early may

Finley loves a little Gideon Bible that he found. For several days now he's been carrying it around in his pocket, playing with it along with this tractors and even sleeping with it. We've been trying to teach him John 3:16 and he likes to act like he's reading it out of the Bible.


A lot of the time when he's 'reading' the Bible, he's actually on one of the first blank pages.


He looks more and more like Matthew each day!


Another 'little Matthew' picture.


This picture is funny because it looks like he's wearing a toupee!


His feet are looking great, I think! Oh, that hairdo...He's lost most of the hair on his head except the very top and I'm not really sure what to do with that!


Busy teething...


Here is Finn's attempt at the ABC song. =)


A second attempt with a little help.


Finn 'reading' something about a potty in the Bible.

end of april

Piper's favorite place to be!


A cute picture of Finn.


"Can I help you?"


I love this picture of the two of them!


Piper went for his 4-month appointment on April 28. He weighed 14 pounds 13 ounces, his height was 25 inches and he was right at 50th percentile for both. His head circumference was 16-1/2 inches which is in the 45th percentile. I thought he was bigger than Finley was at that age, but the numbers say they are the same.


He did really well with Dr. Bell and she said he looks great! We are supposed to try to have him on his tummy a little more without the brace in the evening. He absolutely won't lie on his stomach with the brace on (I can't blame him for that), but he will last a few minutes without it. Finley got to go with us and was so excited to see Dr. Bell. I have a feeling I'll have another little boy that loves her. It makes doctor visits very easy!


Here he is showing Dr. Bell his roll! He almost made it...a few more days and he'll have it down!


Here's Piper after his shots. Both boys now have done really well with shots. He got 3 today and didn't even cry with the first 2. He only cried a little bit with the 3rd.


We had to take a family picture for our church directory, so here it is. This was about the 10th time using the timer on the camera...we don't look like we're sick of trying this, do we?


Piper and Finn 'smiling' for a picture.


This video was taken one afternoon after church. Some Piper and Daddy time...


Piper in the jumperoo. His clubfoot is looking better and better now. We will hear May 13 if he gets to have it off during the day and only wear it at night or if he needs to keep it on for a couple more months full time.


In the jumperoo again. He was getting a runny nose from teething...Dr. Bell confirmed that his gums are swollen and that he will probably have a tooth by 5-1/2 months.


Finley getting a good head start on singing "Baa-Baa Black Sheep" before the TV got his attention.


I was just going to take a little video of Piper, but Finn was having none of that. He says "No, wait!" and sits down next to him. He then sings most of "Jesus loves me" before he smashes his finger while rocking Piper.


Finley and I were out on the front porch one afternoon sitting and he decided that he needed to get his own chair. I think it's cute how he sets it up and then just sits down. it was also such a bright afternoon that it was hard for him to look up at the camera. As you will hear, he still says "Misle" for "Smile".


Piper's second and third bites of rice cereal. It didn't take him long to figure out that he LOVED it. Ever since he started on cereal, I've only been feeding him once in the night. Mommy and Piper are both happy campers!

mid april

April 11 - Finn riding his new bike...hasn't touched it hardly since then when he fell off and got scared from the fall (didn't actually get hurt). He will sit on the ground with it and turn the tires like he's driving a car, but won't get on it anymore. We'll give him a few weeks and then see if he'll try it again.


April 13 - Finn gets a couple pieces of fruit snacks when he pees in the potty. Well, he came to me and told me that Fireman (a little toy that he has) had peed in the potty and should get treats. So, we gave him one. Finley actually tried to feed it to him and said "Yay, pee in the potty", but when Fireman didn't eat it, Finn said "nope" and ate it for him. He tried this again the next day, but I decided not to encourage that 'game'. It was a pretty creative way of getting more treats though!


April 14 - Piper 'sunning' again.


April 18 - Piper's first tractor ride. It seems like he's not thrilled and maybe trying to tell me something with that expression.


This was about the third time around. Each time they went around the circle and came up to me, he would stare me down as if to say "get me off of here!". He didn't cry though, so I figure he'll be another Finn wanting tractor rides every day!


This is one of my favorite pictures of the boys. Finley likes to hold Piper, but when he's done...HE'S DONE and you'd better be ready to catch Piper. Finley will say "Mommy hose Poo-Poo" (Mommy hold Piper) and will push him away.

early april and a 'surprise' party

Piper really wants to roll from back to front; however, the brace makes this difficult. His shoes will get stuck in the carpet and he won't be able to swing the bar and other foot far enough over. Not sure if this will ever happen while he's wearing the brace...we'll just have to see. Another problem when he does roll over is "what's he going to do once he's on his stomach?". He HATES being on his stomach and no matter how long we lie him on the floor on his stomach, we won't be able to make up the time he wasn't able to do it with the cast.

It will be interesting to see how long it will take him to figure the brace out...


Spending time in the sun out on the porch...he likes it as long as he's out of the direct sun and has a good shade over his eyes.


His head control is so much better than it was a few weeks ago. He enjoys just sitting still in the jumperoo and watching what goes on around him. He also likes looking at the dining room light and talking and smiling to it...haven't gotten that on video, but it's cute.


My 'surprise' 30th birthday party! Matthew had a big party planned, which was supposed to be a surprise, but he left his Facebook page open and I thought it was mine. I saw that 'I' had a message from my mom. When I opened it, the first line read "Are you still planning to have a surprise party for Sharon?". I realized what I had just read and was not going say anything, but then I would've had to act surprised with the house totally cleaned and looking way better than I would if people had surprised me! There was no way I could pull that off! So, I told Matthew that I knew about it. We talked about not telling everyone else and me jumping out and surprising them, but that wouldn't have been very nice. =) It was a really fun time with a lot of our friends and family!


My good friend, Denae and Piper. She's the one who's always getting on me about posting new pictures and videos on here! =)


Finn was sick of pictures and apparently just refused to smile anymore.

march 28 and 31

Finley so happy to be outside on his pedal tractor. It is huge though and he can hardly push it much less pedal it!


You can tell he's trying so hard not to cry!


A little blip of Finn singing "Somewhere out there beneath the pale moon light".

all about the pipester...

Piper in his jumperoo...




This may be my favorite picture of him yet...


Oh the cheeks...and the drool!


My favorite video of Piper. It looked like he was dancing to VeggieTales.

march 26

Piper still loves to lie on the floor and watch what's going on around him. He has really strong legs now and is pulling up both feet with the braces and bar on, which is kind of heavy.


Piper also is starting to like 'flying' where I will lie on my back and put him up on my knees to 'fly' through the air. I get the biggest grins out of him and I laugh extra hard too looking at those chubby cheeks hanging down!


Piper is such a happy baby and really a joy to cuddle and play with. He is so ready to give you a smile any time of day...even when he's tired. The nights are sometimes long with a lot of crying...he just can't stay asleep at night, but it will get better. I've been calling my sister-in-law, Melissa the most to vent and ask for advice. She is a great listener and has good advice.


Bob came over and gave Matthew, Finley and I a fun-size candy bar for a treat. Finley ate his within minutes and later found Daddy's. He knew it was Daddy's and had been told not to eat it because we were going to give it to him when he got home. Apparently, the temptation was too great for Finley to resist. It was hard not to laugh as he came up to me and said "Uh-Oh". I knew exactly what he was saying it for because of all the chocolate around his mouth. He then led me to the crumpled up wrapper on the floor. At the end of the movie he says "workout". I thought that was a fitting thing to do to work off the calories and fat he just ate!


Daddy time with Piper. He smiles a lot for Matthew and likes to stare at him. Matthew is able to hold him like I'm not able to. If I sit with Piper he gets antsy and just wants to move, but Matthew can sit on the couch and hold Piper for 30 minutes and he's so content. I know Matthew has a really calm spirit and Piper must sense this. I really appreciate those still moments...watching Matthew and Piper quietly bonding together.


Piper lying on the floor. When he gets upset or tired when he's on the floor, he will lift up the brace and slam it down on the floor really hard. I dread the day he does this in his crib. Not only will it be loud, but his brace will tear the wood to pieces!