Skinny Legs And All

But she's not so skinny anymore! After six weeks of french fries, ice cream and peanut butter, Frances went back to the pediatrician to check on her previously-resistant-to-growth weight. She'd gained over two pounds and is back on her growth curve. The pediatrician wants me to keep up the high calorie diet, but she isn't worried about Frances's weight anymore.

Frances is also getting taller. What you see here is Frances getting into the drawer where I used to stash pens and matches and bleach sticks. Not quite sure where I'm going to hide these no-no's now.

And teeth! It's hard to get an accurate count, but she's got at least five teeth coming through her gums. It seems impossible, but the teeth don't seem to bother her a bit.

All this growth, she must be one healthy kiddo. Way to thrive, Frances!

Then and Now

Last year, on March 21st, Frances posed with our neighbor's crocuses:

This year, on March 18th, Frances, not being one for posing anymore, ran past the same crocuses. The difference a year makes!

And then yesterday, it snowed most of the day. Not to worry, it didn't stick and Spring is definitely here on its way.

All Together Now

What gets Frances, and the rest of us, up and at 'em of a brisk Sunday morning?


A 5K road race, of course! Yes, that's right, Mark, Frances and I participated in our first race ever. Frances had a little help from our friend Dave (thanks, Dave!), who wanted to hone his running-while- stroller-pushing skills. The rest of us just wanted to finish the race. Here's Racer #792 warming up for the start:



And, 3.1 miles later:

We all completed the course in good form and really enjoyed ourselves. We're thinking of joining another race in May, but this time Dave wants to try it with Frances and his own daughter which will be over 44 pounds of baby plus a double stroller. (Mark and I just want to finish with better times.) Frances thinks she'll be ready to take on the race all by herself, thank you very much.

Love

Frances fell in love - with a mostly-empty honey bear. She carried it around for days, not spilling a drop.

And then her true love got recycled.

Poor toddler Frances. She's recovering nicely and has transferred her affections to a large rubber horse. Pictures to follow, if she'll ever stay still long enough for me to take them.

Sixteen Months of Toddler Frances

Firsts: Frances can now locate her head, nose and eyes! She'll be speaking sonnets any day now. She has also started climbing into my lap to listen to books - I love this, of course.

Frequent comment: "Can you say hello?" The answer is "I can, but choose not to, so quit asking already." Someday...

Favorites: Pepperoni pizza and blueberries. The blueberries aren't strictly part of the high-calorie, high-fat diet that Frances is supposed to be on, so we mix them with full-fat yogurt and, man, can she pack them away. This warms my heart as it feeds into my Blueberries for Sal fantasies.

Health status: Much better! The never-ending cold seems to have, in fact, ended. And I believe she's gained weight since her pediatrician expressed concern but we won't know for sure for another week when we return for an official weigh-in.

One word to describe Frances this month: Helper, at least as best as she can. She helps empty the dishwasher, she helps fold quilts, and today she tried to help me make the bed, which took some determination since the pillows she was trying to place are as tall as she is. Way to strive, Frances!

Frances's greatest aspiration: Running. She tries, but mostly "running" means walking quickly while swinging her arms vigorously. Give her a couple weeks, she'll have it down.

Little WMD

Mark (and the camera) were in Beijing last week so my mom, Frances's Mimi, came to stay with us. My mom and I had a great time with an early Spring Cleaning and Frances humored us for a bit and then one day she'd had enough. She didn't want to sit still when we went out for lunch, she ran into my tooth when I knelt down to pick her up (which hurt both of us), she lasted less than 30 seconds in a fabric store and definitely wanted nothing to do with her jacket even though it was about 34 degrees outside. Solution? A few spins in the rolling chair, courtesy of Mimi.

All smiles, again.

Thank you, Mimi! All of us, the apartment included, appreciated the help.

Purple

My little sister Lindsay claims to have been scarred emotionally by our mother relentlessly dressing her in stripes when she was a kiddo. Apparently second graders can be cruel. I say, what's a little long-term emotional damage for a kid compared to some short-term pleasure for a mom? But stripes aren't my thing. Purple has been my thing for as long as I can remember. And so, we have - ta dah! -

The Amazing Purple Girl!

Yes, that's poor Frances in metallic purple shoes, lilac pants, multi-purple jacket and magenta hat, all because I like purple. Let the emotional scarring begin!