Franklin will welcome a baby.....?

We still don't know. Our NT scan on Monday revealed a rather stubborn little one (wonder where he gets that from) that's perfectly healthy. Our risk of neural tube defects is now down to 1 in 10,000, and we are beyond thrilled that we'll welcome a perfect little one in September. Because of this baby's uncooperativeness, the tech was unconfident in her guess of "boy," so we'll hold off on buying any more blue at the moment. Looks like we'll have to wait until around 15 weeks to find out for sure.

In other news, Franklin's 17 month appointment also went well! He is in the 50th percentile for height and weight (32 inches and around 25 pounds), and his head circumference went down to 60th (recall we were at 95th percentile at one point, so this is good news). He is hearing everything, pointing at the sky when airplanes fly by, and jumping when our dogs bark. Just this morning, in an effort to out maneuver our little genius, Frank put our leather ottoman in front of the television while we were getting ready for work -- to keep Franklin from standing directly in front of the television. What did Franklin do? He climbed on TOP of the ottoman, and stood directly in front of the television. I'm sure he appreciated the boost to get a more eye-level view of the tube. He's a funny little kid, that's for sure. Happy Wednesday!

Pump up the Jam

This little monkey loves, loves jam. Where did my baby go? He looks like such a little man these days... I suppose it's a good thing we'll welcome another little one before we know it.

Help for a Friend

My friend Kelley is currently fundraising to help bring home her second little girl from China... Caroline LiYun will be coming home with them in three months, their second adopted child in 13 months. Kelley's fundraiser is through (Cover)ed, a company that makes adorable hooded towels ($25 each) for children. 50% of the profits from each towel will help Kelley, Scott, Carter and Grace bring home their daughter/sister.... For more information check out Kelley's blog at the link below:

http://scottkelleyandcarter.blogspot.com/2011/03/covered.html

Franklin has an announcement....

#2 Arriving 9/26/2011 (or before). I am in my 12th week and luckily am already feeling this little one doing somersaults in there. The second one is a lot less stressful, at least so far. We'll get a good gender "guess" one week from today! A peek from our first ultrasound:

Outdoor Fun

Slide 3/12/2011 from Frank Long on Vimeo.

Tastiness - Round 2

Round two of the Red Beans & Rice last night, and I remembered to snap a photo before we dug in:

Word to the wise: if you don't like spicy, limit the amount of creole seasoning you use and the type of andouille you put in the dish. The andouille I used made the dish even spicier, although I rather enjoyed it. I think this will go into my arsenal, it was too easy!

Slow Cooker Goodness

In honor of Fat Tuesday, we had a little red beans and rice courtesy of Southern Living last night for dinner. I am a big fan of slow cooker meals because, well, you throw things in a pot before you leave for the day and come home to dinner. Obviously this looked better over rice in a pretty little bowl, but it looks like a slow cooker full of goodness to me. I personally thought this beat pre-packaged red beans and rice mixes to pieces. Better yet, you get to control the salt content and quality of the ingredients used. Here's the recipe:

1 lb Red Beans

1 package Andouille Sausage

1/2 Sweet Onion, Small Dice

1/2 Green Bell Pepper, Small Dice

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Small Dice

1 stalk Celery, Small Dice

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

3 Tablespoons Creole Seasoning

1 42 Oz Carton Chicken Stock

White Rice, Cooked

Put first 9 ingredients into slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-9 hours, or until beans are tender. Prepare rice according to package directions, serve. How easy is that? (My shout out to Ina).