Fun in the Sun!

Ardmore has a great little water park that I just discovered this summer and on Tuesdays beginning at 5 pm they have reduced admission so Michael and I took Piper this week for the first time. It took a bit for her to get comfortable, but she soon was having a ball! This is also where she took swim lessons last week each morning for one hour and on the last day, they let the children play! Swim lessons really helped Piper be more brave in the water! She asks to go swimming now and if you know my daughter, you know that is a huge accomplishment!! She's even been wanting to get in the shower with me which is unreal because she'd bawl her eyes out anytime I made her take a quick shower! I'm going to let her play in the water a lot for the next two weeks to prepare her for our beach vacation!

This is our first somewhat slow week of the summer! It's been a bit rough, actually! For 3 weeks now, Piper is waking up b/n 6-6:30 am and only taking a 1 hour nap but is completely exhausted and cranky! I've tried pretty much every idea under the sun to get her to sleep more b/c she needs it but nothing has worked. This has left me frustrated and exhausted also...yes, I've had a few meltdowns! But, at my monthly doctor visit I found out my iron is low so I'm having to supplement until the baby is born and in two days of taking the iron pills, I already feel like I have a little more energy! This week has also been challenging in disciplining Piper because I am certainly needing to stay on top of her. She is officially potty trained but during one of our rather difficult days which involved lots of time outs, toys taken away, and spankings she had 2 accidents which I believe were a blatant act of defying me! (Up to that point, it had almost been 2 weeks without an accident) But, luckily no more have occurred and she's even been wanting to take herself to the potty and pull her pants down alone! I'm very proud of her in this area! I'm trying to reread 'Shepherding a Child's Heart' to help remind me of my heart attitude towards my children, the Lord, and discipline! It sure is convicting! Anyway, that's what is going on. I'm really looking forward to getting out of town for vacation but it will be interesting to ride in the car for 12 hours w/a toddler!! Any fun car activities/ideas you know of would be appreciated!

Priceless!

Dressing Up!

Piper enjoys 'dressing up.' It hasn't turned into wearing clothing yet; just accessories for now. But, she enjoys it and has become more creative and independent with it recently!For example, she wore the bunny eyes in the car the other day and into Wal-Mart as well. Yes, into the store and she looked pretty funny as did I since I let her but I didn't want to start a fight and I didn't want to stifle any creativity that day! Besides, it's Wal-Mart. I've seen crazier things/people there before!!
And, she enjoys this ugly beanie hat we own. She especially likes to wear it over her eyes and try walking without being able to see! Quite entertaining for her and for me!
But, I think the above photo has brought us the most laughs so far! She ran around the house like this Sunday morning for a while thinking it was so funny! At least she's got a little humor in her bones!! I think it safe to say that Piper is quite the character!

Piper enjoys the Jam!

I told you...It's Good!

Jam Session!

Plum jam session that is! I learned how to make jam this week by talking to my mom over the phone a lot and picking my neighbors brain but it turned out delicious...messy, but yummy! I also learned that it takes more time and work to make jelly than jam so I chose to do the easiest!
I had to wash all the lids and jars and boil the lids! (And, my neighbor graciously gave/loaned me all the supplies this time!)
I had to simmer the cut up plums, then puree them a bit in the food processor.
Then, cook them w/lots of sugar--8 cups to be exact and a box of Sure Jell!
And you end up w/this little beauty of sugary goodness after a nice little 10 minute water bath that I was informed was not necessary!!
And, this is the finished product of me after 3 hrs trying to maintain a positive attitude w/swollen ankles, aching calves, and being pretty darn hot! But, it was worth it and not that hard! I have more plums that I'm going to freeze and make another batch or two before the baby arrives! Look at me--I'm Betty in the making! Ha! Btw, my neighbor, Mr. Lee picked most of the plums and I canned them since his wife had surgery on her shoulder. I was wanting to make jelly with plums from a tree in our yard but I didn't get them picked in time so he picked some some on another neighbors yard. It is definitely something I'm glad I tried and will probably do again but does not make me want to ever can anything else like veggies or relish or anything!

I'll even teach you how if you come over!

Life Around Here

Piper loves doing something with Daddy everyday. She asks for Daddy every morning when she wakes up and throughout the day!
We finished our summer MDO with our friend Claire. This was their last time at our house when they were able to play dress up!
Piper has been getting more silly with age...and, more sassy!
She knows it is a no-no to get in the snack drawer but how can you always resist those eyes!?!
Playing outside on the swing set it a must almost everyday! And, it has been hot!
We started potty training bootcamp last week on Monday, June 28th and did not leave the house for 3 days except for 1 1/2 hours to do some VBS prep work on Tuesday. Those 3 days were great for her to establish a basis of what it's like to use the potty consistently. I only put a diaper on her at nap and night time. By the 3rd day, I was a crazy person but thankfully she had MDO on that 4th day so I got a little break! She continued having an accident here and there but made a 3 hr. car trip in panties without an accident on the 5th day!!! She even went 4 days without a potty accident, but that was broken twice this week and at VBS this week, she only had one potty accident the very first day. But, I'm pretty sure she has the hang of it and just in the last day has begun saying, "I need to potty!" It's amazing and I'm so proud of her! She is still doing great in the big girl bed and has only rolled out on the floor one time and has only gotten up and opened her door one time! Those were the two biggest things I wanted to get accomplished before baby boy arrived and we are well on our way!! Speaking of, he is arriving in 3 months! Yikes. We still have no name and I still have not taken a preggo picture this whole time. So sad! The 2nd pregnancy is so different! Summer is flying by. We are taking swimming lessons next week and cousins are coming to stay with us! In the meantime, I'm trying to plan a nursery, finish her 'big girl' room and decorate our bedroom! That's nothing, right??!! If you feel led to come help me please do!!

Look at my new skill!!

I call her "Digger" now!

Our Trip to Grandma's House!

We went to Fargo in the middle of June to visit Papa and Grandma Judy's. Piper had fun at their house. She loves seeing the cats across the street and this time they had kittens so it kept her busy looking out the window for them! She also enjoyed playing in Grandma's garden and getting to pick a few things. She is kind of scared of Papa's wheelchair so she won't sit on his lap unless he coaxes her with the occasional m&m or two!

My Little Tomboy...not really!

As you can see, she loves wearing hats backwards but she must always have a piece(s) of jewelry on, along w/a purse, baby, blanket, and possibly a shopping cart! She's all girl!