Three Months Later

A lot has happened since our last post in January when we celebrated Baby A's 1st birthday and I returned to work. Though I only have the time to post these two videos, I'll just mention that in the last three months, Baby A has enjoyed daycare, crawled, walked, had two sets of febrile seizures due to two fevers, is starting to cut a molar, babbles and talks all the time. Thank God Almighty he continues to sleep from 8pm- 7am (when he's not sick or teething :). His personality is revealing his fun and sometimes sly self, and he's super friendly- waving and saying "hi" to everyone he sees no matter where we are.

Also, mommy has finished her first semester teaching university-level students, daddy has been busy teaching, presenting and planning conferences, and we've made it through two different virus/ cold cycles and moved to a different house in the same neighborhood. It's been a very exhausting month and a crazy busy semester!

For now, here are two videos. I realize these are mostly for our parents. After all, who else has the time to watch videos of other people's kids that last longer than 30 seconds? :)

Ball or Duck's Head? Bathtime fun yesterday.

I Can Walk, Mom & Dad! The most exciting thing the three of us encountered all day!

More later.

Hope you're pondering the Reason for Easter!!!

Baby A is 1 Year Old!

Our little house smelled of chili, cornbread, and cupcakes yesterday. Several balloons and Happy 1st Birthday signs decorated our sage green walls adding to the new 1-year-old photos of Alexander, which were placed around the house (the portraits were done wonderfully by Mona Elisa Latif!)

Then the doorbell rang and all the fun began! What wonderful chaos it was to have our house warmed with dear friends and children who all ventured through the thick layers of last night's snow. We are loved and how grateful we are for each of them. (We wish we could have invited more friends to join the celebration. Next time, perhaps, we'll be in a bigger space :)

4 short videos below show just part of Alexander's special day. The first two are of our Happy Birthday song to the birthday boy, and the last two are what happened post-candle-blowing. It makes us smile and laugh out loud to watch them. Hope it warms your heart, family. We wish you all could have been with us today!

Love,

2 Parents of a 1-Year-Old!

PS. Soon, we'll post birthday pictures and a brief update about Baby A's 1st Christmas, mommy's return to work and our first days of home daycare.

VIDEOS 1 & 2: Happy birthday song

VIDEO #3: Post-Candle-Blowing Fun

VIDEO #4: Cupcake!

Baby A Bundled & His New Drum

With the temperature cooling, Baby A finally gets to wear his winter clothes when we go out for our walks. He gets all bundled up and I think he likes it. We'll get to take our BumbleRide stroller out for a spin in the snow & he'll be nice and cozy!

Baby A loves to slap his hand on his tray table & give high-fives. So at one of the mom-to-mom sales I went to a couple weeks ago, I bought this cool Baby Einstein drum for a really good deal. It sings and talks in English or French and has lights on the top to keep baby's attention. I thought it was a good find. So after I sanitized it & put in some new batteries, Paul and I gave it to him to see how he'd like it.

I think this was a superb find! Watch out, Lou. Baby A may be after your spot on the FFC worship team :)

Happy Monday, all!!!

Catching Up Before Falling Back

Whew, this summer came and went faster than I imagined! And now, fall is coming to a close, too! So what have we been up to since our last post?

Our almost-10-month-old son

showing off his karate skills.

Well, since Ontario permits up to a full year of maternity/ parental leave and Paul doesn't teach during the summer, we had the wonderful opportunity to spend a lot of time with family. It was such a refreshing time, especially being new parents and living so far away family. Paul and I were able to go out without the baby for the first time. And, wow, all the people around to help care for Baby A! We found great pleasure in seeing our family interact and love on Baby A. WE MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!

There are way too many pictures to post here, and I've started posting our pictures and videos on one of our previous sites. I find it so much easier to use and there is a very simple way for viewers to see pics, watch videos and comment. If you're interested, check it out here!

A quick run down on Baby A's summer:

* flown on an airplane several times & travelled to NY, CA, OK, TX (he is an incredibly easy baby to travel with, thank you God!)

* lost his spiky hair somewhere around 6 months old :(

That spiky hair is all natural and is, sadly, gone.

* took a boat ride on Lake Tahoe

* went swimming in a couple different pools with his cousins

* was dedicated to the Lord in June. (Family, we wish you could have been with us that day! The video is about 6 minutes long, and you'll need to turn up your volume. Just remember to turn it back down when you're done :)

Pastor Don Horban at our home church, Cedarview Community Church.

* started eating solid foods and has quite the appetite!

* with daddy teaching him about the "claw" and the "antlers," Baby A cheered at his first Texas Rangers game when they played the Toronto Blue Jays

* cut both his bottom teeth and is now working on the two top ones

Can you see them?

We LOVE that Baby A loves to smile. It's contagious!

I suppose we could say these were some of the highlights of our summer. Lots of delightful memories to think back on. Fall has been wonderful, too, with its sunshine autumn weather and beautifully colored leaves. We take advantage of these days with leisurely strolls around the neighborhood and through the parks. Winter, with its chill and snow, is lurking around the corner and this California girl is bracing herself. Paul keeps telling me he'd like to see me purchase a knee-length puffy jacket. He jokes the warmer I am, the less I complain about the cold and the fact that he's dragged me from my California sun! Ha! :) I will survive.

Thankful for you & praying for extra blessings as the year winds down to the next.

Love,

the franks tribe

Standing, Splashing & Noise-Making

So today was a pretty laid-back Friday. Daddy got to take care of Baby A while I went out shopping, then we all hung out & relaxed. Baby A showed us a couple of new skills today. First, while we've known he's growing in strength, we didn't realize how strong he already is. This boy has been "standing"! He can't balance just yet, but he sure can support his own weight!

Also, he has been kicking around in his bathtub for a while now, but today he was really showing off his splashing skills! Good thing Mommy covered up Daddy's coffee grinder & coffee maker! You can see the short video on our family photo site.

Finally, we had some fun making noises!

He makes us smile :)

4 Months Old & Mother's Day

Baby A is 4 months old today or he's 17 weeks & 1 day old. I'm still not sure which date to use. If anyone has an opinion on this, please feel free to comment :)

I was just talking with Paul today about how it feels like so long ago we excitedly (and somewhat naively) brought this sweet, tiny little person into our home. This small, delicate boy, snuggled into a brand new carseat, driven through the winter snow & chilly air, was welcomed into a warm house by two curious corgis & Grammy & Grandpa Franks. The fatigue of labor & the exhilaration of delivery was followed by our world being turned upside-down during those first few weeks. We laugh now at our insanity due to the lack of sleep (thankful for Paul's parents' help!), fumbling through diaper-changing a newly circumcised boy, and ourselves baffled at the different types of cries used to communicate with us. Just from these first few weeks, I know I'll never be able to repay my mom for all of the love & care she gave to me :)

On this first Mother's Day, I cherish the memories already. I remember how Baby A's entire body curled up to fit softly & perfectly across my chest when we cuddled & fell asleep on the couch; the tired tears & joy of nursing him a gazillion times each day; and staring into those beautiful eyes, wondering what he'll see in his lifetime and praying God's blessings over his life. Even at 8 lbs at birth, he still was so little to me. What a precious gift he is to us.

(1 day old; 7 weeks old; 9 weeks old; 12 weeks old)

Our little guy is 4 months old now, weighed in at 18 lbs. 5 oz at his well-baby doctor visit this past Tuesday, and he's over 26.3 inches long. Doc measured his head & it's not as big as we thought it was; it's just the right size (LOL!). He sits well in his Bumbo & holds his head up quite steadily. His hair still spikes up like a peacock's tail feathers. He's alert & growing more & more in awareness of his surroundings. With consistent sleep training & a great temperment, he's a sleep champ- naps well throughout the day, sleeps at least 8 hours each night (praise the Lord!), and wakes with smiles and coos in the mornings. And he loves to talk & play with dad & mom. His bedtime routine includes a story from dad & lullabies from mom- it's our favorite part of the day with him.

(4 months old)

What a pleasure & privilege it is to be a mom, especially Baby A's mom. I think of how much I love him; how I'd do anything for him- and immediately, I think of how the Lord loves us. How deep, how far, how wide is the love of Christ. The amount of love I feel and have for my son is just a taste of the love God has for us. I know this now in such a new way.

Happy Mother's Day, mommies!

The Tickle Monster & The Giggles

This will make you giggle :)

Baby A & Cousin J- March 30, 2010

The Edited Version

If the sound doesn't match the picture, try the one below.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing