to capture what we've been up to - Bash climbing the rock wall at a birthday party, Piper in pigtails - a very cute new way to style her crazy hair, and her 11 month shot with her lamb chair. On her 11 month birthday she finally cut her top two teeth and was running a 102 fever, then she caught a little stomach bug after that. I am so glad that week is over. The words she can say now are - mama, dada, uh-oh, and hi. She walks pretty much everywhere and climbs the stairs all the time. She can also stand up now without pulling up on something. She's a very good eater and does all adult food now, but we're still working on that transition to the sippy cup.

For Chris' birthday we surprised him with a little small group party. It was great because he truly knew nothing about it. Piper got to play with Mackenzie, David, Catelynn, and Kaleb. She loves being around people and as long as she's sure I'm not leaving will play and have a wonderful time wherever we go. I really hope this continues.

She really enjoyed eating black beans one night even though she ended up looking like Pigpen from Charlie Brown.

Smiling with Daddy

Piggyback ride

Oh such a sweet face to look at

Even though she can walk by herself it sure is fun to pull on mommy's pants as we walk around the house.

Napping

The faces of Piper - she is so silly

Evidence of her ability to crawl the stairs. She's really good at it, and she prefers to walk down, not crawl down, but I worry when she stops right at the top and pauses before finally making her way down the hall to her room. Also thanks for reading this long post and bearing with the crazy format. Chris tells me it's just the html code, but when I did my last post it wasnt' like this and he's done the previous three posts so I believe he changed some setting, but anyways :)

Spring Break

2010-03-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

So, we went to the park the other day, it was a beautiful day but with a little chill to the air. We thought it was time to release Piper in the world just to see how far she would walk before she gave up. Well, here's the whole documented proof:

I also visited Lubbock in February to surprise Bash with a lunch date. He was so excited, as was I, and we embarked on a fun day of hookie, I know, I'm setting a good example. Anyway, after we had lunch at school we decided to visit my favorite coffee shop, Daybreak Coffee, in Lubbock. On our visit we walked into a particularly busy day at Daybreak only to walk in to a campaign stop for Governor Rick Perry and so my brave little boy decided he wanted a picture with the Governor so here's the result: After we left Daybreak we hit up Main Event in Lubbock for some video games, bowling, and neon golf. I then headed back home to my girls in Dallas. What a perfect day it was.

We are now on Spring Break visiting family in Kerrville, which is always relaxing. We are heading to San Antonio today to partake in a little tourist action at the Riverwalk and the Alamo, should be fun with Piper and Bash, we'll see how that all works out. More to come...

Waiting for the snow

2010-02-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

Just sitting at home catching up on the Olympics we dvr'd from last night. I was doing a little work when Piper decided to start acting a little silly so here's a link to youtube:

I wonder how good the Wolfman will be??? More to come...

Achievements for all

2010-02-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

Last week was a busy week for the family. I was at the Texas Computer Educators conference in Austin where I presented during a 50 minute session. I really had a great time and the best part was getting to hang out with mom and Marqus. I did miss out on the 12+ inches of snow Taylor and Piper were enjoying back in Dallas so it was a little depressing to miss out on the snow again. So, home on Friday and then to Lubbock to see the fabulous Sebashtian for a long weekend from Saturday to Monday. We went swimming at the hotel and Bash was swimming extremely well. I was so proud to see a great breaststroke from him plus we saw my good friend, Jason and his daughter Bethani. Busy, busy week but Piper figured out that she can move on her feet so to the amazement of both of her parents she has begun to take more and more steps:

So with Piper's steps, Taylor has completed all of her Master's coursework and now all that remains for her is graduation. Taylor's completion of her coursework is inspiring and gives me a little more focus and motivation to finish strong myself; 3 classes left but congratulations Tay, I am so, so proud of you!!!! I love you and I am happy you've completed this challenge!!

8, 9, 10 months

2010-02-07T14:47:00.001-08:00

A few pics before the update story - Her hair after her first pony tail
A sweet nap with her bunny

Crawling up the stairs

So it's been a long time since I've updated Piper's stats. She is now 10 months old and very active. She doesn't look very different from her 3 pictures with her lamb chair, but developmentally she has changed a ton! 10 months

9 months

8 months

It's hard to get her to pose, or even be still for a picture and we usually take these pics at night so she's got on her jammies and sleepy eyes. She is a speedy crawler and follows us everywhere. She's also cruising along the furniture and walking while holding onto our hands. She can stand and squat, but still has yet to take those first few steps on her own. She weighs 17 lbs 10 oz, such a petite little thing. She's a good eater and pretty happy all the time. She still only has two teeth. She loves playing with other kids, but also enjoys time alone at home with her toys. She is so excited in the evenings to arrive home and crawl around our floors. She is sleeping through the night every night which is wonderful for us. She is still nursing a little bit. She has crawled up the entire flight of stairs and she climbed down the stair around our tub face first onto the tile floor. She was nervous about this and I was too, but when I saw her doing it, it was too late to stop her. She has a little anemia, but otherwise has been a healthy girl so far this first year. Chris says she has officially spoken her first word - "mama." She has done this for about a month now and is also now saying "dada" and "uh-oh." Piper likes to comfort her friend Trinity at daycare when she cries by patting her on the back and saying "mama." Trinity is 2, but they do have a sweet friendship. We love this little girl and she is such a blessing!

ICE

2010-01-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

I know it's a little late for this year, but if you're looking for something fun to do next holiday season you should check out ICE at the Gaylord hotel. It was awesome! We'd heard from a few friends the past couple of years that it was great and they were right. It is totally worth going! The theme this year was Grinch -

We think Piper had fun, although her face was a little cold at the end. Bash loved it, especially the ice slide.

The colors of the ice were so brilliant! It was 9 degrees in the exhibit and we all had to put on those huge blue parkas.

ThE HoLiDaY SeAsOn

2010-01-07T19:55:00.001-08:00

Here's a recap of our busy, but wonderful holiday season.

For Thanksgiving we stayed here and all my family came. Bash created a fort and he and Piper played underneath the blanket.
Piper giggling at her Great-Gramps

This is a picture of my mom's entire side of the family. They all came to Dallas for the Baylor vs. Texas Tech football game at Cowboys stadium. The Baylor fans are outnumbered in the family, but everyone was very nice about the good effort Baylor put forth at the game. We all enjoyed seeing the new stadium.

Piper sandwich!

We all "ran" the Turkey Trot with 35,000 other people Thanksgiving morning. It was a fun time dodging walkers and dogs with a jogging stroller. After burning calories we all came home and had a great meal.

Now on to Christmas 2009!

Sibling Christmas pic

At Piper's daycare Christmas party the kids put on a performance of songs. Piper danced/jumped along the entire performance. It was super cute!

Sitting on Santa's lap. She was totally fine with Santa, just really tired as his visit was at the end of the party. She did enjoy running her fingers through his curly beard.

Family Christmas pic

lazy morning enjoying the time of from school

Playing with Cousin Kelly in Kerrville

Uncle Matt holding Piper - now that she can move on her own, he's not afraid of her anymore and they had a great time interacting over the holidays.

After opening presents at Mimi's

Looking out the window, she enjoyed this as we don't have any glass doors at our house where she can do this

Piper getting her Bambi deer out of her stocking - she loves this deer and giggles everytime she sees it.

Bash's favorite present - he wore this everyday after he got

New Years 2010

Over the winter break we traveled down to Kerrville as my Pawpaw was very sick. We knew this would be the last Christmas with him. We were able to take a 5 generations picture since my dad was here. We were also able to enjoy our time with Pawpaw as he could still have conversations and join us for meals.

Piper and Pawpaw checking each other out. Piper enjoyed crawling after Pawpaw when he used his walker to get around.

Five days after Christmas, on December 30 Pawpaw passed away. His funeral was January 2, 2010 and Chris sang his favorite Irish song, "Danny Boy." He was 82, had lived a very full, blessed life, and blessed many who knew him. I am so thankful that I had him in my life for 29 years. We miss you Pawpaw and love you, but are thankful that your pain has ended and you are with Your Maker in Heaven.

Bash is here!

2009-11-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

Bash arrived on Saturday and we've put him straight to work. After a fun round of golf with Dad, he helped attack the yard which has unfortunately become overgrown with weeds and dandelions. They raked the leaves (front yard) and he did an excellent job of mowing while Chris fertilized. They are quite a team and now our yard doesn't look quite so bad. Here's the fruits of his labor -

This is only half of the yard, the other side had just as big a pile and now we have 8 bags of leaves in the alley.

Crazy November

2009-11-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

Why do the months with holidays always seem crazy? November (and a few weeks before that) has been busy. Here's a quick update - A visit from Grammy and Pops at the end of Oct.

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch on Halloween day

These pictures are her 7 month pics because I forgot this month to take pics with her lamb chair. Oops! And I realize that next week will be 8 months, but better late than never trying to record her accomplishments each month. I do have a goal of making her a real baby book on Spring Break when I'm done with masters classes and I hope it becomes a reality although I realize that this blog may end up being her baby book.

It has been a month full of milestones - Piper has mastered sitting up alone, is crawling, is pulling up and walking along furniture, and saying ma-ma. I chose to believe that she knows I'm ma-ma and says it when she's talking to me and Chris lets me believe this so we're happy.

For Halloween - we got a puppy!

This was in the school book parade.

Our puppy can sit, roll over, speak, attack, and play dead.

We invited Piper's birthday buddy Sally over and Piper played rough. She didn't understand why Sally didn't like it when Piper crawled up her back. We're going to have to work on her social skills with babies since she's the youngest at daycare and the other kids think she's so cute they let her get away with being rough and scratching.

Chris and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. Woohoo! Chris got me these beautiful flowers which are a replica of my wedding bouquet. Thanks Robin and Rachel at Cymbidium.

We were fortunate to be able to go on two dates to celebrate. We had a great time and did a good job of not focusing on the little cutie we left at home.

Here is Piper's winter hat

Chris baptized a guy in our small group - Burton. We are amazed at the people God has put in our group and feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful friends who care for us and support us through everything.

And finally evidence of Piper's new tricks (sorry the pictures are in such random order)

Just Too Cute

2009-10-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

Let me start this post by saying that there are so many cute pictures of Piper, too many to put all in her 6 month post that I have made many new posts. I stayed up past midnight, I hope I don't regret it tomorrow, but I pretend that there are many readers of this blog (or just obligated family members) so please scroll down and read all the new posts.Just lounging in the bouncy chair. Most days she is not this calm in this chair. If she drops her toy she will lean over to get it almost flipping out of the chair if it weren't for the safety strap and the balance designed legs we would have had an accident by now. We also put Piper in this chair to keep her bowels moving. The vibration button is great.
You have to click on this picture and zoom in to check out her crazy hair. These curls go all over the place, except where she has bald spots. New growth is coming, but I think the fact that she lays down for the majority of her day is stunting her hair growth. Usually when we pick her up from daycare they are tight little ringlets, I guess she sweats a lot over there or it's really humid there. Other times we have major frizz. In the back it gets so matted and then just sticks straight out in knots. Chris is really good at getting the knots out. We have tried baby oil and this Dove curl product, but neither really work at making the hair curl and not frizz or tangle. If anyone has any suggestions we're open.

Girl pajama party - my mom sent Piper and I matching pj's to wear the weekend Chris had a boys golf weekend.

Oh the tongue - starting solid foods has really brought out her attitude. She makes it very clear now when she's happy or mad, if she likes what you're doing or she doesn't. I know we've been very blessed to have had such an easy, happy baby, but I hope this personality isn't a sign of what's to come.

She also enjoys pursing her lips together and blowing right after a bite of food so food goes spraying in her eyebrows, up her nose, dribbling down her chin and bib, across the tray, and all over mommy. Sometimes more food is sprayed than ingested.

Yum - Socks!

2009-10-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Piper is currently fascinated with her socks and loves to pull them off and stuff them in her mouth. She is just crazy sometimes! Uck - fuzz in the mouth
What are you looking at?

This look reminds me of my dog Colby when she's snatch a sock. Piper doesn't seem to care at all that we're watching her put a sock in her mouth. Many times she stuffs it so far in her mouth that she gags. We have used it as a distractor when changing her diaper, which was the case when these pics were took. Hope she doesn't hate us later for these naked baby shots.

Western Festival

2009-10-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to the Western Festival in old downtown Lewisville. It was on the last hot day of fall, we were sweating out there, but we had such a great time. Chris dragged us out of the house leaving behind chores, studying, and school work to have some quality family time. His main attraction was the Los Lonely Boys performance, that we missed because we were so hot we couldn't stay outside any longer, but we enjoyed fresh squeezed lemonade, corn dogs, and wearing our sunglasses. Also we found the perfect piece of art for our entryway. Sorry I don't have a picture, but it's a rusted old cross on a glazed frame. It's really cool and just perfect for the space.

Now some people think Piper's sunglasses are dweeby, but I have to argue with them and say that she looks super cute and stylish with pink shades. And I believe she loves wearing them because she never pulls them off or even touches them when they're on.

Moving Around

2009-10-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

Piper has started moving around and Chris and I have to be very careful where we put her or things. She can grab stuff of the table and when she sees a toy she wants so can get it. Here she is on all fours. She rocks back and forth like she's revving up to go, but as soon as she lifts a hand her knees slide out from under her and she ends up on her belly. She's getting a little better at lifting one hand and then lunging before landing on her belly. She does this 3-4 times to get across the floor and retrieve the desired toy. Chris said she did one crawl this weekend, of course it was while I was in the other room, so I'm sure we'll soon be posting about her crawling once we've both witnessed the miracle with our own two eyes.

Sitting up with assistance. The doctor told me this is the tripod. She is working very hard to get to this position on her own. She will lay on her side for a long time trying to time it just right to bring her knees up and push off her elbow to sit up. This girl is working out her core muscles.

Pushing on her arms.

Now she likes to roll over multiple times and back and forth. It's amazing when you lay her down and turn away for just a second and by the time you look back she's two feet from where you laid her.

Napping

2009-10-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

Piper is so cute when she naps now. She is always flipping over to her stomach or side. She moves all around the crib while she sleeps. When she wakes up and you walk in to get her so slaps the mattress and pops her head up. It is so fun to go get her up. The not fun part, although it's a good thing, is that she really doesn't like to be rocked to sleep anymore. She fights you like she's a baby alligator, twisting and turning, arching her head and back, moaning and squirming, until you lay her down and then she rolls over, settles herself and falls asleep.

Favorite Fall Activity

2009-10-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Watching football on a Saturday afternoon!These two love to hang out on the couch and root for their favorite teams ( Texas Tech and Notre Dame). If the teams are playing badly (which happens most weekends - at least for Tech) then they take a nap together.

6 months old

2009-10-24T21:27:00.001-07:00

Piper is 6 months old, actually 6 and 1/2 months as I type this, but it doesn't matter. At her appt. she was 15 lbs. 1.5 oz (25%) for weight, 25 and 3/4 inches for length (45%), and 42.25 cm head circumference (40%). She's moving out of the 25% in some categories, but people always comment on what a petite little girl she is. She is so much fun these days, rolling everywhere, scooting on her belly to get whatever she wants, rocking and trying real hard to crawl, loving paper and ripping it to pieces, laughing and giggling, playing peek-a-boo, making the B sound and blowing spit/food all over the place, settling herself down and going to sleep, trying to wave to people, and just being all around super cute. She has gotten her first fever. This past week at daycare they had a picnic on Monday and Piper was sneezing really bad so we thought maybe it was allergies. The sneezing lead to runny nose and congestion and a 99.3 fever on Tuesday which we thought might still be allergies or teething. Wed. morning was the same story, but Wed. night the fever spiked to 102. I gave her two doses of tylenol that night and when we went to the doctor on Thursday the fever was all gone. He ran a flu test just to be sure, but it came back negative. Each day Piper had very little appetite, was super fussy, and very clingy for me. On Saturday I noticed a sharp little corner of her bottom left front tooth has poked through. So who knows what the reason was for the fever, but we're all better. Our pictures with the lamb chair weren't that great this month as Piper really wanted to look at the lamb not the camera.

She's definitely our sweet little pumpkin!

Pumpkin Carving Party

2009-10-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

We hosted a Pumpkin Carving Party with our small group the first weekend in October. It was a perfect fall night and we had so much fun with everyone. The guys with their pumpkins

Then the girls
It was dark when we lit the candles so all the pumpkins looked so cool in the yard, but the camera flash ruined it.

Jarod helping Chris remove the stem from our pumpkin. It was about 3 inches thick so Chris had a really hard time carving it. Guess that's what we get for buying a green pumpkin, but Chris turned it into an alien complete with golf tees for nostrils. Of course Chris would find some way to incorporate golf. Also we thought our carved pumpkin would last longer being out side (because our school has a pumpkin carving contest for students and the halls smell like rotting pumpkins for three days which I thought was because of the heating system), but it had flies after three days on the front porch.

Doug adding some bling to his pumpkin

Lena working on her mini pumpkin

Tamar and Burt

Emily the artist

Everyone busy at work

Joaquin and Jennifer F.

Chris and Melody

All the girls

Piper's Favorite Food

2009-09-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

It is NOT sweet potatoes. We heard that all babies love sweet potatoes so we tried them first, but as you can see, Piper's reaction to them was not love. She is better at eating them, but only because I believe it involved the spoon. She will let the food in her mouth, but she does not gobble it up. Although she has never gobbled her food which may be why she's petite thing. I am just praying that this does not lead to being a picky eater.

Here she is getting some rice cereal and it obviously tastes better than those orange sweet potatoes.

We've also tried peas, but got the same reaction as the sweet potatoes. I think I read that it takes 15-18 tries of a new food before acquiring a taste for it. I've made some baby food and Piper definitely has enough for 15 tries of sweet potatoes. The recipe I followed in the baby cookbook made a ton. We now have a freezer full of sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, pears, apples, and peaches. Also my thoughts on making baby food - it's fun and if you are a stay at home mom probably enjoyable, but for me I've decided that as a working mom it isn't really worth my time and money especially when I can buy organic jarred baby food that has all the same ingredients as what I do at home. Plus Chris thinks it makes a mess in the kitchen and not worth my time cleaning up.

Sept. Update

2009-09-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to try and update the blog more than once a month, but life is really busy right now. Here's the latest in our family - Piper really enjoys sitting up and is practicing to do it all on her own, but we're not quite there yet.
Hanging out with Uncle Alwyne, he was kind enough to babysit one day for the entire day because our babysitter had a funeral to go to. He kept Piper right on schedule and she was exhausted the next day at daycare from all the fun they'd had.

We get this face a lot now - it's her old man face, she's gumming it and drooling a ton, so we officially believe teething season has begun.

These next few shots are from her five month photo session with her lamb chair. She turned 5 months on Sept. 2. She can't really fit in the chair anymore.

She was standing here all by herself, well she was leaning on the lamb and her crib.

This is the modeling shot. As you can see she's getting so big.

So she does these crunches to work on those abs. Actually she does this to see what Chris and I are doing in the kitchen.

Her new beanie hat - so cute - thanks Gramma (mom)

a new addition to her room

Chris also hung this shelf finally. And he finished staining Bash's bookcase which has been in our garage since Dec. 2 points for him because I have not finished taking down the border in the kitchen.

Watching a preseason football game with dad on the couch. I'm sure this will be their usual Sat. position.

Her new trick - grabbing both feet!

Her new toy from Ellie and Tilly - an exersaucer! Although she really enjoyed it more the first day when her friends showed her how to use it. Too bad they're not at our house all the time to help Piper play with it.

She's rolling around all the time now, sometimes she'll roll over twice or three times in a row. She's also reaching for things.

After bath time

HER FIRST FEEDING OF CEREAL!

She didn't understand why Chris was taking so many pictures.

So she stuck her tongue out at him

She did a good job and ate all the cereal although I think she's more interested in the spoon and the food her parents eat rather than the cereal.

Mmmmm! Can't wait until veggies, especially if they add to the number of dirty diapers like cereal has.

End of Summer Fun

2009-08-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some other pictures of fun things we've done this summer. Sad Piper

Chris and Bash

Chinese Alwyne and Chinese Bash

Our special family dinner on Bash's last night at Kobe Steakhouse

being crazy with Tiggeman at Going Bonkers

playing with Martin and David at Boomerangs

licking the beaters

reading to little sister

at rainforest cafe, we had the best table by the elephant

Summer has officially ended. Bash has gone back to Lubbock (boo-hoo). Chris and I have been working at school and the first day is Aug. 24 (way too soon). We also start our next masters course that day. We're going to be busy, but I should be done in December with my masters. So I'm not sure when I'll post again, but I hope you enjoyed these pictures and be sure to read the other two posts I did today.

Trip to North Carolina

2009-08-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

For my birthday Chris surprised me with a family trip to North Carolina to visit my parents. It was an awesome trip! Here are the highlights –

We visited the National Whitewater Center where they train for kayaking in the Olympics. Chris and I rode the zipline, Bash did some rock climbing, and Chris, Bash, and my dad did some flatwater kayaking. This place was so much fun! The boys enjoyed a day of golf while the girls went shopping. Friday night we went to hear a jazz singer at a wine bar and were surprised when my brother Matt (from Arizona) walked in. He was able to get his work to pay for a weekend trip to visit the family. It was great to have everyone there. We helped my other brother Craig do a little decorating in his bedroom at his new apartment. For my birthday, my parents babysat Bash and Piper while we went to dinner and then to the Rascal Flatts concert. It was a great concert at an outdoor ampitheatre. Chris and I had so much fun and realized that since we’ve been married we haven’t gone to listen to music as much as we did when we were dating, so we’re making it a new goal to get and listen to more music for some fun dates. We rode the lightrail to downtown Charlotte and strolled the streets. We also took a bike ride and went swimming. We relaxed on the porch while Bash played on the tree swing. We were busy and the kids were worn out. Every night at dinner Bash said, “I’m going to sleep good tonight.” It was such a great trip to end the summer, the day after we got back Chris had to start work again.

the boys golfing

Piper's bath in the cooler

Piper asleep at the pool

The Whitewater center

the zipline Chris and I rode

Bash rock climbing

Hangin' with Uncle Craig