Piper 8 Months

Slow down baby girl, you are getting dangerously close to one year old, and I don't like it! It seems like no matter what I do, the first year just flies by.

This month, like all the other months, has been so much fun. You are really starting to develop personality. You love to play with your siblings, you smile and laugh all the time. As much as you love to snuggle Charlotte, I think Ryder is your favorite. You are patient and resilient. Your siblings cart you around and put you in precarious situations, but you never complain.

The big news of this month was your first tooth! Man, it was a doozy. The entire week leading up to it, you slept horribly, had the worst diarrhea (and consequently, horrific diaper rash). Let me tell you, changing poopy diapers at 1 AM is not fun for anyone. It was so sad to see you suffering. But at the end of it all, you were rewarded with your first tooth, and just 2 days later, your second! You got your first 2 teeth the exact same week Charlotte did! After those two teeth popped through, you went back to your normal, happy self.

You still don't sleep through the night, but I really don't mind. I enjoy our quiet time together in the middle of the night to snuggle and connect. With the craziness of 3 kids, it's hard to find time to sit quietly and rock you. Except when you're up for hours, I don't particularly enjoy that :) On a normal night, you wake up once, I feed you and you go right back to sleep. No complaints.

You aren't crawling yet, and I have officially banned you from attempting until after Christmas. You love to sit and play with toys and watch what your siblings are doing. You love your jump-jump.

You are our worst eater so far. You choke on everything! After a particularly scary choking episode, you received a 2 week feeding ban. We will start letting you have some foods again closer to 9 months. So far, you have liked everything you have tasted.

You make this adorable face where you squint your eyes and make a hissing sound. You did it once and we all laughed, I think now you are doing it to be funny. It is hilarious!

Our family is bursting with love for you. I try so hard to soak up every second. I can't hug and kiss you enough.

Psalm 127:3: Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.  

You truly are a gift to this family. We love you Pipey-Pants! 

Squinty eyes! 

Testing out food again after your feeding ban :) 

Picking out a Christmas Tree! 

First tooth (and BLUE eyes)

8 Months and "SO BIG!"

Piper 7 Months

7 months old already?!?  This was a big month for you, you finally started sleep completely unswaddled! Of all three kids, you held onto that swaddle the longest, but in the last few weeks I have been able to put you down to bed with just your tagged and you roll over and go to sleep. You have definitely turned into a tummy sleeper. Bedtime is a breeze now. I just feed you and put you in your crib. Sometimes you want one little snack around 9 or 10 but otherwise you are out for the night. I feed you once or twice and you always go straight back to sleep.  You take 2 naps a day and never fight sleep.

You are always always happy. Smiling and laughing at everyone and everything.

Last week I started letting you taste food. The first few days your were not impressed, but it didn't take long for you to figure things out. You are liking bananas, yogurt, puffs, green beans, squash. So far everything is pretty acceptable.

You make this insanely adorable face when trying to swallow. You scrunch your eyes close and making this hissing/gagging sound. Hard to describe, but so cute and funny. I got some video of it. We were laughing so hard at dinner the other night. I think you realized we were laughing at you and you just kept doing it.

We dragged you to CO and back this month and you were such a rockstar. Slept on every flight, never cried once, just the easiest baby ever. It took you a solid week once we got home to adjust back to normal though.

We went trick or treating and you were the cutest little strawberry I ever did see.

You started doing this adorable scrunchy nose smile.... so cute.

Piper 6 Months

A very merry unbirthday, to you!

I can't believe you are 6 months old already! I just barely blinked.

You are unbelievably sweet. Your little personality is starting to show up, and we absolutely love it!

You can sit up all by yourself now! You love to sit and play with toys and watch your siblings.
Bedtime is getting SOOO much better. You still enjoy cluster feeding right before bed, but it usually only lasts about 30 minutes or so and then you are down for the count. I usually feed you once or twice in the night. Once your tummy is full, you go right back to sleep. I have tried several times to get you to sleep unswaddled, but you just aren't quite there. Hopefully this coming month will be the month!

You are laughing and smiling and giggling now. You love to play with your siblings, you are super ticklish, and you love people. You smile at anyone that makes eye contact with you. You strain your neck to look at the faces of every person in the room. You are so social.

You have rolled over once or twice, but haven't figured it out as a mode of transportation.

You weigh 13 lbs 10 oz.

I think I say it every month, but we absolutely love having a baby in the house. You bring so much joy and love to our family.

Piper 5 Months

Well, newborn baby is officially long gone. You are so alert and interactive. You reach for toys, you bring things to your mouth, you laugh and play.  As much as I LOVE tiny baby, it is fun to see you growing and letting us see your personality more.

You continue to be the most content little baby. You only ever fuss when you're tired. Otherwise, you are happy with absolutely anything. I started putting you in the jump-jump and you seem to be pretty impressed. I just have to keep a close eye on you, because your wild brother loves to swing you a little too high!

We're moving toward two naps a day, almost there! Most days you take a solid morning and afternoon nap. Some days you need a third catnap to make it through, but for the most part, 2 naps a day works well.

You continue to have a hard time with bedtime, but it's definitely getting better. I put you down at 7, then usually end up feeding you 2 or 3 times before you settle in for the night. You normally wake up once to eat somewhere between 2 and 5.

You still don't roll over or sit up, but you're getting closer!

You still love to be swaddled. I just use the blanket, so during the night, you do wiggle loose, but you love to be wrapped up when going to sleep.

Charlotte always says, "I love having a baby in the house." I couldn't agree more!

Piper 4 Months

It's hard to imagine life without you. You are just the perfect little addition to our family.  At  4 months old, you are so happy and smiley, it's impossible not to love you.

Charlotte continues to dote on you every second she gets. You are so patient and laid back. She carries you around the house, and you just smile at her.

You are used to being carted all over the place for your siblings' activities. School drop off, school pick up, soccer practice, etc. None of it bothers you.

I am doing my best to keep you on some sort of schedule. I make every effort to be home for a morning nap and an afternoon nap. You are a great napper and will often sleep two hours or more. You never fight going to sleep.

Just like your sister, night times are a different story. You don't fight going to bed, but it takes you a while to settle down for the night. I often end up feeding you two or three times before you are asleep for the night. Sometimes by 8:00 you are asleep, but other nights you will be up until 10. It can be exhausting, but I also know that in a blink of an eye you will be walking off to kindergarten, just like your sister.

You have a horrible, yucky sounding cough. At your check-up, everything looked good. The doctors thinks you are probably aspirating a little milk when you eat, which is giving you the cough. You are otherwise not bothered by it, but it sure makes mommy sad!

You are almost the exact same size your sister was at 4 months.

12 lbs 0.3 oz and 23.5' long. That puts you in the 5-10th percentile.

We adore you. I could spend all day kissing your sweet cheeks.

Piper 3 Months

This was such a fun month for you! You really started to wake up, interact, smile, and even giggle! Everyone absolutely loves having a baby in the house. Charlotte is the best big sister and loves to "babysit" you. She will bring you into her room and play with you, or sit and snuggle on the couch with you. You are so patient and easy going, you love spending time with her. You are still sleeping a lot, but definitely starting to group your naps together a little better. I love to rock you to sleep, but you will happily drift off in your bed also. Just like your sister, you are a little challenging to get to sleep at night. You love to cluster feed from about 7-9, then you sleep well the rest of the night. Since I went through this with Charlotte, this time around, it doesn't bother me nearly as much. I know as you get bigger you won't need this, but for now, I love the extra snuggles each night.

We traveled down to LA This month for the NAAF conference. We also went to D-Land. You were a perfect little traveler! Slept most of the trip, spent 14 hours in Disneyland without a peep, and overall were just incredibly easy the whole time.

Piper 2 Months

Piper's second month was very similar to month one. She slept about 85% of the time. The other 15% of her day was spent eating or pooping. Toward the end of the month, she really started to wake up, interact and smile. She is absolutely the sweetest baby. She loves being held, snuggling in the carrier, but she also sleeps well in her bed. She travels well and doesn't seem to mind her car seat. She likes her paci and is starting to find her hands. I'm doing my best to keep her on a eat-sleep-play routine, but it is definitely more challenging with two other big kids to take care of and keep occupied. Luckily, she is about as mellow as they come. She will sleep anywhere, through any amount of noise. She nurses well (and quickly). It is just so much fun to have a baby in the house again, she brings so much joy to all of us!