Birthday girl

We celebrated Franny's second birthday yesterday. She had a very fun day going to the zoo in the morning, the park in the afternoon, and then a birthday treat. Franny is not really into cake, so we made ice cream sundaes, topped with birthday candles. She seemed to be a little concerned about the candles, though...

But she got over it quickly enough! Yum!

A beautiful day

Today, amidst clear blue skies and a warm, inviting sun, Franny visited her Auntie Noelle's house for a fun-filled morning. As if three exuberant korgis, a slightly teasing cat, and two mattresses to jump on and off of wasn't enough, Auntie treated Franny to a trip to the park, as well. Franny and her Auntie have a wonderful and very special relationship, so no matter what they do, she always loves every minute of their visits. And today, was no different--I think she had a smile on her face the entire time!

Give me a Z!

Franny never stops coming up with new and exciting ways to amaze me. She has recently become fascinated with letters. I never really thought to teach her letters before, but I tried to teach her "Z" because she loves all her z-words--especially zipper, zoo, and zebra. She picked it up so quickly, last week I started to teach her more. Now, she knows W, X ,Y ,Z ,A ,O, I, H, S and B everytime; U, K, and Q most of the time. Most, she has learned in just one day! Without a doubt, her favorites are W and Z; she will be playing along or riding in the car, and out of nowhere I hear "W" and "Z" enter into her endless stream of chatter. She is now also very interested in her alphabet books and will pick out the letters she knows in other books, as well. What amazes me is this has all happened within a week's timeframe. I can't wait to see what she learns next!

Sticker!

I have come to greatly appreciate the businesses which provide stickers for kids. On our weekly trips to New Seasons, they always offer Franny a sticker, which she picks out and proudly wears on her hand until she has pulled it off so many times, it loses it's stick. And, on our ride home, I hear her no less than joyful ring of "Sticker! Sticker!" amidst her endless stream of chatter.

Yesterday, unfortunately, we had to go to the pediatrician to diagnose the cause of a persistent fever. On our departure, they gave Franny not only a big sticker--too big for her hand--but an Elmo sticker. Oh my, what could be better? The sticker was more enthusiastically received than the stuffed animal they gave her on her arrival. The sticker started off on her jacket, moved to her dress, and was even put on her doll for awhile. Needless to say, it lost it's stick in record time.

Sleeping beauty

Since we purchased Franny's toddler bed, I have been reluctant to attempt the actual transition. Selfishly, I had visions of her repeatedly hopping out of bed, and me spending my last few precious moments in the evening trying to get her to stay in bed and go to sleep. And while Franny seemed to like the bed, her interest seemed rather minimal, so I have waited, intending to use her interest as my guide. I have learned that it is futile to rush Franny to do anything; she has her own agenda, from which she does not waver. In the meantime, I have forced myself to be patient, knowing that her little brother wouldn't really need it for quite some time, anyway.

However, two days ago, after waking up half-way through her nap extremely upset, I picked her up until she drifted off to sleep. During this time, both my back and abdomen cramped and I knew there was no way I would be able to get her back into her crib. So, I put her down on the toddler bed, where she slept quite contently for the rest of her nap. Today, I again put her down in her bed for her nap, and as I first, listened to her chatter on and then, have the phone ring, I thought for sure she would be up and in the hall in no time. But, to my amazement, she went to sleep, business as usual. And tonight, she requested--quite emphatically--that she wanted to sleep in her bed. It is too soon to tell if this will mark the onset of her big transition. But time will tell!

Franny and her sleeping essentials: Lena the tiger, Miss Kitty, PJs of her choice, striped blanket, green blanket, and water

Hanging out

Now that park season is well underway, Franny is acutely aware of any park or play equipment that we drive by. Whether it be a park, school, or other facility with play equipment, we are informed--with a tremendous sense of urgency--that an opportunity to play is within her eye's view. Luckily, she gets quite a bit of park time, which she absolutely loves. About six months have past since we were on our park circuit, and our new adventures now involve some new interests, as well. In addition to old favorites, Franny now likes to hang from the overhead bars. She isn't able to move from bar to bar, but she gets a big kick out of just hanging.

Of course, our little daredevil also likes to drop, so we have to stay on our toes!

Adventures in dressing

One of Franny's favorite things to do at home is get dressed, undressed, and dressed again... She is getting very good at getting things on and off, not to mention out of her closet, but her fashion sense has yet to even begin to be established. Everyday, when she presents herself with an outfit, such as mismatched stripes or some other outrageous combination, I hold my breath, hoping that it won't be the day that she insists on going out with the outfit of her choice. Fortunately, this day has yet to come.

Some days, however, mismatched stripes are the least of my concerns!

Sing, sing, sing-a-long

Over the last few weeks, I have begun to realize that the some of Franny's endless stream of chattering, especially while riding in the car, is actually her singing along to her music CDs. I think her favorite is Clap Your Hands, because it has a lot of words that she knows that she can sing to. All of the repeated words she sings with great enthusiasm!

Clap, clap, clap your hands....

Tap, tap, tap your feet...
Walk, walk, walk around...
Sneak, sneak, sneak around...
Jump, jump, jump around...

It is fun to listen to her, because her tone and volume will mirror that of the actual song--as with the sneak, sneak, sneak, she will whisper and pretend she is sneaking around like we did in our music class. Even if she is in her carseat, during slow songs, she will also sway side to side and sing doo doo doo or imitate whatever sounds she hears. She even uses some of the different hand movements that we have done in class, which is funny because she rarely will do them in class, and since they vary greatly from week to week, I am amazed that she remembers any of them! Another of my favorites is a song that has a series of meows; when it comes on I turn my rear-view mirror on her to see her rocking back and forth, meowing, all while doing her sign for cat. It cracks me up everytime!

Sunday and sunshine--a priceless combination

Perspective can be found at the most surprising times. Sunday morning, we couldn't resist the welcoming sunshine and headed down to NW for an early walk. It was the perfect start to a great day of family fun. For me, there is something very comforting about a sunny morning--feelings of hope and optimism replace the anxiety of our burdens and the warmth of the sun on my face drains me of my angst and rejuvenates my spirit. While on our walk and soaking up every precious ray, I couldn't help but be acutely conscious of the closeness the three of us share, and I realized how fortunate we are that the challenges we currently face are outside forces that cannot compromise our family. Every day we spend together enhances our strength and enables us to face another Monday, void of the self-pity and bitterness that can erode the faith and spirit of the weak-hearted. We will not fall into that trap. Although the rain will inevitably return, our road will always be laden with sunshine, of that I am certain.

Zoo! Zoo! Zoo!

One of Franny's favorite books right now is Put Me in the Zoo. When she wants to read it, she'll repeat "zoo!" until she has retrieved it out of her book box and we are situated to begin. Needless to say, we have a little fun with her when we tell her that we are actually going to the zoo, as we did this past Sunday. It gets the same reaction. Although the animals weren't out in numbers on this trip, we did have a good time. Here are a few pictures from our adventure:

Party time

Franny went to her first kids birthday party this weekend. Her twin friends from her playgroup turned two and celebrated with a Gymboree birthday party. Franny had a great time, as they did a lot of the same fun activities that she loves from her Gymboree class. There were about 20 kids in attendance (chaos), and was complete with cupcakes, milk, and juice (her first) and a fun book exchange. It was an added bonus having her daddy there to see some of what she does at Gymboree, in addition to being able to see the fun and excitement she gets from it.

Franny jumping off the mat blocks

Birthday treat time

Her logic is her own

Sunday together--too short, but still so sweet

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.

~ J. Robert Oppenheimer

Update

I think she likes it there...

Signs of baby

The carseat for Franny's future brother arrived yesterday. After her afternoon nap, Franny saw it for the first time and gave it the Franny inspection--front, back, underneath, wiggled the handle, tried to pick it up, tested the straps. Without question, she knew it was for a baby, as she repeatedly pointed at it while saying "baby! baaaaby!" with her sweet inflection. It quickly became a home for Elmo and her doll.

I wanted to get the seat early enough so that we could move Franny's carseat to right side of the middle seat and have her accustomed to the new position before we put in the baby's seat. I am hoping that this approach will prevent her from any bad feelings that she is getting bumped out of "her place." And, I think she will like it better, as it will give her a closer look at all the cars, trucks, busses, vans, dogs, and pedestrians with hats that she enjoys pointing out on all our rides.

Dressing for success

For quite some time, Franny has been very adept at getting her clothes off. The last couple of weeks, however, she has become increasingly better skilled at putting her clothes on. Probably 90% of the time she will get her shirt on right; 99% of the time she will put her shoes on the right feet; 99% of the time she can get her socks on; 75% she can get her jacket on; pants are still a challenge, but getting better; and sleepers are a long way off, yet. She really enjoys dressing herself, and I have also found that she will leave her clothes on longer if she has put them on herself, and longer yet if she has picked them out, although in most cases these outfits are ones we can't leave the house in.

I definitely have to allow more time to get out the door, but I am finding it fun to ask her to put on her socks, shoes, and jacket on, and then see her accomplish the tasks with such enthusiasm and pride. Two years ago, I would never have anticipated that I would experience joy through such a mundane activity as putting on shoes and socks! Life must be good.

That face

I've had many sympathetic friends ask me how I make it through the week. To which, I always respond that I have great support. While this is unquestionably true, what gets me through above all else is this face. It warms my heart, gives me strength and perspective, and takes my breath away. I am so very fortunate, indeed.

Up and down

Franny loves going to the mall. And no, the main attraction is not the kids' play area. For Franny, nothing beats the escalators--she can go up, run around, go down, and then up, and then down... Sometimes she walks up and other times she just rides, but either way it's great fun for her! And we love to see that smile! Tearing her away, though, is a another story...

First haircut

It's been awhile since Franny has had a "first". But, this morning, she had her first real haircut. Overall, it quite the experience. She was very serious during the actual cut, but once it was over she was very pleased, especially with her new pony tails. I was going to take them out when we got home, but there was such a protest that we left them in. Ever since, she has been reaching up and touching them, to make sure they are still there, and then flashing a big grin when she confirms that they are still there. I am anxious to see how her hair looks with her new cut, but it seems I will have to wait until tomorrow.

Sunday in the city

Sunday, we enjoyed the last part of a 60+ degree day by going for a late afternoon walk along the Eastbank Esplanade. We cherish our Sundays together, and it was a wonderful treat to be able to spend it outside in the city we love. Franny always enjoys being outside, and this was no exception--she saw joggers, dogs, bikes, strollers, and birds, just to name a few. That, in addition to being with daddy--what could be better?

Strolling along the side ledge

Just taking a moment

Checking out what was going on way down below

Goofing around with daddy

Tossing and turning

When we check on our wild sleeper and see her end up in positions like this, it makes me wonder if she will ever be ready for her toddler bed!

Cutie

Whew!

Around December, Franny became quite certain that the supermarket cart was about the last place she wanted to be. Feeling the need to set firm limits, as well as the need to be consistent in my expectations for her, Franny and I went head to head in our most difficult battle, to date. Unfortunately, her Houdini-like ability to wiggle free of the seat restraints became my downfall, and I conceded the fight three weeks ago. Since, we have shopped on the weekends, with Franny and her daddy staying together, while I do the grocery shopping by myself. This has worked well, but because we spread our grocery shopping across four locations (although not every week), this weekend we ran out of time to get it all completed.

This morning, I decided to attempt the shopping excursion again, although anticipating the worst and preparing myself for possibly returning home empty handed after a bitter battle. As we approached the entrance to New Seasons, I spotted one of those "car carts", and decided to try one. What a life saver! Franny absolutely loved it--we cruised around for about thirty minutes, and she was content the entire time, honking her little horn and leaning out to shout "Hi!" to me or anyone who passed us. I have refrained from using them before, mostly because the ones at FM are very large and cumbersome, not to mention germy, but the NS carts were very compact, manageable, and clean. They also have an additional bonus--the basket is on top of the car, so I didn't have to bend over to unload. These days, that's a very big deal!

I was so happy with her, even though we were headed home for lunch, we indulged in the cookie samples as we left.

Tickled pink in pink

Today, during her weekly visit, Franny's Auntie brought her an adorable Easter dress. The ribbons, flowers, and soft fabric impressed and intrigued Franny. After Auntie had left and the day's excitement had subsided, Franny brought the dress to me, and proclaimed a most emphatic "On!". Once the dress was on, she grabbed the tag with a strong and serious request for it to be "Off!" She was unquestionably taken with the dress, and spun in circles and danced around until, as with all clothes, it eventually needed to come "Off!" again.

She got it!

Yesterday, Franny managed to get her jacket on all by herself for the first time! If that isn't a smile of total pride, I don't know what is! Great job, Franny!

The tricycle adventures, part 2

Today, we spent some more time in the driveway with the tricycle. Franny was very excited to go outside and her version of the word tricycle was adorable, although maybe only recognizable by me. Unlike Monday,this time, she was very serious and although she spent some of the time pushing it while running up and down the driveway, she spent more time in what appeared to be careful scrutinization of the mechanics. She inspected the wheels, experimented with the pedals and what they did when she went forward or backward, checked the trunk numerous times, and tried to release the handle bar lock. And although she wasn't successful, it was clear she did understand what it did. She is always so much fun to watch, as I can see her mind at work, and I just wish I could know exactly what she is thinking and if I am reading her accurately.

Then, toward the end of our time, she seemed to understand that her tricycle is actually a type of bike, and she ran into the garage and returned with her bike helmet in tow. As with all her clothes, she didn't quite get it on right, but it's all about small steps, after all!