Life with the Pipers: School, Smiles, and Away Over Night

This week marked Jeni's first week of her "Mommy Leave," and also marked the first week that the girls began smiling A LOT. Gracie and Hope are thinking that everything is funny these days (especially when they spit up on Mommy or Daddy or when they need their diapers changed). We've had reports from grandparents that they, too, have noticed the Snuggle Sisters smiling and giggling when changed. Perhaps they are learning very early to be merry pranksters like their dad :).

As a teacher, the beginning of the school year brings with it a plethora of perennial traditions. Among them are "Open House Night" which we call "Back to School Night" at my school and picture day (which occurs tomorrow, in fact). I've caught myself, almost daily, reflecting on being a parent and what that means. During my "Back to School Night" presentations, I referenced the picture of Hope and Grace that I proudly display on my desk and talked about how watching children grow has always been something I delight in professionally, but now is something I'm blessed to delight in personally as well. I can empathize more with parents who are transitioning from their children being in self-contained elementary school classrooms to rotating classes in a middle school model. If packing up the preemie clothes can get me a bit reminiscent I can hardly fathom what it will be like when the girls are 10 and moving from Lower to Middle School. We've got a ways to go before then, however.

On the topic of picture day, I had the pleasure of sharing the pictures below with my students as a way to show them how a great smile can really light up a photo. Below, Enjoy smiling happy girls decked out in their Badger game day gear from this past Saturday!

On a final note, this past weekend was the wedding of Steven and Cindy, two very dear friends of ours, and this marked the first time Jeni and I spent a night away from home without the girls since their arrival at home on June 24th. We opted to stay in a hotel rather than driving back in an effort to get a good night sleep. This, however, was not in the cards. The hotel room was blazing hot. Being someone who tries to be environmentally conscious, I hated the idea of cranking the air conditioner on full blast, when the temperature outside was in the low 60's, but it was so stuffy in the hotel. On top of that, all I could think about was the girls. By 10:30 the next morning we were at home, and greeted Jeni's mom and dad, who were all smiles... so were our girls and Maggie too! Speaking of smiles, the wedding was just fantastic, and I've never seen Steven and Cindy smile more than they did that night. I'm jealous the two of them are enjoying a honeymoon in Hawaii right now.

Hope and Grace enjoy getting ready for the Badger game, decked out in the colors of their mom and dad's alma matter. Grandad Don enjoyed this picture too, as he too, was a UW grad,