Herring Family Happenings: Piper Lately

My first baby isn't a baby anymore! Somewhere around 28 months, Piper blossomed into a little girl and left babyhood behind. She is at such a fun (and challenging) age!

Each new day is started with "Where are we going today? What are we going to do there? Who will we see there?" She loves to know what to expect and how to plan for it.

We always pack our lunch to eat at the pool during rest time (as dictated by the life guards' whistles). So anytime a life guard blows his whistle, Piper thinks it's time to eat.

Running the bases (backwards, no less)

She loves the water but isn't so fearless that I have to worry too much about losing her in the pool or at the lake. She's very comfortable swimming at the pool in an inflatable ring and can even paddle around in it with some direction. She'll jump in only if someone is right there to catch her.

Piper is still a wonderful eater. With very few exceptions, she will eat whatever I fix for the rest of the family. I'm so happy that I haven't had to cater to a picky eater, and I hope this never changes.

Girl never stops talking. There are descriptions, instructions, songs, questions, squeals, and sometimes even tantrums constantly coming from her little mouth. We know something's up if she's quiet.

Tantrums. Oh, the tantrums.

And I can't overlook the whining, either. She is a drama queen!

Watching the Olympics. I'm not sure if this was "bolley ball" or "the big girls doing flips," both of which kept her rapt attention.

Ice cream--a rare treat

She loves to pretend. She takes very good care of her babies (feeding, changing, and putting them in time-out as needed), builds towers out of anything from blocks to boxes to plastic food, studies things with a shovel-turned-maginifying glass, cooks all kinds of goodies in her sink, dresses up like a princess or a superwoman (sometimes at the same time), and creates works of art with play-dough.

Piper will never, ever turn down a game of ball. She continues to love all kids of ball games: soccer, volley (or bolley, as she pronounces it) ball, baseball, football, basketball, golf, and hockey ball (her words). It used to be ok to play ball in the house, but now she's strong enough to do some damage with her overhand throw.

It's always interesting to see what's going on inside her doll house. Usually it's a microcosm of what's been happening in her little world. Her people take lots of naps, baths (shown here), and turns in time out.

Her little family also sits at the table very regularly. There aren't enough chairs for all of them, but Piper improvises and uses the baby seat, stroller, and rocking chair so everyone has a spot at the dinner table. This warms my heart.

She never forgets her prayers during bedtime. We focus on thanking God for the people in our life, not things, so she usually rattles off any and all people we have come into contact with that day. She always includes at least one person I would have forgotten.

Now that Graham is on the move, Piper is a little jealous of the attention he gets. She also doesn't like that he can get into her toys and puzzles. But at the end of the day, she loves him fiercely.

She's still a great sleeper, although lately she figured out that she can get out of her bed and her room whenever she wants. After one night where I had to sleep on the floor of her room to make sure she stayed in her bed, I put a knob-stopper on the inside of her door to keep her from opening the door. It was a little traumatic for all involved, but it did the trick. The stopper is still on the knob, but she knows now that she can't get get out even if she wants.

Kisses for "Bubby"--her nickname for Graham

Princess Piper

Somewhere around April, Piper finally decided it was ok to poop in the potty. Although she still wears a diaper for naps and nighttime, she is officially day-time potty-trained. I'm not sure when she'll be able to stay dry while unconscious because she shows very little promise of this right now. I would LOVE to stop buying diapers for her.

One of her latest fascinations is with construction equipment. I have had to teach myself the names of all the different types of "big diggers" we see on the roadside because she HAD to know what they were called. I see a birthday party theme in my future...

She wore her backpack all day on the day she went to Open House at her preschool.

Pool time with good friends

Piper loves the moon and the stars. Anytime she spots the moon, she shouts about it so everyone within an earshot also knows it's present. Most evenings we have to go out and look at the sky before bedtime. I love this time; she's very calm and snuggly, two things we don't see out of her much!

Even during the most challenging of days, our love for Piper continues to grow in ways we never imagined. I guess this is what parenting is all about! And we cannot wait to see what she teaches us about life in the process!!!