Piper 10 Months

We're on the home stretch now. Only 1 more post before her first birthday. Excuse me while I go cry i the corner for a few minutes.

Piper is so much fun. Her personality seems really different from the other two. She's kind of spastic! It's hard to describe, but her movements are intense.

She crawls all over the place now. She has the funniest, one leg crab crawl. But, it gets her where she wants to go!

She has 2 teeth, but the top four are sooooo close to popping through. You can see all of them so clearly!

She doesn't sleep through the night. She was down to one feeding a night, but lately it's been more like 2 or even 3. She seems old to still be waking up at night, but I really don't mind. Before I know it, she'll be starting kindergarten.

She says "mama" and "dada" on command. She can clap, but is selective about when she does it. She doesn't do any sign language yet, but we have really been slacking on teaching it to her.

She is incredibly content. She spends most of her day waiting through her siblings activities and never complains. She is just happy to be there and watch what's going on.

She is sweet and snuggly and oh so cute. She makes us laugh and brings so much joy into this house.

Piper 9 Months

I think I could have 100 babies and never get tired of them. Piper is so much fun. This is a great age. She is really interactive, super happy and smiley, but still small and cuddly.

And small is very accurate, at 15 lbs, she is our smallest baby so far.

In the past few days she has figured out a way to move forward, though I wouldn't exactly call it crawling. She gets up in a downward dog yoga position, then using the side of her face and an inch-worm like maneuver, lunges herself forward. It is incredibly inefficient, but it is managing to get her from point A to point B. And it is so hilarious to watch.

She has 2 teeth.

She finally started saying "mama" after months of "dada."

She can sit herself up from lying down.

She takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap, anywhere from 1 to 3 hours each.

She sleeps from 7 to 7, usually eating once or twice in the night.

She is so happy and easy going, but not very giggly. The other two kids had this contagious giggle, but Piper has more of a "ha" chuckle. It's really cute, but she makes you work for it!

She adores her siblings, and spends most of her day with them. She is never bored!

She seems to really like food. There have been very few things that she has turned down.

We are so thankful to have her in our family!

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.