Girls & Boys Nights Out

Several months ago, Jason decided to get tickets to an Orioles game for Bryce's first game for a boys night out. Because the O's were playing the Pirates on 6/14, Jay decided on that particular game. (Bryce played on the Pirates for T-ball.)   Mark and Taki (his son, not his brother) went along too.  The boys had a ball! (pun intended)  Bryce scarfed down a hot dog and some cotton candy and then Jason bought both boys one of those big foam fingers.  How cute is this picture Jason texted to me?

Bryce loved every single second of it and Jason said that as they were walking back to the car he said, "Daddy, that was totally awesome."  Jay said he couldn't have come up with a better way to be thanked - even made him a little misty eyed.  He even told Jason it was the 3rd best thing he'd ever done only after Disney World and one other thing Jason could not remember this morning.  I'm so glad they had a great time together.

But that didn't mean that the girls and I were left out - oh no!  As the day approached I decided that I would make the night a girl's night out too.  The weather was perfect, not hot, sunny, and breezy.  I'd heard that a local restaurant on the water whose menu/service had gone downhill in recent years had finally closed and it had been reopened by different owners and that it was a lot better.   They have an indoor and deck dining area but they also have dining right on the water in the sand complete with a tiki bar.  We arrived and the girls were instantly happy and as soon as we were seated they asked if they could play in the sand.  Our server said yes and even brought the girls a bucket to play with.  Not only was it peaceful, the kids were happy!

The girls agreed to wash their hands when their food came and it was nice to sit there and listen to the live music and just relax.  It was so nice spending time with just the girls - they get along so well most of the time and were feeling particularly jovial. Piper even did a little dancing.

They played a little while longer and decided they wanted to get dessert elsewhere so we headed home and stopped at Rita's - their favorite.

While I like doing things with all three of my children, it was really nice to be out with just the girls for once.  Just a completely different dynamic and because I know Bryce was having so much fun with his father, I didn't even have my usual weird lament about not having all three kids with me.

Sister Pics

Just a couple of sister pictures from last week:

In the backyard at my grandmother's house, playing in the birdbath. Just like I used to do. Watch out girls, Mee Maw might spank you like she did me when I was a little girl!

Caroline reading to Piper before bed - she LOVES to help put Piper to bed lately. Although she gets frustrated that Piper won't actually go to sleep after said putting her to bed. She tries singing to her but she just can't understand why Piper won't go to sleep. (I always leave the room after I put Piper to bed, she goes to sleep on her own just fine.)

Sister Room Share

Today at Costco, I randomly saw a cute, white bunk bed set and immediately thought of my girls.  Currently Caroline has a bed frame that belonged to me and before that to my dad!!  (The mattress and box springs are not hand me downs, however.)  Anyway, I've been thinking that this summer will probably be the best time to transition Piper to a real bed and when that happens, she'll need a lot of new furniture.  Clearly the crib is done and the dresser she has really isn't geared to hold many clothes - fine for a baby, but not for a growing girl.

So when I saw those bunks (that can also be separate twin beds), I mentioned it to Jason.  My thought was to get them as a set and not use them bunked, but in their separate rooms, but have the option to bunk.   And guess who overheard?  Yep, Caroline.  The mere mention of bunk beds stirred her up!  She immediately started asking to please please please buy them and to have Piper move into her room RIGHT AWAY!  It was crazy - she didn't stop bugging me until we were halfway home.  I told her we weren't buying them now and even when we did, we probably would get Piper used to a big girl bed in her current room first and then think about room sharing in a few years.  I mentioned to Caroline too how much she likes her alone time in her room after she's supposed to be sleeping - to read aloud, to fiddle around, etc and that she wouldn't be able to do that if Piper was in there.  Of course, she brushed that off.

Who knows if there is room sharing in their future, but I really do want to buy them matching beds so we'd have the option down the road, even if only for a year or two.  Bryce said he wanted bunk beds too and when I asked him why, it made me kind of sad.  He tells me every now and then that he wishes he had an older brother.  Ha!  Can't help you there buddy.

Sister Clothes Sharing

Caroline wears a 5/6 (depending on how it's cut) and Piper is between a 2T and 3T.  Clearly, when you have one of their items of clothing, it's generally pretty easy to tell who it belongs to based on size.  Or most times it is.  But when you're putting their laundry away (like my MIL so sweetly does), it's easy to get thing mixed up.  We've found Caroline's leggings in Piper's drawers several times and a few of Piper's items in Caroline's drawers.  But prior to this, that was where it ended.

But, on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, Caroline took it to a new level.  We went up to Jason's aunt's for swimming and I remember noticing as Caroline was prancing around the pool pre-swimming that her shorts looked a little tight.  I also noticed that they were longer than most of her other shorts and randomly thought that the Bermuda length looked nice on her long legs!  But that was all I thought about it.

Then this weekend we were up at my MIL's and Sandy made a comment about finding a pair of Piper's denim capris in Caroline's drawer.  As soon as she said it, it clicked!  Caroline had been wearing Piper's capris that day as shorts!!  (That tells you how slim Caroline is that she can fit into a 2T waist!!)  I asked Caroline about it and we started laughing because she said, "Yeah, they WERE really tight!"  I'm still not quite sure why she even continued to put them on and wear them, but I guess she liked the way they looked.  At least now she'll be more aware of that possibility and not squeeze into them too much.  Although I hope it's not a sign of things to come that she likes her jeans tight.  I'm hoping this current skinny jean craze is going to go out of style by the time she's a teenager.  We really need that 90's grunge look to come back in about 7 years so that Caroline will want to wear baggy clothing.

Now & Then

April 2009:

April 2010:

Any bets if they'll both fit on that bike next year?

ETA:  I didn't plan this updated shot at all - I just looked out and there was Caroline and Piper on the bike.  Caroline even said, "Hey look mommy, this is just like last year!"  I think someone has inherited my memory.  I love that they are both barefoot in both photos although it was much warmer last April at this time than it was today. 

Sisters

They hug and cuddle like this a lot. Piper definitely sees Caroline as a mothering figure (when she's in a good mood) and it's so cute how much Caroline enjoys taking care of her. Makes me wonder how close they will remain as they get older.

Kisses All Around

This morning my little helper was at it again. By 6:45am she had already brought Piper up a cup of milk and was on her way back downstairs to make breakfast.  She wanted to make it for me too and even though I told her that I appreciated the thought, it wasn't necessary.  But when I got downstairs she had already poured me a bowl of mini-wheats with a little too much milk.  I thanked her but told her I was planning on having my cereal and she could have this so I split the milk between hers and Piper's bowl and they were both happy.  (Bryce wasn't ready to eat yet.)

I fixed my breakfast while the girls ate and then as I walked by Caroline, I leaned down and told her how thoughtful she was to be making breakfast for everyone and how proud I am of her.  Then I gave her a little hug and a kiss on the forehead.

And with that kiss, I hear, "Heeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeee!!!!  Heeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeee!!"

I look down at Piper and see her yelling, smiling, and pointing to a similar spot on her forehead where I had just kissed Caroline.  Miss Piper saw my kiss and decided she needed one too.   I gave her one right away and that was exactly what she wanted.  She wants to be JUST like Caroline.

My Dancing Girls

Piper will be dancing up a storm in no time thanks to Caroline's coaching. She's already got the beat.

Sisters - April 2009

I love that I can dress them alike right now and that Caroline is thrilled to be wearing the same thing as Piper. Obviously, Piper doesn't care. Look at how long and lean Caroline's legs look next to Piper's cute chubby, baby ones. Time really does go by too quickly.

Already???

Piper was playing with her little piano tonight while we finished dinner and she went over to it, got up on her knees and before I knew it was in THIS pose:



She's only 7 months old - how can she be practically standing/pulling up on things already!?!?!? AH!!!! Caroline walked at 13 months and Bryce on his 1st birthday so it will be interesting to see when Miss Piper walks. Not that I want to rush her. I remember reading something about how with the 1st child you egg them on and photograph/video every little attempt at walking. With the 2nd, you're happy but you're not holding your breath. And with you're 3rd, you trip them! (Because, well, you know what you're in for....) Not that I would ever trip my baby! But maybe some shoes that make it hard to walk????

And for prosperity's sake, here are my 2 fav photos of the night...

Playing her piano, and just so happy:

Sister piano time...

The Baby Experiment

I just cannot trust Caroline to be alone with Piper. I'm not talking about leaving her alone with her for any length of time, just to leave Piper in her bouncy chair in the family room while we are in the kitchen. Two times now, the girls have been in the family room - Caroline is singing and dancing around for Piper who is usually squealing away at her and then all of a sudden Piper sounds kind of muffled and Jason or I go to investigate expecting that Piper pulled something over her face or Caroline has put something on her. Instead, we are surprised to find Piper rolling around on the floor. When we ask Caroline what happened, she says that Piper got out of the seat by herself and rolled out. Of course, we know what happened, Caroline unbuckled her and then watched (or helped) Piper kind of slide out. Caroline denies unbuckling, so we asked her if that is true, it came unbuckled by itself, why didn't she tell us Piper was falling out of her seat. She has no answer for that.

We do know that sometimes one of the buckles will come undone, but rarely both, so we KNOW Caroline is lying. And both times, Caroline has had a time out as a result. Plus, now we never leave her alone with Piper because it seems Caroline is very intersted in seeing what will happen when she does a certain thing to Piper - whether that be picking her up, rolling her around, covering her up with something, etc. I don't think she's doing it maliciously because she thinks it's very intersting - I think she's just curious to see what's going to happen. She showers Piper with love and kisses ALL.THE.TIME. and I think she thinks she's playing with Piper. Of course, luckily, Piper has never sustained any sister injuries and seems to think Caroline is hilarious as witnessed by all the squealing and shreiking she does at her big sister. I think those two are going to get into some real pickles as they get bigger. For a while, Piper will probably do anything Caroline says because Caroline will know how to convince her to do something.

Video to Go with the Pic

Here's a little video of the girls snuggling together in the chair after I took their photo. (That's Bryce you hear talking/watching in the background - again, he didn't want to be in the photo/video.)

Preciousness

Is that even a word???? Well if it's not, this is what the definition should be:


Oh and I should add, I'm not purposely excluding Bryce from photos just to have only the girls. I try to get him in and he's at the "I DON'T WANT MY PHOTO TAKEN!" phase. And when he does consent, he ALWAYS closes his eyes on purpose. Always. Example:

Giggles & Screams

Ooooo, I just love this age! Piper is such a smiley baby! And last night, I was laying on the floor with her talking and she actually laughed. I'm not talking the little baby, one beat, laugh. I'm talking one that lasted a few seconds. Oh my gosh, it made me laugh too and so loud it scared her....so she stopped laughing.

No matter how many times you hear a baby laugh, each time it's wonderful. And now that it's getting more frequent and you can count on when she'll be happy, you just want to get them out of her.

But you know seems to entertain Piper the best? Caroline! Oh wow, Piper is just totally fascinated by Caroline and Caroline can't get enough of Piper (and hasn't been able to since she held her the first time). In the mornings, Caroline is usually the first one in to see Piper when she wakes up and leans over the crib, unwraps Piper from her swaddle, and then the fun begins. She rolls her, she turns her, she sings to her, she reads to her, and she makes lots of funny sounds and faces. It's really the cutest thing. In fact, I have to MAKE Caroline go and get dressed because she doesn't want to miss a second.

This morning, Caroline was already finished breakfast I told her to run up and brush her teeth so that when I came up with Bryce, she could come back down and "babysit" Piper while I finished getting ready. Piper was in her bouncy chair and Caroline did just that. I could hear Caroline singing Hannah Montana and dancing around while I heard Piper yelling at her and clearly enjoying the show. They were quite a sight, especially since they were wearing matching outfits again today.

I hope they will always be close and I have a feeling Piper is going to grow up even faster and want to be just like her big sister. Oy...the teenage years should be interesting when I have a 12 and 17 year old.

3 Months Old

Piper, how can you be 3 months old already?


Just such a precious little girl! (Details on what's "up" with her are below.)

Here are some 3 month sibling comparisons below:

Caroline: (are you impressed I remembered what Caroline was wearing in her 3 month photo?)


Bryce (with terrible eczema and a funny hat!):


And a cute sister photo....had to crop Bryce out, he was picking his nose.

Sister Love

Caroline ASKED to have Piper lay on her and here's the result:



Pretty sweet how much Caroline loves her baby sister. And I know how good it feels to have a baby on your chest. Precious.

Baby Holder

This morning, I had a bit of a mommy scare.

Last night, I read Caroline a story on the floor of her room while Piper was laying on the floor next to us. Caroline bent down and kind of picked up Piper and because I was right there, I kind of spotted her and made sure all was okay. Caroline just loved it and it was really sweet to see Piper being completely held by her big sister. But I made it very clear to Caroline that there were 2 rules for picking up Piper:

1. Mommy or Daddy had to be there closeby.
2. She had to have permission.

Well, this morning, Caroline was finishing breakfast this morning and Piper was in her swing. (I'm sure you can see where this is going...) She asked if she could stop the swing and hug Piper, something she does frequently. I told her that was fine and continued cleaning Bryce's oatmeal face up.

The next thing I know, I look in the family room and there is Caroline walking across the family room with Piper in her arms!!

"CAROLINE!" I yelled. I ran in there and got Piper from her and put her safely in her bouncy chair. Caroline immediately crumpled to the floor crying. Now having my wits about me seeing that everything was okay, I felt bad for yelling at Caroline. So I sat down on the couch and had Caroline come and sit on my lap. I apologized for yelling at her because I shouldn't have yelled, but I told her that she had broken the 2 major rules I told her about last night. Mommy was not right there and mommy did NOT give her permission. I had her repeat the rules to me and then I told her the reason she needs to ask is that holding a baby is a big deal because they can get hurt so easily and if she wasn't holding Piper right, she could fall and get very hurt. I also told her that if Bryce saw her carrying Piper, that he might try and that he would more likely unintentionally hurt her.

So, I hope that nips this in the bud, but then, I thought I had made it very clear last night too. Although I will say now that all is said and done, the image of Caroline standing there holding Piper so lovingly, was actually kind of cute. But I won't tell her that.

23 Weeks

Here we are at 23 weeks. Very tired after a loooooooong Easter Sunday of visiting and kid wrangling. I'm feeling large.


But I must say after my post about her movement the other night, I had the mommy jinx take place where I was completely contradicted. While she still will lay very low, I'm finally starting to feel lots of kicks and bumps higher up. In fact, she gave Caroline a show the other morning - much to her delight. It's clear to see that this baby girl is starting to make her place in the family. Later in the day on Easter, I asked Caroline to share what she had seen/felt earlier and expected her to say that she'd seen and felt the baby kick again. She told about that with much excitement and then she told everyone at my mom's that she also put her ear to my belly and heard the baby whisper "Caroline and Bryce." Well if she heard it, I'm not going to tell her otherwise. She can always remember that as the first words her baby sister said to her, if she wants.