Piper 3rd Birthday

(I did something wrong copying these pics and they are tiny-Korbi help!)Happy Birthday Piper!! She's three years old today, but we celebrated her birthday last Saturday at the bowling alley with a few of her friends.

Piper does hold her own with these two boys, but she does also play

the girl card and cries to get her way!

Piper's friend Collin....well her "Honey, Honey." She sings this to him from
the movie Momma Mia!

She got a scooter complete with helmet and knee pads (Aunt Kiki tested it out around the bowling alley). Piper also got her carseat (she asked for it-I'm serious...Paisley got one a few weeks ago and we made a big deal about it so we think this is where it came from-whatever works right?). She also got "soupcase" (luggage-she also asked for this:)) and money-again-she asked for it!! She loved her Little Pet Shop toys, cookie set, and flip flops- and so did Alizah!

So my favorite things about Piper are:

her "hanna" cheeks
her head shake as she gives us attitude
the way she holds the 'l' sound, like Collin
the way she antagonizes her sisters
the way she cuddles with her dad
how she can jump on the tramp with a cast on her leg
the way she insists (and wins) to wear pants on Easter Sunday
how she loves her friends and "escuela"
her bob haircut
the way she 'reads' books and counts in English and Spanish
how she loves "chalk milk in a ba-ba"

I don't want my baby to grow up, but I'm also enjoying the new things that she is learning. I thought today about when she was born. I thought for sure she would never be born. I would walk and walk around the town with all the kids in a stroller and contractions would not start. I was laying on the couch on a Sunday morning wondering if I should get ready for church. It was about 9:00 in the morning and I thought I felt something, but didn't want to say for fear it wasn't real. By the time I got in the shower I was doubling over and thought I'd better hurry to the hospital. By the time I got upstairs to labor and delivery, I was at an 8-almost 9 and begging for an epidural. The nurse told me later, she never gives epidurals that late. Piper was born 8 lbs. 4 oz. less than an hour later after only 2 pushes/really only 2 half pushes. The nurse was yelling for the doctor telling me to stop pushing the whole time. Piper was really big compared to her sisters. We had to spend a week in the hospital because something was wrong with her blood that she had to get medicine for and she was really jaundice. Alizah and Hanna thought it was because I drank too much Pepsi. Maybe? I guess I should remember what exactly was wrong and document for posterity. We brought her home to loving sisters and she has been drug around to their activites every since! She's finally starting her own classes and loving that she's a part of everything. She has grown up in the gym and is very comfortable as a climbing, swinging monkey...do we all remember the broken leg and bleeding head this year?
I LOVE YOU LITTLE P.J!!