Keeping It Cool

OoOeEeY!  It is hot, hot, hot!

My bug loves to be outside all the time which makes it a bit difficult to keep her mind and body busy when it's 113 degrees outside.

I've been getting rather creative with what to do with Piper to keep her cool outside, other than the pool.

Her favorite activity so far was to make, what I call, water bombs.

Quilt.  Check
Water bomb.  Check
Bucket o' water.  Check
Grassy area.  Check

Time to have fun and keep cool!

*Can't wait until we can do this is our own backyard someday rather than out front of the condo where the whole world can see.*

My Faith and Hope for the Future Has Been Restored

OH.MAH.GAWD!

I am so happy and hopeful for our future after what I had seen today.

Not to be a complete "Debbie Downer" but I had lost a whole lot of respect and hope for the younger generation.  Yes, there are the bad apples in all generations, but the younger one, ick.  I have been experiencing so many times where I have been disappointed by the actions, lack of respect, rude beyond belief attitudes and my list can go on.  Honestly, I was becoming almost hurt and yet at the same time really fricking pissed off.  I've had to restrain myself from "educating" the rude ones.  It could have gotten ugly.

And now I feel a sense of relief.  After experiencing all the negative attitudes around me, I FINALLY got to witness something so sweet it brought a tear to my eye.

Jeremy, Piper and I were at Target.  As we came to the cart bin area, we caught a glance of an elderly woman(in quite a fancy getup by the way) who was struggling horribly to get into the wheelchair cart.  Just as Jer was about to go help her, a young girl probably about 14 came out of nowhere to help her.  She picked up her cane and held her hand while she stumbled her way to sit down.

ALLELUIA ALLELUIA!

We watched and I immediately said, "My faith in humanity has been restored."

Yup, the girl helped her.  Didn't laugh, didn't walk past her, didn't roll her eyes, didn't ignore the struggle, but came out of nowhere and HELPED.

I hope that girl knows what she did.  I hope her parents know what she did and what an impact she made.  Those little acts of kindness really go a long way and don't go unseen.

Lollipops, gumdrops and unicorns

I believe that there are moments in life that are happy.  Happy with bright colors, happy with a certain calm feel, happy with an excited tummy that makes you squeal.

When I was in 8th grade, I had to talk to someone about some issues I was having in my little world.  I remember an exercise she had me do.

"Close your eyes and picture something that makes you happy."

When I did that, for some reason I pictured massive lollipops in every color and gum drops falling from the sky being caught in bright green and yellow umbrellas.  Having a white dress on and rolling through green grass, greener than I've ever seen.  Fairy godmothers, little fairies that live in the forest, a land full of unicorns that glisten in the sunlight.  I don't know why those things came into my head, maybe I was holding on to my youth when I was being forced to grow up in a weird and awkward way.

Now that Miss Piper is here, I want her to use her imagination and believe in things like that.  Believe in things that will make her happy whenever she needs it.  No, it doesn't have to be my massive lollipops or glittery unicorns, it can be anything that she makes up in her head, she decides.

We went to Munds Park this weekend on an impromptu getaway.

I had my lollipop and gumdrop moments thats for sure!

The weather was perfect and Piper loved to be outside in the fresh air.  We even looked for gnomes and fairies hiding in the woods;)

One of my favorite moments however was when all three of us were taking a nap in the bed at the same time.  It was calm and peaceful.  I swear there was a unicorn in the room:)

Big Ace

She's one, she's one, she's really really one!

We got Miss Piper's one year photos done by a very talented young photographer, Ace Fanning.  I will say that this guy has the best personality.  He had Jeremy and I laughing hysterically the entire time.  I loved the experience that we had with him.  Not only did we have a good experience, but Ace was able to capture our little munchie's personality.  Piper adored him and loved being goofy with him.

Here are some of my favorites from our day!

There were so many pictures that we loved.  How the heck are we going to decide which ones we frame?!

Thank you Ace for everything!  You are so creative and so business savvy.  You have us as return clients for sure!:)

Summer is Here!

Hip hip hooray, summer is here!!  I will say that it was very hard to say bye to my first graders this year.  They were an unbelievable class and really made me LOVE my job.  I think I needed them to bring me so much happiness after a few rough groups:)  However, it is so nice to have my days with my girl!

I have a bucket list for this summer.

1.  Cook/bake-I've already picked out a few dishes and drink recipes that were delish.  Thank you pinterest for making me a better wife:)

2.  Swim lessons with my lady- CHECK!  We have that all scheduled and we get to experience that with a good friend from college and her son.  Can't wait!!

3.  Father's Day surprise- Can't tell just yet:) heehee

4.  Hit up a Goodwill and find something amazing.  This may be difficult but I will find something without settling!!

5.  Once a week do a random act of kindness.

This summer is going to be fantastical.

 Zoo time with my wiggly worm.

 She digs pudding.

 My fave part of summer?  Super cold lemonade!

One more challenge this summer is getting this girl to nap without being held.  Nap in her own crib!  Somehow this year that little habit began and as much as I love it, I hate it.  She needs to sleep in a crib for nap time.  Fingers crossed!

 Bathrobe makes its appearance again.  My how it is so much smaller this summer!  Ha ha ha.

Dr. Kanagal got a visit from Miss Piper Hornbeck today.  All I have to say is, those shots are a heartbreaker.  I think it gets worse every time we go-having to watch her get pricked.

She is currently weighing in at 21 pounds which is the 50th percentile and 30 inches tall which is 75-90th percentile.  Still our little model:)

 This cracks me up.  Tantrum happening.  Cant you tell with the super straight legs?  Such a goober butt!

 Piper and I had our first girls weekend while daddy was in Colorado.  It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be, quite honestly.  I was exhausted by the end of the day, since daddy normally takes the early morning shift while I catch an extra 20 minutes.  Lemme tell ya, that 20 minutes really makes a difference.  We definitely missed big daddy and couldn't wait for him to come home.  Pipey even stayed up late to see him.  She was so excited she started to cry, so sweet.

 I would like to take stock in RuffleButts.  Cutest clothes ever.

I'll end this bloggy blog with a reflection.  At this time last year, last summer, it was crazy.  Jeremy was in SuperDad role and I was adapting to being a mom.  Super hormonal and just trying to discover my role as a mother.  We were waking up every two hours to feed a hungry baby and change her teeny diaper.  Learning how to swaddle a baby who hated every second of it.  (She still hates being confined by the way)  So much has changed and we have grown so much as a family.  Good things are a comin'.  I can feel it in my bones.  As long as I have my Jer bear and monkeybutt by my side, it'll all be good!