Photo update...

She likes to read on the pot... I hate this book so it has become the official potty book. Take that, Cuddles.
Napping with Papa

My Grammy and her great-grand children

photo update...

Napping along the bike paths of Sun River
Loves babies...
Just a squirrel, trying to get a nut. OH, but look at that really cool fence in the background. Yeah, we built that.
I quit my day job to become a baby photographer. Oh yeah, I don't have a day job. But seriously this is my newest cousin and he his adorable. Congrats to his happy parents.

Camping little mama

seriously I can't stop...

If you look close you can see the top of Frances's head.













My beautiful nieces that I had the pleasure of hugging in NC. It was a gift in light of sad circumstances that I was able to reunite with my siblings and their families. We ate nothing but Carolina bbq, sweet sweet tea, and milk shakes for three days. Frank called me 'Sweet Tea' instead of Honey for a few weeks.
Both my Franks. I love these two individuals more than anything.



















It was worth all the hard work turning dirt into a place to play for Frances. With MUCH help from Frances's Grandma.

Long time, no post...

An amazing quilt from the Sisters, OR Quilt show. We had fun walking around this fun little western town with quilts being displayed everywhere. It was however very painful for our nephews while Mom shopped!



















It has been a busy summer. Some good and some not so good.
Here is the good stuff:
Frank's Mom came for an extended three week stay. She brought our nephews ages 11 and 12. Frances loved having a full house. It was a lot of fun. And for part of this time his sister's family of four was able to come for a week. Frances loved having her cousins to play with. It was hard when they all left. We have never had so many people in our house at once, it definitely feels empty. They can come back anytime they want! We miss them all.
Three is such a small family. Not nearly loud enough for me...or Frances! Family of four sounds nice.
Frances went camping for the first time. She also went canoeing and has spent a lot of time splashing around in public fountains with our best girlfriend Lucy and also in the new water fountain at our local park. We spent an amazing three days in Sunriver. Frank rented a bike and trailer. We are hooked and can't wait to find a second hand bike trailer so we can take our bikes out and about again. And the absolute best thing is that Frances has been proudly using her potty! The pee pee in the potty/ pee pee on the floor ratio is definitely tipping in our favor.

Remembering that First Father's Day

I had the honor of meeting my daughter on Father's Day. It is hard to believe we have been together for a whole year. On this Father's Day I found myself remembering that first day. I was so nervous I did not know what to expect. How would she react when I tried to hold her? How would I? She seemed so small and helpless. Now that baby is my little girl who amazes me everyday with what she knows. And I look forward to the second year and try to imagine where we'll be on next Father's Day.

No crayons, thanks

These days Frances has little blue lines all over her hand...sometimes her mouth. Her knew thing is scribbling with a pen. She does not want crayons- just a pen and a scrap of paper. And without showing or telling her how, she holds the pen perfectly in her small hand.

Oh, and a word from the wise- don't let your pen enamored toddler see you place pens/pencils behind your ear!

Frances at 21months, poor crock never had a chance

Toddler parenting has been very challenging lately. well, actually for the whole month of May! First she had a virus with a high fever, followed by teething...FOUR teeth at once, and then Frank was away for work- leaving me in fear of being an only parent for a week, after a very fussy cranky two weeks. Her new words are "Nooooo" and "MINE". Oh man, has she been testing her limits and boundaries with me lately causing me all sorts of grief and worry, only to wake up the next day super super sweet and full of hugs and kisses. Even though this month has been tough I have really embraced staying at home with her. My first month home was hard. I felt a little alone when Frank was at work or sleeping. But I don't feel that way anymore- which is good. She makes me smile and laugh and I am enjoying all this time we have together. Here are some of the things she does at 21 months that crack me up:

*She loves to help me wash dishes. She gets so excited when I am at the kitchen sink. She runs for her little pink stool and drags it over to the sink, climbs up and rinses the dishes I hand her and places them in the strainer. I always wash the recycling last and she knows to rinse those and put them in the recycling bin instead of the strainer. (I have to sneak in dish washing if I want it done in a timely manner!)

*Still my water baby. She takes showers and loves to go under water at swim class.

*No picky eater here. Loves all types of food. Frank was making dinner the other night and she asked for a bite. He handed her a piece of onion he was chopping. She ate it and said, "More...bowl" So Papa gave her a bowl of onions which she carried to the coffee table then dragged her stool over and set down and ate every last one.

*She loves it when I open the moon roof and roll down all the windows in the car. She laughs and screams in delight as her hair is whipped around by the wind. It is a beautiful sight.

*I absolutely love her silliness and sense of humor. It is hard to drive because when I look at her in the rear view mirror she makes silly faces, smiles, and blows kisses to me.

I can't believe it has almost been one year of all of us together as a family.