Piper

TGIF! I hope everyone had a great week. Ours was okay, other than the fact that we were among the 10,000 people in Benton who lost power on the record-breaking heat wave day (114 degrees, y'all!). Needless to say, we were very blessed to only be without power for ~24 hours and were able to head to Arkadelphia and stay with my parents.

As promised, I'm dedicating a post solely to my new niece, Piper Addelyn King. She was born on May 23, 2011 in Arkadelphia, AR. We waited all day for this little girl to arrive! The nurses had never seen so many family/friends present for the birth of a child. We took up the entire waiting room + hallway...mostly Kelli's family. Piper was due in at the beginning of June, but the doctor decided to induce, and we're so glad he did, because she weighed 8 lb 1 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Not to mention her mother stands just over 5 feet tall and weighed 95 lb before she was pregnant. Hats of to Kelli for delivering this big baby!!

The delivery went smoothly and everyone was so happy to finally meet this precious baby girl. Only one thing was missing. Piper's daddy, Austin (my brother). He was away for military training during the end of Kelli's pregnancy so it was so sad that he couldn't be there, but he had all the friends/family you could imagine there to support him. Originally, the military told us they would notify him immediately when Piper was coming and they would fly him home. Yeah, right! He was in the middle of a desert for almost a week with no communication. He returned to base a few days after Piper was born and that is when he was told about his baby girl. Luckily, training ended that week and he flew home to surprise Kelli and Piper on her 5th/6th day of life (he got home around midnight).

 mom, Kelli, & me at the hospital

 mom, dad, Piper and me right after she was born

 first time I got to hold her-they hadn't even cleaned her off yet!

Most of you know that I love to take lots of pictures, and this little one only intensifies that effect! I'm so glad they live close and I've been able to see them every few weeks to watch Piper grow :)

 One week old :)

 Uncle Derek meeting her for the first time

 Proud daddy

soo cute all bundled up! Going to lunch for my 24th bday

She changes so much every time I see her. I was surprised that the first week of life her eyes were open so much of the time. She loves to look around and especially loves to look at the fan. She makes some googly faces, too, and they are hilarious!

4 weeks old. Sleeping with Aunt E

 Sleeping in the same bassinet Austin and I used

 she was looking at our dog in this pic, too cute!

 love when she smiles! 

her little feetsies :)

As you'll see in a minute, I've reeeeaaaly been trying to capture her funny faces and smiles. I've only been successful on a few attempts, though! (I'm not working with the best camera, people!)

 6.5 weeks old 

 she had on a purple tutu that got messy, so she changed into a pink one!

 love her little mouth and hands!

favorite position to be held....also, she makes the daintiest hand gestures!

My first time to see her in a dress :) I loved it! She won't keep a bow on her head too often, so I loved seeing her all girlied up!

 8 weeks old

 her yawns are precious, what baby's aren't?

 trying to show off her whole dress

This chair works wonders...sleepy girl!

This week I got to see Piper and she babbled the entire time! I caught some of it on video and I wanted to share! She is was 10.5 weeks and 12 lb 12oz and 24 inches at her most recent visit. Growing so fast!

Well, since I can't get the video to upload onto my blog (grrr), you can view it HERE.

I can't wait to share more as she keeps growing! I hope you enjoyed :)