Sly grin

It makes me wonder what she's thinking...

The sweetest sound

Franny likes to use the WHOLE bed (and then some)

Subtle hint?

For the past few weeks Franny has started wearing two shirts and no pants. I don't know if she's trying to tell us she'd like to wear more skirts and dresses or if this is just her new fashion statement. Either way, I'm just glad she's wearing clothes!

Picking pumpkins

Franny's bed

Poor Franny stayed home from school on Tuesday due to a touch of stomach flu. In true Franny form, it was quite difficult to even tell she was sick, until later in the day when she got very tired. So, for Cole and I it was just another day with the big-sister--lots of noise, play, and silliness. One of Franny's favorite chores is to help me with the laundry. So, we went through all the rooms folding, hanging, and putting away clothes. We did Franny's room last, because the chore quickly becomes dress up play, and the laundry forgotten. By doing her room last, I still get the benefit of her help (although her help actually makes the task take twice as long!) This time, however, Franny was more interested in playing with Cole than doing her dress-up routine. They played in her room for over an hour. Franny "read" Cole books; Cole had tummy time, with Franny cheering him on "good job Cole--hooray!"; and Franny shared her "friends" with him. It was enough to melt a mom's heart, for certain. Then, they played on her bed for close to half an hour, chattering away, playing peek-a boo, and having some fairly gentle rough-housing. Now Franny wants Cole in bed with her all the time. And, I think Cole feels the same way!

Mom disrupting the fun with the camera

Franny giving Cole the giggles


Residual "Franny joy"

Bedtime--big eyes due to the flash in a half-dark room. For book time, Franny tucked Cole in, sharing her favorite giraffe blanket. For those in the know, this is a very big deal.

Tuesdays with Grandpa

Franny adores her Grandpa, and is very lucky to be able to have great fun with him every Tuesday evening. Unfortunately for me, I don't get to witness their fun first-hand. While I only get bits of Franny's chattering to have an idea of what they do together, it is guaranteed that they will play in Grandpa's "red truck" and that they will share some peanuts from his travel cache. Beyond that, it is their special time, so I can only speculate. But I can clearly tell from Franny's mood and the extent of her chatter, that they have a very good time. Today, Grandpa set her up with the best milk cup any young girl could ask for. And she definitely thought it was the coolest, as she held onto it through the rest of the evening. Some things, only Grandpas can think of!

The mistress of all things wet

Until yesterday, Franny would absolutely not use the "big bathtub". The girl who would jump off the bank into the Deschutes River and swim to the bottom of the pool would not even get into the tub up to her ankles. With so much else for her to adjust to--school and Cole being the big two--I didn't press it. Over the last month or so I have been talking up the big tub and finding fun tub toys for when the big day came. Either my strategy worked or she finally was just ready, but yesterday she climbed in without hesitation. Her "bath" lasted a good 20 minutes, although maybe five minutes of washing took place. She floated on her back, pushed around on her tummy, blew bubbles, and had a really fun time. And I was able to use the bonus 15 minutes to feed Cole and clean the bathroom. What a deal!

Her favorite toy, by far, was the watering can.