first christmas!!!

So, I think Kim and I started planning to spend Mary Beth's first Christmas together, oh, about a year ago! We knew it would be a tough time with memories of trying to celebrate Christmas last year right after Dad passed. And seeing Mary Beth just brings out the smiles in anyone, so you can't go wrong there. Kim bought her a plethora of gifts, and couldn't wait to open presents with her on Christmas day.

We headed down to San Antonio on Wednesday, which apparently was the right move since most of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area was snowed and iced over on Christmas Eve. Bad that we didn't get to see the snow, but good that we got out of there before it got nasty. Over the next 5 days, Bob and I put a lot of miles on Loop 1604 going back and forth between family gatherings -- seems everyone wants to see the little tike on her first big holiday! She spent most of Christmas Eve with Bob, Jeff and Andy, Christmas day with us and Kim/Matt at Mike and Carol's (Matt's dad and stepmom), and even the day after with Terri for a while (Matt's mom - AKA "quasi-grandma).

I joked that I was only going to give her boxes, wrapping paper and bows for Christmas. Turns out that those things really were some of her favorite items to play with. But she also loved her toys, clothes and books from everyone. What she didn't like was the boo boo she got on her nose when she took a dive off the leather ottoman. With me RIGHT THERE. I caught her as she caught her nose on the rug, cutting it. So poor baby looked like Rudolph on Christmas. Hey, 9 months old and this was the first visible injury -- I call that a winner.

 

 

well this can't be good...

Mary Beth is starting to figure out how to pull herself up on things. That won't lead to any trouble, right?

calling all you angels...

Dear Mary Beth,

I know he visits you. So does she, but I know even tonight your Grandpa came and visited you and made me come into your room. I felt him there, trying in his not-so-sly way to remind me that there is so much more happiness in my life going on to feel sad that he is gone.

What games does he play with you in the mornings when we hear you "talking" in the early hours? Don't fall for the one where he says he's got your nose. It's just his thumb. And quit listening to him when he tells you to burp up on me. That's just not nice. I know he thinks it's funny though. I'm thinking he also loves watching you dart across the room in your turbo crawling speed. Have loads of fun playing with him. He could always make us laugh, entertain us and just plain have fun with us. And he always had a soft spot for really cute girls, so you're in luck there! I think he'd even look past the fact that you have red hair...

I miss him tremendously. This last year has been such a strange year filled with terrible sadness and great happiness. Maybe that's why it happened when it did -- to help me keep things in perspective. Still sucks though. Wait, don't say "sucks." Bad Mom. Eh, if that's the worst word you learn in our house, I'll be happy.

So I'm not sure what Grandpa looks like when he visits you, but I thought you may want to see some of my favorite pictures of him. Ask him about some of his plaid suits. Classic Filmore.

Love,

A Very Sad Mom

from the desk of mary beth

normally mommy writes me a letter each month saying all the fun things i've done. but you've all seen my fun things already - smiling, swinging and crawling. LOTS of crawling.

so tonight i hijacked the computer to write a letter to them.

mommy, keep the milk coming. and food. i like when you give me little bites of your chicken and fig newtons. and i like when you roll around on the floor with me making me giggle.

daddy, COME HOME ALREADY!!! it's been fun hanging out with mom all week, but i want my daddy!! i like when you hold me up over your head so i can be tall. and let me splash you when you're giving me a bath. plus, mommy looks like she could use a nap and you'll have to play with me during that.

everyone else reading this, i really like this crawling thing. i didn't know it was going to be this fun!! there's a whole world of things to get into now!

it's bed time now. off to my crib where i get to roll around and pull the monitor down in the morning. what? it has a pretty green light on it, and i LOVE flashing or shining lights. and then when i do that, mommy or daddy come into the room and laugh when they see me smiling. life is good.

love,
mary beth

santa claus is coming..

The neighborhood that we moved into has a TON of kids. None of them really live by us, but just a half mile down the street today they had a Christmas gathering. Donuts, hot cocoa, an old-fashioned fire truck and SANTA!!!! Well I couldn't let that opportunity pass by, especially on her 9 month birthday! So we bundled up (about 45 and drizzling) and headed down for her introduction to jolly ol' St. Nick.

She did  SO good, and didn't cry. But when we took out the 9 month sign, she got a little fussy. Still, I'm impressed with my little munchkin.

crawlin' fool

No real reason for the post except to give more photos and let everyone know that Mary Beth is a crawling fool now. Shoes and remotes are not safe on the ground anymore. Nor is leaving her on our bed left to her own devices. And poor Orbit...

and we have crawling!!

She's been rocking on all 4s and doing the army crawl, but this morning Mary Beth decided she was done with that and that she wanted to crawl for real. I finally got it on video -- it's not an easy task since Mary Beth stops and poses for smiles whenever she sees/hears the camera! I'm on the phone with Kim, so you get to listen along...

We're so screwed...

follow the bouncing ball

Mary Beth has discovered a love for the stuffed soccer ball that Kim gave us last Christmas. It's absolutely hilarious! We were playing with it tonight and she just kept giggling and giggling and giggling. And she's such a ham in the video below. Whenever she hears or sees the camera, she smiles and poses. Priceless.

i think the meds are working...

So Mary Beth was diagnosed with a "raging ear infection" in her right ear Monday morning. After a lot of Tylenol, Motrin and bubble-gum tasting penicillin (I'll take the pharmacist's word on that), I think it's all working. We put her down at 8:30ish tonight after she finally started eating again. And then she woke up. A completely different person. She decided to show us both that she was feeling better. Proof shown below...

happy 8 months!

Dear Mary Beth,

Eight months ago tonight, your dad and I tried to fall asleep in the hospital room -- physically exhausted and emotionally elated. We didn't really get to sleep much, between nurses checking on me and you being brought in for feedings.Your dad had diaper duty, as it was near impossible for me to get out of bed yet because of the c-section. And I was learning how to live on few hours of sleep and give you lots of yummy milk to eat.

You're still loving the yummy milk, but a lot has changed since then. We're all sleeping a lot more, thank goodness. You're sleeping through the night, but every once in a while wake for a feeding. In the morning we let you "talk" for a while in your crib, as you move around and practice your army crawl and scooting backwards. And when we go to get you, you greet us with the biggest, best smile we've ever seen. It's simply priceless.

You are starting to get up on all 4s, but haven't mastered the crawl yet. Which is good because we know that once you start, you're going to be off to conquer the world. I can just hear your Grandpa Phil laughing and saying "Oh you're so screwed!" But at least there's only going to be one crawling around. I still don't know how they did it with your Auntie Kim and me going off in different directions!

Tomorrow will be your first Friday the 13th. I'm sure as you grow up you will learn how much your parents LOVE this day. In fact, your Dad was born on one. And you almost were too! And in addition to a Friday the 13th, tomorrow is also our 5th wedding anniversary. Little did we know back then what joy you would bring to us.

We love you, Baby Love!
Love, Mom and Dad

mb's big adventures

This was QUITE a busy week for little Mary Beth. First, she got to spend the week at home with Nana as her private little nanny. No stooping down to be with the little people in daycare. Oh no, she got to have her grandma cater to her every need. Not the she was spoiled or anything. I think she's already put in her requests for next time Nana comes down to visit!

Then on Friday we headed south on 35 to San Antonio for Trinity's Alumni Weekend and her baptism. We had to introduce her to the soccer team, and she watched as her mama attempted to play soccer for the first time in years. I didn't do too badly either. Just can't feel my legs anymore.

Then on Sunday she was FINALLY baptized! She told me she was ready to start cussin' and causing trouble, so it was just in time. We headed to St. Mark's, and the baptism was presided over by Father Kevin Ryan -- who back in 1993 buried the original Mary Elizabeth. Quite appropriate, we thought! This time he remembered all of our names (hi Rob!). She was a little fussy throughout the ceremony, so our beautiful pictures include the pacifier. Hey, whatever works. We were joined by all our immediate family members, as well as Bill, Kelly and the girls (who showered MB with kisses) and Vanessa and Joe. It was wonderful to see everyone! And little Mary Beth looked so adorable in her long, white dress with eyelets. It reminded Kim and me of our dresses Mom made us for our First Communion. Though we didn't have a bonnet...

(Special thanks to Vanessa who took a TON of photos for us during the baptism!! You're awesome, Vanessa!!)

trouble with a capital T

Mary Beth and I had the weekend to ourselves at the house. Makes it difficult to get things unpacked and arranged how I want it. But Mary Beth did help me by laughing and giggling in her room while I was putting stuff away. Then Orbit came and joined us... and let's just say I saw a glimpse of what will happen soon. And oh boy. As you can see from the video below, we're in trouble:

weeeeeeeee!

After driving past a park at least two times a day, we finally took little Mary Beth to experience the swing. I was a bit nervous about it, because she's not exactly the biggest baby and I knew she wouldn't fit. So on a BEAUTIFUL day, we grabbed a spare blanket to stuff behind her, and headed out.

And what can I say... she LOVED it! She was having a particularly fussy weekend (too many "binding" new solid foods = unhappy baby) and this was definitely a highlight. Hadn't seen her smile this much in a long time.
Looks like we're definitely going to have to get a swing for the backyard at the new house...

hee hee i stole the computer!

dear all,
it's me mary beth. hijacked the computer. again. auntie kim swooshed into town and showered me with hugs and kisses. and i wore the snoopy and woodstock presents she gave me and i finally grew into. they took a bunch of pictures of me. uncy matt makes me laugh in them. here they are.
-mb

hmmmm...

Just in case any of you receive strange e-mails in the middle of the night...

happy 7 months!

Dear Mary Beth,

Seven months? Really?! Wow. Time flies. Soon you'll be asking Dad for the car keys. OK, maybe not "soon," but eventually. Right now you've taken to the wonderful world of sitting up on your own. And you LOVE it. In the evenings we put you on your new blanket (thanks Anne and Alex!) and you sit and play with your toys. And you roll over, smile and giggle. This has really happened in the last few weeks, and you love practicing it.

You've discovered your high-pitched scream -- oh goodie for us. It came when you discovered Orbit, and for some reason you feel the need to show off this new-found talent at all hours. But you do it with a smile, so it's hard to get upset. With that smile, you could probably get away with armed robbery.

You still do tummy time, going  back and forth between "flying" and your yoga pose. And we can tell that you want to start using your knees and legs. All that can mean is crawling. And then we're SCREWED.

Even better, you like to attack our faces with hugs and kisses. There are some pictures below of your latest attack on your dad. Priceless.

We love you, Baby Love!

Love,

Mom and Dad

the world's most patient cat

So, it's been a crazy last few weeks here at the Francisco home... we've all been sick, had doctor's appointments, a trip to Minnesota and more. I have many photos to post, but first just had to post this one from our trip up north for a surprise party. They were all surprised by how damn cute she is becoming!

And now...Auntie Kim complained that the last Mary Beth vs. Orbit video was too short. Well, the world's most patient cat came back to taunt Mary Beth. And we can't stop laughing...