A few oldies from the backlog of Piper's first year...

One day, I took Piper's amber-beaded necklace and swung it like a skipping rope to entertain her while she ate. A few days later, she surprised me by trying it herself! This was about 4 months ago now (at age 9 months), but she still enjoys trying different bead tricks!

Piper loves all the boys at church. These are our friends Nathan, Jocelyn, and Michael who sit with us in the kids corner during service.

Mikey, their son, loves vegetables and not so much meat, much to the chagrin of his ex-Kiwi dairy farmer grandfather. Nov. 2013

 

 We made it out to the beach near Chris's sister Liz's house a few times this summer. Piper loved the waves! Here she is trying out Liz's stand-up kayak-SUP. Liz and Jeremy have two boys--Noah and Tyler. Dec 2013

I hope to post a few more from our trip home in November and December 2013, but here is just one funny portrait of Piper sitting with Santa at Macy's in Philadelphia. Chris saw that the children in line to see Santa were being directed to differently numbered rooms. He asked the cheerful, Victorianly-bedecked assistant: "Hey, how many Santas do you have operating in this place?"

 We try to get as much sun as possible in the summer! Feb 2014
 

Piper had a whale of time at her cousin Leo and Charlie's birthday parties earlier in the year. She is only about 6 or 7 months here. Here, the kids are playing the popular British game "Pass the Parcel," which is virtually unknown in the US! Sister Liz and her son Noah are to the left of Chris.

Tales of America and books at dinnertime

Now and again, Chris enjoys regaling Piper with tales and tidbits of our future homeland in America. We here in NZ hear much about the shootings that tragically transpire in the land of the free, and fear the poisonous spiders that our near neighbours Australia and US boast, while NZ remains secluded from almost all deadly villianous arachnids. Today, he told her that there would be spiders with guns, but some good things too...like Grandma and Grandpa.

Piper and Dad are currently reading "Bears in the Night" by Stan Berenstein. While I find it spooky, he reads it so dramatically that Piper squeals with joy. Because she has had beetroot as one of her courses, by the end of the meal, she looks as though she has been in a bloodbath, so Chris says, "Ok! Daddy will clean up this little murder victim."

We really cannot remember what in the world we did with all our time before Piper arrived and consumed so many of the stretch of time between Chris's return and the close of our eyes in sleep. Such a little person requires such an exponential amount of work.

 Chris set up this tea party for Piper to find when she woke up. Everyone who was anyone attended!

 A sweet little face

 She loves the "splash" with Dad time!

 Feeling squeaky clean

 The church we are members of meets in a Middle School/Intermediate School Hall. We have to set up and break down each week. Families with kids sit in the "kids corner" :)

It's all a far cry from the splendour of Tenth Presbyterian Church, and the gorgeous music ministry there. However, God loves and dwells among all peoples and all styles of worship.

 Piper tries to get to know the newest baby in our church family, little Hazel Van Rijs.

 Piper is getting more and more confident on the slide! She loves it now!