David, Michele and … Piper

I have no business typing this post.  I have emails to respond to, dinner to start prepping, laundry to finish, filing to do (I thought I left that when I left Oncor–alas, it has followed me!), etc.  The list is always long with me.  But I don’t want to forget this.  It’s a good reminder to me of who I am on the inside, apart from the Lord.

This morning Pip and I ventured out to wrap up some grocery shopping.  Have you ever shopped for groceries on a Monday morning?  Seriously.  Try it.  It’s the best time to grocery shop EVER.  Anyway, it has been raining cats and dogs and small horses in Dallas for the past couple of days, but we left the house in a rare, rain-free moment.  I recently purchased one of those cool fabric grocery cart floppy things that you put your baby in while you shop–it supposedly keeps baby a little more germ-free and comfortable… and it looks cute.  You know, one of the trillion baby-oriented products out there that suck you in like a vacuum cleaner and leave you feeling like you just have to have to have to have it or else…  Or else what?  I dunno.  Call me sucker.  Anyway, I bought this one used at Once Upon A Child and it’s cute, so that’s how I justify the purchase.  Used and cute.

So we roll up to Whole Foods at Belt Line and Coit Road, and I plop Pip into her groovy new seat cushion.  This is only our third time to use it, but this is the first time I got her latched in properly so I was feeling pretty good about myself–and her.  Have you seen how cute she is? Just in case you’ve forgotten, below is a picture that was taken on a nice, non-raining day not long ago:

Anyway, we did all of our shopping and were standing in the checkout line when I looked up and out the big bay window in front of me… at a monsoon that had descended upon Dallas in the 14.25 minutes that we were in the store.  In all my excitement to get Pip in her new gear, I neglected to consider the possibility of MORE rain, so the umbrella was left in the car.

Leaving her in the grocery cart in front of the store was not an option.  We were getting dangerously close to naptime and the rain had been coming down for about 48 hours straight (except for the one window when we left this morning and a ten minute period yesterday), so I wasn’t hopeful that we could wait it out.  Instead, I sprinted to the car pushing the shopping cart after hitting the “unlock” button on my keychain.  I parked the cart on the passenger side, yanked Pip and the floppy cushion thingy and the bag of groceries out of the cart, and jumped in the back seat on the driver side in order to strap her in the car seat on the passenger side.  Once finished, I got in the front, started the car and noticed a shopping cart parked not far from my car, almost blocking the way out.

Before I continue, I have to lay out the back story on this.  I was raised in a “Do The Right Thing” kind of household where “The Right Thing” is to always park your shopping cart in one of those little cart receptacles or in the front of the store.  David will often tote one or more carts back with him when he drops his off and I like to do the same thing, or offer to take someone’s cart from them when it looks like they’ve just finished unpacking their groceries into the car.  Now this isn’t because I’m a nice person.  I’ll let David speak for himself, but I’m pretty sure he does it because he’s a nice person.  And sometimes I really AM a nice person, but this isn’t one of those times.  This kind of act makes me feel good–and even look good if someone else is paying attention.  And it’s fun to get a good “I Did The Right Thing” kind of adrenile rush out of being “right”.  But it’s not because I’m nice.  I’m not proud of this, but it’s the truth.

So when I see a grocery cart parked in the middle of the parking lot–or blocking my car like today–I get a little hot under the collar and more than a little uppity at the audacity of the Lazy Shopper who left it there.  Especially if it is blocking my exit route.  Did I mention how many carts I’ve moved in my lifetime?  I shouldn’t have to move THIS one, too, should I?  And who ARE these people that leave their carts?  Is there EVER an acceptable time to leave your cart willy-nilly in the middle of the road?

In my irritation, I pulled around this particular cart and was starting to gun it in the rain (the mature thing to do when you have a 6-month old in the back) when I realized that–GASP!–this was MY cart!  This was not someone else’s cart, this was MY grocery cart.  In the flurry and the frenzy and the madness of the rain, I had left MY cart parked next to MY car and it was blocking MY exit from the parking lot!  Oh MY!  The Unthinkable…  So THIS is how it happens that the parking lot is full of carts that aren’t where they belong!  I had pulled my self-righteous finger out of my pocket and was waving it in the imaginary face of this Lazy Shopper (other than lazy, what excuse is there?) with an ugly, smug holier-than-thou attitude, only to realize that the face looking back at me in the mirror was my own.  Mmm-mmm-mmm.

And still He loves me.  In all of my sin.  In all of my empty attempts to look good, feel good, do “good” apart from Him.  In all of my blaming, finger-wagging, ugly sin.  And still He loves me.

I wish I could say that I went back and moved the cart.  I didn’t.  But the lesson was there and I didn’t miss it.  I will move someone else’s cart out of the way the next time I’m in a grocery store parking lot.  Hopefully, it won’t be because I’m “clearly a better than the person who left it there”.  Hopefully, it will be because He first loved this wretched sinner who repeatedly finds her worth in the wrong things and ends up hurting other people–even if only in her head–in the process.

This morning Piper straightened out her otherwise-”clockwise” ways and managed to put down and use her right foot while in the walker!!! She cruised around the dining room table a couple of times and all around the kitchen and living room with a look of sheer bliss and glee on her face, while David and I stood on the sidelines screaming, “C’mon, Piper! Good girl!  You can do it!  Come here!”  She scattered a herd of resting cats at about 7:15 am.  I can only imagine their dismay at their least favorite person in the house now being somewhat mobile.  Be still, my beating tail.  More than once we had to straighten her out when she got stuck on a door frame or kitchen cabinet, but she’s starting to problem-solve her way out of the easier pickles, so I’m thinking she won’t need us much at all in no-time.  Once we get the replacement floors installed, I’m thinking about moving some sticks of furniture around to make a clear path for Little Miss On-the-Move.

Yes, I know that I can’t leave her alone in that thing and that the house needs to be baby-proofed.  Yes, I know you thought those devices were outlawed because that’s what everyone says, but you can buy ANYthing on Amazon.com these days…  Her walker also plays really great tunes and she likes to soothe her sore gums by chewing on one of the dials.

After working up a big appetite in her walker, we served pumpkin-infused rice cereal with a side of peaches for breakfast.  After gagging and puckering up those cute little lips, the peaches were used for finger-painting on the highchair tray rather than eating.  The lunch time green beans were raspberried all over her shirt.  My world is a messy place to live in.

At her Aunt Lizzie’s prompting, we also did some Tummy Time on the activity mat that’s on-loan from our buddy, Sloan Johnson.  We are hoping that Piper learns how to crawl–in addition to walking!  Here’s a fun shot from Tummy Time the other day.

And a cute shot with her Daddy yesterday after the Play Group Girls left.

Play Group is a separate blogging moment for another day.  The Biscuit is stirring in her crib…   I have the best job in the world (sorry, Don, Kevin & Jennifer).

Note to readers: we opted out of doing a baby book, so skip this blog entry if you don’t care about all of Piper’s little milestones–that’s what this one is about!

Doggonit is our little punkinhead cute!  I can’t kiss her or hold her enough.  Call me crazy, but I love the smell of her skin and her breath…  I just want to inhale all of her sweetness.  She is SO precious!  And growing like a weed…  My goodness!  Her motor skills are growing in leaps and bounds and she giggles or wiggles (or both!) with delight whenever she’s given the opportunity to practice any of her new tricks.

Pip is tipping the scales at 15 pounds, 11.5 ounces and is 28″ long.  She is in the 75th percentile in height and head circumference and 50th in weight.  Of course the weight might go up now that we’re adding in THREE solid meals a day in addition to nursing 3-4 times a day!  We were already giving her rice cereal mixed with mama’s milk and various fruits or veggies, but the doc told us to start adding a lot more straight fruits and veggies.  She also said it is a good time to start adding in those “biter biscuits” and the puffy little flavored star-shaped treats.  She loves the biter biscuits and screams when I take it away.  She gags on the puffy stars.  Thankfully, the doctor warned us that she would do that and reassured me that she’s not likely choking–she’s just learning to a new maneuver.

Her newest tricks are:

• Reaching for and batting at toys, and generally building some good coordination (unlike her mommy)
• Batting my hand away when I try to put saline drops in her nose
• Sitting up by herself for long periods of time
• Drinking (and dribbling) water from my glass–she reaches for it every time
• Paying attention to her surroundings when out for a walk–she seems to enjoy herself more
• Putting one foot in front of the other and walking while someone holds her hands (timid, awkward and sometimes backward steps, but steps nonetheless!)
• She has been standing up for the past six weeks or so and we could easily pull her to a sitting or standing position, but last week she pulled herself up from the sitting position–that’s new and different! Very exciting!  And she is so cute standing there holding onto the edge of the tub while her bath is drawn!
• Blowing raspberries–often with stuff in her mouth

On Pip’s “I Love” List:

• Gazing into the mirror at herself and sometimes locking lips with herself (I haven’t captured this on film yet, but I plan to!)
• Baby Einstein CD’s, which we listen to at mealtime and in the car
• Pears, sweet potatoes, rice cereal
• Daddy’s funny faces, his airplane rides and having him go in to get her out of bed in the morning
• Having Mommy carry her while doing chores (vacuuming is a favorite)
• Her Happy Apple (which we call the Magic Apple)–a toy that was mine when I was little

On Pip’s “I Hate” List:

• Pumpkin!  Yuck!
• Teething pain
• Getting strapped into the car seat

Last night at 10 pm, Pip woke up screaming bloody murder and was inconsolable.  She wakes up from time to time in the evening, but a diaper change and kiss on the cheek tend to put her back to sleep.  Not last night.  This was different.  And awful.  DP and I were both concerned.  But no fever, thankfully…  Running through the events of the day, I panicked, thinking “Could she have gotten a concussion when she tipped over from sitting up?  She didn’t hit hard enough…”  So this afternoon I spied another pearly white sprouting up through her bottom gum, and when she screamed the same way during her third nap rather than sleeping (and this girl LOVES and NEEDS her sleep!), I smacked my forehead.  Not hard, but I smacked it.  Pip doesn’t miss a nap over just any little thing.

Happy Six Months + 3!  We love you, sweet Biscuit!