A Big Girl Bed!!

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Francie is pretty excited about her new big girl bed!! She has a ways to go before we boot her out of the crib for the new little one, but this cute bed was posted on our neighborhood listserve last night for FREE so we couldn't pass it up... it's perfect for Miss Francie Pants! Heff had it picked up and set up in the house within 35 minutes of our neighbors posting the email :) Francie says "oooooo!" and puts her doll-dolls to sleep under blankies. Heff wanted to let her try it out last night but I think we'll keep her in the crib for awhile longer... she can't grow up too fast! Maybe for a nap here and there...

Calling Jannie to tell her about her new big girl bed...

Night-Night! (just pretending:)

Afternoon Snacks

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When Francie and I get home from our play dates, work dates, lunch dates or running errands we are usually both ready for a nice little afternoon treat... "after school" snacks from Jannie were always my favorite (plain goldfish to "dip" in a cube of soft butter was the best Jannie:) Yesterday we had some of the extra fresh-out-of-the-oven ginger snaps Jannie made for her cookie swap with the needlepoint girls with milk... YUM YUM! Perfect prelude to books and a nap for Francie so mom gets to check email, list stuff on eBay and BLOG :)

"What little treat did Jannie leave me in here?"

Three cookies are better than one

A little Vitamin D cold milk...

A little ginger snapping...

YUMMMMMMY!

Sake's Alive... Grandma's 95!

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We were in Red Bluff again this weekend for a family-fun-filled celebration of Grandma Wichmann's 95 years! Claire and Cathleen threw a great party for their mom and most of her children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews there to help her blow out the candles and reminisce through old photos of her life. All 5 Heffernan kids were there and the Cahills which meant all 8 grandkids/cousins (and the two on the way in bellies!) The kids had so much fun running around and making at least 19 trips a day out to the barn to give the horses some treats and visit with the goats. They were all out there barefoot in PJ's first thing in the morning and last thing every night... the barn is a big hit Oma! It was a fun early-christmas get together and we can't wait to see everyone again in 3 weeks for the Heffernan Christmas extravaganza!

Cousins in the barn

Just hanging out in her camo hat and scarf from "Gi-gou!" (Thanks Georgia:)

She loves her horseys

Isa-bisa!

CUTE new baby Patrick Matthews! (10 weeks old)

Cousins coloring in the playroom

Righty or lefty? ;)

Ellie the eldest cousin and she takes her role very seriously :)

Most of us missed the memo that Saturday was "wear maroon day" :)

The twin-sy cousins Isabel and Francie in their (by accident!) matching outfits for the Saturday afternoon party

"How come she gets a carrot?"

Isa got one too

Francie is oh-so cooperative for photos these days...

more on that later ;)

Aunt Kat and Oma did a great job putting up photos of Grandma

And of course Aunt Kat put her baking skills to work with YUMMY cakes!

and coconut cupckaes

It was Bill's 35th birthday too... couldn't pass up some Italian Chocolate Wedding Cake

Andrea and Baby Patrick!

Aunt Kat on the brussel sprouts while Donald and Patrick supervise

Back out to the barn... a few cousin-wars over this doll-doll ;)

Lots of fun dirt to get into at Oma and Opas house

No more treats for the horseys Francie, "But they're still HUNGRY MOM!"

Fine I'll just give Sadie more treats

Daddy came out to give Francie a "wide" on the horsey... she's looking a little skeptical once they actually get IN the stall ;)

Look at these silly cousins... Ellie, Kate, Maggie, Francie and Ronan

Matching PJ's for the Heffernan babies... Kate and Francie brushing the rocking horse

Heading up to the playroom

Catch us if you can!

"Did someone just say 'lets get a group photo'? UH-UH-NO-WAY" says Francie!

You can try...

and try...

But Not-A-Chance-Miss-France has her own agenda (sorry Oma!)

The Matthews being much more cooperative... Ellie, Kate and Patrick

"Do I really have to put up with all these GIRLS?"

"They kinda scare me."

Happy Birthday Grandma!

The Heffs!

Donald and Kat

Mark and Sarah with Patrick

Bill (Happy Birthday to you too!) faked Isabel out and pulled her up... usually if he asked to hold her she would shake her head ever so slightly and very politely say "no" :)

The whole crowd

The Heffernan sisters and sisters-in-law!
Maureen, Andrea, Mary, Kat and Sarah

Daddy's Girl

You like that cake Francie? ;)

Francie, Mary, Ronan and Margaret

Late night trips back out to the barn...
Francie's just trying to keep up with the big girls!

Kate and Ellie trying to pet Santi (check out the horses tongue :)

Francie can ALMOST reach!

JUMP-ing Kate

Very interested in the horses eyes and ears... and teeth! (watch out little Doo!)

"More, More Dad!"

Isabel showing her cousins she has horseys in her book too

The big girls working with tools, at night, in the barn, with no shoes on. Oh poor Opa.

"I need tools too mom!"

Isabel says "Hey Francie what do you think we gotta do to get them to let us play too!?"

Back inside Ellie gives Francie some cousin-ly words of wisdom

"I tried to talk her into smiling for a group shot Aunt Mary..."

Oh the torture!

Francie the drama queen

Is it really that bad?

and she's got Isa-bisa worked up!

Ellie says "Get these whiny kids off me."

Aunt Kat saves the day with the bubble-bubble song

Where is Waldo-I-Mean-Cousin-Kate!?

The Karaoke machine came out late night!

and we were so good we left Grandma speechless...

Andrea... you better send me that YouTube duet!
(Think these two on "Total Eclipse of the Heart" :)

Heff and Cousin Carl rocking out

The babies rallied to stay awake but I think our singing sent them running for their cribs

Ellie sighs "I'm related to these people..."

And Francie's out for the count

The karaoke machine was seriously from 1982, look at the TV screen!

and it came with about 300 CD's... but that didn't stop the rock party!

Then the finale... Heff and Craig sang some sappy love song that brought Ellie and Maureen out of their rooms to see live and in person :) It was a fun night!

Le Cirque Home Opening Party

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Wednesday night we went to the Le Cirque Home Launch Party at their new showroom in downtown Menlo Park. The place looks gorgeous and even Dad came with us to see all the work they've done to transform the house. It was fun to see! Their new website debuted at the party too and Francie-pants is star of the show on the homepage :) It's not directing to the new site yet but hopefully if you go to ShopLeCirque.com it will be up soon and you can "SHOP Le Cirque!" We love it there!!!

The Heffs enjoying the party, we were so glad Dad came along too!

Yay!

We were early birds at the party... the new house/showroom looks amazing

Good work Christian and Meredith!!

Francie on her favorite bench outside under the lights

"Here Daddy!"

Mommy had to "seet!" too :)

Francie wanted to check out the whole house

Francie on the wall!

Checking things out in the organic gender-neutral nursery room :)

Daddy and the Doo

The cute Klas family!

Night-night on the big bed in the boy room

Even the closets are adorable!

Francie and her buddy Conor playing with Noah's Arc

Party girl

Meredith and Tyler "borrowing" Conor (love the look on his face:)

"MOM. Did you SEE this Christmas tree?!"

Doll-doll gets to ride the Panda Bear

"Uh-oh! Bonk the head doll-doll!"

weeeeee!

Hugs for her dolly and almost ready to go home for bedtime

Thanks for including Francie girls... what a fun night!

Santa's Little Helper

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Tuesday Francie and I had lunch and did some Christmas (and maternity clothes) shopping with Jannie. Francie was dressed like a patriotic little elf :) She still loves those red shoes! Then we went to playgroup in the afternoon at Asher's house and worked on learning to share since apparently Francie has learned the word and meaning of "MY!" More like "Oh my Francie-pants." (I love that Heff's boots are as big as she is in the picture above and that in order to get her to even remotely look at the camera anymore I have to shoot from my lap, hence the half-head shot)

Francie helped mom wrap some presents after playgroup

and pull some stickers off

She played with this "Not-a-box" all morning... it was a dollbed, a Francie bed, a hiding place, a toy bin and she was wishing and hoping Ollie would jump in and lie "down!" but he wasn't having it!

"YAY!"

She got MAD at Ow-wa!

but can't stay mad at her doggie very long... kisses for Ollie!

Tree Lighting at The Four Seasons

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Last night we bundled up and headed over to the Four Seasons for their annual Tree Lighting, Hot Chocolate "Bar" and Pictures with Santa. We went last year when Francie was just 10 weeks old...

... last year at the Tree Lighting! What a difference a year makes :)
From Francie 10 weeks

This year Francie was fascinated by the fake snow blowing everywhere and intrigued by this Santa guy. It took her a few minutes to warm up and then she was running around all over the place getting into trouble. We saw some friends and stayed warm with hot chocolate, cider and beer for Dad :) It was a fun family event to kick off the holiday season this year!

Francie checking things out... a lot to take in!

Cute Daddy and his girl

She's holding on tight!

Our kind of tree lighting... complete with a full bar ;)

Francie really liked these "elk" and wanted to pet them half the night

"My elk mom." She yelled at a couple big kids who were trying to knock the elk/fake deer over... she likes her order!

The kids took over the official tree-lighting ceremonial platform...

Francie thought it was a bounce house :)

"What the heck?"

Trying to blow the snow (fake bubbles that don't taste very good in your hot chocolate)

ahhhhhhh

Up in the air with Daddy!

She had BIG plans to "seet" on Santa's lap and say "ho ho" and tell him about her dog "Ow-wa" and "Stoph" and how she always has to tell them "no no!" It was about to be her turn and she seemed to be having second thoughts...

You're ALL TALK Francie :)

Thanksgiving Weekend in Red Bluff

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Friday morning we packed up early and headed up north to Red Bluff to spend the weekend with Oma and Opa, Nana and Pops. It was an unusual holiday weekend as we were the only visitors there! All of the other Heff kids were traveling this year so Francie was spoiled with lots of attention from her Oma and Opa.

The ladies were all accidentally dressed alike on Friday night in jeans and black t-shirts (well, the twins usually always accidentally dress alike somehow:) It was pretty crazy when we got home Sunday night (after 505 traffic and a stop for a few choo-choo rides at the NEW Nut Tree!) I was downloading pics with Francie on my lap and Heff checking them out from the lounge chair in the office... he asked Francie who's who in the pictures and IN EVERY picture including the one above she identified "Oma" (Claire, right) versus "Nana" (Cathleen, left) I mean... it took me a few months after I met all the Heffs to be sure who was who and my 14 month old can do it already!?

"YAY! We're in Red Bluff!!!"

Oma made a pretty impressive Apple Pie too!

Saturday Heff and Francie got started early on the finishing up the new big red barn so we could bring some horses over to their new home! The goats had free range of the place before... Pierre here is not so sure about all of this change :)

"Humm... Dad I think you should use the impact drill for that one" I was so proud of my handy husband jumping right in to build fences, stalls and gates. He is the best :)

Bringing the farm fencing down to the barn with dad on the "cah-cah"

"Where do you want it Dad?"

"GOOOOOats... I gotta treat for you!"

Milk break

"That looks about straight Dad."

This is her best "LOOK! but don't touch the water!"

We love Oma and Opa's Big Red Barn!

After two new fences, six stall walls, moving the water and putting in a new gate... we're ready for horses!

Off to pick up Mom's ponies! (Safety first right Dad:)

Unloading into their new home

I love this picture... the twins Claire and Cathleen leading the horses into a pretty idyllic setting up there. Francie is watching to make sure her lucky horseys are following along :)

Claire with Santi (aka Sancho Panza, but we didn't want poor old Bob to feel bad about a lesser name so I shortened it to Santi when I got him;) and Cathleen with Ole Bob

"WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS!?"

Happy horses

Not a bad life here in retirement for these guys

Francie was so excited, she was in awe of the fact Oma had "click-click, go-go" horses HERE. I am pretty excited to have my old horses right here in Oma and Opa's backyard to visit all the time too. Thanks for keeping them so happy for the past few years Kristie, Brendon, Madeline, Spencer and Eva! They look great :)

Not going anywhere...

Getting down and dirty in the mud... she's happy!

Hummm... good luck lifting that post with your little bum on it Francie

These guys are inseparable now

Opa likes the new additions too :)

Just hauling gear mom.

WHAT is Oma doing? You mean you can ride these things!?!

Looking good on Santi there Claire! (my old polo gear... "MRS" saddle pads for Mary Regan Simonson, I got made fun of a lot for those on the field:)

Poor old Bob in the corner behind the burn pile (can't wait to see Francie's reaction to the burn party at Christmas!) was a little upset his friend left him behind

"I'm next right?"

What a big girl

Just don't get too fond of horses Francie.

Makes me pretty happy... my cute husband, my cute baby girl, and my silly old horses :)

Thanks for making a home for our horses Oma and Opa!

More Thanksgiving Fun

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Uncle James proud of those pies! (which I just had leftovers of last night... still so good:)

ABA says "It's good now stop taking close ups of me." (see picasa album for proof:)

Emmy, Claire and Mimi clapping for Francie when she scares them with "BOO!"

Sleepy girl with my god-daughter and Gaunty Mimi :)

Awwwww

Sisters! ABA... move home already ;)

Playing a big game of Left-Right-Center... guess who won? JANNIE!

Up from her little siesta in PJ's for late night

Caroline put on a show for all of us including renditions of almost every disney princess song there is... she was quite the performer!! We couldn't get enough :)

She wanted everyone to have a piece of fruit from the basket before she could start and Heff got busted halfway through "I walked with you once upon a dreeeaaammm!" for setting his pear on the table.

The Arnerich girls

Encore!

For the final song we all had to close our eyes while she sang :) Thanks Caroline!

Francie trying to figure out how she and doll-doll and Grampa can top this

Oh the Little Doo is happy back being a center of attention :)

PJ's and BOOTS! (her new blue rain boots Dad is so proud he found at Redwood Trading Post for $10.98... what a steal:)

The babies of the families

Putting doll-doll to bed. We all followed suit soon after except for Mimi, Claire, Emmy (and a reluctant Drew, Con and Andy) who hit the Gilroy outlets at midnight for the 50% everything Black Friday sale... they are crazy!

Thanksgiving with Francie!

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Thursday we spent Thanksgiving at my parents house with lots of family and friends. All the Simos, Heffs, Kreefts, Beldings, Griesediecks and Forsts were out to celebrate together, play a few games and eat lots and lots of food. We had way more food than 30+ of us could eat but isn't that the way it's supposed to be on Thanksgiving?! James and Em signed up for pie duty this year and spent most of Wednesday and Thursday morning on four masterful pies, Heff and I made our favorite side dish of brussel sprouts, Mimi made the famous artichoke dip and cranberry-apple crumble, Kaky made yummy sweet potato casserole, Jackie made a great salad, Sue brought a huge dish of creamed spinach and cheese, Marla and Joe made fancy brussel sprouts with bacon and cheese (you can never have too many:) and Jannie and John did a 30-pound Turkey and a big Arnerich-style ham covered in beer and dry mustard, the best stuffing ever (umm sausage), homemade mustard, a new cranberry sauce, pea-bacon-cheese salad, garlic mashed potatoes and a few things I'm sure I'm forgetting. With a few games in the backyard, Turkey Trivia by Kaky, lots of kids and babies for entertainment it was a great afternoon and evening!

Francie showed the "big girls" Caroline and Molly her nursery/playroom but she bee-lined it back downstairs to see who else was showing up at the door

James and Em showing off their Pumpkin Bourbon Cheesecake, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie and Homemade Lemon Meringue (James even rolled the homemade crust!)

Quite impressive huh?! (James also hand carved the cookie toppers from a photo!) Top Chef James?

Team Emmy, Claire and Francie playing Corn-Hole in the backyard

Emmy LOVES Francie and Francie LOVES her EMM-mee!

The Forst's brought their own coolers to the party (our kind of friends) full of a home brew beer

Em, James and Baby Ann

Francie snuck away..."These kids don't know about my secret Jannie garden!"

Our ATTEMPT at a Simo family Christmas Card Picture... don't worry, this one DOES NOT spoil the surprise :)

Neither do these...

Sleeping babies... must be all that turkey. Jackson in the pram and Brooke asleep in the chair with her Grandpa Jack.

James and Em with Francie-Pants-I-Mean-Fancy-Skirt

Heff showing the boys how it's done... 21 to 1, sorry Drew.

Drew and Dylan try to hold their own. No mercy from Heff!

Cousins Emmy and Claire with cousins Caroline and Molly (ironically Emmy and Molly both have a twin brother and a "girl" cousin close to their age... everyone thought these little girls in their cute matching dresses were the twins!)

Boys watching football.

Loading up the plates for Turkey Dinner

Johners at the "kids" table... no beer allowed? He's 21.. and JUST started drinking right Johners?

"I'm ready for some Turkey and Stuffing Jannie!"

Getting lovin' from Claire and Emmy!

Drew trying to explain to us how he was the only person in his class who voted No on Prop 2 (if you're like Emmy you asked what the heck Prop 2 was)

The girls

"Com'on Claire! My peas and mashed potatoes can't be worse than your dorm food!"

The little girls lounging at their picnic table

Turkey Trivia Time! Every year Aunt Kaky writes up some "Turkey Trivia" questions for some good old competition thrown into the family holidays... this years included some "general trivia" for the non family members in addition to the family-based trivia questions (ie how many letters are in Francie's given name?) :) Good job Aunt Kaky!

After some review, we had a dead even tie between sisters Jannie and Mimi. I love this picture... Kaky is shocked!

Three rounds of tie-breaker questions...

and Jannie emerged the winner and took home a $50 cash prize! Mimi placed second with a 25th anniversary Trivial Pursuit game :)

Jannie always wins! She's not competitive at all ;)

Jonathon got a big chocolate Turkey for the "loser prize" with only five questions right :)

The Arnerich sisters... still love each other!

These guys bowed out when they saw a few pop culture icon questions on the trivia game sheet :)

Time for PIE!

Happy Thanksgiving! (late night pictures post to follow!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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The Heffs wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving spent with family and friends today and this weekend. We are very thankful for our Little Francie (who is very thankful to play in a big bowl of candy above:) and the New Baby To Be, as well as for our home, our health and everyone in our great big families and our great friends who we are lucky enough to share so many memories with everyday. Enjoy your Turkey!

A Picture of New Baby Heff

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Heff and I went in for an ultrasound yesterday and got to see lots of Baby Heff Part II! This was the anatomy ultrasound so we were in there for about an hour and they got 100 pictures to check out. We didn't watch the first part so we wouldn't see anything that gives away a baby boy or baby girl but in the end the tech showed us lots of the face, arms, legs and everything... it is always so cool to see. The baby is stretched out with it's head on my right side and the feet all the way on the left... don't get used to lounging around with all that space Cletus Repeatus. Francie liked to see the pictures when we got home and calls the black and white blob "Be-be!" :) She does put her hand on my belly and says "kick!" but I don't think she really knows she'll have a real live "doll-doll" sister or brother soon enough!

Sunday Fun

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Sunday we lounged around the house, went to the park and had Hacienda "authentic" burritos for lunch. I ordered a new Bounce House for Brilliant Babies (we always have one indoors for the winter) and somehow we ended up with two new "Jungle Safari Slide" bounce houses so logically I brought one home for our house :) Dad was a good sport and set it up in the front yard for some afternoon Fun on Sunday. Francie LOVED it and even figured out how to crawl up the climbing wall and go "weeee!" down the slide. We were a big hit in the neighborhood for awhile...

Who needs a bounce house... this blue tarp is just as much fun!

Here it comes...

"Hi Hi!"

She's the queen of this castle for now :)

The elephant's trunk on the other side is a slide into a pit you can fill with balls or water :) This thing is awesome!

Francie coming down the slide...

Mom too!

It didn't take long for Emma and Owen to run on over! Owen asked why we didn't invite any of Francie's friends over to Francie's party :)

Even Dad got in to join the fun...

But Francie was NOT happy having to share her space with both of her "too big" parents :)

She got us back... while Heff and I were still inside the bounce house (with an opening the proper size for a 4 year old) Francie went down the slide, walked right on over to the blower and stepped on the hose to pull it off! The bounce house went DOWN fast with both of us scrambing to find our way out:)

Sunday night we had cracked crab dinner at my parents house... all of my siblings and their "significant others" were there to join again! It was a fun night although Francie wasn't feeling 100%... ABA feeding Francie some snacks

The guys hanging out in the kitchen

The little sicky snuggled up in the TV room with her doll-doll, a cashmere blankie and Happy Feet. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday night.

You'll see it here before it debuts on JanKnits!... Jannie just finished a new winter hat for the Doo.

Silly Uncle James trying to squeeze into it!

that outta keep her head warm!

"I LOVE my new hat..."

"Thanks Jannie!"

A Night at The Condo

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We're so glad to have Heff back! He got in late Friday night and Francie ran to the door when she heard the diesel engine pulling into the driveway... She was so excited to see her Dad and was telling him all about her week (which basically revolved around explaining how the dogs were bad... "Oww-wa, 'Stoph, NO-NO! NO-NO!") We hung out around the house Saturday morning, went to the park and unpacked the hunting gear. Heff did not get a deer on this trip which he was a little disappointed about, they saw 60+ bucks the first day but didn't want to shoot on the first day of a five day hunt... and then didn't get a good shot at a big one the rest of the trip. But he had fun out in the elements, snow flurries and 10 degree weather and all.

Waiting for the Choo-Choo with her Daddy

Saturday night James and Em were going to babysit Francie at the boys (my brother's) condo in San Francisco while we had dinner out in the city... our plans changed when two of the couples we were supposed to have dinner with couldn't make it so we switched gears and had a "Sibling's Night" at the condo with all four of us! James and Em ordered pizzas and pastas and Francie got to entertain her aunts and uncles and be the center of attention for the night... until we broke out the Playstation and Rock Band. Baby Ann was pondering if we'd ever all had dinner together WITHOUT Mom and Dad there! We had so much fun and their place looks great, they moved some things around and added a little decorating flare (good work Em.) The train was so easy and it was great to see how excited (and slightly overwhelmed!) Francie was to be getting on her most talked about form of transportation for a ride. Thanks for a great night up in the city James, Em, Jer and Allison!

Here comes the train and loading up!

Very proud to have her own ticket to give to the conductor

"Mom stop taking pictures... I see Uncle James!"

James looking for us on the sidewalks from the train station with his spotting scope... he sees us too after I flashed the camera a few times!

This was Francie's FIRST trip to the boys condo if you can believe it... we don't get out in the city much!

Getting off the elevator with Dad

Uncle James and Uncle Jerry let her blow out all the candles in the house...

Uncles always let you do the fun stuff Mom and Dad don't let you do :)

"Wow, we are pretty high up here!"

Auntie Em and Francie snacking on Salt & Vinegar Pringles... can you tell by the look on Francie's face?

They sure spoil her... Uncle James lit the candles AGAIN for his god-daughter to blow out!

And Em brought out the freaky talking Monkey... Francie was trying to give it hugs and high fives but it would whack her in the head every time she went in for a hug

It's gonna get you Francie!

Pretty girls Auntie Baby Ann, Francie and Auntie Em

Jerry and Allison came back from watching the "Big Game" today... no not Stanford/Cal, it was Cal Poly/Wisconsin of course (both Cal Poly alums:)

Pat and Ann up in the city too for some sight-seeing while he is here for a visit! His first time to SF... always lots to see.

The Heff's happy to be hanging out with the crowd

Francie is ready to wail on Rock Band

Mom's turn... sorry Francie this is serious

Francie had to watch from Dad's shoulders so she didn't disturb the game playing...

All my siblings in one place :)

James, Jerry and Pat rockin' Rock Band

Sleepy girl... time to catch the 9:00 train back to Menlo Park!

The big girl gets her own seat this time! (we found an empty 4-pack of "facing each other seats" this time)

Silly Francie

Looking for whatever trouble she can get into from her throne

"What? That sticker isn't there for me to pull off and put on my shirt?"

"My parents must not know they have wireless on these trains... I could be checking my email instead of reading this baby book, geez."

Francie fell asleep about half way home... Dad though it was a perfect opportunity to show off her teddy-bear-tights-bum :) (We love the train, not only do they have internet you can DRINK too!)

Keeping Tabs on Dad

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Heff is 167 miles from being home with his girls! And I know this thanks to "The Spot," my favorite new gadget.

Heff got a handheld GPS Satellite device before he left on his trip that he pushes a button on periodically and it emails me his location coordinates and link to a Google Map which shows me right where he is all the time :) It was really neat while he was on his hunting trip this week to watch his daily hikes out in the hills of Eastern Montana looking for deer, checking in to see when they got out (4am!) when they went back to the cabin for beers and naps and the new ranches they were out on each day. I usually had a few "Spots" to check out by the time I woke up in the morning :) Probably a little "TMI" for most people but it is a great way to feel like you are keeping in touch and see that he is safe (kind of like "HowIsGrandma.com" Goody?) He is making the 20 hour drive home in the truck with Mike right now and we've watched their progress through Montana, Idaho, Nevada and finally now back in California. Over 1,000 miles in one day!

We're off to dinner with my parents, Auntie Baby Ann and her new boyfriend Pat who is visiting for part of the Thanksgiving week. Hope we like him ;) We're so excited she is going to be home for a week!

We Love Emmy

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Wednesday Francie and I picked up Emmy at the San Jose State library (good girl Em, Uncle John is very proud :) and hit our favorite cheesy mall, Valley Fair, for some serious shopping. The place eats you alive like a Vegas casino but it has tons of good baby shops and of course the "Picture People" for our token mall photo shoot. After a four hour trip around the mall, two hot-dogs-on-a-stick and 8 mini-cinnabon-twists we found the car and cruised through the carpool lane back to the Johnets. Em stayed for a sleepover in her old room and we hung out with Jannie until my Dad got home. John took us all out for Sushi at Bonsai for dinner! (I know, pregnancy + sushi = no no but I ate lots of BBQ eel and left the raw sashimi for the rest of them :) Francie wanted nothing to do with the tofu bits in the soup this time... her Dad has rubbed off on her in her old age. Then we had a sleepover party at home with buttery popcorn, checking our favorite blogs and wasting time on Facebook.

"MOM, this is the FIFTH ride Emmy has put quarters in for me! How come you never have so many quarters?!"

"Just driving along, no hands..."

Ohh bracelets and Emm-mee... Two of Francie's favorite things:)

Sushi girls!

Making Fishy-Faces with Emmy at Bonsai like the Koi fish in the ponds

When is the next sleepover Emmy!?

Sleepovers at Sophie's

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Heff has been hunting in Eastern Montana all week and he get's back today finally! Francie and I have literally moved in to Jannie and Grampa's since he left a week ago. WE MISS HIM! Francie got so sad the other day when we were at the office and she pointed towards his office and very excitingly said "Go-Go! Da-Da!" and I had to tell her Dad was gone, she didn't believe me so we walked into Dad's office, she practically ran to his desk but when she saw his empty chair she turned around, put her finger on her quivering lower lip and started bawling... it was so sad! Of course Heff loves to hear that he is missed that much. We've had a GREAT week being well taken care of at Jannie and Grampa's but we are so excited for Dad to get home and to hear about his trip. We are never letting him leave for a whole week ever again.

PS... Like the new blog layout? :)

Playdate at the Park

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We took advantage of the last few days of sunshine for a playdate at the park with some of the moms from our 0-5 month "Stanford Moms Group." Francie and a few of her little friends climbed all the way to the top of the HUGE slide and wanted to go for a ride... the moms got a workout following them up, up, up and fitting into the twisty slide to go down, down, down!

The only girls in the group sitting down for a story... it didn't last long

Amy and Asher ready to bike home... they are so brave!

The little escape artists trying to get outta town

Oma & Opa Come for Dinner

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Sunday night Claire and Tom were down in the Bay Area for a doctor's appointment Monday morning so we all had dinner at Jannie and John's with Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah and of course Goody visiting from Bostson. Oma and Jannie did the ring test on the pregnant girls (Sarah is 22 weeks and I just hit 20... about far enough along to do Jannie's infamous test!) You hold the pregnant girls wedding band over her belly on a string of her hair (did you study witchcraft Jannie?) and if it swings in a circle it's a girl, a pendulum back and forth is a boy. It works! 50% of the time ;) We had a great visit and Francie was so excited to see her Oma and Opa.

Oma and Jannie BOTH trying the ring test on Sarah... and both times said GIRL! :)

The Ring...

My turn... and twice it said GIRL!

The boys... Tom, John and Goody (Who is a saint! Goody is actually Craig Heff's (Brian's youngest brother and Isabel's Dad:) good friend and basketball teammate from MIT days but Goody seems to be everyone's new BFF. He took my mom and Aunt's on tours of Boston when they were back visiting colleges for Claire and my mom somehow convinced him to pick up an antique high chair she bought as a local pick up only item in Boston! He met this guy on a freeway exit, had it wrapped in bubble wrap at the UPS store and checked it as luggage on his flight out here to deliver to Jannie at baggage claim. Francie's spoiled little tush thanks you Goody!)

Francie and "toph" entertaining Oma and Goody

"I'm ready to eat in my fancy new high chair..."

"Seriously, what are we waiting for?"

"Oma says I don't have to go to bed mom."