North Country Babies

Happy Halloween 2011!

2011-11-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from the Egg Family!

2 Peeps, a chicken, and a deviled egg ready for some egg-citing Halloween fun!

And some adorable fall photos of Piper and Brock . . .

We have a lot to catch up on!

2011-10-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well it's been awhile since I've updated the blog as it's been a busy summer and fall. Now I'm back to tell you all about Piper and Brock! Here are just a few pictures of one year Brock and 3 year old Piper with more to come soon!

Spring is on its way!?!?!

2011-04-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

It is almost spring in Monroe. There is plenty of mud, the flocks of robins have arrived home, and the ski areas are closing down for the season. Now that the days are a little longer, there is more sunshine, and the temperatures are a little bit warmer, we are spending more time outside playing, going for walks in the BOB, and hiking around with the kids. Here are some of the latest pictures of our outdoor fun!

Our little tiger

2011-03-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here is our little tiger Brock, just over 7 months old. His latest favorite activities include making growling/purring sounds (hilarious, which I am trying to catch on camera), rolling over both ways, playing on my tummy and moving in a circle on my tummy, and lots of smiles for my big sister. It won't be long before this guy is on the go! He is trying very hard to get forward motion! We just had a weight check with Dr. Olson this week and he is almost 29 inches long (92nd percentile) and 17 pounds 6 ounces (24th percentile). He is long and skinny and rapidly outgrowing his clothes! Also, he already has 5 teeth and is working on the 6th. He has two on the bottom and 3 on the top! We are having a blast getting to know Brock's personality as it emerges more each day!

End of the winter fun

2011-03-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Piper, Brock, and I have been enjoying the longer days and warmer weather in the afternoon with a lot of outside play. Here is Piper trying to pull Brock in the sled for the very first time and this is Brock's first ride in a sled!

First fingers foods?????

2011-03-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Brock really likes to eat and so far has liked everything we have tried. We think his favorite is peas just like Piper's was when she was a baby. He gets so hungry that he is mad during the first few bites of food until he gets something into his tummy. This week I am trying to introduce him to some finger foods. We have tried avocado and banana so far although he hasn't quite managed to get any into his mouth by himself yet. If he is able to pick something up it is mainly just fun for squishing. During mealtimes Piper likes to interact with Brock and get him to make "googly eyes" which is when he squints eyes and crinkles his nose. It is fun to watch him imitate her! He is also very "talkative" at mealtimes and today it actually sounded like he was saying "blahblah BLAH!" which was pretty funny. We are going to keep trying finger foods and hopefully he will get the hang of it soon.

Sunglasses

2011-03-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Simply hilarious!

Winter fun

2011-03-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying the warmer winter weather lately. Today it was sunny and beautiful and we had a lot of fun playing at the Chadbourne's house in the snow. Piper got to try out snowshoeing for the first time today and absolutely loved it! She can't wait to do it again!

2011-03-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

Brock is almost seven months old and is now 28 and 1/4 inches and is 16.7 pounds, so he is very tall and skinny just like his sister! This week we had an ultrasound to check his kidney/bladder problem that was discovered right before he was born and thankfully things look great. Our fantastic doctor, Doctor Weinstein told us that he won't need another ultrasound until next year. Hooray! This is great news! This week Brock's other big news is that he has his first eye tooth and his two top front teeth are about to come in.
(just as a side note. . .this picture looks just like Piper!)

LOVE

2011-03-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

Love
It is great when these moments get captured! Piper shared a sticker and then a snuggle with Brock.

My babies

2011-03-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

We just love this picture! It looks like Piper is giving a thumbs up!

Rolling over

2011-03-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Brock has been very busy this week while Daddy was away. First sitting up and yesterday he surprised himself by rolling to his tummy from his back while reaching for a toy on his rainforest playmat. Things are about to get a lot busier around here as soon as he realizes he can now roll everywhere. He is also working on getting quite a few of his top teeth!

Grover in the snow

2011-03-03T13:01:00.001-08:00

We couldn't resist! When we gave these Grover mittens and hat to Piper she said, "I'm so excited!" and then gave her Grover mitten a kiss. It was adorable and hilarious. We have been having a blast playing out in the snow. Piper loves to go sledding and play "Queen of the mountain" on top of the giant snow banks.

Fun with Nana!

2011-03-01T12:24:00.000-08:00

We had a great time having Nana visit us last week! Nana helped me take the kids to the doctor for their check-ups with Dr. Olson and we were all glad to when Brock began to feel better after having finally been diagnosed with an ear infection. Nana and Piper made bread together during the visit and also a giant "cupcake." Jesse and I had a blast skiing with Nana at Bretton woods and going out for a nice dinner and had a great lunch on Saturday with Uncle John. This week we are excited for a visit from Grammy while Daddy is in England.

Sitting Up!

2011-02-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

Brock is 6 months old and one week and while he hasn't rolled from his back to his tummy yet he is doing a great job sitting up! He still needs pillows for any crash landings : )

2011-02-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

Piper is now 2 years and 7 months and Brock is 6 months old. They just had their check-ups this week with Dr. Olson. Piper is 27 pounds and 36 inches tall. Brock is 15.8 pounds and 27 and 3/4 inches.

Piper did very well at her check-up and was very brave when she had to get a shot. While we were at the doctor Piper said, "I am a big kid now and big kids don't cry at the Doctor, babies do!" These dyas Piper is very interested in finding out about the world by asking questions such as "What is that made out of?, What is her name?, What color is that" She is having a blast at pre-school when she is able to go (She has been sick a lot recently ). Lately Piper spends a lot of time singing, dancing, "playing the piano," reading books, and "ice skating" around the house. Her favorite color is yellow, her favorite food is broccoli, and one of her favorite books is"Brown bear, brown bear." Recently when we asked her what she wanted to do when she grows up she told us "I want to be a "rocketshipper" (she was wearing a tutu at the time!) Piper loves her brother Brock although is worried that he might play with her toys but she does love to kiss, hold, and hug him! Piper is now using the potty consistently during the day and easily transitioned to her big girl bed. She loves the freedom of being out of the crib so that she can read her books and play with her toys more easily before going to bed. She was very funny about the whole transition and as soon as she saw the toddler bed she didn't want her crib in her room anymore and was ready to be done with all of her crib toys. She now sleeps cozily under her comforter and uses a pillow! What a big girl!

Brock was sick at his check-up finally getting diagnosed with an ear infection after two prior trips to have his ears checked. Thankfully he is starting to feel much better. Since Brock is so long and skinny now we are giving him three meals a day now with a lot of protein and Dr. Olson said we might even need to put olive oil in his oatmeal! Brock's favorite things to do these days are to jump in the jumperoo, to read stories (actually to chew the books), play peek-a-book, flirt and to chew on his feet. He is able to sit with support for short periods of time too! It won't be long before he is on the move and then look out world!

Right now Nana is here for a visit which is a lot of fun and we are looking forward to seeing Grammy and Gramp soon!

Grover

2011-02-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

We are beginning to think that Piper may be turning into Grover!

6 months old!

2011-02-20T19:48:00.000-08:00

Happy 6 month Birthday Brock!!!!
He is thinking, "I have a plan!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

and now for some bouncing. . .

2011-02-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

Brock's latest favorite activity. . .just like big sister Piper!

5 months old (a little late)

2011-02-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here is Brock at 5 months old loving the bouncer just as much as big sister Piper did. Once he figured out how to bounce he now bounces for 15-30 minutes at a time!

Piper likes to swing on her swing set in the snow and go down the slide into the big piles of snow. She has also been enjoying fun adventures with Daddy in the nordic cab. Piper is 2 and a half now which is crazy! Where does the time go? We are very proud of Piper, she is now almost fully potty trained!!! She is doing a great job and has been consistently using the potty at school and home since the end of last week! Now we are preparing to move her to her toddler bed soon.

Food

2011-01-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Rice Cereal . . . Yum!!!!!

And chocolate pudding for me!!!!!

2011-01-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

HO! HO! HO!

2011-01-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

and. . .

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!

4 month check-up

2010-12-14T17:04:00.000-08:00

Brock is almost 4 months old! He had his 4 month check-up today and is 25 and 1/4 inches (75th percentile for height) and 14 pounds 7 ounces (48th percentile for weight). He can sit in the bumbo seat now and is starting to play with (hold, look at, and put in his mouth) his toys a lot more. He is fascinated by Piper as she dances around him and talks to him. He loves to smile at her! We think he is very close to starting to laugh too!

Fun wearing bear hats and dancing to the music!

Snuggling my zebra

Big sister Piper. . ."My bear hat still fits!"

"Brocky needs to wear his bear hat too!"

Well hello there!

2010-12-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Do you like my monster truck snowplow pajamas? (16 weeks old)

Surprise!

2010-12-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

Holiday Fun!

2010-12-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

So far we have been having a very festive December as a family of four and are enjoying the holiday season! Last weekend we took the kids to get our Christmas tree at Windy Ridge Orchard and this weekend we rode the North Pole Express from Lyndonville, VT to the North Pole.

Piper really enjoyed going to cut down our tree and it was especially nice because it snowed a little bit the night before. We got to ride in a wagon pulled by a tractor to cut down our tree and Piper had a great time helping us choose the perfect tree. Brock had fun looking around and taking his first ride facing out in the baby bjorn. We decorated our tree that night which Piper was very excited about. She decorated the lowest branches with lots of ornaments. She also had fun dancing to Christmas music and kept telling us "Fairy Christmas!" Sadly our Christmas tree fell down during the night due to a Christmas tree stand failure but then we got to decorate it again the next night!

The North Pole Express was magical for Piper as we rode to the North Pole. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the train and even got to enjoy delicious gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate while we waited for Santa, Mrs. Claus and the Elves to board the train. We had fun singing Christmas carols and Piper was especially excited to receive a silver bell to hang on the tree from Santa and a candy cane too! (although she was not totally sure she wanted her picture taken with Santa)

Since I last wrote Piper and Brock have also had some milestones. Brock can now grasp objects and loves to snuggle soft blankets. He continues to be a very chatty baby and seems to be working on trying to laugh. He also seems to be working on trying to roll over from his back to his front. He spends a lot of time rolling onto his side and is trying to reach for things. He may be on the move much earlier than Piper was. He wants to keep up with his big sister so we'll have to wait and see. Brock also to tried out the exersaucer for the first time and liked it. He looked very surprised when he managed to make it light up and make music!

Piper has been very busy too! This week I was folding laundry in her room and she decided she wanted to play with her potty chair and stuffed bunny so she brought it into the room and played for awhile. After a little bit she enthusiastically said she wanted to try going on the potty and to her surprise she had figured out how to go! So she tried a few more times with a lot of success. So we got out the pull-ups and have been working on using the potty ever since. She was also very excited to have success using the potty at school and is very proud of herself. We are very excited!

We can't wait to see what other surprises this holiday will bring!

Do we look alike or what?

2010-11-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

Here is Piper when she was about 4 months old. . .

and here is Brock at 3 and a half months old.

What do you think?

Peaceful

2010-11-18T18:45:00.000-08:00

Nana's visit

2010-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Nana came for a visit last week. Before she arrived Piper asked if she would be cosming on a polka-dotted airplane. Very cute! We had a fantastic visit and loved having see how much Piper has changed since Brock was born and also how big and animated Brock has gotten. While Nana was here it seemed as though Piper made another jump in her use of language. She is much more conversational with you now which is a lot of fun and her vocabulary continues to grow. We can't wait to see Nana and Pop Pop again at Christmas.

Piper had another milestone the week before Nana's visit. She has decided that it is okay for Grover to remain in her bag when she is at school. She is showing more excitement about going to school now and her teachers have been enjoying hearing her be more talkative at school. She continues to be very observant before jumping into something new at school but that's okay! Our latest favorite thing that Piper told us is "Brock's mouth is droopy, just like Mudge!" We have been reading a lot of Henry and Mudge stories and Mudge is a big St. Bernard! She also told me that they did fingerpainting at school just like Clifford in another book that we had read together.

While Nana was here she was a big help with Brock! We spent one day of her visit down at DHMC for visits to his doctors and having an ultrasound. When Brock was born he was born with an enlarged right kidney and ureter. So after two ultrasounds and a test called the VCUG our excellent doctor, Dr. Weinstein and a pediatric urologist have determined that he has a slight structural flaw in his bladder which caused the enlargement of his kidney. Thankfully his kidney and ureter are both measuring within the normal range now. We will continue to have periodic check-ins and ultrasounds with his team of doctors but thankfully now they have found the root of the problem. This problem was discovered on my very last ultrasound to check the fluid level around the baby on the day that I had the c-section. Had we not had that ultrasound we may have never discovered this problem as Brock is healthy and happy and growing like a weed. Hopefully this will not be problematic for him as he grows up. I greatly appreciated Nana's help at the hospital while she was here.

In other news for Brock he has become a drool machine just like Piper did at this age so we would be surprised if he did not have a new tooth soon! Brock has become a champion sleeper. He takes wonderful naps and has just begun to sleep through the night!!! Yay Brock!!!!!! He bats at toys that you put in front of him and is full of smiles. He also likes to engage with you and talk and even told Nana a "coyote story" by making sounds like a coyote which is very appropriate for where we live. We can't wait to see what he will do next!

During Nana's visit we also had a brief visit from Uncle John and Grace (and Charlie of course!). We enjoyed a beautiful sunshine day, a delicious meal of corn chowder and turkey burgers and a simply delicious grapefruit cheesecake made by Grace. We were very happy to have Uncle John and Grace come to visit us to see how much Piper has changed and to meet Brock. We can't wait for your next visit!

2010-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

10 weeks old! What a handsome guy!

Piper loves hanging out with Brock and reading stories. We just finished reading Monster Trucks!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! We had a great time celebrating Halloween this year. Piper was a ladybug and wore her costume around for several days leading up to the big day. She also wore her ladybug boots to complete the look! Brock dressed up as a jack-o-lantern and cow. Piper enjoyed pumpkin carving, a little bit of trick-or-treating and parading at the annual Monroe Town Hall Halloween parade. Brock had fun although he slept through most of the spooky fun.

October

2010-10-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
Brock had his 2 month check-up this week. He now weighs 12 pounds 7.5 ounces and is 23 and a half inches. He is smiling all of the time now and loves to sit and coo and talk to you. Brock loves tummy time and especially likes to nap on his tummy (even though it's not allowed) because he likes to suck on his fingers. When he is not sleeping on his tummy he is quite strong and can do baby push-ups and look all around. Brock continues to be a fantastic night-time sleeper and is only getting up once to eat and then goes right back to sleep. We can put him down when he is awake and he will talk to himself a bit and then fall asleep all by himself!!! Brock is starting to find his hands more and loves to bat at the toys on his toy bar over his bouncy seat. We have also been having a great time going for walks with Piper in the double Bob and the baby Bjorn.

Piper continues to be a very busy two year old but what two year old isn't? This fall Piper has been going to pre-school. At school she enjoys playing with her new friends and gets to do show and tell, yoga and meditation, and a lot of art projects and exploration. They also sing a lot and read many stories. This week Piper had a big moment when she peed on the "big girl" potty at school! Piper is beginning to be a bit less shy at school. But, she continues to be an observer just like me and has to check everything out before participating fully. This month has been somewhat challenging for Piper too as she has been battling sickness for the past month and a half so we have had a lot of fun at the house which has including dancing and twirling in her ladybug costume and exploring with paints. Piper has been to the doctor at Dartmouth Hitchcock several times this month and we were very surprised the other day when she told me that Grover (her lovey and everywhere companion) would not be coming to the doctor because in her own words "he is scared of the doctor." We went to the doctor without him and she didn't even ask for him!!! Hopefully Piper is finally on the mend and we can enjoy Halloween tomorrow. Piper's vocabulary continues to grow and Piper has started to ask questions such as "What are you doing Mommy? or "Where are you Daddy?"

What a fun adventure we are having with our two kids!

Sister and Brother

2010-10-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

2 months

2010-10-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I am two months old now and weigh 12.2 pounds!

Brock has had an eventful week. . .but not much fun. We had to go to the ER on Sunday night due to a very high fever : ( Thankfully, after lots of tests, IV, blood draw, spinal tap etc. and a long night/morning at the ER all of the tests came back negative and it was determined that Brock probably just had the same virus as his sister. He was given a shot of antibiotic and we were sent home. He is feeling much better now and the doctor thought he looked great at our follow-up visit! We will see our regular pediatrician next week for a two month check-up.

Brock is 2 months old!

2010-10-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here is our big boy Brock showing off his almost 2 month old skills. I can't believe how quickly time is passing. He is smiling a lot now and likes to interact with you with coos and bubble blowing. He smiled at Piper last week which she thought was cool! She also enjoys hearing him "talk" to her which is so cute!

First Smiles!

2010-10-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

Look at me! Here is one of Brock's first social smiles at 6 weeks old (October 1, 2010)! What a happy little guy!

Our big boy

2010-10-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Brock is 6 weeks old and has outgrown his Moses Basket! What a big boy!

Fall fun with Brock and Piper

2010-10-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

We have been having a lot of fun this fall! Piper is finally used to the idea of having a baby around and the change in the family dynamics. She has been having a lot of fun at school making new friends, learning new sounds, doing yoga, having show and tell, and learning about letters. She is actually already pretty good with the alphabet and knows some of her letters: P (of course, D for Daddy, M for Mommy, B for Brock, A, E, X, and H. We think this is pretty smart! Lately Piper has been having a blast doing little wooden puzzles and big floor puzzles. She has also been enjoying using her swing set and also riding on her new balance bike. Brock continues to be an awesome baby. He still sleeps a lot and his fussy times are pretty limited. He is sleeping pretty well at night for only being 6 weeks old and is growing like a weed. We can't wait for his next check-up to see how big he has gotten! He is also beginning to give us some halfway smiles while awake and shows off his great smile while he is sleeping. We have been having a lot of fall adventures which have included apple picking and going to the Monroe Harvest Festival.

Here are some of the latest pictures of our adventures as a family of four.

Getting so big!!!!

2010-10-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the latest pics of Brock. This is a picture of Brock last weekend. He was 5 weeks old when this picture was taken. He weighed 10 lbs. 15 ounces at our trip to the Doctor last weekend. Thankfully Brock seems to finally be over his terrible first cold! More pictures to come soon!

Fall Foliage Train Ride

2010-09-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we rode the Green Mountain Railroad from St. Johnsbury, VT to McIndoe's Falls as a part of the fall foliage festival. Piper was nervous about it at first but once the train got going she had a blast. She loved hearing the train whistle and squeaky brakes as well as going over the bridges and the Connecticut River. We had a picnic lunch in the train and enjoyed the clowns playing guitar and singing and the balloon animals. Piper got a turtle which is her favorite animal. This was Piper and Brock's first train ride although I think Jesse was the most excited in the group. Brock slept for most of the ride because of the gentle motion of the train.

3 weeks old

2010-09-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

Brock is beginning to have more awake times during the day. He is 3 weeks old now and continues to be a great sleeper which is a plus! His looks are changing daily but we are still trying to figure out who he looks like. He is definitely a handsome little guy!

2 week check-up

2010-09-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

Brock is growing like a weed. At his 2 week check-up he was 9 lbs 2 ounces and 21 and a half inches! He continues to be a happy laid back baby and is a great sleeper. Piper loves to hold and kiss Brock.

Our first family photo!

2010-09-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here is our first successful family photo as a family of four! Piper is 2 years and one month old and Brock is 2 weeks old.

Brock meets his grandparents

2010-09-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Dartmouth Hitchcock the night Brock was born. This is the first time he met his Grandparents. We were very lucky that the timing worked out so that Jesse's parents, Grammy and Gramp and my parents, Nana and Pop Pop were all able to make it to the hospital in time to see us as we were wheeled out of the operating room with Brock. We can't wait for him to get to know his grandparents!

Nana's visit and Grammy's help

2010-09-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

Piper and Brock are having a great time with Nana while she is here and I am very grateful for all of the extra help. We are so happy that Nana has been able to stay with us for this extended visit to help us out as I recover from my c-section. We wish that Pop Pop could be here too but are glad that he was at least able to make it up here to meet Brock on his birthday!

We are also very thankful to have Jesse's Mom and Dad right up the hill to help us out. Piper has been having a lot of fun going on adventures with Grammy while we get settled in with Brock. They even went to music class last week!

Thanks for all of the wonderful help Nana and Grammy!

Piper and Brock

2010-09-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

Piper is having a great time getting to know her little brother Brock. She likes to hold him and to give him kisses. She also likes to gently touch his head and to look at his tiny fingers and tiny nose. Here is a picture of Piper and Brock when Brock is 2 weeks old.

Welcome Brock Grove Laflamme

2010-08-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

Baby Brock Grove Laflamme was delivered by c-section on Friday, August 20, 2010 at 8:49 p.m at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He was delivered by Doctor Jones and Doctor Merriman and the awesome medical staff at DHMC. He weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 and a half inches. He has a little bit of brown hair (no red hair!) and blue eyes (at least for now). He has very long fingers and big feet and skinny little legs and arms. He is a very handsome baby boy and we are so happy that he is finally here to join our family. He was 2 and a half weeks early just like his sister Piper due to my diagnosis of oligohydramnios or low amniotic fluid which was being closely monitored during twice weekly visits to DHMC for ultrasounds and non-stress tests. On Friday, my fluid level had dropped too low so my regular OB Dr. Mahlab came in to see me and told me I was going to be admitted to the birthing pavilion. I made a lot of phone calls and arrangements were made for Piper and Jesse came to meet me at the hospital. Nana and Pop Pop headed for New Hampshire in hopes of making it in time for the delivery. Grammy and Gramp came to meet us as well and thankfully due to my c-section being held up until the evening everyone made it to the hospital just in time! The c-section went very well and Brock arrived crying into our world. We can't wait for all of the new adventures as a family of four!

My two pregnancies

2010-08-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

36 and a half weeks pregnant with Piper's baby brother (Aug. 2010)

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36 weeks pregnant with Piper (July 2008)

Piper turns 2!

2010-08-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

We can't believe it, but on July 31, 2010, Piper turned 2 although when we asked her how old she was on her birthday she said she was 3 or for but not 2. I have a funny video of this that I will post soon! Piper had an eventful birthday filled with fun and unfortunately a little fear when I decided that it would be a great idea to make Grover cupcakes for her birthday. Piper apparently thought the cupcakes were very scary and refused to eat them with lots of tears streaming down her face. I guess Grover is better as a lovey than a cupcake! Thankfully we had some back-up cake on hand from her Gramp Gramp's 92nd birthday the day before. Piper had a great time at her birthday bbq celebrating with her family and friends although we missed seeing her cousins and Aunt and Uncle from PA. Piper played in the sandbox and ran around with her friends at the party and enjoyed some birthday cake which we decided not to decorate like Grover due to the birthday mishap the day before. Piper has been having a lot of fun since her birthday playing in her new kitchen, and at her new little table and also going shopping with her shopping cart from Grammy and Gramp.

Piper is a very busy two year old and her way of getting from one place to the next now is usually by running just like her cousin Gardner. Piper continues to enjoy singing a variety of songs and even makes up her own words sometimes. She is able to count from 1 to 10 and is identifying some of her letters now. The other day she pointed out P and said "P for Piper" and then a D and said "D for Daddy." Piper loves doing puzzles now and still enjoys pointing out shapes, even pentagons and hexagons. She loves reading stories and we have entered the stage of reading stories over and over again. Her favorites right now include "No Roses for Harry" and "Llama, Llama, Red pajama" She also loves her new farm flap book and Tag Jr reading set that she got for her birthday from Nana and Pop Pop.

We can't wait to see what this next year will bring! Now Piper is awaiting the arrival of her baby brother. Sometimes when we talk about him she tells me he is in her belly, other times she tells me he is ready to get out and play. Hopefully the transition from being an only child to having a sibling will go ok but I am sure there will be some bumps along the way. The baby will be here soon. . .perhaps before September first but more about that in my next post.

Silver Lake 2010

2010-08-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic time at Silver Lake this summer! Piper had a blast swimming, playing, going for walks, having picnics on the porch, and blowing bubbles with her cousins Shaw and Gardner. She also had a great time seeing Nana and Pop Pop and Uncle Scott and Aunt Meredith. While we were there Piper spent a lot of time splashing in the water and "swimming", playing in the sand, playing in the splash mat, and playing with legos. The first night that we were there was somewhat eventful as she tried too climb out of the crib and landed on the floor with a crash. Luckily she was ok! Please enjoy the pictures from our trip. We can't wait to again next year with Piper's little brother!

Almost 2!

2010-07-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Piper is growing up so fast we can hardly believe it! She will be 2 in less than a month! Piper is starting to get into the routine of school and has made some new friends. She is still nervous about it though and needs to bring Grover along for comfort. Over the past two weeks Piper has become our little singer which is very cool as she is singing a lot of songs from home, music class, and school. Piper's favorite songs to sing are Old MacDonald (of course!), The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The alphabet song, and to chant Five Little Monkeys. She is ready to take the stage and sometimes even pretends that the corner of the sandbox which has a small seat is her stage. Piper is also talking in very complete sentences now. She likes to tell you the color of everything and her imagination is blossoming during pretend play times. We have been having a lot of tea parties lately! Piper is also working on some counting which we think is pretty neat. Last week she had four toy dogs out and counted them 1. . .2. . .3. . .4! We just got Piper a new tricycle which she is very excited about and hopefully will learn how to pedal soon. She loves putting on her helmet which is pink with panda bears. We are having a blast with Piper and enjoying the adventure of watching her grow up and change!

In other news, the baby countdown is on. My c-section is scheduled for September 1st. Our baby boy is currently breech just like his sister and the doctors are monitoring my fluid level as it is borderline low. We will have another ultrasound in the beginning of August and hopefully the baby will be able to stay in until my c-section date. Keep your fingers crossed!

Piper's First Day of School

2010-06-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

Piper started school this week at the local Montessori School. Nana was here to help us to get ready for the first day of school. The first day of school was a little tear-filled (perhaps for me too) as it is a totally new environment for Piper. At school they have circle time, story-time, an activity and a lot of time playing outside as well as lunch and snacks. Piper had fun unwinding from school at Grammy and Gramp's house later that night (see the photo of Piper in googles and wings). Piper's second day of school went a lot better (Grover had to come too!). Piper is getting to know her new friends and enjoyed singing "Five Little Monkeys" and playing on the playground. Hopefully each day will get a little bit easier and she will have a great time!

Piper's Sandbox

2010-06-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here is Piper enjoying her new sandbox in are yard. She is enjoying the warmer weather and loves spending time digging and filling buckets with sand. Piper is 22 months old in this picture. She is talking up a storm now and loves to tell you about everything that she sees. Our favorite toddler expressions of Piper's are when she tells us that she "needs more sunshine" (her word for sunscreen) and she also tells us that she wants to eat "Mackyrody" (macaroni). Piper can put some of her own shoes on now, can take off her own pants and can eat with a fork and spoon. She recently got to spend some time at the farm in the winter gardens with the chickens and was much braver this time. She was chasing the chickens around and trying to pet them. Piper loves visiting Daddy at the office and has also been enjoying swimming in her wading pool and going to the playground. Her favorite things to do these days are to plant flowers in the garden with Mommy and to "work" in the field the tractor with Daddy.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

2010-06-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

Piper and I went to Brunswick, Maine to visit our friends the Wellings over Memorial Day weekend while Jesse was out of town at a wedding. Piper had fun meeting her new friend Beck and espcially loved sharing his train table and wading pool. We also had fun going to the Farmer's Market and Beck's Mom Hannah and I enjoyed some time shopping in Freeport while Doug bravely took on babysitting duty. It was great to spend time with Hannah as Piper and Beck are close in age and this fall we will have a new baby boy and they will have a new baby girl! We hope to see them again soon perhaps before our babies arrive!

25 weeks pregnant

2010-05-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 25 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good although the 90 degree weather this week has been less than desirable. Thankfully we've been able to cool off by going swimming! Oh and by the way, in case you hadn't heard. . .It's a BOY!!!!!!

Dandelions

2010-05-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

Piper had a great time picking dandelions today after we had a family picnic by the barn. She loves picking dandelions espcially the ones that work for making a wish!

Music

2010-05-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

Piper loves playing music and we were very excited to participate in Music Together at the St. Martin's Fair when we were visiting Nana and Pop Pop. Piper is very serious about her egg shaking of course!

Daddy's New Tractor

2010-04-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

Jesse got his tractor today for winning the NH Young Farmer of the Year. He gets to use it for 6 months. We are hopefully going to use it for hayrides and haying the fields. Jesse was very excited to drive it home from the farm to show Piper. Piper couldn't wait to get in the tractor with Daddy and to try out pushing all of the buttons. She liked beeping the horn and even lowered the bucket! Jesse can't wait to take her out in the tractor for her very first ride!

Easter 2010

2010-04-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

This year we spent Easter at Nana and Pop Pop's house. It was a beautiful spring day and Piper enjoyed her first real Easter Egg hunt for eggs and treats from the Easter Bunny. This year she was able to hunt all by herself. She quickly caught on and had fun discovering eggs and goodies such as bubbles and quickly filled her Easter basket. She also enjoyed blowing bubbles with Daddy and a "round of golf" in the yard. We had a wonderful Easter lunch and were joined by Gran, Piper's great grandmother and Piper's Great Aunt Susan. Piper sampled some Easter candy although she decided that Cheerios were much more to her liking. It was a wonderful day!!!!

Family Portrait

I like this Easter grass!

Easter goodies

Golfing at Nana and Pop Pop's

Portrait with Nana and Pop Pop

Look Piper! More Eggs!

Blowing bubbles with Daddy. Where did they go?

More golf!

18 Weeks pregnant with baby # 2

Can I try?

The Philadelphia Zoo

2010-04-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

During our Easter trip to the Main Line at the beginning of April we took advantage of the fantastic weather and had an awesome day at the Philadelphia Zoo with Nana, Aunt Meredith, and cousins Shaw and Gardner. The girls had a blast seeing all of the different animals. Piper especially liked the monkeys since there was one that looks just like her stuffed animal monkey Mona. We got to see lions, tigers, zebras, orangutans, tortoises, giraffes and a lot more. Jesse and I had such a wonderful time taking Piper on her first trip to the zoo!

Winter 2010-Fun in the snow

2010-03-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Piper has been very busy this winter even though we have not had much snow. At first Piper did not like putting on all of her snow gear but once she realized how much fun it was outside in the snow she loved to put on her snowsuit and boots! With the little snow that we had this winter Piper did get to enjoy sledding in the front yard and on our big sledding hill with her cousins. She also helped me make her first snowman. Piper also got to go on her skis for the first time and hopefully next year we will get to go a lot more. Daddy had a blast being able to show her what to do on skis and can't wait to ski some more next winter! We also enjoyed taking Piper out in the nordic cab. We used our cross country skis and Daddy pulled the cab. She liked going on this new adventure and hopefully next year we can use it to take her and her new sibling on some winter picnics. As the weather got warmer and the snow began to melt, we took a wonderful family hike at the Flume in Franconia, New Hampshire. Piper enjoyed hiking in the backpack with Daddy and also hiking on her own and we even found a snowman on the trail!

Christmas 2009

2010-03-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

Piper had a wonderful Christmas this year in Villanova with Mommy and Daddy. We stayed at Nana and PopPop's house and waited for Santa's arrival. Piper had fun celebrating Christmas Eve at Gran's house and got to see her cousins Shaw and Gardner, Aunt Meredith and Uncle Scott and also her Great Aunt Susan and Great Uncle John. On Christmas morning Piper enjoyed opening her stocking with Mommy and Daddy and quickly caught on to the fun of opening presents saying "Open! Open!" We aren't sure which was more fun, the presents or just unwrapping them. The cousins all had a great time playing together on Christmas day and all looked very cute in their Christmas dresses. We had a fantastic Christmas this year and can't wait for next year!!!!!

Catching up with Piper

2010-03-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have been out of touch for awhile with updates about Piper so will be adding more news pictures soon. Piper is now 19 months old (we can't believe it!) and will have a new brother or sister joining her in the family this fall somewhere around my due date of September 6th. Piper came with us to the first ultrasound and got to see the new baby. She was worried by the whole situation because she thought they were trying to "fix" my belly and kept saying "fix it" We think she was relating this visit to the Doctor with our visits to the visit to have Dr. Shana, our vet, "fix" Homer's tummy after he decided it was a great idea to eat one of Piper's play balls. The new baby was very busy in my tummy and had a heartrate of 161. Piper says it will be a sister when you ask her "Is it going to be a brother or a sister?" but also tells us that maybe it will be a cat : ) We will hopefully find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl on April 9th.

Piper has been a busy bee and is growing like a weed. She can now reach the countertops in the kitchen which she thinks is really great! She is talking up a storm these days. While we were in the kitchen the to her day she said "Play ball Dad." which was very cute. Right after Christmas she began repeating everything that we are saying and her vocabulary is growing by the day. I have attached a slideshow of Piper and the baby chicks which was taken beofre Christmas and will add more pictures soon. Please stay tuned for more!!!!

November and December

2009-12-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

Piper has finally recovered from being very sick for about a month and a half. thankfully after two rounds of antibiotics her ear infection finally cleared up. Since then she has been back to her normal energetic self which is awesome! Piper had fun with her cousins in Pennsylvania at Thanksgiving. We visited the Museum of Natural Science in Philadelphia. Piper was excited and even said "city" as we drove into town. She had fun sitting in a dinosaur footprint, seeing the dinosaur bones, and animal dioramas, and also seeing the live butterflies. She enjoyed Thanksgiving with the family although only lasted for a few minutes at Thanksgiving lunch because she was exhuasted from still being sick. Piper enjoys watching her older cousins and can even say "Shaw" now. She is still working on "Gardner, Alexander, and Elizabeth as those names are much more difficult to pronounce. Piper has also been having a lot of fun at home and has started to do imaginary play with her dolls and stuffed animals and gives them a bottle when they are thirsty. Sometimes Homer even enjoys a bottle too! Piper also likes to rock her babies and her new favorite past-time is dancing. She uses quick dancing feet, can march, and rocks, and sways. She has really been enjoying listening to Christmas music. Since we have been home, Piper also got to meet Santa Claus twice (in one day. . .not sure if that was a good thing). She actually sat on Santa's lap however had a look of fear on her face and needed Grovey (her Grover) to make it through the experience. When she saw Santa later that day at a Christmas party she decided Santa was not for her at least not this year and said "NO!NO!NO! when I asked her if she wanted to sit on his lap. Piper's language is also starting to take off. This week she realy began to try to mimic and is also trying to say two words together such as "Hello. . .Daddy" when calling Daddy on her toy phone. Some of her favorite words right now are dance, bounce, and sit and many animal names such as birdie and she calls chickens "chickies." Piper also enjoyed the recent snowfall and loves to go out in her sled with cries of "wheeeeeeeee!" as we pull her around the yard. The first day we went out to play in the snow was somewhat traumatic as many tears were shed as we dressed to go out to play. Piper has had to get used to wearing her new snow boots and now wants to wear them around the house. Piper also cried when she got a mouthful of snow from her mitten and has since learned to say "brrrrrrrrrrrrrr." we are having a great tinme and can't wait to celebrate the holidays with family. Also, one more quick thing which I forgot to mention in earlier posts. At Piper's 15 month check up she was 21.8 lbs (33%) and 31.69 inches (85%). She eats like a horse but I guess she has inhereited my metabolism. We will go in for our next check-up at the beginning of February for her 18 month appointment.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Talking and more . . .

2009-11-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

It has been a long month since Halloween. Unfortunately we all had the flu which was not much fun. Piper was sick with fevers for a week and our pediatrician said that she probably had H1N1. Thankfully everyone seems to be feeling much better and Piper is back to her chipper self bee-bopping around the house. While she was sick Piper did learn the enjoyment of snuggling up with a good book in Mommy's or Daddy's lap. She loves reading books about animals, peek-a-boo books and her new favorite is "Sheep in a Jeep." Piper is also learning new words everyday and can name and point to her nose, eyes, ears, hair, mouth, teeth and toes. She even says "peease" when she asks for something.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Halloween with Piper this year! She got to dress up as a kitty cat and also a chicken (thanks Hustons!) We enjoyed a mom's day out at Littleton Hospital and Piper had fun being a kitty cat for the day! She loved running around in the yard with us in her cat costume when we got home for lunch Daddy thought she looked espcially adorable. We also went to the annual Monroe Town Halloween Parade. Piper was a chicken and we dressed as bacon and eggs. Piper wasn't feeling great but ended up having a great time running around at the town hall in her chicken suit and she enjoyed the apple in the goody bag that we received after we paraded around the town hall. She looked perfect in her chicken costume and everyone thought our bacon and eggs costumes were hilarious. Please enjoy the pictures of some of our fun.

Piper day 1

2009-10-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

I just found this great video of Piper taken in the hospital room right after she was born. Check it out! (oops, video did not upload. I will try again later) It is amazing how big she is getting and how much she is doing now. She has new words every day and is just about running now. Her newest words are puppy and bear and she can now say Mommy instead of just Mama. We are having so much fun as she approaches 15 months. Today I enjoyed watching her pretend watering the plants with the watering can outside. It was so adorable.

Being one is a lot of fun!

2009-10-05T17:26:00.001-07:00

Piper is very curious about the world around her and loves going on new adventures! Piper is beginning to try to imitate every word that you say. Right now her favorite word is Daddy which she says as "Dah-DEE!" She is going to be a little chatterbox! She is getting her molars now and is starting to look like a big girl. She had a great time visiting Windy Ridge Apple Orchard with Grammy and I and even enjoyed her first cider donut. Yum! She also really enjoyed seeing all of the animals in their petting zoo area. . .especially the sheep, still her favorite animal! She also had fun picking apples off the ground and adding them to our bag of apples. Also, enjoy the pictures of Piper eating her new favorite food, spaghetti. She loves noodles!

Piper has been busy!

2009-09-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

Piper has been a very busy girl since her first birthday! We have been to Silver Lake with Nana, Pop Pop, Uncle Scott, Aunt Meredith, and cosuins Shaw and Gardner. We have also traveled to Maine to visit friends and stopped in at Bates along the way. Here is a slide show of pictures of our end of the summer fun with more pictures to come soon!

Piper is 1 year old!

2009-08-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIPER!

It is hard t believe how quickly this year has passed. Piper turned 1 year old on July 31, 2009. We had a great time celebrating as a family! Piper enjoyed eating her first cupcake although she didn't seem to like wearing her party hat. We enjoyed celebrating her birthday with family and friends at her first birthday party Piper is a little girl now, no longer a baby. She is busy walking everywhere and has quit crawling except when navigating difficult doorways. She had her first haircut at the hairdressers which she wasn't so sure about. She has ten teeth and is busy working on learning new words and sounds. She loved playing with her birthday balloons especially the cat and she can now say "meow." Her favorite animal though is still a sheep and she still loves to say "baa. . .baa." Piper loves to spend time looking at books, her favorites are Millie Moo and any Peek-A-Boo book or books of words and photographs. Piper's favorite toys at the moment are balls, her radio flyer wagon, and stacking and nesting toys. We are all having so much fun together and can't wait to see what this new year with her will bring!

Happy Birthday Piper! We love you!

Piper is walking!!!!

2009-07-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

It's official . . . Piper is walking! She took her first timid steps on Friday, July 10th and then took many more during our trip to Maine to visit the Chadbourne family. We are so excited although a little bit scared that she is now really mobile! We know that it won't be long before she is off and running. Piper is also busy learning lots of other new things. She can now blow kisses and when you ask her if she is a tiger she says ,"grrrrrr," if you ask her if she is a snake she says "sssssssssss," and if you ask her what a sheep says she says, "ba ba." She loves seeing the sheep down the road from our house so she can practice "baaaaaing" like a sheep.

Here is her debut taking some of her first steps . . . she was trying to go get baby Anya.

Walking with a wagon!

2009-06-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

Piper is close to be on the move all by herself! While we were visiting Nana and Pop Pop in Pennsylvania Piper began to walk with help (10 and a half months old). She had a great time pushing Shaw and Gardner's Radio Flyer wagon and loves to lead you everywhere walking while holding hands. She also figured out how to climb the stairs with help! It won't be long before she is walking and running all by herself. We can't believe how quickly she is growing up!

Enjoying the warm weather!

2009-06-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Piper is getting so big! She is ten months old. Hard to believe how quickly time flies! Piper loves spending time outside which we have been doing a lot of lately now that the weather is finally getting nice (although we have had some nights in the thirties and I hear it snowed near Stowe the other day). Piper loves to go out for walks in our fields with our dogs Lucy and Homer and we often walk up to Grammy and Gramp's house to see the horses and the pony named Oreo. Piper loves to be adventurous and last week climbed all the way to the top of the stairs which impressed me since it was only her second time trying! We have also been busy going to a music class every week. Piper enjoys hearing the seeing and playing with the music instruments and dancing. We have also started to meet some other kids here age whihc is great! Please enjoy the latest pictures of Piper's adventures.

Spring in the North Country

2009-05-28T11:12:00.001-07:00

Crawling!

2009-05-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

Piper is 9 and a half months old. She is now a true crawler and is very determined! Look out Mom and Dad and all of the pets! She is getting faster by the day! We have been having a lot of fun outside enjoying the spring weather. Here is Piper on an adventure to look at dandelions. She was busy exploring and trying to eat the dandelions.

May fun

2009-05-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

A busy girl!

2009-05-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

Piper has been very busy the past two weeks. She is keeping us on our toes! She is getting much quicker at crawling, still not up on her knees though although she is now crawling over to things and pulling herself up. She has been pulling herself up in her crib, on baskets of toys in her room, and anywhere else she can get to. She even tries to pull herself up on Homer our black lab. Piper also said her first "word" on Saturday. We were riding in the car and she dropped her keys and said "uh-oh!" She is also working on saying "Wow!" and possibly "ball." We are having a lot of fun together!

Piper had her 9 months check-up on Friday. She weighs 17 pounds 15 ounces (30 percentile), she is 28 and 1/4 inches long (68 percentile) and her head is 46 cm. She is almost exaclty the same weight and length as me that age and also her cousin Gardner.

Commando Crawling!

2009-05-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Piper has learned how to commando crawl and is enjoying going to get her toys out and exploring her surroundings. She especially loves going to "pat" Homer our giant 105 pound black lab which is dangerous because he gives giant wet slobbery kisses! Enjoy watching Piper on the go!

9 months old

2009-05-02T10:58:00.001-07:00

Piper is 9 months old and very busy these days! In the past two weeks she has started to clap and give kisses. She has also figured out how to sit up on her own which required dropping the crib down so that she can't try to escape! She has even fallen asleep in a folded sitting position. Piper is also busy working on learning how to crawl. She has mastered the commando crawl and is able to move very quickly now to get things that she would like to play with or to get into trouble. She also loves eating finger foods. Her favorites are peas, avocado, and tofu. We are having a lot of fun watching her grow and change very day!

Easter

2009-05-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time visiting Nana and PopPop and seeing the rest of the family at Easter. Piper enjoyed her first Easter egg hunt with her cousins Shaw and Gardner. They showed her what to do and next year she will be able to join in on all of the excitement of hunting with her own basket by herself. Please enjoy the pictures from our trip and there will be more pictures and videos soon! Piper is very busy these days!

Fun with family and friends

2009-04-06T05:51:00.001-07:00

Piper has been having a lot of fun lately with family and friends and we are looking forward to more fun times with family during our visit to Pennsylvania for Easter.

Piper with Anya and Emma

Playing with Emma

Playing with cousins Alexander and Elizabeth (Piper and Elizabeth are wearing Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 hats from our visit to Universal Studios in Florida).

Piper in action

2009-03-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some oldies but goodies. . .

Here is a video of Piper when she was 6 months old. She is having a great time laughing with mommy. She thought the zipper on my jacket was really funny. Enjoy!

Piper loves to sit and play. She especially loves to play with her box of shapes!

Winter Fun

2009-03-07T05:00:00.001-08:00

Piper has been enjoying the winter. We have been having a lot of fun sledding, hiking, playing with our toys, and "reading." She also enjoys having fun in her pj's before bedtime with Mommy and Daddy.

Piper 6 months-"I'm a very busy girl!"

2009-02-27T04:17:00.000-08:00

Piper has been having a very busy time! She has been teething and now has two teeth. She still loves bouncing in her bouncer and playing in her exersaucer. She learned to sit up this month as well and loves to sit and play with toys such as her new shape sorter and her elephant toy from Nana and Pop Pop. She also is starting to enjoy sitting and looking at books (and chewing on them of course!). We had a great time with Nana and PopPop during their visit and also enjoyed seeing Uncle John and Grace. We have been spending a lot of time going out for walks in the backpack now that it is warming up a little bit here. Piper also enjoyed meeting Tory (friend from AIS) and Calvin. Last weekend we went to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (where Piper was born) to meet Anya Brooke Chadbourne who was only one day old. Congratulations to our friends Alison and Adam. Piper is starting to become more interested in getting around by herself (lots of log rolling) so we are anticipating the day when she figures out how to scoot or crawl. Enjoy the latest batch of pictures to see what Piper has been up to.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T09:40:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Half Birthday Piper!

2009-02-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Piper is 6 months old! She is getting very good at rolling over both ways now and has discovered that she can go and get things that she wants by rolling. She has also been practicing rolling over in her crib too. Piper is also starting to laugh more spontaneously now which is adorable. I will be posting a video of her laughing soon. We go to the pediatrician tomorrow so I will post more tomorrow after she has been weighed and measured. Here is Piper celebrating her half birthday

Bouncing! Bouncing! Bouncing!

2009-01-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

Piper has found her new favorite hobby. Bouncing! Piper loves to bounce and would bounce all day if you let her. Please enjoy this video to see her in action. Watch her as she bounces by herself and with her cousins Alexander and Elizabeth.

Almost 6 months old. . .

2009-01-26T14:30:00.001-08:00

Piper will be 6 months old this week. Time flies! Please enjoy the latest pictures.

Riding ponies and having fun!

2009-01-23T11:34:00.001-08:00

Emma and Piper love to ride ponies together!

Teething

2009-01-20T12:20:00.000-08:00

Piper is teething and it is exciting to know that soon she will have her first tooth! She will look great adding teeth to her huge gummy grin. Piper has also been working hard to roll over from back to front although it has only happened a few more times so far since it happened the first time. Daddy still hasn't seen it happen and I haven't been able to catch her doing it on the video camera. Piper also had her first mini-pj party with her friend Emma over the weekend. They had fun playing in their pj's while Emma and her parents Alison and Adam were here for a visit at dinner time. Enjoy the latest pics and videos.

2009-01-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

Piper has been having a lot of fun lately. Here she is in her bumbo seat, bouncing, going for a hike with Daddy, playing with her lion and taking a bath.

She will be on the go soon!

2009-01-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

Piper will be on the go soon! We have been playing games with Piper to get her to roll from her back to her tummy. She has completely mastered the art of rolling from her tummy to her back and quickly rolls over when put on her tummy. She was on her side playing so I pushed a toy near her, pulled it away and pushed it back again and then all of a sudden she rolled over to her tummy. It was very cool! Hopefully she'll do it again soon. If I get a video of it I will post it soon! Also, we went to the Doctor last Friday because Piper has an ear infection. She was weighed while she was there and at 5 and a half months she weighs 13 pounds 12 ounces. We will visit Dr. Olson for our 6 month check-up on February 3, 2009. Piper also likes to sing and sometimes like to use her foot as a microphone, at least that's how it appears. She is also beginning to laugh when tickled or when you play peek-a-boo.

Piper's First Christmas

2009-01-06T05:27:00.001-08:00

Piper had a wonderful first Christmas! We went to Nana and PopPop's House to celebrate. Piper had fun celebrating Christmas Eve at Gran's house with Aunt Susan, Uncle John and Grace, Nana and PopPop, Uncle Scott and Aunt Meredith, and cousins Shaw and Gardner. Piper had a great time even though she was not able to stay awke for a round of carpet bowling with her cousins (maybe next year). She was too busy sleeping with visions of reindeer pawing on Nana an PopPop's rooftop. Piper awoke Christmas morning to a delicious breakfast of applesauce and oatmeal and wore a Santa hat to get in the spirit. She was surprised to find that Santa had left her a very special stocking knit by her Nana, full of goodies, and her favorite, PEAS! Yum! On Christmas day Piper enjoyed opening presents with Nana and PopPop and Mommy and Daddy. She can't wait until she can play with her new elephant stacking, and ball toy from Santa! Santa also gave Piper the gift of naps this Christmas. She was so excited about napping that she only saw her cousins Shaw and Gardner for a little bit in the afternoon as she was too sleepy. Gardner and Shaw did have fun testing out her new toys though, and Piper was very excited to see what they had given her. She is looking forward to playing with her cool sea animals magnet bath toy and of course loves her chicken puppet and fun books. She is ready for next year to join in all of the Christmas play with her cousins Shaw and Gardner. Christmas night, Piper got to visit with Gran, Aunt Susan, Uncle John and Grace. She will look wonderful in her new clothes and loves snuggling with her pink puppy. The day after Christmas we enjoyed taking Piper for a walk in her new backpack from her Grammy and Gramp. They made sure that Santa delivered it just in time! When we returned to New Hampshire we enjoyed Christmas with Grammy and Gramp, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Kelly, cousins Alexander and Elizabeth, and Uncle Terry and Aunt Eileen. Piper was so tired that she was unable to stay awake for the celebration but is ready for next year. Please enjoy a selection of Christmas pictures with more to come soon!

Merry Christmas!Piper in the exersaucer

I love my new backpack!
Piper, Gardner, and Aunt Meredith

Uncle Scott, Piper, and Shaw

Uncle Scott and Piper

Gran, Mommy, Daddy, and Piper

PopPop and Piper

I love my new pink puppy!

Cousins: Gardner, Shaw, and Piper

Opening presents

Nana and cousins Gardner and Shaw

Carpet bowling!!!!

I'm wearing my Christmas overalls.

Aunt Meredith, Gardner, and Shaw opening gifts.

A reindeer, Aunt Sandy, and a fairy princess.

Cool stocking!!!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Do you like my beard?

Our first Christmas

Piper rolled over!!!!!

2008-12-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

Piper turned 4 months old on Thanksgiving Day. We went to see the pediatrician on December 2nd. Piper had her second round of shots. She now weights 12 pounds 11 ounces and is 24 1/2 inches long. On Thursday, December 4th I was playing with Piper in her room since she was not napping (surprise, surprise) and I put her down on her tummy for tummy time. All of a sudden she surprised me by quickly rolling from her tummy to her back. The video I have posted shows her rolling over for the 4th time as I did not have the camera at the ready the first time it happened. Piper was able to show her Daddy her new trick when he got home that night. Now that she is rolling we know that it won't be long before, crawling, standing, and walking. Look out world here comes Piper!!!!!

Piper had rice cereal!

2008-12-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

During the Thanksgiving holiday we traveled down to Pennsylvania to visit Nana and PopPop and the rest of the family. During our stay Piper had a great time seeing her cousins Shaw and Gardner, her aunt Meredith and Uncle Scott, and also Gran, Aunt Susan, Uncle John and Grace. She also had a great visit with some of the daughter's my AIS classmates. She did not have any turkey for Thanksgiving, but the day after Thanksgiving she enjoyed her first taste of real food. We had fun feeding her organic rice cereal and she loved it! She looked like a little bird ready to eat!

Piper and the chicks and more

2008-12-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

Piper has been having a lot of fun these days. We've been taking lots of walks, playing a lot, and we even went for a visit to see the baby chicks with our friends Alison and Emma. More to come very soon. . . .

Mommy, Piper, Emma, and Alison

Daddy and Piper and a baby chick

Piper says, "What is it?"

Mommy, Piper, and a baby chick

The Laflammes and their chicks!
Tummy time

I am cute!

Staying at The Mountain View Grand Hotel

2008-11-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

This past week Piper got to spend her first night out in a hotel. We stayed at The Mountain View Grand Hotel in Whitefield, NH for the annual Farm Bureau Conference. Piper enjoyed lounging in the room on the big soft comfortable bed, playing with her toys, and watching the ceiling fan (we wish we had one at our house). Unfortunately it was rainy so we weren't able to go for a walk.

Nana's visit

2008-11-14T20:29:00.001-08:00

Last week Nana came to visit! Piper had fun seeing her Nana! During Nana's visit we went shopping in North Conway, visiting Littleton, going to a craft fair and playing at the house. Here are some pictures of Nana and Piper and also Piper with Mommy and Daddy.

Mommy, Nana, and Piper

Piper and Nana

Piper and Nana-Piper says, "Check me out, I'm standing up while Nana burps me!"

Nana came to visit on voting day. Piper went to the polls with Mommy and Daddy. It's never too early to start voting!

Daddy and his flying baby (wearing new PJ's from Nana)

3 months

2008-11-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

Piper is learning new things every day! This week she has really figured out how to hold skinny rattles and some small toys. She has also discovered her feet and can be seen folded in half like a yoga master reaching for her toes, especially when she is on the changing table. This past week we enjoyed a visit from Nana (pictures to come soon). It is fun to have Piper get to know everyone in the family! This week we also enjoyed going for walks with the Chadbournes (Alison and Emma) and also watching some more snowflakes fall. Enjoy these videos of Piper during her third month.

3 Months Old

Playing with a rattle