Birthday Parties and Thanksgiving

November and December are super busy in the Franklin household! Now that I'm done with birthday party hosting (at least for the next 11 months), I have had a chance to download pictures from Thomas' party, Thanksgiving, and Hudson's party. I didn't take time to edit out so there are lots to enjoy!

Happy First Birthday!

One year ago today, Hudson was born! We named him Hudson Patrick for two great missionaries -- Hudson Taylor and Saint Patrick. He was born after only two hours and forty minutes of labor not unlike the drama on tv (during which Matthew almost passed out!). But all that was forgotten when we saw that precious little face.



Today, Hudson is our little sunshine, full of smiles, and very very curious. He loves to climb inside the kitchen drawers, open the fridge, and find a way through every barrier we build. He is a master at climbing and, if you saw the previous post, is well on his way to walking. Hudson doesn't seem too interested in the tv but will stop to watch one of Moose A. Moose's songs on Noggin. Most of all, Hudson loves his big brother and will follow him wherever he goes.

We are blessed beyond measure! Happy birthday, Hudson!

One Sings and the Other Walks

Here is just a quick post so you can see some recent videos taken with Thomas' camera...

Here is Thomas singing one of his favorite Bible study songs:


And here is Hudson taking some of his first independent steps!

Four Years Ago Today

Four years ago today, Thomas was born. We named him John Thomas Franklin...John for both of my grandfathers and Thomas for Matthew's grandfather. Thomas made us wait twelve whole days past his due date, but he was worth the wait!


Today he is certainly his own person -- full of smiles and laughter, constantly coming up with some creative idea. On Saturday, we were walking around Costco and of course, they have their Christmas trees out. I asked Thomas if we should put up a Christmas tree this year and his reply was, "yeah, a BIG one." (we only put up the little tree last year, poor child!) I just ignored that that should have been "yes, mam," and asked him what should go on top of the tree. First, he said a star; then he changed his mind, and said we should put Jesus on top of the tree. Then he changed his mind and said both he and Jesus should be on it. This idea was fully developed after a couple of minutes into Jesus and Thomas hugging at the top of the tree. Only a child...



Here is the big FOUR-year-old with his hamburger dinner, as requested. More to come after his birthday party on Saturday!

Car Bargain

I love a bargain! I visited a local thrift store recently and found a fabulous Step2 ride-in car....for only $5.99! The boys absolutely love it and we are so very thrifty that we probably would never purchase one brand new. A great bonus is that the boys can play with it TOGETHER. It is also a good safe place to put Hudson while we are outside playing as it distracts him from putting acorns in his mouth.





Now if only I could find a wooden outdoor playset for an equally impressive bargain!

Halloween Overload

We had a lot of Halloween fun this year. We carved our first pumpkin ever. We trunk-or-treated at Andrea and Tyson Belue's church. Thomas was literally a little firecracker at school and on Halloween night (a last minute decision - he was going to be a dinosaur again). I didn't take the time to edit out pictures because, well, I don't have the time. So this might be an overload of pictures :)

Remember as Diane Stortz says in Let's Shine Jesus' Light on Halloween (a great little children's book): "Yes, Halloween is jack-o-lanterns, costumes, and candy on a dark and spooky night...But Jesus is the light of the world!"

When Did I Become 'Mom'?

Yesterday, Thomas had the day off from school for Columbus Day, but Hudson had Mother's Day Out. So Thomas and I had a (rare!) special day with just he and I. It was really fun. We went to several stores looking for birthday party ideas and I took him up to Vulcan Park. (I had flashbacks to a girl scout trip to Birmingham!). Vulcan Park has been renovated, and it is really well done and has beautiful views of the city. Thomas had a great time (which was the whole point anyway)! While we were at Vulcan, I noticed he was calling me 'Mom.' At the beginning of his young life, I was Mama, and then for the longest time I was Mommy. And now MOM? It just sounds so grown-up. He's not even 4 yet...

Back in the Swing

It has been a while since my last post. Well, a day shy of a month to be exact! I can't believe it's been that long... Preschool started for Thomas. MDO started for Hudson one day a week. Community Bible Study began it's new year for Hudson, Thomas and me. We've had birthday parties coming out the ears. We've already battled a light case of the stomach bug. And consignment sale season is upon us (my hunting season - ha!). Busy Busy Busy. So that's my big excuse for not posting. After a nice relaxing summer, the Franklin household is back in the swing of the new school year!

So what else is new? Hudson has started to clap and wave bye-bye in the past few weeks and just yesterday he started squealing, for everyone's listening pleasure (but mostly his). He is also climbing the stairs like a pro. Thomas is loving school and playing with all the boys in his class (there was only 1 boy in his class last year). So I'm hearing a lot about boy stuff like Spiderman and Power Rangers. Thomas doesn't know anything about them except that when you play Spiderman you run around and shoot out webs. He is also the proud (but temporary) pet-parent of a praying mantis. I found "Mr. Mantis" on Monday and he is now living in a critter box until Show and Tell on Friday. I'm not sure how long after that I'll be able to handle having him in our home.

Day Trip to Columbus

We had a great trip last Friday to Columbus, Mississippi to visit the Faulkners. The moms (Rebecca Brown, Rachel Faulkner, Sarah Brown, & me) enjoyed a few hours of freedom to shop, catch-up and enjoy lunch together while the kids (all 7 of them) had fun with the babysitters and the backyard waterpark. Don't you just love being with old friends - the ones who've seen your good, bad, and ugly sides and love you just the same! Our children seem to enjoy each other too! Here are pictures of the kids having fun...

Beach Trip

We had a wonderful trip to visit Mimi and Gran in Destin during the first week of August. Finally, I've been able to download the pictures. One great accomplishment during this trip was actually spending more than 1 hour at the beach. I am such a light-weight when it comes to the sun and heat, and I'm also a little fanatical about the kids in the sun and heat. But we actually had a day at the beach... Thanks to a shade canopy and a baby pool, and a lot of work by Mimi and Gran to set it up! Enjoy the pictures!



Conversations with Thomas after our day at the beach:
Gran: Did you see any beach bunnies today?
Thomas: No, but I did see some jellyfish. (Gotta love the innocence...)

Face in the Crowd

Hudson fell asleep on the way to church this past Sunday. Knowing if I dropped him off sleepy, he would cry and cry in the nursery, I decided he and I would hang out in the church courtyard. The service is piped in among the hydrangeas. Picture a beautiful southern garden, a soft breeze, a precious sleeping baby, and a lovely service of Morning prayer... it was a sweet sweet time. I also happened to be sitting where the ministers pass before going into the church. Each one spoke to me and a couple gave us a blessing. In a church of almost 4,000, that is most unusual, but the Lord must have know what I needed...

The sermon was too good not to share...

"Jesus looked out and saw a great throng of people. And yet the Bible tells us no one is lost in the crowd. Jesus saw not only a great throng, but each person in the crowd remained distinct."

"Can you find your face in the crowd- the political left, the political right, those in between; the weak, the timid, the confused, the doubting, anxious about many things; those of a fearful mind, those harassed with temptations, burned-out, over-scheduled, under-scheduled, the lonely, frayed marriages, spiritual poverty, vexations of a thousand kind; bereavements, impending danger and impending death- all gathered together as one flock, the whole human race by and large looking for love in all the wrong places, with one thing in common: no power to help ourselves, whether we know it or not all depending on a miracle beyond human capabilities; all depending on the compassion of a loving God. Can you see yourself in the crowd?"

"The gospel does not address itself to those who might be ready to lift themselves out of the mire, who might show signs of improvement. The gospel does address itself those who have surrendered all hope of human sufficiency and leaning on his grace alone."

From Dean Limehouse's sermon on the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 this past Sunday. You can read it here or download the mp3 here (eventually).

Counting Teeth and Bruises

Hudson has not been a happy camper recently. Well, that's not completely true. He is still smiley but we've had a little more fussiness than usual. I discovered the reason a several days ago when I looked in his mouth only to find his 6th tooth(bottom right-side) completely through the skin. How did I miss that one coming in? And, on the top, he has two more coming in! I know he is in pain...thank God for infant ibeprofen!

As for counting bruises, I know it is typical for his age, but Hudson knocks his noggin on something twenty times a day. I think we need one of those safely helmets they sell for babies!

On a lighter note, Hudson is really enjoying Thomas' company these days. He gets a kick out of Thomas' silly antics and will laugh and laugh that adorable baby laugh. I'm talking about the total-body laugh -- I'm almost afraid he is going to topel over backwards! I'll have to try to capture it on film and get a picture posted.

Family Pictures

Our photographer just posted our family pictures on her website. I'm so glad we captured this sweet season of their lives. Click below to take a look:

http://www.jenniferhaglerphotography.com/franklin.html

Change

It's been over a week since my last post and a lot has changed in the Franklin household. A lot has changed because about a week ago Hudson started really crawling. He was on the move before but now it is a "textbook" crawl. So with Hudson on the move, we now have installed the gate over the stairs (Why are babies so attracted to danger? Hudson beelined it to the stairs as soon as he was able.). And we've had to make new family rules such as "If you choose to play with a toy on the floor, you must be willing to share it." In addition, Hudson has gotten 2 more teeth -- the top center right one came first and then the top center left. So you can only imagine the strength of his bite now -- ouch! It has been fun watching him explore his little world (taste-testing whatever he can)!

Thomas' Busy Morning

This morning Thomas is already busy busy busy. I heard him get up which of course woke Hudson up so Hudson and I went to see what big brother was up to. I found him in the bathroom and was quickly told to "Go upstairs." Whenever my bathroom services are not needed, I certainly take him up on it :) So we go upstairs (if you haven't been to our home, it's split level with the bedrooms down a few stairs from the main living area) to wait. Several minutes later, Thomas comes upstairs to tell me all he accomplished. It went something like this...

Thomas: Mommy.

Me: You're all done.

Thomas: Yes, Mommy. I went potty. Then I washed my hands, then I washed my face, then I brushed my teeth, and I made a BIIIIIG mess. (I wish I had my video camera to capture his expressions)

Me: Well, let's go clean it up.

Thomas: No, I already cleaned it. Come see.


He shows me the freshly dried floor, and my nice hand towel he used to dry it. Nice. We have a discussion about those towels just being for hands and faces, not floors, and he tells me I need to get some "Little Boy Ground Towels." :)


Now he is making a list of ingredients we need to make tomato pie which he has been requesting ever since our tomato plants started producing. He has already gotten the big bowl out of the cabinet. Matthew, not wanting tomato pie, thinks we can just keep putting him off. I don't think he realizes how persistent this child is.


Thomas: Please let's start tomato pie. (It's 7:30 in the morning.)

Me: We don't have all the ingredients.

Thomas: I know -- We can go on ERRANDS to get them. What kind of store has the ingredients?



Does anyone have a good tomato pie recipe?

On The Move

I've been in denial, but it is true. Hudson is on the move. Today he almost pulled himself to standing by the sofa, and over the weekend of the 4th, he mastered sitting up from being on his tummy. He doesn't crawl necessarily but does a combination of moves. Whatever it takes to get him to the desired object (usually the power cord for the laptop or my big toe). It usually consists of a Downward Dog, a Belly Flop, a Sttttttretch and Reach, a Roll, an I'm-Going-To-Crawl-Nope-Fooled-You, and finally a Scoot-Back-to-Sitting. I don't remember needing to really childproof the house for Thomas until he was 8 or 9 months, but the time has clearly come whether I accept it or not.

Beep!

Thomas always wants Hudson to play with him on his bed. "Mama, I have an idea! We can play on my bed!" This is an idea he has almost everyday :) Of course, I'm much more likely to let Thomas play with Hudson on the floor(It's practically impossible to fall off the floor...), but there must be something magical to Thomas about playing on his bed.

So this morning I let them play together on Thomas bed and Thomas got out his doctor's kit. I asked Thomas what he was doing and he told me he was trying to listen to Hudson's heart "beep!" Later he instructed me on how to use the stethescope and then asked, "Do you hear that beep?" This is certainly one for the baby book :)

Food Fun

Honestly, I had to have an attitude adjustment about starting Hudson on "solids" (Why do we call pureed anything "solid"). However, I knew at 6-months that it was time. So my mantra is "Food is for FUN until he is one." I learned that when Thomas was a babe, but I'm really really going to take it to heart this time around. So for fun, Hudson had a banana for his first food(hopefully, you've seen the picture in the Father's Day Weekend slideshow)....or at least, he held the banana and kind of sucked on it. And for fun this week, we've had oatmeal (which he loves!). He's also tried the "thank you carrots" and "yes peas" by Happy Baby. By the way, I purchased the Happy Baby frozen organic baby food from Whole Foods because it was on sale AND I had a coupon. It comes in little cubes -- the perfect amount -- and actually smells, looks, and tastes like the vegetable it is. I completely recommend it.


Here are some photos of other fun we had this week.
Below Thomas is brushing his hair to get ready to ride the...

Carousel!

This was Hudson's first carousel ride. (and I was certain to wash his hands as soon as we exited)

(Mimi was the photographer and worked hard to get us all in the photo. Thanks, Mimi! )

This last one is Hudson's new move. Looks like he is crawling doesn't it? Perhaps not before too long...They grow up so fast!

A Weekend of Firsts

We visited Mimi and Gran for a long Father's Day Weekend. This was Hudson's first trip to the beach. He also enjoyed his first food and his first swim in a big pool. Thomas had his first fishing trip and caught his first fish! Thanks for a fun weekend, Mimi and Gran!

You can click on the speaking balloon at the bottom left of the slideshow to see the commentary or click on the pictures to go to PicasaWeb to view it there.

Watermelon Season

Watermelon season is back, and Thomas and Matthew are so very excited. Matthew likes to cut up the whole melon for a weeks worth of snacking, and Thomas likes to be right in the middle of the action. This is one of their favorite father/son activities.

Happy Half Birthday, Sunshine!

Today is Hudson's half birthday! He really does have the sunny personality you see in these pictures. I just love those smiling eyes...

Update:

At his 6-month dr's appointment, Hudson weighed 23 pounds and was 27.5 inches long (97th and 90th percentile, respectively). Dr. Stone commented that she thought he was tall -- I should say so :) Apart from the 4 shots, he had a great appointment!

VBS and a 3rd Tooth

We've had a very busy, but very fun week. It all started with Vacation Bible School -- we went to "Cactus Canyon" at the Advent on Monday. I was teaching the twos & threes so Thomas was in my class. All day he kept saying "Mommy, thanks for being my teacher." And at the end of the day, he said that when he grew up he wanted to be a teacher too. It was really sweet. He is a charmer...

On Tuesday, Thomas started the summer session at Early Arts, and Hudson and I were back at VBS. Hudson was working on another tooth so you can only imagine how much fun he was in the nursery all week. My classrom was right next door to the nursery and we had tons of teen volunteers so I could pop over to help calm him. Thankfully, Hudson's 3rd tooth (bottom, right of center) finally broke through on Wednesday so Thursday was a better day for him. He made it all morning (well, 3 hours) without me! He even took some of his bottle and a nap! At the Celebration Dinner for VBS on Thursday night, it seemed that everywhere we went a teen volunteer was saying, "Awwww, there's Hudson." I guess he's a little charmer, too.

Hudson is trying out his new tooth a lot these days. Matthew let Hudson try some watermelon at the VBS Celebration dinner (thankfully, he just licked it!). Don't think that really counts as starting solids... And I'm not sure watermelon is listed as a good "first food" -- Ha! As for practicing with his teeth, I certainly prefer that he use his toe as a chew toy when the alternative is my shoulder --ouch!

Memorial Day Weekend

On Saturday we went to Witt Brown's 3rd birthday party. Any day that includes a birthday party is a great day in Thomas' book. On the way to the party, Thomas asked me what the name of the party was. I said to him that it was Witt's party to which Thomas replied, "No, what's the name of the party?" After a mental workout, I figured out what he was trying to ask me. He wanted to know what the theme of the party was. When I told him it was a race car party, he replied, in typical Thomas fashion, "WOW, I like race cars. I li-i-i-i-i-ike to race." "Wow" is one of his favorite words these days.

We traveled to Tuscaloosa on Sunday for church at Canterbury Chapel and for a reception honoring Ken Fields, our friend and former chaplain there. Ken will be moving to Houston to serve at the largest Episcopal church in the nation, St. Martin's. Ken officiated our wedding almost nine years ago so we didn't want to miss this opportunity to introduce him to Thomas and Hudson and to join in sending him off to a new calling.

On Monday, we spent some time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Thomas had fun running through the sprinkler while Hudson kept Mommy on her toes. We couldn't turn our backs on him for a minute and he would have a fist-full of grass. Thankfully none of it reached his mouth. He is quite determined!

Crayons

Even after I've heard "Mommy" for the thirty-millionth time during a day, I almost can't believe that's me. Thomas is calling me. I really am thirty-two years old with two kids and a mortgage. As they say, time flies. However, today, rather unexpectantly, I've reached a rite of passage of motherhood. Up to now, this event seemed to be something only real mothers have gone through and lived to tell about it. What is it, you may ask? A complete load of the children's clothing dried with blue, red, yellow and green crayons! Streaks of all the primary colors covering the inside of the dryer and the clothing! We've had rocks and coins in pockets, but never crayons. All of the crayons had completely melted with the exception of the yellow. (I did find the blue paper crayon wrapper.) I have found several suggestions online to remedy this situation so hopefully I'll have a positive update in a few days.

Shortly after discovering the mess, I went to speak to Thomas about it. I asked him if he remembered putting some crayons in his pockets. I asked if he could recall what color he was wearing so I could be sure to get all the remnants out of the pockets. I explained to him that the crayons had melted and that he wasn't in trouble. He had just made a mistake and we can learn from mistakes. A little later I heard him crying so I asked him what was wrong. He said he was sad because his crayons had turned into ice. He had connected melted crayons with ice that melts. Don't you just love it! I have a pretty big clean-up ahead of me. Never-the-less, I thank God that I get to be here for moments like that...

UPDATE:
After 4 washes in hot water, a lot of detergent and oxywash powder, the clothing is about 98% crayon free. There are a few pieces that just won't release the crayon and I'm going to try to bleach them. The dryer drum is a totally different story. I tried all the regular household cleaners -- Windex, Soft Scrub, Simply Green. Then I moved on to Oops which I guess is like Goo Gone. While it helped a little, you'll never guess what really did the trick....toothpaste! Now all of our clothes will smell minty-fresh :) Again, I haven't been able to get it all, and I'm just hoping that what remains will not melt onto future loads of clothing...

Hudson is 5-months-old!

I've FINALLY gotten together a photo update. See the pictures and commentary by clicking on this link:

http://public.fotki.com/FranklinHQ/hudson-is-5-months-old/

China's Earthquake

Some people have asked how close this earthquake was to where we lived in Tianjin, China. Sichuan province is in the south and a great distance from Tianjin. Think Birmingham, Alabama to Portland, Maine and then go another 120 miles North. Our students, however, were from many other places in China and we pray for their safety.

Over 12 million have been displaced by the quake -- that's more than the population of the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee combined!

I found this article informative:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahTkUHn23zZ8&refer=home

Here is what some Christian relief agencies are doing:
World Vision
MAP International

Update: I just had to add this link to a story about a Chinese police woman who is nursing quake orphans in addition to her own child...amazing!
http://www.breastfeeding123.com/woman-breastfeeding-nine-babies-in-quake-crisis/

Trinity Sunday

I've heard many, many Trinity Sunday sermons. Often the preacher will make some joke about how he got suckered into giving the sermon on that day or how the preaching duties are usually passed on to the newest member of the staff. But not Dean Limehouse. While acknowledging the great mystery of the Trinity, he didn't shy away from giving us a glimpse into the mystery and how it can change our lives. If you have a moment, read his sermon....

http://www.adventbirmingham.com/articles.asp?ID=3450

Weeds

We had a fun weekend full of weeding the one and only landscape bed that we have under-control...or at least it is under control now. (Now we need to get more pine straw, right Gran?) It was so fun for Thomas and a great science lesson. After several reminders to pull the weeds carefully to be sure we got the root too, we were able to find among the hundreds of weeds a great number of acorns that had sprouted into little oak trees. Of course, playing in the dirt is not complete without a dose of earthworms and rolly-pollies. FUN-FUN! We even got some of Thomas' neighbor friends to join in the fun.

Here is a picture of Thomas showing off a great root. Hudson with his never-ending desire to grab anything within arms reach wanted to join in the fun, too!

The Grace of Wrath

Matthew gets me a subscription to Christianity Today each year on my birthday and I cannot tell you how much I enjoy each issue. You can expect me to post quotes and articles from it often and I'll start with this one from the May 2008 issue....

What if God's wrath is not a caveat, qualification, or even a counterpoint to his love, but an expression of it? What if God grieves sin less because it offends his sensibilities, and more because he hates the way it distorts our perceptions and separates us from him?

Read the article at ChristianityToday.com:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/may/23.64.html

Teeth Already

Hudson now officially has 2 teeth and is quite fond of using them to gnaw on my fingers. His first tooth was the bottom-middle- left one which broke through on or around May 1. The bottom-middle-right one broke through on Mother's Day, May 1o. He is still chewing on his fingers, thumb, anything he can get his hands around constantly. A few days ago, he even managed to bend down over his pudgy belly to stick his big toe in his mouth. I don't know if he's working on another tooth or just getting used to these. Only time will tell!

A New Thing!

Inspired by my friends, Martha and Bill Wingate, and their blog about sweet baby Mary Hudson, I've decided to try blogging. It is my hope that I will be better at noting the important happenings and memory-makers that occur daily in the Franklin household. In the end, this blog may end up being somewhat like an online baby/family book with a mix of soap-box postings from yours truly. We'll see if I can get MTF involved too! In advance, please excuse my grammar and don't take me too seriously. If I have to think too much about each post, I'll never post. Thanks for reading!