Half a year sum up.

It’s nearly July!  That means Stephen and Lisette are both a year older and Stephen and I celebrated our 7^th wedding anniversary.  That also means a lot occurred this month.  But I’ll give a summary of everything leading to this point…

January = a haze.  Honestly I don’t remember much about that month.  February: I (Lisl) began having a lot of pain in my hand (remember the story of spraining my finger back in August?) and it was causing pain in my left arm.  We battled with Lisette getting sick on and off again; her canines were cutting through all at once and it took over 2 months for them all to FINALLY poke through.  Franklin got an ear infection in March and he still talks about Daddy taking him to the doctor.

I had to finally address the issue with my arm and hand very seriously in March.  My visit to the Orthopedics office reunited me with a familiar face.  My very first roommates’ husband; Cole Bryce, who is now Dr. Cole Bryce!  

Dr. Bryce gave me a very painful, but happily accepted shot in the arm that helped with the pain while waiting 2 weeks for surgery on her sprained finger.  Surgery was quick and the anesthesia was just right.  Grandma April came for a few days to help and after she had to return to work our amazing ward jumped in to help me through the next month.  April felt long and slow and the constant wind didn’t/hasn’t helped.  Isn’t it March that’s supposed to be windy? 

Easter was very enjoyable and fun for the kids.  Our ward had a major egg hunt at the ball fields next to the Temple.  Then we had a huge (and very rewarding for the kids) hunt in our own backyard.  Earlier this Spring we decided to expand the fence for our back yard; so we more than doubled our yard from last year and had many places to put lots of candy-filled eggs.

May began with birthdays.  We tried our best to celebrate Stephen’s birthday as work had gotten busier for him.  We also took on a project for Lisette’s birthday which included building a back porch.  Stephen did just about all the work and the Elder’s came to help put the deck together.  I was very grateful since I’m not allowed to use my left hand as much.  

June has been crazy busy.  The heat came, and the wind still insisted on battling our mood.  The second weekend we went to Gilbert for a family gathering with the Randy Quinn clan.  Their youngest son, Trevor, was baptized.  Back in Christmas they had given us tickets to see Les Miserables that very same weekend.  So we left the kids still swimming in the pool (they were being watched, don’t worry) and went to see the most amazing show!  We’ve had Les Mis stuck (very happily) in our heads for weeks.

The next weekend was supposed to be Lisl’s 10 year high school reunion and the celebration of 7 years of marriage.  Alas, Stephen was on-call and because of many different factors coming to play, we decided not to go.  I was planning on seeing some old friends still, but a fire had been threatening the area.  

My parents’ neighborhood went on Pre-evacuation and just as we decided it was time to get out of the pool to pack, another fire began just west of us.  We were surrounded by smoke on 3 sides of us, with the helicopters and airplanes practically on top of us.  Officials were so busy with battling both fires that not a lot of communication was going on and we all felt the urge to evacuate immediately.  

So I never saw my friends, and as quickly as we could manage, we all got out of there; I took two of my mom’s cats to stay with us for a week.  My parents did go on mandatory evacuation 2 days later and a few days after that they were allowed to go back home.  

The following weekend (last weekend) my high school Show Band was having a reunion.  Coach (our director, we always called him Coach) had reached 40 years of directing Show Band.  So as many who could make it got together for reminiscing and putting together a concert.  I had no intention of playing, just singing.  I actually started crying when I found out I would get to sing I was so excited.  However, at the dinner on Friday night I was told that I should play and represent my years (I was a part of Show Band from fall of ’98 to spring of ’01) and ended up playing for both decades; the 90’s band and the 00’s band. 

It was so much fun and such a blast that I never wanted it to end.  Sorry to all my fellow Buena ’01 classmates that I ditched out on.  I hope you can forgive me and I hope to see you at our 20 year reunion and I truly hope it’ll be during something like Homecoming and nowhere near my anniversary.

p.s. Stephen and I didn’t get to celebrate much, so we are hoping to get a short vacation with just the two of us in the fall when Stephen isn’t so insanely busy.  And I’ll have to get back to you about how work is all going when it’s behind us and not at our throats.

Happy Birthday Franklin

My special guy is 3, and it seems like overnight he literally did grow up.  We started potty training last Monday.  By Wednesday afternoon he had gotten it down, and been accident free ever since.  After two days of frustration and I don't know how many underwear changes, he had proved to me that he was fully potty trained.  Makes me feel like super-mom (emphasis on "feel" I know I am not).  He has so much more to say in English now; seemed like with the potty training, he was ready to grow up, so he knew that meant speaking less Franklinese.  Don't worry, he'll talk your ear off in Franklinese.  He knows you all still love it.

We had a Reed-side bowling party for Franklin on July 31st.  He LOVED bowling, I already have a blog about that.  This is just part of the cakes from that party.  He loves anything Toy Story, and hopefully we'll be taking him the newest movie today for FHE.  We had intended to take him on our last trip to SV but it was gone.

On his birthday we had Danny and his family, Travis and his family, and Guy and his family come over for pizza and cake.  I had meant to make that cake look even more awesome since it wasn't cup cakes, but ran out of time.  Besides I used awesome recipes so they tasted great and didn't need frosting.  Franklin had so much fun, talking, and being the center of attention.  Believe it or not, Lisette was asleep through the whole thing. 

We had a long weekend; Lisette didn't sleep well at all, if any, Friday night.  We traveled to Sierra Vista to attend a funeral for Saturday; yes on Franklin's birthday.  It was beautiful and I'm so glad we went.  Clayton is an amazing person, and you know he's doing great things beyond this world.  He has such an amazing family too.  That whole family had been close to the Reeds long before I was born.  Our dad's went to med school together.  Their dad was the man that delivered Franklin 3 years ago.

Bittersweet

One thing I have learned from the movies "Julie & Julia" and "Motherhood" is that a blog doesn't have to be long, not even more than a paragraph, to make an entry.  Now having said that I will tell you that this blog won't be just one paragraph, but I'll try to shorten it.  Besides, shorter blogs might mean more entries.

Franklin will be turning 3 on Saturday!  I can't believe the time has gone by that quickly.  I remember, after pushing for 2 hours, the first thing he did was pee on my doctor.  When they handed him to me I was so tired, and so frustrated that it took so long that I didn't want to hold him; not till I had a breather.  Last Saturday we had a small party going bowling with Papa Reed, Heidi, Sam, Reyn and Tanyth.  Franklin LOVED bowling.  He caught on pretty quick that we all had a turn, and he was pretty good at waiting for his; most of the time.  He did not want to leave the bowling alley, but at least after 2 hours of being there, and with Grandpa Reed, he was able to leave with less crying than the day before when I went to reserve.

He's definitely becoming more his age.  Lots more English comes out of his mouth.  Just this morning, after putting Lisette down for a nap, he picks up a cat toy.  "Kitty's turn!  Kitty, where are you?  Where'd that kitty go?  Come here kitty!"  Of course Rizzo is the cat he's looking for, and his favorite place to nap is under Lisette's crib.  He's also potty training.  We are on official day 2 and he has told me 3 times now, before he has wet himself, that he needs to go.  I'm so thrilled, and I know that this isn't just a coincidence.  However, I'm not sure he's (aka: I'm) ready to tackle this when we're out and about.

You say: How can she know that he's got it?  Simple, Franklin has some obsessive compulsive behavior and has a particular way about things.  Doing routines with him is so easy and this would be one of them.  We've gone through several isolated mornings over the past 3 months that I tried and gave up.  I always had an excuse; running errands was the most common. 

Monsoons are over, pretty much.  I'm very sad about that.  I love rain and seems I can never have enough.  However, now that things are drying up, and the rain is no longer coming down, the "lakes" out front are drying up.  That mean no more screaming frogs!  I've had 3 nights of silence, and it has been bliss.  I realize that I took silence for granted.  I should say silence at night, when the kids are already sleeping.  I haven't taken silence for granted overall.  I'm a mom; lets be realistic.

When did that happen?!

(WARNING: since it’s been a month since my last post, this one is going to be long. Now you can’t say I didn’t warn you.)

We’ve had so much fun this last month, and there was so much going on! Stephen has definitely been busier than ever. We’ve been experiencing 100 degree heat and higher and summer has only just begun. On top of that his company is now down to 2 technicians instead of 4. One guy has a bad back, and too many injuries have caused him to finally stop doing this line of work. The other guy was let go suddenly, so that day was very interesting for Stephen and the other remaining employee who has only just begun taking calls on his own 3 months ago. So they’ve got Stephen and a newbie. All I can say is over-time, and it makes me believe I can learn to be more patient about his job.

One of my old roommates got married at the start of this month and we were invited to the sealing!! It was so great to be there, and my mom overnight babysat for us which made it all worry-free, kid-free for us. It also made me realize I need to do that more often, having overnight sitters. Natalie is so beautiful, and her dress!! You just have to see the pictures, she’s just so stunning, words can’t describe! I ran into her mom after, while she was waiting for Natalie to come back to the bride’s room. She thanked me for coming and I told her that I owe Natalie; after all she was my only roommate who was cheering me on from the start to go for Stephen.

I also have reached 100 sales with my on-line store, and it’s only been picking up faster since. I’ve recently added more styles to my inventory, and in celebration of reaching 100 sales I am giving away a “Bright Blue Tie” that I personally love. The way to win it is fan me on my facebook fan page and comment on my picture of the tie. On Friday at midnight I won’t be taking anymore entries and will announce a winner on Saturday (this is for any of you who may read this and haven’t been on my facebook page and want to enter). We’ve also changed things around a little at home to make my work station more organized and easier to see what I have made and ready to go.

Franklin has been so funny. Just on Monday I heard him say “Oh Man” and I couldn’t help but giggle. He’s definitely been paying attention to things we say, though he hasn’t been repeating it; yet. I’ve begun the whole “if you’re a good boy, and obedient, then you get a treat”. An almost sound like I’m training a dog, but since I started it there has been far less whining, and that was my goal. I have to keep snacks with me at all times now so I can stop the whining before it gets out of hand. Trips to the store, getting into his seat, opening his scriptures, putting a game or toy away, etc. has been far more pleasant. Threats just weren’t working anymore, and now I know that I can make a positive situation work with rewards.

Lisette is miss attitude already. What am I going to do when she reaches the phase that Franklin is at?! (Rhetorical question) At least she’s been letting us put her to bed when Franklin goes to bed, no more of this 10 p.m. or later nonsense. She definitely loves her brother to the point that she’s annoying him already. Because of that annoyance he’s been having episodes of not being very nice to her. She’s also very quick. Sometimes I just can’t keep up with her. I get distracted by Franklin or the cats doing something they shouldn’t and all of a sudden she’s practically falling into the bath tub (empty of course) reaching for the knobs, under a bed, in a closet, or if I left the gate down, on her way to the cat box.

She still stares down people she doesn’t know but she can sure smile, laugh, and play it all up around people she’s close and comfortable with. She’s a ham too, she knows when people are watching her, thinking she’s cute, and plays it up; little miss center of attention, what kind of monster are we creating?!

Lisette also LOVES the water. It’s another one of those bravery things. I’ve got to start her on swimming lessons as soon as humanly possible for her. Franklin I need to because he’s afraid of not having something under his feet, so he sat on the steps the whole time, but still in the water. Lisette was too funny, I’ll need to keep the camera close by next time, but she was leaning back in her floater thing, and kicking her feet so she started to travel. She thought it was so great! That’s my girl! She doesn’t like the feel of grass on her knees though, changing subjects.

My baby is 1!! However, unlike most parents, I was ready for her to be 1, and move to the next stage; walking! She's a brave little girl, oh my goodness. She loves to jump, and almost achieves air. Mostly she jumps on her bed while holding onto the rail, or similar situations. She still has yet to completely let go of things to stand on her own, but you can tell that she wants it very much. She's also starting to cut teeth again. Finally!! Back to her big day…

To tell the truth we had to big days if that makes sense. We had a party with the Reed’s in Sierra Vista the weekend before her birthday, and one the day before her birthday with the Quinn’s. Sierra Vista was busy, but so much fun. That Saturday morning we went to a little ranch with Heidi, Sam and their kids, of someone Sam works with. They have alpacas, goats, horses, chickens, dogs, and donkeys. Franklin really enjoyed himself there!! Oh boy did he throw a fit when it was time to go. That night we had a little picnic on my parents’ porch since it was too windy to go to the park. Lisette got a wagon for her birthday, and because Reyn (7 months older than Franklin) and Tanyth (6 weeks older than Lisette), Heidi and Sam’s kids, have one too, we all went for a walk after the party to take the kids for a ride. They loved it!! Franklin and Reyn rode in the green one while Tanyth and Lisette rode in her red one.

Then for the Quinn party we went to the local park to do a joint birthday party for Lisette and Bridger (Travis and Jamie’s little boy that is 2 days older than her). So much fun! I was allowed to make the cakes and I tell you it was an ALL day event. I used 8 cake mix boxes!! What was I thinking?! Well, it was worth it when I saw some people’s reactions to my fancier cakes. After all I do like to entertain and cook/bake. We stayed till it was getting a little too dark to stay any longer, but it was so much fun. Stephen could only be there for an hour and a half before he had to get back to work (on-call that week) but some friends came to our place afterward and we had an after party, I guess, till Stephen got home.

Whoa, this is a novel so I better end my stories here. Just know that it’s been an exciting month, and we’ve been so busy, and very happy. Enjoy the slide show!!!!

A little for now

Franklin is currently entertaining himself with Sesame Street, and Lisette is asleep, so this is my chance to write something. Not that they keep from it, but somehow I forget, and have been forgetting for a few weeks. We are doing well, just sad that its now December and no snow. Stephen has been kind of busy, but not the way we'd like. Franklin has been duking it out with his natural self, and his inner 2-year old thats been trying to take over. In short, a lot of unnecessary drama. Lisette adds a little to that too.

Franklin sings along with Elmo, and some of his other favorite shows. Sometimes he sings with me, or tells me not to. He tries to play with Lisette, so I'll be glad when the two of them can. Lisette is mad more often about not sitting up on her own. She has a problem though. She's fat, she's chunky, she's got multiple rolls on her legs, and though its really cute, and makes people smile, I think it hinders her being able to sit up on her own. She'll do it for a few seconds, but she's only 6 months so we're not worried. I'll have to post a picture of her chub, she's too cute for words.

We've been trying to get her to eat baby food, but that tongue of hers sure can launch things. I usually give up, after she and I both have cereal, peas, or sweet potatoes all over us. I'm trying to conquer with the spoon before I add in the sweet stuff that all babies love, however, I'm starting to rethink my strategy. She shows a lot of enthusiasm but its not fast enough for her. Franklin has been on an all grains diet. We've been tired of the fits and drama that we've decided to let him have cereal, breads and crackers for all of his meals. I try to add other things to it, or changing the flavors. But I decided when it 9 at night, and he's not falling asleep because he's still hungry, I no longer care how his stomach gets full as long as its full. I gave up about a week ago, and he's been sleeping better, and happier much more often, and less drama.

Ok, the past few weeks over view. My birthday was calm, and relaxing; what all moms need/want. Stephen met the kids demands, and let me relax a little at home. That evening we went to Greta's for dinner, games, and cake. It was so much fun! I really enjoyed it. On Tuesday night we dropped off the kids at Gretas, and we went on a date. Dinner ended up being very short, even though we had originally given ourselves 2 hours before the movie began.

Less than a mile from our place in Thanksgiving Point, and there is a MegaPlex movie theater. No lines, ever! You purchase your tickets in advance, and reserve your seats, so there's no need to wait in line forever to get tickets to something that could sell out, nor fighting to find good seats. Stephen bought our tickets to New Moon nearly a week in advance. New Moon was done so much better than Twilight. Apparently not all agree, so that's all I'm going to say. The audience was 85% girls, and 15% guys. There was one point where the guys (along with me) laughed first, then the girls. It was funny.

Well, there's all of a sudden a lot of drama, so I better end there. I'll do a review of Thanksgiving later.

So far behind

I realize its been quite a while since I made a family post. I promise I will get one soon. However, 10:30 at night, and on my birthday, isn't the best time to do it. Thank you all for your birthday wishes, on fb, emails, and phone calls. Thank you so much, and without any cheese, I honestly do feel very lucky to be loved, and remembered! It has been a very good Sunday, and a very Happy Birthday! Thank you

New Moon

Ok, so I've admitted it, I'm a Twilighter, along with some sisters, and sisters-in-law. This new preview just makes me more excited, heck, even Stephen wants to go see it. I have an awesome husband, and not just because he'll go to all the same movies I want to (its super easy to do that when you have the same tastes and interests).

Make your own Countdown Clocks

Of course if you add 48 more hours then it'll be my birthday. Can you guess what I want to do for my birthday this year?

Yes, the slide show will be my next post, I promise. I've just been doing lots of things on the computer lately that leaves me a little burnt out to be on it more than nessicary. I'll post another video of the kids; Lisette has a lot to say, its adorable. And I've been reading through The Host again when its nice and quiet around here. So does that make me a Hoster too?

August in pictures

We've had a busy month, and filled with lots of new memories. Just a little note to add about my previous blog. As I read Jami Haban's blog about her husbands' passing, I was crying intensely. Yes, I've known Kameron for 12 years, I've known Jami for 6 years, and they are both amazing people. As I was crying Franklin became very concerned, and wanted to help. After watching me cry for a while, and trying to divert my attention to him, he went into the kitchen, pulled out a wash cloth and brought it back to me to wipe my face. It was very touching and sweet.

Please check out all the new videos at the bottom of my blog, there are some great ones, and if you wanted to get to the photo album, click on the title of this post.

Lots of stuff in just a little time

We absolutely loved having everyone here that was able to come. My parents came on July 31st in the morning, so I went with the kids to pick them up. Franklin was so thrilled to see them, and talked the whole way. Lisette stayed pleased as long as she was eating; I love bottle feeding. We stopped at Wal-mart before we went home, and while there Lisette got upset. My mom picked her up, and to our horror, she had overfilled her diaper. Took some time in the family bathroom to clean up the mess, but after it all, she was very happy.

Stephens’ parents arrived August 1st after my nephews’, Boston, baptism. That night we had a little birthday bash for Franklin. My little boy is 2! We had Grandma and Grandpa Quinn, Grandma and Grandpa Reed, and Heidi, Sam, Reyn and Tanith. Tanith is 6 ½ weeks older than Lisette, and Reyn is 7 months older than Franklin. Franklin really liked having his cousins around.

Its so amazing to know Boston is already 8 years old. I remember the day he was born. I was 18 and had just graduated from high school. It’s so hard to believe he is 8 years old, the first born Reed grandchild, and has been baptized. It was beautiful! And I have to give a little shout out to his younger brother, Miles. He turns 7 on the 24th, and he sang at his brother’s baptism. It was a beautiful number by Miles!

Sunday went beautifully. Lisette is a very beautiful little girl, and was gorgeous in her white dress. It was a beautiful blessing. We met at my sister, Greta’s for lunch afterward. Thanks to all that came, and making it memorable for all there. Franklin loves riding around on his new tricycle, and we have definitely found the resolution for Lisette. She is back on her original formula, but with purified water. Our kids are wonderful, and lovable. We are grateful for them both, and love them very much.

I got seriously behind on blogging because I got sick immediately following having company over. I get bronchitis every year so it must have been that time again. This time, however, I also got a sinus infection with it. It was fun for others to listen to my voice; it was very deep and sultry. I went to the doctors’ and Franklin came in the exam room with me. He kept getting into the cupboard, and though I had been whispering all day so that I wouldn’t have to use my deep voice I finally had to get after him to stop. Well, he stopped, turned around, looked at me and started laughing. He liked mommy’s voice, thought it was really funny.

I still have my cough, and unfortunately my kids did get a little bit of a runny nose, but at least that was all they got. Lisette has been an incredible eater, we’re trying to keep up with her appetite, and Franklin has been a great eater lately too. Not always, but he’ll eat almost everything on his plate. I am finally putting my foot down for when he won’t eat it all, or at all, then he doesn’t get anything else to eat. I refuse to let my kid be a junk food/snack eater and not eating his meals. So far so good, I’m winning.

Sheila (my mother-in-law) gave me a box of apples along with all her wonderful goodies, and things that she gets through her amazing coupon skills. We can’t keep up with Fruit in this house, before it goes bad (due to my food allergy, and Franklin’s picky eating) so I peeled a whole bunch to make into pies and crisps to give to some neighbors, and my sister. Franklin had one of those nights he decided not to eat his dinner, so I wasn’t going to give in. He did however pick up a peeled apple and ate the whole thing himself. I was so impressed! And he didn’t have to go to bed without dinner that night, and I was happy about that. I was sure I was going to give in before bed and let him have something, but he made it easier.

Lisette is having nights that she can sleep about 5 or 6 hours straight, its great!! She’s still picky about wanting to be held, but its getting better. She might grow up loving or hating the oboe. Right now it’s the only classical music we own on cd, so we play that in her room at night, and she sleeps to it every night. I don’t mind if she wants to play oboe when she’s older, that would make me very happy!

We’re getting to know a few more people in our ward. Last Sunday we got a new bishop, and this Sunday they split the ward boundaries. Apparently we had over 300 people in our ward. There is a new building that’s almost completely and is in our neighborhood, apart from the chapel we already meet in. We have 2 growing developments in the area. We’re also getting to know our neighbors a little more. Turns out the ones that live across the hall were from Tucson, so he knew about Thatcher and Sierra Vista. His dad owns most of the Peter Piper Pizza’s in Arizona.

I promise to get a slide show up soon of this month, events and visitors. Franklin is up from his nap, and that means Lisette will be soon too. Hope you are all doing well, and sorry this was a long blog. I didn’t feel like writing a whole bunch of blogs in sequence or some stuff might get missed. And to all you Reed’s out there, the reunion is on. I’ll write a blog on the family site really soon.

2 years of Franklin

Before you realize that you’re not quite caught up with the time flying by, reality takes a check. Franklin turned 2 on Friday the 7th. Of course it was only 2 years ago he was born, but I remember it vividly. Franklin was born 11 days early and after 6 hours of being in the hospital, 2 of those hours spent on pushing alone, he was born at 4:58 p.m. 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 19 ¼” long. He has been the perfect child; easy to please, and highly entertaining all on his own.

Of course I now realize that birthday’s are more for mothers for the early birthdays than for the children. We had family here for Lisettes’ blessing so the night before we did a little birthday celebration. He loved being the center of attention with both sets of grandparents, and Heidi and her family there.

Franklin is a very intelligent boy, and extremely lovable. He has been stealing hearts left and right since the day he was born. It’s amazing how easy it is to love him, and he is addictive to be around. He understands so much that we tell/ask him, and he has very many words he knows. However, he still only wants to speak his language; it adds to his ability to steal your heart. He is so animated when he talks, and has great inflection to his voice and many expressions in his face.

We love our son, and are so grateful for the love and joy he brings to our life, and to everyone who knows him. Enjoy these photos of 2 years of Franklin!

A Family of Four

So we are still grasping the reality that we are parents of 2 kids; two wonderful children. I will say that Franklin has been putting on the dramatics very heavily lately (terrible two's), and Lisette has proven to be a very easy, wonderful baby (just as Franklin was). Franklin’s episodes have everything to do with him not getting everything his way. He sure was spoiled with Grandma Reed here!

We loved having my mom here, especially Franklin. He wanted to do everything she did, be where she was, sleep next to her, eat what she ate; I think you’re getting the idea. He has been adding more words to his vocabulary, and has been utterly fascinated with his sister. He’s been very good with her, and wants to help, even if it’s not needed. We’re very happy that there haven’t been any accidents, and so far no one has been hurt (I should say no one has been hurt with the new addition, I’ll explain my injury later).

Lisette was kept in the Special Care Nursery for 48 hours. Luckily my insurance allowed me to stay that long as well so I could stay in the hospital with her. I was blown away by how great the whole experience was. When we arrived at the hospital, at 1:30 a.m. May 27th, we were nervous we were going to be sent back home. Luckily the staff was very busy that time, so by the time they were going to discharge me, they did one more check, and discovered I had dilated more. When the anesthesiologist came in I jokingly asked if he was going to be my best friend, and he was. After my experience with this epidural I realize that my epidural with Franklin was nothing, a joke! It might as well have been natural child birth.

Back to my story . . . A few hours later they gave me pitosin to speed it up a little (had the same thing with Franklin). Then at 11:20 I could start pushing, and she was here at 11:23 a.m. With Franklin I had to push for 2 hours. I couldn’t believe how easy it was with Lisette! It was amazing! The nurses were great, and my doctor was wonderful; that surprised me as well.

My mom arrived the night we got to take Lisette home. We had intended for her to be able to sleep in Franklin’s room. There were a few nights, and mornings, that Franklin would get out of his bed and crawl into bed with my mom. With her help we were able to sleep more at night, and I was able to take naps during the day; huge help!! Last Sunday I woke up feeling very weak, and feverish. We took me over to the ER and I was diagnosed with a Uterine Infection. Not cool, and I still don’t understand how I keep getting infections!

All last week we had Art City Days; or you could say Springville’s founders’ days/week. We didn’t participate in everything we had originally planned, but we did watch the Hot Air Balloon fest, and went to the carnival Saturday afternoon. Franklin’s first ride was cut very short; he started bawling when it began, only because he was on the ride by himself. Then he got on the carousel with Stephen, but was still too nervous from his previous experience to fully enjoy himself. Stephen and I used the rest of the tickets (didn’t get too many because the rain was threatening to fall) to ride The Zipper. It was fun until we were getting off, and I hit my elbow on the latch. Looked down after we had walked away and noticed I split my skin open in a nice, deep gash. Yeah, still hurts, can’t bend my elbow all the way, and very happy for the invention of liquid bandaides.

Now my mom is back in Arizona, and we are sad she has gone, but very grateful for her help, and the time she spent with us. Don’t forget to look at the new slide show in my previous post for what we’ve been up to over the last 17 days. Yes, Lisette is 17 days old today, June 14th, and has already gained a pound since she was born, and an inch. She’s the size of the average new born, and my original due date is still a week and a half away. And just as a side note, this Thursday Stephen and I will have been married for 5 years!

May in pictures

A Happy Birthday and some catching up

I am now 26, and Stephen made sure it was a wonderful day for me. Franklin wasn't so helpful with not getting enough sleep at night, and not taking his nap the way he should. Some plans were changed, or adjusted due to Franklin's needs. We still enjoyed ourselves, and ended up having cake the day after. We were just too tired to have cake that night. Whitney so lovingly called us "old people" since we went to bed instead. Don't worry, I laughed, and I know I'm not old. So interesting how to an 8 year old that 20 is old. Now my definition of old has changed, and its not dictated by age.

Things have been crazy this month so far. Stephen has been on call every other week since before Halloween, and has worked every weekend (except last weekend, or I would have called his boss and complained) since mid-October. Unfortunately he is on-call this week, but we cross our fingers that he won't get called out on Thanksgiving. Stephen had also been working late into the day, sometimes evening, and since I haven't been feeling well I haven't had the desire to blog.

Franklin is walking, and is extremely proud of it. He started walking 3 weeks ago, and wants to do it all the time. Because he's been months of walking across furniture, and reaching many things, some of which he shouldn't, we baby-proofed months ago. He's not getting into things that he shouldn't any more often than before. Overall its been easier for me since he began walking since he's over 26 lbs. At his last appointment he was measured at 32 1/4" and 26 lbs. 1 oz. (he's lost a little bit of weight since he's been walking so much) and that makes him 81% for height, and 76% for weight. I don't know if you can imagine our happiness at knowing he's going to be taller than us.

Franklin is extremely chatty. It's official, he calls Rizzo "Izz izz" and of course he says Da da, and when he's upset he calls for "mommom". He has his own version of bye bye, and hello, and he waves for both. He also puts the phone to his head (not always on his ear, but close) and talks. I just wish I could get him to do that with someone on the other side of the line. He loves to give kisses, most of which are very slobbery. He's almost always ready and willing to give a kiss to anyone that gestures for him, or asks. I love watching him understand, and learn about things. He doesn't always respond when I know he understands. He just loves to do things his way, at his pace.

If he hears water running for a bath or shower he absolutely has to have part in it. Its rare I take a shower alone, if I refuse to let him in he will shout, and cry till he gets his way. Don't get the wrong idea, we don't always let him get what he wants, we refuse to be ruled by him. He's also been a picky eater. Its not always hard to get him to eat certain things, especially if we're eating it too, but I can't always eat what he does, espcially since I have been sick. I'll try to do my best not to wait too long till I blog again. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We wish so much to have family and friends over to eat with us, since this is our 3rd year in a row we'll be having the feast by ourselves. Hope you are all well!

A good week, and a happy birthday!

We absolutely love it here in Springville!! The weather is perfect (but will continue to get hotter - is that a word?) so come visit us!! You'll fall in love with the area as well. We've also decided to stay in our apartment. Things are perfect and quiet, however Franklin breaks the silence. He has a lot to say lately, though I don't understand a sound of it. We can tell when he's mad, when he's happy, when he's tired, and when he's pooping (he's got quite the grunt and red face -PE face- to go with it) but that's all we need to know. He's also a very good crawler now, though I think he still prefers the combat crawl. We have fun getting him to follow us from room to room. He also loves doors, and hitting walls, and drumming in his crib when he wakes up. I can't help but think we've got a percussionist in the making here.

For Stephen's birthday (May 4th) we went to McGrath's Fish House the day before. When they brought our drinks I asked if they did anything embarrassing for birthdays. After dinner they brought this rediculous hat. Stephen had to hold it up, they called it a "One size fits none."

We also went to the park before dinner. It was Franklin's first time on a swing. The park around the block doesn't have any swings, not sure why. But we discovered this other park by accident last Sunday. Franklin enjoyed himself.

On Sunday we had Whitney and Blain over to play games for Stephen's actual birthday. I haven't laughed that hard in years! Thanks for making it a fun and special day for us. I'm not sure who had more fun; Stephen, Rizzo or me. I'd probably say me, but I think everyone else got a bigger laugh from me.

On Monday we took Franklin to Holladay (Salt Lake City). For weeks I saw this ad saying "Do you have the world's cutest baby? Come audition" So finally I called and we set up for him to come in on Monday. What a disappointment. It turned out it was a talent agency. They all thought that Franklin was the cutest baby, and they want us to sign him up for all sorts of things. The guy we interviewed with gave us this long speech about cute babies and people who think they have cute babies but really don't. What a jerk! He adored Franklin, and was surprised at how heavy he really is. He was sure a good salesman though, and making us feel really good about how great Franklin is. Then he said that we'd have to pay $1000.00 (not all up front) to get him a portfolio and into the business.

I talked to Christian later that night and he told me that they ran into something similar. Never sign up for anything if you have to pay a penny! Stephen mentioned that every so often on Craigslist there are photographers that need to get a portfolio so they'll take your photos for free. We might look into that.

On a side note, I haven't forgotten about the Reed Reunion. I promise that next month I WILL have all the surveys out. The only addresses I lack are from everyone in the Swider family. I'll get 'em somehow! Have a great week everyone, and Happy May!!