The February Post

So, can you tell I went back to work? I did, and it's been great. The transition was easier than I expected and I am very happy. I'm meant to be a working mom. Some days are harder than others, of course, but for the most part we have a schedule and system worked out that makes sense for all of us. At least for now! So here's what we've been up to....

On my first day back to work, Franklin had his first "real" day of school...

Then we had a party at Franklin's school to celebrate Valentine's Day! It was our first chance to meet some of the other parents of the babies in Franklin's class. We had a ball!

It snowed a little bit that weekend.

On Valentine's Day Sunday, Frank woke me up with a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausage. It was a good weekend. Franklin received a special Valentine's Day present from Mimi and Papa:

It was My Pal Scout! He loves it. I have a feeling Franklin will like Scout better than Lola and Bebe.

When I come home from work, sometimes Franklin helps me cook. He watches from his bumbo.

Then Franklin met his friend Campbell. Isn't she a gorgeous little girl? I envy her olive skin. She and Franklin will get married one day, her parents and I have already arranged it.

Then Franklin turned FOUR MONTHS OLD!

Franklin's little blonde hair grows longer and longer each day. I think it's safe to say that he will not be bald on his first birthday (although we are still working on growing hair on the back of his head). As I look at these pictures, I can't help but think: "Who is this little boy in these pictures, and where did my baby go?" He can hold a rattle now by himself, and loves to shake it all around. He's developed quite an attachment to Mr. Bear (the blue bear/blanket that was a gift), and it goes with him to school each day. He also l-o-v-e-s the Jumperoo that Stacey and Jerry lent us. My little boy can JUMP! He is also strong, and can stand with little assistance. He rolls over when he wants to, but really wants to move around. He can scoot himself a little when he's in tummy time, and just any day now I expect that he'll start crawling around. Franklin loves the sound of his own voice.... our home is filled with oohs and ahhs and googoos each day. Frank and I lay in bed each morning before we get up and listen to Franklin making cooing sounds in the next room. It's so sweet, and is a nice way to wake up. Our boy is a good sleeper still, and getting better -- he now goes down by 7:30 PM (thank you Lord!) with very little help, and has been known to fall asleep before he even finishes his bottle. He's a monster in the bath tub and I emerge from the bathroom each night soaking wet after giving him a bath. He finds it rather funny to try and "run" in the bathtub, and giggles when I get splashed. Franklin gives smiles with reckless abandon and seems to charm the pants off nearly everyone he meets. Which is probably why we weren't too upset when he gave Frank and me, both of Frank's parents, and my mother a horrible stomach virus last weekend. Early Sunday morning (around 1 AM), Frank and I both woke up sick. So sick that my parents drove in from Brewton to care for Franklin, since we could not. In a rather unhappy turn of events, our first night away from Franklin was spent sick. But, we're all recovering now, and it certainly didn't hurt me to drop a few pounds (I could stand to drop a few more). I'm finally working on those last 10 pre-baby pounds, with the hope that before swimsuit season I'll be back to my old fighting weight. We shall see. All in all, February was a fun month. Cold, but fun. Here's looking towards warmer weather.