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| 2 hours old! |
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| First Birthday |
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| One week old |
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| 2 years old (just before the boys were born) |
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| Almost three! |
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| Fun and Four! |
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| Five in the Fall! |
Wow, what a difference 5 years can make. It is hard to imagine 5 years ago, the little pip-squeak of a baby that entered our life. Going from zero to life was mind blowing, but now having a five year old: independent thinking, idea holding, energy filling, sensitive soul that fills our life now is pretty amazing too. I am so lucky to be spending my life with this beautiful little girl. I love that I get to watch her life unfold, see her personality and quirks and sense of humor develop. I feel my heart fill with love when I see the twinkle in her eyes as she walks into the room.
I am proud to see the self confidence Piper holds in herself. She is quite independent and happy to speak her mind about what she wants. She is not shy about choosing first, being first, and demanding the best in almost everything(...poor buddies)! Piper is a Scorpio, she is first born, this is part of her make up. That said, Piper is also the sweetest kid. She gives big hugs, asks thoughtful questions and she is sensitive and in-tune with the energy of people around her. I notice the affect she has on others(kids and adults) and often makes others feel good with the attention and interest she shows them. She has a big heart and is often concerned with how other people are doing.
Being in the ranks of first born, this role is apparent in the dynamic between her and Calvin & Jett. Piper is large and in charge of these adoring little brothers. One of their favorite games that the three of them play daily is "The baby game." A constantly changing role playing game that entertains them all for hours spread out throughout the day. Now maybe the boys would be playing this game regardless of whether they had an older sister because they absolutely love it and often are the ones suggesting to play it...but I have to imagine that Piper, being the big sister, is the one deciding how and what they all play.
Piper is a great big sister. She loves playing with her brothers. There have been a few mornings recently that she has had a hard time going to school in the morning because she would rather stay home and play with Calvin and Jett. In reality, Piper going to school grants a break and this works wonders for their playing partnerships because she is excited to come home and see the boys. It is not all peaches and cream as far as sibling play time, but when it is going well and they are all playing nicely with each other, this fills me up to the brim with love and pride. I absolutely love watching them play and hearing their laughter.
A big milestone Piper recently reached is riding her bike on the streets of Bend! We live downtown, so it took a leap of faith to trust that she was ready to navigate the streets in our area. Once we gave it a try though the confidence and trust in Piper's ability as a bike rider soared! She did great, listened well and stayed very aware of the rules for safety. At least at stop signs and intersections. In between those, she is peddling as fast as possible, racing with a beaming smile of pride at her new independence! So cute!
Some of her other skills she has are:
Crossing her eyes - They are doing sounds of the week at her school and one of the words she brought in for "C" was cross eyed. The teacher asked her to demonstrate because not everyone knew what that was. The whole class tried it, but only a few had the skills!
IPad navigation - A child of modern day, and a must for her future education! =-)
Hammock swinging - I never knew how much entertainment this would hold when I put it on the front porch this summer.
Fence climbing
Memory/Remembering - I have always been amazed with Piper's ability to remind me of details that I was forgetting.
Detective: Recently we were walking to Cuppa Yo one evening after the boys went to bed. We happened to pass by our mailbox which is in a group of 8 other mailboxes with our neighbors down the street. There are two big boxes that normally have keys hanging from them that the mail-person puts in your personal mailbox if you get a package that wont fit in your own. Anyway, as we passed by, she said "Look, there is no key in the big box, we have a package waiting!" I love this story for 2 reasons, first because of the awareness she showed when we weren't even going to the mailbox, remember, the outing was for a special treat at the frozen yogurt place, which is all I was thinking about. And second because of her confident optimism. Even though there were 7 other neighbors mailboxes that the missing key could have been in, she knew the key had to be in ours! An even better ending to the story is that she was right! A few days later (we don't check the mail that often), we went down and retrieved the package filled with Halloween themed treats from Grandma Linda!
Negotiating - Piper has been honing this skill for quite some time, she is fair and reasonable and respect worthy opponent. So beware!
Vocabulary building: We have been reading chapter books for a couple years now, moving on from our favorite series "The Magic Tree House" to many of the favorite classics that I never read, but probably saw the movie about as a kid. "The Little House on the Prairie" series was a hit and so was "Charlotte's Web", "Stuart Little", "Ralph and the Motorcycle", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"(favorite book so far), to name most of them. This is a favorite nightly ritual we have and and I know new words are soaking in because often, she will ask us to explain a word she doesn't know or understand.
Piper still loves swimming as much as ever. She is so confident and comfortable underwater, holding her breath longer than I would think possible. She loves diving for sinking toys and just generally being under water. Here she is at the lion pool last week:
http://youtu.be/OlHjPsrgw4w
The Pirate Park is one of our favorite outings these days. It is a perfect distance so Piper can ride her own bike there. The play equipment is fun with the pirate ship and hill slide, but the best part of this park are the secret trails on the hill below the park. There are big boulders to climb on, narrow passages in the bushes that only kids cat fit through and really just the exploring aspect is awesome. It is next to the river and a prime spot for catching crawdads. I love that Piper is into the adventure of exploring, taking charge and leading the boys off into the woods is so fun for them.
Piper Vida is FIVE! So capable and independent, such a joy to hang out with. She is interesting and interested. She is kind and compassionate, sensitive and loving, mischievous and magnetic. I am honored to be her mom!
I love you Piper! Inside and out, from your head to your tippy toes, through and through, always and forever, infinity plus one!
