A Declaration of Dependence

For our loyal readers, we apologize for not putting much up this week. The truth is, we're learning how to deal with both babies at home, and their ever-changing eating-sleeping-pooping-changing their outfits schedule. Our Diaper Genie has been working overtime recently (as has our washer and dryer and dishwasher).

Each day brings with it a new sleep regiment for Hope and Grace, and henceforth for their mom and dad. Right now, the girls are on 2.5 hours between feeds and are a half hour apart. This makes the middle-of-the-night and early morning feedings particularly challenging, as Jeni and I are yearning for a few hours of consecutive shut-eye, and are woken up, startled by yelps and shrieks pouring out of the baby monitor, making it sound as if the girls think the world will come to a crashing end if they are not fed RIGHT NOW. Luckily for us, it's summer, I have a two week break in between summer school sessions, and our bodies are beginning to adjust to us having to do more on less stored energy.

The decor of our home has changed. The rain forest bouncy seats now sit in the living room where our stereo speakers and sub-woofer once resided. To the left, Grace enjoys sucking a bit on her Brewers blanket as she enjoys her bouncy seat and stares at camera-happy-dad. The Pack-N-Play takes up the area by the window, and Maggie's "basket-'o-toys" occupies the corner, where our hibiscus plant once was. At any given time, blankets drape over our area rug on the floor, our two Bobby pillows may be found in the living room, our bed room or the nursery, and burp clothes and bibs are scattered throughout our home, always available for when the "feeding frenzy" starts up.

Tonight, I was doing some thinking about how the 4th of July is the day that we celebrate America's Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776, and how in "Life with the Pipers" this year's July 4th really signifies not a celebration of independence, but rather a celebration of dependence. Our lives are no longer our own- Hope and Grace's schedule dictates a vast majority of our actions. When they sleep, we sleep, when they're hungry we feed them, when there is a "code brown" it is up to us to make them smell as fresh as the lilac tree which blooms in our front yard each spring, once again.

While we will have to wait until next year to take the girls to the park to enjoy the parade and the family festivities associated with Independence Day, tonight, as fireworks were cascading over our house in multiple directions from the local municipalities nearby, I held my daughter Grace and tried to sneak a peek. I have enjoyed going to Klode Park to watch the fireworks since I was a little boy playing tee-ball, and I thought, perhaps selfishly so, that we might be able to at least venture outdoors to see a pop and boom or two. Holding Grace in my arms while Jeni fed Hope and peering out of the window, I talked to Grace, asking if she would "ooh" and "ahh" (aka grunt or squeal) for the "good ones." What I realized very quickly is that Grace cared nothing for the fireworks, and instead focused her eyes right on me. Instead of craning my neck out of the screen in our living room window to see the flaming sparks and hear the retorts from the Klode Park display not far away, I instead looked lovingly back at my daughter who, in return, decided to take a mean "stinky" in her diaper and then smile. This put a perfect finishing touch on the moment. All I could do is smile, laugh, and rejoice in the joy of holding Grace right then and there. The fireworks display in the park will be there next year. Having our daughters home right now, acting like newborn babies, is the best grand finale Mom and Dad can ask for this 4th of July.



Hope (foreground) and Grace (background) give Dad a cute look as they get ready for their mid-evening feeding. I think this might have been their way of wishing their parents a happy "Dependence Day."