Hello September and the beginning of FALL! Sadly, CA Valley heat reaches its peak during this "fall" month which only causes us to want to flee - so we did - to Georgia!
This was Piper's first commercial flight and due to military timing (her dad couldn't leave town at the same time), it was just the gals flying across the country! Thankfully, Piper was a champ - despite the amount of toys I brought, Piper found most of her entertainment with my mints container and a plastic cup with which the flight attendants serve a complimentary beverage. A classic Baby move. :)
Upon arrival, Piper met her Aunt Mackenzie and thoroughly loved hanging out with Papa and Yaya. The next day, Piper also got to greet her Dad and then meet her Uncle Brenton, Aunt Kerri and Uncle Carter. That's not all - The NEXT day Piper met her Aunt Laura and her Cousins! This little gal went through a whale of a weekend but she was still able to find some down time and adjust...well sorta...just enough that her Mom and Dad could still have some awesome family time and make some quality Georgian friends. :)
And as a little blessing before our return to the west, GA had some thunderstorms. As someone who grew up in the Midwest, the sound of thunder and the sound of rain can be...enchanting...yes, a simple little storm.
Despite the weather, our flight departed on time and NOW Piper could jump on Dad as well as me for the 4 hour flight from GA to Phoenix, AZ and then on to Fresno, CA! The flights were semi-seamless and we were quite content to be home.
And may I just add, flying with a baby sorta restored my faith in humanity.
There were several times throughout my travels that I would be holding Piper and then, outta nowhere (it seemed), she would be smiling like crazy...then I would follow her glance and see that some complete stranger would be making a goofy face at her. I wish I could have taken pictures of all the faces that "mature adults" made to cause my gal to laugh and smile on the long trip. And a special shout out to those that helped me fold up the stroller and helped me juggle a million things while going through security or boarding. This lady says Thanks, people.
A week or so after Georgia, we realized that our calendars were starting to book up and it was time to visit friends and family in San Diego before time got away from us! Traffic was a little horrendous outside of LA but as soon as we were through it, we were greeted with Pacific breezes and sunny 70's. It's always beautiful in San Diego. We stayed with my Aunt Carla and Uncle Keith in Coronado,
enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked meal, got some much needed catch-up time and then the next day we walked around the island and met up with friends. The sights, dining and fabulous home-stay lodgings were so much fun as was the laughter that was had with friends and family.
A couple weeks after San Diego, Brian and I prepared for the arrival of Grandma and Papa Skip. Since they came in the middle of the week, I had piano lessons to do and Brian had some flights to complete. However, as the weekend approached we started scheming for trips to Wineries, the Ocean, and the Sequoia Trees. (Hands down, my favorite aspect of CA: the option to do all of that in one weekend).
We tasted wine at three vineyards in Paso Robles.
Got some cookies in the quaint coastal town of Cambria.
Threw the tennis balls for our dogs on the beach in Cayucos and then made our way back home.
The next day, we loaded up the truck with some wine we had tasted the day before, drove up to the mountains, enjoyed a picnic under huge pine trees,
saw A BEAR (safely from our vehicle),
saw the largest Sequoia tree and then made our way back to the Valley.
Not only did we do a ton, but I realized that I didn't do dishes the whole week and my Mom also helped me get Piper towards an earlier bedtime (hallelujah) the blessings of having another momma in the house!
Now the part a lot of you have tuned in for...PIPER.
This past week alone she has grown leaps and bounds developmentally. She recently began throwing her arms in the air either signaling that she's praising God or calling a good field goal.
She also figured out how to clap her hands together.
She no longer "trees" herself and can inch towards things she wants by sidestepping or kneeling.
Her two bottom teeth are growing along with her little fuzzy hair.
And she's as goofy as heck; her personality is starting to show through when she snorts from laughter, repeats noises, or rolls a ball in your direction.
She's in 12-18 month clothing although we're getting closer to the latter and her 9 month doc appt is later this week. (poor gal, those shots are brutal but at least we'll know more about her health stats). She's eating more solid food and she finally likes my cooking - all basic things I think about on a daily basis. Still lovin' the gig of motherhood. :)
Ultimately, we feel most certainly blessed.
We're all healthy, happy, love our friends and family and we live in beautiful country!
