Heart-A-Beats

Francie came to a doctor's appointment with us once and still talks about the baby's "heart-a-beat." She has an old stethoscope in her dress-up box (oh my old MCAT days) and has been trying to hear HER baby's heart-a-beat. She says my baby is a "gurl"... I'm still on the fence, some days I think boy, some days I think girl. Heff thinks it is a girl and says he wants five girls :) We'll see about that!! I am hoping for a baby in early April (I like the single digit dates 4-2-9 or 4-8-9 or something) but my birthday is April 5 so maybe not that day. I don't have much control at this point, I know :) My doctor will let me go 8 days past my due date and if I don't go into labor he scheduled a c-section on April 17 at 9am so hopefully one way or another we'll have a baby by then!

The Little Doctor

Ollie's turn!

and watching YouTubes with Dad...
it's a toss up between elk hunting videos and "The Life of Fancy Francie" :)

Clara, Family & Food

... that's what this week has been all about! Wednesday night we took Indian food into the hospital for dinner with Mark, Sarah, Oma, Opa, Heff and I and Sarah's brother Jacob. Clara is SO cute and we are so happy for Mark and Sarah and their new little family. We've had a busy week entertaining family and have some cute pictures to post next from the weekend with all the Heffernans- Francie and Isabel are in cousin love :)

Heff and his brother Mark with Baby Clara

Mark being silly trying on the nursing shawl we gave to Sarah

Thursday night we had dinner over at Mark, Sarah and Clara's house! It was their first night home from the hospital and Oma made a yummy dinner at our house to take over to them.

Francie was kinda shy :)

and wanted to make sure Jannie remembered SHE was a tiny baby too!

and she had to wrap up her own baby doll too

It will be interesting to see how she reacts to her real new baby brother or sister!

Taking care of her baby

Sleeping Clara Marie

The Johnets came for dinner too (long walk across the street:)

Francie "helping" Dad do the dishes

Oma with the baby and Opa in the background~ their 5th baby girl grandchild... only one boy so far

This neat little cradle has been in Sarah's family for 35 years and her uncle just added the chickens in the woodwork!

Jannie and Oma helping put the booties back on

Francie's kisses for her Jannie ;)

Wishes for Heaven

I am so proud of my cousin Emmy and how well she is handling the very difficult death of her mother. Emmy is finding beautiful ways to cope and remember her mom through photography and remembrances. I found the quote on the picture above in a book I randomly bought at the library and opened up to today... Emmy made it into something special. She took these photos today at the beach with three of the girls she babysits for and their mom, she is very close to all of them and they have helped her so much through this time as well. Alexis, the cute girls in these photo's mom, made the quilt Kaky slept under at home (the background for the "hand photos") and then was sweet enough to make one for me, my mom, Emmy and my Aunt Mimi. Today they tied notes on the balloons and sent them up to heaven. What beautiful photos Emmy...

Sweet girls

Emmy's hand with her mom's gold anniversary bracelets, a family tradition

We miss you Kaky

My Silly Sansie

Still Waiting....

Now that Cousin Clara has arrived we're just waiting for our little bundle! Francie thinks she has a baby in her belly too of course and that they both need to "come out" as soon as they get a little bigger. She seems like such a big girl lately - maybe because she knows she is going to be a big sister. She is very independent and likes to do everything "a-self." We finished a few little projects around the house last weekend and Francie pitched in to help....

Francie comes up with some interesting ensembles at home on "work days"

Francie helped Dad clean out the garage and had lunch on the "moto-cylce." She's contemplating sharing with Ollie...

Holding on the the sippy for dear life

Jannie and Grampa came over for dinner Sunday night after mass and Grampa read Francie the entire anthology of "Good Dog Carl" (thanks Aunt Mimi!)

Sansie got a new potty from her Jannie ~ She thinks she is a big girl but only likes to sit on it fully clothed

She's been spending lots of time in the mornings playing in the front yard with her "Dog Ollie"... and a little time in "time out" too ;)

And finally these economic times call for extreme measures! ;) We took Francie's "First Birthday" coins that her grampa gave her (a big pink piggy bank that unfortunately broke on the way to the birthday bash) to the CoinStar machine... Francie made out alright with $600 in cold hard cash!! Hummmm, do Mom & Dad really have to take this cash to the bank? Francie won't notice ;)

Oh I forgot, she counted it.

Morning Chat at the Breakfast Table

Francie's New Cousin CLARA!

We have a new Heffernan as of early this morning... and it's a girl!! Mark & Sarah had their baby girl at 1:19am ~ her name is Clara Marie and she is a beautiful baby with long eyelashes and perfect little features. Mom did a great job and they are a happy family of three (or 8 if you count Mark's chickens:) Oma and Opa drove down once they got the news Sarah was in labor and we camped out at the hospital very excited for the newest addition....

Waiting in Labor & Delivery for baby news

Silly dad

Where is that BABY!?! Threatening to push the "do not enter" door

Waiting with Oma and Opa

We sent the boys and Francie home and Oma and I waited anxiously to hear... every time we thought "maybe we should head home?" we got some news Sarah was a little closer to a baby- finally at 1:20am I bugged a nurse who said "She delivered!" We waited for the new dad....

PROUD NEW DAD coming out with the news!! IT'S A GIRL!!

CLARA MARIE

8 pounds 2 ounces ~ born at 1:19am Wednesday March 25, 2009

Passing her APGAR with flying colors

That's a fresh little baby! Only 30 minutes old

Can you see her LONG eyelashes?

She is beautiful!

New daddy with his little girl

Mom's turn to hold her baby girl

New parents

Doesn't get much better than this

Good job Sarah!

Congratulations Uncle Mark & Aunt Sarah and welcome Cousin Clara!

PS... still waiting for the official word from Uncle Mark but I think I WON the BABY POOL!! He promised a picture of Clara emailed to the winners email address. I'll save you the trouble Mark :)

Friends and Francie

Saturday the Stonebargers and the Wallace kids came over to hang out at our house for a visit. Francie was so excited to hang out with all the big kids and made dad pull out the Jumpy House. We got a few jumps in before the rain started in but luckily it didn't last long. Then Francie insisted on locking Ollie inside so she could let her chickens out of their coop to play. She showed off chasing them around and trying to give them kisses (gross) and herding them with her "chick stick" (a broken arrow from Dad's bow, safe huh?) It was great to see our good friends and fun to watch all the kiddies play together!

Knock-knock... bounce house time!

My cute godson James

Adorable little Stella!

Francie in the slide pit

Whitney not sure about these weird chickens

Francie and James herding animals

Joe, James and Wil trying to catch the chicks

Little Maddie!

The moms

and the kids!

Holding chickens and babies

James wasn;t letting go once he got ahold of Daisy!

Francie had soo much fun with her friends...

Lunch Date

We had lunch with Jannie at California Cafe this afternoon outside in the sunshine after Heff and I went to our doctors appointment... no baby yet and they gave me 23 days (1 week past the due date) until they'd have to do a c-section so the countdown is on. (This was my attempt to post from my Google phone.... hopefully I can send updates from the hospital too!)

Francie's First Diploma

Today Francie participated in a research study at Stanford in their "Infant Studies" department on efficiency and spoken language processing. We played together in a room with a video camera and microphone on us for 15 minutes and then she sat on my lap in a dark room with a projector while a "movie" showed different photos and marked her response to the words they said, throwing in a few non-sense words for random objects to see if she would learn them. I had to wear dark glasses with blinders so I wouldn't influence where she looked! We go back in a week, record her normal life at home on a little recorder they gave us for her to wear in a pocket and then go back again in 6 months to finish the study. It was fun and she was very proud of her "diploma" :)

Baby Number Two Who?

"WHAT are you talking about? Another baby coming to my house? I don't think so...."

"I like my world just the way it is." :)

Less than three weeks to go and feeling like it could be any day... hospital bags packed? No. Carseat for coming home? No. Newborn diapers or ANY supplies? NO! It's a whole lot different with the second baby :) But we are taking this weekend to get ready for Baby Heff Number Two so give us your best guess on the birth date, time, sex, weight and all the stats in the BABY POOL!

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mark are in serious countdown mode with just days to their due date... Aunt Kat made matching bunny ears hats for the Menlo Oaks crew (Francie gets one too:) Can't wait to meet Baby Heff # 2's buddy!

Keep a lookout for that stork Francie...

A Few More Photos from Kaky's Day

Francie found these sunglasses... she was feeling very Fancy.

Dancing with Emmy

Francie and the twins

and with her cute daddy

and Coogan girls... do you think we've listened to this song a few times now?

A Special Day for Kaky

The memorial mass and reception for Kaky were on Tuesday... St. Patrick's Day- at St. Patrick's church- and the mass was said by her cousin Father Patrick (the Irish girl's Trifecta!) My grandmother's funeral mass was also on St. Patrick's Day 4 years ago- at St. Patrick's church in Watsonville- and the mass was supposed to be said by Father Patrick but he was ill and she missed the triple :) It was a very special day for Kathy. Jannie and Mimi, Rich, John and Emmy did a great job to make sure every detail was just how Kaky would have wanted it. The church was packed with friends and family, it was a sunny "Mary Sheehy" kind of day in Watsonville and the mass was a beautiful tribute to Katherine Belding. We will miss her so much.

We stayed at Pajaro Dunes the night before (where my grandparents used to live) and Heff took Francie for a walk on the beach before mass Tuesday morning...

While they were waving to us up at the house a wave came in and "Got Sansie" She was not very happy and screamed "Be Tare-ful!!" It was

We were at St. Patrick's church by 10am and waited together as a family until the mass began at 11:00. We had big photos of Kathy through-out her life (as a cute little baby girl, newly married to Rich, smiling proudly with her twins, a few years ago with the whole family, etc) as you walked in- it was a sad day of missing her but a wonderful celebration of her life and the beautiful person she was.

I was honored to do Kaky's eulogy. There was so much to say it is way too long to share all of it, but my favorite story that is just so "Kaky" I wanted to post...

"One day in the hospital about a week after she was told there was nothing more the doctors could do, Kathy said she was a little worried about what it would be like to go to heaven and my mom said "But Kathy- we believe you're going on to the beautiful place and we're the ones who will suffer here without you..." and Kathy said "Oh I know. And I'll get to see Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa...." She was quiet for a moment. Then she said "And famous people too." ... and with all the energy and conviction we know Kathy to posses she said "I'm going right up to Nicole Brown Simpson and asking her EXACTLY what happened!"

Emmy's beautiful "Hands That Hold" photos

The reception was held at Pajaro Dunes and we shared our favorite Kaky stories and listened to "Kaky's Song" together over and over outside in the sunshine.

Claire, Father Patrick and Mimi

Francie in a special dress just for Kaky's Day

Em and Marla with Jackson (he is such a big guy now!)

Heff with Uncle Bill and Jerry Carter

Jen (flew all the way out from New York) with Me and Francie-doo

The Forsts and Emmy

Jannie and her friends who all loved Kaky

Francie and A-woo at the cupcake table

Francie and Mom with Jackson and Marla

John and Heff after the BBQ duties

Ummm... Watsonville strawberries

Jerry and A-woo

Janet and her "Watsonville boyfriends"

With my husband and my BFF Emmy :)

Listening to Kaky's Song

Drew entertains Francie

John, Emmy and Rich

The Dance Team put on quite a show

The Kreefts kids and the Belding kids

Heff throwing the football around with the kiddies

The siblings... we'll ALL miss you so much Kaky. Thanks for giving us so many laughs, good times and love.

"I have no doubt anyone will forget Katherine Anne Belding. Remember her spirit and charm, her laugh, and her contagious smile. Be a good friend and make others feel welcome and loved- especially those who need it the most. Remember that life is a gift. Hold your family close to your heart and most of all make sure you don't miss any of the fun."

We Hold You in Our Hearts...

Katherine Anne Belding
March 9, 1951 ~ March 11, 2009

Kaky went to heaven Wednesday night, March 11, 2009, at 10:30pm. She went peacefully with her faithful and loving husband at her side. She gave her adoring children and family time to say goodbye and went on to her next adventure with grace. We know she will always be at our sides to laugh with us and to protect us. She is our shooting star and our angel.

Memorial Mass for Kathy
Tuesday March 17th 11:00 am
St Patricks Church
Watsonville, CA
Reception to Follow @ Pajaro Dunes

Francie's First Haircut

Francie had her first haircut today! Heff and I battled over whether she would go to MY favorite hair guy, Raul, or his faithful barber, The Dirty Cuban. I won. We went to the La Belle salon this afternoon and had a pow-wow of stylists deciding how much to cut, what to do with the curls and how to clean up her mullet. Raul didn't think she'd sit in the chair but she was pretty excited about her smock and the twirling chair and sat pretty still the whole time. Raul worked quickly and she looks like such a big girl now! She still has a few curls but it got the clean-up it needed :) Even Dad approved.

Raul goes to work... she was a little skeptical at first...

Her face looking at herself in the mirror was priceless!

Still sitting pretty with her favorite special pink shoes of course

Dad was a good sport in the salon and Raul commented how "charming" he was :) Francie and I agree.

"Just make sure I can still wear my bows Raul."

"What do you think Mom?"

All done "Thank you" and a hand out for "Hi Meet You!"
(her version of 'Hi, nice to meet you')

"Let's go dad... leave a good tip."

Mom and Francie back home

The cleaned up Mullet

I picked a white bow but she INSISTED on the giant blue bow this morning. It's starting.

Looking for her beloved doggie hiding behind the shed

"You better hold me Mom, I don't think I should be out in the chicken coop with my party shoes on."

My First Haircut!

More Emmy B Photography

Tuesday when we were in Aptos visiting Kaky I brought my portrait lens down for Emmy to play with. She took a few shots of Francie in the backyard and... OMG Emmy is amazing!! Not that a 17 month old is an easy subject but somehow Emmy gets incredible pictures everytime she has a camera in her hands and a baby nearby :) Good work Em.

Mary Regan, Mary Frances and Mary Elise :)

Francie loves her Emmy-lou! These two are too cute on the bike...

March 8 & 9

Sunday we spent the day in Aptos with the whole family for Uncle Rich's birthday (March 8) and Aunt Kaky's birthday (March 9). We shared a lot of tears and a lot of laughs... it's a hard time but being together is nice. Heff and Francie came straight down to the beach from the airport and we BBQ'ed for Uncle Rich's birthday and all took turns holding Kaky's hands.

We all picked a "heart shaped rock" Jannie collected to remember this weekend
(Kaky's post here)

Kaky's four siblings with their Kaky hearts

Janet making it a competition of course trying to guess who will pick which rock.. she was right on at least 6 or 7 :)

The Little Doo

The twins and Francie

Emmy B photography :)

I missed my Francie

Francie and Emmy

Obsessed with the kitty-cat "Cousin Murray"

She says "Yucky! ew goss!" I wonder who taught her that?

Grandpa and Francie

Sunlight

Francie pretending she is a "little tiny baby" with Aunt Mimi's tiny baby

Daddy's hands

Francie's says "Am I really related to all of these guys?"

Happy Birthday Uncle Rich (and good job on the candle choice Uncle John and Uncle Jerry... there was talk about throwing six 12 packs of candles in the cart on the Uncle's solo mission to Safeway until one reminded the other it might be hard to actually fit 67 candles on one cake:)

Cousins and the cake

Uncle Rich shared the honors with Francie

Make a wish

"One for me..."

"One for Emmy."

Listening to "Kaky's Song" on the iPhones

We love you Kaky.
We know you're holding on through the birthdays so you don't miss all the fun.

Surprise!.... Happy Birthday Uncle Craig

Happy Almost 30th Craig & Katherine too!

The real reason for the big adventure to LA was a surprise party Andrea had planned for Craig's 30th birthday! The twins turn 30 at the end of the month so ANdrea planned an early surprise party for Craig. Oma, Opa, Heff and Francie kept Craig and Isabel out of the house all day so Andrea could set up and Kat and Donald showed up to help too. They had a busy day and showed up back at the house with the guest of honor who was truly surprised. Everyone had a great time with friends and family, great work pulling off the surprise party Andrea! Francie had SO much fun with Isabel and keeps talking about her "big hugs" :)

Francie and Isabel

The boys lounging around at John & Barbara's house

Oma reading to the girls

Uncle John wanted to take the girls to the beach but Aunt Barbara reminded him how many toys and "things" you need to take toddlers to the beach so he settled for a trip to the park :)

The girls loved the slides!

Izza-bizza is a tu-tu girl :)

The Heff brothers man the swings for the girls

A visit to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Heffernan's grave

Little florists

Back at Isabel's house for puzzles and playtime and PARTY!

Adventures with Dad

Francie and Heff flew down to LA this morning to visit with the Heffernan clan. Brian and Uncle Mark had to leave their wives behind thanks to Southwest's fear of 8-9 month pregnant ladies. They were thinking they'll probably be mistaken for two gay guys on the flight with their toddler :) Francie is having lots of fun with Dad and they are sending me updates from dad's camera "shone" (phone) to keep me from missing them too much...

She told us she was "packing" too last night. Then she put on Dad's shoes and carried her "purse" and said she had to go to a "meeting." Don't bother her- she's busy.

Got a sticker at security and made it through a safe 7am flight

Tuckered out after playing at John & Barbara's house in Newport Beach AND a visit to the park with Isabel (all this in a day when I am still at home in my Juicy's at 3pm organizing baby clothes:)

and a visit to Granpa and Grandma Heffernan's gravesite after lunch

I'm sure I'll get made fun of by my in-laws for my OCD packing of Francie's outfits last night... How else would Dad keep the matching bows/tights/shoes/onesies straight!?

and this is what I am doing at home to keep myself entertained...
I think they call this "nesting"? :)

but the end result is oh-so-worth it

I have an addiction to buying baby clothes, apparently, evident by the fact my favorite's from "Le Cirque" get their own bin.

Which one will it be!? (The only thing I have purchased for the new baby are two onesies! I know I only have one child and she is a girl but somehow I ended up with just as many newborn boy outfits from the first time around... I really thought Francie was going to be a boy!)