Piper's Dedication

We had Piper dedicated at church this past Sunday, March 13th. It was a special, special day for us. Nathaniel was due on March 13, 2008. Since his passing, March has held a special place in my heart. We found out we were pregnant with Hazel on St. Patrick's Day 2008. She was dedicated the following March (she was just shy of 4 months at the time). Piper was dedicated on Nathaniel's missed due date. It was such a wonderful blessing!

Dad took the video posted way down below for us, so a huge thanks goes to him, otherwise we wouldn't have any picture documentation of the event. (Where the crap is my camera? Seriously. I've cleaned this great room through and through, several times over, and I have yet to find it. Or my Danskos. And that just makes me even more mad. I can't talk about it anymore.)


Following the service, friends and family joined us at Macaroni Grill at Bridgeport. We had such a fun time chatting with loved ones! Piper melted down (she'd missed two naps by this point), and Karen was so kind - she walked her around and around the restaurant until Piper Sue fell asleep on her shoulder. Grandmas are the best. Seriously.

We raced home after lunch to drop the girls off with Rick and Karen. (Again, grandparents rock.) Nate and I grabbed coats, boots, and umbrellas and fairly flew to the renovation show going on in Portland. Well, we didn't really fly. Nate has much more respect for the law than I do (when it comes to speed limits, that is), so he drove. We got there with half an hour left of the show. We were given tickets to get in, so it was extra fun, being free and all.


We got through it in 30 minutes. Not because we had to but because there wasn't anything there that actually interested us. It should be retitled "The Portland Hot Tub/Jacuzzi/Roofing/Welded Art/Mary Kay/Wine/Window Treatment Show." I think that suits what we saw very well.


After the show, Nate and I took a quick jaunt into downtown and saw my Starbucks manager's new store (11th and Couch). We swung over to Pioneer Square and tried the Clover version of Kona coffee at the Starbucks there. I wish I'd tried something like Pike's Place, so that I could have really tasted the difference in flavor. Ah well. It'll only take me two years to get Nate over there again.


After we had our coffee, Nate had the brilliant idea that we go to Academy Theater for a cheap movie. He called his mom and she said that was just fine. We saw "The Fighter," which I'd been avoiding watching. I'm not a huge fan of movies that deal with drug addiction and I can barely stomach boxing. Such a good combination for two actors I love. (Sarcasm galore right then.) Nate thought that when he suggested the movie he was a super cool husband: He wanted to see the movie but he was also willing to sacrifice my attention since I'm usually insanely distracted when Christian Bale is within sight.


I hurt Nate's hand watching the movie. I really enjoyed it when all is said and done, and only because it had a good ending. I love that they had a clip of the actual brothers interacting during the closing credits. Christian Bail nailed it. He played his role in perfect imitation of the real life guy. Amazing.


Back to my kid.


Piper's bum is finally healing. Wait, have I even mentioned this? (I'll answer that: No, because I'm a terrible blogger when it comes to consistency.)

She began teething, eating solids, and trying out a new diaper all on the same day. By the next afternoon, she had this ripping diaper rash. I broke out the big guns right away, my Bag Balm and Triple Paste. After using that for a week solid, I called the pediatrician's office because the rash was getting worse. It was developing into open sores that were oozing, and a rough patch that began within the bounds of her diaper started spreading outward, toward her thighs.

It was suggested that I try using Lotrimin AF for another few days to see if that would clear it up (and it would have if it had been a yeast infection). It slowed down the rash a little bit, but didn't put a stop to it. Things continued to slide steadily downhill.

I took her in to see Dr. Mooney a couple days later. The good doc took a swab of icky from one of the sores and then prescribed a topical antibiotic and extra strong hydrocortisone. I've been switching between the two with every diaper change since last Thursday and things are looking up! Her bum is greatly improved and she's no longer uncomfortable. We still have a little ways to go yet, but I'm hopeful. The lab returned a positive on a topical bacterial staff infection. And that's all I know. I have no idea where she got it, how she got it, what I did wrong, etcetera. I need to get ahold of Dr. Mooney to hear back on those finer details. For now, the topical creams are cleaning up the infection, so we're on the right path. We're not going to use an oral antibiotic unless things hit a stand-still.

Okay, Nate is drumming his fingers. Waiting for me to be finished with this blog so that we can relax before bedtime.

So enjoy the video!

I am so in love with my sweet little girl!