Piper & Toby

These two... I just can't get enough of them!

A few weeks ago we got to celebrate Piper's 3rd birthday! Where did my baby girl go?!  Toby is not far behind either, his 2nd birthday is coming up fast, he's just a couple days shy of 20 months! I thought it was about time to do another update!  (ps... I finally decided to try and cut Toby's hair myself. I was pretty confident in my ability to cut hair, but not so confident in Toby's ability to let me give him a haircut. He wasn't really into it but I think it turned out pretty good regardless, don't you?)

Many evenings after the kids are in bed Matt and I talk about all the funny things the kids did and said during the day and just laugh!  They are just so amazing, and that word doesn't feel like it does them justice, there really isn't a right word that can completely encompass how awesome they are!

Piper is our little chatter box. She converses with ease these days and sometimes she sounds more like a 13 year old than a 3 year old.  She doesn't get every word right though, one of my favorites is when she says yesternight and yestermorning to try and talk about things that happened the previous day, or week. She continuously surprises me with how much she remembers and how long ago some of the things are that she references!

Piper loves to carry everything in plastic bags these days.  This almost always includes her Teddy, because Teddy goes everywhere with her.  There also tends to be a random assortment of toys accommodating teddy in the bag, or blocks, or all the puzzle pieces from every single puzzle she has!  We got her a backpack for her birthday to hopefully curb her enthusiasm with plastic bags, which it definitely did for a little while but I just caught her in the pantry again the other day swiping another plastic bag.

She role plays with Teddy a lot which is so cute to watch.  I'll catch her reading Teddy books, sometimes when I put Toby down for a nap, she will put Teddy down for a nap too.  If Toby takes Teddy (which happens about once an hour) when she gets him back she will console him and say something like, it's ok Teddy you don't have to cry.

Her favorite show is Clifford, that's pretty much the only thing we watch at our house  Toby also enjoys "clipberd"!

Toby is learning to talk really quickly.  He is repeating everything we say, his little voice is so cute, I could listen to him talk all day! Just this past week he started asking "Whats that called"  or "Whats this" about everything he sees!

Toby is my little helper, he loves putting stuff back!  I'll get something out and he'll immediately ask to put it back.  He especially loves when he can throw things in the trash. He also likes helping me load and unload the laundry, and sweeping the floor. We got this little kids size broom except he brushes it against the bristles leaving more mess than he cleans because they are all starting to fall out!

He's very smart and knows how to push Piper's buttons! This usually entails taking Piper's Teddy or pillow which she is very protective of.  I'm trying to work with them to not just stand there screaming at each other when this happens, but it feels like we have made very little progress in this department :(  He also likes to tackle Piper, its always a toss up how she will respond, sometimes she loves it, sometimes she hates it!

This boy is super athletic, his kicking and throwing skills are quite remarkable. He also has a love for coffee which is oddly hilarious. He knows and points out coffee makers everywhere we go, we don't typically let him drink it, although he has had a few tastes and seems to like it!

Toby finally figured out how to give real kisses, (not the slobbery open mouth kisses) and it is hands down my favorite thing in the world!  I ask him for kisses all the time and he always obliges, I hope he doesn't get sick of it anytime soon because they are just so precious!

To get to be at home with these kiddos everyday is such a blessing!  I have the best coworkers in the world! :)  If you want to see more pictures of the kids make sure to follow me on Instagram @mgibbel.

<3
Monica

Piper turns 2 & Toby turns 7 months old!

Are they not the cutest kids you've ever seen?!  Maybe you don't think so but I most certainly do! Within a week of each other we celebrated Piper's second birthday and Toby turning 7 months old!  Pretty proud mama over here! I think they are tuning out pretty well :)  ... most days that is! haha



Piper:
She is repeating and imitating everything we do and say!  She is picking up new words and phrases everyday, it's so amazing to watch.

She has started talking in full sentences. The majority of the time I have no idea what she is saying though. I feel bad that I have to have her repeat it 3 or 4 times before I actually get what she is asking me for!

She can sing twinkle twinkle little star, or should i saw quinkle quinkle :)  I've been trying to catch it on video, with not much success. I was so proud of myself the other day because I was being so discreet and I thought I got it, but then realized I never pushed the record button.  : /

She works out with me in the mornings, its so hilarious watching her try to do some of the exercises!

She always wants to drink out of "big girl cups" which usually ends up with her choking and spewing out water because she lifted the cup up to fast.  Not to mention the spills and outfit changes, but she is getting better at it!

She loves talking to her grandma's on the phone, she thinks that's who I'm talking to every time someone calls :) She gets a big grin on her face when I turn on the speaker phone and talks very shyly, she gives grandma hugs and kisses by literally hugging and kissing the phone!


Toby:
He figured out he could make really loud noises so he's started yelling!  Its happy yells which is nice, I guess!

He can get himself up on his hands and knees and he will rock front to back, occasionally throwing in a little downward dog to go with it, or face planting because he rocked forward to hard!  No forward progress yet though.

He started clapping as well!  Its the cutest thing to watch, he always gets so excited!

We have no teeth yet, but he does clench is gums together, crinkle his nose, and give big cheesy grins! My absolute favorite!

He's been eating baby food 3 times a day now, along with his bottle.

Most nights he will sleep 10 hours straight, on occasion he will throw in a 12 hour night like he did last night! :)  If he wakes up before 10 hours we've been trying to get him back to sleep without feeding, which usually means Matt trying to give him some water, or just letting him cry a bit and hoping that he will go back to sleep.  Both strategies have not really worked that well, the other night he chugged 8 oz of water, went to sleep but then woke up an hour later and was mad and hungry.  It looks like he is on his way to sleeping 12 hours consistently though so we are hoping this comes soon!


Life has definitely gotten back to normal, I'm actually at the point where I can say I really enjoy being with both kids!  I don't dread getting both of them out of the house as much anymore.  It's still a lot of work to go somewhere with both of them by myself but it feels much more doable than it had previously! I'm really looking forward to this summer when we can all be outside playing, and there is warm weather!

 

Piper : 18 Months

This girl, I can't get enough of her!  After a seven month hiatus its about time to give an update.  This is her 18 month update but actually she is 19 1/2 months old... shows how on top of things I am these days! Through all of the transitions we have gone through in the last couple months (moving, baby, new job) she has thoroughly impressed me. What a trooper, and she did it all without even blinking!

I'm absolutely loving this stage with Piper, she is such a vivacious, energetic bundle of joy! It seems as if she learns something new everyday, and is continuously making us laugh.

This is whats up in Pipers world these days:

-Talking, talking, talking!  For the most part I can understand the majority of what she is saying.  Occasionally she will still babble but there are a lot of real words in there now.  Her new thing is asking "whats this?" about everything!  I'm surprised at how quickly she has been picking up new words. 

-She takes the occasional interest in Toby, or "Boty," as she calls him.  She will walk up to him and say "HIeee" in and high pitched voice, and sometimes give him kisses!  Can't wait until he is a bit older and they can interact more!

-She copies everything mommy does with Toby!  I find her teddy bears in the swing, on the changing table, under his play gym...etc  So cute!

-Currently pushing through 4 new teeth, to put the total up to 14! 

-If there is something to climb she will find it.  I'm constantly telling her to get off the table. The kitchen table that is!  She knows how to drag the chairs around and climb up them and onto the table. Yesterday I caught her trying to get her leg over her crib! *yikes* hoping that will not stick, not quite ready for that yet.

-She loves running around outside, collecting stones, flowers (weeds),  or smelling the flowers!

-Shes a champ at puzzel's and still loves to read.

-Her favorite game is playing hide and seek with her aunts, uncles, or cousins. They do the hiding she does the seeking and its always a guarantee to end in a fit of giggle's.

-If you put water in front of her she would be content for hours. 

That's all I can think of at the moment.  Now for some more pictures!  Enjoy

Piper Face

One of our all time favorite pictures of Piper is this one from our newborn session. 

Well just the other day I was scrolling through the images on my ipod and found a more updated version!  I'm not sure how old she was when I took this but it was in the morning and we were playing in my bed and I reversed the camera on my ipod so she could see herself.  Its such a classic Piper face.  This is her "I'm trying to figure out what's going on" look.  Love it!

This past weekend we celebrated Easter early with my Mom's side of the family.  It was such a gorgeous day so we spent it outside.  Matt was fortunate enough to capture this fun picture of Piper on her first skateboard ride.  She is growing up so fast these days.  This week marked 15 months for her! I'll have to post another update soon!

Have a happy rest of your week!
Monica

:: 11 months ::

This coming Sunday is actually Pipers birthday so I am WAY behind on getting this post up! :(  I must say this year the holiday season seemed so much busier than previous ones.  Not sure if that is just because we have this precious little girl with us, or because Thanksgiving was late this year, or we just had more going on, whatever it was it made for a busy couple weeks of fun and family.  So this week is the first week it finally feels like things are back to normal, except for the fact that Pipes has been out of commission.  Makes me sad seeing my girl sick but I do love the quality snuggle time it provides, she is not normally one to curl up on your lap. 

Anyways, wanted to post 11 things Piper is up to at 11 months old!

1: Crawling is a thing of the past and is only used when she needs to get underneath something!  This girl is always on the move!

2: We've got two more teeth coming in alongside each of her top front teeth, making for a total of 6 so far.

3: She is learning things so quickly!  If you ask her what sound a puppy makes, it may be a little delayed but you will eventually get and "ouf ouf" out of her!  Our neighbors have a dog and anytime they let it outside it will bark and Piper will perk up and say "ouf ouf" So cute!

4: She loves books!  If I'm sitting on the couch she will grab a book and bring it over to me to read to her, animals are what intrigues her the most these days!

5: We are still doing some baby food but we will give her whatever we are eating if its something she can chew.  She tries to stuff as much as she can in her mouth though so we have to moderate how much we give her!

6: I can't really be in the kitchen doing something without this little girl attached to my legs.  When I'm cooking something she always want to see what is going on and of course taste any food that I might be eating.  Making dinner with one hand is now my new talent! 

7: If she can push something across the floor she will.  It started with her little activity table, and now its our dining room chairs, plant stands, her basket of toys, and the occasional book, just to name a few.  I saw her trying to push the couch the other day but it wouldn't budge and she started getting frustrated! haha

8: She has gotten more bumps, bruises, and cuts in the last couple weeks that she has before.  I think because she has gotten more confident with walking she isn't being as careful.  Hence all the scratches on her face in the pictures!

9: She has figured out she can climb into the kitchen cabinets :( Of course this is after removing all of its contents onto the kitchen floor.

10: No more nursing for this little girl! I've officially weaned her, and she now gets a sippy of milk before going to bed and will sleep the whole night. 8pm-7am

11: She is still doing two naps a day but sometimes she will skip a nap, I'm hoping for my sake she won't drop a nap too soon, but you never know!

We honestly cannot get enough of this girl, she is such a blessing and I can't believe she has almost been with us for a year already!  We love you so much Piper Ann!

:: 10 Months ::

This little girl has been such a blessing and a joy to us!  With each new month her personality is coming out more and more it is such a fun thing to watch and get to be a part of! This month I have literally seen her take new strides, that's right, she has started walking!  She still tends to revert to walking along furniture and crawling since that gets her places faster, if she's in the mood though she will let go and walk where ever it is she wants to go! 



Here's what else is new in Piper's world:

-She finally has two more teeth coming in.  The top front two have pushed past the surface and you can now see them when she gives those big smiles we have come to love!

-Speaking of smiles she has started doing the most adorable smile ever.  She scrunches up her nose and squints her eyes and gives a big wide smile!  Kills me every time!

-We've started her on finger food.  She still get mostly pureed baby food but usually we will throw in something for her to pick at,  chicken, or different cheeses, banana, crackers, cooked veggies, etc.  She is a great eater and especially loves when she can feed herself!

-Her repertoire of noises is definitely increasing.  She pulled out some new noises including a farting noise, and what aunt Rochelle describes as a purring noise.  She has also started making a "th" sound, and is really babbling a lot these days.

-She loves to carry things around in one hand as she walks around the house.  We've been getting a lot of mailers lately and those seem to be her favorite. She will also grab the occasional toy, book, or article of clothing to accompany her as well!

-She has figured out there are things behind doors.  She had previously figured this out with the kitchen cabinets, but now in the mornings when I bring her over to our room to play while I finish getting ready if I don't close the door completely she knows how to open it and that is usually the first thing she goes for.

-She has started mimicking what we are doing.  Mostly with noises.  If I make a noise she will repeat it.  Uncle Sam and aunt Rochelle have also taught her some tricks, namely how to go "crazy" which consists of her rolling her head around in all directions.  If you do that to her she will do it right back! We are still working on getting her to blow a kiss though, without much success.

- She has definitely started to get a little more clingy.  I've noticed this especially after her second nap she doesn't want to play right away like she used to.  If I put her down she is right back at my legs and crying for me to pick her up.  This makes cooking dinner somewhat interesting, lets just say I'm learning to do a lot of things one handed.  And I think Piper just likes to watch what I'm doing.

making the "farting" noise

model pose! :)

scrunchy nose smiley face

:: 9 months ::

Say what?! She's nine months already!! Life around the Gibbel household just keeps on moving and so does this little girl, here's what she's been up to this past month!

-Her new favorite thing is climbing the stairs :/
-She took her first wobbly step the other day! She is still very quick though to grab your hands and take a stroll around the house.  This is another one of her most preferred activities and often has my back aching from bending over so much! :)
-She is starting to eat more and more non baby foods. (bananas, pears, grapes, avocado) They still have to be really soft for her to eat them but she loves feeding herself and will stuff as much food in her mouth as possible if you give her the chance.  
-She loves to dance and jump up and down.  Even when I'm holding her on my hip, if she gets excited she will bounce up and down, its really cute!
-We've mastered sitting in the grocery carts when grocery shopping and have even started to reach for things, especially when in the checkout lane! haha
-She LOVES books!  Sometimes I'll be in the kitchen and it gets quiet so I go to check on her and she's pulled all her books off the bookshelf and is laying on the floor looking at them!
-She loves ceiling fans and will wave at them every time she sees one, occasionally we can get her to wave goodbye as well!
-When she is really focused on doing something she will stick her little tongue out!
-My hand weights are right next to all of her toys and are usually one of the first things she goes for!  Already doing workouts!

All is all she is such a joy to be around!  She makes me laugh everyday and when she see's me laughing she will join in which makes me laugh even more!  Couldn't imagine living life without her, and can't believe how big she is getting!   Enjoy the pictures :)

 She loves standing at the window in the kitchen holding the blind pulls!

:: 8 Months ::

8 months have just flown by!  I'm going to do this post a bit different this month and just give you a bunch of pictures and videos that we've taken over the last month or so!  Enjoy!