A Normal Life

Since going to Henry's gymnastics, Frances has left the house a couple times. I'm starting to feel like normal life is resuming. I am thinking of things I want to do that don't revolve around Frances.  This is a good thing. Hopefully it means that I will be ready to go back to work when it is time.

Frances has started forming a schedule. It's nice to know what to expect, but the schedule is not perfect. Frances is usually awake most in the morning and has the most smiles at that time. At night she has her fussy period from 10pm to midnight where she cannot be put down. After that she will sleep for 3-4 hours and go back to bed relatively easy. It used to take me an hour to get her back to bed, but last night it was taking me 45 minutes. So, things are improving. The toughest part is to trying to get to bed before her fussy time occurs. After Henry goes to bed I try to cram everything I want to get done in a few short hours. Usually I'm left with a half hour nap before it all begins. It's alright, but I am ready for a little more sleep.

Frances has been smiling and cooing a lot. I remember having to work for Henry's smiles. With Frances, they just happen with eye contact. She is also much calmer than Henry. Sometimes when she is awake, she fusses a little in our arms. When we put her down in a chair or the floor, she calms down and seems content. Henry would NEVER want that. Now that she is older, the differences are becoming more evident and it is fun getting to know her.  Oh, I just thought of something else that is funny.  Frances really seems to like diaper changes. When she gets on the table, more often than not, she starts grunting. It's like she knows what is going to happen. Sometimes we just have to keep her on the changing table until she is finished. It's like she knows what she is supposed to do, and would rather not sit in it.  I think this will mean early potty training, but we'll see.

These are pictures of me attempting to capture Frances' smile. It's a little hard because she needs that eye contact and the camera gets in the way.  I'm sure I'll get a real one soon.

 This morning I woke up to snow! It's the first big snow of the season and it is February. This morning Aaron and Henry went out to shovel our drive way. They both had a lot of fun. As you can see, there were things that needed attending to more than the driveway, like the tree...

 and grass.

After shoveling they had a snowball fight, but I couldn't capture it on the camera because Frances wanted to sleep. Hopefully this snow will be around for a bit so Henry can enjoy it before spring comes.