Waving, Walking, and Pat-A-Caking!

Frances is learning new things every day. Do not be fooled by the excited Mama voice you hear in these videos. It breaks this Mama's heart to see her last baby growing up so fast.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Peter loves this book. But he doesn't like the last picture.

Laughing and Lunching!

Meal time at our house is hysterical. Just ask our four kids.

Frances is 10 months old!

Likes: Cruising all around the furniture, standing up all by myself for 3 seconds, dancing when someone sings to me, waving and clapping, pulling all the carbon monoxide detectors out of the walls, reading B is for Bear (all my brothers loved this book too), chewing on electrical cords and used tissue from the bathroom trash (Mama shouts "No M'am!" at me so much that now Peter will shout "Francie Girl! No M'am!" at me), eating pasta, sandwiches, chicken nuggets, lima beans, quesadillas, pizza, and avocados, taking my morning nap on the go every day, and ripping my bib off the moment Mama puts it on me.

Dislikes: Being sick! I had hand, foot, mouth disease for the first time this month. I had my first fever, and I was pretty miserable. Plus all the sores on my face and body made me look like a leper. I'm feeling much better now though!

Growth: I weigh 20 lbs., 15 oz., and I am 29 1/2 inches tall.  This puts me in the 50th percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height. I may be the smallest baby in my family, but I've already learned how to rough house with my brothers.  I am the best hair-puller there is!

Back to the books!

Today was John's first day of his last year of preschool. He woke up raring to go. He picked chocolate chip pancakes for his special breakfast. Of course there was a candle and some singing again. He has the same Pre-K teachers that Henry had. Henry made sure to tell him all about the fun things he will get to do in Ms. Libbie's class. John was just thrilled to be going to school 5 days a week now "just like Henry." As we drove to school, he told Peter, "You are going to miss me, Peter. It's just you and the girls now."

The Clean Up Song

Peter learned the clean up song at the gym playcenter. His teacher, Miss Maggie, taught it to him. As long as you ask him to sing the song, he happily obliges to cleaning up. Oh thank you, thank you, my dearest Miss Maggie.

John's Special Day

After I took Henry to Six Flags, John started planning our special day together. John is a creature of habit, so he wanted to do exactly what we did last year. We started our day at the book store. We played with trains, read some books, and browsed the workbooks. John loves a good worksheet or maze during quiet time. He also spent a long time in front of the "Gerald and Piggy" books. He thinks Mo Willems is hilarious! After he picked out several new books to bring home, it was time for lunch. John's special day wouldn't be special without pizza. I'm proud to say that he ate 1 1/2 of those giant slices. His appetizer of 2 breadsticks and 2 glasses of chocolate milk prevented him from cleaning his plate. But he wasn't too full to turn down ice cream. John loves Coldstone because "you get 2 treats in 1 - ice cream AND candy!" He picked chocolate ice cream with gummy bears, marshmallows, and chocolate chips. I had such a sweet time with my John Augustus. He's excited to be going to school 5 days a week "just like Henry", but I sure am going to miss him.