Happy New Year!

2011 is off to a great start for our family! We are busy watching Piper get bigger each day and now she is smiling and trying to talk to us. Those coos are my favorite sound to hear each day. The girls love to see if they can get her to smile at them. She loves them both! But I will say my heart melts each time I change her diaper in the family room and she looks over at a picture of Lily that just happens to be at her eye level right now - she will totally smile and coo at her picture. It is so amazing that she already knows and recognizes her big sisters.

We had a great New Years Eve with our friends at their annual bash - the girls rang in the new year dancing and playing until after 1 am. The highlight would have to be watching Jason and a few other dads dancing to "It's Raining Men" on the Wii dance game - we laughed so hard. But I think my man got the highest score for his dancing - I was so proud. Piper was there with us, but she crashed and slept through most of the fun. And only in Texas can you spend the first weekend of the New Year swimming!!




This week Piper turns 2 months! The time has gone so fast. She is still trying to master the pacifier, but is too lazy to keep it in all by herself. She prefers for me to rock her and hold it in for her. I have to admit she is quite spoiled!! She is not a fan of being put down - she wants to be held and carried around. Tonight I figured out that putting her in the baby bjorn is the best way to get dinner on the table. She was so happy hanging out with me as I prepared dinner for the girls. Piper already knows she is the baby of the family and plans to take full advantage of the attention. :)

Christmas Time

It is a magical time of year when we you have a new baby in the house for Christmas. We have had so much fun getting to know Piper and making her part of the family. I love to sit and watch Lily as she talks her own version of baby talk to Piper. She runs in the house any time she leaves to give her hugs and kisses and tell her how much she missed her. Mia has become my big helper, and loves to give Piper her bottle and burp her. She is quite handy to have around when I am trying to make dinner and Piper wants to eat. I am amazed how big Lily and Mia seem to me now...they are growing up so fast. I want to slow time down because I want Piper to stay small forever. But since she started at 9 lbs, she is getting big super fast!!

We had a nice quiet family Christmas Eve - we went to a Nativity production at a local church. The girls were excited to see the camels, sheep, donkey and elephants that come onto the stage during the show. The music is wonderful, and it sets the stage for a great Christmas spirit in our home. Christmas morning there was lots of presents to open from Santa. Piper was awake to see her stocking and a few presents, but then slept through the rest of it. Mia and Lily spent the day going from one gift to another...and mom and dad spent the day opening boxes, putting together toys and hunting down batteries. Next year Santa needs to make a note of all the batteries needed so we don't have to call neighbors looking for the right sizes. :) Finally, around 5pm we finally got dressed and went to our neighbors for dessert. We missed our family, and having a white Christmas in UT, but it was peaceful just being with the five of us. And even with all the new toys, I think the girls were still the most interested in playing with Piper - she is still like a fun little doll for them and is the best Christmas present of all.

Getting ready for the Nativity program.

Putting out cookies for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.


Piper and her stocking.


Christmas morning. :)


Our Christmas girls!!

Having Piper Home and Giving Thanks!!

So this is a late post, but I wanted to share some of the having Piper home, and our wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. My mom was still in town helping with the kids, grocery shopping and cooking a delicious meal. I was busy feeding, sleeping and adjusting to being a mom of an infant again. Our holiday wasn't quite complete because my dad couldn't make it into town -he discovered a few days before he was supposed to come to TX that he has shingles, so he couldn't come and be near the baby. So sad!! We missed him so much, and Thanksgiving wasn't the same without him. But he promised to be on a flight as soon as he could. (And we was - he came last weekend to see his newest granddaughter.)

The girls have been so good with the baby! And Piper is a great baby. I hate to say it because I know that can change at any moment, but all she does it eat and sleep (and poop)!! She typically only gets up once a night to eat, so I am able to get some rest at night. I am a believer in those big, cuddly babies - they are cute and content. Mia and Lily can't stand that she sleeps so much, they are just ready for her to play.

Here are some photos:

PIPER SOPHIA RAY

Well, she is finally here!! Precious little Piper joined our family on November 18th at 7:18 am, weighing in at 9.2 lbs and 20 inches long!! She is beautiful. We were all shocked at how big she was, but she is perfect and we love every pound of her. I was in the hospital Thursday - Sunday, so the girls came up each day to check in on their new little sister. My mom was home keeping things going at the house, and Jason was with me at the hospital most of the time. I just enjoyed the quiet time alone in the hospital holding and bonding with Piper, knowing that when I got home the quiet, peaceful time was over. We are so blessed to have added another wonderful baby girl to our family!







Mia and Lily just adore her, but are ready for her to do more than just eat, sleep and poop. Lily loves to help change her diapers (even the poopy ones) and gives her lots of hugs and kisses. Mia just wants to hold her all the time. They are being so kind and sweet with her - they will be the best big sisters ever!!

BIRTHDAY DAY!!

On November 6 both Jason and Lily have a birthday, and this year was a biggie!! My sweet husband is now FORTY!! For months I have schemed and dreamed up party ideas, but Jason made it clear that they only thing he wanted on his big day was to watch his beloved Utes play TCU. No party, no hoopla, etc. Boring! But I have to admit, being 38 weeks pregnant and not at all interested in entertaining, cooking or cleaning - I happily agreed to his plan. We decided to keep it a low-key family day. However, sweet Lily was not so excited about the days plans. She woke up that morning and started asking when her friends were coming over for a party. I had to remind her that she already had her birthday party and that today we were going to party as a family! She quickly responded, "I do not like that kind of party!" Sorry Lily. Jason and Lily got pancakes with candles for breakfast and then we opened presents. Lily quickly forgot her party woes when she opened her new scooter and hurried out the door to ride it - now she can finally keep up with the big kids. She and Mia spent that rest of the day outside playing with their friends. Jason got to enjoy the football game in peace (and with his favorite tacos), while mom got to rest. What a great birthday.

The birthday breakfast buddies!


Opening presents...and so proud to be 4.


The new scooter.


Ok, so have I mentioned what great neighbors/friends we have? Our friends knew I hadn't planned much (and I think they felt sorry for Jason), so they planned a fantastic dinner for us at their house. It was so wonderful!! The kids played, and we got to eat a nice dinner and chat. I did do some baking and made Jason's favorite key lime pie and Lily wanted chocolate cake - so they each had their own dessert for candles after dinner! With all of Lily's chocolate requests this week we are all sick of chocolate, for now. :) Bring on Thanksgiving and some good old pumpkin pie.



I had to add this picture - it is Lily with her birthday crown on (again) and finishing off her cherished chicken nuggets for lunch of Saturday. What a precious birthday girl. :)



Getting through these birthdays was the last thing on my list before this baby comes!! Now I am just counting the days until we have a new little girl in the family. So stay tuned - I hope to be posting baby photos soon.

Pre-Birthday Party

Lily had her birthday party a few days before her actual birthday this year. She really wanted to go bowling, but since I have a huge bowling ball inside my belly there is no way I wanted to do that. So, I convinced her to have a painting party at the kids art shop, and she jumped all over it! No matter what we did she was certain that it had to be decorated with My Little Pony and she wanted chocolate cupcakes! She is a girl who knows what she wants!! We had a great day. She had 8 little friends come and pick a ceramic piece to paint...and they all created masterpieces to take home. Of course there was some play time, cupcakes and presents, too. Here are a few shots from the party and our little Lily, that isn't so little anymore now that she is FOUR.






On Friday she got to be the Birthday Queen at school, and I brought treats for her class - this time her request was chocolate brownies with sprinkles. I bought her a birthday headband that got tossed aside for the paper crown her teachers gave her to wear for the day. She wore her birthday crown home and went outside to play with her friends, refusing to take off the crown. She even pulled it out again on Saturday to wear.



For dinner I surprised her with her favorite meal - McD's nuggets and fries for the whole family (to try and be healthy I did make some coleslaw, which of course no one ate). Did you know they have a 50 piece nugget family meal deal? At first Jason thought I was crazy, but believe it or not - we finished off a good amount on Friday night, and then the kids ate the rest for lunch the next day. It sounds gross now, but at the time it was kind of fun. :)

TRICK-or-TREAT

Finally, the time for more candy than our family will ever consume in one year!! The girls looked so adorable in their costumes - Mia chose to be a cupcake and Lily wanted to use the clown costume that Mia wore a few years ago. It was dad's turn to do the walking around the neighborhood since mom is too big and pregnant for the job this year. They were gone for a long time and returned with bags full of candy. Even today when I ask Mia what she wants to eat her first response is, "Candy from my bag!" and it is usually followed with me saying something like, "That is not an option right now. Would you like a sandwich?" We have two little girls that LOVE sugar (especially chocolate) - who needs protein and vegetables??

Mia posing as our cutie cupcake!


The girls and friends ready to start to the fun!




Lily and Russ - our great neighbor, and the girls like to call him "uncle Russ." He turned 50 on Halloween.

Lily and Annie back with their loot, and trying a little of it all. I love the sugar smiles!!