Visiting Grandpa's House

A few weekends ago, we went to Grandma & Grandpa Levy's house in Texas. Piper had a lot of fun trying to feed Sandy (the dog) her snacks and playing with her cousins she had never met before!

Piper, Victoria, & Diana

Piper loved giving and getting hugs from the girls!

And, the two mischievous ones were tickling Grandpa's feet!

Daddy's Little Girl

Playing in the Rain

One morning before church Piper was begging to go outside and I let her despite it being cold and rainy. She naturally gravitated to the dripping rain off of the roof and the puddle on the ground! She loves the water...only if it is not in the bathtub that is!

17 months

Piper is 17 months and she's pretty excited about it! She loves to clap and sing! (Can you see one of my new sofas in the background!!)

She's very good at being a 'mommy' to all her many stuffed animals and dolls! She even rocks them, hugs them, pats them on the back, and gives this kisses!

And, she still is intrigued at looking in the mirror! Look at these expressions!

17 months has been rough, I'm not going to lie! Pretty much every aspect of parenting has been really tough this month from eating to behavior!! I've felt very weary! BUT, we are seeing a change this week and I'm doing the happy dance!!! Piper feels so much better...her double ear infection has healed as well as her nose. She is obeying much better and she has been much more happy and sweet. Her appetite is back and it hasn't been hard to get her to eat and she's been sleeping quite well. Michael and I have begun the Growing Kids Gods Way class and even though we have only attended 3 sessions so far, we really are learning a ton and the Lord has been showing me things I need to change within me in order to be a better parent and in order to raise a godly daughter!

Despite this tough month, we have still enjoyed seeing the changes happening right before our eyes! Below is a list of a few things she is doing right now. She's been saying a lot of words out of the blue or if you say, "Piper, say ___" She at least tries to say anything you ask but you can't always understand it!

Favorite things to say include:

-bye, bye; hi; hello; kitty, kitty, doag (dog), eyes, nose, toes, shoes; eww-eww; uh-oh, bear, baby; hot; no-no-no; Whoa!

Other words she's added:

-Bapa (Grandpa); Papa; Sith (Seth); Lul-lul (Lilly); Oh!; ball; bur (bird); bibuh (bible); Jesus; Pipuh (Piper); wa-wa (water)

Locate the following body parts:

-eyes, nose, ears, mouth, toes, legs, and hands

Makes the following the animal sounds:

-cow (ooo); snake (ssss); dog (oof, oof); lion (grrr); pig (grr, grr); cat (kitty, kitty-she doesn't say meow, meow); duck (qua-qua)

-Walks backwards and spins and circles

-Uses a fork and a spoon but it's still pretty messy!

-Loves granola bars and granola clusters

-Waves side to side with her hand now instead of opening and closing her fist

-Loves playing with her play kitchen and pretends to eat her play food as well as bring mommy and daddy some to eat.

-Sits and 'reads' books by herself and will sit in my lap to read several books at a time

-Comes up to me, looks at me, turns her back to me, backs up to me, and plops down in my lap! (love it!)

-Still loves talking on her cell phone but not the real phone when someone wants to talk to her.

-Dances by swaying or stomping her feet

-Shakes head "yes" and "no" when asked a question. "No" is used more often than "yes".

-Shows her excitement by raising her eyebrows and making her eyes really big and shaping her lips like a "O" and says either 'Oh' or "Oooo" or "Ew-Ew!"

I love this little girl so much! She has so much personality and character! I'm thankful she is a part of my family and that I get to be her mom!

A week later...

Piper's nose has gotten so much better and so has her overall personality and temperament!! I can definitely tell her ears are better and her nose feels better b/c she's been a happy girl and has had a big appetite!! She's been snuggling a lot with her daddy as you can see! The picture above is her on Day 6 after the fall and below is a picture of her on Day 9! She wasn't in a good mood when I took it b/c it was bedtime! There is still a little bruise but the swelling has gone down!

We are already enjoying a much better start to this week!!

She looks like a racoon today!

The bruising is more apparent!

The Day After Photos

Photo above taken at 2 pm; Photo below taken at 7 am.

The swelling in Piper's nose increased slightly overnight and so did the bruising. I was concerned that she wouldn't sleep well but she slept from 8:30-6 which has been normal lately (but not long enough for mommy!). She has been herself mostly...playful and fussy. I think she's a tad bit more fussy than normal but that is to be expected. We have 2 friends over today so that is distracting her. I'm still so thankful that it wasn't any worse than this! She looks like a little lion cub!

Piper's Almost Broken Nose

The pics were taken around noon today.

Today has been a dramatic and traumatic day for this Levy clan! Around 7 am this morning I was holding Piper and began making coffee so I sat her on the counter, which is done regularly around here! I even had my hand on her but in the blink of an eye she lunged forward to the tile nose first! Oh, the thought of what happened makes my stomach turn! Anyway, she had blood coming from her nose and her mouth and began crying but it was the weirdest cry. I called Michael to come back home. Piper didn't cry long but became really lethargic quickly which was a bad sign. So, I finally decided that we need to go to the ER. We got to the ER and were being admitted when a more critical case came in so at that point we decided just to leave and wait to go to the pediatrician. Michael went on to work. During this entire time Piper was just quiet and clingy. We were able to go to the pediatrician around 9:15 and she looked her over and wasn't concerned about a head injury b/c by that point Piper was back to talking, playing and walking around. But, she was concerned that her nose might be broken. So, I had to take her to the hospital for xrays which was so awful. It took four of us to hold her down to get the xrays they needed and I about started bawling right along with my poor baby. It was so sad! Then we were able to come home. Shortly before 11 am the nurse called and said that Piper's nose was not broken! Hallelujah! If it would have been broken, the dr. told me that they were going to have to give anesthesia in order to pop it back into place! Oh I'm so thankful that she didn't have a head injury and she didn't have a broken nose. She just is going to have a really swollen, black & blue nose and a tongue that is cut! Today, we stayed at home to snuggle and play. Poor thing has a double ear infection, a cut tongue, and a horribly swollen nose. The past two weeks haven't been going so great for her! And, her mama sure isn't going to get the mother of the year award either! We are excited about smoother days to come!!!

Having some fun!

I think this girl has some red hair about to come through b/c she is a little firecracker!

I just purchased her a cell phone b/c she is always pretending to talk on the phone! She loves it and plays with it all the time. I snapped some of her in the car while we were stopped. Anytime I'm on my phone she gets on hers! ha!

This is such a funny pic to me b/c she isn't asleep but she looks like she's wiped out!

Last week, a friend needed help with her 3 year old boy and Piper loved having him around. She kept hugging him or running up to him, touching him, and running away while laughing! It annoyed the little boy but I kept telling him, "Piper is just excited to have you here. She wants to love on you." Here's some pics of them hugging and playing.

Life has gotten a bit busier at our house. We have eased back into a fall schedule with bible study, parenting class, Mother's Day out, and the occasional play date. I like having a routine again but lately Piper has not been so fond of being in the nursery away from mom (except for MDO and she loves it!!) so we have had some issues (and some tears on her part and mine!) in that department. I'm trying to take it to the Lord and work on training Piper at home but it will take time and patience! Two weeks ago, Piper started teething again! 3 new teeth came in last week and 2 more are about to pop through anytime. She also currently has a double ear infection! Poor baby!! Her vocabulary has been increasing which has been fun! She tries to say words we say or others say. She just talks all day and laughs at herself a lot! Whatever she is saying must be funny; at least she thinks it is!

Finally...It's Friday!

Whoa-oh-oh! (As Miss Piper would say) Friday is here and we are so glad! We are adjusting back into our fall routine and this week has had a few bumps in the road. I'm hoping to re-charge (as best as you can w/a little one) and start fresh for next week!