Preview

This morning, Piper and I met with my photographer friend Ali for a little summer photo shoot. Ali sent me this picture as a preview. I can't wait to see the rest!

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Who couldn't love this little ruffle bottom?

I must admit: I've become a little obsessive lately about taking pictures of Piper, even when she's really not doing anything special. I'll chalk it up to my love for her summer clothes. Mostly through the generosity of her family and friends, Piper's wardrobe is overflowing with the most precious summer dresses and outfits. And I must say, she wears them well!

Playing outside

If you know Piper, you know she LOVES balls (or "bops" as she calls them). We have had lots of fun lately playing with the dogs' bops outside.



Oh, and that loud, hissing noise in the background? That is the sound of the thousands of cicadas that have invaded our backyard and all of Middle Tennessee. Yeah, they are annoying.

Just because...

...she's so darn cute.

15

Piper is 15 months old! I can honestly say that we have more fun with her every day. We have travelled quite a bit this month--home for Easter, to Oak Ridge for Josh's rowing competition, and to the beach and back. Piper continues to be a fairly easy car rider as long as someone (namely me) keeps her entertained. We started working with a fork and spoon this month. We're a long way from mastery, but I think she likes trying it out. Sometimes, if I forget to bring her a fork, she'll ask me for one.

Most of the time, Piper still feeds herself with her hands but holds on to the fork very intensely.

But every once in a while, she gets it to work!

We went to the doctor today. Piper now weighs 21 pounds (20th percentile!) and is 29.5 inches long (22nd percentile). She is right on track developmentally except for stacking blocks. She'd rather throw them or put them all in some little container.

She still talks all the time, but we don't recognize much besides dog, mamma, ball, clock, milk, quack, uh oh, hi, and bye.

She's really picked up on signing lately. She signs correctly for more, all done, please, and milk. I know this doesn't sound like much, but it really is super helpful in knowing what she needs and wants.

Although I know it might not last forever, Piper continues to be a wonderful eater. She tried and gobbled up all sorts of new foods while we were at the beach like swordfish, shrimp and grits, sausage, steak, and buscuits and gravy. I'm blessed that she's so easy to please.

We love this girl and are so excited to watch her grow and learn!

Beach Videos

Beach!

To say we had a good time at the beach last week would be an understatement. We had so much fun! I have to say special thanks to my mom and dad for making the trip possible for us. Mom, Dad, Brenden, Sarah Beth, Ian, Corey, Tisha, Lyndie, Josh, Piper, and I all bunked together for the week right on Folly Beach. It was so nice to be right on the beach, especially with all the kids. Enjoy the tons of pictures that follow!

Our home for the week

first time on the beach!

I think she likes it!

For a while, all Piper wanted to do was climb in and out of the beach chairs.

The boys played ladder golf.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the week.

Piper ate her first half-dozen shrimp at Hyman's Seafood.

Story time with Nana

Beach time with Daddy

We passed the evening hours doing puzzels--eight puzzels with 2150 pieces total!

Piper loved playing in the sand!

Vacation Preview