This is, hands down, Piper’s all-time favorite book:

It was a gift from her friend, Jake, many months ago and she has spent HOURS flipping through this book on her own, as well as reading it with Mommy, Daddy and Nana.  It is a Richard Scarry-type board book for beginners, filled with familiar scenes (the schoolhouse, the firehouse, the carwash and garage, the grocery store) that are packed with familiar items (books, apples, slides, seesaws, hoses, cars, keys, etc.) Because her vocabulary is blossoming at such a steady pace, we “read” the book in different ways, depending on the moment. Sometimes we talk through the scenes generally, including how things work and what purpose each object has. Other times I teach her the new words on the page that I know she doesn’t know yet on her own. And then other times I say, “Can you point to the apple? Show Mommy where the apple is…” and then cheer wildly when she gets it right. These days, we use the last method the most frequently and she can identify so many objects that we are blown away.

Probably the hardest thing for her right now is when I point to an object and say, “What is this called, Piper? Do you know the name of this?” Though she knows what the objects are, she can’t quite form all the words, but she is improving in leaps and bounds–even if we are the only ones who understand her.

This is Piper’s other all-time favorite book:

It was given to her by some dear work friends at Oncor (thank you, Keith and Sue!) and she has spent many hours over the past several months flipping through the stiff pages and looking at the animals. I use the same method for teaching her the objects on the page and we also practice the animal sounds, when applicable (if you know the sound a chameleon makes, we are all ears). Often she can’t say the name of the animal, but when I ask her what animal it is, she makes the sound. This book has been a LOAD of fun for us and she has several favorite pages. Every time we get to the kittens and puppies page, she tries to kiss each of them. It is so sweet!

We read before naptime and bedtime and have been doing it for so long that she’s read some of her books hundreds of times and has since grown bored of a lot of them. From time to time, we’ll hit up Half Price Books or Barnes & Noble to add to her repertoire. This book came from Barnes & Noble, chosen specifically for Pip from Daddy on a Thursday Night Date Night:

She loves to make the sounds of the animals and touch the little fuzzy pieces in the book. And, thanks to Whitney in Play Group, we are now borrowing some books from the local library to help mix it up–I didn’t even know that the public library loaned board books!

This is a new purchase from Half Price Books that is great for adding to/testing vocabulary:

It’s a lot like the first two books and it’s great, mostly because this just happens to be the stage of learning that she’s in. I’m not a huge fan of some of the pictures (the dog doesn’t really look like an “average” type dog), so some of the objects are a little harder to identify, but it still works.

This book was a birthday gift from She-She (David’s mom) and is fun because 1. It’s Dr. Seuss, 2. It’s a board book with flaps that can’t easily be ripped off, and 3. It’s a train that stretches out over the pages and makes it fun and interesting to read:

This is Piper’s NEW favorite (that has great potential for making it into the All-Time Favorite category):

She spotted it from across the room at Half Price Books and screamed “Elmooooo!” I was surprised because her only prior exposure to Elmo was the talking Elmo doll at She-She’s house that has always been both intriguing and a little bit scary. And the book only shows the top of Elmo’s head and hands, so I didn’t expect her to recognize him on a book. After all that fuss in the store, though, we had to fork over the $3 for the book. She NEEDED Elmo… And so she will often call for Elmo throughout the day from the front of the house and I will take her back to the box of books in our room so she can retrieve this book and do a quick flip-through.

It has been so rewarding to watch Piper’s joy as she learns new words and puts all the pieces together in her mind… not to mention the sweet, sweet time of snuggling on our laps while we talk and share before bed! I’m not really sure what to do about the lack of children’s books in Dallas homes, but perhaps we need to look into serving with a literacy organization… or at least donate some of our books when we’re done with them!

I will eventually… maybe… post something about our traumatic trip to Children’s Medical Center this Saturday, but in the meantime want to say that the fever is gone, Pip still has a limp… and we’ll be up to something else pretty messy in the weeks ahead!

Dear Piper,

Happy one and one third, baby girl! You continue to bring us more joy and amazement than we thought possible… You are so much fun and full of life, and we are more and more smitten with you each day of your precious little life. The past couple of months have ushered in many new skills and a continued refinement of the old.

You have never lacked determination in your step but you are almost running these days and are very sure-footed despite your delicate and cautious ways. You hopefully scored some physical grace from your daddy’s side of the family because that’s not something I am cited for regularly. You are “all girl” as Daddy likes to say, which includes squeals of delight at the things that bring you great pleasure like favorite foods (fruity snack bars, pasta, yogurt, Cheerios, etc.), tickles under the neck and going outside or going to The Mat Room at church. Though there was a day that you cried when we dropped you off in Child Care at church, you now cry if we have to wait for another worker to show up before letting you in the play room. Several times a week you will say “church” or “Mat Roooooom” and often we will go up there to meet some friends and play in the padded rooms filled with blocks and balls, in addition to Child Care on Sundays. Thank you, Watermark!

Obviously, your vocabulary is one of the things that is growing in leaps and bounds. We cannot believe the things that you understand and say, and it has brought us very nearly to tears on more than one occasion as we watch you put all the pieces together in your mind. For the first time about a week or two ago, I sneezed and you said, “Bless Youuuuuu!” and you’ve been saying that every sneeze you’ve heard since. It also rained several times last week so Daddy took you out in it and taught you the word “rain”. The next day it began to rain while you were in your high chair having dinner and you said “Rain! Rain!” in the most angelic and excited little voice. The crazy part was that I didn’t hear or see it until you pointed at it coming down. Amazing. One of my favorite things that you do is scream “Men!” after we pray over your meal. Your patience level has improved tremendously because you will actually keep your hands folded together through the whole two-second prayer and you now wait until the end of the it to say “Men” rather than impatiently screaming it repeatedly in hopes that we will wrap up the prayer quicker and give you the plate. So cute.

“Pleeeeease” is probably your most-used word and it’s another word that typically comes out in the most angelic tone. Despite the tone, there are definitely rumblings of trouble going on under the surface and you are quickly learning the limits and boundaries that we are trying to consistently teach. That doesn’t mean that you always adhere to them, but you KNOW them! Often I will step into another room to grab something and you will take the two-second opportunity to do something you’re not allowed to do–like pull the tissue box off the side table with the hopes of pulling out every one–but then you give yourself away by screaming “No! No! NOO! Nooooooo!” I know to come running at that point and it is often hard to keep a straight face while reprimanding you.

Thanks to the new path of communication that is being forged between us, you seem much more content and joyful these past two or three months. You are delighted by so many things and you love to see our response when you say the right word and we acknowledge it. Your vocabulary gets better and better each day. Your favorite books are picture/word books where we spend hours pointing at and saying the words on the pages. You can now make “the sounds” of a snake, horse, dog, cow, sheep, pig, kangaroo (hop!), rabbit (boing boing), frog, guinea pig, goat, gorilla, lion, chicken, rooster and cat (I’m probably missing more than a few) in addition to knowing the names of your own three cats: Indigo, Lady and Spike. When asked, “What sound does Spike make?” you quickly reply, “Meowww!”

One of your favorite things is “The Claw” which Daddy plays before bedtime with you every night. You run to me for cover and squeal and giggle with delight as Daddy assaults you with tickles and creative new tricks. I never know what he’s going to do next and I usually end up laughing or squealing with you. Often during the day when he’s not home, you will see our bed and say “Claw” in hopes of having some bedtime fun in the middle of the day. So cute! And you like to ask for him from time to time throughout the day. It always amazes me to watch you two together. He is very protective and careful with you. He delights deeply in just being in the same room with you, watching you learn and learning who you are. He shakes his head and marvels frequently at how beautiful, smart and funny you are–and that the Lord has entrusted you to us. Over nearly every meal, he thanks the Lord for another day with you. He is a really good man, Piper, and I am so glad that you will learn from his example what a man, husband and father should be like.

You are more snuggly and cuddly than ever before and I cherish the moments that you say, “Lap!” to climb up and sit with me. I love reading bedtime stories to you and tucking you under your little blanket at nap and bedtime. I love watching you learn new things and it brings me great joy to take you new places that I know you will like. You are generous with other little kids and actually enjoy giving things to them, rather than taking them. The other day we got a balloon for you from Nordstrom and another little girl approached you, saying “Balloooon!” Daddy said, “Give her your balloon, Piper. Can you give her your balloon?” and you handed it right to her and then did a little joyful dance as if you actually enjoyed it… and then kept on walking, never looking back! That’s not to say that you like to share ALL the time, but there have been several sweet moments like it recently! You also like to kiss the pictures of kitties and puppies in your books, and you delight in kissing little babies if we let you! You are a very sweet girl and I am blessed beyond measure to be your mommy!

We love having you in our lives and continually feel stretched by the weight (and blessing) of responsibility that comes with being your parents. What a treasure you are to us, little one!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

I haven’t blogged in quite a while so there are a lot of pictures to post and a lot of things to say, but I don’t feel like trying to “get caught up” before posting our big news…  After feeling extra-emotional, very forgetful, and lethargic with a hint of insomnia for the past week, I woke up feeling queasy this morning after two very vivid dreams that I was pregnant. So I loaded Pip into the stroller and we walked across the street to Walmart for a pregnancy test which quickly revealed a nice, strong indicator line. By our calculations, I can’t be more than four weeks along (which puts a new baby’s arrival date very very close to Pip’s 2nd birthday).

Having miscarried our first little girl, Cleveland, we are well-aware that it is very early to make announcements such as this but we are also a bit of an open book at Casa Peters and neither of us have ever been able to keep exciting things to ourselves. Tennyson said, “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” And, despite our past experience with miscarriage, we find ourselves willing to put our hearts out on the line in hope and love… and leave the rest to the Lord.

A very wise friend recently shared this with me:

Isaiah 49:16 says, ‘See, I have ENGRAVED you on the palms of my hands.’ That verb actually is translated: cut into, held so tightly. So He is hanging on to you that tightly. God’s love for us implies an ‘ardent and vehement inclination, and a tenderness of affection at the same time’. Like a cooing, soothing mother, and at the same time, a protective wolf over her cub. He is fighting for you and will not let you go!

God declares that He will care for us no matter what happens in the days ahead; He will fight for me (Exodus 14:14). Things may not turn out the way that we hope they will (and He doesn’t promise that they will turn out well), but I am choosing to believe that the Lord has me and the rest of my family engraved in the palm of His hand and will care for us no matter what. So we are rejoicing in this miracle of new life and ask that you please join us in prayer for this little jellybean in my belly! Hooray!

The one who makes my heart go pitter pat and who amazes me every day with the growing love he has for not only his daughter but also his adoring wife, his family and his friends:

The precious one who gave me the one who makes my heart go pitter pat:

The one who taught me how to iron khakis with a razor sharp edge, who drank hundreds of cups of coffee with me as I dreamed out loud about all the big decisions in my life, who put his life on the line while teaching me how to drive stick shift, and the one who first taught me to love the word “Daddy” (just to name a few):