Franklin's turn

Franklin has his own language and little interactions that are comical and cute. His version of "Uh-oh" is more like a child immitating a monkey, very short and abrupt. I'll have to record him some time. His laugh is hystarical that you can't help but laugh as well. I love tickle fests and so does he.

He is even more interested in his tongue than he has ever been; licking all sorts of things. Of course I keep it in moderation, but I also know the day will come when he'll lick, or eat something that no human should, and I won't know about it as it happens. I figure I might as well get a laugh out of it before it turns gross. He licks our desk a lot, I'm not sure why. When he gives me a kiss it usually turns into a licking, so I make double sure that my lips are tight, afterall I'm not sure what's been in his mouth sometimes.

He's also addicted to things that he probably shouldn't have yet, but he's safe, and it doesn't hurt him; popcorn (as I have mentioned before) and soda. I love the burps he gets. There is always one down side to the soda; he loves it way too much, and will throw a fit if you take it away from him before he's done. Obviously I know that it's not exactly good for him so I don't let him have much. His protests don't last very long anyway.

He's very curious, smart and helpful. His curiousity has brought him to crawl and climb on all sorts of things. We have learned that his little couch cannot be next to the coffee table anymore. He LOVES being on that table, and has fallen off of it twice, hence the end of allowing any sort of climbing aide near it. You can watch him figure things out carefully. I have a basket that he loves to play with, putting things in it, taking them out, and even putting the lid on right. He likes to help put things "away" more like put them in places. Of course his helping turns into another sort of mess.

He pushed the step stool over to me while I was at the sink (he uses it like a walker) and climbed up. So I pulled him up closer, and he helped me "clean" the bottles. He kept throwing them from sink to sink, and sometimes on the floor. I'm glad that he's watching me enough to know that what I do sometimes has a purpose. I did record him helping me, but our camera battery is currently dead, so hopefully I'll have that video next week, remember to scroll to the bottom to see our videos.

He's been standing all alone more and more often lately. He's even taken a few steps unassisted, and without his invincable boots. I just hope that he keeps trying so that he'll be eager to walk on Halloween. Sometimes on walks I stop and let him take some steps, but only on my lesurely walks, because he'll get frustrated sometimes and I have to put him back in his stroller. I love going on walks up here. It's still a little too warm for my liking, but the mountains are red, orage and yellow. The trees across the street from us have turned, and have fallen leaves. I'll have to share the pictures that we take this weekend: we are planning on going into Hobble Creek Canyon and getting some family pictures.

Just us adults

This last Friday Stephen and I had some friends over for a "How to Host a Murder" party. Whitney helped me prepare a lot for it, which was a huge help since I usually have no one helping, and I typically have 2 weeks to prepare. I had less than a week, and at the last second I was one couple short. I'm so grateful for Kyle Lauritzen coming to my rescue and was the guy. I ended up becoming two characters which ended up being harder than it already sounds because the two women characters had beef about the other, so obviously I knew stuff that I shouldn't but also ended up not sharing with the rest of the group because how does one accuse one-self; I was already looking crazy. That's why I announced at the beginning that I was going to schizophrenic.

It ended up being a blast, and lasting very late! I started it late because I wanted Franklin to be asleep before we began but he must have caught on that something was up because he refused to go to sleep till after 9:00. It was crazy trying to get someone to fill in last minute, but Kyle was great, and it was great to see him again. I don't think we've seen each other since EAC graduation 2005.

So explain my title I came to a realization that all I ever post about is Franklin. Just the other day my VT was over and as we got into deep discussion (I completely admire her, BTW) I remembered something I promised myself before Franklin was born. Stephen and I went through so much heartache and hurt before Franklin came that I was determined to always remember that no matter who you are, what you do, say, or look like, there will be something about you (say, do, etc) that may hurt someones feelings. 98% of the things we end up hurting someone about we will never know, and therefore you must realize, especially if you've been hurt, that it is ENTIRELY unintentional.

In that time we couldn't conceive the littlest things would hurt me deeply, and when a person hurts, that person starts seeing it EVERYWHERE which makes it worse. Franklin has been a miracle more than any of you will ever know, or understand. Most of the pain went away, only because I promised that I would always remember what it was like, and do my best to be there for others through their pain. Just as an individual has a trial in their life to learn a lesson, they should do well to never forget that trial so that their lesson will always be remembered, and they may be able to help another for that very reason.

I've learned something important this past year that we have lived here (that's right, on October 6th it will be exactly a year since we moved here). People talk about what it most important in life, and the answers vary greatly. But there is one important thing that every being must have, and it does not matter what nationality, religion, political standing, age, gender, or any other differences you may have, and that one thing is a friend. The friendships that we make in life, and most importantly the friendships that we keep throughout all trials, will always make us feel loved, important and needed.

I know, some of you may say family, but think about it: true, you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends. Yes, you'll always have family a letter, email, or phone call away no matter where you go, but friends aren't always as easy to keep or stay in close contact with. But the greatest thing to remember that if you're friends with your family then that's a treasure in itself. Stephen and I were first best friends, and as long as we always have that then nothing can take us apart.

I have a best friend, Janiel, and though we are both extremely sad to be so far apart, we continue to remain best friends. Some of my best friends I consider family, and thank goodness my sisters are also my best friends. I am also grateful that we have been able to make friends here in our very own neighborhood. Yes, I love Franklin, and he means so much to me, and yes, he is my life, but I have not forgotten the pain and heartache we went through before he came. I am grateful that I was able to keep such great friends during that time, though I will always regret that wasn't as a great a friend in return. Now I know that Franklin does steal the show, so I will write a separate blog to talk about what he's been up to.

We are still working on getting Franklin to walk on his own. He still lacks the self confidence, however my brother sent Franklin a pair of shoes that his son, Ian, wore, and loved. Ian was fearess, and invincable in those shoes. It must be the shoes because Once I got them on properly Franklin wanted to walk all over the place. Yes, he was still holding a finger, but he wasn't using me for support. My finger was below his shoulders, and in a way he was pulling me along because he wanted to walk further ahead of me. Christian, thanks for the shoes!!





We have been getting these coupons to go to Sears Portrait Studio and finally I saw a deal that I didn't want to miss. Last week I made the appointment for Monday, and was very eager to get professional pictures of just Franklin. Monday morning Franklin woke up with a runny nose, go figure. We believe its just teething, but still it put a damper on things. He was tired all morning. So he took an extra nap in the morning, and after that nap he lounged around watching "Play with me Sesame" his favorite show. Then he took a late nap in the afternoon. Stephen had sometime between appointments to come with us to the studio. We allowed Franklin to sleep right up until we had to go. Bad idea. He was cranky and crabby the whole time. We've rescheduled for Friday so we'll see how that goes.

On Friday last week Franklin woke up in the middle of the night; it was close to the 2 o'clock hour. We don't turn on his monitor anymore, and haven't for a few months. However I heard him, and instantly had the thought that Stephen should go check on him instead of me. Stephen is impossible to wake so I gave up and went in myself. He had been crying so much, and so hard that it took a little while to calm him down, but I continued to rock with him, and I sang to him (once I did he stopped crying entirely). I realized he was awake enough that I couldn't just put him back in his crib without him crying so he needed a bottle, however I couldn't take him out of his room or that would wake him even more; he's just like his mother. I went and got Stephen, making him get up so that he'd get the bottle. He didn't actually hear me say bottle so he came in the nursery to ask what I wanted.

Franklin saw his daddy and from that moment on he wouldn't stop crying till Stephen came back in the room. Here I spent 30 minutes with him, comforting, and calming him, and the instant he sees his dad it all meant nothing to him. That broke my heart, and I couldn't go back to sleep once we put him back down. Stephen stayed up with me for a little while listening to me. Finally we were able to both go back to sleep, but all Saturday I was still heartbroken. Franklin is such a daddy's boy!

To suffice till I write my next blog

1. Where is your cell phone? on the desk

2. Your significant other? In Orem on his last call for the day, it better be

3. Your hair? Still air drying, let down, curly with a head band/ribbon thingie

4. Your mother? if you're asking where, she's in Sierra Vista, AZ either in her classroom, or at home, I need to give her a call anyway

5. Your father? My bet is that he's still at his office making some calls. (In S.V. AZ)

6. Your favorite thing? jiggling Franklins chin when he's making a noise, it sounds hilarious!!

7. Your dream last night? I don't remember all the details but I know my friend Jessica Tilton was in it, and it was raining outside so it was a little dark.

8. Your favorite drink? Pibb, and lucky me it is sold EVERY WHERE in Utah! It was impossible to find in AZ. Aside from that, water.

9. Your dream/goal? to get to the weight I was when Stephen and I got married

10. The room you’re in? living room

11. Your hobby? if a hobby is something you do in your own time, then it's cooking a cleaning. Otherwise I love baths and reading.

12. Your fear? not going to share, sorry

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? In our own home but here in Springville still.

14. What you’re not? a guy, I'm definitely not a guy

15. Muffins? Bran with Chocolate Chips. Oh so yummy and great to help regulate

16. One of your wish list items? a fuel efficient Large car or small SUV

17. Where you grew up? I'll say Sierra Vista since that's where I lived the longest even though most of childhood was spent in several different places.

18. The last thing you did? put different clothes on Franklin

19. What are you wearing? A blouse with a lace-ish tank underneath, and capris

20. Favorite gadget? probably our camera, it's cool discovering the different things it does, and it's way smaller than our last one

21. Your pets? Osgood a.k.a. Fatty, and Rizzo or Franklin calls him Izzzisszz

22. Your computer? needs to be replaced

23.Your mood? I have a head ache

24. Missing someone? Inga and Janiel.

25.Your car? A Toyota Tundra. I love it, but it's our only vehicle, so I stay home a lot just to save our gas

26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes. I love not having my warts anymore, so I don't have to wear my slippers all the time anymore

27. Favorite store? Sam's Club

28. Like someone? Stephen, of course I love him, but it's still good to like him too.

29. Your favorite color? red, if you want to be specific, auburn. Fortunately for me I wear it everyday!

30. When is the last time you laughed? earlier today. Franklin frustrated me at the photo studio, so I'm still a little upset that it didn't work out. Luckily they allowed us to reschedule. Next time it'll be later in the day so he won't have just got up from a nap.

31.Last time you cried? About a week ago Franklin didn't want me, he wanted Stephen and it broke my heart. I won't go into details now

I tag no one. Do it if you want, or don't.