Playdates!

It's snowing in Crestone these days.

So walks have been few and far between this week, but we have had some play dates!

Seeing as Aunt Amy has ensured we have the go-to place for play dates, we've been hosting.

First Giselle came over. She was mobile last time, this time the girl is on fire! Sitting, crawling, and even trying to stand!

Piper watched in awe.

And they shared.

But Giselle did have the upper hand and was able to get what she wanted pretty easily.

Piper was unfazed by it.

Then Jonah came by to play.

They are both scooting around, super cute!

So Piper's got the pink chew and Jonah eyes it.

mmm...tasty....

She hands it over like a good little hostess...

Thats okay, I have something else I can chew on.

And he says, actually? Actually I want that too.

Ah well, whatcha gonna do?

Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day...Got Better!

Children can challenge their parents.

It is what they do.

I get that, really I do.

Piper is getting older, and as she gets older she's testing a little bit. She's letting her desires be known. Don't get me wrong, she's a cake walk to most kids. She's sweet and loving.

But she is human and she does have her days.

Yesterday was one of those days.

She was unhappy and clingy all day. She wanted to be on me and she didn't want to be touched all at the same time. It wasn't teeth, she wasn't sick - she was just off.

I allowed her to have her day and went with the flow.

I took her out to the store and she was all grins. Ahhhh distraction.

I was planning on missing dance practice as Josh wasn't available, but after some thought I got the go ahead from Katie and brought her to dance.

And

she

loved

it.

Here are a few photos, you can see her in the reflection in the mirror. She cooed through the warm up and laughed when the music went up and the zills came out.

ahhhh....

But back in the car it was back to crying again.

Ah well, at least we both got a break for an hour.

After a tub she ended the day on a sweet note and slept well.

I won't bring her back regularly, too hard on my back and not appropriate for what we're doing. But great to know its an option!

ps. today she was a love.

Peachy Keen

We've been sharing our fruit with Piper for awhile. We take a bite and then let her suck the juice and she loves it. But when Auntie Amy shared her yummy, juicy peach with Piper we all had a good laugh at her enthusiasm.

What?!!?! It's good, give me a break!

Auntie Adventures

It was time to make the trip.

Four hours each way - but well worth it to see the Aunties!

We took off late on a Friday and Piper slept the entire way. When we got there we all did a smooth effort to get Piper up into her pod and sleeping. All went well it seemed -

then it didn't.

But really I can't blame her. She fell asleep in the car and woke up in her pod in a strange room. A little co-sleeping did the trick and she woke up happy and so exited to explore. Then proceeded to nap in her pod very well and despite being convinced a few times that there were more exciting things to do than nap- all went well.

She loved the excitement of the city,

soaked it all up and was not overwhelmed in the least.

Aunt Amy and Aunt Sandi have two furry kids, Mazzie and Daphne. Daphne is new to the family and last visit didn't go so well for us. But with a whole lot of love Aunties have gained the trust of this poor rescue dog and she is a totally different pup. A pup who loves Piper. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the pups or Aunt Sandi - we'll have to do it next time!

Mission: Target shopping between naps.

Mission Accomplished.

And accomplished well I might add. The cart riding was short lived (she was way too into eating everything and I was way to skeeved out to handle that), but Piper did beautifully. Not a peep. Let Auntie Amy carry her all over the store and spoil her I might add as well.

The Aunties have a beautiful back yard and Piper was in heaven with all the trees they have. Not to mention the personal flying lessons care of Auntie Amy.

Piper's first rose.

Then when the weather got a bit too warm we headed inside.

Look at that form!

A BIG thank you to the Aunties for a great visit and the time allowed for Josh and I to have our first dinner out just the two of us...sushi anyone? Ahhh wonderful...

The ride home was a bit more challanging.

Whoa.

After a uber short car nap Piper proceeded to make sure we knew

she did not like being cooped up in the back seat.

No toy would entertain. No song would sooth.

When we would stop and take her out she would jump and grin.

I can't blame her really. 4 hours is a lot for me, let alone a 6 and a 1/2 month old baby.

!

After awhile she gave up and decided to take the wheel.

Daddy was driving way too slow.

New tricks while we're on our own

This week Josh has been in Paonia without us.

The first morning he was gone when I went to get Piper after she woke up she looked around and cried. She wanted her Daddy. I was not who she expected, he has the morning shift. I didn't take it personally, I understand. I missed him too. But we've made it through three days and two nights on our own and have some new tricks to show Dad in the morning.

Her crawling is getting more pronounced. On her hands and knees she rocks back and forth and has even take a few "steps" in that position.

It's a bit of a pathetic effort, but Piper has also been waving. When parting from Aoife and our friend Krissy she takes her arm and does the wave movement without fully lifting her arm.

It's pretty stinking cute.

Aoife told me she did it to some of her little friends up at Shumei today

when they came up for a visit.

In general Piper just seems more alert in the last three days.

She's in her body and eager to MOVE!

She's playing on her own quietly but also lunging off my lap to grab at books. Taking her to the post office is a bit of a struggle, as she's grabbing for what's in my hands

as I'm trying to maneuver the load.

She's all over the place these days.

Here she is crawling to Aoife

She crawled right out of the frame!

This new tick is wonderful. The whining on the floor has lessened immensely.

She can reach her own toys.

And she's pretty excited about that.

And I'm pretty proud of her.

Aoife

We've hit the jackpot.

Meet Aoife.

Aoife will be watching after Piper a bit during the week so I can get in some office time. Seeing as Piper isn't much into large chunks of daytime sleep, the whole work from home plan has been a bit stressful as of late. But already, just days into training - I'm relieved and excited for Piper. Within 30 minutes Piper took to Aoife in a very big way. Maybe it's the accent (she's from Ireland) or maybe its just Aoife is just so much fun! The difference in Piper is astounding. Her little time with her new friend has opened her world and suddenly she's smiling more in public and even reaching to be held by strangers. She naps for her like its nothing and other than some..ehem...projectiles today - all went smashing! Aoife's care for Piper is so touching. She even checked in later today make sure she was okay.

Piper shows Aoife her tree across the street. Boy this kid loves trees!

And here are some shots Aoife took while I was hanging a new art show up at Shumei.

I know, crazy amounts of toys. What can I say?...she takes after her Dad.

Ya, she's happy. And we are too!

Sweet Pea in her Pea Pod

What we really need...is more baby gear.

I laugh at myself now, I had been so determined not to have the kid stuff take over.

But when they're here - well that is a different story.

The next chapter in our tale is of more travel and adventure. After the first trip we took it was obvious we needed some kind of bed to travel with. Something we could camp with or take back east. Something we could get Piper used to ahead of time. After much research I got a Pea Pod. So far its a hit,

now lets see how she sleeps in it.