The Future Ballerina...

Clearly, she is a natural... and cant wait to go back next week!

(like mother, like daughter! Ill find some of my old dance pictures, too. Memories...)

Wordless Wednesday...Time to get ORGANIZED!

Im going to start a new "thang" on Wednesdays that I've seen on other blogs, and I enjoy it. I even look forward to it! Its "Wordless Wednesday!" Each Wednesday (that I remember, LOL!) I will post a picture or 2 having to do with what is going on in our lives at the time.

I have had my new desk down in my "studio" now for 2 weeks. Time to get it all organized! So during nap time today, I will be in my ((COLD)) basement, organizing, setting up my heaters, and creating a lovely studio to call my own! HURRAY!!!

In the weeks to come, Tiny Belles Boutique has our first tutu birthday party, a tutu/jewelry photo shoot with Stillpoint Photography, our website is in the hands of an AMAZING and capable designer, Becky Wilberding, and, on top of all that, I am helping throw my dear friend Marie a baby shower, and preparing for Gracie Pies FIRST BIRTHDAY!! (which, of course, is coming with all kinds of fun new product ideas!)

Well, this was hardly a "Wordless" post, was it? ;-)

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

My Favorite Pics of 2009

I had originally thought of posting a "Year in Review" blog, but that is mentally and physically exhausting, so here are my favorite pictures of the year!

More to come later this weekend! :-)

What a *cough* Week at the *sniffle* Piper House

Well, its been quite the week. First, Gracie started snifflin and sneezing and BAM! Ash and I were sick. Ash sniffles for about 5 minutes, and she is better, but Gracie and I are still sniffling! Piper still hasnt gotten sick, and hopefully he wont. He has another trip to the woods coming up.

Man. I hate being sick. I had finally gotten caught up on chores and BAM! Huge mess. So for the next 3 or 4 days, I will be catching up on orders and chores. Then, my first Thanksgiving dinner! Im so excited!!

Hope this week finds you all well, and that your thanksgiving is wonderful!!

It's....quiet...er....

Dont get me wrong. Ashlynn is my world. I love that little girl and all her sass more than anything in this world. But, man, on days where she spends a few nights at my parents house...the quiet is...well, its heavenly.

I dont know if other mommies can relate, but Ash has hit the age of "no off button." She is CONSTANTLY asking questions, telling me jokes, singing songs, counting things...all of which are things Im grateful she can do. But I find my rope shortening, thread by thread, especially after a week of Piper being in the woods.

So, I happily drop her off with Cama and Bapa for a few days, and let them enjoy her banter. And I play with Gracie (without feeling like Im neglecting someone ELSE lol!) and enjoy quiet dinners with my husband...and about 24 hours in...here I am, blogging...cause Im bored without her!

Dont forget to visit the store and check out the new things Im adding this week.

http://www.tinybellesboutique.etsy.com

ANND dont let me forget to wish every everyone a happy Veterans day!! I couldnt be prouder of mine :-)

Family Update November 2009

So lately, I've been pretty preoccupied with my store and with the girls, so I haven't been updating the blog as much as Id like. I hope to fix that soon!! In the meantime, here's a quick update!

Ash is LOVING school! She is so smart, and is back to writing her letters and recognizing letter sounds like she was at her Pre School in Pensacola.
She was Belle for halloween, and I will have pictures up asap.

Quote of the last month:

"Buh. Buh. MOM!! BUTT STARTS WITH THE LETTER B!!!!"

Gracie is growing like a weed! She is getting longer and not gaining so much girth, and my back and hips are grateful! MAN is she heavy!! At 8 months, she is weighing in at 18 lbs even and 28.5 inches. That means she has grown an inch every month! Sheesh.

She is SUCH a happy baby. She got her bottom 2 teeth, and her being "grumpy" basically means she doesn't give EVERYONE the full face smile every time you look at her. She isn't fussy and her reflux is totally gone. She is eating 3 meals a day and still nursing 4-5 times. I'm holding out and hoping I don't have to ween her until 12 months, but at this rate, she will be weening me!

She has discovered how to pick things up off the floor and stick them in her mouth (hurray.) and is scooting all over. No crawling yet, but she is certainly mobile.

Piper is keeping busy with school, his field flight and us, of course. He is doing VERY well in school! (He has gotten 97% on both of his recent research papers) He is in the field for 6 days each month, but in all honesty, I think its a great break for all of us. He gets to play in nature with guys and do all those guy things, and we get to hang out at home and do all the girl things (which are, in his opinion, pillow fights and talking about stickers.) He should be putting Master Sgt on sometime early 2010, and I am ENDLESSLY proud of him and the way he handles all his responsibilities. He is quiet a guy.

I have been keeping busy with my new business venture, and trying to keep up with the house. The store is really fun for me, and I'm really enjoying all aspects of it. And sales haven't been bad, either!! Make sure you visit when you're doing your Christmas shopping! I have tutus, personalized hand stamped necklaces and my girlfriend, Janel, is making DARLING hair accessories!!

www.TinyBellesBoutique.Etsy.com Tell your friends!!

I've also been exploring my creativity more with photography, something my brother and I both really enjoy. If I ever get to go back to school, I think that is what I would study. Its fascinating.

Anyway, hope this finds everyone well! With the holidays approaching, I know I will hear from more of you soon.

BUSY Week At The Piper House!

We have all been VERY busy this week!! We will go alphabetically, hows that sound?

Ashlynn has been going to Vacation Bible School for the first time. The theme is "Fear Not!"' and she is really enjoying learning more about faith. Shes been asking me for weeks to tell her stories about Jesus, and asking me about prayer and God...she has such a good heart! And today, at VBS, she accepted Jesus into her heart. Had me in tears! SO SWEET!! She is such a better person than me already...

She has also been learning to ride her bike! One of the father/daughter rights of passage, right? Watching this was adorable! She is a very lucky girl to have such a great daddy!!

Gracie Pie, well, she is on the move! Ok, not quite LITERALLY but close! She is doing a kind of Army crawl maneuver while trying to get up on her knees to crawl. She gets SO frustrated when she isn't quite strong enough...its hilarious and tragic all rolled into one. I have a feeling she will be crawling in September. Dad says walking by Christmas, and I do not doubt it! So its time for me to start thinking about baby gates and baby proofing again! Our days are DEFIANTLY numbered!

In other Gracie news, she has been eating rice cereal for dinner every night for the last few weeks, and really enjoying it. So last night, I got out the food processor, set up my make shift veggie steamer, and made her some green beans. I froze them in the ice cube tray so they are already split into 1 Tbsp servings (thank you, Maegan! GENIUS!!) They made their debut tonight: BIG HIT!! Its so entertaining!! And I don't think its any coincidence that she also began raspberrying with her tongue this last weekend...so funny!

I am really not up to much, just playing soccer mom and happy house wife. And loving every second of it! I never would have imagined in a million years that I would love the day to day like I do!! I'm working on a few small projects here and there, still enjoying my scrapbooking, and beginning a baby book for my best friend, Katie, who is due in early October. I'm really enjoying capturing all these moments with my new camera! It brings everything to the next level, that's for sure!

Patrick took over his field flight this week, and has been working hard. He is a great leader, these guys are lucky to have him. And I know he is thrilled to be getting back into the field, and really getting back to what he loves about his job. He goes to "the woods" for the first time next week, and, even though I know he will miss us, he is SO EXCITED to get out in the field again. Its really what job is about.

More soon! The baby is fussing and I've got laundry to fold! Ah, the glamorous life....

Around the House...and On the Road!

So, as I'd mentioned before, Piper has been in Georgia at Jump Master School. I'll let HIM fill everyone in on the excitement he is experiencing there later. (note:heavy sarcasm) But while he has been away, I have been trying to start and wrap up some projects around the house. Not only is it helpful not having him under foot (I love you, honey. But you get in the way sometimes ;-) BUT it makes the time fly by and before I know it, He's home again!

First off, I cleaned the carpets. I LOVE having clean carpets!! It made me ENDLESSLY happy to erase all those stains and icky footprints from our HORRIBLE winter! And may I recommend Procyon as one of my favorite things! (Great carpet cleaner AND stain remover! Dad sells it, and I'm TOTALLY on board! oh, and it's a GREEN PRODUCT!)

Then, I packed up the girls and we went to Seattle for 3 days. We spent our time with the Birr family, minus Kelly, who was out of town. I got to have some GREAT mommy quality time with Maegan, while Ash and her 5 year old daughter, Zoe, played happily for all 3 days! What a nice mini vaca for all of us!

Well, we got home, and the real work began! We moved into this house in late December, and the office STILL hadn't been completely unpacked! SO, my mission (and I began to regret accepting it) was to put the office together, and make it PERFECT to surprise Piper when he gets home. (I also have a little surprise within the surprise, Ill post pics of that after he gets home as not to blow it) So, I began putting away books, merging CD collections, filing paperwork, dusting, decluttering and altogether delousing the tiny space that had become the catch all for all of the "Where should I put this?" crap! I'm pleased to report that you can now see the floor, close the closet doors, and actually fit a computer onto the desk! I will be getting some closet organizing supplies eventually, but now that (most) everything in that room has a home, I am a happy girl.

Next up: OUR CLOSET! May I just say, I've seen it worse...BUT it's time to part with some of the things we just cant ever seem to let go of. Ill be making piles and letting him sort thru a few items, but there will be a BIG Goodwill run happening the next time we go to my parents house!!

Piper returns Saturday afternoon, and I'm hoping he will not be met by the chaos that comes before the organization is complete. But I'm really not too optimistic about it.

I have, however, been enjoying some scrapping time, both in the evenings when the girls finally go to sleep, and from our trip to Seattle this last week. I will be posting some of that sooner than later. (my nose will need a break from the dust everywhere!)

Looking forward to reporting on Pipers outcome at Jump Master School, and his anxiously awaited arrival home. I was informed tonight that "Daddy is just BETTER at putting me to bed, mom. Sorry." There ya have it.

June ins and outs

June is a BUSY month for the family Piper!! It began with Evans graduation, as I'd mentioned before. Followed promptly with my 29th (really) birthday. Ev and I shared the celebration with a dinner at Nicks Restaurant at Waitts Lake. What a beautiful day! And I was surprised by some BEAUTIFUL gerbera daisies from my handsome husband!! (thank you, honey!)

Now we are staring down the barrel of Fathers Day, Ashy's 4th birthday party, followed closely by both her actual birthday and Patrick's departure for 3 weeks to Jump Master school at Ft Benning, Ga. Needless to say, I am going to have my hands full! But I have great aspirations of spending lots of quality time with my girls and catching up on some scrapbooking.

Im getting closer and closer to my goal of saving up enough money for my NEW CAMERA, to help support my scrapbooking hobby! I cant wait!!! But, you know how that goes. Things like gifts for children keep coming up... ;-)

Also, Im adding links to the blog where you SHOULD be able to click and see pics of the girls, as well as some of the scrapbook pages I've made!