The fancy side of Franny

For some time now, I have let Franny follow her own fashion instincts. And with very few exceptions, I have kept my opinions to myself regarding her sometimes questionable ensembles. To be fair, in most recent months, her choices have become increasingly appropriate and have taken the most careful regard to color and pattern matching, as well as the ever-critical shoe selection. On this recent trip to see Santa, she broke new ground, insisting on donning some accessories, as well. And, although in the end, she decided not to see Santa this year, she did get many complements on her scarf while we were in line!

Storytime

One of Franny's favorite books right now is Pinkalicious. Here, she reads quite a bit of it to Cole.

Untitled from T on Vimeo.

New skills

Franny and Cole have been doing a lot coloring together since the snows arrived.  Today, I went over to see their drawings, and found that Franny had written Cole's name (almost).  I know that "Cole" is one of many words that she can read, but I'd never seen her write it spontaneously on her own, before.  Great job, Franny!

Another snow day....at home

As we continue to watch more and more snow fall and accumulate, we are thinking less about how fun the snow is, and more about how much we'd like to get out.  Today, we were once again home bound, but the kids had fun sledding down our street.  With the snow too deep for Cole to walk in, and our feet never touching the layer of ice we know accumulated yesterday,  even with warming weather it is hard to estimate when we will be able to navigate out of here, again.  The snow is beautiful, but we are ready for some Oregon winter weather, again!

Snow daze

The joy of snow...

 

Trimming the tree

Decorating the tree was a very big deal at our house this year.  Both Franny and Cole really got into putting the ornaments up.  It's always an adventure with young kids--Cole also really liked taking them down, while Franny insisted on putting a minimum of three ornaments on each branch.  Our tree definitely looks like it was decorated by a 3 and a half year old and an 18 month old, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

O (very wet!) Christmas Tree

Our wonderful Christmas tree outing tradition with Grandpa was extremely brief this year, due to cold, windy, rainy weather.  We were fortunate enough to have a conveniently timed, short reprieve from the pelting rain long enough to find a tree, cut it down, and quickly be on our way.  Franny and Cole didn't seem to mind the light rain, mud, and rain, and especially liked Grandpa's chainsaw.  But, they also seemed to be glad when we once again in dry, warm clothes.  While it was unfortunate our trip was rushed, and our haste probably resulted in our selection not being the best tree at the farm, it was still very special to continue our tradition with Grandpa.  And, as far as Franny and Cole are concerned, that's all that matters, anyway.  How right they are!

To build a gingerbread house

Last year, our gingerbread house collapsed before we even finished decorating it. Whether it was too much frosting or faulty construction on our part, needless to say, it was a little disappointing...

This year, however, we gave extra time and attention to assure that our structure was strong--after the initial assembly we waited 8 hours before decorating it, to make sure the binding was dry. This time period was excruciating to Franny, who had already been waiting and waiting to construct our house since we brought it home weeks ago. But, it was worth the wait, as Franny had a great time decorating, experimenting with applying frosting, and eating all the bits and pieces. Of course, now the question is When do we eat it? For Franny, having a cookie house covered with candy that is only to look at is almost too much to bear. Hopefully, once we start our holiday baking, her torture will be eased.

And what did Cole think? Well, eating the frosting was probably the high point...

Free time

Franny, taking a lesson from her mama this morning, spent some time "resting" and reading a magazine. Silly girl!

Thanksgiving

Who adores who more?--it is really hard to say.  Either way, it's definitely one more reason for me to give thanks this past holiday.  These relationships are priceless.

Is it time to go, yet?

Franny must have said that 100 times Thanksgiving morning.  In fact, upon waking up that morning, her first words were I want to go to Grandma and Grandpa's, now!  And, she was dressed and ready to go hours before it was time to leave.  When Grandma called to verify some details, and the phone was nowhere to be found,  Rick put her on speaker phone.  Both kids immediately crowded around the phone to listen and talk to Grandma.  Of course, this did nothing to ease Franny's impatience in leaving, but it is always fun to see how much they love their grandparents!

Sibling silliness

Reunion

After several days of rain, a recent break in the showers was a good reason for Franny, Cole, and I to take a late morning, neighborhood walk.  There are some very steep hills surrounding us, but both kids did a great job, and had a lot of fun.  We kept our pace to a slow and steady 'Cole speed', which left plenty of time for exploring and stopping to see and touch anything that caught the eye.   Halfway through our walk, Franny requested that we visit one of their favorite friends, Tigger the Cat.  Tigger was the destination for nearly daily walks the kids took with their daddy during the summer.  He is a very sweet and patient cat, and always will come out to greet them if he is outside.  And, I was very happy he was outside, as Franny's request took us to the opposite end of the neighborhood where we were walking.  But, it was well worth it--both for the walk in the crisp fresh air, and for seeing their sweet reunion with their old friend.

 

Dressing for the occasion

Right now, Franny will change her clothes about ten times throughout the day.  There is no rhyme or reason to it; sometimes she wants to change after lunch or using the bathroom, but usually it's just a presence of her mind to periodically stop what she's doing and change into new clothes.  Although continually changing, Franny will always include one of her nicest dresses, her leotard, and her ladybug outfit/costume in her rotation.  It's quite a change from the days of her not wanting to wear clothes!  A few days ago, Franny went to bed in her usual PJs, but when we later checked on her, she had changed into her ladybug shirt, pants, skirt, and wings.  It just never stops...

Autumn leaves

This weekend, Franny and Cole enjoyed a warm morning "helping" their daddy rake up leaves in the driveway.  Franny, especially, had fun making sure all the leaves were scooped up into the big pile.  It was her idea to run inside to grab their little brooms to help, although Cole adopted more of a supervisory role.  Next year, we'll make sure they have their own little rakes!

Trick or treat

This year, we were treated to wonderful weather for trick-or-treating.  Past years have been very cold or rainy and windy.  Last night, however, was cool enough to feel like Halloween but still warm enough where the kids didn't need jackets over their costumes to stay warm.

And what an incredible time they had.  We started at the neighborhood village center.  There was music, lots of neighbors dressed up in fun costumes, and trick-or-treating at the different stores.  Franny was a little overwhelmed with the older kids in spooky costumes, but she quickly got into the festivities, shouting Trick-or-Treat and Happy Halloween!  It was a little crowded to get Cole into the action, but he soon got his chance when we returned to trick-or-treat in the blocks closer to our home.  We couldn't get him to say trick-or-treat, but he learned very quickly how to pick out his own treats.  After getting more candy than all of us will ever eat (but having too much fun to quit), we headed home where both Franny and Cole had just as much fun passing out candy to the neighborhood kids.  Such a fun night!

A growing bond

Today, as we were coming downstairs, Franny said I want to hold Cole's hand.  He's my friend.  As I watched them walking around the house hand in hand, I couldn't help but think ...and may you always be.

Happy Halloween!

Franny has been waiting for Halloween to arrive again since November 1st of last year.  It is all so exciting--the candy, costumes, pumpkin patches, parties, and did I mention the candy? Even for her daddy, Halloween is still all about the candy!

Today, Franny put on her costume one more time to go to the Halloween party at her preschool.  Lots of adorable three-year-olds in cute costumes.  I don't know at what age Halloween turns from cute to scary, but that is going to be a very sad year.  In the meantime, I will be filling our house with smiling pumpkins and scarecrows; happy cats, ghosts, and skeletons; and even a few hairy spiders, as long as they appear to be friendly.  But regardless, in this house, there will always be lots of candy!

Playgroup Halloween

Franny's playgroup had their Halloween party today.  Lots of fun, with yummy food, a couple of fun crafts, and goodie bags with stickers,  treats, and books to take home.  Both Franny and Cole had a great time!  This was the first year that Franny really chose her costume by herself, and she opted to be a giraffe.  Although she wore the hood while she played in her costume last night, today, she stayed with her tradition and kept it off.  Cole, however, left his ears on for nearly three hours!  We'll see what happens on Friday, though...  It was such fun to see Franny's excitement as she dressed up, and then, celebrated at her party.  After all, she's been waiting all year for Halloween to finally be here again!  Kids make holidays so much fun!

Two silly skeletons

Franny and Cole love their new matching Halloween PJ's. Not only are they just too adorable, but their bones glow in the dark! They both got a great kick out them (in the bottom right picture, Cole is signing light off!) And, this is the first time I've been able to get Franny out of her dance leotard all week! Holidays just get increasingly fun as they get older--I can't wait until Halloween night!

Tiny Dancer

Franny starting talking about taking dance classes about a month ago.  They have a great program called Dance Tykes at her preschool that meets immediately after school hours.; they teach ballet, tap, and a little tumbling.  Once it was clear that her interest wasn't fleeting, and wasn't just about the clothes and shoes, we signed her up.  To say she is very excited is an absolute understatement!  She hasn't taken off her leotard since we brought it home yesterday afternoon!

Franny has had no shortage of classes.  She first started attending Gymboree at two and a half months, and currently still takes music and swim classes.  Dance, however, is unique as it was entirely her idea.  It is extremely fun to see her interest in something grow to this extent.

Tradition resumed

This  year, we resumed our tradition of visiting Kruger Farms.  Although we had already been to a pumpkin patch, we had not had the opportunity to enjoy a hayride, wander through the corn maze, or partake in some wonderful and festive hot apple cider.  So, we chose Sunday to enjoy some more Halloween fun.  And, it was a great time.  Both kids especially enjoyed the hayride and meandering around the farm--we saw lots of animals, flowers, BIG farm equipment, and, of course, pumpkins.  And while I am glad we are exploring some new Halloween adventures this year, it was very special to resume our old tradition.  Some things just can't be beat!