Pipers Hit the Midwest

Last week we had a fantastic trip to visit Grammy and Uncle Blair. We spent most our time at Andy's family's farm that they've been going to for generations. It was pretty magical and Grandpa even flew in to meet us.

We had a bonfire and cooked hotdogs and s'mores at the picnic grounds:

Drank from the spring at Big rock creek farm:

Fed animals at Fawn Doe Rosa:

And Scott the farm's foreman made sure the chickens laid eggs each day for Lucy to collect;)

Mostly, it was just great to visit with family we love!

The Pumpkin Patch

"The Pumpkin Patch" is not only a place to get pumpkins but also a place for farm fun all summer and fall.

Here the kids are playing on the antique tractor:

And climbing the mighty hay pyramid:

And now...the coup de gras...riding the cow tractor!

Hello world. We meet again!

Well, it's been a good year and a half since my last post. I'm hoping to start blogging regularly again.

It's so sweet to see the kids play together and become bffs:) Here they are on a shopping expedition, recently:

Charlie is 16 months old and not only walking but running! His list of words include mama, dada, mi(milk), dow! (down or up), baaa (balloon, bubble or word for sheep depending on the context;) ). His most impressive piece of vocabulary is "undada!" which he shouts when he's put in a swing and translates to underdog! He's pretty darn fearless and loves going down pretty much any slide and making a mess of himself playing in mud or eating like the baby he is!

Here, he and Lucy are in the swings at the park enjoying the ride:

Above is Charlie on a recent trip to visit my best friend in Arcata. He's loving the slide and has a mess on his shirt to prove the kid likes ice cream too!

Lucy is so fun to see come into her own. She's a little firecracker who is exited to try almost anything! She is also very sweet and loving. One of her favorite games is pretending to put her babies to sleep and "running around and being silly with Charlie" is what she tells me was her favorite part of each day when I put her to bed. 

Here she is taking...um...I mean sharing an ice cream cone with grandpa on a recent visit:

Well, that's all for now, folks! Hope to keep you posted again soon.

Meet Charlie!

My it's been a while since I've posted. I've finished out my pregnancy and we have a new member of our family. Charles Pennington Piper was born on April 29, 2012! Here is a picture and video of Lucy meeting him on the first day! She loved him from the minute he came home and loves to help him out by bringing him blankets and play with him.  My two little peas in a pod!

Easter!

We had a great time on a sunny Easter Day. The big bunny made his first trip to our house and Lucy had lots of fun hunting eggs and opening her basket. Here's a video of Lucy hunting eggs:

 After the festivities, Andy took Lucy to the coast to enjoy some sunshine and a little Father-Daughter quality time:

He also found a petting zoo for them to explore! Lucy was afraid of the cows but thought the chickens were pretty cool:

Finally, they hit the Tillamook Cheese factory on their return to explore the attractions and pick Mama up some of her beloved cheese curds!

All and all a very big Easter Sunday for the little lady!

Morning Stroll

Little Miss Lucy likes nothing more than to be outside. If you ask her if she wants to go outside, she will excitedly reply "side-side!" without fail. So, lately we've been bundling up and hitting the streets, despite the weather. Here she is exploring the neighborhood this morning.

Brother Doll

Not being much of a doll fan as a kid myself, I didn't think to get Lucy a doll until a friend left one at our house and she was obsessed with it. She named her "Baybay" and wanted to take her everywhere...even in the tubby. So, we got her a new doll we're calling brother doll to prepare for baby brother's arrival! She loves him and gives him hugs, stroller rides and changes his diaper. We've tried to quell giving him a tubby because we don't want her putting her real little brother in the bath! In the video, I tried to capture her dancing with him, but was too slow with my camera. However, you can see how she likes to tote him around while she plays: