More Rain

We had more rain this evening. Here are the kids out playing in it again:




This picture is taken just as a huge crack of thunder scared the kids:


It was a nice day. We had a weird morning though. I had some pregnancy complications (more of the same old, same old - just needed to rest some and it got better) and then S got super crabby for some reason. I held him for awhile after his daddy had a turn holding him and he fell asleep on me. It was uber weird for him to fall asleep @ 9:45 AM!!! He slept until 11:30. We got to thinking this afternoon that maybe it was the multiple ant bites he got yesterday that made him so sleepy this morning. We still don't quite understand it but he has been fine all afternoon. L and I went grocery shopping together this morning. It was so much fun to shop with her. She helped read off the list and marked things off as we added them to our cart. It was great mommy/daughter time for us! Then after lunch, her and I napped while the boys hung out outside and enjoyed the nice weather. We do have one thing we need to nip in the bud and that's her attitude. I didn't realize that the crabby, snotty attitude would start at age 4. Any tips? With all the rain, Daddy Piper's work is canceled for tomorrow. With the steady work over the past 12 weeks, it's been so nice not to have that worry on my mind but now with it dwindling a bit, that worry has creeped up on me again. Nothing that worrying is going to help - that's for sure. But still, I worry just the same...

Family Day

We spent yet another day as a family today. ALL day as a matter of fact and it was fun. Yep - FUN, can you believe it?! Daddy Piper got up with the kids this morning at the crack of dawn and I slept in. I only slept about another hour, not like last week :-) I got up and made blueberry pancakes. We all decided to go with to see S play soccer today so we got ready and headed out. S did great at soccer today. He followed direction very well. It is so fun to watch him out there. He such athletic ability already. L and I had a blast watching him play. Then we went to lunch at Quizno's, an after soccer fav. We came home and got ready to play in the pool for awhile. We spent about 2 hours out there. It was so nice. The weather was gorgeous and the water was a perfect temp for splashing around. L is doing great at going under the water. She will do it all by herself now. It's weird how last summer she wouldn't go under for anything but would jump off the side without a problem and this summer it is the exact opposite. No jumping in but will go under for long periods of time! S is a power kicker. He grabs a noodle and swims all around the pool by himself. I think the next session of lessons, we are going to sign him up too. Should be fun!! After swimming, we came in and took a nap. The kids slept about 3 hours - HOLY COW!! We had a typical summer dinner - grilled brats, french fries and watermelon, with that yummy fruit dip. We went back out and played for a bit outside since the weather was just wonderful this evening. Shower, books and off to bed. It was a wonderful, relaxing day for everyone. L seemed to be in a "mood" off and on today but we worked through it. S is still having a stuttering problem but again nothing we can't handle with great days like today!!

We had some sad news today that a dear friend of mine, one of my best friends, had to take their new baby girl back to the hospital today because her bilirubin levels rose. She needs to be under that special light until they can get them back down. Please keep her in your thoughts!!

Thank you God for my family you have blessed me with. Help me to be a more patient, loving wife and mother and help me to treasure the golden days like today. Please watch over and protect new baby Anna. I know you have her in your loving arms. Please give her mama strength to get through this little hurdle and bring the baby home safe.

Rain, Rain Come Again TODAY

We got a crazy rainstorm last night. The kids slept through the whole thunder/lighting episode! Today they had fun playing in the rain puddles up front. The close-up of their faces is when an airplane came over head. My babies LOVE airplanes!!

Typical Day

We had a pretty ordinary day around here. Started out with L going to swim lessons and then we met some friends at this indoor play land thing, which totally sucked. Parents really need to watch their kids. It is not my job to watch your kid while you sit around gossiping with your friends. We came home and had lunch, watched a movie and napped. It was nice to get some much needed paperwork done this afternoon with Daddy Piper. The only downside to the day was L deciding she would rather go to daycare than stay home with Mommy since it looks like they have fun at that daycare place. It really hurt my feelings but she's 4 and of course daycare looks fun. They were playing with a parachute for goodness's sakes :-) Oh and the other downside was S pooped in the shower - GROSS!! It must have been an accident but still - not real fun to clean up. It reminded of the time when L was about 1 or 2 months old and pooped in the tub with me while I was bathing her. Totally grossed me out then too!

Stuttering...

Way back in Oct of 2006, we rented a cabin up North for the weekend. Long story short, L fell into a cactus and got some stickers in her body. Her dad wasn't too happy with the poor listening job she was doing while he tried to remove the stickers and ended up yelling AND spanking her. It was a first for both from him to her. She was devastated. The next morning, she woke up stuttering. I was very concerned since she had always talked so well. I really thought it was a reaction to the traumatic situation of having daddy spank and yell at her. We called the dr on call and was assured that this was probably normal but if she showed other signs of a head trauma to take her to the ER. She seemed fine except the stuttering. We came home early from our trip because we were so worried. She even noticed the change in her speech and commented "Why am I talking funny?". Okay this was going to be a long story short but guess not. After taking her to the dr and having a friend talk to her speech therapist and long hours of research on the Internet, it was determined this was completely normal and even more so from an above average smart child whose mind is simply processing things faster than their tongue can spit them out. Well today - S started stuttering. Pretty much at the same time as L did (28 months for her - 27 1/2 months for him). We were on way to get a coffee while L was in dance and he started. He didn't really notice it himself until we were home and he was using the potty and was trying to say "I all done" but kept saying "I, I, I, I, I" a bunch of times. I was not worried in the least time since having already been through this. He finally looked up at me and said "Mama, help me talk" and started to cry! I felt so bad for him but was laughing at the same time. He looked so sad there sitting on his little potty, naked as can be and crying because he couldn't say what he wanted to say. We got him cleaned up and had some snuggle time while I talked with him about the stuttering, trying to explain it to him (that it was okay, etc.). He didn't stutter the rest of the evening. He got caught up on a few words but slowed down and took his time and that seemed to help. I felt so calm and relaxed this time, having already been through the situation with L 2 years ago. It got me to thinking about other things. I am so much harder on her than I am on him. I really need to relax and let her be a child. I expect so much from her, since she acts and speaks like she is so much older than 4. I really need to relax and enjoy her. AWWW - Motherly guilt. I don't think it will ever change.

Bedtime Storytime

One of my favorite times of the day with the kids is bedtime. I LOVE snuggling in their bed and reading books. We usually gather on L's bed (more comfy with my big belly) and read 2 books, one for each child. For some reason, we had got out of the habit of bedtime reading awhile back and I missed it. We read books throughout the day but the bedtime book had gone to the wayside. Fortunately, we are back into the habit again. (As I type this, the baby inside my belly is letting me know he/she enjoys it too or I think that is what all this kicking means!) I enjoy reading books and hope this nightly reading instills a love of reading into my children as well.

We also have taken a more scheduled approached to homeschooling lately and began a letter of the week program last week. This week the letter is "B". S can recognize the letter and tell me the sound. I have L reading words that begin with the letter. We all take turns trying to write the letter and color a picture that has the letter on it. Any advice on homeschooling is welcomed!!

Congratulations to New Baby F

Another of my best friends in the whole world gave birth to healthy baby girl today. Congratulations to the F family on their newest addition!!!!

More Potty Training Part???

S is doing WONDERFUL going potty all by himself. It is a such a huge event when a toddler is potty trained. I never understood the significance of it until I had one of my own potty trained and now both of my babies are potty trained. I still put a diaper on S during naps and at bedtime but he is waking up dry after naps, so that will change soon. The sticker potty chart has worked again for the Piper Family!

More Movie Time

We (yes Daddy Piper came along!) took the kids to the movies today. We saw the new movie Kung Fu Panda and both kids did amazingly well sitting through the movie. They really love the movies. It was a fun time for everyone!!

Baby #3

So I went to bed right after my last post and laid there and BAM this baby started kicking like crazy. I realized that I haven't wrote much about this pregnancy. Probably because it has been mostly uneventful, unlike the other 2. I LOVE feeling my babies kick inside me. It is the most incredible feeling and impossible to describe. I am so lucky to get to experience this one more time. I know this will be our last baby (unless I can get some miracle advice on how to change my hubby's mind!!) so I am trying to enjoy every minute of it. Being pregnant is completely awesome and being pregnant without complications - a true blessing!!

Happy 4th of July 2008!

We skipped the trip to ND this year in lieu of going back for a graduation in May. I was totally bummed about this. 4th of July is the best time of year to be in ND!! L kept asking about the parade and Art in the Park. We will try our best to make it up there next year. That's when we plan to have the new baby baptized as well. Anyway, our 4th ended up being pretty fun after all. We started the day out in the pool for a couple of hours (we had a water fight - boys against the girls and the girls kicked butt!) (oh and L is totally afraid of the water, way more AFTER 2 weeks of swim lessons than ever before, what's that all about??) and then had a yummy lunch with watermelon and fruit dip (perfect summertime treat) and naps. When we all woke up refreshed, we played some games and put puzzles together as a family. This evening we had brats and pasta salad for dinner. We let the kids stay up waaaaaayyyy past bedtime to watch New York's fireworks on TV. Daddy Piper thought it was going to be too stormy here for fireworks but they went off without a hitch. We climbed up on the roof and watched them. L was pretty scared to climb up on the roof in the dark so I said I would stay on the ground with her but she got brave and we joined the boys up on the roof. This was so nice!!!! So peaceful, being together the 4 of us, watching the beautiful fireworks all around us (and some lightning too!!). It was such a relaxing day, from start to finish. I feel so blessed to have such a family!!

Drowning (or rather going under)

I have sat and wondered what I would do if S were to go under the water while watching L get swim lessons over the last 2 weeks. I wondered if I would freak or just calmly get him out and go about our business - well now I know. S fell in the water today while at L's swim lessons. We usually play on the step across from the area where she is getting lessons. The steps are about 1 1/2 feet deep. It has worked out well. S gets to splash around and play and I get to stay cool in this 110 heat without bearing my swelling body to the world in an unflattering maternity swimsuit. Today - he reached for a toy and went headfirst into the pool. I just hopped down, scooped him up and back to splashing and playing we go. He wasn't even upset or freaked out. Just shook his head a bit to clear the water and continued playing. Guess I know now what kind of mama I would be in an emergency - calm, cool and collected.

p.s. L calls going under the water "drowning" hence the title of this post. No one drowns around here on my watch!!

Thank you God for watching over my babies and keeping us all safe in your loving arms.

Dress-up

The kids played dress-up today. Guess it's time to get S some "boy" stuff to play with....



Boy dress-up clothes just don't seem as fun as girl ones. I think that will make a good potty prize soon!

Siblings

It was the funniest thing today. S followed L around and did everything she did and it was driving her BONKERS! I laughed out loud for a good 2 minutes watching her try to get away from him to no avail. I had to take a break from finishing this story to go get S off the potty. He went poo and decided to wipe himself, resulting in poo all over his potty chair and the toilet - YUCK! Okay done for now - off to paint with the kids!!