I kind of over-corrected the red eye in the previous post. I'll fix the demon eyes when I have access to my computer again. Until then.

Christmas Cash

Frankie thoroughly enjoyed his first 'cute baby' bonus. Unfortunately he'll probably never hold a thousand dollars again. Thanks, grandpa!

(For what it's worth, that wasn't actually our cash and is not in our possession. Just in case you were wondering.)

Oh yes.

Postings have been few and far between because of the holidays and our trip to visit the in-laws. I will satiate your appetite for more Frankie with our Christmas card, for those of you that haven't seen it yet. It's pretty amazing. If you see something in the sky above downtown Atlanta on Christmas Eve, it might be a wee babe posing as Santa and a pug dressed as Superman dressed as a reindeer.

Frankie Loves Santa

Well, maybe love is a bit too strong of a word...

Milestone Reached.

On December 6, at approximately 5:48 PM EST, Frankie rolled over, front to back, for the first time. He's well on his way to learning how to do taxes.

Sleepytime Serenade

"La la la la la...Frankie, you're beautiful, you're beautiful, you're beautiful, it's true."

(Juston really doesn't know how to play anything on the guitar. He was amazing us with one-note songs last night. We also DO NOT endorse James Blunt in this house. Your ears might bleed if you listen to that stuff for too long.)

Ready for the holidays! Hi Grandmas!

Happy Birthday, Britney!

I felt it was appropriate to honor the subject of at least four of my university papers, Britney Spears, on this, the occasion of her twenty-fifth birthday. In graduate school, I wrote a quite brilliant paper on the Spears/Madonna relationship; too bad they are no longer friends. Of course, 'Spears as an icon of motherhood' would be a fun paper to write. I also own the disaster that is "Chaotic" on DVD, because it deserves further analysis. Any excuse to watch music videos for academic reasons is right by me! Thanks, Britney, for being a staple of American popular culture.

Four month stats.

Frankie is four months old this weekend. In this exciting text-only post, I will relay his stats courtesy of his doctor appointment earlier today. Juston got the priviledge of taking p-nut to the doctor, only to listen to him scream the whole time, even before the needles came out. Apparently he wasn't in the mood.


Weight: 12 lbs 1 oz
Length: 23.5 inches


P-nut is still on the small side, but is growing nicely and the doctor didn't seem to have any complaints. We're supposed to start him on solids soon, but I think I want to wait just a tiny bit longer before feeding him the rice mush. Yum yum. He's been sleeping in his own bed for three weeks now, I think. I was skeptical at first about it, but I would highly recommend considering Babywise to anyone who might care. Frankie's babysitter introduced me to the concept and I'm sold; Frankie sleeps like a dream these days, even though he still averages two feedings a night. It's also a lifesaver for me, because I can count on my two or three hours a night without having to worry about baby and I can get important work done slack off and watch TV.


I promise to take more photos soon. There should be photo ops coming up with all of the Christmas whatnots going on around town.

A Jumpstart on Christmas

I know, it's still really early, but I found these great photos from last year and thought I'd post them in anticipation of Juston doing some ridiculous photoshopped Christmas picture with flying Bridget for this year. The Bridget shots are from the series that eventually became our Christmas e-card.

*sigh* What a difference a year and forty pounds of baby weight makes. I used to be so thin!

Frankie's Archives

Here are some old photos that I came across while looking for a different image. They cry out to be shared with the world!


This first one is of Frankie in the NICU. He was born almost a month early and got to spend the first days of his life in a terribly clinical plastic box hooked up to several monitors and IV drips. He only spent four days there, though. He's a fighter. And the reason I posted this picture is to prove that my child *did* have hair when he was born. Somewhere between then and now, he lost it all.

A couple of weeks later...awwww how cute.

Newborn babies really do look like aliens. Here's the proof.

Happy Black Friday

May all of your retail dreams come true.

This is what happens to your thighs when your diet consists solely of whole milk. I *love* chunky baby thighs.

Cool Baby

Frankie looks really fashionable in his argyle beanie. It also covers his male pattern baldness - a ring around the back and nothing on top. Yes, his shirt has a football on it. No, I still don't believe in gendering my baby by pushing sports on him at this age. But he just looks so dang good in blue.

Smile one.

Smile two.

Sly man.

Pug one.

Pug two.

Pugs Aflight

This is what happens when Juston gets bored at work and decides to photochop something.

Too many leaves, too many photos

Apparently Juston's been building up the anticipation for our photos from the weekend. These are photos from raking the yard - yes, that's right - raking the yard. You're in for some fun.

First up, Bridget.

The dent of an 18.5 pound pooch.

Next up, Frankie.

(No babies were harmed during the raking of this backyard.)

We plucked our baby from a leaf-covered cabbage patch.

If you look closely, you can see vermin in them there leaves.

Juston and pug

Mom, baby, and pug in various states of disarray.

And wouldn't you believe it, our backyard is once again a blanket of leaves, so this debauchery could happen all over again.

There's crankiness in the gene pool

Juston managed to score a pair of tickets to Beck's secret Halloween show last night here in Atlanta. It was a small show in a small venue and tickets sold out quickly. While we both like Beck, we are not hardcore fans, but it was only $12 and I really needed a break from the baby. Going to a show and listening to loud music and jumping up and down helped me to vent some of my "Frankie is going through a growth spurt and wants to eat every 30 minutes" frustrations. (Thank you Peter and Charla for babysitting for a couple of hours!)


The show was awesome. There were no theatrics, heck, the band didn't even have their usual equipment. There was no setlist and the band took requests from the audience. Beck was dressed in his "Master and Commander" gear and the rest of the band members looked like they rummaged through a costume bin and picked out random pieces that didn't go together. I had a great time, but I do have a couple of complaints as far as the audience was concerned. Juston is 5'9". I am 5'2". I am officially short. Juston commented how there were an unusual amount of people over 6 feet tall at this show. And one of them decided to rudely push (as in literally shove) his way in front of a group of really short girls. Jerk. I paid the same amount as you, and I didn't pay to look at your back for the entire two hours. At least two other men walked right in front of me and parked themselves. I kept having to move around and manouver to see anything; next time I must wear my Buffalo Boots (tm) to a show to give myself a 3 inch platform. If nothing else, I think they might do more damage when I step on Goliath's foot.


My second beef is smoking in very tight quarters. I don't mind if you smoke, but when you are literally pushed up against several other people, they would appreciate it if, you know, they didn't risk getting their hair caught on fire or all of the polyester going up in flames thanks to Halloween costumes.


I had to share this photo of Frankie in his argyle vest. He looked so cute - he just needs to grow a tiny bit more for it to actually fit. Sadly I fear he'll outgrow it too quickly!

Trick or Treat on Turner Street

Last night we attended the annual Turner Halloween party, Trick or Treat on Turner Street. There were about five billion children there in costume, and Frankie was no exception. The TCM booth's theme was 'Classic Movie Zombies,' a play on Rob Zombie and TCM's new franchise, TCM Underground.

I painted this sign. I think it turned out pretty awesome.

Zombie Dorothy, James Dean, and Elvis want to eat your brains.

Everyone in costume, and one poor victim in the middle. Her brains were eaten shortly afterwards.

Zombie Norman Bates's mother, keeper of the zombie graveyard and protector of zombie candy. Children who attempt to get candy from the tent *might* lose their brains (or face the fate of Janet Leigh.)

Zombie John Wayne hides in the cardboard coffin.

Zombie Audrey Hepburn thinks about eating Frankie's brains. Aim for the head!

We got Frankie away from the Zombies and he managed to charm the Atlanta Hawks dancers. Watch out, ladies!

Frankie and his dad, the male equivalent of the Hawks dancers. (While he's as good looking, he's not quite as good of a dancer.)

It was quite the night!

The Poochador!

It's not Bridget, but THIS is the funniest pug costume I've ever seen!

More Halloween Action!

Frankie is at our mercy!

Yeah, Dad, really funny putting socks on my hand while getting me ready for bed.

Check the mirror, lookin' fly!

Every library should contain great literature, such as "Heart of Darkness," some World War I Poetry, and the "Little Critter" books.