The Royal Treatment

Jeepers.

Nana comes to visit and Piper gets the royal treatment!

A bowl of cherrios to snack on and Nana drying her hair

while she watches Dora the Explorer.

Not a bad life

if I do say so myself!

xo

Life is good!

Yes, I know I've got it all.
Now I just need someone to dangle a bunch of grapes above my mouth...

Hardwood Angels?

We all know that making snow angels is heaps of fun.

But did you know that making 'hardwood angels' is equally fun?

Diane taught Piper how to make a snow angel yesterday

while they were out playing in the snow.

Piper couldn't get enough,

so wanted to continue making them after coming inside. 

I've always known that she is a crazy kid,

but I didn't know that Diane was one too! ;-)

xo

Silly angel makers!

And no, still no baby.

Holy smokes!

We're 39.5 weeks along now and due on Friday.

No one can believe that we've made it this far.

Come on Littlest Lynch!!!

We all want to meet you!

Welcome - Wagon

My mom and her cousin Diane arrived yesterday

for a visit to help Mark and I with Piper

when the new baby arrives.

More than anything

we need the help WHILE new baby is arriving,

so we are beyond relieved to have family here to watch Piper

while we are in the hospital 

welcoming the Littlest Lynch into this world.

Now that we're prepared...

HURRY UP LITTLE BABY!!

I decided to play a little 'welcome prank' 

on mom and Diane for when they arrived. 

They showed up at our house while Piper was napping,

so Mark helped them take their luggage downstairs to the inlaw suite

where their rooms were prepared and waiting for them.

I purposefully stayed upstairs.

Mark came up a few minutes later to find me,

saying that I'd better get downstairs

because both my mom and Diane were down there crying!

They had only been to one bedroom at that point. 

This is what they found:

I refused to go downstairs until they went to the second bedroom,

where they found this:

Hahaha!

It was mean. 

I know.

But funny too.

Very very funny!!!

They really believed that Mark and I were revealing the Littlest Lynch's gender

via a onesie on their bed...
until they realized that the opposite coloured onesie
was laid out on the other bed!!!

I did feel a little bit bad 

once I realized they'd been crying,

but it was still worth it.

FUNNY!

I'm not sure if I've been forgiven yet or not,

but Piper is not suffering from her Mommy's prank.

She's over the moon excited to have them both here.

Today was lots of fun playing outside

and going for a walk in her wagon!

She's just so happy!!

xo

Running down our street!

Three happy ladies!

The happiest of all!

Family of Three - 36 Weeks

About 3 weeks ago,

we decided that we would like to have a some family photos taken

as our last days as a family of three.

We also wanted to have a few photos of my baby bump

and of Piper turning two.

Thanks to a wonderful photographer

who was willing to put up with us,

we were able to capture a few family shots

that we will love to look back on in years to come!

I was about 36 weeks pregnant in these photos,

so even though I think I look huge,

it's nothing compared to what I look like now.

Holy smokes.

I can't believe I'm still pregnant.

39 weeks and counting.

xo

We took a few photos with the black background
and Piper and I dressed differently,
but I didn't notice how wrinkly my shirt was when I grabbed it to go.
Sigh.
Some of the shots would have been so great if there weren't too many wrinkles to show!

A baby or a small pony???

Yes... I feel as exhausted as I look here!

Our growing family!

I hate headless shots... but there is something about this one I like?!?!

Kisses for the big sister!!

And kisses for the baby.... brother or sister??
Which will it be?
We shall all find out very soon!

Look who's TWO!
And making a funny face because she's chewing up Dora snacks.
It was the only thing we could give her
to keep her still for a few minutes!

Two means Trouble, right!?!?!?!!!

Dirty Dish Distraction Diva!

Dishes get dirty and need to be washed.

Sadly,

it's a fact of life.

Being capable of doing the dishes 

while keeping a constant eye on your two year old

is impossible.

Another fact of life.

I think Piper has figured out 

the best times to take advantage 

and go on 'adventures'. 

I really thinks she waits and watches for the perfect opportunity

to sneak away and look for trouble!

This is how I found her two days ago

after I finally got my hands out of the dishwater.

We weren't even out of our pajamas yet!!

xo

I think she was pretending to be talking on the phone here
and was asking someone to hold on a moment
while she saw what Mommy wanted. 

A quick update: 

I think the fall from the crib did frighten Piper enough to keep her inside for another while longer. She didn't climb out afterwards last night, even though she did wake up crying at 1am and didn't settle down again until 4am. (Yawn!) She then slept until 8:30 this morning and played happily in her crib for an hour before calling out for us to take her out. No attempt to climb out!! Nap time was uneventful as well, and so far (knock on wood) she hasn't made any escape attempts tonight either. Wish me luck that we can keep her in that crib until this baby gets into enough of a routine for Momma to be getting a little sleep at night!

Piper's Pasta Party

Today I stood back and shook my head as I watched Piper play.

I really really did.

Just stood there and shook my head.

I don't know where I found this child,

but I would just love to know what goes on inside her head.

I'm STILL shaking my head!

To make a long story short,

we went grocery shopping and canned pasta was on sale.

I noticed a can of Dora the Explorer shaped pasta

in tomato sauce.

I thought,

hmmmmm...

Piper loves Dora,

so perhaps this would be a fun treat to share for lunch some day.

Little did I know,

it turned out to be a very fun TOY in the mean time.

She found it as we were unpacking the groceries. 

She squealed and danced and hugged the can.

"Dor Boots, Dor Boots, Dor Boots" is all she kept saying.

Then she placed the can in the cupboard,

pushed it to the back,

moved the other canned goods in front of it

and walked away for a second. 

Then she went back to the cupboard,

moved each can away from "Dor Boots"

and squealed "There you are"!!

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Each time she 'hid' Dor Boots,

she'd say "see you soon".

Honestly.

This game of Hide and Seek lasted for a good 20 minutes,

if not longer.

I know you're shaking your head as you read this!!

A CAN OF PASTA!!!!!!

xo

You can't really tell,
but she's clapping her hands and dancing here!

Restarting the game of Dor Boots Hide and Seek!

SO proud of her Dor Boots pasta!

Sweet Jesus! Excuse my language, but honestly, God please please help me! I wrote this post as Mark was trying to put Piper to bed. She's been fighting us for the past few nights for some reason, so it's been difficult. He left her to cry it out and within a few minutes I heard a thump. Then Piper crying/screaming. I look at the monitor and NO PIPER! Of course I run. FAST. When I opened her bedroom door, there she was, standing in the middle of her bedroom with her blankie in her arms crying. I scooped her up asking her if she was okay and she told me that she "climbed, fell down and chin hurt". Oh dear Lord! If this is going to be something that she repeats, how in the world am I going to manage toddler-bed training a toddler while nursing a newborn??????? I'm not sure that combination is survivable! I may get lucky yet. As I rocked Piper in her rocking chair and calmed her down, she kept repeating that she fell and that her chin hurt. Perhaps she frightened herself enough to stop herself from trying it again?? Could I be that lucky?? Last month she touched our fireplace after endless warnings to stay away from it. She burned her thumb and two fingers. It wasn't anything major, but it hurt and she ended up with blisters on those three digits. Ever since, she won't go anywhere NEAR the fireplace and gets terribly upset if one of her toys happens to fall too close to it. She doesn't even want Blue to sit next to it. It ended up being a great learning experience in the end, since it wasn't a serious burn and she learned her lesson!! Let's all just hope it ends up being the same thing with this climbing out of bed thing. Oh please please please! My mind/body/soul cannot even begin to contemplate the pending exhaustion of combining the bed training while nursing a newborn!!! Sob!

More Post-Storm Fun

Mommy's anxiety about the snowstorm and the baby

was all worth it to Piper!

The next day,

Daddy took her outside to play in the aftermath.

FUN!

xo

Sunshine and snow.

Faster Daddy! Faster! 

She was squealing with such delight at sliding down the hill behind her daddy,
that I could hear her from inside the house! LOVE!

While Daddy and Piper were playing in the snow in our front yard, Mommy and Blue went for another long walk to try to 'walk this baby out'! It's funny. I think the neigbours are noticing. Every now and then I'll pass someone who will call out and say "still hanging in there"! I just laugh and say "barely". The ladies that work at the post office know exactly what I'm doing and they laugh at me each time I walk in there and say that they're surprised I haven't walked this baby out yet! I'm very thankful that our little post office is 1 km away, as it gives me a destination to motivate myself to keep moving further than I might like. I find walking TO the post office is easy enough, but walking the kilometer BACK is always very uncomfortable. I'll bet the neighbours notice that I'm much MUCH slower on the return. Blue certainly notices, as he looks at me with such annoyance at our slow waddling pace. Oh well... at least he's out and getting walked. This momma would much rather be laying in a warm bath, but that's not going to coax baby out before he/she is 10 lbs. (That's my fear!) Nine days until our due date! Hurry baby! We are too excited to meet you!!!!

"Dip" Takes a Dip

As winter drags on

we are getting antsy for summer.

And what is one of the very best things about summer??

Pool parties!

So,

Piper and I decided to have a pool party of our own,

here in our kitchen,

in February!

We invited her very best friends

(plus a monkey)

and had a great time. 

Well,

we did until Piper remembered that it's still winter

and ran to our front door in her swimsuit,

crying to go outside and make a snowman.

Oh well.

You win some. You lose some.

xo

As soon as I told Piper that we were going to have a swimming pool party
she ran and got her swimsuit out of her closet! :-D

But seeing as how it IS February,
I made her wear her rabbit robe over it to keep warm.

"Dip" is the first one to take a dip (sorry, pun intended)! 

You can have a lot of fun with a plastic basket
and a water-slide made out of toilet paper rolls and tape!

Our party guests lounging in the pool.
Ohhhh how I can't wait until summer.
Now to make some friends with a pool...

Post Storm Entertainment

We survived the giant snowstorm yesterday

without having a baby crisis.

My anxiety level was at a max

as I kept glancing between my giant pregnant belly

and the raging storm outside!

It would have been a serious problem

if we had needed to get me to the hospital

any time before 8pm last night.

Mark managed to get to work in the morning

only to be told by his Corporal to go home

just in case I went into labour and needed to get to the hospital.

Mark said it was probably the worst winter conditions 

he has ever driven in

and he got stuck on our street THREE times. 

(This he didn't tell me until after the storm had passed!)

The storm went on all day long,

as did my anxiety,

but at least I had Mark home to help distract me (and Piper)!

By early evening,

the weather calmed down a little,

but our street still hadn't been plowed. 

It wasn't until after 8pm that we finally heard that glorious sound of the plow

along with the lovely glow of it's flashing light.

SUCH a relief!

Once that wonderful wonderful plow went down the road,

I was ready to have this baby!!!

Who, of course, decided not to come anyway. 

So, I guess the silver lining to the storm

was that I got to have my husband home for an extra day

AND

Piper and Blue got to watch the giant snowblower 

widen out our road this morning!

xo

Piper and Blue loving watching the tractor hard at work!

Mommy is loving watching these two together still in their pajamas! 

Hot Spaghetti

Piper has decided recently that everything is 

"TOO HOT"!

Her bath water,

her food,

even her ice water sometimes!

This is just another phase that will pass, right?!

Mark was giving her her lunch a couple of days ago,

and of course, 

it was too hot. 

She asked her daddy if she could help him blow on it to cool it off. 

(This was AFTER we had added two ice cubes 

to make sure that it really wasn't hot at all!)

Apparently it was really funny 

when daddy would try to cool Piper off instead of her lunch!

She laughed so much that I think

she may have peed in her pants! 

;-)

xo

Blowing on Piper's lunch to cool it down...
but you can tell by her face that she knows Daddy is going to be silly! 

And it's laugh until you pee time!

THIRTY-EIGHT weeks pregnant!!!
Can you believe it?
I feel like I need to wear a backpack to balance myself out,
but other than that I'm very proud of myself and the Littlest Lynch
for staying put this long!

De-Odorizing Piper

Being TWO means that you must do EVERYTHING

that you see mommy and daddy doing.

This ranges from sweeping the floor,

to doing laundry,

to eating with a fork instead of a spoon,

to drinking coffee (I don't think so, but she tries her luck every morning)

to putting on chapstick...

etc.

This week she took notice of deodorant,

which she thought was wonderful fun!

She put it on herself,

then on mommy 

and TRIED to put it on Blue. 

Not surprisingly,

Blue wanted nothing to do with it!

xo

At least this end of her wasn't stinky today! 

Now if only they made a deodorant for her diaper! ;-)

Post Office Lollipop

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Our first PEI Valentine's Day was lovely. 

We all had a little sleep-in,

followed by Daddy's amazing

Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast. 

YUM! 

Piper received a new Valentine book and some Dora chocolates,

which she was very happy about. 

(We've already read the book about 25 times!)

Since the weather was BEAUTIFUL and warm

we all decided to walk to the post office together.

When we got there and opened up the little door on our post office box,

laying inside was a heart-shaped lollipop!

Well! Didn't that tiny act of kindness shine a light

on our increasingly wonderful day!

The lady that works at the post office 

poked her head out to wish Piper a Happy Valentine's Day

and to let her know that only the very most special people

got a lollipop in their mail boxes!

Piper was over the moon!

We are so spoiled here!

Our little town of Miscouche really has been good to us

since we moved here. 

I hope everyone reading this had a special day today as well!

Sometimes it's the smallest things

that  make the biggest impacts on our hearts!

Love!

xo

Eating her Valentine lollipop with Daddy
on our way home from the Post Office. 

Getting some Valentine kisses from Blue!

This is Piper's version of 'giving' Blue a kiss. 

And... it's always only a matter of time before she tries to crash Blue's bed.
We're working really hard on making her understand that Blue's bed is off limits when he is in it,
but we're not getting anywhere just yet.
Consistency and patience... and deep breaths!

Get Down, Bue!

Blue is NOT allowed to sleep on our bed

and Piper knows it. 

For the past couple of days,

Blue has been rebelling

and Piper has been catching him!

This morning I heard her yelling,

"Bue, GET DOWN!

No sleep on Mommy's bed!"

Maybe she's learning how to police from Daddy!

xo

Lecturing Blue on the house rules!

Put Down the Camera and HELP ME!

Oh my goodness.

I can't even look at this photo without laughing.

Being the super-mom that I am sometimes,

today I turned on the TV to distract Piper

while I chatted on the phone and tried to get supper ready.

I wasn't paying very close attention

(obviously)

as my daughter climbed up into her high chair to watch her show.

No big deal.

She has been climbing up into that chair

since we moved to PEI 6 months ago

and is really good at it.

Getting OUT of the chair is a different story.

She can do it,

but she's not very graceful.

Today as she climbed down I heard her yell for help.

When I looked over at her,

I saw that her t-shirt had gotten caught on the little leg-separator

and she was stuck.

I thought it was HILARIOUS

and instead of running to help her,

I ran for my camera.

Not one of my proudest moments,

but capturing this incident in a still shot just made my day!

Thank you for the million laughs sweet girl!

Mommy really does love you to the moon and back!

xo

Hahaha!
Just the look on her face says it all.
PUT THE CAMERA DOWN AND HELP ME!

Doctor Piper

She's smart.

She's accomplished.

AND

she's cool.

That's our Piper!

;-)

xo

Anyone want a check-up?

Just so you know.

Piper may look like a pretty impressive doctor here, but don't be fooled. I don't think she paid much attention in anatomy class.

Today she was playing with Blue when he rolled over onto his back. Of course, she immediately points to his penis and exclaims "Bella-Button"! I was very quick to agree with her. "Yes yes, that is Blue's 'bella-button' BUT DON'T TOUCH IT"! Ha!

Messy Face = Happy Piper

My 'crazy pregnant lady' attitude from yesterday

spilled over into today.

You know you are being a miserable person

when your husband offers for you to go for a walk,

take a nap, take a warm bath...

before we've even had breakfast!!

LOL

My poor family!

I did take that much needed nap and the warm bath

and was incredibly thankful for it.

To thank my wonderful husband and daughter for putting up with me,

I baked chocolate cupcakes for dessert tonight.

I think I've been forgiven!

xo

Daddy and Piper very much enjoyed licking the beaters clean!
Something that makes me want to vomit even when I'm not pregnant.
Raw eggs... ugh!

Cake batter face!!

After a 30 minute crying meltdown because I wouldn't give her cupcakes for supper,
she FINALLY ate her supper and was rewarded with her dessert.
Piper really is taking this "terrible two" thing very seriously! 

It's hard to look at this sweet face and believe that she had just thrown
a giant tantrum about that cupcake. Ha!

Yes.
That is icing on her eyelid.
She decided to paint her face with it.
I asked her to show me her messy face and
I guess she thought you'd also like to see the inside of her mouth!