Proud.

Any old couch'll do

This morning at daycare Connie told me that Piper often gets herself wedged behind her sofa, too. No matter what way you point her, she just shimmies her way backward until she's stuck.

Poor kidlet!!! I wish we could help her figure this out, but if I try to position her to crawl she just ends up lifting both arms and legs into the air so that if you put her back down, it'd be flat on her face :(

Trials and tribulations

Piper is on the verge of crawling, but as we all know 'on the verge' of something is not always the most pleasant place to be. She's great at moving backwards, but can't seem to figure out how to go forwards. She slides herself backwards pushing from her arms with her legs flat behind her, so she's not actually crawling but it gets her moving pretty fast. Problem is, it doesn't get her moving in the direction she actually wants to be going.

As you can imagine, there's a lot of frustration here. And angry scowls and tears. Which is how any rational person would respond if you had your sights set upon a yellow block a foot ahead but then suddenly found yourself inexplicably wedged beneath an overstuffed chair six feet behind you.

Doggie

Piper met Auntie Alex and Uncle Patrick's new dog Miriam on Saturday. She was largely nonchalant about it. Then again, Miriam is an amazingly calm dog, so that might have had something to do with Piper's chill reaction.

I won't even begin to compare and contrast Miriam's disposition and gentle nature with Hero's lack thereof. It just wouldn't be fair. Hero has... different strengths :)

Snow day

Yesterday Piper got a snow day with daddy! Dan's campus was closed down due to weather, so Piper got to stay at home and play with her favorite guy all day long.

I still had to work (the drawback of working from home - never a snow day!) but it warmed my heart to no end to hear all the giggling that was coming from downstairs :)

Piper's playscape

Our own little Narcissus :)
(That orange octopus is a mirror)

All the world's a playscape...

and what a beautiful player :)

Health update

Better today! Happy and giggly this morning, did fine with dropoff at daycare. Looks like our little trooper is back in the game!

Puny

Piper is home sick today :( Luckily her daddy was able to take the day off to be with her. She just has a cold, no fever. But poor kid looks - as Christine told us they say in the great state of Texas - "puny". It means generally unwell. And I think is more often used to describe animals, but it fits. She's pale, her eyes are glassy, and she's just been very tired and quick to cry. Yesterday she struggled a bit at daycare, so it's good that she's at home so she can recoup.

Our Valentine

This was taken with Dan's cell phone so it's a little blurry, but how cute is this kid?!?

Today Piper has a Valentine's Day party at daycare. Unfortunately she's a little under the weather with a slight touch of a cold, but I still think she'll manage to have a pretty fun time :)

As some of you already know, at our pediatrician's appointment on Friday we were told that Piper's dry/rashy skin is eczema. It may or may not be something that she outgrows, it may or may not come with other issues like allergies. But as of now it can be managed, though not cured.

So... we're left with some unique challenges around caring for her very delicate and sensitive skin. Nothing we can't handle. We use a topical prescription medication, along with lots of very greasy lotion to be applied to her entire body at least 4 times per day. We've added a humidifier in her room. And soap has become our arch enemy - no soap, EVER.

Given that we lather her up with tub Eucerin or Aquafor as fast as her skin can soak it up, we now call her our little Grease Monkey. Naturally we also sing a modified version of Grease Lightening to her, replacing 'lightening' with - you got it! - monkey. Don't worry - we also make sure to hold her very, very tight. You almost can't imagine how slippery she becomes.

Giggles

Avoiding carrots

They used to be a favorite, but today she did everything she could to keep 'em at bay.

Sittin' pretty

(If you're wondering what's so funny, it's Hero chewing on his ball)

Happy girl :)

When I dropped Piper off at daycare today Connie remarked on how happy she is - all smiles every morning without fail. She said she's never seen a baby with such a good disposition. It made my heart just about burst with pride and also with joy - for whatever reason, we have an angel baby!!! We thought as much, but it's always nice to get confirmation that when she goes out into the great big world on her own, Piper's still flashin' those gums and lighting up the air with her giggles!

"We've got spirit yes we do!"

I have to say, I enjoy getting to know the many sides of my daughter. Her sweet side, her silly side, her adventurous side, her timid side, and... of course... her willful side. It's true: Piper can be a bit of a firecracker when she wants to. And I find it amusing that mostly she wants to be a firecracker when she's with me. I attribute this to the seemingly natural conclusion that the creatures in our household draw: Daddy = Alpha. Mama = Echo? What comes after Charlie, anyway? Is there a "D" word?

Regardless. I'm at the bottom of the food chain, the weakest link, the hungriest catepillar, the loneliest number there ever was... I digress.

I'm the one everyone pushes over.

Which is fine by me.

So it's no surprise that Piper 'yells' at me when I do something she doesn't like, such as grab her hands to put them in her pajama sleeves, take away a not-so-suitable "toy", or dare to try to feed her something green. And by 'yells', I mean looks me in the eye, lets out an irritated scream of indignation, and flaps her arms and legs around wildly and with great emphasis. Or glares at me, and bats the incoming spoon of peas aside with a force that propels said foodstuff all over my face, clothes, hair, and sometimes even reaches Hero (much to his delight). The first time I always think it's an accident, an uncontrolled movement or knee-jerk reaction. But as these 'episodes' continue, I'm forced to realize that Piper's sometimes got a bone to pick with the woman not-so-in-charge.

And boy does this make me laugh.

Probably not the best parenting, but it's so funny! I love to see her little insides start to boil and her independence shine through. She has her own mind, and she's not even 8 months old! How cools is that???

(Feel free to use this space to mentally insert your own comment about how not cool it will be during the teenage years.)

In search of a pod

Piper's begun to make some very interesting clicking and clacking noises which - along with her constant high-pitched squeals - makes us wonder if perhaps she isn't part dolphin?

Our wedding song, our lullaby

They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

The creatures

Ready for bed

Spiky hair and all :)