Feeling Much Better

This little guy is feeling much better for the first time in over a month! For the past few days he's been 'worming' across the floor but today I'd call it army crawling and he's getting fast!! He hones in on cords rather quickly! So, I'm trying to get everything out of reach and out of sight! He also has started snacking on Cheerios but can't figure out how to pick them up yet so he needs assistance. He is so close to sitting up alone! And, he has started making this really cute fishy face and then smacks his lips like the sound of a kiss! If he wants my attention then he moans at me until I look at him and gives me the biggest grin. His little personality is popping out more and more!

Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day was great this year. After 1 1/2 months Briggs finally slept through the night until 7 am! That was the best! We were able to relax and just enjoy each other. Michael made us cinnamon toast and they gave me a gift certificate to a nail salon here so I will be cashing that in soon because Mama needs some time off! Both of our kids came down with hand, foot, & mouth disease last week (yes, another illness we get to deal with!) so we have been in lock down quarantine at our house. We didn't venture out to church because I do not want to infect anyone else! I think we will definitely be in the clear by Wednesday! As of yesterday, Piper was clear and Briggs' spots are significantly better! I have started the disinfecting process this morning! Every room is getting super cleaned! And, another reason to super clean--Briggs is on the move like a little worm. He can get to what he wants fairly quickly!
The most adventurous event of the day occurred last night. We had some super winds and they blew the vinyl siding off of the porte cochere...I'm trying to be fancy...the carport! Michael was out of town so you should have seen me running around like a crazy person trying not to blow away picking up siding pieces! I've got siding in the garage and siding in my house. A guy is coming today to look at it! My eyes are still irritated from all the dust and junk that blew out of the rafters! Luckily, I moved my car right before it happened so it wasn't a total disaster!

Piper is 3!

Piper turned three years old last Saturday! Wow, I can't even believe it! We had a 3 day celebration around here and she loved every second of it! On Thursday, I took miniature chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles and toy rings on them! She requested 'brown cupcakes' for her MDO. This was the best party. It lasted 10 minutes but she was in awe of the fact that I brought the cupcakes she asked for, they sang to her and that her teachers gave her a book, birthday hat, and a sucker! If the word 'fantastic' was in her vocabulary, I think she would have said it was a fantastic party!No, she doesn't have a missing tooth, it is just chocolate cupcake!!
Her friends at MDO.
Piper's sweet teachers, Ms. Shirley & Ms. Phyllis.
Then on Friday we had our friend birthday part at the park. Above is her dressed all cute in her birthday hat but it was too windy that day to wear the hat or to light her candles. Actually, it was too windy to even go to the park but our sweet friends braved it just for her.
This is Piper and Anna Kate eating their pink cupcakes and drinking juice. Piper asked for pink cupcakes for her park party! She didn't realize she could ask for a gift or something else. She just asked for cupcakes!
On Saturday (her actual birthday) we played it a lot more low key! The four of us went out for donuts, then at lunch she got another pink cupcake with the green candles she requested! We gave her an art easel and she loves it!
She did ask when/where her party was and if friends were coming so I think having two parties in a row confused her....why not have a 3rd! Ha!

I think my nose grew! This isn't the most flattering picture but we are making memories, right!!
After the donut shop, Daddy worked in the yard and Piper helped! It was a relaxing Saturday and I know Piper enjoyed it!
Happy 3rd Birthday to my precious little Piper. You are so ornery and strong willed but so sweet and sensitive at the same time! I love you to pieces!!

Briggs being big!

Briggs weighed in a whopping 21 pounds at the doctor last week at his check up! He is pneumonia free!!! He did, however, have his first ear infection. This poor guy isn't getting much of a break but he sure is happy despite his illnesses! He's getting better at sitting up but still hunches over! He did get up on all fours the other day for what seemed like minutes but was only seconds. Yikes, I'm not ready for a crawler! Being sick has spoiled him during the night b/c he is regularly getting up 1-2 times a night and I feel like a walking zombie some days. After this weekend, I will be starting baby boot camp! I'll need lots of coffee and chocolate to get me through b/c it's going to be tough listening to him cry it out as well as dealing with big sister getting awoken in the middle of the night or early in the morning! But, it's worth it in the long run b/c I love my sleep too much to let this continue!!

Easter 2011

For Easter, we stayed with my sister's family in Edmond. We went to their church, Henderson Hills Baptist on Saturday night. On Sunday morning the kids got to see what the Easter bunny left, which sadly, I forgot to get a picture of! We dyed eggs after that but had no hunt because it was raining! More family came in for the day and we ate a delicious meal prepared by my sister...she's a fabulous cook! It was a nice weekend! We also wrapped up our Resurrection eggs which was a huge hit with Piper. She's still asking to open eggs before bed! Happy Easter. HE is Risen!

Michael's birthday & Our first Easter egg hunt!

Michael turned 33 on April 15th which is the same day Briggs turned 6 months! He was able to take a fatigue day that night, which means he had another night off during this turnaround, making it his 3rd or 4th day off in about 1 1/2 months! We didn't party like crazy or anything! It was quite low key! Michael wanted Luigi's pepperoni pizza (best and cheapest pizza in town!) and for me to make him his favorite chocolate cake (that fell apart just a bit.) It's representative of my state of mind this month! So, we ate a lot, played with the kids and vegged out on the couch as we caught up on all our shows! He kept saying, "It's so nice to just lay on the couch and relax." He doesn't get to do that much. He gets home about 6 or 7am, goes straight to bed and then wakes up at 3 pm, plays with the kids, eats dinner, and leaves at 5:15 pm! Not much lounging going on! Poor guy! Piper has been a snugly bug lately. I love it!
The day before the birthday celebration we had a little Easter egg hunt with our OPAT group (Oklahoma Parents as Teachers).
Sweet boy just enjoying the view!
I didn't realize that Piper left the house in her hand-me-down, too big, on the wrong feet, flip flops! Nice!
Michael was able to go with us b/c it was about 45 minutes before he had to go to work! It was super windy that day and right after the hunt it started raining like mad, then hailing, then tornadoing...not a word I know but it seemed to flow nicely. The sirens were going off by the time I got home. Awesome!
Piper and Claire. This was the last smile I got from her because the hunt stressed her out. She still didn't totally understand the fun to be had in hunting eggs. I think it actually produces anxiety b/c of the pressure to find them even when they are laying in an open field not hidden! I am beginning to see this in her personality when it comes to learning and understanding things.

6 month picture comparison

Piper at 6 monthsBriggs at 6 months
Wow, she looks so much smaller. You can tell they have completely different skin coloring and hair. I'm afraid he is going to be my pale child. I looked back at my records and Piper weighed 16 lbs, 7 oz. at 6 months! Well, that's what he weighed when he was 2 months old! I'm laughing out loud right now! They have to same nose, same chin, and same cheeks, and maybe the same lips but I think his top one is going to be thinner than hers is. It's fun to compare them at the same age!

Briggs is 6 months!

I can't believe my baby is 6 months already! He is an extremely happy baby even when he's teething and sick! He loves watching his sister and pretty much any person at that. He's only been afraid of people on a couple of times. He does love his mama very much!!! He is in a size 4 diaper still but very close to a size 5. At night, he wears a size 6 to prevent any leaks! He wears a 24 month romper and 18 month pj's. He's in 12 month pants but they are too long and almost too tight in the tummy! He rolls over but not constant rolling to get anywhere. He scoots across the floor to get what he wants! He is always chewing on a toy! He cannot sit up even in the boppy pillow. He's too heavy for that! And, his cute chubby thighs won't allow him to sit in a bumbo seat because they get stuck! But he does great in his high chair and his jumperoo. He only sits in a bouncer seat at church because every time I put him in ours he is not a fan! He loves being on his tummy and does the 'airplane' a lot. He is a drool machine!! His first tooth came in two weeks ago and his second one just popped through! He is suppose to be (and was) nursing 4 times a day and eating 3 solid meals also but when he became sick with bronchitis and then pneumonia he has been getting an additional 2-3 nursing periods in the middle of the night. I do not know how much he weighs yet but my guess is he'll weigh in close to 22 pounds. Piper barely weighed 20 lbs when she turned 1!!! His hair is light, blonde and I am pretty sure his eyes are going to stay blue! He jabbers and says dadadada all the time and a very 'airy' hi. When sister is not around he squeals and growls a lot! When she's around he's much more quiet! So far, he's eaten squash, carrots, peas, green beans, and sweet potatoes for veggies. And, peaches, pears, and bananas for fruits along with rice cereal as a daily staple! He gobbles up his food quite quickly! Piper is going to have to learn to eat faster because brother will be stealing her food pretty soon! To brag on him, every time I pick him up for the nursery at church they say, "He's such a happy guy. He's so easy going."etc...but on Sunday night Ms. Mary said, "I want to know what you ate while you were pregnant b/c I think every mom should eat what you ate so that their babies would be as good as he is!" Too bad it wasn't that easy! He still has pneumonia but the xrays, today, showed that it has improved 50% and we will begin breathing treatments tomorrow. We are so ready to be back to great health and sleeping through the night once again! Despite his illness, he is still a super happy little guy! I love him so much!

Our Resurrection Eggs!

Before I talk about the eggs---this sleeping prince has pneumonia!! Sniff, sniff! Thankfully, it's just in the early stages and the doctor said that it's viral so antibiotics can't really do anything for it. So it kind of has to run it's course, but I've got to keep a close eye on him and do a few things to help break it up. If it gets worse I'm to page the doctor; otherwise, we will be going back for a second chest x-ray on Monday. I mentioned earlier that he had bronchitis and it got better but then Sunday and Monday night the coughing got worse so I called Tuesday morning and explained the symptoms. 1 hour later, the nurse called and directed me to go to the hospital for a chest x-ray. I was a bit scared! Finally, today I found out the results. He is acting great during the day. You wouldn't know anything was really wrong other than the occasional cough and rattle in his back and chest, but night time is harder for sure! Now for our Resurrection eggs! I borrowed this from these two blogs, The Macs and Breezy Acres Farm and this website here! Anyway, before you get to thinking I'm so on the ball and just a super woman...I'M NOT! I really wanted to purchase the store bought version and do it the easy way but forgot I was going to do that b/c of all the crazy stuff going on right now so I scrambled around to figure out how I could make my own b/c I feel like it's important, especially this year, to begin preparing Piper for Easter since we have so much Easter bunny stuff going on, which I think is really fun too! It would have been much easier to purchase them but I'm patting myself on the back that I actually accomplished a crafty/learning thing! If you looked at my house right now you'd be saying, "Oh, Honey. Can I help you?" because you'd feel sorry for us that me and my family are living in such disarray! I'm not kidding! I didn't do ours exactly like those websites and I'd show you what I did exactly but 'copy and paste' isn't working on blogger right now! Tonight I started it with Piper at bedtime and explained that we get to do something special every night before bed, etc...She was so thrilled! I read her The Story of Easter book we have and then started with Egg #1 which contained a donkey to represent the story of Jesus' triumphal entry and we read Matthew 21:1-9. Piper listened okay and then here is a summation of our dialogue...P-"We loooove Jesus." S-"Yes we do." P-"Where is Jesus?" S-(w/out getting too deep) "He is in Heaven watching over us." P-"When will we see him?" S-"Soon I hope" (thinking to myself, "sooner I hope considering this crazy week!!") P-"We will see him on Friday!!" (in her 'I know I'm right...this is an exact fact'..kind of voice!) She can be so ornery but this melts me!!

Hoppin' Around

I think the title of this post explains it all...we've been hopping all over the place the past few weeks while Michael is busy with turnaround. It's been fun but I'm ready to relax at home for a bit!
We went to Clinton and stayed with Chandra and with Grammy. Chandra and I were able to get pedicures together thanks to Rusty and Sherry for watching our kiddos. Ahhh, so relaxing! Piper, Lilly, Chandra, and I went to the ballet in Weatherford and Piper LOVED it! She has been talking about it for 2 weeks now!
Piper and Grammy before we left for the ballet. What is that weird face Piper!!
Briggsy bear is so cool! So laid back and easy going. But, he's had a rough couple of weeks getting his first tooth and then getting diagnosed with bronchitis! This week he's about to get his second tooth and the coughing isn't cleared up still! We haven't slept through the night in two weeks and Mama is tired!!!
I cut Piper's hair! It's short! No more piggies in the back.
We stayed with our cousins, Jonah & Maggie last weekend. Piper had so much fun! I helped host a bridal shower for my sister-in-law, Natalie. She's getting married in June! During the shower, Piper got to hang out with her uncle, grandpa, cousin, and future uncle and was delighted!! When I told her she was going to go w/Uncle Matt, Jonah, and Grandpa her eyes got so big and she said, "I get to be with 3 boys!!??!!" Oh brother! Her love of guys has not diminished!!
And, she has been loving her new jammies from grandma and grandpa because "they have short sleeves!" It's the little things in life that excite her!!