Happy Birthday Piper - You are TWO!

What a privilege it has been to spend the last two years getting to know Piper Vida Staley. Especially this last year her communication, understanding and interaction with us has been so fun to see her sweet personality blossom. To think back to a year ago, Piper was not even walking(she started walking at 14 months), though she made the best elephant sounds in town. She said few words, like Llama Llama, car and baby. Now at 2 years old Piper is running, bossing Mango around, talking in sentences and POTTY TRAINED! That is right, I said potty trained. Since September she has been wearing her pantalettes (underwear), and very proud to not pee in them.

Of course I would say this as her mom, but Piper is really smart! The things she says and her understanding of the world around her is well beyond her 2 years. One of her favorite words right now is "otherwise." For example, she will say, "Don't pee in pantalettes, otherwise Piper be sad." Or "Don't fall down, otherwise, mommy will kiss you."

When Piper sees something that might be a little scary to her, like a Halloween witch decoration, or a spider, she will ask me, "Is it nice?" I think it is her way of making sure she is safe even if she feels a little scared.

Some of Pipers favorite things these days are: reading books, walking Mango on leash around the house, dragging her balloon on a string everywhere she goes (even if the helium is gone), doing sticker books, pushing around her baby stroller, taking walks in the woods, throwing rocks in the river, "organizing" Daddy's desk drawers, getting big tickles and watching Mango have the puppy crazies.

Piper is very good at melting our hearts. She has started saying "Hold me everyday, Mommy" and "I need a hug Daddy" and using the word love. At first she would say "I love Mango," or "I love my balloon," but more recently she said "I love Daddy and I love Mommy too." She is a good cuddle-bug, especially when reading books. Piper is looking forward to tickling her baby brothers toes and likes to give my belly kisses. Piper has a sense of humor as well. She likes to say, "Daddy is chopped lizards...Mommy is queen of the world!"

We love our Piper so much, it is an amazing feeling to experience this love of being parents. I never would have guessed the amount of joy and happiness this little one could bring into our lives. Thank you Piper for opening our hearts to a new level and bringing a smile to our faces every day.

Happy 2nd Birthday Piper!

Summer flew by,now it's time to nest and prepare for the arrival of TWO babies

I have had two months now to wrap my mind around the news that we are expecting twin boys. The reality is still hard to comprehend, but we are excited to experience the adventure of twins. The logistics of feeding, holding, changing and all other needs coming at us double time is overwhelming. Especially when I think of my sweet Piper having to share the attention. I think it is going to be hard and just crazy for the first couple years, but the picture in my head of our three kids playing together and the opportunity to watch two more babies grow and become their own little selves brings a smile to my heart.

We took full advantage of enjoying our favorite season in Bend this summer. Loving our downtown location we spent our days walking or riding our bikes to parks, concerts, farmers market, the river etc.

Our dear friends Shannon and Kyle and their 4 kids (Ella 7, Luke 5, Nolan 3 and Alice 18 mo.) came for a visit from Seattle. What perfect timing to get to watch their family of 6 be so well behaved and fun to be around as they rolled into town just 45 minutes after we found out the news of our twin action. Thanks Tylers for showing us what fun it will be to have a big family.

And a few days later, the Oranen's came to town for some summer time fun in Bend. Their sweet boy Wesley and Piper had a great time playing and just being cute. The rest of the summer was filled with camping, lake days, floating the river, and swimming at Juniper outdoor kid pool. We went to the Deschutes County Fair with Piper's play group and David and I even had the chance to squeeze in a couple of date nights, our favorite being anchoring in the middle of the river to poach the concerts at the Old Mill Amphitheater. The third annual Droullard family Oregon coast trip was another highlight of the summer. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for keeping the tradition going, it is such a special time for us all to get away together and simply cook meals and play on the beach. We even learned about letter boxing thanks to Kevin and Lisa who started us off with our very own hand made stamp.

Now it is officially Fall. We hit the pumpkin patch today, here are a few pictures of Piper living it up being cute as can be.