Piper's First Birthday (a shutterfly photobook)

Here is a completed photobook of Piper's first birthday :) Cousin Robbie got some GREAT shots and I had a ton of fun reminiscing about our baby girl's special day as I created this book. More details to come when I can catch up on this stinkin' blog! LOL!

Enjoy...

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Family Pictures - Piper at 6 Months!

Here are some recent pictures of our precious baby girl! Enjoy!

(more blogging coming soon :) )

Piper is 4 Months Old Today!!!

Our little girl is 4 months old now, 14.4 pounds, 25.5 inches long, and currently has her first ear infection :( She's taking an antibiotic to help clear it up, but its thick and not very tasty... she tries to spit it out each time so she ends up wearing more of it than what she ingests! The doctor said the infection was actually quite bad and that Piper was certainly one tough and tolerant little girl. One positive side-effect of the antibiotic - - she's sleeping eight to ten hours through the night now :) It's freaked Tyler and me out since we're not used to her sleeping more than about six hours at a time... so we're both out of bed several times to check on her each night... making sure she'd still breathing! EEK!

Piper spends more and more time on her tummy every day and is much happier about it than before. She seems to really "See" things now, in focus, and loves anything that rattles (especially the baby bouquet that her great-aunt and great-uncle Lahti gave her). She is definitely teething but we cannot see anything breaking the surface yet... but she chews on anything she can find, including toys, blankets, clothes, and even her own fingers... so much so that she gets open sores :(

Tyler and I are having so much fun Christmas shopping for her - getting nice warm clothes... long-sleeve onesies, pants and socks! We went to visit Santa on December 22nd at Macy's. We arrived right at 9PM and were nearly the last family in line, but we made it! The picture turned out okay - no big smiles, but no tears either - so a positive first Santa experience. We have no idea what she asked Santa for... he probably doesn't either... so we're ALL excited to see what he brings! LOL!

And... for now... her eyes are still big, beautiful, and BLUE :)

TEETHING!

3 Months Old :)

Piper is getting SO BIG!

She officially holding her head firm and steady all on her own. She still loves to stand and locks her legs and pushes HARD! It's crazy how strong she is... She is smiling more than ever - and has the cutest grin :) We've managed to keep her happy and healthy - no extra trips to the pediatrician yet - knock on wood. She likes her car seat and the car less and less. I'm beginning to wonder if it just doesn't soothe her like it soothes other babies? She especially despises car rides at night - is she afraid of the dark? Too warm all bundled in the car seat? Maybe it's just a phase... or maybe this is a sign that all car rides will be difficult?? I guess we couldn't get a *perfect* baby now could we?!? LOL!

Piper certainly loves the sound of her father's voice. Tyler has one of the booming voices that really fills a room when he speaks. He commands attention and Piper is especially distracted if I'm trying to get her to focus on other activities, like eating... She recognizes his voice from across the room and scans any crowd to locate him. It's very sweet - she's obviously a daddy's girl already - he's lucky he got her this early ;-P

We haven't heard the sweet sounds of real giggles just yet, but we're close! We can't wait to see her really crack up... Her latest fascination is the monkey mobile her Grandma Stacie and Grandpa Jon bought her. They have the same one at their house and she just STARES intently for several minutes at a time as the monkeys cruise around in circles to the tune of Rock-A-By-Baby. It's really precious to watch her focus on something for that long. You can tell she's trying so hard to comprehend what on earth it is and how it works... and where the noise is coming from...

We had our first Halloween (complete with black cat onesie, orange and yellow striped socks, and a balck glittered tutu), needless to say... we're still finding glitter in the oddest of places :) We also had our first video-chat with Grandpa Butchie and Grandma Kili (Kris). Technology is so awesome. I love that they can see their granddaughter in action from 1500 miles away... and hear her coo's... and that she can begin to recognize their faces and voices so she understands they are present in her life more than just once or twice a year when we actually get to visit in person.

We're so excited for more upcoming "firsts"; we have a trip planned to Sedona with Nana and Don (her first night away from home) and then its right on to Thanksgiving and Christmas! What an amazing time in our lives - we are so GRATEFUL!

And a final note I just can't forget to mention... mommy's favorite... I just love when her eyelids begin to turn purple (a sure sign that she's exhausted - and a BIG help to a new mom). Her eyelids get so heavy and she just passes out in my arms. What a life!

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed today @ 3 mos. :)

Piper @ 2 Months

Piper's second month celebration was bittersweet. We spent the day in the hospital with her Grandma Stacie (Tyler's mom) while she underwent a double-mastectomy for breast cancer that was detected just a few weeks earlier. Her doctors caught it in time to reduce all risk and she doesn't need to have radiation or chemotherapy. Thank goodness... this is her second battle with cancer and she's come out kicking both times!

Piper is almost 12 pounds now and 24 inches long! That means she'd grown an average of two inches per month since her birth date. At this rate, she'll outgrow me before she's two years old! LOL! Her legs are starting to fill out and her face is rounding... her eyes are a beautiful dark blue and, according to the pediatrician, not likely to change color. Strange... Tyler and I each have an aunt with blue eyes... but that is it... we're curious to see if this eye-color sticks around or if they'll eventually turn green/hazel like our own.

Our little girl smiles ALL THE TIME... and with that new round face and those baby blues, she's beginning to look almost identical to my baby pictures. I'll have to post a comparison... its a trip! But she also waffles back and forth between looking Tyler and looking like me. We get many compliments about how she is a perfect mix of both of our traits... we're so excited to watch her grow!

She received two vaccines at the pediatricians office this month and handled it like a champ! It barely phased her and she didn't any Tylenol to ease the pain (a very proud moment for us). She still has the "fresh milk" small and her skin is so soft we can't help but snuggle her all the time.

I've started back in the office part-time and I'm working the rest of my regular hours from home. It's been wonderful to have the extra time to transition... I won't need to go back to the office full-time until January :) When I do head into the office for a few hours each week, its difficult not to obsess about Piper! I think of her constantly and miss her so much... even for just a few short hours. It helps knowing she's in wonderfully loving and capable hands with Tyler's cousin Robbie, who's offered to be our care provider since we'll both continue working. Robbie just adores her! When she's at home with me and I'm working she spends many hours asleep in her cradle swing from Grandpa Maxon. I'm grateful that she's such a good sleeper and that I'm able to get so much done from home...

Here she is smiling at 2 months. Filling out and
starting to look and act like a real baby :) She's lost a
lot of that awkward newborn-ness.

Piper at 4 Weeks Old

Piper is already 4 weeks old - we cannot believe it! How quickly 4 weeks goes with a new baby...

She weighs nearly 10 pounds now and is so long and skinny. She is still wearing newborn diapers, but has outgrown one set of pajamas and a single onesie already :) She is very aware of her surroundings, holds her head up well (although still a bit wobbly) and her current fixation is light. Any type of fixture in the house - whether on or off is something to stare at and study.

She already likes to "stand" in our laps for as long as we'll let her, but we've been advised not to allow it too often as her leg bones are still developing and cannot withstand her weight and pressure and may bow if exposed to too much standing - Yikes!

She is exclusively breastfed and lost her umbilical cord stump in during her first bath this week. She loves music (thank goodness... she gets it from her dad) and it lulls her to sleep anywhere she hears it. She has sweet, soft peach fuzz on the backs of her ears... perhaps it help channel the tunes to the ear drum?

She must be constantly moving - whether its in her swing, on a car ride across town to Grandma's house, or just hanging out in someone's arms... movement must happen! We've already started "tummy time" with her as well and she loves exploring her play mat. She's even rolled over with her daddy's help! And she's smart enough already to mimic so she rolled immediately back over all on her own :)

We're getting about a solid 6 hour sleep with her each night - not bad for new parents!! She's a great baby - very happy, very content, very able to entertain herself for the small amounts of time she's actually awake. We're so fortunate... we've had a very easy adjustment so far.

Our favorite part... her grunts! You can just see her working her bowels and we love her shameless little farts! LOL! The epic runny poops on the other hand... well... we'll just leave you with that image :)

Here she is at 1 month old... we'll be taking a picture like this one

every month and hope you'll follow along to see how much she grows

into her onesie and how tall and full she gets compared to her

sock monkey friend :)

Piper is HERE!

Piper has arrived! She is the best thing that has ever happened to us and we're so thrilled to share her with you! More updates, pictures, and videos - coming soon!!

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