September & October

Piper has a best friend and his name is Ryan. You've probably seen him on the blog before but she has pretty much become obsessed with him. She talks about him all the time and asks if she can see him - she also likes his parents April and Jason and routinely asks to see them as well. It's gotten to the point where April and I call each other and have to make plans simply so the kids can get their "fix" of each other. Luckily they play well together and as you can see like each other very much:

In mid-September we spent a wonderful week with Amy's parents in Destin, FL. The weather was perfect and the beaches were the prettiest we've ever seen. Piper had a great time on her first trip to the beach and really got into playing in the sand. We celebrated her second birthday while we were there - not every two year old spends their birthday at the beach!





While her official birthday was spent in FL, we had a birthday party the next weekend here at the house. Kurt's birth mother Annie (Granny Annie) was able to come in which was a special treat! Piper LOVED being the center of attention and now understands what birthday parties, birthday cake and presents are. (Christmas should be fun!) Anyway, we had about 10 kids over to the house and they swam and jumped in the bounce house. Piper now refers to all bounce houses as hers and often tells the other kids to "get out....my jump house"! Here are the highlights...

Next on Piper's busy agenda was an October trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We met up with Kurt's best friend Dave and his wife Maisi and their two kids Kylie and baby Jacob. Also there for the trip were Dave's parents and a pair of their friends - it was a full house and we had a great time. In addition to trips to the beach there were marathon sessions of Scrabble and the Ariel DVD got a serious workout. Piper made quick friends with Kylie and they played very well together. Piper talks about Kylie a lot and is anxious to see her again soon. This picture was taken on our way to the Outer Banks - we haven't even gotten there and she's already tired! She was a really good traveler.

Dave and Kurt took the girls to the top of a lighthouse - they stuck their heads through the bars and yelled "HELLO". Maisi and I could hear them all the way at the bottom!

After we got back from the Outer Banks Kurt and I attended a friend's birthday party. Piper was hanging out with us in the bathroom as we got ready and decided she wanted to get dressed up too. So, she grabbed my slippers and pulled one of my shirts off of the hanger so I put it on her. This was the end result.

Another day, I had gotten a box of stuff out and unpacked it. Piper couldn't resist the peanuts and the box so she hopped in. Empty box with a few peanuts = happy 2 year old. She played in that box for half an hour!

We enjoyed some mild weather (80s) a few weeks ago and took Piper to a pumpkin patch - she and Kurt had fun riding this train...

Last weekend we attended a Halloween inspired event with (who else) Ryan and his parents! Piper (I mean Heidi) enjoyed the cookie decorating portion the best.

We also attended Piper's school Fall Festival last weekend. The highlight of that was definately the "pony" ride. This animal looks more like a horse to me...

Finally, last night was Halloween and Piper did not disappoint. She loved her costume (Heidi), especially the tights. She carried her own pumpkin to the houses but did not want to say trick or treat. People really loaded her up with candy and she wanted to "open it" all night long. She helped us hand out candy but didn't care too much for anyone in a mask or face paint. I think it's safe to assume that we can add trick or treating to Piper's growing list of cool stuff to do.