Happy 2nd Birthday S!!

Happy 2nd Birthday to S!! He turned a a whopping 2 today - WOOHOO!! You woke up saying "It's my BirDAY". You noticed your birthday presents the minute you walked out into the living room. We spent the next 20 minutes or so opening gifts. One of your favorites was the T-Ball set from Grandma Piper. We had to run outside and play t-ball at 8:30 in the morning in our pajamas!!! After the fun baseball time came breakfast. We had blue pancakes and sang you happy birthday. We tried to spend the day making you feel extra special. You ended your birthday was a yummy dinner (carne asada tacos and homemade guacamole) and a wonderful cake made with love by Mommy and Liz. We are having your big birthday party next weekend at the Phoenix Zoo. I will post more about that then. Here are some pictures from your 2nd birthday.

Baby #3

I had a checkup today. I was able to have another u/s because of some problems a few weeks ago. Everything looks great. The baby's heartbeat was 171 - that says girl to me. Any takers???

Happy 37th Birthday Daddy Piper

Today was Daddy Piper's birthday. It was so nice that he had the day off so we could spend the day with him. We wrapped his present and signed cards early in the morning and after he woke up, the kids ran in to tell him "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!" I think they were more excited about his birthday than he was. We got Daddy Piper Guitar Hero III for our Wii. It was a complete surprise and he totally loved it!! Here are some pics:

Everyone had fun taking turns playing Guitar Hero. We ended the evening with a yummy dinner and an ice cream cake. I think Daddy Piper had a great day, minus the failed emission test on the hot rod!!

"Root Beer Float, The End"

Title of Daddy Piper's art sculpture tonight, as shown below:

We had root beer floats for dessert after dinner. Daddy Piper was stacking dishes and L asked what that was and he responded "Root Beer Float, The End". It was so funny and the kids just cracked up at their daddy!

Easter 2008

"Things I'd like to Remember about Easter This Year"

• We woke up to 2 kids stumbling out of their room with sleepy eyes only to spot the Easter baskets and run screaming towards them!
  
• Candy at 8:00 in the morning, while wearing Lighting McQueen glasses and throwing new baseballs.
  
• Easter Bunny leaving a yard full of eggs for the kids to find. S wasn't really big enough to enjoy this last year but boy did he understand it this year.
  
• Multiple Easter Egg hides and hunts. Parents hide and kids find followed by kids hiding and parents finding. L got upset with S because he only wanted to keep "finding" the eggs and L hid them for Mommy and Daddy.
  
• Miminum fuss lunch since we knew what was coming up later.
  
• 4 o'clock rolled around, 2 kids up for naps and we head to the Knight castle for Easter dinner and great company!
  
• We enjoyed the rest of our evening dining on pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans and strawberry pie for dessert followed by Easter Egg hunts with all 4 little ones. It was so much fun this year. Last year the younger 2 weren't walking steadily yet, this year all 4 looking for eggs made it so much fun!!!

It was a great Easter. We spent the entire day as a family, not something we do very often.

We had all the makings for a great day and it worked out well; Good Friends, Good Food and lots of laughter!!

Misc. Stuff

S is in his big boy bed now - no more crib! And we got our pics back from my friend today.... here are a few!

p.s. All photos on the this post are copyrighted images of maggiemcdonaldphotography

Easter Bunny!

We visited a local mall today to see the Easter bunny and ride the new double-decker carousal. Both Piper kids loved seeing the bunny. It was a lot longer wait than I had anticipated but they did very well. Here is the cute picture:

We followed up the bunny visit with a ride on a the new double-decker carousal. The kids thought this was so cool! Then a quick lunch before we headed to take my niece back home. It was so nice having her down here for the week. I love having her company. She is growing so quick and it seems there isn't enough time to talk of all the things we'd like to. After we got home, the kids played outside for a bit and then it was naptime. We are about to move S over to a big boy bed. So at naptime today, he slept in "Grandma's" bed and actually fell asleep!! I think this will be a goal for the weekend - to move around things in L's room to accommodate both beds. and officially make it "their" room.

Also something else that wasn't a normal for us - we went to Costco together!! A king's ransom later, we had a few things we have been needing and some yummy pizza for dinner.

Funny note: Grandma Piper sent L & S a package for Easter and it included chocolate. They had both had enough treats for the day so I said no more chocolate until tomorrow. S went to find Daddy to leave for Costco. Daddy noticed S was eating something and he asked what and S said chocolate to which Daddy responded that Mommy had said no more Chocolate and S said "Oh Well!"

L went to the Movies for the 1st time!

We took L to the movies for the first time today. I never thought she would sit still for a movie and low and behold, she did. We saw Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who (great movie!). She did so wonderfully, only got up once to use the restroom. She is ready for a return trip and keeps asking when she can see Cars Cars on the big screen!

S Can Count!!!

S can count!!!!! Yep - not quite 2 and can count to 10 by himself!!!!! This a big deal for us. L has been counting, naming colors, shapes & reciting the alphabet with ease since about 15-18 months old and S was so far behind her. Of course he developed physically quicker than she did, such as throwing and kicking a ball but still I was so worried. I know - I know.... you should never compare children but what mother doesn't, I ask? So now that he is learning his colors, ABC's and can truly count on his own, I feel better about the state of my world.

Sushi - YUM!

I went out with some friends last night and had my other pregnancy craving - sushi!! It was a fun evening. My niece is in town so she joined us. She had her first taste of edamame and sushi. She didn't like some of it. I am so proud of her for trying everything though! P.S. She drove us all the way to the sushi place - and we made it there in one piece!!

Naptime

One of the best things of being home with my babies is the naps. L didn't want to nap today so I laid down with her for about 20 minutes. I treasure the moments like this, snuggling with my "boo"!

Daddy's Bikini

It was a bit chilly here so the kids wanted hats on to play outside. L was wearing one of her daddy's beanies and yelled "I have a bikini on! I have my dad's bikini on" after a quick double take - I realized she meant she had her daddy's BEANIE on!!!!

Sick kiddo

L woke up today with a 102 fever. She had no other real "sickie" symptoms but expressed (very loudly!) that she didn't feel good. She pretty much spent the day laying around on the couch. She didn't eat much; snacked on pretzels and got come cereal hand fed by her mama. I pumped Tylenol and Motrin in her all day trying to combat the fever, to no avail. By dinner time, she was wore out, fighting this virus. She asked for a bath and stayed in there for an hour and half. She decided she was hungry so I even fed her soup while she was in the bath. She got such a kick out of this! She went to bed pretty easily. I sure hope the night is restful one for her.

On another note, S helped Daddy Piper replace the brakes on Mommy's van this afternoon/evening. Daddy Piper impressed me with his patience. He really took the time to explain all the questions S was asking. It was so wonderful to hear this exchange between father and son.

Having Neighbors

I didn't grow up with neighbors in the traditional sense. I always wanted to live in a real neighborhood but this evaded me until adulthood. How ironic that we purchased our current home not in a real neighborhood. We have a bit of land, which is very convenient for my husband but no real neighbors. This past summer 2 homes were built in the open lot behind our house and as of Christmas, we have neighbors. I couldn't be more excited! They have kids the same ages as ours and seem to be such nice people. We had an impromptu dinner with one of the families last night (they are brother/sister neighbors, having built on their dad's land). It was what I dreamt about as a child. Now my kids have neighborhood kids to play with. I am so happy with this! Their oldest daughter is the same age as L and they play so well together. I envision many happy memories with these girls as they grow up together! Thanks again Neighbor for the Mexican food to satisfy my cravings!!!!

Being a SAHM

"I am extremely lucky, blessed, and happy. Being a stay at home mom for 23 years has been the best....I DO realize how good I have it, and am not bragging, I am just thankful with all my heart that I am able to do this."

I read this on another blog today and could totally relate to the statement. I do consider myself so lucky to be home with my kids. Thanks Daddy Piper for being a hardworking hubby and make this dream come true possible for me!!

Shik-EN

So S is becoming more and more vocal by the day. His newest word is "Shik-En" which is supposed to be chicken but really sounds more like shit-en. L has him say it over and over because it sounds so funny!

We had playgroup with our mom's group today. These haven't been a common occurrence recently because most of the older kids are in preschool now so it makes it hard to get together. We had such a nice time!!! Also both kids got haircuts. S did so GREAT!!! He didn't cry. He kept telling the stylist "No Cry - Sucker". So when he got done with his haircut, he got his sucker. Of course, Miss L loves getting her haircut so this was fun for her. She also enjoyed a sucker after the haircut. Both kids napped well. Daddy Piper was late coming home from work - 6 o'clock. This is very late for him. The kids and I almost didn't know what to do with ourselves since he is usually home by 2 or 3. We played outside to help occupy the time. Just another nice day for this SAHM!

Nothing New Tuesday

Not much to report on lately. We did get to view our AMAZING pictures on Sunday. I ordered them already. Look for some pictures to be posted soon! Liz had school today. S and I made it to Taco Bell, finally! It hit my craving spot but we won't be back for awhile. Next up on the craving list - SUSHI!!!!

L had her end of soccer party tonight. What fun! The coach brought pizza, the kids got their pictures and wonderful praise from the coach for the great job they did this season!!

Spring Training 2008

We went to a Cubs-Diamondbacks Spring Training game today. It was a lot of fun! We had lawn seats and weren't able to see very much but it was still fun. The atmosphere was so kid-friendly so both L & S enjoyed themselves along with Mom and Dad. This morning was also L's last soccer game of the season. She has improved over the 8 weeks. Hopefully we'll be on the same team next season and we can have even more fun!

Field Trip Tuesday!

L's preschool had a field trip today to a local youth museum. We went as a family. What fun! There was a Jim Hensen exhibit and a Berenstain Bears exhibit. Both kids had a ball playing with all the interactive things. This was such an educational yet thrilling place for both age groups. Then Mommy had a dr. appt to check things out again. Actually just another u/s. Everything looks great! Baby had a strong heartbeat. We are on track for a 10/24 due date. That is the birthday of my honorary goddaughter. What are the chances of this?!!? But because I will have scheduled c-section, we'll go 2 weeks early to deliver. Hopefully anyway :-)

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life!

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary! We have been through many ups and not so many downs and through it all, I couldn't imagine anyone else I would want by my side. I love you Daddy Piper!

Park Fun

We went to the park today with our good friends, the K family. We have been hanging out for the last 2 years. We have watched all our babies grow from the younger 2 being like day old infants to now all 4 of them playing together! We went to a local park to hangout for the first time in a few weeks. We have missed this so much! It was windy when we got to the park and even talked of scrapping the park playdate because we were all cold. We hung in there though and it did warm up quite nicely. Everyone played so well together. We brought our lunch and had a picnic. I think the highlight of the park were the kites that Mama K brought with her. The little kites were very easy for the kids to get up by themselves so they had tons of fun with these! We had so much fun playing together. Both my kids napped for 3 hours after all the fun in the sun of the morning.

Happy Birthday Sis!

Today was my sister's 39th birthday. She lives about 75 miles from us. We don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like to, due to kids, work and the distance between us. I had tinkered with the idea of driving up to see her since today is her actual birthday. Our morning pretty much sucked around here so I thought "Why not?", packed some lunch for the drive, threw the kids in the van and hit the road. I am so happy that we did. It was one of the best times we have spent together in a long time. We totally surprised everyone. We drove up just as she got home and she saw us and said "Hey" and then looked again. She ran to the van and I couldn't get out fast enough. We hugged and cried together for awhile. It was so wonderful to be together again.

We had a great day, just hanging out. The kids all played together. Her babies are now 15 and 10 (time flies!) so my older niece really takes care of my kids when we gather. It's a nice break for me and my niece loves to be with my kids (I think so anyway!). After some awesome, quality time together, the kids and I headed home about 6. I would have stayed longer but it was dark and most of the drive home is mountainous so off we went.

Happy Birthday Sis!! I promise to make more trips like this. Thanks for a great day!!