34-Week Appointment

Just got finished with the 34-week appointment. Once again, got a good report card, other than my renewed build-up of fluid that's started again. It's a bit entertaining in a way, as I can make fun little indentations in my legs that stay long after I remove my hand. I like to think of them as my temporary tattoos! The doctor I saw today also gave me another suggestion for my leg cramps at night, so I'll give that a try as well, and hope it results in a good night's sleep. Even if not, I think I've now read close to 10 books in the last month or so, so all is not lost. I'm getting caught up on all those books I've been wanting to read but haven't found the time.

My next appointment, in two weeks, will be the last of the two-week appointments, and then I'll move to every week. We're really getting close now. And I've officially been grounded as of today, so no more travels for me until after Little Man is here.

Oh, and my doctor asked me today if I'd packed a bag already, to which I replied, "That's on my to do list for this week." He very matter-of-factly said I'd better get going on that. He further added, "You really need to get that done and if you need a little incentive, then just think about what the alternative would be if you don't have your bag packed and you go into labor?" I have to admit he stumped me, as I couldn't figure out what the alternative was. I gave him the "I have no idea look", to which he replied, "Your husband would have to pack your bag and we both know you don't want him doing that!" That gave me a good chuckle. No offense Ger, but I think you'd agree running around the house looking for my nursing bra and my favorite pair of slipper socks when it's "Go time" is not going to be high on your priority list! So, I think I'll get this done this week, maybe tonight?

Big Girl Chair, Big Girl Cup

Piper has now been on a strike for almost 3 weeks of sitting in her high-chair. She insists on sitting in a big person chair to eat. Along with that, she has been practicing drinking out of regular cups at school and is starting to want to occasionally use them at home too. We usually save the regular cups for when she requests water, as the contents usually end up on her and the surrounding areas, but she's learning fast and is proud of her new accomplishments.

Scrub-a-dub-dub, fun in the tub

Here's a few shots from bathtime last week.

Lately, after bath there is often some convincing that has to be done that in fact a diaper and pj's need to be put on. Piper often makes the case that she'd much rather skip the getting dressed part and go right to reading books on her favorite pillow.

After some back and forth debating (and usually an "ok, let's count to three and then we are going to get dressed...one...two...three...ok, time to get dressed"), the diaper and pj's get put on our little, giggling wiggle worm.

Birthday Party Weekend Fun!

Marci had her first birthday party over this past weekend, though I thought is was most fitting for this post to go up today, on her official birthday! We were glad get to see their new house (Uncle Tom, Aunt Maria, Osten and Marci) and to be there to help her celebrate. While Marci wasn't too crazy about her crown hat, she thoroughly enjoyed playing with her cake.




In true kid fashion, Marci's favorite part of opening her presents were all the pretty bows on the gifts.

Piper, Osten and the rest of the kiddies at the party had a great time playing outside with the balls and trampoline.
Piper's dress was impeding her ability to play at the level which she wanted to, so Grammi tucked her dress into her bloomers and she was back in the game again!

Piper and Osten also took on a little mischief of their own. Piper was in charge of unloading all the adult beverages out of the ice tub, and then she and Osten had the best time playing in the freezing cold water. Their little toes and hands were a nice shade of pink by the time they grew tired of their water antics!

We inadvertantly left Piper's kiddie song CDs at home, so on the drive home Sunday she was reminding us that we did not, in fact, have it with us and was putting in all her requests for what she wanted to hear. The top choices were:

The Wheels on the Bus, "Bus"

Old McDonald, "O Donald"

5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, "No More Mon-Hee Jump on Bed!"

So Ger and I took turns belting out her favorite songs for a good part of the drive.

And when she grew tired of that and starting requesting that we read books, which we went through what was in the car and she was hungry for more. So we had to resort to reading the directions to Aunt Maria and Uncle Tom's new house to her, which shockingly she enjoyed more than the books, go figure? I must have read them three times and she just listened intently as if she was reading her favorite book and would try to repeat the street names as I read them.

Outdoor Fun

This past week or so has been absolutely beautiful outside...fall may actually be only around the corner. Piper loves to spend all her time outside as soon as we get home each day. She's been busy exploring all around the house. We discovered a beautiful patch of wild yellow flowers growing in our side field and set out to explore them once we all got home one afternoon the end of last week. Here's just a couple shots of Pip with the flowers.

She's also been having fun with her new picnic table, thanks to a great find at the TotTrade consignment sale this year! She hasn't yet used it as a table, its been more like a jungle gym and it has been quite entertaining to watch.

The Artist

Here's a scanned image of Piper's first piece of "real" artwork that she's brought home from school. In the past, she's brought home various pieces of art that were suedo-made by her, but mostly by one of her teachers. This was her first one she created solo. The theme for the particular week she created this masterpiece was "Bugs" and this is her interpretation of ladybugs. This one was from back in July, but I thought it was only fitting to have her first artistic creation documented here on the family blog as well.

Since moving to her new classroom, she thoroughly enjoys art time in her class, she calls it her "co-jours", it almost sounds French. And her teacher Ms. Pat reports that there have been several times where the end of coloring has literally brought her to tears. Apparently, she's got a lot of art in there just waiting to come out!

I'm ready to be the Big Sister...now where's this Little Brother you keep talking about?