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.

Pumpkins and Pugs and Bears...Oh My!

Frankie got his 'bear' on a few days early, courtesy of Mommy!

Costume?

This is so Juston can see the bearsuit I got for Frankie.

Insert Clever Title Here

I'm out of good ideas for titles, since I update so often. Actually, it's been a full week now and I decided to change the batteries in my camera and take another photo for this blog. It's getting cold out here, so we've had to pull out the winter digs. Frankie fits in about two pairs of pants and a couple of sweaters, so it's going to be a monotonous couple of wardrobe weeks or months until he's big enough for the next size up. Frankie's also starting to wear size 1 diapers, even though his skinny self still fits in newborn diapers (just barely.) Is it weird that I'm kind of sad he's growing up enough to wear a larger diaper size?

This week I've read parts of three baby books, all of which have completely different opinions on how to best take care of a baby. I'm having to adapt all of the advice to fit Frankie's personality, since he's not 'textbook' in his temperament. I guess he takes after his mom and dad, which sucks because I was hoping we'd have an accountant on our hands. Some people have kids to do their yardwork; I had a kid so he could do my taxes.

Someday I want to write a post about the alias 'VirtualM' and why I find it appropriate for my internet identity.

Frankie contemplates the meaning of life...and a diaper change.

Does Frankie have gas...or is he just happy to see me?

Lazy Days of October

Frankie has officially broken ten pounds. He even seems a lot bigger than just a few weeks ago. He's above 70th percentile in height, but under 10th percentile in weight. That means he's tall and skinny, which he gets from his dad. Last week Frankie got his vaccinations and I think it's one of the saddest things I've ever seen. I had to turn away when the nurse gave him the injections because his poor face turned red and the screaming was brutal. On to the pictures...

Frankie lounging on his boppy.

He looks like a cueball from the front, but he's actually got a lot of hair in the back. Someday soon he will have a mullet.

Mmmm...handsammich.

Carefully selected photos from my sister's collection

Elena visited Uncle Juston's work and got her picture taken with a special friend.

A photo from Frankie's blessing day last Sunday.

We are just so adorable that you hate us. Admit it. (Another photo from Frankie's blessing day. And while I am short, I'm not that short - we're standing on a hill.)

Four Years and the Family Bed

Frankie slept from 11:30 PM until almost 5 AM last night! That's the most successive sleep I've had in at least two months. Fantastic!


This morning I was lying in bed with my baby on one side of me and my dog pressed up against the other side of me. My husband was up, getting ready for work. I never intended on having a 'family bed', but somehow we wound up with one. I'm glad we decided to buy the king size bed a few years ago when we bought our bed. Bridget started sleeping in the bed because of Juston's many work trips to exotic places like Aruba and Hawaii. He's gone for about ten days at a time, so I started bringing Bridget to sleep with me as a safety precaution. She only barks when there are animals on TV (I just had to change the channel because the world's smallest horse was on and she was going nuts) or because she hears someone outside of the house. She is my early warning system on top of the alarm system. Frankie refuses to sleep anywhere but right next to someone. He won't sleep in his bassinet or his playpen. (His crib is still undergoing refurbishing - we bought it at a garage sale and the former occupant decided to bite chunks out of it, so we are sanding it down and re-staining it.) If I want Frankie to stay asleep, I have to be with him. Perhaps it stems from his first few days of life spent in intermediate care in a plastic tub hooked to wires - he's making up for it. Or maybe I just spoil him. Even though I mentally fought against the idea of the family bed, in practice I secretly like it. I imagine what it must be like to be a newborn and wake up alone in a dark room versus waking up next to the ones who give you care and comfort. Even though there are dog hairs in the bed, there is security in having a 'night watchman' next to you in bed. She's also satisfying for a snuggle because of her size and her warmth. We're all in this together and we meet each other's needs through being together.


Today is my and Juston's fourth anniversary. It's amazing to look back and see how far we've come in such a short period of time. We've decided that we can't split up because we can't decide who would get the dog; it's easier just to stay together.

Happy Halloweener!

Frankie's festive digs.

Sweaterhead

Frankie's woven digs.

Cousins

Frankie and his eight-month-old cousin, Elena. They're both on the small side for their ages.

Will work for Food

I started work yesterday, the day of the company outing to Rosa Mexicana. That worked out well for me! Frankie was apparently well-behaved for his babysitter and hasn't been banned from ever returning. A lady at work yesterday informed me that she works so that she can go to the bathroom by herself. My mom is in town, and told me this morning that she still sometimes can't go to the bathroom without a kid (usually a grown daughter) following her (for the record, my youngest sibling is 26 years old.) What have I gotten myself into?
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I was reading a message board online where women were touting that their two-month-old babies were sleeping through the night. Mine likes to eat every two hours, round the clock. *sigh* At least my body's adjusted to permanent exhaustion. It's amazing how the fog finally lifts and functionality returns on six hours of repeatedly interrupted sleep a night.

Tied Down

A new game I play with Frankie is to tie his foot or hand to a mobile or toy and watch him figure out how he's making things move. For the record, he enjoys playing it too.

Relax!

Yesterday was Frankie's 2 month birthday, so to celebrate, he wore his still too big "Frankie Says Relax" onesie.

Milk NOW!

Frankie wonders why I'm taking pictures instead of feeding him. Lest anyone get the wrong idea, he is no little angel. As usual, he let me know that he was not happy. And don't worry, his tummy is now full.