Month 10

So, here we are again. Yet another monthly post on how big my baby is getting.

This past month has been, I think, my favorite. Piper has made some huge leaps in her development, particularly motor wise, in the past month. I'll get to that later, first we have to cover the big holiday that happened since I did this last.

This was Piper's very first Easter. In our house, Easter is a big deal, seeing that it is really THE holiday of our faith and the fact that it is my favorite. Some friends of ours host an Easter egg hunt every year for all the kids and this year Piper was able to participate. I guess, technically, she did last year too since I WAS great with child, her.

Some of my mommy friend were questioning this past Easter on the whole Easter basket/Bunny or no Easter basket/Bunny. We don't talk about the Easter Bunny in our house, much like we don't discuss Santa, but the Easter baskets are so fun and really just another way for me to give fun things to the kids. Here's Piper with her swag. In my defense, it really looks like I went WAY overboard in this picture regarding all that she got, but that basket is SO small and all that is in it is a toy that attaches to her stroller tray, a pair of shoes and some hair clips. That's all I could fit in it, so the Little People Zoo and cart cover had to sit in the couch. See, I don't just get frivilous stuff, some of it's useful!

Oh, and yes, this is yet another picture of my precious daughter in her brother's old pajamas. We're in a recession here people. If it fits her, she wears it... Just not in public!

Here's Piper in her fancy Easter dress, complete with bow that she insisted on taking off at random times and waving it around at me. She likes to have her hair "done", but I think she's quickly losing patience with the head bands. As I heard a very wise woman say once, "It is a hill that I'm willing to die on" and she will wear the headbands!

Piper took her very first ride in the cart (with the afore mentioned cover, of course) at our beloved Sprouts. She had the best time bouncing up and down, swinging her little feet and just looking around at all the fun stuff to grab! Now that she's able to ride up front, and really should be out of her carrier when we are shopping, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do when I have to shop with both she and Caleb. I guess he'll be relegated to the large part of the cart with the groceries!

This has been a month of change, healthwise, for our little P. If you remember, Piper had the flu back in February and has had some significant coughing ever since. She was put on a couple of rounds of antibiotics that should have cleared anything bacterial in nature, but was still coughing. While we were at her brother's pulmonologist check up, the respiratory therapist took a listen to her and heard her wheeze. They, obviously, squeezed her in right then and there. A couple of days prior to this, Piper's pediatrician put her on a reflux med to see if it would clear, but the pulmonologist wanted to see how she was swallowing to rule out that issue, since her brother had significant issues in that area.

I was very concerned, not about the test, but about the demeanor of our little diva. Piper rarely cried, except when she is hungry. Did I forget to mention that she could not have anything to eat that morning? Oh, and her test wasn't until 11:30. Despite all this, P was so happy and just charmed everyone we came into contact with over and over again. This picture is her in the therapy chair waiting for the test to begin, playing.

The swallow study was normal, but the doctor did see some reflux, so we'll have to reevaluate with the pulmonologist in a couple of weeks.

Here's Caleb trying to listen to her heart. Notice the perfect placement of the stethoscope. Think we do this much?

This past month I realized that Piper's hair is in the in between stage. It is really too long the way that it is, but to cut it would make her look like she's a boy. So, my solution? I started putting it into a water spout. Her hair is pretty straight and fine, so it just sticks right up in the air like this. It's silly looking (well that and the tuft of bangs in the front that are just too short), but it just makes her all the cuter.

Last month, I mentioned how Piper was starting to get in the position to crawl and made the prediction that she would have it mastered by the end of the month. I am happy to announce that my prediction was half right. She has very much mastered the army crawl, but just isn't really into perfecting the crawl on all fours type. She gets around quickly, to fast in my opinion, with the army crawl. Many times I have come around the corner and have had to ask Caleb where she went. I often find her in the cat food or under the dining room table and have to extricate her from whatever situation she has seemed to find herself in.

Here's P perfecting her Longhorn look. You know I HAD to go there!

As you can see in the above picture, Piper has started standing. She cannot necessarily pull herself up in this position anywhere but in her crib, but if you place her standing up, she will stay that way. I think that she's going to start cruising around just as soon as she's able to get all the way up on her feet. Right now, she gets her upper body up but her feet are so far away from her that she's at a perfect 45 degree angle. I have to laugh when she gets stuck, but it SO frustrates her!

Piper has also experienced an explosion in her vocabulary this past month. She has been able to say Mama, Dada and Baba (brother) for awhile now, but she has added Dat (that?), Babe (baby), and Me to her list of words. She is also proving to be somewhat decisive lately. When I'm feeding her carrots or peas and carrots (the real thing, not the baby food mush), she loves to stick out her pudgy little first finger and point to the next veggie that she wants. I, of course, oblige, but Jes swears that I'm spoiling her. I just figure that she's a girl who knows what she wants!

It's taken a couple of months, but Piper's first tooth popped through in the last 30 days. The tooth hasn't grown up enough that an average person would notice it, but I can see it and am slightly sad that her gummy smile will be gone soon. I just love that smile with the 2 bottom teeth peaking out too!

I got brave one day and decided to give Caleb and Piper a bath one day and thought it would sure be much easier if I could do them both at the same time. Piper is sitting up very well and has outgrown her infant bathtub so I decided to give them their very first tandem bath. As you can see Piper loved the water and Caleb had a great time pouring water over her head using the washrag.

It's been a really great month and Piper is just the sweetest little girl! We can't wait to see what next month brings!