Frances Goes On The Road

Frances, my mom (meme), and I took a girls trip over to Oxford, MS for the weekend to visit Aunt Sage and Uncle Jack.  We had such a fun trip, and Frances did great traveling.  She slept the entire way there, slept well in the pack-n-play at night, and slept most of the way home.  It was good practice for her beach trips coming up this summer.

Sage, Frances, and I (and Ginger!) stayed in bed until about 11 Saturday morning- it was awesome!  Then we took Frances out for some shopping around Oxford and went to out to eat that night.  Wish it could have been a longer trip, and by the looks of all the "stuff" we packed you would have thought we were staying for a month!

Bad camera angle...Please excuse they way Sage and I look here!  

Can't wait for our next visit back to Oxford- I guess next time we will take Daddy!

Just Good Stuff

 7 pounds 5 ounces of pure goodness:

Update and Fun Stuff!

We went for a check-up with the cardiologist this morning.  I was really glad to be going because I have been a little concerned about Frances' eating the past week.  Her weight gain is "ok"- not great but not bad either.  Frances is starting to show some of the signs of congestive heart failure-  all of which is expected, but there has always been that part of me that hoped we wouldn't see it.  She is showing some retraction in her chest when she breathes, her heart has enlarged some, and she is retaining some fluid in her lungs.  She will now be taking Lasix twice daily to help eliminate some of the fluid and hopefully help with her feeding too.  All that being said, overall Frances is doing great- we just have to deal with these things as they come.  

Frances had another play date with her best friend, Eleanor last Friday.  We went to lunch, shopped around, and "played" at the park.  How cute are these girls?!

Frances and Eleanor enjoying lunch. 

Best friends forever! 

We went back to Railroad Park over the weekend....it was so hot!  Carolyn and the girls met us down there to play and see our friend John do some drumming. 

Lyndy loves pushing Frances in the stroller. Will and Bella are up ahead.

Kat on the see-saw. 

Kat having fun in the swing. 

 We have Monday night dinner at my parents' house each week....here is a little glimpse into last night's post dinner entertainment.  Lyndy is quite the Hannah Montana fan these days and Will was a great sport for participating in the fun!

Happy Days!

We have been busy and playing hard the past few days....take a look at what we have been up to:

A trip to railroad park.  Bella had a great time making new doggy friends!

Hanging by the pool at MeMe and Grumps.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

 And best of all, Daddy's birthday!

Hard at Work

All that eating is paying off- Frances weighed in at 6 lbs 15.5 ounces when we went to the pediatrician this week.  He says she looks fantastic and is gaining weight exactly as she should be now.  Check out this full belly after eating:

Did she swallow a bowling ball?

Frances had her first day of therapy at The Bell Center on Thursday!  She did great- working almost the full 50 minute session with only one little break.  Frances is so active and alert- it is awesome to watch her taking in the world around her!  She is doing so well with her head control and is starting to track with her eyes more too.

Working hard at therapy!

Here's a little look into what Frances likes to do at home.  And we really need to compliment Bella- she has been such a good big sister to Frances!

And just for a little extra entertainment, this is what we had going on in the backyard this weekend.  For years I have cut Will's hair, but apparently I lost that job to Grump yesterday.  Bummer.

Happy 1 Month Birthday!

We can't believe that 1 month has already gone by!  

Frances celebrated her big day by having her evaluation at The Bell Center.  She will start going to therapy this Thursday, and will go one day per week...now if I can just figure out a way to sneak her into work with me everyday when I go back!  Of course, she performed exceptionally well for the evaluation:)

Frances, we love you so much and are so thankful that God chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy!

Photos by Beth Hontzas

A friend and very talented photographer, Beth Hontzas, came over last week to take pictures of Frances.  As you can see, Beth did an awesome job- call her next time you need pictures!

Beth Hontzas Photography

www.bethhontzas.com

bethhontzas.blogspot.com

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What We've Been Doing Lately

Playtime with Daddy

 Thankfully no doctor visits this week!  Frances is doing great in all areas- her body temperature is no longer an issue and she eats well at each feeding (per my calculations, she is probably gaining 0.5 oz per day, but Im no math genius).  For the first two weeks Frances never really showed us she was hungry- we had to wake her up and make her eat, but she definitely lets us know now!  She is a wonderful sleeper so far (someone knock on wood quick!).  For the past 5-6 nights, Frances has slept from 10:30pm to 5am.  She is eating so much more during the daytime now and I think its because she is getting more restful sleep at night. 

Tummy time isn't so bad!

My preferred toys- giraffe and pumpkin rattle

So right now our days are filled with eating, sleeping, swinging, tummy time, playtime under the activity mat, and walking in the stroller.  Frances seems to really enjoy being outside and we are taking advantage of the weather by going on walks every day....y'all know it won't be too long before we have her in that jogging stroller!

On Tuesday, we had the home visit with our social worker for our home study (part of the adoption process).  Our social worker's name is also Frances is she has been wonderful to work with.  That visit was one of the last steps in the process- now we just have our final court date in May to finalize everything!

Visiting with Grump

Yesterday, we had our first trip to the park with our friends Charlie, Amy, and Lydia.  It was Charlie's first time to swing and he LOVED it!  Frances chose to sleep the whole time- she says she has plenty of time to enjoy the park later.

Charlie loving the swing!

Charlie and Frances at the park