Saving Money

In an effort to save money on our trip to Syracuse for the wedding this week, we decided to get creative!

This box provided hours of entertainment this evening... we put it on its side so she could crawl in and out and she seems to want to do everything inside it. We'll see if she still likes it in the morning.

Another Game!

The Dolphins won again today and Daddy and Piper were excited!


The down side of being potty trained... when Piper's pants don't fit right in her waist, instead of an inch or 2 of diaper showing, her underwear pull down with her pants and her butt shows. At least it makes Mommy giggle!
Celebrating the win!

It's a BOY!!!

Casey Alexander Kirsch is on his way! Today was the sonogram and it was very clear that it's a boy. Everything else went well at the appointment too. I've gained about 11 lbs so far and Casey is still measuring right on track with our February 8 due date. After our appointment we went to Target to create a baby registry and we have also created one on onestepahead.com, it's a great site with absolutely everything you could want for your baby/toddler. We are planning to trade clothes with a friend of ours, so once that happens and I get a chance to go through all of it, somethings may be added. Here are the links to the registries if you want to check them out (Target also has kiosks in the the store so you can print it out and shop there).
Target
One Step Ahead

Light the Night

Tonight was the Light the Night walk to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was a good event. There were a few things we thought could have been a little more organized, but all-in-all it went well. We got there early and enjoyed some of the festival. Ryan signed up last minute so he and Piper were able to stroll with us! Right before the walk they had a kick-off slideshow starting off with everyone raising the gold balloons (the gold ones were for people walking in memory of someone). This portion of the slideshow was set to "Tears in Heaven," so of course after the first few notes of the song I was a wreck. I was calm again by the time the second part started, when the white balloons were raised for those walking for a survivor or someone currently battling one of the diseases. Lastly the red balloons were raised in support and the walk began. It was beautiful weather and the perfect night for a stroll around the lake. Our team raised $645 and we were very proud of our accomplishment. Next year's goal is $1000, we hope to do at least one large team fundraiser.
The whole team (L-R) Me, Ryan, Piper, Wes, Lizz and Greg
Family Photo!
Balloons raised high at the start of the walk.
Lizz is walking!
Piper and her balloon!

20 Weeks and Twinkle Twinkle

Today I am 20 weeks (5 months) along! Everything is going great. Assuming cooperation from the tiniest Kirsch, we will find out next week if Baby C is a Casey or a Charlee. At this point I don't feel like I can do characters much longer and am working on what comes next (basicly trying to get some answers from an impossible-to-get-an-answer-from manager). Piper talks to Baby C everyday, tells him/her that she's the big sister and gives lots of hugs and kisses. She's very aware that there's a baby in my belly, but we're not so sure if she truely understands.


Hugs...
...and kisses too!

Yesterday was Ryan's birthday. Piper stayed home with Grandma Hoffman and Grandpa Stevie and they treated us to a day out. Great Uncle Bo and Great Aunt Jill came to visit. And Mommy and Daddy spent some of the day in Winter Park at Winter Park Village. We thought that there was more to do there, like shops to go in and such. But we got all the way around in about 15-20 minutes and weren't ready for dinner yet. So we decided to see a movie... Ghost Town. It was very very funny, we would definitely recommend it. After the movie we had dinner at The Chesecake Factory. I had never been there before and I thought it was great. I'd love to go back again sometime. The day was really to celebrate both our birthdays and we enjoyed it!

Piper's new thing is singing. She likes to sing the "Na Na Song." I don't know the real name of the song, even though I taught it to her, but I'm sure you know it... Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye. She loves it. She is trying to learn Rock a Bye Baby and also You'll Be in My Heart (from Tarzan), but isn't to successful with those yet. The newest, that she's most successful with (and also the cutest) is Twinkle Twinkle. Sometimes (like in the video) she needs a little bit of help, but we love how well she learns! So enjoy the video, and mkae sure you turn up your volume!

A Day at Universal

Yesterday we got up early and headed to Universal to spend the day in the parks. Mama and Bapa had gotten a pass in the mail that was good for one free admission and up to 6 additional tickets for 1/2 price... good deal! Ryan is still a team member at Universal so he gets in for free and we had a couple passes, so I could get in for free! When we got there we headed on Shrek 4-D, Piper used to like ths one, but this time was scared the whole time. Then we headed over to Revenge of the Mummy. Daddy and Bapa headed in and were able to walk right on. The park was dead! So it worked out great for us. Next we walked through where Jaws is, but it wasn't open for the day yet, so we had to skip it.
But we did get a few pictures with the infamous shark! Next we went over to the newest attraction at Universal; Simpsons: The Ride. Daddy and Bapa went on that and while they were gone (only about 25-30 minutes) Mommy, MaMa and Piper walked around a bit and then headed to the kids' area.
This was where Piper was able to meet Barney, Baby Bop and BJ. She loved them! Then it was over to Curious George's Play Area.
That area is a mini water park. No slides or anything, but lots of fountains and fun things to play with. Piper was a little unsure of the fountains at first.
Then Bapa took her over to watch the giant bucket dump water off the roof.
And she started to LOVE the fountains.

Piper got very upset when we told her it was time to leave Curious George's play area, but we tok her over to Fievel's Playland and that was just as good!
She started off in the bounce house. She didn't stop giggling while she was in there. She found a slide and some other fun things before heading into the ball pit.
She really liked the ball pit, but was too litle to walk around easily. On the way out Daddy and Piper hopped on th see-saw. Piper wasn't heavy enough, so Bapa helped.
At this point, we were done with everything in the Studios side, so we headed over to Islands of Adventure (the other Universal park). We headed straight to the Seuss Landing. Daddy and Piper went on The Cat in the Hat ride. And then they went on One Fish, Two Fish. They got a little wet as the fish squirted them, but not too bad.
Then MaMa, Daddy, Mommy and Piper went on the Caroseussel.
At that point there wasn't really anything else we wanted to do in Islands of Adventure. So we walked around the park, stopping at the water guns, so Bapa could squirt the unsuspecting people on the flume ride. And then it was out to City Walk (Universal's version of Downtown Disney). We ate lunch at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. It was Ryan's pick as his early birthday meal. The menu consisted of mostly seafood, so there were only a couple choices for Mommy and Bapa. But the food was very good. At that point Piper was pooped and slept through almost the entire lunch. She woke up in time to steal Mommy's tomato, pickle, and some fries and Daddy's orange from his drink and lemon from his lobster claws.
After lunch we headed out. Daddy had to work at Target, so he went home for a nap. MaMa, Bapa and Piper dropped Mommy off at Fantasmic and then headed home to take Piper for a swim. We had a lot of fun and it was such a long day for Piper that she slept very well last night!

New Season, New Clothes!

It's that time of year again.... Football Season! Of course, Piper's outfit from last year doesn't fit anymore. She has a pair of pajamas that I found at the end of last season on sale for really cheap, but I felt she needed some day wear. So, I made it myself! She also got a Dolphins fleece blanket and Baby C has a Dolphins "tag blanket" waiting for him/her. No pictures of the blankets, but if you want them, I'd be happy to take and post some. Here's the pictures of Piper in her new outfit!

Talk Talk Talk!

As promised, here are some new pictures of Piper, taken today! She has been talking more than ever now. One of her new favorites is "I busy now." She usually says that one when you want her to do something, but she would rather keep playing. Yesterday when I got home from work, she was telling me all about everything she did during the day. She was non stop for a good 1/2 hour. She really is such a little ham. In other news, Ryan has Target orientation on Friday! He got an overnight job unloading deliveries and stocking. It's unfortunately not at the Target closest to our house, but it's the closest one to Disney, so the next most convenient for us. There may be some conflicting hours, but hopefully it'll work out. Classes start back up tomorrow for me, so the craziness begins again! Well that's all for now! Enjoy the photos!




The many faces of Piper;
Brute Fache
Ugly Face
Silly Face

Flat to Round in a Week's Time!

As of tomorrow I will be 16 weeks (4 months) along! The nauseau is pretty much gone (knock on wood), I still get the occasional feeling, but it is MUCH less frequent. I have been feeling the baby move a little bit during the past few weeks. I went from flat to round in literally a week's time. I'm in that wonderful stage that I like to refer to as "Is she pregnant or just getting fat?" Anyway, everything else is going well. I'll try to take and post a few pictures of Piper this week since it's been a while!

13 weeks

Yesterday was my monthly check up. Everything is going great! The heart rate was normal and the baby felt fine. It was a very short appointment, so there's not really anything else to say. Except that everything was normal and great! The nausea is starting to taper off, but unfortunately is not completely gone. My early prediction is that it's a boy. I say this because of how different things have been, mainly that I haven't been getting sick like I did with Piper. I of course, could be completely wrong, but that's my prediction.