Go Pipey Goooooo!

Pipey is learning to ride her bike without training wheels.  This is part of Daddy's job description, so she doesn't get to practice much right now.  But she's doing great:))

GO girl!

FIVE

Pipey turned Five, FIVE two weeks ago!  She wanted a Rapunzel party.  I was happy to oblige.

There were lanterns, of course!  Rapunzel's mom and dad sent lanterns into the air every year on her birthday while she was missing

Pipey and Mimi

Purple flags, and lots and lots of hair:)

Little sailboats. Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder went out on the water to watch the lanterns go up.

 Piper's castle cake

 Pascal:)

 Can't have a party for Piper without candy...

 Thanks to Gamma, we had hair everywhere!  I thought she was going to kill me when she started working on this.  It was time consuming and really hard.  It gets really, well, tangled easily.

 I love him.  He's so cute.

 Sips

 Love Papaw and his littlest grandbaby.

 This is my favorite picture.  I love so much about it.  My fun Dad pushing the girls way high, Look at Piper protecting her little sister.  Love Reese's face.  And Alathea's:)

Jackson, Lucas, and Aiden, oh and Ellie down there:)

 The kids painted, like Rapunzel painted her castle walls.

 They took it seriously.

 Faith Madeline:)

 Love Rachel's hair!

Jeremy and I took her out to breakfast on her birthday.  We had a chance to tell her what we loved about her.  Daddy said he loved her big brown eyes and how she loves to help mommy.  I told her I loved how she likes to spend time with me and I love to hear her sing.  (She is always singing) We told her we love her smile and how she helps with Reese.  She has become really tender.

Piper girl, we love you sweet pea.  You have blossomed into such a sweet girl.  You love to be with your mommy and you need cuddle time and just quality one on one time.  You are full of life!

Pipey and Wormy

Piper went to her friend Lauren's fifth birthday party last weekend.  They were born a day apart and we always look forward to celebrating together.  This year her party was a butterfly one!  It was so cute:)  The highlight was that all the girls got to bring a caterpillar home!

Here is Pipey with hers.

 Mrs. Morrison gave us instructions on how to care for them.
It has been so cool to watch each stage!  First the caterpillar, wormy:), just crawled around.  Then he attached himself to the roof of the cup and began making his cocoon.

Look at that!:)

So we are anxiously awaiting his emergence as a beautiful butterfly!

Stay tuned:)

Piperisms

Hello From Disney!!
  Sorry this post won't have any pictures.  They are still all on my camera.  But we are having a great time here in Disney! It's super cold!  In the mornings it's in the 30s!!! when we get to the parks.  So we had to go buy gloves and a warmer coat for the mom here!  Kim and I were joking earlier that bad weather follows us!  When we go to the beach, it pours so much the streets flood; we come to Florida in December and it's freezing temps!  Goodness.  Other than that, the weather is beautiful.  The sun is out and there isn't a cloud in the sky.

  Piper has said some really cute things lately that I don't want to forget, so I think I should go ahead and record them before we leave.

  Last week when we were talking about coming she said, "I hope the princesses are gluten free!"
  I told her I doubted it, but I was sure the chefs at Disney would take care of her.  And boy did they!  She got chicken tenders!  That is a total treat for a little girl who's gluten free.  That's never been offered before:)

  After our first day in Magic Kingdom I asked the girls what their favorite part was.  Piper said she loved the roller coaster and meeting the princesses and fairies.  Gracie said, "Hmmmm, pretty much everything." :)

  And finally, about two weeks ago Piper was riding home from somewhere with Jeremy and she told him she had a dream the night before.  And she proceeded to belt out the song from her dream for him:
        Don't be such worried
        God is with you
        Don't be such worried
        God is right beside you

  What a priceless treasure when she had no idea that a lay off was right around the corner for her Daddy.  I am so grateful for the many ways the Lord uses our children to speak to our souls.

 Off to make more memories!

It's Off!

Piper got her cast off a few weeks ago!

 They did another x-ray and it is still fractured but they felt she could just wear a good supportive shoe and be okay.  She still can't walk on it well without a shoe, but she does great with one on.  The first week she wouldn't put any pressure on it.  She does great now!

 It took quite a bit of sawing to get that thing off.  She had a cast over a cast because the first one didn't cover the toe enough.

Whew!  Finally off and not stinky:)

GFDF

Our little Piper has been labeled this. It stands for Gluten Free and Dairy Free.

Since she was a baby she has struggled with bad eczema. For years we have tried the creams but I knew that was just a band-aid and I had to figure out what was causing her skin to react this way. We had her blood tested for allergies and it came back that she is highly, highly allergic to cats and to a mold that manifests in the fall. But I knew those weren't causing this terrible skin problem. This girl has scars from itching so hard. Many nights she would cry because it itched so much. Finally, I had her tested through Enterolab.

Sure enough, she came back gluten and dairy intolerant. They recommended a permanent removal of all gluten and dairy from her diet immediately to avoid further damage.

It seems like every time we turn around someone else is going GF at least, doesn't it??? It seems like it's a fad. But let me reassure you, nothing about this is fun. But it is necessary. I've read lots of research on gluten and how toxic it is to our bodies. Some studies say up to 80% of the population cannot tolerate it! It seems to be the culprit in numerous diseases, especially autoimmune ones. And people who take themselves off of it see dramatic results.

We have seen Piper's skin completely clear up! Did you hear me??? Completely. Praise the Lord for that!

I will be honest. Going GF is hard, but no dairy or gluten....it feels impossible. There are so many things she can't have because it contains gluten but no dairy or vice versa. BUT compared to a few years ago, there's a lot out there that she can have. And I am so grateful for that. It could be worse.

There's definitely major lifestyle changes that we have to make to ensure Pipes gets proper nutrition. I am cooking from scratch which means a lot more time in the kitchen. (Read, the girl who does not like to be in the kitchen is in there lots.) She needs supplements because often people who are gf are deficient in iron, Vit D, and Vit B. There are places we used to eat that are just too hard to go to anymore. Like Chick-fil-A. When we are going somewhere, I have to make sure there is something Piper can eat. If not, I make her the same thing they are having, just safe for her.

Piper does great with it. She has been so willing to adapt. Often she has to remind me that she can't eat something I am getting ready to poison her with! And if she gets offered something, she will tell them she can't have it, or ask me before just eating it. She is almost always happy with an alternative I have for her. Sweet girl.

We have had a lot of help on this journey. Many of my friends are gf and one is df too. We learn lots from each other and it makes it so much easier to have them to walk it out with. And our friends bend over backwards to help us if we are eating at their house or coming to a party with them. Thank you!

If Piper has gluten or dairy, she gets bad stomach aches and they often last for a few days.

So, I highly recommend Enterolab. They do stool testing instead of blood. It's much more accurate.

If you ever have any questions about GF and DF things, let me know. If I can't answer it, I know someone who can:)

Pipey

Little Pipey has a new addition...

She broke her big toe. She was sitting on the bench at the kitchen table Mon night and she fell off and turned the bench over on her toe. The bench is super heavy:(

She broke it good! Across the growth plate and in two places. At first they thought it may need surgery since it was through the growth plate, but the lateral view still showed the toe is aligned properly. whew!
She's been a trooper but she does NOT like wearing the boot! She is getting better about it as time passes:)

Piper's Birthday Carnival!

A Tooth!

So this is a really bad picture:( But my Gracie girl lost her first tooth! Now that is a serious sign of growing up in my mind.

It was loose for quite a while and we tried and tried to pull it but we couldn't get it. Then she was brushing her teeth and out it came!

When it came time for the tooth fairy, we got out the tooth fairy pillow and explained the whole deal with her and Piper. Then we tucked them in their beds. I go to turn out the lights and Piper says, "Mommy, is the tooth fairy going to come in to my room?" Me. "Yes Piper."

Piper: "But I don't want the tooth fairy to come in here."

Me: "You won't even know it, you'll be asleep."

Piper: crying at this point "No Mommy, I don't want her to come in here."

Me: "Piper, she's really tiny and super nice. She only comes to get the tooth and she leaves."

I try to leave the room

Piper: Crying hysterically at this point "No mommy, no!!!!"

Me: "Okay, we'll have the tooth fairy come to the bathroom for Gracie's tooth. She won't even come in your room."

Piper: Still not satisified, and still really crying

Finally after 45 minutes of this I took Piper in the bathroom and told her the tooth fairy was pretend. It took me a bit to convince her that I was the tooth fairy. Then I threatened her not to tell Gracie!! (Knowing full well she would) But amazingly, she has kept it a secret.

The tooth fairy came to see Gracie and all is well in the Gibson house. Whew! Sweet memories.

Strike Two

So Monday was Piper's dance recital. She was super excited all morning. All the family was there to see her dance.

And then we pull up to the church. She starts crying. "I don't want to dance."
And. so. she. didn't.

Strike Two.

I have two retired ballerinas.

You'd never know from the pictures she was such a turkey, huh?

Piper

Pipey started dance this week! She is taking a class at the church, just like Gracie attempted last year:)

She walked right in and participated the whole class! And she keeps asking when she gets to go back.

Her favorite part was jumping over shoes:) Can't wait till this recital. It will be quite entertaining!

Pipey

   Please pray for our little Piper.  She has two busted ear drums again!    We have tried to stay away from getting tubes put in for as long as possible, but we can't avoid it any longer.  She's had at least five ear infections this season alone.  And she is on an antibiotic right now and they still ruptured!  Crazy.  So she will go in next Thurs, the 21st for tubes.  Please pray that the infection is gone.  The Dr. can't do the surgery if it's not gone.  He switched her antibiotic today in hopes that that will help.

  Piper also has a good deal of scar tissue in both ears and that is a concern for hearing loss.  Putting the tubes in should clear up the scar tissue.

  I am interested to see how not hurting all the time affects Pipes.  She has been a real trooper.  I asked the Dr. why she wasn't in agonizing pain over this and he said if it had been me or him, we would be.  She's tough I guess!

She's Scrumptious!