bonus footage

apparently i forgot (oh, i wonder how THAT happened) that celeste had both her big camera, AND the little camera the day frances was born (not to mention the video recorder), and here is the lost footage! aunt sis and i before miss frances debut...

and sweet uncle jon, too!

clif in the waiting room while i was being prepped. he looks a little scared i think?!

the very patient group: celeste (aunt sissy), aunt su, gege, popa, dotdot, pawpaw, auntie addie. (uncle jon, uncle seth and steph were there too, just not in this shot.)

awwww....brand new #6. (wow, i cannot sis and i have had SIX post-baby pictures made together!!)

proud mommy!

next generation of day's just keeps getting bigger...

auntie addie flew in JUST for miss frances birth...all the way from philly.

yeah...i love her...just a little bit! :)
what a great day!!

you gotta laugh about it...

yesterday was frances' one month check up. miss f weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. was 21.5 inches long, and had a head circumference of 14". that makes 5% for weight, 50% height, 10% head. uh, what?! i have a tall, skinny, pea headed kid? since when?! i must admit initially i was a bit concerned, but sweet dr. i said...no worries. she is growing, eating, strong, and looks amazing. woohoo!! i guess i am just going to get use to the idea of having a tiny baby...(this is a major change from mr. b!)

so on that note, and to honor today, which would have been my grandfather's 83rd birthday...i adopt his famous saying "you just gotta laugh about it." there are few things that are too small for sweet miss f. but today we found one. vivian's doll stroller. teehee....uh-oh, it doesn't look like miss f thinks she has much to laugh about... ;)

may thus far...

our newest addition may be doing a bit of this...

but let me assure you...the rest of us (meaning clif and i, mainly) haven't!! which is why this is going to be a bit of a catch up post. this and that of the last few weeks. the above is one i just couldn't resist taking...is there anything cuter than a sleeping three week old?

-the saturday before mother's day, vivian and i had a little mother daughter date. we went to the arts center and saw their production of aladdin. afterwards i asked her, "what was your favorite part?" and she answered simply, "all of it!" :)

-vivian thought miss frances needed a sleeping buddy, mr.gorillee.

-everyday we have a little "IIIIII want to hold her" time. bauer always looks so proud.

vivian always looks so happy...frances...well she looks a little concerned.

but brother's extra love is always comforting! ;)

-we were expecting sweet miss frances to be around ten pounds, so when she debuted at a mere 6 lbs. 9 oz. we were a bit shocked. this is our smallest baby, by far...and frankly we were not prepared in the clothing department. luckily vivian has a vast wardrobe of doll clothes, for some of which she has matching dresses...

it has been a life saver!

-speaking of life savers...here is mine. what would III do without this great partner?! frances sure does seem to like some daddy time. :)

-frances is also fitting in quite well to our night time ritual. especially story time, she seems to have found the perfect spot...right between brother and sister.

-and even though she has met her aunt su before, apparently this time she was super excited (i mean look at that face!)...i bet it is because she knows her twin cousins will be here in just weeks!

purple crushers

not your average soccer group pics, but not your average soccer team, either!

we had such a love\hate relationship with soccer season this year. we LOVE our team, we LOVED to coach, we LOVED watching miss v finally figure it out, get in there, and kick the ball! but twice a week, and pregnant, and mr. b wanting to join the team, made for some challenges.

luckily...we survived. better still....we really did have fun! we will definitely do it again this fall...

i just hope we have such a great group!! :)
*photos of course by the fab miss whitney loibner.

i promise...

...to catch up!!
but if it is one thing i have learned as a mother...sometimes you just have to toss the schedule, and go with the flow...
but i couldn't let this mother's day go without a little recognition.
a few years ago i was very upset by mother's day. in only a few short weeks my mother will have been gone seven years. it doesn't even seem possible, and yet it seems like forever. i still want to call her, and tell her something funny i saw at the store. i still feel her, when i need that extra push to make it through a tough situation. and i still see her...sometimes in my own hands wiping dirt off a kiddo's face, or sometimes in my children. and so every year when mother's day rolled around i felt cheated. it wasn't until someone pointed out to me (as i was having a rather large fit of self-pity) that i WAS the mother. uhhh....well....DUH!! it sounds simple enough, but sometimes you get so wrapped up in the details, you can't see the whole picture. there are SOOO many women who struggle with infertility, and i have three beautiful, healthy blessings!
so for every mother's day that has followed, not only have i relished every minute (in fact this year we celebrated "mother's day week")...i have expanded this idea to include all the women in my life who have been an inspiration to me as a mother...here it goes (in no particular order), and you know who you are:
joan: our matriarch...very genuine and true, very rarely losing her cool...how does she do that?!
sissy: without you i wouldn't know how to bathe a baby, change his diaper, or over feed him!
cbb: the big sister i never had....someone who knows just how to worry, and then pray about it.
s: an all-round can do, gal. your energy, creativity and insight inspire me.
a: the calm in the storm. always able to smile no matter how many balls you have in the air.
wl: think before you speak...a concept i have yet to master, but what a great idea! ;)
su: the planner of all planners....always looking ahead, but always stopping to enjoy now, too.
kh: a child at heart, and therefore always full giggles.
there are many many more...but these are the ones that pop to mind.
so what's the point, you ask?!
i was so blessed to be the daughter of an amazing woman...
i am so blessed to be the mother of these amazing children...
and i pray that god will continue to bless me, by surrounding me with this amazing group of women, who define all that i hope to be as a mother.

the swing situation

i just couldn't help but post these photos. big brother and sister LOVE miss frances, BUT...

sometimes love is a funny thing! clif and i both have threatened repeatedly to NOT touch the swing (trust us, it WILL fall over if messed with by little hands!). so how do my wise and wonderful older children circumvent this rule?!

they get as close as possible...."but we aren't touching, mommy!!"
:)

the doc report

tuesday morning (the 13th) frances had her first doctor's appointment.

the big kids went to school....

but not before they got a little baby loving!

next it was off to the doc....this pic is extra special since we have the EXACT same one of miss v! same age, outfit, and reason to see doc...oompa loompa jaundice! ;)

proud daddy...

and sweet miss f....she got a good report, nearly back to her birth weight in only five days, and jaundice has peaked! woohooo....

frances' firsts

because this isn't our first...we recognize the sometimes forgotten window of "new baby". this is when your new bundle of joy sleeps...incessantly. if you are a new parent, you worry, wake the baby up, call the physician, etc. if you are a third time parent...you take advantage of this small window and escape the house!!

this is why on monday afternoon (when frances was a mere four days old) she had her first trip to the park. she thoroughly enjoyed it! ;)

she also has experienced what clif refers to as "daddy's little newspaper". of course, this is just the outcome of my amazing swaddling technique!!

we also took the whole family out to eat. the first time we have heard the words "day party of five"!

and i'm not sure if this is frances' first, but it is definitely part of her everyday life...a little cuddle time with big sister, vivian.

first night home

miss frances' first night home went off without a hitch. she enjoyed her bath time about as much as her older sister (read: screamed the WHOLE time!)

but luckily someone was there to help her through it all!! (i must admit this has become one of my favorite times of day...vivian LOVES helping give her a bath!! and is actually quite handy to have around.)

the after bath crew.

and the TRUTH of the after bath crew. "baby sissy smells."

"and she is loud, too!"

luckily, i think he really does like her...

and lucky for clif and i, she seems to really like us. thus far, things have been great. she is a good baby that wakes up to eat and goes right back to sleep...if only the first two had been this easy!! :)

this ain't our first rodeo....

heading home from the hospital*, we felt like old pros...it was funny to watch this other couple with their first baby...teehee...the car seat situation, mother in the backseat, dad driving 5 mph...we LOVED it!!

miss frances looked awfully tiny in her car seat (thanks to auntie steph for the new cover!).

and thanks to miss laura for stellar care during our stay...what would we have done without you?! :)
*yes, that is me...not the aforementioned marlon brando....sheeesh!

photo shoot

now i must admit....whitney loibner i am not, BUT when you have a subject as cute as miss frances...how can you not attempt a little photo session?! since we were required to stay in the hospital an extra 24hours due to jaundice, i decided to make the best of it. we had a room with wonderful sunlight (great for reducing her bili level) and great for picture taking. here our little one is enjoying a little sunbathing....

wearing the same jammies her mommy, and both big brother and sister wore.

probably my favorite picture....she just looks so sweet!

a little awake time.

and in the dress aunt susan wore as a baby. i had intended for her to wear this home, but we got the news that her bilirubin was only a fifteen, so they had decided to discharge us. we were so excited, that i didn't think to change her clothes as we hit the door running, afraid they would change their minds!! ;)