pics, pics, pics

I'm trying to figure out this new editing on blogger and I'm too tired to take a lot of time.  So, here are a bunch of pictures of the last couple of weeks in the Francis world of baby Mia, dance recitals, beach days, scooter rides, resident senior day, visit from Rach, and lots of baby cuddling.  We are getting packed up for the big move...the kids and I leaved in a week and a half!  There is A LOT to do (so I don't know why I am blogging and Dave is playing XBOX right now) but sometimes we just need our moments! 

It's tricky to keep your house in order and everyone fed and happy and do all the moving things at the same time.  I am also trying to exercise and sleep and spend time with friends and do our last New York things so time is valuable right now! 

I have all kinds of mixed emotions about the move, but mostly feel ready since we've been planning it for so long.  We almost have our apartment secured in CA (a 3bdrm, 2 bath, swimming pool, pond, fitness room, 7-mile commute place) and are looking forward to nice CA weather :)

We will be in UT from June 26th - July 8th and then arrive in CA July 10th.  I spoke to the Bishop of our new ward and he said there are a ton of kids in the ward...yay!! 

This is turning into stream of conscious tiredness...so enjoy the pics and good-night!

one month down!

Mia is 4 1/2 weeks old today!!

This has been the fastest month of my life.

I took her to her 1 month check-up yesterday and she is so BIG!

She weighed 9lb 9oz. and was 21.5 inches long.

She gained 3 pounds and grew 2.5 inches in a month--that's a lot!

Her cheeks and thighs are plumping up nicely and we are battling the baby acne monster (she's got it pretty bad :(

She is a great sleeper at night and gets fussy in the evening for a little bit, but not too bad--we're just so happy she's not colicky like Zanna was.

She loves to lay on her tummy and loves to be held, which we don't mind.

We can't wait for more people to meet her and love our sweet baby girl!

Zanna and James both won awards this past week for the bags they colored for Eco Fest and Earth Day. The Supervisor of the Town of North Hempstead chose a few kids from a number of schools in the area and we were so surprised and proud that they both won.

They had a recognition at a nearby country club and all the kids got called up individually and got their picture taken with the Supervisor and received a reusable shopping bag, a white pine tree to plant and a really cool certificate made in Nepal out of special paper that you can plant and grow flowers from...how neat is that!

We also had cookies and juice and it was just a fun night for us all.

Good Job kiddos- we love you!

Mom saves the day!

Even though she was just here 5 weeks before, my mom came again to help me when Dave had to go back to work (to the night shift!) and I am soooooo grateful she did! Mia was only 8 days old when she arrived and had some really fussy nights so it was so nice to have Grandma here to hold her so I could nap and play with Zanna and James. She took them to church and got them ready for school and they just love being with her. We got out to do some fun things too so it was a great trip and saved me from going a little crazy with the transition from 2 to 3 kiddos...

Grandma arrived on the red-eye flight and the kids were all so happy to see her when they woke up...even Mia!

She got to go to Zanna's class picnic at school

playing on the tire swing at our house

such a little poser

Mia at 1 1/2 weeks old

we had lunch at Stew Leonard's and I wanted a picture of Mia and my favorite ice cream :)

We went to an Eco Festival and had a great time getting faces painted, decorating reusable bags, catching tadpoles, listening to music, eating ice cream, and watched an awesome reptile show with snakes, turtles, alligators, frogs and more...

Only Grandma can teach piano, play a duet, sing and hold Mia all at the same time!

my 4-year old baby... he said he was just trying out Mia's new chair for her :)

We had to take Grandma to the beach since she had never been to a Long Island beach yet. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we built a castle for all the sand crabs, jumped in the waves, took a fun walk and ate lots of chips

Zanna wrote this on our walk...she is such a great big sister and loves Mia to pieces!

Dave was working the night shift and this was right when he got home. He always thinks he's going to stay awake and hang out with us for a bit but falls asleep in about 2 minutes.

He loves to hold Mia when he gets home though and is such a cute dad with her.

She always smiles in her sleep and I finally caught it!

the day Grandma had to go home...Mia is not very happy about this

Before going to the airport we stopped at the nail salon for pedicures and manicures. Zanna was home sick from school and the ladies painted her nails for her...she was SO EXCITED to get her first manicure and loved the little flower. I told her this is not going to be a habit, but it was fun to see her so happy!

We picked up James from school, got some lunch at Panera and headed for the airport. These three are so cute and James was so sad to see Grandma leave. He said, "I'm not ready for Grandma to leave yet" and started crying in the car. We counted that we would see her again in 40 days so that made it a little better.

Thank you Mom for coming out to entertain, cook, clean, hold, wipe, laugh, eat, play, read and love us! You are the best and we sure love you!!

Here's a little video of Zanna and Grandma's duet...