On The Mend

The past 2 weeks have been rough at the McCalley house, but we are finally in recovery mode.  After Frances' trip to the ER, being sick all week for her birthday, then the marathon, we thought we were headed for a restful week....but she had other ideas.  Poor Frances ended up with pneumonia and was really sick- thank goodness we never had to go back to the hospital though.  She is finally starting to act like herself and is sleeping and eating like a champ again- which makes us all happy!

A sick little Valentines love bug:(

Not something we see from Frances very often!

We spent many long nights doing this- thank goodness for Praise Baby on the iPhone!

We started the week off today with a visit from Christy, who is Frances' Early Intervention therapist that comes to the house.  We love her!  Frances had an awesome session, and was really showing off her sitting skills.  Christy brought us this cool table/tray for Frances to sit at and play, and Frances is loving it!

I love my new table!

Feeling so much better!

I'm getting really good at sitting up!

My all time favorite Frances pic- Valentines Day 2011! 

A Birthday Marathon

A trip to the ER, lots of birthday celebrations, topped off with a marathon....that's what our week looked like!  We can't believe a year has gone by since Frances was born.  This year has been filled with the greatest experiences of our lives and each morning when we see Frances' smile, we are reminded of God's perfect plan.  Although birthday week didn't go quite as we had planned, it all ended up just right.  It was so special to be able to celebrate all week with our friends and families (of course we missed the Nichols clan). We can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us! 

So, the week started out with Frances getting sick and us going to the ER on the eve of her birthday.  Thank goodness we got to go back home that night- she has bronchiolitis and has had a rough week, but is starting to feel better now.  She had to miss her party at school, but we had lots of other celebrations to make up for it.  Cake seemed to be the one thing all week that made her perk up, and she seems to love icing (just like her mama!).  As you can see in the pictures, this girl is not scared to get dirty!

Bella was so sweet taking care of Frances.

We finished the weekend up with The Bell Center kid's run on Saturday and then the big marathon Sunday.  Will decided to be my cheerleader for the race, since he has been nursing an injury, and he did an awesome job!  Meme and Grump had Frances at the finish, and thanks to Grump's unmistakable whistle I was able to spot them....so I decided to grab Frances and take her with me across the finish line.  This was by far the best I have ever felt running a marathon, and I know it was because I was running for Frances!

First cake of the week!

I think she likes it!

Another night of celebrating!

Birthday girls and more cake.

And the big party!

Here comes the cake!

Time to get cleaned up!

Frances' first race.

Finishing the marathon with mommy!

A trip to the zoo and more....

Working hard at The Bell Center!

It has been another fun-filled week with Frances.  Daddy got to come to therapy at The Bell Center with her on Thursday.  Frances does circle time at therapy now, and she LOVES it.  We also got to go to a fun birthday party for one of her friends who turned 1.....Frances was taking notes!  We finished off the week with a trip to the zoo after church today.  Frances got really excited about the big animals when we got close to them- especially the long-haired hogs.  She carried on quite an entertaining conversation with them.  I have mentioned lately that we are hoping Frances will be sitting up by her birthday- and she is on a roll.  She can do it for about a minute at a time!

Reading before bedtime with Daddy.

Frances loves reading books.

Look at me sitting up!

Uh oh:)

Fun at the zoo!

Frances' favorite animals at the zoo.

Just Being Frances

Not too much to report on around here....Frances was sick last weekend and part of the week, so we have been laying low.  Frances seems to do something new everyday and she continues to constantly make us laugh.  We are working really hard towards sitting up by her birthday, and she is getting close!  Here is a little peek into what she has been up to:

Playing a fun new game:

Drinking from a straw:

Eating scrambled eggs and pancakes!

Singing In The Tub

This girl LOVES to take a bath!

Christmas & New Years in Oxford

We had an awesome weekend in Oxford celebrating New Years and Christmas with the entire family.  It was really special to have everyone together for the first time since the triplets were born! 

Warning: Lots of cuteness in these pictures!

Lyndy and Kat opening more presents.

Frances was really excited to get her kitchen!

This is fun stuff!

Exploring her new puzzle.

Grump opening all his treasures from the grandchildren.

Kat teaching Frances how to stack the blocks.

New Years festivities sure do change with all these babies around....early to bed for everyone!

Morning playtime with the triplets!

Good morning, Anna:)

Anna, Irene, & Brooks working on tummy time.

Tummy time turned into sleeping time.

The girls love talking to each other.

All the cousins together for the first time!

A Christmas We Will Always Remember

Waking up to Frances' voice on Christmas morning was a feeling that just can't be put into words.  Its still hard for us to believe that this time last year we were anxiously preparing and waiting for her arrival- in fact most of the Christmas gifts were nursery furniture.  As we sat in church on Christmas Eve celebrating Christs' birth, I was instantly reminded of God's perfect plan for all of us.  This little gal is without a doubt the best gift we have ever received!

We had Christmas Eve dinner at our house with the Smith clan, while Meme and Grump helped hold the fort down over in Oxford with the triplets.  Christmas day was exciting and busy, starting off with our little family of 4 (can't leave Bella out) opening presents and playing with new toys.  We then headed over to the Smith's house for more playing and yummy brunch.  Next, all 4 of us loaded into the car and headed over to Mississippi for a two day visit with Meme, Grump, Sage, Jack, and of course the girls!  Frances is starting to look like such a "big kid" now, especially next to these sweet babies.

Frances trying to steal the show.....poor Brooks...Irene is confused....Anna just doesn't care

Here is a photo round-up of the weekend....with more to come next week, as we head back to MS for Round 2 of Christmas and New Years with the entire family!

Mommy and Frances

A few Christmas Eve presents with the cousins.

Yummy Christmas cookies right before bedtime:)

Bella was so sweet to help Frances get her goodies out of the stocking.

We are getting really close to sitting up!

Debut of "The Tickle Monster"....this will get its own blog posting soon.

Such a big girl standing up, and good thing Bella is supervising.

Love my new piano from Meme and Grump.

Frances and Kat telling each other all about their Christmas presents.

Lyndy whipping up some "crispy eggs" to go with the french toast.

Playing with Grump....or is Grump asleep????

Babies babies everywhere!

Frances telling her cousins that this jingle bell is not actually an approved toy to play with, but its really fun anyway!