Happy 4th Birthday P!

1/13/18

Dear Piper,

Every year I write you a letter on your birthday, and each year I am shocked with how quickly the time escapes me. It seems like I have just celebrated your 3rd birthday, and you are FOUR today. Four perfectly amazing years with you in our lives. They went by so fast.

Your fourth year hasn't seemed like a big year of physical changes. When I look back at pictures from last January, you look essentially the same. However, you are a much taller and leaner version of your three year old self. Your eyes look like they are still in the process of turning brown, but the green is hanging on for now. Your hair is long, thick, and wavy--you get so many compliments on it from strangers. And that smile could break any heart...or every single one.

This year has been a year of intellectual leaps for you. You have really grown your vocabulary. Every week you will surprise me with a new word or phrase--each one making you sound more grown up than the next. I can't help but laugh at those little sayings that you still get wrong. Like one of your best friends, Hadley--you say "hab-ley." These phrases are more few and far between these days. You are no longer a baby with baby talk. Instead, you frequently tell whole stories that make total sense. I both love and hate that! You are dramatic, animated, and talk with your hands. You are such a little woman. I am not ready to see you that way.

We traveled a lot over the last 12 months. You took two cruises, and visited Disney World for the 3rd time. You rode in an airplane for the first time. You are so brave, and are still my favorite little traveler. You played in the ocean, and rode the Tower of Terror too. Whenever I doubt that you can do something, you always prove me wrong. You love adventure and thrills whether it is water slides, roller coasters, or rides. You learned to swim this year with minimum struggle, but you are very cautious in the water!

You are still a really picky eater, but we do feel that we have made some progress in the last year. Your favorite meal is still Cheerios (you used to call them Chee-dots, sigh) and milk. Your daddy says you're just like Jerry Seinfeld. You love spaghetti, but have recently chosen to forego the meat sauce, choosing plain buttered noodles instead. Your a bread and dairy lover. You will eat a lot of fruits, but essentially no veggies. We are working on that.

Over the last few months you have fallen in love with PJ Masks and Paw Patrol. You love to watch the shows and even just watch people play with toys on You Tube. Daddy and I don't understand that last one much, but it's your thing. Anything with these characters on it is a hit for you. That is why your birthday party next weekend is Paw Patrol themed. You will play for hours with the figurines and dolls--making up your own scenarios and dialogue. I am amazed at how active your imagination is at your age.

While you love these super hero toys, you are also really girly. You love when I paint your nails and let you wear makeup. You even got your own make up for Christmas. One morning before school we had to make a detour to the playroom for you to put on your makeup. So cute! You also love to dress up in Princess dresses, crowns, and shoes, and play around. Usually you will be happy to do your rendition of "Let it Go" for anyone who asks.

You love to learn, and therefore love your school. this is your third full year at Camden Academy. Your teacher is Ms. Megan. She has taught you so much...like letter sounds and how to count to 100. You are always excited to go to school and see your friends. You are interested in learning and love to come home and share what letter sound you did today. I hope you keep this quality always.

Each holiday season with you gets better and better. Even though we were all fighting a cold this Christmas break--we still made the best of our time. I love to see the holidays through your eyes. It brings a whole new meaning to this time of year. This Christmas you finally got into some of our favorite Christmas movies like Home Alone 1 and 2 and the Santa Clause. I am actually really sick on Home Alone at the moment with as much as you wanted to watch it.

So there you go baby girl. You are the apples to my applesauce. The sunshine to my cloudy day. You make me so mad I could spit, and yet make me laugh till I pee my pants a little. Your hugs and kisses are therapeutic, and I have been practicing saving the sound of your Love You Mommy's at each age. I know one day you won't say it so freely and I'll need those memories. I say it every year, but I am so lucky to be your Mommy. I am so proud of you each and every day. You are my greatest adventure.

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” 
― Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You!

Love,
Mommy

Sassy Mc-Sasserton

I currently have in my possession a 20 month old going on 15 year old. She is the sassiest little girl I ever did see, and I have a love/hate relationship with this fact for sure.

Last week J and I both had a week off of work. It was great in the sense that we took that time to move into our new home, but it wasn't very relaxing. It did, however, allow me plenty of alone time with my girl, P.

One of the not-so-secret heartaches about me going back to work and being a coach again is that there are days where I only see my daughter to put her to bed at night. It is a tragedy--I truly believe that. I have gone from one extreme in my life to the other, and sometimes I am hit by crippling guilt. What have I done to my baby? Will she forget me? Will she still understand how much I love her? I could cry just typing about it.

Insert last week and I could not wait to spend some time alone with my girl. About 5 minutes in I was worn out. O-M-G--there is no way I could have worked from home another year. Home girl would have burnt the house down around me as I taught my class. That sweet, beautiful little girl has the power to make me tear up with amusement, only to want to smack her bottom five minutes later. Her mood swings are like a teenager. She is up and down and round and round in just minutes.

P has recently taken to my old American Girl Bitty Baby. Which is awesome, because I am a sentimental schmuck and I eat these types of things up. She calls her, "baby" and she rocks, feeds, changes, bathes, and tucks Baby in at night. She is such a good mommy to Baby, and I know that she is just imitating me and how I mother her. Which is so flattering I just want to burst with pride. So last week, P had fed Baby in the high chair, and then forgotten about her and left her in the kitchen (not a very good mommy, P). About 20 minutes later she was upset that she could not find Baby in her play room. I coaxed her on to look for Baby. She looked in all of the toy bins, on each side of the couch, and in Baby's bassinet. Finally, I said, "I think baby is in the kitchen." Then my 15 year old, I'm sorry, my 20 month old gets this look of anger on her face. She turns pink, narrows my own green eyes back at me, points her chubby little finger towards the direction of the kitchen and yells, "GO GET MOMMA!"

My first reaction was to laugh at her, but knowing that that would only encourage her, I said, "no, you can go get Baby." She smiled and then happily complied with my request.

There are countless other incidents from the week. She can throw a tantrum down with the best of them, but you can't help but love that little pig-tailed beauty.

Since it has been awhile since I talked about her. P weighs in at 29 whopping pounds. She is the largest in her 18 month class at baby school. Her favorite food is Moe's chicken burritos. She can count to ten, recite the ABCs, knows all of her body parts, and can sing a mean Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She still LOVES the Wiggles, but she will watch Mickey Mouse Club House and Handy Manny as well. Her new favorite toys are her legos and lego table. She had her first ear infection two weeks ago, and it is back with a vengeance this week. She loves to dance, sing, read, hug, and give kisses, and is all around just the best thing since sliced bread--boy, doesn't she know it.

My overall consensus is that if you don't have yourself a little girl--you need to get you one of these. It makes the world go round and everything in life just make sense. Love her to pieces!

Happy Hump Day Y'all!

P's 15 Month Round Up

I know, I know--I thought we were done with these updates after she turned 1. While that was my intention in the beginning--there is just too many changes to talk about that have happened over the last 3 months. Like I have said from the beginning the purpose of these monthly posts is so that Piper can one day look back on them and read about herself. I also hope that when she reads them one day she will get the tiniest glimpse of how much I love her, how painstakingly I planned for each transition in her life. You get the idea. So here it is...her 15 month update.

Over the last three months Piper's personality has been ever evolving. She is a bundle of joy quite literally. Whenever you wonder what sheer joy looks like--all you have to do is look for a happy toddler. On a good day everything is so fascinating to her and she is captivated by the world around her. She will study each toy in her toy bag and chase the dog while giggling incessantly. That is what sheer joy looks like. I have seen it--witnessed it. It surely is amazing to behold. Children are a blessing if for no other reason than to remind you that everything in your life is not such a big deal. They help you remember to slow down and live in the moment. Each day is precious because she is different each day.

The other side to her personality is definitely the Mr. Hyde to her Jekyll. Yesterday she pitched a whopping 10 separate tantrums. They come complete with flapping hands, stomping feet, angry red pudgy face, and hot sticky tears. I have tried time out (a little bit of success), and even a smack on the hand (not much success at all). It doesn't seem to reduce the number of tantrums at all. P is definitely hard headed and I have no clue where she would have inherited this trait because it certainly wasn't from me (sarcasm). I try not to lose my cool with her, but there are times when I feel the anger swell, and I have the urge to yell at her. I just try to remember that she is frustrated because she doesn't understand and she cannot communicate as effectively as she would like. I believe that a lot of her tantrums come from boredom.

While she cannot communicate like she would like at times--she has quite a varied vocabulary. It is to the point where we cannot even count the number of words she can say. Almost every day she is picking up a new word. Yesterday I bought her bubbles and started blowing them today for her. Within seconds of me blowing them as saying bubbles--she was saying it as well. And it is not just that she is repeating what I say. She recognizes the connection between the word and the thing. She is so smart. She can follow pretty basic tasks and even some more complicated ones such as , "Piper can you bring me the remote," or "Piper, put that down and go to the stairs."  She can point out most of her body parts, and can tell me what sounds a Cow makes along with a few other animals.

P weighs in at 26.5 pounds and is 32 1/4 inches tall. She is still in the 95th percentile for both. This makes her a towering one year old who looks bigger than a lot of 2 year olds we come across. This makes me both proud and sad all at the same time. She still likes to eat, but is extremely picky about her finger foods--refusing most "kid" foods.

The biggest change in her 15th month has been in the affection category. Piper has just recently started showing real affection. This is the most amazing thing for a parent. You spend the first year pouring love into your child and they are unable of expressing that love back to you verbally or with other social cues that we are accustomed to. While you know that they love you--it is hard to see from the outside. P loves to give me kisses and hugs. She will often just lean in and plant a big wet one on my lips. It is the best feeling in the world. Over the past month I have really been emphasizing telling her that I love her. I tell her all day every day. At least 30 or 40 times a day I would say. Just today I was changing her diaper and talking to her and she said something that sounded like I love you. So I said to her, "I love you." She repeated back what she had said just a moment earlier, and I knew that is what it was. She is finally able to put it to words. I immediately teared up. There is no greater feeling than that.

Now that it is spring time and it is warm outside--I try to take P to the park every day. She loves to run around in circles, swing, and slide. We have some much fun playing together, and there is nothing I would rather do. One day she will no longer want to hold my hand as she slides down the slide or have me push her in the swing--so I am going to savor every moment while I still can. These days are now so fleeting that it is almost like the clock hands are chasing us. In less than 3 months she will be 1 1/2, and I will be planning her 2nd birthday party. HA--you know I already started, right?

So there it is, my little Pooper! 15 months down and a lifetime to go. Only 16 and a half more years before you will be 18 and anxiously readying yourself to leave the nest. The thought sends chills up my arms and triggers that choking feeling in my throat. I love you so completely, and hope that you will forgive me for holding you closer with each passing day.

Love,
Mommy

Piper's First Birthday Letter

January 13, 2015

Dear Piper,

Today is your first birthday. I can't believe how quickly your first year of life has gone by. It seems like the day you were born was just a week ago. I can remember it all so vividly. I remember how I felt the first time I saw you. I remember what my life was like before you--but I cannot imagine my life without you. I everything before you were born feels like it is in a haze. I feel like becoming your mother has opened my mind to see the world in different ways.

 It truly is amazing how quickly you have grown. I have to start off by telling you how emotional this day has made me. Right now I just want you to stay this little baby. I have enjoyed the last year with you so very much that I do not want it to end. At the same time, I so look forward to the little girl you are becoming.

I am not completely sure of your weight--I will find out at your doctors appointment on Friday. I am guessing that it is somewhere around 24 pounds. You are really tall and still have the cutest little pot belly that I have ever seen. What can I say? You love to eat. Your favorite foods are cheese and bread. You will eat almost any kind of bread I throw at you from bagels to cake. You love shredded cheese, and especially cream cheese on a bagel.

You are quite the handful now. You have really started taking off walking in the last week before your birthday. You love to walk from the couch to your play kitchen and even around in circles. You babble non-sense constantly--although I am sure it makes perfect sense to you. You hardly ever miss a chance to sway and dance along to music. I hope you never lose that quality. You love watching The Wiggles in my lap. I don't mind at all because while you watch them--I can watch you. You are like a sponge. Everything is so new and exciting. You have no knowledge of any of the unpleasantness that is out there in our world. You are carefree and you love without bounds. I would give anything to be like you.

Almost nightly, Your daddy and I sneak in to your room and watch you sleep. We marvel at how truly beautiful you are. You have the longest eyelashes and the most gorgeous plump lips. You still have my green eyes, and I am hoping they will stay that way forever--but if they don't, then I have a feeling I will love their new color even more.

You love to play with our cat, Finder. You like to pet her and scratch her head. You often try to bite her. I have caught you dragging her by her tail once and by a clump of fur on her belly a few more times. She didn't really seem to mind. I know that she loves you a lot. She tries to sneak in your room to sleep with you at night, but we are afraid that she would wake you. Maybe one day soon we will let her. You also love our dog, Callie. You so badly want to play with her--but she is just not too sure about you. You see, she was mommy's girl before you came along, and she is not too happy about being replaced. She does love to hang out around your high chair while you are eating. You think it is hilarious to feed her your unwanted scraps.

You have a pretty big vocabulary. I am really impressed with the number of words and sounds that you can make. So far you have said: mama, dada, doggy, kitty, hi, bye, hey, cheese, tree, good, light, right, and eye. I think that it indicates that you will be one smart little girl.

Within the last two weeks you have fallen in love with books. Before you would hardly sit still for an entire book, but now you almost cry when I finish reading one and beg for me to read it again. Your favorite books are Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Those are usually the first ones you pull off your shelf every night before bed. You love to take baths as well. AND you sleep 12 hours at night and have since you were 9 months old. Overall you have been a very good baby. If your dad and I never have another it is because we are afraid that we would get the other end of the spectrum next time.

On Saturday we are having your first birthday party. All of your friends and family are going to gather together to celebrate you. It's an owl theme because we have owls in your nursery. I am hoping that you will smash your cake into a billion pieces. I am sure that I will shed more than a few tears. One day you will understand why I cry at the drop of a hat when it comes to you. It is emotional loving someone as much as I love you.

So, happy first birthday baby Piper. Today you are officially no longer  a baby to the outside world. You are a toddler. On the inside I know the truth--you will always be my baby girl. There is something really special that happens to a woman when she gives birth to a little girl--she becomes a mother. An irrationally protective, endlessly silly, yet constantly crying-- mother. Being a mother is so much more than I thought it was. It means caring and thinking of someone else before yourself. No one ever told me that having you would break my heart and rebuild it to be twice as big. I now know that I am capable of unconditional all-consuming love. In life--it just doesn't get any better than that. I thank you so much for giving me that gift. I promise I will try my hardest to be the best mother I can. I love you.

Love,
Mom

Happy 11 Months P!

I can't believe I almost forgot to write this post. It is the holiday season and time is just flying by at record rates. We are getting ready for P's first Handley Christmas and her first Hanukkah Party with the Steinbergs! Here is what has changed in month 11!

This month P tops the charts at almost 23 pounds! Geez--I thought she was going to start slowing with her weight gain, but sistah is still packing em on. She is a lot more active this month, so hopefully we will see some slimming here soon.

P took her first steps in month 11. She broke her two top teeth, and can stand on her own without any support and without pulling up on objects.

P loves her baths as long as she is allowed to crawl around and stand. She also loves to play with her rubber duck and bath letters (for some reason she only enjoys the letter Q).

She is a champion sleeper--sleeping 12 hours at night. It has been awhile since we have even heard her stir in the middle of the night. We went through a little rough patch with our naps as I worked on a transition in her schedule. However, P adjusted beautifully after a few days hard work. My work changed my class schedule on me in November, and I was going crazy worrying about if I was going to be able to make it work. Now, I can breathe a little bit easier knowing that P should be able to sleep while I am teaching all of classes. I don't know why I ever doubted my girl. She always makes me pay for not having enough faith in her. While I know that it wouldn't have been the end of the world (for her) to have to go to a mom's morning out or a daycare a few times a week--it would have set us back financially. We are working hard to save for a house, and didn't want to have to pay for childcare. I will post P's new schedule for those of you who like checking out schedule ideas for each stage of your child's development.

We have definitely had a lot of verbal progress in the 11th month. P's list of words contains: mama, dada, doggy, kitty, right, light, cheese, hi, bye-bye, and hey. I have also noticed that she is able to follow simple and moderate commands. If I ask her where something is she can point to it. If I ask her to go get something, she can do it. She can blow kisses and play Peek-a-boo. It is just amazing seeing language and cognition developing. It brings me a lot of joy to see her learn.

Another thing P has developed is a pretty bad temper. P loves sharing my morning bagel with me. I often pinch off little pieces of the soft middle for her to eat. If I do not do this, then she pitches a tantrum. Complete with slapping and kicking. We are not really sure what we can do about this at her current age. She certainly doesn't understand the concept of time out yet.

We continue to struggle at times with solid foods. P is very picky with her finger foods. She only eats cheese and bread so far. She is also getting frustrated with puréed foods. We are having to try all kinds of crazy tricks to get her to eat. Couple that with the fact that she is not really interested in my milk any more, and it is frustrating. She will still drink fairly good amounts of water out of her sippy cup, though. We are going to transition to whole milk soon. I cannot wait to be done with the pump. I am planning to do something ceremonial with it when I am done to commemorate the 9 months I spent exclusively pumping for P. I'm thinking burial or smashing it with a sledge hammer. What do you guys think?

Happy 11 months my sweet P! You have brought me so much joy in the past 11 months. I love sharing sweet hugs and kisses with you. I can't wait to experience childhood again through your eyes. Merry Christmas my angel baby!

Love,
Mom

Happy 10 Months P!

Wahoo! We are in double digits! P is 10 months old! Oh, how weird it feels to say that I have a 10 month old. While reading through some of my favorite blogs this week I read this phrase, and it has really resonated with me.

"When you have children the days seem long, but the years are very short."

This is a very true statement that I think sums up my feelings as my daughter grows older. Yes, in the moment things can be stressful and daunting. I get overwhelmed a lot while home with her. With each new coming age and stage there are a world of challenges that come along. Each one bringing unwanted adjustments to my life. Yet, I manage to make it through. I like to think that I rock at being a mom. I guess I am a little biased, but whatev! So no matter how long each day feels--each month goes by so quickly and I find myself writing these monthly updates with a dumbfounded look on my face, wondering where the time has gone. I know that in two short months I will be writing P's first year update. I am sure the tears will be splattering the keys. I would expect nothing else from this sentimental mommy.

P's tenth month of life has been no exception to the above rule. I have been tested and challenged in this month. I have been pushed to my breaking point more than once. I have shed some tears for sure. BUT--I have also laughed and played a whole lot more than any previous month of her life. P is surely an entertaining little girl. She is little miss sassy pants for sure. I wonder where she gets her little attitude?

In this month P has learned to stand. She pulls up on just about anything that is steady enough. AND--sometimes things that are not so steady as well. She has started to walk around the couch and coffee table while holding on. She can let go with one hand and eat puffs or drink her water. My guess is that we will have a walker before 1. It's just a hunch.

P has also grown her hair long enough to have a very tiny ponytail on top of her head. Too bad she has become annoyed by the big bows I used to decorate her lovely head with. Now she prefers to rip them out and chew on them. Needless to say that we don't bother much with bows anymore.

I am happy to announce that P is doing great in the sleep department. After our 9 month appointment with P's doctor we made some schedule changes that you can read about here. Now we have a baby that sleeps 12 full hours most nights! We are so very thankful for this new stage in P's development. We hope that she never looks back.

We learned that the toys we had for P were a little too baby-ish for her when we observed her playing with older kid toys on play dates. So our new mission is to start upgrading her toy stash. She loves her new shape sorter, ring toss, and v-tech piano. I know Christmas is going to bring her some new fancy toys that are age appropriate.

P has returned to loving her baths. She wants to sit up, crawl around, and even stand in the tub. So we have resulted to actually getting in the bath with her for more protection. She loves to splash J as he makes quack sounds with her rubber duck. She also repeats the quacks. So adorable!

We have started exploring finger foods, but we are still kind of scared. P has a pretty hefty gag relex and I do not like cleaning up vomit. She loves shredded cheddar cheese and this has become a quiet time activity for her. When we go out to restaurants we just dump a big pile on her tray and she will sit quietly and feed herself for 30 minutes or more. It is really cute and quite amazing to watch your baby become more self sufficient.

P had her first major holiday with Halloween. She was an Owl and she tolerated her costume well. Unfortunately, it was unbearably cold for her that day and she couldn't really stay out long. We still got some cute family pics, though.

We are really looking forward to her first Thanksgiving and her first Hanukkah and Christmas. We think that it is really important for her to participate and know about both holidays. I can't help but think that she is so lucky for getting to have presents for both!

Yes, this is quite the exciting time in our little family. I am a tad bit nostalgic for those tiny baby days, and slightly sad that it is going by so fast. I just try to focus on how much fun her little personality is and it gets me through. I can't wait to share with you all her first birthday! It should be a "hoot".

So here's to you my little ball of energy. My rough and tumble, hard headed, strong willed, beautiful baby girl. You bring so much light into my dull days. Your giggles and smiles are contagious. No one can deny how truly beautiful you are becoming. I love that you can't sit still, and I hate it all at the same time. I treasure the times that you want to sit in my lap, and give me sweet wet kisses.

"So whenever you doubt just how special you are, and you wonder who loves you. How much, and how far."

 Know that I love you to the point of insanity, and I always will.

Love,
Mommy

Happy 9 Months P!

How can it be? Another month has come and gone. My precious P is 9 months old. She has now spent just as long on the outside as she did on the inside. That is crazy to me. Seems like just yesterday I was complaining about how badly it hurt when P moved around inside my belly. I find myself becoming more and more nostalgic as the days pass by.

Today P and I went to our Mommy and Me group of the first time in a few months. It became hard to go with my pumping schedule, work schedule, and P's nap schedule. It was a bit of a culture shock for me as P has gone from being one of the youngest babies in the group to being the oldest one there today. Looking at all of those tiny babies made by ovaries hurt. I miss those days so badly. I'd give anything to stop the time and keep my little girl little. Alas, she is getting older and growing and changing dramatically with each coming month.

In P's 9th month of life she has cut two teeth, learned to sit up by herself, and started crawling. It was quite a change for one month. We went from a mostly stationary baby to a fully mobile almost toddler. Life has once again gotten a little more complicated for me as I am constantly having to move her away from the various dangers around the house. Her favorite thing to do is play with my breast pump and it's cords.

P has definitely developed an attachment to her mother and father in the last month. She has proven time and time again that she does not like strangers getting too close and she definitely doesn't want them touching her!

In the last few weeks she has decided that she no longer likes baths. This has always been a go to for us when she gets cranky near bedtime. We are hoping that it is short lived and that she will once again love to splash around.

P still loves the animals. Things have gotten a little bit better between P and Callie. Callie no longer growls when P comes near, and she will even let P pet her (with my supervision, of course). P really loves our cat, and it is mutual. The cat loves to lay on the floor near P while she crawls around. P will squeak and squeal as the cat lets her pull her tail and pull out clumps of her fur. She even lets P bite her ear. P will point and laugh at both animals, but calls them both "goggy." I think Callie's new found love of the cat comes from the fact that P likes to share her food with her--often sneaking her puffs and whatever other finger foods I put on her tray.

P has really taken to drinking out of her straw sippy cups. She has one for milk and one for water. She will drink both interchangeably. Lately, she would rather drink her milk this way than out of a bottle. She is adorable crawling around while holding on to the straw and dragging the cup with her. She will take big gulps and then make an ahh sound. I wonder where she picked that up?

At P's 9 month appointment she weighed in at a whopping 22 pounds and 3 ounces, and she measured an impressive 30 inches tall. The new doctor (we were very unhappy with her previous doc, so we switched) stayed with me for 30 minutes addressing all of my concerns about P's eating habits. As you may remember, P stopped wanting bottles almost completely. I have been struggling with this mightily, and almost to the point of insanity. Lately, it has gotten even worse. She will only take 1 real bottle a day and it is in her sleep. All of her other milk comes mixed into her solid foods and in her sippy cup (she probably takes 1 1/2 ounces a day in her cup). Her doc assures me that she is not starving. I mean, homegirl is quite hefty! She told me to keep doing what I am doing, and that it will all be ok. It was nice to get some validation.

We have also been struggling with night sleep for a few months. It has gotten better than it was at 6 months, but P was still waking once a night most nights. The doctor assured me that P is not really hungry, and does not really need the food. She is crying and waking out of habit and to get us to help settle her back down. This confirmed what I already knew in my heart--that we had conditioned her to wake at night to eat when she doesn't need to. We were so concerned about her milk intake that we got lazy with our sleep training. I am happy to report that we are back on the wagon. We moved up P's bedtime at our doc's suggestion. She goes to bed at 7 pm, and we do not got back in until 7 am. Unless, or course, there is real reason to. First night she cried for 30 to 40 minutes. Last night--she went right out with no problems.

Overall, this past month has been a whirlwind. P has changed some much we can barely recognize her from her 8 month self.

Happy 9 month birthday sweet Piper Eloise. I hope that one day you will look back on these blog posts as if they are one big love letter to you. You have made me a better person, a more complete person, and I love you all the more for that. In my eyes, you will always be perfect in every way--even when you are screaming. You are definitely wild, but I wouldn't expect anything else. I love watching you explore life. How ever much time we have together--it will never be enough.

Love,
Mommy