Movin' and Groovin'

Piper can cover some ground and she's not even crawling.

The other night she did a flip and a 180,

confused the heck out of me at 3am trying to find her in the dark.

And the girl was swaddled.

So now we're working on sitting.

which isn't always successful

Flexing those Muscles

Flexing my Mommy Muscles to be exact.

And I'm not referring to carrying sweet Piper.

Its a twisted circle I can see but have no idea how to maneuver. Piper gets overstimulated easily, but unless she's exposed she won't get used to being in the world. But over exposure creates sleep issues which then effects my ability to form complete sentences.

Whats a Mom to do?

Enlist Dad's help.

Josh and I took Piper to the Salida pool on Saturday, then enjoyed a lunch before heading home. Piper did great, though tired. But not so tired that she couldn't sleep. Yay!

Next day was Shumei's monthly Sampai and a birthday party for Miwa. Flex again.

Not as successful. Screeching little girls hyped up on birthday excitement and little sleep = WAY too much for Miss Piper. Thats okay sweet stuff, it was too much for Mom too (what is it with the shrills of young girls? Egad!).

Ah well, gotta try.

So today is a recovery day as Piper naps all she wants and processes the whole busy weekend.

My only attemp at a photo at the pool (we were having too much fun to stop). Josh is too darn fast for me. Trust me it was cute, him and Piper at the pool.

Here is Piper and her friend Naromi. Naromi is a big sister so she knows how to be gentle with Piper. But even then, she still gets (ehem) excited about playing with Piper. This kid has some energy, let me tell you. Its impressive.

The Shumei girls, in a rare quiet moment, share a book.

Okay, see this Lady holding Piper? This is just after she swiftly stole her. Oh yes, this woman is a pro. I had no time to react. It was after some group photos they insisted Piper be in and I was sitting down holding Piper and this woman has mad skills, she just came up took her out of my hands saying "okay? okay?" walking away to take her to this group of women on the other side of the room.

She really likes her some Piper, let me tell you!

Later I asked my friend Yuka, "Yuka is this a Japanese thing? Are babies just community property?" and she looked at me crazy and said, "No no no, that is personality thing. People will ask to hold your baby all the time, but just take her? No no no."

It was fine, Josh and I had a good laugh about it (a really good laugh about it), I mean the woman was just so overjoyed with her and there's the whole language barrier- so no harm done. I mean she is popular in Japan after all...

First Parade, First Doctor Visit, Giggles, Rolling Over and its only Wednesday

The Annual Crestone 4th of July Parade found Piper and I hanging out for a quick visit. Between the heat and the volume neither one of us were up for staying long. But we made an appearance and visited Dad (he was driving the ambulance). So that was Monday. Tuesday we recovered and then today, Wednesday Piper woke up rolling from back to front. This is something she has been working on for quite some time. Unfortunately she inherited my propensity for frustration with new skills. She's been grunting and whining for weeks over this. But this morning on the bed, over and over and over she rolled and giggled as I praised her efforts and hard work. However once she was on her play mat the rolls didn't come. But she didn't seem nearly as pissed about it.

So the giggles.

Oh my. I'm cracking up. She loves to be lifted up slowly and then brought down close to my face. She'll laugh and laugh which gets me going which gets her going...well you get the visual. Its a girl giggle fest around here. Which is nice because the teething fussing is still going strong as well as easy overstimulation with just about everything and everybody. So some giggles were in order.

The Dr.

Piper and I ventured to Center, CO to see Dr. Wheeler. A nice, young Dr. who calls Piper "princess" and is informative but not pushy. Which is all wonderful, if Piper did not HATE the whole experience. The receptionist thought she had gotten her shots she was screaming so loud. Nope, no shots this visit. We did get her current stats and a basic evaluation.

Piper is in the 75th% for head circumference (look at the big brain on Piper) and height with her length being 24 1/4 inches (no surprise there, she's Wilfong after all). Then weight. Piper weighed in at 15lbs and 12 oz. which brings her to the 90th% for weight. Doc said he was thrilled with all her numbers. As a breastfed baby Miss Piper can "get as big as she wants," according to Dr. Wheeler the benefits for breastfed babies is low obesity rates later in life as well as low instances of diabetes. Her weight now is perfection (he loved her double chin).

I was able to answer yes to all of the motor and developmental questions- her ability to grab, react, and roll. Sit with help, place things in her mouth, and recognizing people.

Well the week's not over, can't wait to see what happens next.

If at first you don't succeed...

Thanks to Grammy Eileen and friends in town like Sandra Hammond I'm able to go and dance here and there. But there remains a problem.

Still no go on the bottle.

Not an issue if Piper wasn't always hungry (I can only really leave for an hour, hour and a half is the melting point). There was a meltdown for Grammy with the offering of the bottle which left us looking for alternatives. We tried a sippy cup with the regulator taken out. Which was...well, messy. And really just something to tide her over. Today Josh had some success with a medical syringe (yes, we're that desperate), but its not really something to feed decent quantities.

Ah well, this time will pass.

Here is our friend Katie braving the mess of the sippy cup.

Piper and Mito

It is summer concert time here in Crestone and this last week Shumei hosted Mito de Soto. Mito rolled through town last spring. Not only an incredible musician, but also an all around nice guy. Mito comes from a large family and instantly took to Piper who won him over with smiles, giggles, and even some singing.

she slept through the intro...

But woke up in time to catch a song dedicated to her and to play with a little girl in the audience. She loves kids.

The little girl sang to her, "you're so cute, soooo....sooo sweetttt"

Park Play Date

Our friend Krissy invited us to the park this Saturday. Her two girls (they have a little boy on the way) and our Mom friends from Shumei were all headed to the park to brave the heat and mosquitoes. A girl fest indeed. And Piper soaked it up. Between singing quietly to herself and watching intently as the girls played it was a lovely morning.

And her sunglasses were a big hit.

You Just Never Know

I've been reluctant to say anything.

Sure, I can be superstitious- I'll admit it. It drives Josh crazy actually.

But when your daughter goes from getting up every hour to getting up...once.

Most people I think would be reluctant to say something. Nothing feels more deflating than a, "She's sleeping great! Thats wonderful!"

When she's not.

And Piper, well Piper keeps us on our toes. So you just never know. But this week it is true. She had three days in a row where it was once. Just one glorious waking. Then after three days it came to two. Two glorious wakings (hey, you take it happily when you've had four hours of sleep in a four day period).

Early this morning I heard Piper and I readied myself to get out of bed. As I did Josh mumbled, "What time is it?" 5am I say. Beaming he says, "Thats great! Ooh my goodness she made it through the night! Awesome!"

At which point I smothered him with a pillow.

No. No Josh, she did not make it through the night.

But thats okay. I'll take what she's giving me.