Round Two!

Thanks to everyone for the votes! Pippa made it to Round 2 of voting. There will be a total of 3 rounds then the finals. They cut the field in half each time. So she was one of the top 250 babies! Let's get her in the top 125, okay? The process has changed a bit. The link is HERE but you have to scroll through the pages. Pippa Grace is on page 12 about half way in the pack. It's easiest to go to the end (page 16) and work backward from there. We really appreciate your votes.
Pippa has her four month appointment tomorrow so we will update with more information then.

Vote for Pippa!

I have a fun opportunity for everyone! Pippa is in the “Portland’s Cutest Baby” contest this year. The winner receives a $1000 savings bond! You can help put Pippa on top!

Right now there are over 500 babies that people are voting on. The first round of voting ends on Sunday August 21 and I’m not sure how they will proceed from there but until Sunday, we need to get Pippa as many votes as possible. Here’s how it works:

You will go to the website and you will need to register, it doesn’t matter if you live locally or not and you can opt out of all e-mails.

The website is here: Pippa’s photo is at the bottom of the page in the middle (Pippa Grace)

Voting Page

Once you register, they will send you a confirmation e-mail.

When your e-mail is confirmed, simply click on Pippa’s picture, type in your e-mail then vote! You can vote once per day! So if you sign up today, you can get four votes for Pippa in before the deadline.

If she makes it to the next round, I will definitely let you know. Pippa thanks you for the jump start on her college savings.

On a side note, things are going well. Pippa has her 4 month doctor appointment next Wednesday. I can’t wait to see how much she has grown. Here’s a picture from Monday.

Holding up the noggin!

Growing Up So Fast

Pippa is growing so fast! Other than the random fussy times, we are loving every minute of it. Yesterday we went to the fair and she did fabulous. We entered her in the "prettiest baby contest" but she didn't place. That's okay because we met a lot of really great people and babies. We did a lot of walking around, rides, food and all other fair things. Pippa did very little sleeping. She ended up sleeping for 14 hours last night and she was pretty fussy today except for a special laughing moment we caught on camera. The video should be in the post below.

Her four month appointment is coming up in a couple of weeks, I'm anxious to see how she's grown. I stepped on the scale with her the other day and she was about 16 pounds now.
This week, Liam is in day camp for cub scouts. It's his last year as a Webelos before he crosses over to boy scouts. He left this morning and I'm sure he's having a great time. We have been laying pretty low the last few weeks, Pippa's schedule has been odd and both of us are pretty tired. I'm back to work full time now. While my request for reduced hours was denied, my telecommute application was approved. So now I telecommute on Mondays, Tuesdays and the 2nd half of Wednesdays. I go to the office the 1st half of Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. It's working out well and I'm a much happier and more productive employee. I get more done at home with a baby in an hour than I get done at my job all day sometimes. There are few interruptions here but as soon as Pippa becomes more mobile I know that she will demand more attention. At that point we may switch to daycare but for now this is working well.
I'll leave you with a few recent pictures. Love you all!

Pippa at 15 weeks 08/01/11

"participant" in the Prettiest Baby Contest

All dressed up for the beach

Pippa laughing

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

We created a photo book on Shutterfly using our FREE code and 40% off for additional books. We ordered SIX and will be giving them to our family. Enjoy!

She's Growing!!

Pippa is growing more and more every day. I think I finally figured out this video upload thing and I have one of her in her Bumbo chair talking away. She's still a bit wobbly in the chair but she loves it!

2 1/2 Months!

Wow - I can't believe our baby girl is 2 1/2 months old now. Time is flying!

For the 4th of July we started by watching big brother Liam march in the 4th of July parade in Ridgefield. He is a cub scout in his last year as a Webelos. He carried the WA state flag in the parade. Pippa loved the parade and only fell asleep at the very end. Speaking of sleeping...

Pippa's new mobile - she LOVES to talk to it!

10 weeks old and talking to her mobile

Someone lent me the book "Healthy Sleep Habits..." and after reading it, decided to go against my better judgment and try a night of "cry it out." Lately, Pippa has been waking in the wee hours and becoming fussy until you give her back her pacifier. Normally this would be fine but it's happening somewhere in the vicinity of 15+ times per night. I want her to be able to sleep without it (which I know she can do). On Sunday, I put her down to sleep and she started fussing. I left the room for five minutes and returned to soothe her and repeated the process until she fell asleep. I have never heard her cry that hard in my entire life! I was aching just to soothe her and quickly realized that I should be taking care of her. The next day (July 4th) she would not leave me at all. If someone else wanted to hold her, she would start screaming...and I mean screaming. I don't think she realized how hard she could cry until that night, now she has been doing it for two days! She has been very clingy and quick to cry since then. I know she probably cannot rationalize what happened but I think she feels like I might leave her again. On a positive note, she slept through the night last night but it wasn't without struggle. Now when she's falling asleep, even at a nap, she fights it. It's only been two days so maybe I'm overreacting but I for sure will NOT do that again.
Anyway...after the parade, we went down to Woodburn to see family again. We had a good time at the senior estates BBQ, all the ladies loved her. We laid her in the grass again and she kicked and cooed for everyone. Then she screamed the entire hour drive home.

Work is going well. I am completing my telecommute application this week and we should know soon what my new work schedule will be. Our department is moving into the new building on Friday so I get to telecommute an extra day this week. They don't want anyone around when they are moving computers etc.

 

Look who found her thumb!

9 weeks old - she loves her daddy

July will be a slow month for us but August is just around the corner. Liam has a resident Webelos camp on August 7th and then he will visit Grandma for a week starting August 22nd. School starts on August 31st for everyone. PTA kicks into high gear in mid-August and I am the treasurer again this year. I'm excited to have a 5th grader and to watch Liam's relationship with Pippa develop even more. He still gets frustrated when she cries but he understands he needs to keep his emotions in check because she will react based on his feelings. He loves her so much and it's so sweet to see them together. I could not have asked for a better big brother for Pippa.