Not in Massachusetts anymore

I think because it was snowing when we left Cambridge, I didn't think to bring Frances a sun hat. Silly me, because now in Arkansas it's some 70 degrees and the sun is shining brightly. Thank goodness for Mimi. She fashioned a hat for Frances using one of her baseball caps and a large safety pin.


I think Frances carried it off nicely.

Palm Sunday and Auntie Beth

Frances and I are back in Fayetteville. Jocelyn and her brood are here for their Spring Break and they asked us to join her. We happily obliged. Our visit happens to be over Palm Sunday and Easter. Beth Brooks gave us this lovely outfit. Frances wore it to church on Palm Sunday and I suspect she'll be wearing it on Easter as well.


Beth told us she made it with Australian smocking and that it was very time-consuming. But isn't it beautiful?

We love you, Daddy! Aren't we cute?

Pink!

We received this hat in the mail the other day from a member of Frances' grandma's Bible study group.

Thanks so much! We took Frances to church in it, and it was quite a hit.

More out and about

We didn't want to leave any of these photos out, so you get 'em all. That's the Charles in the background. The weather really couldn't have been any better.

Memory Lane, Part II

More houses we aren't connected to anymore.

This isn't going to be interesting to anyone who isn't a Hayward, at least in spirit, but here it goes. Frances' maternal family history goes something like this: James Warren Hayward (Frances' great great great grandfather) begot Nathan Hayward (Frances' great great grandfather) begot Malcolm Lloyd Hayward (Frances' great grandfather) begot Malcolm Lloyd Hayward, Jr. (Frances' grandfather) begot Morgan Hayward (Frances' mom) begot Frances Upton. And, James Warren Hayward and his off-spring lived in this house here, around the corner from where Frances now lives.

James Warren Hayward's daughter, Margaret Greenleaf Hayward Andrews, lived down the street from the first house in this house:

Frances was fascinated.

Last, we stopped on the Eliot Bridge over the Charles River, because Frances' middle name is Elliott after her father, Mark Elliott Upton, and his mother, Vicki Elliott Upton.



Okay, so there's no relation to the Eliot of the bridge, but as long as we were out we didn't think a picture would hurt.

Frances and the T

Mark picked this one out. It's Frances on the train on our way into Boston. We went in and walked around Boston Common.

We tried to get a picture of Frances next to the pond made famous by Make Way for Ducklings. Unfortunately, they drain the pond over the winter, leaving a large mud hole. Oh, well, another posting, another time.

Frances and the Asiatic Hordes

What's this, you say? Where are the aforementioned Asiatic hordes? This is a picture of Frances with a statue of John Harvard, the founder of Harvard, I'm guessing. So why did I mention Asiatic hordes? Because literally every time I walk past this statue there is a group of Asians standing in front of it taking each others' pictures. I'm not kidding. Every time.

Spring has sprung!

Never mind the wool hat and the bundle-me in the stroller, warm weather has come to Cambridge!

Our neighbors have crocuses (that's what those white and purple dots on the lawn are) ...


...and the sun is shining on the Charles.

We've been going on walks down to the river everyday.

Marblehead, MA

Yet another cold trip to the coast, this time to Marblehead, MA.


This next picture looks sunny, but it was not warm. We didn't last long. Luckily, Marblehead is full of fancy shmancy houses that are easily viewed from a heated car.

Frances is so good at humoring her parents.

After Marblehead, we drove around the corner to Salem, as in the Salem Witch Trials, but we'd run out of steam by the time we got there, so no pictures. Just image a grim museum with a statue of a pilgrim outside. Not terribly inviting.

I'll leave you with Her Cuteness.

Frances and housework

Frances helped me make the bed the other day by hanging out in the laundry basket while I did the heavy lifting.


Any port in a storm, that's what I always say.

A few more images for Frances' four months birthday!

Four Months of Frances

Frances turned four months old, a little over a week ago. We celebrated by having a quick picnic and a photo session behind Mark's school.


Then we got cold and decided to go back inside. Luckily, Frances can smile anywhere we take her.

At her four month check up, the pediatrician declared Frances to be long and lean. She's 25 inches long (between the 50th and 75th percentile) and weighs a little over 12 pounds (between the 10th and 25th percentile).

She hasn't rolled over yet, but she almost rolled on the pediatrician's table. A little bit of gravity and she would have been off the table. And the pediatrician said it looked like her teeth were in place up in her gums. Hopefully they'll hold off for a good long while. I'm not ready for teeth yet, seems much too grown up for such a little person.

Fabulous Fairy Godmother

My friend Beka not only bestows fabulous tutus...

(Frances back in November)

...she knits, too! She made both the dress that Frances has on and the blanket under her.

Thank you, Beka!

And look how that baby has grown! More about that coming up shortly.

For Frances Fans!

We caught it on video, Frances talking, our favorite!

Balding Baby

My sister Jocelyn mentioned that it looked like the hair on the front of Frances' head was thinning. Jocelyn, it gets worse. The front of her head is actually her good side. The back is balder every day.

From the right:


From the left:

Straight on:

Poor bubby Frances, as her father would say. She actually has some blonde hair coming in on the front, but it's much too light to see. Maybe she'll end up blonde after all?

Mimi, no remarks about her ears, okay?