Piper's First Birthday

I can't believe my sweet baby is already ONE!

Aunt Shana came over and brought Piper's cousins Sage, Cade and Jada. We had some BBQ and sides and then opened presents and did cake and ice-cream. I had slipped down my garage stairs a couple weeks before and got a nasty sprain and couldn't drive so my sweet friend Kate picked out Piper's present and it was a big hit with the one year old all the way up to the eight year old.

I was surprised to see that a one year old would be so possessive of her toys. Greysen was not at this age.

Piper's new trick is lifting her arms when Greysen and I say, "how big is Piper?" Piper got mac and cheese for dinner which is her favorite.

A Number 1 cake for the birthday girl. I took it outside and the candy melted off the cake. But I got a picture before.

She got all sorts of messy and loved it.

Chuck-E-Cheese for Kota's Birthday

Piper is such a doll. She is generally the happiest baby. She has a giggle that just makes you smile.
Look at all those teeth. That baby girl is getting so big.

Greysen with Hannah at chuck e cheese.
Baby Dakota on his first birthday. We wanted to go to the farm to help him celebrate his birthday but it was too cold so we went to chuck-e-cheese. Hannah and Greysen definitely had more fun.
Big Brother Greysen with little sister Piper
Greysen loves the "swing" as he calls it. Poor boy has such an imagination and has been suffering from night terrors for the past month. Screams in the middle of the night 1-4 times and is inconsolable for 10-45 minutes. Finally Piper is generally sleeping through the night and Greysen is now not. Hopefully we can get it figured out. It is so sad.

Our little girl!

Piper is already over 10 months and I have not been very good about taking pictures of her. Poor second child. She is growing up and has finally begun to crawl. She more army crawls but she is getting around.
Piper is already over 10 months and I have not been very good about taking pictures of her. Poor second child. She is growing up and has finally begun to crawl. She more army crawls but she is getting around.
She is a happy baby and when she gets fussy you can usually throw her up in the air or tickle her and she is all giggles. Just last week she went from her belly to sitting on her bum and pulled herself to a stand on the ottoman all in the same day. Fortunately I had lowered her crib that day. She still seems like such a baby but she is growing up fast.

Happy 'surprise' Birthday to Kristin

Mac got me good with a surprise birthday this year. My birthday fell on a Friday this year and he usually doesn't get home until 7:3o. He told me that he couldn't get anyone to cover his late night. So I was a little depressed that the only plans I had was to go to music school and the chiropractor. So my friend Kate said lets go out to dinner and just take the kids. So we went out to Kneaders and then I got home and there were 30 people in my house yelling, "surprise" and I was really surprised. Mac even parked his car down the street so I didn't see it in the garage.
Daddy went through a lot of work inviting people and making sure there was plenty of food.
For lunch my friend Cara came over and brought me lunch from Zupas, doughnuts, a gift and the best birthday poem ever. It turned out to be a really fun birthday.
Blowing out a candle on my doughnut.
It was a really pleasant day so Cara's kids and my kids played on the swingset. Greysen likes to push Piper on her swing but is a little rough sometimes. Those two just love each other.

*I didn't get any pictures of the guests at the party and they included: The Baileys, Boyles, Browns, Danielsons, Madsens, Strongs, Celeste, Kenna and Kim Jones. It was a houseful of 40 and so much fun.

Granny and Grampa come to Utah

Granny and Grampa came to visit us. Grampa got sick and couldn't warm up. He had blankets a hat, scarf, heating pad in a 75 degree house and was still cold. I thought he was looking a little like a homeless guy.
Grandma, Greysen, Mommy and Piper went to the Gateway Children's museum right by daddy's work and met him there to discover and explore.

Piper having a little daddy daughter time.


Greysen had a lot of fun with the ball area and with the cranes.
Piper riding a little toy that was just her size.
Greysen flying the helicopter that was on the rooftop.
Piper eating ice-cream at Carabbas for my early birthday celebration.
Isn't she just precious?

Planet Play

Our car ride on the way to planet play. Greysen loves to go to planet play. Daddy was able to go with us.
Piper on her first carrousel ride. She loved it. She like the bright lights and all the commotion.
Daddy and Greysen doing air hockey. Greysen loved having daddy there. It was daddy's first time to planet play and our fifth time at least.
Greysen, mom and Piper
Piper riding with one hand.
This was a few days later in the morning.
Look at that gooey smile with all those teeth.

The Disney Cruise

The Vacation of a lifetime. Disney World and then the Disney Cruise for 6 days and nights. It was a blast to be with MacKinlay's whole family. Greysen loved being with his cousins and of course his granny.
The first night at dinner (Christmas Eve) Greysen decided that he was going to eat green beans and we were so ecstatic. He loved our reaction so much that he kept taking more and more bites. He probably ate seven green beans. A Christmas miracle. People around us were asking what was going on with all the applauding and cheering. The things parents do to try and get their kids to eat vegetables.
The captain of the Disney Magic. Greysen is three and into making scary faces much to his parents dismay.
Greysen with his pal Pluto. There were lots of fun activities, three pools, a water slide and a kids club. My favorite was the adult pool. I only went once but it was so peaceful.
MacKinlay with the dolphins in Cozumel. Greysen went with Mac but I went swimming before I got to see Greysen kissing and dancing with the dolphin. He absolutely loved it. Anytime someone asks how his Christmas was he says, "I went on a big boat and went swimming with dolphins." Yes this three year old is so lucky.
Me holding onto the dorsal fins of two dolphins. That was the coolest experience of the trip and most memorable. Once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so happy I was able to have the chance.
Piper 7 mos. with Daddy and Greysen (3) in Cozumel port where we swam with the dolphins.
On the trolley ride in Key West Florida. MacKinlay and I were supposed to go snorkeling but decided to go on the trolley ride with the kids because it was a pretty gross day and Piper was pretty attached to me. It was a fun day learning about this little Key that is closer to Cuba than the US and is connected to the US by a series of bridges.
Piper on the "Pirates" night. We all got pirate handkerchiefs and the waiters were dressed up as Pirates. Later that night they had fireworks off the boat and a desert bar. The entertainment on the Disney Cruise was pretty awesome but we missed a lot of it because of our young kids. I should've made my kids take late naps and had them stay up later so they could go and see all the Broadway style shows with the Disney characters.
Piper loves the beach. This was at Castaway Cay. A Key out in the Bahamas that Disney has leased for 99 years.
Chip and Dale playing with Greysen. Greysen didn't want to take pictures with many of the characters so I was excited that he would take the pictures here.
Greysen playing in the sand and water. It was really neat that Disney had a couple of floating water slides out in the middle of the ocean that you swam out to. The water and sand was AMAZING. Pretty cool to be on a private island.
Piper being super happy on the beach.
Greysen and Victoria dumping sand on Mac who was being buried in a hole.
Daddy and Greysen on the glass bottom boat. Piper and I skipped the boat ride because we were both tired and figured that she would be happier if she could get a good nap.
Elizabeth and Greysen on the glass bottom boat.