Baby Sign with Baby Landry

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Francie and I went to Baby Sign Language Playgroup on Thursday afternoon with our friends Kelli and her adorable Baby Landry. We learned mostly food and color signs in this class (the first of six). Kelli somehow remembered all of them! Here is her list from Landry's blog :) apple, banana, grapes (red AND purple), pie (peach,cherry, apple), plum, cereal, orange (and orange juice), bath, chocolate, cookie, milk, cracker, bread, corn, PBJ sandwich, water, green, peas (regular and frozen), rain, book, Mommy, Daddy, bird, hot, cold, baby, drink, & gentle (nice work Kelli). Landry is deaf (or has severe hearing loss... her parents are still working on a definitive diagnosis) so we are especially excited to learn ALL the signs to communicate with her even when the girls are older!

Francie Having Fun on Her Changing Table

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Wrong end Francie-pants but thanks for trying to help

She loves sticking out her tongue and blowing raspberries ALL the time now!

Naked baby posing for the camera

Pulling up on Dad's fingers... her new party trick

She so wants to crawl...

You think this kid has tall genes?

Hummmm, this picture bears a remarkable similarity to....

... don't worry Francie, you have more hair than George.

"You guys owe how much?!"

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"Geez, no new outfits for me this month. Is that why I'm dressed like a rag-a-muffin today?"

I had to do our taxes this week. Two self-employed people, the sale of two businesses, the sale of SUV 1 (not to be confused with the crashed-and-burned stolen SUV 3) or the expenses incurred on business SUV 4, moving bank accounts, moving offices, a new LLC and a partridge in a pear tree. WOW. It's done and we get the bad news today to write those checks and mail them off to Ogden, Utah. I "heart" the IRS. At least we have a little Francie-pants "dependent" write off :)

Francie laughing when Dad told her she doesn't have to pay her own taxes for at least 18 years... to which she replied: "18? But Baby Ann still doesn't know what taxes are and she's almost 22 Mom!"

Francie spent the day with Jannie (6 hours away from Mom, yeah for yogurt and cereal!) and had a relaxing spa bath with her new lavendar Mustela Jannie bought her, lunch (oh wait, not in that order) and soooo much fun spread out on the floor with her Jannie and a house full of toys. I got in trouble for not leaving any extra outfits at Jannie's though, hence the interesting ensemble seen here.

"One more step and I think I can pinch his nose..."

Francie entertained herself while I finished the QuickBooks up at home on her very own version of Mom's laptop.

"Don't bother me... I'm blogging"

And Daddy saves her... "See ya, wouldn't want to be ya Mom! Dads taking me on a run and hopefully to the swings too!! Soo much better than those taxes."

The Life of Baby Ann

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My little sister proves it's hard to be in college. I take that back... it's hard to be Ann. I called her this morning to say hi and told her I was on my way to meet with our accountant to do our taxes... she was on her way to go tanning. Big formal this weekend in New Orleans. She was bummed she couldn't make it back home for my birthday... but between the trip to Cabo, coming home for easter and having 35 friends and relatives coming out to Nashville in 3 weeks for her graduation (Part I, I'm sure we'll do grad school graduation in a year all over again) she was pretty busy. Her passport has stamps from 21 countries... I didn't even have a passport at age 21. Oh the fabulous life of Baby Ann. We love you :) and you take some pretty awesome photos I thought I would share...

The Chick-a-dees!

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I love my chickens! Heff got them all set up at home on Sunday (it was tough to pull them away from their foster dad Uncle Mark.) They are SO cute and Francie loves to watch them peck and chirp and scratch their food all over the place. Ollie (my dumb dog) however, does not think they are so cute. He thinks they are snacks. Jack Russell Terriers (aka 'Natural Born Killers') are great to protect your house and family but we will have to be very careful to keep him away from my chicks! He was literally shaking when he saw them in their Ollie-proof cage. Heff got 2 Rhode Island Reds (the brown/red ones), 2 Barred Rocks (the black ones) and 2 Buff Orpingtons (the blond ones) . They all will lay brown eggs and are pretty easy to take care of (read: hard for Mary to accidentally kill them.) They are about a week old now and should lay eggs in 6 months!

We had our neighbors over for an impromptu dinner to help us put a dent in the leftovers from my party (what? we over bought? that's not like us!)

Emma and Owen checking out the new neighborhood poultry in their temporary home in the garage

Owen giving "Purple-y" as he named this one a kiss

Alexa petting one of the blondies

Francie and the little runt chicky

So yes... they still need names! My sister Ann put in her two cents via email (I told her I kinda liked Eeny, Meeny, Miny & Mo but the other two might feel left out) :)

"I like the names Eeny-Meeny-Miny and Mo... let's be honest two of those suckers probably won't make it to adulthood so you may never need two more names.

But in case you need six names here are some ideas:

*Me and my five friends: Ann, Christine, Killian, Jess, Jackie and Susie...
*The 6 main characters on 90210: Brandon, Dona, Kelly, David, Steve, Brenda....
*The Simpsons and their dog: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and Santa's Little Helper.
*Or name them after awful pets of the past and present: Smudge, Sage Jr, Ollie Jr, Addie Jr, Tillie Jr, and what was the name of that stupid Carter's cat that ALMOST died in the dryer??"

Hanging Out and Cleaning Up

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We spent most of Sunday just hanging out and cleaning up the aftermath of the party. We all had a blast and only a few headaches to go around Sunday morning :) James and Em came over to the Johnet's in the morning to help and played on the swings with Francie for awhile.

Isn't this outfit too much! My dad's college roommate Phil Salz and his wife Joanne sent this to Francie-pants... it has pink butterflys in thermal camo and a big ruffley pink boa trim around the shirt too! SO Francie ;)

"Can't you suck our thumb and swing at the same time?"

I love these pictures!

"Oh this Jannie wears me out."

Swinging with Em

Francie loves going "way up in the air!" but it makes Jannie and Grandpa a little nervous when Mommy does this!

Leave it to Em and Uncle James... Francie got some new shades to match Auntie Ems :)

Mommy's 30th

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I had a GREAT 30th birthday! Heff made Heuvos Rancheros in the morning and Craig, Mark and Sarah came over to join us. Then we all ran a few errands downtown before heading to the Johnet's to set up for the party while they were at Emmy's first SJSU soccer game. It was a nice afternoon a little bit of a chilly evening... but I had so much fun with lots of friends and family. Heff gave a very sweet toast to his wife and brought out my surprise birthday present (and it was a big surprise!)... I got chickens !!! It was certainly a great party and fun to see so many friends all in one place. Thanks to everyone for coming to help celebrate with us!

All set up for the crowd...

Notice the theme?

Lesson learned... don't take your MIL to Costco. Jannie decided to go along for the ride on our Costco trip and found the 15 foot Japanese Maple she just HAD TO HAVE :) My husband is a good sport. It took all four of these small guys to move it into place (Mark, Craig, Heff and Donald)

Francie and I in our matching cowboy boots and jeans (we got her these real Wranglers and boots at the Feed Store last time we were in Red Bluff!)

Emmy the Soccer Superstar... scored the only goal for her team and against Brandi Chastain! Nice work Em and we're glad you didn't take your shirt off

Jannie, always a great host with Grandpa John!

Aunt Kaky looking stylish as ever with her buddy Heff

Giving Mom birthday smooches

Thanks to the Bacolini girls for helping so much with the party! Michelle made enough pizza dough to feed an army :)

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin"... right on over to Daddy

Aunt Kat brought my favorite.. mint chip ice cream cakes!

Sisters! Notice the buttons Heff made... how embarrassing :) a picture of me in my vaulting days in a unitard on a horse that says "Mary's 30th... Still Ridin' High" I couldn't even be mad at him though seeing as he actually went in to Michael's to buy the buttons and made the pictures up himself!

Nancy with Baby Maddie in their matching shoes too!

Kiddies snacks too... animal crackers to last until Francie is 12

Ronan in his teddy bear hat, it was chilly outside when the sun went down

Nancy and I on duty

Michele making pizzas and getting a little help from the cousins

Francie's swing set is a big hit (I heard Baby Ann "pulled the Francie card" not to let her be out-spoiled and used the swing set as leverage for a new purse... nice Ann)

Getting sleepy on her Jannie

Allison and Jerry took the train down to join the party and gave Francie and I matching converse!

Getting chilly

Georgia and Devon with the Doodle

Heff giving his cute toast with Francie-pants

AND MY CHICKENS!!!!

complete with a chicken hutch, run, heat lamp, feeders and all the fun chick accessories! (I know I am nuts. I really wanted chickens)

Chicky One helping blow out the candles (there are SIX of them and they are yet to be named... any suggestions?)

They are so cute!.. James checking them out

Heat lamps aren't just for chickens...

Anne sporting her button!

Moriah and sleeping Baby Natalie

Late night in Heff's camo jackets... these girls and their hubbies helped us party right on through to almost 2am! Not bad for three moms with babies under 6 months old :) Jannie kept us very entertained too while my Dad and husband had long since fallen asleep.

Yup, I'm 30 :)

Playgroup BBQ

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We had a playdate BBQ at Amy, Scott & Asher's house Friday afternoon with nine babies, nine moms and five of the dads. It started out kind of like a junior high dance with the moms and babies in one room playing on the floor and the dads in the other room hanging out by themselves. We eventually got them to join in (I think that many women with babies is a little intimidating to walk into!) and passed the babies off to them after they finished grilling the burgers so we could all eat with two hands :) Amy made a yummy Sangria and we had a great dinner. The babies are playing with each other so much more now! Leo is the only crawler but most are sitting up, standing at toys and all reaching for each other's ears, feet and toys!

The dads double fisting babies and beers

"You know you've got a baby in the house when..."

"Crazy Paige" feeding Wesley who spent most of the party getting his diaper changed (three times in one hour Wes!?)... sorry Paige, I had to call you Crazy Paige again :)

The Hutchinsons

Icie with Estelle in the Bjorn for hands-free Sangria and salad eating

Time for the inevitable babies-on-the-couch picture...

Asher, Francie and Natalie ready to go...

We got six of them on there and everyone is still relatively happy...

Trying to squeeze them all in and Francie is melting down...

Big time! Wes is telling her it's going to be ok...

Then Asher shared his rattle with her and things were looking up...

These girls are not happy and the boys can't figure out why they are all crying...

Asher, Isaac and Wesley wondering how much longer they have to endure this torture

Estelle says "Why are they all crying!?"

"Ahh, finally back on the floor... I need my space!"

Francie Tries Ice Cream

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Heff and Francie and I had a family date night Wednesday and went to our favorite Sushi place, Bonsai. It was Francie's first time there and she got to look at the fish in the indoor ponds and water fountains. She still is not that interested in real food (she'll take a bite or two, but doesn't show the desire to EAT like we've seen her cousins do!) THAT IS until she got to try some Green Tea ice cream! She was pounding the table and "oo-oo-ing" for more, more, more. Heff gave her little spoonfuls until it was gone and her Kissy Kissy pj's were covered in green drool :)

"You making fun of my drool mom?"

"Thanks Dad!"

Francie's Day at the Beach

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Uncle Jerry is visiting for a week and Uncle John's family rented a beach house at Rio Del Mar for the week so Francie, Jannie and I took a trip down for the day Monday to see her brothers, my uncles and Francie's G-uncles! We also got to play with the cousins and enjoy a sunny day at the beach. Francie loves walking in the sand and sticking her feet in the ocean (cold!) Emmy brought a snow cone machine over, we walked to lunch at the Pixie Deli and had dinner with all the Arnerich and Kreefts. Claire found out about a bunch of college admissions including Boston College, Notre Dame and Tufts! Congrats smart little god-daughter :) Come visit more often Uncle Jerry!

Ella, Drew and Luke

Em and Francie sitting in the warm sand and watching the waves

Drewby the Beach Boy

Aunt Kim throwing the ball for Cosmo and Sophie

Sophers worn out!

Walking with Emmers

Relaxing on the patio and playing a new game called "Quirkle" with the Uncles and Jannie (it wasn't competitive at all;)

Champagne came out a LITTLE before 5:00pm, thanks UJ :)

Jannie and her brothers... everybody loves Baby Francie!

Francie and her Guncle John watching the sunset

Oh Silly Guncle John!

The Cousins Hanging Out in Red Bluff

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Remember how well they fit in this chair at Thanksgiving?!

And how well they just sat there!?

THEN... (Ronan 6mo, Isabel 4mo, Francie 2mo)

NOW... Francie and Isabel switched places :)
(Ronan 10mo, Francie 6mo, Isabel 8mo)

We had to move these big kids to the couch

Francie says "Uhhh, I think Ronan's done."

Check out Francie's new boots! Dad was easily talked into these at our visit to the feed store (I was doing my best to talk him into chickens, it's really the only thing Heff has ever said "NO" to in our marriage. Too bad they don't have the baby chicks in yet because I was pretty close to a "maybe" and an "Eglu" for our backyard!)

Francie-no-pants Two-steppin on the BBQ in her new boots!

Future vaulter? ;)

"YES!"

Francie's First Pony Ride

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Sunday we went over to see my horses and the Flynn family. Francie LOVED the horses and was "oo-oo'ing" at them. Madeline and Eva showed Francie their pony "Stanley" and she even got to sit on Madeline's horse "Dazzle" for her first official pony ride! My horses, Bob and Santi, came right over to us and let Francie pet (or slap) their faces and noses. It will be fun when she can ride them one day.

Mom and Francie with Bob and Sancho Panza

Kristie, Madeline and Francie

Francie is very confused... "Why does my mother have these things if she never even rides them?"

Francie's first time on a horse!

Furrowed-brow Francie-pants not so sure about all this horse stuff

Eva feeding Santi

Madeline strong-arming Dazzle

Spence lost a tooth ;)

Madeline and their new dog Maize... Eva and Dazzle

Francie more interested in her toes than the horses

The Twin's Birthday Bash

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Saturday afternoon and evening went right into birthday celebrations! March 30 is Craig and Kat's 29th (my birthday is coming up April 5, they didn't need to share their cake but somehow my name made it on there too!) We had a great BBQ dinner and carrot cake for dessert. It was a fun crowd in Red Bluff to celebrate. The twins and I get to be 29 together for 6 whole days :)

The girls splashed around a little (Ellie was in the spa for 3 hours!) before the party in their matching bathing suits Oma got them

Francie loving the water with her big cousins

Cute little ruffle-bottoms!

Oma and her girls

Kat, Karlie and Francie

Margaret with Ronan and Grandma

Andrea and Sarah

Kat with the blue-blue cupcakes Margaret made!

Isabel's onesie says "Happy 29th Birthday Daddy!"

The twins!

Francie likes Ronan's hand

And really likes a taste of dad's frosting!

Heff reading to the girls

Red Bluff Double-Trouble Weekend

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We were in Red Bluff this weekend for Isabel and Ronan's double baptism Saturday morning and Katherine and Craig's double 29th birthday celebration Saturday night and Sunday (their real birthday:) We had ALL the Heff's up at Claire and Tom's house for a long weekend... including Maureen, Doug, Ellie and Kate who drove out from Utah (Doug only has 13 months left in his residency program there!). The house was so packed Maureen and Doug and the girls camped out in the front yard.

Andrea and Isabel ready for her Christening (wearing the dress and bonnet Kate was baptized in that Claire MADE!)

Ronan ready to go in his cute outfit too

All four Heffernan Grandbaby girls

Parents and God-parents on the altar

Dad and Francie watching from the isle

"Mom, I can't believe you forgot my dress at home, how embarrassing!"

Marge and Ronan

The big girls!

cute Daddy

Francie loves her cousins Ellie and Kate!!

Kate and Isabel

Isabel says "HELP!"

The twins with Isabel

Heff and Francie-pants

Back at the house for the Baptism reception... Maureen and Kat

Sarah and Mark

The LA Heffs

*Ellie broke some big news on the drive up to Red Bluff. Heff drove Mark & Sarah, Kat, Ellie, Francie and I up in the suburban and Sarah and Ellie were in the third row talking in the final hour of the long Friday afternoon drive up. We heard Ellie say:
"The elephant at our zoo is pregnant! And my MOMMY is pregnant too!"
Maureen is due September 18, Francie's birthday... Here comes the fifth Heffernan grandbaby!

6 months... officially

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Francie had her 6 month appointment with Dr. Cisco on Tuesday. She wasn't feeling 100% and had been coughing a little the night before so she escaped the office without any shots (next week they'll get her) and everything looked pretty good. He said we have "carte blanche" now to feed her whatever we are eating (since there are no food allergies on either side of the family). His motto is the baby fits into your life, you don't try to fit your life around the baby... so with the exception of honey and chocking hazards she gets to start trying lots of new foods! She weighed in at 17 pounds 10 ounces, (she's kind of hit a plateau at the mid-seventeens :) and 28.5 inches

Of all the toys we have... the spatula is by far her favorite. She bangs away on boxes, pots, pans, or herself and stays pretty entertained while Dad cooks or Mom blogs... and yes I got a new MacBook, the other one was, surprisingly, full of photos and a little slow :)

She loves her daddy!

Lunch with the Coogan Girls

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Wednesday Molly, Anne and Hannah stopped by to see Francie's (I mean Baby Ann's) new swing set and brought over lunch for all of us. We sat outside enjoying the sunny weather and got some great new stories out of Molly who is doing an acting tour at local elementary schools... apparently the students wondered why she wasn't a contestant on dancing with the stars :)

"I remember you Hannah!"

Molly and Francie

'On the Bright side' Hannah (her favorite phrase) about to dive into her cupcake

Chocolate Velvet... yummy easter leftover treats, thanks, Em!

Lots of stories to keep you laughing with these girls ;)

More Heff's Visit!

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We were so lucky Tuesday night to get a visit from the "Pat Heffernan Girls" from Lake Oswego, OR. Tricia, Katie and Colleen were in San Francisco for a little Spring Break shopping trip and took the train down to Menlo Park Tuesday afternoon. Heff cooked up a great Venison Sausage pasta dinner and we had my parents, Katherine, Mark & Sarah over too. It was so much fun to see the girls and Francie was passed around and got to try more new foods.. we found out she now has an aversion to avocado (it was messy) but loves whipped cream. :) Good to see you girls!

Must have been a special occasion... Dad gave Francie some whipped cream and key lime pie!