Wildlife.

Been busy again. Things are sorting out for the rest of the week to be quite a normal pace. :)

About a month ago, my mom, my sister, and my nieces drove to Atlanta and spent a week with us. We did lots of fun stuff, but we only have pictures of a couple of things. It's so far after the fact, anyway, that I suppose that isn't all that important.

We went to the Georgia Aquarium. The jellyfish were definitely the highlight of the trip! They were also the first thing we saw, so no one was cranky yet.



Frankie, Elena, and Audrey catch some fish action.


The next day, we went to the zoo. We go to the zoo a lot, and Frankie really wanted to make sure that his cousins saw the animals. Here's Frankie, impersonating a wild animal. Pretty convincing, no?

Grandma & co. with a gorilla statue.

So it's not the best picture ever of us. But here we are (and you love us anyway.)

This pictures sums up my child perfectly - messy, on a train.


Thanks for coming to visit! We had a blast and everyone was exhausted from fun by the end of the week! Frankie still talks constantly about Audrey and Elena and always wants them to come over - he was actually quite bummed that they couldn't come to his birthday party.

I don't have many more pictures. While we have been doing things lately, nothing has been so exciting that we've had to take pictures or share it with the world (or the five people who read this blog.) I did sign Frankie up for a dance class today, so maybe in a few weeks? And I booked our vacation over Labor Day weekend. We're driving to the beach and I cannot wait. I love going to the beach and Frankie hasn't been since just before he turned 1, so hopefully he'll love it, too. I figure it's my last chance to really do anything before the kid comes, and honestly, it's about all we can afford at the moment, but I'm really excited just to get away for a couple of days.

One other thing - should we abandon potty-training? I'm about to give up for awhile. Take today, for instance. We've been home since about 1:30 PM. It's now 5:45. In that time, he has wet three pairs of underpants, used his potty twice, and most recently, looked at me, said "I have to potty," and then proceeded to go right there, all over the floor. He knows when he needs to go but refuses to do it. Is he just not ready? What's going on? The kid is three, and I am so tired of changing his poopy diapers, especially since I know that he's able to use the potty and he knows and is aware of when he needs to use it. Yes, I know I'll have more poops soon, but it's different. I feel like he should know better and it's frustrating me to no end. Help!

Huzzah!

I'm pooped, so don't expect me to be witty or entertaining. (It's been a long and kind of depressing day, but enough about that.)

Here you go, family. Short videos of last weekend's rockin' birthday party.




Notice how Frankie goes straight for the beverage; he and all of the other children were playing really hard outside and we used the cake as a lure to bring them inside away from the mosquitoes and the impending rain.
(Please ignore my grossness in this last video. Everyone looked rough after playing outside, and, well, I tend to get pregnant all over, which apparently also includes my neck. It's one of the fun side effects of being 5'2" tall - on a good day.)

And for fun, how about this blast from the past?

They call me Dr. Spots....

We are pleased to announce the addition of the newest member of our family, Dr. Spots!



We inherited him from our previous tenants, who were trying to 'downsize' pets when they moved from the house into a one-bedroom apartment. He's pretty fun, actually, and not gross at all. Frankie especially likes watching him eat his superworms; not sure what that says about my kid.



(P.S. As attractive as we are, two minutes is a long time to watch a video like this. I hope that you packed your extra endurance! Juston probably intended this as an 'edit,' but please, I don't waste time on that kind of trickery anymore!)

Birthdaystravaganza!

Since on my last post someone said that 'no one cares' that I'm not posting and I'm pretty sure that the anonymous person is right, I'll just unfold the past few weeks as I get around to it. :)

We'll start with the present and work our way backwards....

It's Frankie's birthday! He's three! We started the morning with presents...



...and since it's only 10:30 AM, we're still lazing about in our pajamas, so we haven't done anything else. We're going to go swimming in a bit.

Yesterday was Juston's birthday! Both boys got RC cars yesterday (although we didn't have enough batteries for both.) And yes, Juston actually wanted that.




And Frankie picked out this gem of filmmaking for Juston - although I think it had more to do with the fact that the cover is red.


Saturday night was the rockin'-est party ever. It was for both Frankie and Juston, but the kids easily outpaced the adults. We kept it really simple because I'd just come off of a couple of crazy weeks, but because Frankie has been so excited about his birthday, we had to do something. And this party is proof that you don't need a fancy, expensive party for your preschooler - the skate ramp in the backyard was probably the most entertaining thing for the under five set. No one cared that there were swarming mosquitoes and that the humidity was close to 100%.


My 'dinosaur cake.' No, I don't have mad cake-making skillz. No one cares, right? :)

Sweat, dirt, and chocolate: I think this face really says it all.

The burro pinata - Frankie picked it out. After all of the other kids had a whack, the other, bigger birthday boy had to bust it open.

Frankie gets some lovin' from Kembe.


Even though we said no presents, he still got a few and loved them all!


Kembe, Abe, and Jay got THIS for Frankie. How can you top a basketball tent???


Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us; we're still recovering from our crazy weekend birthday marathon. I've still got a lot of other things to blog, along with some videos from the party, but like I said, no hurry, right?

Stopping by...

So this is going to be quick. I haven't posted in a couple of weeks and if things go the way that they look to go, I won't be posting for a couple of weeks, either. I had family in town all last week, and now I'm doing a freelance job on top of final essays and exams and doing grades over the next two weeks. So most of my spare time will be spent working. I know that like two people are upset with not getting more pictures, so here are my excuses. Just know that when I come back, there will be lots to update. We even got a gecko! It eats worms, which is super gross. :) Alright then, back to work for me.

So here's a bunch of stuff.

I've been MIA. Yep. I'm tired. And I haven't been blogging. So here's the last two weeks in review.

I spent five hours cleaning in one day about a week and a half ago. Frankie found ways to keep himself entertained. And don't worry, I don't clean like this more than a couple of times a year.


Frankie has loved watching our tomato plant this summer. I didn't get my garden in this year (I was too sick around planting time), so we've made do with the one plant. We recently pulled off our first two tomatoes, and they were delicious. I'm the only one that actually ate any, though - my boys are picky eaters. See how happy he looks?


Naked video games and eating cereal out of the bag. Naked Wii bowling preceded this round of Skate 2.


Swimming in the kiddie pool in the front yard; less mosquitoes out there, as well as more neighbors to laugh at us.


Jumping in the bounce house at the zoo. He didn't really get into it until other kids came around and jumped with him. He loved it.


Don't take my picture, yo.


Swimming in the pool at some of our bff's Dan & Annie's apartment complex. Unfortunately, this is the best picture I got. Frankie swam the entire length of the pool with assistance from his water wings. I think the kid is ready for swim lessons!


We went to our friends' house for the 4th; they also happen to live just a few blocks away. We love our 'hood and all of the friends we've made here. Frankie was loving his 4th of July hot dog with buddy Ezra. Delicious! (Ezzy is making his 'I just ate my 3rd hot dog' face.) Thanks for having us, Beth, Joel, and boyz!


Party host and party animal Joel set off some fireworks for the kids. Frankie was impressed with the show, but not so much with the noise.


Finally, I decided to take a nap this afternoon; as I said at the beginning, I've been TIRED lately. It might have been a bad idea - I woke up to find this happening:


Bridget now has a sexy lion cut. Juston figured that if he was cleaning the house, he might as well cut down on dog hair at the same time! Those 50 cent church bazaar clippers have sure come in handy.

Big belly, baby Ferb. 21 weeks, 4 days.


That's all for now. We did get some new sweet and cheap furniture from craigslist and a 'side of the road' operation nearby, so we'll post that soon.

Lazy Sunday

We had a lazy Sunday a couple of days ago. Since it was stake conference, we decided to take the week off (yes, bad, I know) and not deal with a two-year-old in a two-hour long meeting and instead we did...nothing! Frankie had a 'jammies day', and the adults didn't do much better.

We started off with the Father's Day pressies, matching t-shirts. :)


Juston decided to go back to bed at around 10 AM, and for some reason he decided to sleep in Frankie's bed.


(In which he did not fit.)


Laundry folding coupled with kid and pug mayhem! Frankie = having fun. Bridget = barely tolerating this.


And now the real reason you've probably come to our blog today...the payoff.


(P.S. Baby Ferb is a girl. Yep, we're shocked too as we were 99.9% convinced it was a boy. After almost a year of trying to get pregnant and four months of morning sickness (aka "all-damn-day-sickness" that hasn't quite gone away,) we're really excited that everything looks great and that she'll be here in just over four months! So yes, it can happen in Atlanta, and no, we aren't moving out of the ward as soon as she's born.)

Think About Your Dad

Yeah, I know I posted it last year, but it seriously never gets old. Happy Father's Day!

I think this is the one...

What do you think?

I never saw myself with a 'tandem' stroller, but I just don't trust that Frankie, even at the age of 3, will be able to walk everywhere and he's heavy. It's kinda pricey, but I think it's worth it to pay extra for the 'ultralight' version as I don't drive a big car and I'm not all that big & muscly. (And if you consider that some people - who are crazy - spend $800+ on strollers, $200 doesn't seem that bad.) Plus, this is about the only thing I'm buying this time around, so it's not like I have a huge laundry list of other baby crap I need to get.


P.S. I know I'm not talking much about it on here, but I'm halfway there today! Woohoo! Now if I could just stop puking...

Look Ma, an Update!

(making something chocolate)

(feeding boids at the zoo)

...except that there's really nothing to update. I can honestly only post so many pictures of us at the zoo, the pool, hanging out at the house where we have air conditioning (it's in the 90s! yikes!,) going to drop-in, etc. etc. etc. We're just sailing through, dealing with the good (Frankie using big words! cute dog action!) and the bad (potty-training misfires and tantrums.) So that's all for now. I'll take some pictures soon anyway so that relatives can see glimpses of the little dude, but don't expect anything earth-shattering. Now we're all on the same page. I hope you're all doing well! (And potty training advice - as well as suggestions for future photos - is kindly accepted in the comments section.)

We're Having Fun Now...

Today we went to the park and went swimming with my friend Kathleen and her daughter, Anna. This is the only picture I got, but can you tell we're having a good time?


Tonight we built a track for Frankie's train, complete with mega blocks tunnels and animal observers. Fun, right?


And he's pretty cute, too. :)

Frankie really *does* love Bridget

He learned this from me. :)


Bridget was sad and sitting in her chair, knowing we were going to put her in the laundry room before going to church on Sunday (don't want a rogue pug setting off the alarm.) Frankie went up to her, told her not to be sad, and loved on her. Awwwwwwww. Love this kid and love this dog.

Oh yes, we DID go there.

Ah, the big boy bed. A rite of passage if there ever was one, well, besides learning to use the potty, which we haven't quite mastered yet. And of course, we had to get the tackiest big boy bed we could find. Rest assured, Frankie LOVES it. Thanks, craigslist! (By the way, this beauty will be for sale again in a couple of years if you think you might be interested.)



Even I can't get over my excitement.




Now, you may ask, did he sleep in it? Yes! Not a peep last night and he's currently napping. And I need the nap more than him as I dismantled the crib and rearranged his room today, along with a number of other much-neglected chores. Go Thomas!