Henry the Great White Shark

Henry had two loose teeth for weeks. He was constantly wiggling them, but he didn't want us to pull them out. "They're not ready yet!", he would say. His adult teeth were ready though. Henry had what the dentist calls "shark teeth" - his adult teeth had already come in behind his baby teeth. So he had a double row of teeth, just like a shark. Henry loved this, and perfected his best shark smile.

At bedtime on October 17th, Daddy gave the tooth a tug, and Henry lost his first tooth! The tooth fairy brought him $1 for his piggy bank. Three days later, he lost his second tooth while he was at school. He came home with it in a tooth necklace, but he lost the tooth while playing outside (someone may or may not have warned him that might happen). He decided he would write a letter to the Tooth Fairy to explain what happened. It worked because she still left him $1 under his pillow.

A Birthday Party for the Apple of our Eye

Not a day goes by where Frances doesn't eat applesauce. It is one of her very favorite foods. And she's my only baby with a Fall birthday, so the party theme was perfect for the apple of our eye. We invited our family and friends over for a pizza lunch (another favorite food of the birthday girl) and a sweets buffet. Even with all those sweet treats on display, my boys were most excited about those giant orbs of apple juice - "Do we get to drink the whole thing, Mama?"

I was expecting Frances to dig into her cake. She likes to eat, and she isn't too picky.  Plus, she is my messiest eater. I knew throwing her hands in all that frosting wouldn't bother her one bit. I even made an apple spice cake from scratch for my apple loving girl. But she started crying as soon as we lit the candle and started singing (again). My poor girl just doesn't like to be in the spotlight. She took a few tastes, but she really just wanted to be held. After a long nap, Frances tried a cookie. And that brought all the smiles out! She wasn't the only one who loved Aunt Elaine's cookies. Henry told me, "I ate so many cookies that I lost count."

The real hit of the party was the bouncy house. The big boys and all their friends went wild in that thing. And then Frances took a turn, and she didn't want to come out! The boys would bounce her up and down, and she loved following them down the slide in a big pile up.

Later, she opened her gifts. Our girl finally got herself some pink, girly toys too. She happily plays with Thomas the Train, but she loved the pink teapot, purse, and picnic basket toys that she received. Grandma and Papou gave her the Frances the Badger book set. They are darling books, especially for a little girl named Frances. Nanna and Pa gave her a monogrammed pom-pom hat from her favorite store, and an add-a-pearl necklace. Every year, she will get another pearl to add to her strand. She also received more Eric Carle books, baby-aitor sunglasses, clothes, and a bow holder. The boys were very excited to give Francie their gift - a lovey that they picked out for her. Henry sleeps with Hank the Elephant, John sleeps with Jack the Monkey, Peter sleeps with Pete the Bear, and now Frances will sleep with Franny the Bunny.