Piper's 1st Easter

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! These powerful words brought tears to my eyes each time I spoke them in church today. Being a parent now, it seems so unimaginable to be able to lovingly sacrifice your child for the sins of others! And, that is exactly what God did with his one and only Son, Jesus, so that my sins would be covered and I could spend eternity in Heaven with Him! Oh, I pray that our children come to know and understand the message of Hope that we have in Christ.

We had a great Easter weekend! Grammy & Papa John came for a visit. We ate at two yummy restaurants in the Ardmore area (Cafe Alley and McGehees Catfish) and Grammy helped me with a project that I'm working on for Piper's room. I can't wait to finish and show you pics! Today, we went to church and came home and ate a delicious lunch prepared by yours truly! (haha!) We didn't give Piper any eggs or 'Easter Bunny' stuff. I don't think she would have understood! I am proud to say that I sewed Piper's dress! It's pretty cute and a little big so she'll be able to use it for a while!
We 'snuck' a bow in her hair just for these pics! She knew it was there but we were able to distract her long enough to pose!

"Hey! Where's my eggs??"

Piper's Easter Dress...I purchased this pattern on Etsy. The fabric was pre-cut and detailed directions were included, but it still took me a week to complete and help from a neighbor!

The backside of the dress as she crawls away!

Uh-Oh!

This past week, Piper began sitting up in her crib when she woke up in the morning. These pics were taken the 1st morning it happened. I like that she can sit up in her crib now, b/c she plays w/her stuffed animal a little bit and it's fun to hear her talking and singing in her bed while I get things around before getting her out of bed! The downside to it has been that she has fought her naps a little bit b/c she can sit up and scream now! But, she's getting in the swing of things!

One Month to Live Challenge video

Okay, quick post...Clinton, OK (where Michael's mom lives) just completed this book "One Month to Live" and it was featured this morning on CBS Early Show. Studying this book took place as a community-wide event organized through the ministerial alliance. Sherry has told me a little bit about the study and it sounds great! John and Sherry did not make it to the taping of this show...they were in bed! :-)

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4905842n

11 Months!

Okay, so the 11 month pics aren't the best but it's the best I could get that day! Piper is NOT into posing for the camera and she is NOT into wearing a bow anymore! (as evidenced in her holding the bow in the pics!) I'm a bit sad about the bow situation b/c I want to put the bows in her hair but she won't keep them in and I don't think it's worth the battle of making her keep them in! So I'm not choosing to fight that battle and hoping that as she gets older bows will become an option again! Moving on...11 months has been great! I feel like this month we have seen Piper do more things and show so much more of her personality. It's been a fun month! Two more teeth have popped to the surface making 8 total! She has been in such a great mood the past few days since they broke the surface! Piper is also sitting up on her own from belly to bottom! She is still army crawling but she can sure get around that way! This month she has started following us around by crawling and she's been entering other rooms too! I've really had to begin keeping a close eye on her! She eats anything off the floor and has become very picky about eating what's on her plate! I'm having a hard time getting her to eat veggies and certain fruits but she loves beef! Piper's little personality is very expressive! She has all kinds of facial expressions and an attitude to follow! She knows when she is being funny and plays off of strangers with that! I've got a little ham on my hands! I think she is going to be like her daddy in that she won't be able to hide what she's feeling or 'fake' being nice, etc...Her face says it all if you know what I mean! She has always been good at playing on the floor with a few toys at a time, but lately she's been really good about playing alone on the floor and even 'talking' to herself while playing. I think she's kind of entertaining herself when she does that. Piper has added 'Oska' to her vocabulary which means Oscar (our dog) and 'seeee' which means 'see' as she points at everything and we name it off! She's also begun to mimic my voice inflections. Like, if I say something in a high pitched voice in conversation she makes the same noise in her gibberish language. It's funny! One of the biggest things she is doing is taking steps as we hold her hands! This girl is heading towards total mobility; although, I think it will still be a little while before she's walking on her own! And one more thing about this month...I cut her hair! She was beginning to get a mini-mullet so I trimmed the bottom and kind of layered the back. It looks much better to me, but I'm sure no one else will/would notice! I've thoroughly enjoyed 11 months. Both Michael and I are so proud of her. It's weird, you're proud of your child as soon as they arrive but then your pride for them evolves and changes! We love this little girl so much and are so thankful for the blessing she is to us. I cannot believe we've been enjoying her for almost a year! It's flown by and I'm sad to think my 'baby' is almost not a baby! But, each new stage has brought its new challenges and joys and I'm loving it!

March Madness

And, I'm not talking about basketball! We've been quite social this month and as you can see below, Piper is quite pooped from it all...and so is Mommy!

We visited Aunt Sheryl earlier in the month and Piper got to try out their car! She needs a car at our house. Look how much fun she's having!

Grandma & Grandpa Levy came for a weekend visit! Piper went shopping all day with Grandma and me while Daddy and Grandpa fixed her play set after it was destroyed by high winds one night. Gma & Gpa also babysat for us so we could go see a movie! That's a rare treat for us now!

We went to Clinton to see Grammy, Papa John and more family. From left (Aunt Darla, Piper & Megan, Grammy, Aunt JuJu, & Homa in front)

Piper got to play with her cousins in Clinton too. She loves playing with big kids!

And, we went to Fargo to visit Grandma Judy, Papa, & Uncle Allen. Grandma Judy began teaching Piper how to play the piano. She loved it! We also visited my great aunt & uncle and my grandparents while we were there!

Chandra and Lilly also came for a visit to our house this month. While here, Chandra helped me start decorating! It's looking a lot better and I should have some pics soon!

Cute and Funny pics!

Crazy hair day in Oklahoma! Wind and no moisture = a bad case of static cling!

Hmmm, let me think about it a while...

Well, this is what we should do about it...

I'm holding my own bottle now!

I know what you are thinking..."Don't most babies hold their own bottles much sooner than 10 1/2 months?" Yes, you are correct. Most babies do, but not my lazy baby, and I mean lazy in the most loving way! She finally started after mommy working with her and Aunt Chandra coming for a visit and forcing it on her! It's been a freeing experience for me!!

Spring Is Here!

Piper hasn't played in the grass much and she still doesn't know what to think about it!

Piper's New Look

Piper has a new look that she is proud to show everyone, and I do mean every single person she comes into contact with during the day! The 'scowl' made its appearance about 2 weeks ago when I was feeding her breakfast. I was in deep thought over something and must have been furrowing my brow b/c all of a sudden, I look at Piper and she's copying me and ever since then she's been furrowing her brow at everyone! It's so funny but at times can be embarrassing and ugly! We've entered the stage of mommy and daddy being careful of everything they do!!

Bathtub Fun

I took pics of Piper this week in the tub. She's been having a lot of fun during bath time lately!

Enough pictures Mom!