Mullet

We're working on a mullet.

Hoping some day it can be as awesome as this:

Personality Prediction

Everett is 3 months, 1 week, and 1 day old today, and I'm pretty sure I've got his personality pegged. I'm excited to document my predictions, and I can't wait for him to look back at this one day and see how much of him stayed true (or didn't) throughout his life.

Everett, my sweet child, I predict you will be:

- Opinionated and demanding - you know what you want and you won't stop until you get it
- Extremely active - you never want to sit around, you always want to go
- A traveler who loves to see the world
- Incredibly observant (you certainly won't have gotten that from me)
- Inquisitive and curious - you always ask "why?" and want to understand everything
- A giant flirt

I also predict you will be a runner or soccer player. You love to move those legs!

I love every bit of you and can't wait to see what kind of man you become!

All Dressed Up for Easter

Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to do a real photoshoot, but I did manage to snap a few pics right before Ev's evening bath. Take note of the shoes you can hardly see... the best part!

Showing Off My Cutie

Veggin'


A tummy time position he actually likes! I was roaring at him and he was roaring back!

Melt My Heart!!

I put Ev on his tummy (which, as I've mentioned before, he hates) and for like 10 solid minutes he was cooing and talking to his puppy while snuggling him. So stinking precious I could just die!

Daycare Update (Hopefully the Last!)

Yesterday was Ev's big first day (again). The second 1st day went much better than the first. The teacher was great and we felt good (well, as good as you can feel) about leaving him. I went to visit him at lunch and got to feed him while I was there. It was harder leaving him for the afternoon, probably since I hadn't seen him all morning and knew I wouldn't see him again until the evening.

Kyle picked him up last night, so I came home from work to my two favorite boys. It was such a wonderful feeling walking in to see the two people I love most in the world waiting for me. Later that evening, Kyle and I discussed how much more "right" this daycare feels. And (gasp!) I think I might actually really enjoy this whole part-time thing. Dreading it though I was, for fear that I was a bad mom leaving him two days a week, I think it might be good for both of us. I get adult time with the ability to use my hard earned college education, and Everett gets time in the company of other little babies to engage with. I never dreamed that might actually come out of my mouth, as I was sure I wanted to be at home full-time. And I still would jump at the opportunity if I had it. However, I think the current arrangement is going to work out just great.

Daycare Update

Today has been a giant whirlwind. I got up this morning and proceeded to call about 10 different daycares (both corporate and home) and wound up with only two choices that had openings, one of which I ruled out pretty quickly. I chose to believe the reason for the limited choices was because this was where God wanted us - he was just making the hunt shorter and weeding out all the no's. We went and visited this morning and both Kyle and I felt positive about it. I made sure to ask tons of questions and I didn't beat around the bush with my questions. This time, I wanted to make sure they had good answers for everything. It's amazing, too, how much more you know to ask after the baby arrives. I met the teachers and they seemed very friendly and very capable. I feel much better leaving him there tomorrow. I'm just praying that this is the right place for Everett.

I called our old place to let her know we wouldn't be returning. The owner did, in fact, confirm that 2 of her employees smoke and that they take smoke breaks throughout the day. I'm positive this is where the other caretaker must have been when I arrived, since she returned smelling of smoke. The owner admitted that she may have made a mistake hiring smokers, and that hopefully losing Everett because of it would push them to quit. I let the other issues slide; it was awkward enough as it was. I just wanted to get out and move on.

Tomorrow Everett tries out the new place. Please pray that it goes well!

12 Weeks

My big boy on his changing table. He loves his changing table! This is where I ususally get the most smiles. We play peekaboo like crazy and he's actually started giggling at me when we do it. I always try to snap a photo right after we play to catch his giant grins, but they're always gone by the time I get the camera to my eye and focused in the right spot. Apparently it's a two person job to catch on film. :) Regardless, these are still cute. :)

Baby Feet

I love them!

Summertime To-Do's

Kyle and I sat down and put together a list of things we want to accomplish this summer. I can't wait for the warm weather to arrive so we can start tackling this awesome to-do list!

With the Little One
Chicago (on the calendar)
Florida (booked)
2 places in Michigan we've never been
4 beach towns
The zoo
Barbeque at a park

Without the Little One
Drive-in movie
Theme park (Cedar Point?)
Wine tasting tour
Concert

Maybe with, maybe without?
Cubs game
Camping trip
Traverse City

Ooh I am getting so excited just typing it! Our summer is going to be jam packed with sunny fun goodness!

Daycare, Day 1

Yesterday was Everett's first day at daycare. Let me just say, before he was born, we checked out a lot of daycares. It seemed like we were just never going to find a place we were comfortable with. After a long search, we wound up at a home daycare that we really enjoyed when we visited it. Aside from a seemingly flighty owner, the place seemed to be the best option on the table. We left there feeling very posititve about it, which was a first. So we secured our spot.

Last week, I took Ev for a short visit to introduce him to the caretakers. I was less than impressed and started to worry about the big day looming over me. In a nutshell, the girls seemed both disinterested in him and uncomfortable with such a young baby. And as I left to get in my car, I could have sworn I smelled like smoke.

I thought maybe I was being a little too harsh, so although uneasy, I didn't make a big deal about it. Fast forward to yesterday, the big drop-off day. When we arrived, the owner was the only one there, but she assured me that she'd brought an additional girl on (for a total of 3) for the day so that someone could hold him the whole day. I returned at 1:00 to get him, to find one girl present in the entire daycare. With 10 or 11 kids. The owner and the additional girl were nowhere to be found. The older kids were all in a room by themselves with no one watching them (it was naptime, but I highly doubt that makes it okay), and the lone caretaker was in the baby room with the 4 little ones. Holding Ev? Not a chance.

I waited around for 10-15 minutes before the other girl returned, as I needed to speak with her about how Ev's feedings went. She walked in and there it was again: the smoke smell. I know that I personally don't care to be around smokers, so I certainly don't want my little one being around smokers.

At this point, I am really at a loss as to what to do. Red flags seem to be going up left and right, but am I searching for a reason to pull him from daycare? Does anyone really leave daycare day 1 feeling like "yeah, that was great!"? Am I justified in being concerned enough to pull him from this place? Unfortunately, we have no other place to take him... our 2nd in line has a mile long waiting list. (Really. I called this morning and they are booked until 2012.)

What in the world are we supposed to do?!?

Stuck Like Glue

Our boy loves dancing to this song. He can be in the fussiest of moods when nothing will settle him... we flip on this song and by the first note he's all good. He just snuggles right into us and enjoys the close one-on-one time. I have a video of him dancing with his daddy, but am forbidden to post it for the world. That heart-melting video will have to stay locked away in the Frank family vault. :) So, instead, here's the music video for you to enjoy.

Attaboy!

The little one went 11 hours straight last night! Eleven hours!! 7:30pm to 6:30am. I'm so proud of him I had to let the world know. That is all. :)

Tummy Time First

So our kid HATES tummy time, I mean absolutely dreads it. But I've made it a priority to try it daily for the last couple weeks, and little by little he's beginning to tolerate it. (He makes it about 3 minutes before the he shows me what his lungs can do.) This is the first ever photo of our baby not screaming in misery while he's on his tummy. It actually looks like he's semi enjoying it. Yippee! I had to move quickly to get this not-crying shot, so unfortunately it isn't the best quality. It's still pretty adorable :)

Thumb Sucking (and Slurping)

Rhett makes the most adorable sounds when he's trying to find his thumb. And, he even throws in a little toot for your enjoyment. Love it!

Grabbing His Puppy

As promised, here's the video of him grabbing his puppy. He's gotten SO much better over the last 2 days. Now he goes straight in for the kill and brings it right to his mouth. He even uses his other hand to help him get puppy in his mouth. So stinking cute!

Sing It Loud

I like to sing this song to Everett. We start at 1 and go however long he seems to enjoy it (though my arms are ususally killing me by the time we get to 10). My neice Caroline picked up on the song and sang it with us whenever we did it. Here's a little snipet of her helping me sing and count. :)

Trip to Holland (Michigan)

On Saturday, Kyle and I woke up to some amazing April weather and decided to take advantage of the sun and warmth. We headed to Holland to visit his grandmother (Everett got to meet one of his great grandma's!), catch up with his college buddy (and pregnant wife!), hit the downtown shops, get some amazing coffee, and walk around Kyle's old college campus.

It was a long day out of the house, so Everett was clearly going to need to eat several times. We found ourselves shopping around downtown when it was getting close to his eating time. So we scoped out the store with the most dressing rooms, which just happened to be a very expensive, fancy boutique (I'm talking $218 for a casual shirt). I was sure there was no way I was going to nurse him in a dressing room unnoticed for half an hour in a store like that, so I politely asked if I could feed my son in one of their many rooms. Hesitantly, they obliged. I felt so awful about the whole thing that I ended up buying a pair of earrings from them after I was done nursing. I will always look at those earrings and be reminded of the time I used them for a little feeding privacy. I know they were talking about me when I left. Whatever! I'm sure they would have talked about me a whole lot more had I whipped it out right in front of them. :)

Here's Ev and I enjoying the gorgeous weather on Hope's campus:

He Grabbed It!

Yesterday was a big day for the little boy! He officially reached out, grabbed his puppy (below), held on, and shook it back and forth! He did this three times in a row, then repeated it later that night for his daddy to see. So stinking cute! We got a snipet on camera, and as soon as I can figure out how to post videos longer than 1 minute on here, I'll post it. :)

Yay little boy! You are growing up so fast!

Guilt Complex

I swear I must have a guilt complex as it relates to our child. To name a few...

1) Last night, Everett went 8.5 hours before he woke to eat. I was up (partially because I'm sick and can't sleep), and the whole time I kept thinking I must be a bad mom or something because he hasn't eaten in so long. What??! This is the normal progression of a child.... I laid there wondering if perhaps something happened to his voice box and he couldn't tell me he wanted to eat. Seriously??

2) My kid naps like a champ. He'll take 1-4 hour naps throughout the day. But then I think "I must be a bad mom since he'd rather sleep than play." I feel bad that we barely get to play because he always wants to sleep! His sleeping hours are within the normal range, but for some reason I really get stuck on this one.

3) Everett is a very active sleeper. He's constantly moving, grunting, and opening and closing his eyes when he sleeps. So, there have been a few times where I've checked on him via the video monitor and his eyes are open. I think, "he must be done sleeping and I can't possibly leave him in there alone, that's awful!" So I go and get him, only to realize shortly after that he really wasn't done sleeping (making the rest of the day a disaster). He was just in his period of eyes open before closing them again. I've fallen prey to this several times, so I know better than to go in and get him before he beckons me, yet I still feel guilty about it daily.

4) Whenever Kyle has Everett and he cries, I feel guilty. Why do I do this??! I know he's his dad and all, but I can't help but think that Kyle shouldn't have to be the one to bear the screams and settle him down. I feel bad that our kid is screaming in his arms and I just want to rescue them both.

Is this normal?? My goodness I am one heaping pile of guilt-ridden!

Everett's Dedication to the Lord

This morning, we had Everett dedicated to the Lord at church. Such a special day to dedicate him to our Maker! Our pastor reminded us today that our child belongs to the Lord and he is on loan to us. We took vows to raise him to love God first, and to raise him in a godly home. What a blessing to be entrusted with the precious gift of a child. It was a joyful and emotional time for us! We were lucky enough to have my sister, brother in law, and niece with us for the special day!

It's a requirement that, during dedications, we hold our babies up in The Lion King Simba fashion. Proud dad moment. :)

It's Everywhere!

So I literally just posted on the popularity of Everett, and how rare it is. And since then, in just the last 2 days, I've heard of 3 other little ones with that name! Apparently maybe it will become one of those names where there are 4 in every class.... :(

Maternity Session

Okay so this is obviously way out of date, but back on January 3, we headed out with the amazing Amy Carroll for a maternity photoshoot before the little one arrived. It's a good thing we didn't wait any longer than we did since he decided to show up only 16 days later (and 15 days early!)

On the Up and Up

So I found this neat little site called Baby Name Wizard that lets you track the popularity of names over time. Fun! Looks like Everett is starting to make a come back (though still very rare. Only ~250 per 1 million babies). Wonder if it'll ever turn into one of those names that's so popular there's 4 in every class. I'm really hoping not! I had no idea Isaiah is as popular as it is!

Eating Machine!

So last night was my first night out without the little one. (Thank you Kyle for letting me get out of the house for some fun!!) Kyle watched Rhett with one of the other dads while I had dinner with some lovely ladies. I returned from dinner to get a report that our little eater had taken 7.5 ounces... in one feeding! He's only 10 weeks old! He slept nearly 8 hours straight after that, so I'm not complaining, but holy cow! No wonder he nearly doubled his birth weight by his 2 month appointment. I think that normally happens by 5-6 months.... Sheesh!