Pipgras City

Dance, little girl, dance!!

2009-05-17T15:31:00.009-04:00

Some birthday pictures!! Phoenix Olivia turned ONE on May 10th! She's LOVES cake. The frosting is first to go. A bath is absolutely necessary after demolishing of said cake.

Here are some videos... Phoenix just loves the camera so it's hard to get anything on video. When she realizes we've got the camera out, she stops and smiles. Very funny!

2009-02-04T18:41:00.003-05:00

A few more videos of our bundle of joy.
She's got some yoga moves down and she's learning to fly.
She is not crawling, but somehow she works her way around the room.

xoxo to all.

Isn't she cute??

2009-01-27T20:47:00.004-05:00

Phoenix has started to pull herself up! This is one of her attempts.
(No one was harmed while making this video. ) :-)

Cheerios!

2009-01-15T11:03:00.003-05:00

Phoenix tried Cheerios the other day! I'm not sure she really liked them, but she kept eating them. I thought it was hilarious.

some pictures

2008-11-25T16:59:00.003-05:00

Some Pictures...

The wonders of a full stomach

Are we bad parents for driving with her this way?

NOOOOO we weren't driving at the time...

Taking another travel break to watch the interstate traffic whiz by

Just so you know it was fall

i knew it....!!!

2008-11-02T20:08:00.003-05:00

I'm now convinced that Phoenix has inherited something from me. This video is PROOF!

Phoenix has started eating food. SHE LOVES IT!! Phoenix has only tried baby oatmeal and sweet potatoes, but it's been a hoot so far.

As far as Matt and I, we are busy, as usual. Matt's business is going steady. I'm still working full time. Phoenix loves going to Shelly's; her 2 boyfriends are always excited to see her. Shelly and I have our fingers crossed one of her boys will fall madly in love with my girl and get married. We'll see. :-)

Til next time... (I'm way behind, I know. We've had a trip to Indiana to see Aunt Anne and family and a Halloween party... all soon to follow.)

xoxo

My ...how she's grown!!!

2008-09-15T16:24:00.006-04:00

Hello to all!! We've been super occupied with life lately. Here are some cute pictures of our baby girl! I can't believe how big she's growing and all the little things she's learning. Four months has gone by since Phoenix was born... wow! Love to all... we love hearing from visitors via comments. xoxo

Just pictures...

2008-08-23T12:21:00.003-04:00

Phoenix first boat ride!!

2008-08-23T12:06:00.004-04:00

When Zach was here we went up to Greensboro for a day on the lake. Some of our friends have a lake house lake and a beautiful boat to go with it. This lake was so warm, like bath water. The local coal refinery plant uses the lake water to cool its turbines. I couldn't resist; I had to jump in. Phoenix loved the boat. It lulled her right to sleep.

Bath time with Daddy!

2008-08-15T20:32:00.003-04:00

Busy busy busy!

2008-08-12T21:08:00.010-04:00

We have been busy busy busy! Family has been stopping in for varied lengths of time. Of course, not to see us. Phoenix is the main attraction. :-) She is continuing to grow before our eyes. Her smile is beautiful; it lights up her whole face. Shelly says she has a "whole body smile". Her arms and legs come in and she throws her head back. So cute! This past week she has started to talk... baby talk of course. When I told Lindsey this she asked, "Oh my word! What did she say?". I've yet to figure that out since it was baby babble. She is smart but not quite up to real words yet!!
We were able to go to Milford! We drove which brought back memories of when Matt and I were first dating. We traveled the section of 95 quite a bit. Phoenix travels so well... sleeps and eats. I started reading her books. She loves the pictures. We made it to Boston in great time. Phoenix met her Uncles Zach and Jeremy for the first time, and Cousin Ellie!
Zach drove home with us from Milford. He was here for little over a week. He just loves being an uncle. He was great with Phoenix, but not quite brave enough to change any diapers. :-) He's gone home now... but planning another trip as we speak!!
I've started back to work... which has been harder than I thought. But we are adjusting pretty well. Phoenix gets on great with Shelly's 2 boys and they love her. My house has completely gone down the tubes until I can get into a routine. Thank goodness we have Wednesday night meeting here or it would NEVER get done. Matt, as usual, is great- picks up my slack. Such a wonderful guy. :-) (he hates it when I say things like this, but it's impressive.)

Phoenix just let one rip and Uncle Zach thought it was hilarious.

She can almost get her whole fist in there!

Phoenix and Shaelyn

Auntie Jo and Phoenix

Matt, Phoenix and Paxton hang out.

On the way home we stopped at Uncle David's for the night. We took the morning to catch up on sleep and relax before the rest of the trip home.

That's all for now. I am still a few posts behind... they'll be up soon! xoxo

Where is Phoenix?

2008-07-22T15:50:00.003-04:00

Project: Wedding Cake!

2008-07-21T21:57:00.008-04:00

I have successfully completed my second wedding cake! It was a yellow cake flavored with lemon zest. I filled between the layers with lemon curd buttercream frosting. I was originally going to use this for the frosting as well, but it was too yellow. I flavored the buttercream frosting for the outside differently to keep the color white. I played around with different variations of lemon extract and lemon juice. I ended up using a combination of the two because the lemon extract provided a great lemon flavor and the juice added the tartness of a typical lemon. All together the flavors melded for a really nice lemon effect.

My baking schedule :
I made the buttercream frosting on Tuesday. I follow a recipe for Italian Meringe Buttercream. This frosting has a meringe base and is sweetened with sugar syrup, creating a light, mildly sweet frosting.
Thursday I made all the layers for my cake. I like my cake to be as fresh as possible (I think frozen cake is quite lacking in flavor and texture.)
Friday I assembled all the layers: bottom layer, filling, top layer then cover it with a thin layer of frosting called a crumb coat. This prevents any cake crumbs from mixing with the final coat of frosting.
Saturday morning I frosted all the tiers with the final coat and added the decoration. I don't stack the tiers until I get to the reception site - it's much easier to transport the separate tiers. I assembled all the tiers and added the frosting border.

And wah-lah! The wedding cake is ready!

Hannah comes for a visit!!

2008-07-12T15:05:00.006-04:00

My darling sister, Hannah, finally came for a visit over July 4th weekend!! She flew in Wednesday afternoon and stayed until Sunday. It was so nice to have her here! Thursday Hannah, Phoanix and I stopped by to see Matt's progress on his patio, went to Panera for lunch, and did some shopping at Costco. Hannah lovingly volunteered to change Phoenix's diaper before we headed home, but quickly jumped ship when we realized it had exploded EVERYWHERE. (Thanks for offering!) We had some 4th of July fun at the Pipgras' in Greenboro: hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill, volleyball, badminton, croquet, and sunshine. Becca and Zora came by on Saturday to meet Phoenix. Shelly and Eric had us for supper Saturday nite. We played Malarky, which Hannah was quite lucky in. Sunday was a quick day since Hannah left at 3ish. Overall, it was quite busy weekend. When Hannah comes back in August for a whole week, we'll have to slow down a bit. I miss you already!!!

Phoenix did NOT want Auntie Hannah to leave!!

Trip to see Great Gram & Gramps!!

2008-07-12T14:35:00.006-04:00

Three weeks ago now (Jeepers! I'm behind.) Linds, Phoenix and I took a road trip to see Gram and Gramps. It was Phoenix's first LONG road trip, about 6 hours. She's an excellent traveler. I wanted to test her out since we're driving to Milford convention at the end of July. Mom met us there. And Wendy Kaye came for a visit! It was short, but sweet.

~Four generations~

She smiles!!!

2008-06-21T11:20:00.002-04:00

2008-06-13T21:58:00.002-04:00

Matt was trying to quiet Phoenix down one night and Murphy decided to join him. It was quite funny! (Sorry the video is sideways.)

2008-06-13T18:57:00.006-04:00

Here are some updated pictures of Phoenix. She has grown up quite a bit in the last couple weeks. I can't believe that she is already 1 month old!!

Phoenix's first dress for Sunday... I don't think she likes it.

Our sleeping Beauty!!

Phoenix and my other sleeping beauty... ;-)

Maybe she's conducting an orchestra in her sleep??

POP's many faces

2008-05-30T18:03:00.003-04:00

The many faces of Phoenix Olivia!

2 weeks already!

2008-05-23T11:10:00.006-04:00

We can't believe that our baby girl is already 2 weeks old. She had another checkup Friday to check her weight gain... she's already 8 lbs 11 oz. I guess she must be getting enough food!

It's been great to have visitors! Mom was here for 2 weeks. She arrived 3 hours after Phoenix was born! It was so special to have her here that long. Dad arrived Wednesday (5/14) and was here until Monday. He was able to squeeze in some time to come down and meet his granddaughter. I'm so glad they were able to be here. I miss them both already. Aunt Anne also come for a visit over Phoenix's first weekend... her visit was short but oh! so sweet. :-) And of course Aunt Lindsey came to spend as much time as she could with Phoenix before her trip to London. She's going to notice a big difference by the time she comes back!

Phoenix is much more alert this week... she's actually been awake for a couple hours everyday. Nights have been great. She's been sleeping through the night until about 5 0'clock in the morning... about 4 hours at a time. Phoenix and I have been sleeping in in the morning to catch up on lost sleep.

Phoenix is giving Matt goodnight kisses.

I just love this picture of Phoenix... her little hand is so cute!

Until next time... :-)

2008-05-13T18:25:00.003-04:00

The new and improved Pipgras family!!!

Some more pictures of our beautiful new daughter. She's home now and doing fabulous. We are continuously amazed at how intelligent and advanced she is... smiling, following our voices, lifting her head... such a genius. :-) (Of course we are not biased.)

She has my ears... if you look closely, they are perfect matches.

I caught a smile on camera... I'm positive it was real. (Not gas.)

Finally Done .....or is it just beginning?

2008-05-10T23:07:00.004-04:00

Pipgras City has an annexation
Phoenix Olivia Pipgras
May 10th 2008
7:20 EST
21 inches
8lbs 5oz What an entrance to this world

tick tock

2008-05-10T11:18:00.005-04:00

it's a waiting game now

soon soon soon,,, we are sitting here waiting for progression ,, meanwhile we are being inspired by Napoleon Dynamite

Lost and Found

2008-05-07T23:04:00.003-04:00

just found in our wash.....

we think one of our various visitors left it.....

we are offering it up to the first person to buy us a tank of gas.

This is why i need a truck.......

2008-05-06T22:40:00.006-04:00

Exhibit AExhibit B
What I need is what Ross and Anne have here referred to as Clifford
But the bank says I can only have this......
Oh well ... dream dream dream....

2008-05-03T18:26:00.010-04:00

Well... here we are at 38 weeks!!!! I can't believe that it's been this long. Our baby is VERY active and I love it. I'm going to miss this special activity when the baby decides to come out. At the doctor's visit this past Friday they informed me that Matt and I will definitely be meeting our baby on Monday, May 12th. Since I'm on insulin I'm not allowed to reach my due date, so they will induce me in ONE WEEK!!! I keeping my fingers crossed that our PIPsqueak will decide its ready to come out on its own, but we'll see. Mom comes Saturday (just in time for Pipsqueak's arrival) and Dad will arrive the following Wednesday. I can't wait!!

The 38 week picture:

This past Saturday (the 26th), Lindsey threw a baby shower for us. It was so much fun! It was a Saturday brunch... the food was fabulous. We had quiche, waffles, scones, lemon curd, lemonade, cake and tea. Lindsey came up with some really fun games. Our baby received some really nice things and I have no excuse not be ready. A handy consequence of not knowing what we are having is that we have received mostly baby essentials (toys, equipment, diapers, wipes, etc.) rather than clothes. Don't worry... our baby will have clothes to wear. :-) I'm waiting to splurge on baby clothes until we know whether we have a boy or girl. I've some really cute things that can go either way. !!!!

Some photos:

Lindsey made these invites and the favors.

The fabulous spread of food; Shelly made the quiches and waffles, Lindsey the scones.

For more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/nikkironi/0408ShowerForALIlPipsqeak

A new place

2008-05-01T00:38:00.005-04:00

I have decided to start posting different projects I have done (and are doing). I am calling it Pipgras Projects . Hopefully the trip (or rather- click) will be worth the time Here I closed in a deck......

Calm before the storm

2008-04-23T00:35:00.002-04:00

won't be long now

a place for some good clean humor and fun

2008-04-21T01:17:00.002-04:00

I have spent a lot of time on this website and it makes me laugh...

improveverywhere.com

Paxton can scream like a girl.....

2008-04-20T23:23:00.005-04:00

just funny videos that i have been meaning to post for a long time now...
sorry some are sideways..

Too busy to post (kinda) and here's proof

2008-04-20T21:41:00.007-04:00

Well i want to say I have been to busy but maybe I just put things off. Anyway the case for the defense will be presented by simple visual evidence.

The culprit was (and still is) the nursery.

Just after doing the trim work.

After the first base coats

The tape job (5 pounds worth)

after painting over the tape

finally the removal of the tape and completion(nearly).....
I hope the little one actually likes it...

FINALLY!!! an update!

2008-03-07T19:06:00.007-05:00

Well... I hope that I'm going to be better at keeping this updated! We have been sooooo busy! Actually, a couple weeks ago now we were super lazy, but out of necessity. Matt and I had been sick almost all week with the respiratory virus that's been going around. Thankfully not the flu. I got it first and had to call into work Monday and Tuesday. Matt was working up in Raleigh those days doing some work, but came home early. So glad he did since he was up on a roof putting in some replacement windows. So we've been quite the pair, hacking and napping, trying to get better.

We were just home for a visit in Boston to see our families. It was so much fun!! I really miss Boston. What a fabulous city! Charlotte pales in comparison. We left Tuesday nite to drive to Richmond. There we picked up Matt's sister, Karra. We left at the crack of dawn (5am) Wednesday morning and got through all the way to Hartford, CT without hitting traffic! We made record time, arriving in Boston by 5:15pm.!! We spent some time with my parents and then went to see Brent, Johanna, Paxton, and new little Shaelyn. What a cutie! We drove the whole way home on Tuesday... what a long drive. But we did ok, avoided traffic and only hit a little rain.

Well... I'm 31 weeks pregnant!! I can't believe that we've only 9 weeks left until out little bundle arrives. I've got a little basketball, all out front. Our baby is quite active, likes to stick its little butt up under my ribs. Our baby also loves to jump on the bed as I'm falling asleep. I'm sure my ribs are going to just pop out! I had a doctor's appointment last Thursday. Everything looks great!

We've also finally started on our nursery!! We've moved our guest room upstairs to the attic, making us a guest suite. It turned out quite nice. Next we (when I say "we" I mean Matt ;-) ) insulated the front room. Eric came and helped Matt hang the dry wall. I was so surprised when I got home from work that day... they were all done!! Our house was built in 1949 and they didn't believe in insulation back then. It gets freezing in that room, especially in the winter. Now our baby won't freeze! The Yap family came down for a weekend and Basil helped Matt put up trim around the perimeter of the room with a shelf for pictures and letters and such. When Becca and I got back from shopping (just as important, I assure you), the trim was done! We bought paint the other night. Once Matt gets all the baseboard back up, we'll be ready for the final stage of painting the walls.
Hopefully it will be done soon so that I can get it organized for BabyGras. :-)

Well, that's all for now... until the next time!!

Moving on to the next chapter of life...

2007-10-26T20:29:00.001-04:00

Well, Hello!! Welcome to a window into our lives!
There is much going on for us right now. Matt got laid off a few months ago which was a bit unexpected, of course. I guess Matt was expecting it because he never seemed that upset. He waited a couple hours to call and tell me... must have thought I'd freak out. ME?!?!?! FREAK OUT?!?!? Actually, I really didn't. The worst of it is that I'll have to start carrying our health insurance. Matt's been working hard though... laundry, kitchen duty - it's like having a house boy. LOL. J/K. He's really excited about starting out on his own, doing general carpentry, like cabinets, shelving, remodeling, etc. We'll see how it goes.
I'm talking about Matt like he's my baby... well, not for much longer. He's got about 4 months left of that status and then we've got a REAL BABY arriving. Our baby is due to arrive in the middle of May 2008. (Matt laughed at, I mean with, me the other day at the doctor's office when I supplied 2007 for our due date.) We are SUPER excited! Kinda freaked out, but excited. Just so everyone knows: we are not going to find out the what our baby is! We are hoping for human, but it's Matt and I... you never know. Yes, that is correct. We want THE surprise. You should see that list of names I've got... we are going to have a lot of narrowing down to do. Oh and we're going to keep that a secret, too. Aren't we just sooooo secretive?
Now for me... I am doing great! I work part time (4 days a week) as a microbiologist. For those of you who don't know what that is, I grow bacteria from patient specimens and identify it, and then find out the best antibiotic to kill it. I'm also working when I can at the blood bank (my old job). Plus I have been making cakes. I've done a wedding cake, a couple little girl birthday cakes, a skateboard cake and a Reeses cake. I love it! I wish I had a bigger kitchen to work in. But I'm also working on that too. I've recently gone back to school for Hotel/Restaurant Management. I've been dreaming about owning a bakery cafe for ages... well, after I graduate I won't have any more excuses. I started all this a few months ago... I've been so busy it's a wonder I even got pregnant. :-) There have been days recently that I wonder what I was thinking. I've been extra tired and really picky about food. This food aversion situation is new for me. I LOVE FOOD! To want food, but not want food is really starting to annoy me. :-) But I love every minute of it. I am just so excited! Can't wait.
(This post was written a bit ago...)