We're Back!!!!

I cannot believe it has been three months since my last post. I have added extra pictures to hopefully make up for the absence. A lot has happened in the past three months. For Brett -- School started, marching band practices, competitions and Friday night football games. For me -- New boyfriend (Jay) who is fabulous, five new projects at work and learning to balance all the changes from the last year. For Georgia -- playing, standing, walking around furniture, talking and just growing like a weed!!

Last night was Halloween. Georgia was a butterfly. Our tradition was modified a little this year. The Wlodawsky's went to a concert so we trick-or-treated in their neighborhood with Paige, Justin and Gabby. Gabby was the cutest ladybug ever and Justin was a very cool rock star complete with a lip ring. The night was hectic as ever - running late, fast food dinner, bloody nose, etc. It was crazy, but fun.

Picture This ...

Max, the dog, has escaped the backyard. Not only did the lawn guys leave the gate open, they also unhooked the pet fence. They may as well have put up a giant sign saying MAX - YOUR FREE, RUN! Sorry - back to the story. Max is gone, Georgia is in her jammies, the cat is not cooperating and it is thundering. I put G in her stroller, grab a leash and head out. We stop everyone we see in the neighborhood, no Max sightings. Every time I yell Max's name, Georgia yells for him too. (It was darling) I start to call friends to see if I can gather reinforcements - no one is home. Finally, I decide to head back to the house and get the car to cruise the neighborhood. I yell one more time and there he is. Max actually comes when I call him and sits when I tell him. Those of you who know Max, know this is amazing.

At this point, the thunder and lightening have stopped. I figure I will finish my walk since I haven't worked out much this week. Max, G and I head away from the house. We get about .5 mile away and it starts. Not tiny raindrops mind you, big giant raindrops! Of course, I am in my flip flops. I fix the top on the stroller to try and protect Georgia as much as possible and Max and I take off on a slow run. The dog does not understand that he should not run in front of the stroller making the trip home just that much more interesting. Anyway, we finally made it home. I took Georgia out of her stroller. She had raindrops on her face and her clothing was pretty damp. I guess she needed her raincoat which she is modeling so fabulously above. The moral we learned today is: if you are lucky enough to find your dog before it rains; go home!

To Helen who left the comments - unfortunately, I was not able to reply through the links provided. I hope you were successful!

July Already...

I can't believe July is more than half over. The months are just flying by. We spent a week at Virginia beach with my Mom, Aunt Melinda, her granddaughter (cousin) Lindsay and family friend AJ. We had a great time. We spent a lot of time at the beach. Lindsay, Brett and AJ had a good time with their boogy boards. It was Lindsay's first time at an ocean and she was a natural. It was Georgia's first time too. She liked the pool better than the waves. She also thought the sand was tasty. I decided to be brave and try the boogy board too. All I can say is that my a** received a serious exfoliation treatment.

Everyone left on June 24th and the next day Georgia started daycare. She really likes it. She never cries when I drop her off and is usually having a great time playing with the other kids when I pick her up. The house is very quiet and G thinks she needs to make it noisy.

Brett and AJ went to Colorado with my Mom. Then Mom and Brett went to Mexico with her neighbors and their grandson. It has been a busy summer so far.

WHAT?! A New Posting

Georgia and Lorna
Georgia and Jessica
Georgia and Marnie
Georgia, Sophia and Jennifer


I know - unbelievable that I actually have a new posting. It has been forever. I can't believe it is already June. I also can't believe how much Georgia and Brett have both changed in the past two months. I thought I would list some recent firsts.

Brett's Firsts (not as many, but he is 13)
Officially became a teenager (4/10/08)
Reached 6'1" (unknown date)
Made the Freeman High School Marching Band 5/29/08)
Attended his first Hooters Bikini Contest (supervised of course) (6/1/08)


Georgia's Firsts
Two bottom teeth (3/20)
Rolled over (3/29)
First visit to ER (4/27)(will post picture when we get it from Lorna)
First hospital Stay (4/28-4/30)
First baby food (6/10/08)
First professional pictures that she smiled in (6/1)
First waived her arms to be picked up (6/6)

We are very excited for Brett and his marching band activities this Fall. Freeman High School allows rising 8th graders to try out for their marching band. Even though he will not attend Freeman in 9th grade, he asked if he could try out. They said, "yes," he tried out, he made it. HURRAY. He plays percussion meaning he has to be at every practice and, you guessed it, BAND CAMP. I cannot say it with a straight face. I am working on it. Brett's stay in Colorado will be much shorter this year. He will only be there for about six weeks.

As for his Hooters' Bikini Contest - he had a fabulous time. Our friend Troy was his chaperone. They carded Brett and put many wrist bands and x's on his hands to signal that he is not old enough to drink. He was thrilled that the bouncer thought someone might think he was old enough for a beer.

Ms. Georgia is everywhere now. She is rolling all over the place. Putting everthing she finds in her mouth. She also has started pulling my hair. It doesn't matter if my hair is up or down, she just pulls it out by the roots when she is tired and crabby.

It is the cutest thing when she waives her arms to be picked up. And, if she is waiving her arms, you better pick her up! It is not a pretty site if you happen to walk past and not act on her request.

The pictures are from Georgia's Baptism Breakfast.

Four Month Check Up

I am way behind on the update for Ms. Georgia's four month check up. It was last Wednesday and she is just fabulous. She is 16lbs and 25 1/2 inches tall. Poor thing had four shots. She was so funny about her legs after the shot. Her legs must have been very sore because she would not move them as usual. She would just lay there with her arms going a million miles an hour and her legs as straight as possible. It looked very funny.

I thought she was having her first cold -- it turned out that she was getting her first two teeth. They were not there on Wednesday at her doc appointment, but were there when I got home from work on Thursday afternoon. Luckily the Easter Bunny brought her a teething blanket and two teething toys. The Easter Bunny knows everything.

Last Friday Marnie and I took Georgia and Gabby to have their pictures taken in their matching dresses. It was an experience trying to get an 18 month old to hold the 4 month old without incident. But we were successful. Hope you like the pictures.

Tongue - A Good Brett Story

Brett and I were watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman the other day. The episode was set in New York and Andrew was at Carnegie Deli eating a tongue sandwich. Brett tells me he thinks that looks pretty good and would like to try it. He then asks me, "Where does the tongue come from?" I assume he is asking me what type of animal and reply "cow." He says, "No, what part of the animal is the tongue?" I give him my really look and say, "the tongue." It then dawns on him that it is really a tongue -- as in the thing in your mouth. The child is truly blond at heart and still on the honor roll. Luckily, he does not have an anatomy class.

Georgia has had her own adventure. Marnie gave her a new hair bow the other day. We think it gives her a certain Aunt Jemima look. She wore her bow without incident for most of the day. Later in the evening while we were waiting for Brett to get out of baseball camp, Georgia started her usual screaming because we were parked and not moving - or so I thought that was why she was crying. It was dark and I really couldn't see her well. When Brett came out and put his bag in the back of the car, he discovered the real problem. Poor baby had knocked her bow into her eyes and then finally gave up and went to sleep since her mother was not going to be of any help. I now make sure to check on any cry even if I think I know the cause.

March for Babies

This year the Francis family is participating in the March for Babies for March of Dimes. Our friends, the Yeagers, are the Ambassador Family for the Central Virginia Chapter of the March of Dimes. Their daughter Sophia was born very premature and weighed a mere 2lbs 2oz. Fortunately, she is now a very healthy, polite, cute and ornery two year old. The hospital where Georgia was born is opening a new NICU this year and has had the March of Dimes involved in their effort. Jennifer toured the facility and says it is going to be great. We would love for more people to join our team. Here is the link to join our team or to make a donation. http://www.marchforbabies.org/510185 For Sophia's story, visit her blog at www.the-yeagers.blogspot.com.

Not Everything is Obvious to Children

I think I have finally learned that as a parent I do have to tell my children everything they should not do. For some reason, as Brett has advanced in age, I didn't think it was necessary to tell Brett to not do certain things. It just seemed too obvious. I do know I am not the only parent with this assumptions. Here is a short list of obvious no-no's. Would love to hear of other lessons to add to the list.

1. Do not put rocks in your ears, they may need to be surgically removed. (Brett did this when he was three. Also learned that if you put rocks up your nose, they can be sneezed out.)
2. Do not have sex in your house. Especially when one of your parents is home. (This was learned by a friend with an older teenager; she passed on the lesson.)
3. Do not put your forehead on a heater, it may burn your forehead. (See first picture above. My brilliant son put his head on a heater at school to see if it was hot. Surprise! It was. Apparently, the dirt washed off leaving only this lovely imprint. I am hoping it doesn't scar.)

Georgia turned three months on Saturday. She is now in her 3/6 month wardrobe. She also has decided that she will only nap in her car seat after taking at least a ten minute ride. She apparently does not care about being green. Luckily, I usually have errands to run. On occassion we have just left the house so she would stop crying and fall asleep. Katherine reminded me of the drive-thru Starbucks that has opened near our house. I have a feeling there will be many visits in our future.

Random Things

Mommy blurs are the postpartum version of pregnancy brain. And, even though Georgia is sleeping through the night now, my brain is still mush. Brett even thinks it is worse instead of better. I cannot remember the names of most items, what day of the week it is or what I went into a room for. Conversations are pathetic as I have trouble with my train of thought and am sure I repeat myself often. Luckily, Georgia doesn't understand yet, so I only get made fun of by one child. I had some really good examples, but can't remember them. :)

Top four things for babies to do when they don't want to nap:

4. Cry
3. Cry Louder
2. Scream
1. Watch Mommy update her blog

In the effort to get into shape, Jennifer, Lorna and I have taken up Zumba classes. it is the most fun. Zumba is a latin dance class that involves all of the muscles you have never used before in your life. You don't need a lot of coordination to complete the class, but it would help. My favorite parts are the salsa steps and the funky steps. My least favorite is the arms song and shimmys. Turns out I cannot shimmy. I really can't shimmy while moving my hips. It does make for some great entertainment. The class goes by quickly because your brain is too busy figuring out what your hips, feet and arms should be doing. Here is the link to the pictures from last Saturday's class. Jenn and I are in the pictures> Make sure your sound is on to hear the music. http://www.richmondzumba.com/LIB_pictures.html

Hope you enjoy the new pictures.

SHE DID IT!!!!!!!

Miss Georgia slept through the night last night. HOORAY!!! She slept from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. straight. I was so excited that I graced Brett with my happy dance this morning. This was brought about by a field trip to Barnes and Noble yesterday for "Sewing for Dummies." While I was there, I thought I would scan the baby books for sleeping tips. I tried them all. Having no idea which tip worked, the evening routine is a little lengthy, but if it works I don't care.

Brett and I went to the movies on Saturday to see Cloverfield. I highly recommend it. I thought it was very scary, exciting and suspenseful. Brett thinks it was just suspenseful, not scary. I did notice that he jumped as many times I did. Lorna and Jessica babysat Georgia while we were at the movies. Today's pictures are courtesey of Lorna.

Two Month Check Up

Georgia had her two month check up on Tuesday. She is a growing girl. She weighs 13lbs. and is 23 inches tall. Her weight is in the 70th percentile and her height is in the 95th percentile. Apparently, she is going to take after her brother and grow like a weed.

We are surviving without Grandma, just barely. I miss sleep the most. Ms. Georgia has decided that she doesn't need much sleep. Or, if she does decide to sleep it is during the day and not the night. The pediatrician gave me some ideas to try. One was to put her in her crib. I am not quite ready for her to move to her room. I might be ready when she is 4. (Just kidding.) I did get her room ready for her to at least nap in there. Her mobile, iCrib and rainforest toy are all set up. Luckily there is still some room for her in there.

Georgia had her first family visitor other than Grandma last week. Our cousin Steve was in town from Massachusetts and came over for dinner. We had a lovely visit. Above is a picture of Georgia and her guest.

Brett is preparing for baseball season by getting his hair cut so he looks good in a baseball hat. One of the first signs that he is beginning his teenage years. Normally, getting ready for baseball season only involves batting practice.

December - Where Did It Go?

First, I can't believe it is already January. It seems like a week ago that I last posted on here -- not six weeks. It has been a busy six weeks. Thanksgiving was fairly uneventful. Brett had a horrible cold and was quarantined away from the baby. My mom made dinner at our house and we just hung out. Georgia's first Christmas wasn't much better. I had a horrible stomach virus/food poisoning incident. Georgia slept, my mom and Brett opened gifts and I hid in my room. Brett did become Santa Chef and made us a Christmas cake wearing his new chef's hat and apron. He is becoming a very good cook.

Georgia is growing so quickly it is amazing. I am happy that I have another eight weeks at home to spend with her. With Brett, I only had six weeks maternity leave and that wasn't nearly enough. My Mom headed back to Denver today, so it is just me and the kids. It has been eight hours and so far so good. I have high hopes as to how to spend my extra time at home. One project may be a new children's book titled "Princess Poo and the Toxic Tush." In honor or the horrific bodily fluids that my daughter emits on a daily basis. I realize that potty humor is normally not for girls, but maybe it is time for a change. My other project will be to learn to sew. My Mom bought me a sewing machine for Christmas and I am hoping to have learned something before she gets back here in April. So far, I have managed to avoid watching my old soap operas. I am afraid if I start, it won't stop when I return to work.

Allyson and her son A.J. came to visit for a couple of days before Christmas. It was great to see them. Brett and A.J. played and cruised the shopping malls while Allyson and I hunted for gifts. We even made it to a movie. Fortunately, when Georgia woke up mid-movie, Allyson took care of her. We hope they come back for another visit soon.