Summer Fun!

We've been busy having fun lately! Today, my friend and I started our Mother's Day Out co-op instead of paying for it at the church. Her little girl, Claire, is two months older than Piper and they get along really well unless there's a toy they both want!! It was at our house this week and next week it will be at their house. We rotate weekly for 6 weeks! Today went great except for nap time but other than that the girls had fun!We kept busy! We went for a walk, played outside, had story time, free play, and even craft time which you can see below! They painted flower pots that I'm going to plant herbs in for me and Kristen! Here are the artists at work!
Before Claire arrived, Piper was being silly on the sofa! She wanted all her toys on her lap as well as being covered up with a blanket!

Cutie Pie!
Earlier this week, we went to a music workshop for toddlers. The kids made instruments and sang songs. Piper loves music and dancing so this was right up her alley! I wish she was old enough for Musikgarten...if that is how you spell it!
Saturday, we had the opportunity to attend a Texas Rangers baseball game and be the guests of at the suites thanks to a vendor of Valero! Piper had so much fun!!! She played inside and outside with two older girls of another employee! The girl below is one of them.
She rocked out in her shades and purses of course!
And, last week she had another friend over for a few hours. This is Katie from church and she's a few months younger than Piper. That day, Piper got to play with Katie at our house and then later that night at Katie's house b/c Michael took me out on a nice little date!! They are eating cookies in this picture. Piper's mouth is a bit darker than normal thanks to the chocolate chips!
We've also been going to the park a lot! We have more fun things planned for the summer! I only hope I can handle this heat while getting bigger and bigger!

Ultrasound picture

So--i was wrong in the last post. We do have a scanner! Ha! Here's our little boy. His head is to your right.

It's a Boy!

And boy has he got some kicking feet!!! Michael is not going to be outnumbered! I don't have a scanner so I cannot upload the ultrasound profile pic of our son but trust me when I say he is going to look like Michael! Just like Piper did...the forehead and chin gave it away as soon as I looked at the screen! We are excited and shocked all at the same time...just like when we found out we were going to have a girl two years ago! But, I know once he is here I will not be able to imagine it any other way! We have got to get a name picked out and lots of boy stuff purchased before October! ahhh! Piper said "I have a bwotha!" Ha...she's going to be a nice and bossy big sister don't you think!!

And, the measurements showed that I may be one week early..Oct. 7th but they didn't change my date yet. I thought I was a week earlier than they estimated at the beginning!

Surgery Smurgery!

*A little added sidenote--Since she had this procedure done, she is no longer congested sounding either!! That's a big deal b/c we can't remember a time she hasn't been congested!

As most of you know, Piper had a little surgery one week ago to remove her adenoids and put tubes in her ears. I knew the tubes part was going to be a breeze but I wasn't sure about the adenoids. And, I was a little nervous about the anesthesia!! To begin that day, we got her up right at 6:15, strapped her in the car seat and left. She couldn't eat or drink so we were trying just to get up and go! She made it quietly in the car for almost 45 minutes and then started asking for a snack! Ahhh! We appeased her for a bit but it didn't last long until Daddy began singing 'Jesus Loves Me' and that was magic! This song is her new thing right now, btw! He ended up having to sing that all the way from Purcell to OKC which was probably 1 hour with traffic. He tried to sing other songs but she fussed at him like none other. It was pretty funny but I was certainly glad it wasn't me singing over and over and over! Before surgery, she had to have a sedative b/c she was so upset when a nurse even got close to her and that was just the check-in part where they ask me all those health questions! It made her a little loopy which was pretty cute. No, I have no pictures of the process! And, I was able to walk her back to the operating room unlike the other mothers b/c my child was having a harder time with the process! Watching her get 'knocked' out with the laughing gas was funny and sad all at the same time. She was so giggly and then she was out like that. I had a hard time leaving her in there but remained calm! Thankfully, my sister and Michael's mom came to be with us which really helped the time pass and occupy my mind. The surgery went well according to Dr. Digoy but her recovery afterwards was rough according to mama and daddy! Ha! She would cry really hard and then fall asleep, cry some more, sleep some more, until finally she woke up and just cried! Poor thing hated all those wires connected to her. She kept trying to pull them off and she was screaming if a nurse came near! We had to stay almost and hour and a half later than normal b/c we could not get Piper to drink her juice. She refused. Finally, she drank the bare minimum and the released us and as soon as we got in our car she wanted the juice and she wanted food...little stinker! She just wanted out of there! We treated her to french fries on the way home. It took until yesterday, so almost a week, for her to get back to normal. We had some early morning waking up, and middle of the night waking up for a few days, plus a LOT of fussy, fussy, fussy times during the day! She just didn't feel good! Whew, I wasn't sure how long that would last but she's pretty much back to her happy self which is such a relief to me! Michael's actually taking me on a date tomorrow night as my reward!! ha! One huge praise about the surgery was, the anesthesiologist realized Piper has a smaller airway than she is suppose to at this age and he had to use a trachea tube that is usually used on a newborn, not a toddler! The doctor said if we would have gone to a non-children's surgery center we may not have been so lucky b/c they would have probably tried to shove the normal sized tube down her throat causing a ton of damage and more surgery! He said we need to be aware of this problem if she ever has surgery again or if she ever gets croup b/c her airway may be blocked! I was so thankful that the Lord allowed circumstances to make us decide to go to OKC instead of doing it here in Ardmore! Anyway, so we are on the mend. Piper had a little friend over this morning and played so well w/him. But, it's the perfect combo--she's bossy and talkative and wants things her way...he doesn't talk and just goes along w/the flow! How could they not get along!?!

On a side note, I realized yesterday that by the end of the year all 3 of us will have had something major happen to us medically this year! Michael had Lasik, Piper surgery, and I will deliver a baby! If you'd like to make a financial contribution to the Levy fund our address is....haha!

My Funny Honey!

I cannot really get Piper to smile much for a picture until after the picture is taken and she sees herself on the camera screen! Crazy kid! These are some pics I took over the week.She is quite the girly, girl. She has real bracelets but chooses other things to be her bracelets which are on pretty much A-L-L the time. She has to have a purse and she usually has 1-2 necklaces on. This week she has added the tiara to her accessory list!
I thought we could say this was our little John Lennon daughter! Notice the purse, beads, and bracelet! She went into the YMCA that day wearing this entire get up b/c I didn't want to fight it. Imagine the looks I received!!!
Aunt Sheryl let her have this dollhouse a while back but just last weekend brought her all the furniture to go w/it. I didn't let her begin playing with it until today and she was so thrilled. She sat on the floor playing for a while.
Grape Jelly Face.
And, this happened one night she wasn't going to sleep right away. She must have undone both of her diaper sides and then tried pulling up over and over b/c when I got her out of bed this is what she looked like! It was pretty low on the backside b/c it was hanging all out on the front! Luckily, we didn't have any leaks!
Piper had her 2 month well check this week and she weighs 24 lbs and is 35 1/2 in. tall which puts her at the 25th percentile for weight and the 95th for height! We have a baby beanpole on our hands! The doctor wasn't worried about her low weight. My sister said she is shocked I have such a little daughter b/c I was such a chunk as a baby and toddler! ha! Piper only had to have one vaccination. That made me happy! I still can't believe she is two!

Piper's 2nd Birthday

This is right after she woke up and received her doll bunk bed! She was so excited about there being 2 pillows. She even exclaimed, "There's another one!!!!"
For dinner that night we went to Casa Romo's in Ardmore and she loves to dip her tortillas and chips in anything!
This got thrown in there. She and Lilly were playing outside after dinner. Chandra, Lilly, and Sophia came to spend the night with us on Piper's bday!
blurry, but this shows you here excitement in eating the chips and guacamole!
Michael played w/the girls a lot that night after dinner! They were having fun on the newly re-constructed playset, thanks to Michael's handyman skills!

Here's our best family pic the day of her bday party. Piper was not cooperative in any way that day. Many meltdowns occurred throughout the entire day!
Piper and Claire being funny!
Piper, Lilly, and Katie
Lilly got a hold of some new bubbles and had a hay day!
Piper enjoyed opening her presents!
She kept saying, "Presents!"
Some of the 2 and almost 2 year olds at the table eating their treats.
Lilly gave Piper some cool John Lennon sunglasses. Pictures to come on the blog b/c Piper loves them!
The theme was Zoo Animals and this was the table decor! Thanks to Chandra and Michael for helping me put it all together. I could not have done it w/out their help!!

This is the entire tablescape above and the layout of this page is awkward!

The crackers were "parrot food" Like I said, I totally stole the idea from my friend Hannah! Thanks girl!

Pictures and Presents and Whatever Else I Can Think To Write!

Remember when this little chickadee was too scared to take a bath??? What happened to her?

Below is evidence of her crazy obnoxious hair twirling skills! I do not have a thumb sucker; no, I have a hair twirler! This was right after she woke up one morning this week and I discovered the huge twirled knot!
A bit blurry, but still sweet--snuggling w/her daddy who she absolutely adores!
Piper's 2nd birthday is tomorrow and one of her presents is going to be this baby bunk bed that was given to me from Santa Claus one year as a kid. I loved this. It had strawberry bedding, complete with pillows and sheets for my babies! I decided that this would be a great present for Piper and that I wanted to update it a bit. So here is the before shots...

And, the after shots!! I'm pleased with how it turned out. I just bought some fun fabric at Hobby Lobby and basically sewed an enclosed pillowcase around the existing bedding and pillow, added some trim on the pillow and spray painted the wood! I really wanted a dark hot pink spray paint but that was impossible to find so this orchid color works b/c it is in the fabric but not my first choice! Oh, and I didn't have the time or patience to make sheets for it. She can just use her blankies until I get around to that! What do you think?

Piper has another ear infection. This would be #3 since scheduling her surgery in May. The date cannot get her soon enough! I am getting over another bout of strep throat, but thankfully, the pregnancy sickness is over!! I am 16 weeks today and have heard the heartbeat twice. It's slower so I think it is a boy. We find out on May 24th at 9 am! Pray that everything shows up normal and healthy on this little one also! I'm definitely growing all over, especially where I do not want to be growing! I'm quite hungry all the time and I've had a little more energy lately but not like when I was pregnant with Piper. It's different when you have a toddler and you are pregnant! This poor baby isn't getting near the attention and thought as Piper did, but he or she will not know that! ha! We have Piper's 2nd birthday party on Saturday with a few of her little friends. I'm stealing my friend, Hannah's, idea and doing a simple zoo theme since Piper loves animals. I'll post pictures!

March For Babies

Before I write the actual post, I have to say that Piper is still sleeping and it is 7:30 am and this hasn't happened in what seems like weeks plus she slept through the night again for the 2nd night in a row!! Woo-Hoo! She has not been sleeping well at all for about 2 weeks and I cannot figure out why. It could be allergies, it could be her ears, it could be teething, it could be this or that!!?? All I know is she's tired and so is mama, but after 2 nights of good sleep, I'm beginning to feel that 2nd trimester energy finally!

Now moving on,

On May 8th, I will be walking for the March of Dimes for my friend Mendy Laughlin and her two twin girls, Renna & Reagan. They were born prematurely at just 28 weeks and are now healthy & very happy babies that are going to turn 1 soon! By walking, we hope to raise money to help support programs that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. If you are interested in supporting our team and this cause then you can go to our team website, The Laughlin Twins, and donate online! http://www.marchforbabies.org/s_team_page.asp?seid=1369221

Or, if you already know my mailing address and you want to mail a check, then you can send a check and I'll make sure in turn in it the day of the race!

I'm happy to support the Laughlin Family. Mendy has been a friend for a long time and I know this is something very near and dear to her heart! Her babies are precious! Check her blog out here!

The Zoo

Last weekend we went to the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, TX. Gainesville is about 30 or 40 minutes from Ardmore and this is the closest zoo to us. We all had fun but Piper was a little weary of some of the animals. It's part zoo, part petting zoo also. I enjoyed getting out of town and doing something different plus we got to shop at Gap outlet and eat at Chili's...all things we do not have in our town!