Feel the Love

Family and friends are so important, and Frannie is super lucky to have such great people around her who love her. Here are some of the most recent photos of people who spend time loving up Frannie.

Food

Frannie is expanding into the joyous world of real food. Her first taste was a fresh picked garden pea pod. Then she moved on to taste....apple, pear, cantaloupe, honeydew, carrot, pineapple, nectarine, and strawberries.

In the pics you will notice this ingenious contraption that you put food into and then she can chew/suck on it without me worrying about her swallowing a chunk.

We went strawberry picking on Sunday and although Frannie didn't seem to appreciate the delicacy of summer picked strawberries at first, she got into it later.....yes, that's strawberry juice on her shirt :)

Brain Box

After our 4 month check-up, here are Frannie's stats....

13 1/2 lbs (37th%ile)

25 in (75th%ile)

Head....so big it is in the 95th%ile. Hence the title of this post. My grandpa would say to me and my brother as babies, "that's one big brain box". My dad also confirms that "she's got the Thompson head".

She is rolling over from tummy to back like its yesterday's news and back to tummy is about as good but her arm gets stuck. She is trying new foods (that's another post that will come shortly) and loves trying out new toys. And holy crap is she teething. We call her a piranha because she will violently rub her toy/your finger/her blankie against her mouth and make growling like noises. Poor girl. I don't see anything coming yet though.

I am really loving this age. She has such a great personality and is a lot of fun.

Princess

All hail Princess Frannie! That's the title of the last picture and it sums up the wonderful visit we had with the Heinrich clan. Men and women, young and old...Frannie can melt anyone. She wowed everyone with her vocal skills and brought out the truth "Mom resents us for not being babies anymore" from the now grown Heinrich kids. Frannie witnessed her first s'mores (well, she witnessed her mom, cousin Char, and piggy uncle chowing on them) and had her first trip to Famous Dave's. It was a definite throwback to past Hayward vacations. We really had a good time. Too bad it couldn't last longer....or that family wasn't closer.

Jammin'

In addition to going to the beach, Frannie has also been experiencing some live music this summer. Since she loves people and music, we brought her to Bayfront Park (an outdoor stage by Lake Superior) to hear some music and people watch. We went on the 4th of July to the festival with food and music and then to a concert benefitting the community (thanks to our friends for those tickets!)

That concert was pretty funny...as we looked around it was as if all the yuppy-hippies (I'm told they are called "yippies") and their kids in Duluth were picked up and put in that field in front of that stage. So yes, I'll embrace it...Brian and I are yippies. Lucky Frannie :)

Beach Baby

For those that know us, it will be no surprise when I say that Brian and I have a major dilemma when it comes to introducing Frannie to water. We want her to love the water and have fun like normal kids, but neither of us really enjoy swimming or like being in water much -period. If I have a large inner tube around me and I'm floating down a lazy river, sure sign me up. But ask me if I'd like to go for a swim? I think not. It can take an hour for Brian and I to get up the nerve to jump into the lake on a hot summer day in the Boundary Waters, and that's just jumping in and immediately getting out. It's embarrassing really. 

So we wanted to introduce Frannie to water early in life (she does love bath time) in hopes that she will not take after us. She has now been to three beaches and a river...Park Point beach, Brighton Beach, Island Lake, and Lester River. 

Turns out genetics are powerful....she's not loving the lakes so much  yet, however she did like the river and "stood" in it up to her calves for quite awhile. A true test of nature vs nurture.

Here are some pics of the adventures.