Mother's Day?

Doesn't just scream Mother's Day, does it? But it was a great start to a great day. Frances and I started Mother's Day with a 5K. I didn't push Frances, of course. That job fell to our friend Dave, who also pushed his daughter Sophia and the double jogging stroller. I'm guessing 48 pounds of toddler plus about 25 pounds of stroller, and he still beat me to the finish line. I'm going to return the favor by watching Sophia while her parents run the Chicago Marathon. Go team!

Frances and I returned from the race to find that a very sick Mark had pried himself off the couch, picked up the whole apartment and bought a bouquet of white flowers. Frances and I expressed our deepest appreciation, and then went to take a nap. Great day.

p.s. Soon I will buy Frances some pants that come down to her ankles, I promise.

Eighteen Months of Toddler Frances

I had grand plans, but this was the best photo I got on Frances's Eighteen Months Birthday.




Frances has learned to say "baa" so it seemed fitting to introduce her to a real live sheep on her Eighteen Months Birthday and there was a free opportunity to do so in the neighborhood, but it was lightning and sheep and lightning don't mix. So we ran errands. Sorry, kiddo.

Eighteen Month Fun Facts

• Firsts: Animal Sounds! Early in the month, Frances completely surprised me with a "Woof" when I pointed to a picture of a dog. I felt like the scientists at SETI getting their first message back. 3-2-1 Contact! "Woof" was quickly followed by "baa." Who says "woof" and who says "baa" gets a little confusing. Poodles say "baa." Still, so proud.



• Language: "Brsh" is "brush" and "duck-a, duck-a" is duck. I've got one "momma," but "brsh" we get several times a day. Sigh. The answer to every question is "yeah." For example, I'll say "Frances, you want to go to bed now?" and she'll say "Yeah!" She doesn't mean it.




• Obsessions: Elmo, dogs and babies. We have four of the library's Elmo books in heavy rotation. She'll willingly let me cut her nails if I show her a video of dogs. And babies must be pointed at and commented on. She also has a new love for her baby doll. Whenever the doll isn't in sight, Frances chimes in with "Baby? Baby? Baby?" and we go find the baby.




• Greatest Aspiration: Frances has mastered hopping (okay, she cleared a couple inches once) and has moved on to spinning. She'll spin around a few times and then stumble around like a drunken sailor grinning to herself.




• Health Status: Another iffy health month. Her doctor declared her to have Schmutz of the Face - that's a cold for non-medical types - and told me not to worry. Fine. We also had a well-toddler check up. Frances did really well. She is 33 inches long (75th-90th percentile) and weighs 23 lb.s and 1 oz. (30th percentile). The pediatrician was not pleased with her weight gain, so we're going back in a few weeks for a weigh-in. The pediatrician wasn't worried that she was in the 30th percentile; she was worried that Frances had dropped percentiles since her last weigh-in. So Frances is now eating fattier chicken nuggets dipped in Ranch dressing, followed by peanut butter balls and chocolate pudding made with half and half, sprinkled with ground pecans. Hopefully, Frances will bulk up before Mark and I look like houses. Poor Frances has had 15 weigh-ins in her 18 months. Fingers crossed.




• Hardest part of the day: Post nap. She wakes up before she means to and just comes unhinged. It's frustrating for both of us, and I haven't figured out a solution yet, but...




• Best part of the day: For about a half hour before she goes to bed at night, Frances gets into the goofiest, happiest mood. Then, when we put her to bed, she gives us a great big smile and cries out "Bye!" like she's about to go on a wonderful adventure. I love it, such a nice way to finish the day.

A stranger in the grocery store once told me everything between 18 months and 18 years was bad, but we're doing well so far. Now I have to go because I'm about to get some toddler help on the computer.

Welcoming the Happy Morning,* Cambridge-style

Our celebration of Easter began on Saturday with our church's Easter Egg Hunt. No Easter bonnets and baskets for us though. Nope. It was cold and rainy all day, so we geared up with raincoats and sweaters and an Easter Bucket...


...and headed into the graveyard adjacent to the church. How many kiddos can say they hunted for Easter eggs next to gravestones from the 1700's? (One of this hunt's "kiddos" was actually a Harvard Square homeless man, but at least we know not all those eggs went to waste.)

That's Frances in the stripes and me in the purple raincoat.

We were completely impressed with how quickly Frances figured out the first step of this exercise - pick up the eggs.

The next step was somewhat less clear. Instead of putting them directly into her Easter bucket, Frances gave each one a lick and said "Yum, yum, yum" very enthusiastically. Her parents were in stitches.



If you look carefully, you can see that her tongue turned blue. I'm sure egg dye is on every pediatrician's Top 10 list. Eventually, the eggs did make it into the bucket.

Success! Four eggs for Frances, then she collected acorns, for good measure.

We headed across Harvard Square, stopped to chase the pigeons - another traditional Easter activity in these parts, and ended up at our favorite vegetarian restaurant. No spiral cut ham in sight, but they do serve delicious crayons, also on every pediatrician's Top 10 list.

On Easter Sunday, Mark headed to work and Frances and I headed to church. Luckily, I misunderstood when church started, so we arrived just in time for Communion and a little "Hail Thee Festival Day"*. Perfect. Then Frances and I found Daddy at school.

Frances, modeling the second dress Mark got for her in China.

Frances loves visiting Dad at work. She's always eager to help with his computer.

Frances and I coaxed Mark from work and found a garden that needed examining.

Then we wrapped up the morning at another vegetarian restaurant. Lovely, lovely Cambridge Easter.

*Hymn reference, for you poor souls not in the know.

Frances and the Chinese Dress

Mark went off to China quite awhile ago now with instructions to bring back something Chinese (not just Made in China) for Frances to wear. I was eagerly expecting some red silk pajama-ish outfit. But Mark, being Mark, brought back two lovely dresses for Frances, one of which is displayed here.



It's red corduroy with a purple print for the cuffs and chest piece and turquoise button ties. I love it. Frances has worn it or the other Chinese dress (which I haven't managed to capture on film yet) every Sunday for a couple months now.

And now, for the amusement of my fellow short people, here's a photo demonstrating how the rest of the world looks to Mark, an official Tall Person:

How he ever manages to spy us all the way down here on the ground is a mystery.

Seventeen Months of Toddler Frances

For Frances's Seventeen Months Birthday, she and I headed over to the Arnold Arboretum, a really lovely park for a stroll. Frances had a really lovely time strolling around the parking lot - collecting bits of asphalt for me to hold, walking in the drainage ditch and meeting dogs. I was eventually able to tempt her out of the parking lot with a ball. She's a sucker for balls, these days.


Frances at seventeen months.

• Firsts: For the first time, Frances has started swaying to music. I don't think she necessarily sways to the beat - she may not be destined for dancing greatness - but she has a good time dancing in her own little way.




• Comment: One of Frances's caretakers at the gym nursery said about Frances, "She's sensitive, very sensitive." I think of Frances as a real trooper so I'm not sure how I feel about this, but Mark pointed out I definitely would not have wanted her to say, "She's insensitive, very insensitive." So, we'll just have to like it.




• Favorite Foods: Mayonnaise - terrible but true. She dips her French Fries in mayo every night. We just pretend she's European and terribly sophisticated.




• Words: She can identify and point to all sorts of things, like her head, eyes, nose, ears, hands, feet, shoes, socks, jacket, milk and Daddy. She sometimes can point to Mama and Frances. She can say "bye-bye", "yeah," "no" and "nose," but it sounds a lot like "no." She also says something that sounds like "Dubai," but I'm pretty sure she's not talking about Dubai. Some days she'll babble and then stop and laugh, like she's just told me a funny joke. I can't wait to get the joke.




• Guaranteed Giggles: Like I said above, Frances loves balls right now. She's sure to smile when her daddy holds her and kicks a ball back and forth with me. Of course, any one would giggle at these Hayward v. Upton soccer games in the living room, but Frances gets a big kick out of it. She also loves helping me make the bed. She sits on top of the covers and laughs hysterically when I yank them into place.




• Greatest Aspiration: She would love to be able to jump. Right now, her attempts consist of bending her knees then standing straight up and bouncing on her feet a little. She doesn't actually leave the ground, but she thinks she's pretty cool.

Next up, a Year and a Half!

For Mark

Mark asked me to put this photo up long ago. He likes Frances's little smile. The photo's a little blurry, but Frances took it herself using my phone. Taking photos with my phone is one of her favorite pastimes these days.

Frances, Post-Nap

Wild hair and chubby cheeks!