Nineteen weeks six days

Hello world!

Singing is lots of fun. Mama put me in my big boy bed this week and when she came back to get me up, I was singing to my bugs (I have some bright bugs that hang above my bed). I also like to sing when she plays my favorite piano piece, or sometimes in the car with the radio. I can sing in my normal voice and in a growly voice which my mama calls my Franklinsaurus voice.

Dancing is good too. My dad does the Franklin Dance with me but he's so funny he makes me laugh. My mama lets me lay on my back and helps me kick in time with music. I like that too.

I remember the very first night I was at home, and it was bedtime, but when the light got turned out, I got so scared! I yelled and yelled, and then the light came back on. So my mama held me when the light was off so I wouldn't be scared any more. Now I like it dark, especially for sleeping. For my nap, I need to have the curtains closed and my mama puts on some quiet static on the radio for me. I suck on my fingers and play with my hair to get to sleep. Dad says I inherited that from him, because he sucked his thumb and played with his hair when he was little too.

I sometimes get too wiggly to sleep, even though I'm tired. Yesterday I wiggled all the way from the top of my big boy bed to the bottom, facing the other direction. I get really upset when I can't stop wiggling when I want to sleep. If that happens, my mama can help me get back to sleep by giving me something to eat.

Love,

Franklin

Eighteen weeks six days

Hello world!

My daddy took me to see my first baseball game and I wore my new Red Sox shirt that my uncle bought for me.

Every Monday my mama and I go to play with the other babies at baby group. I have some friends who are nearly the same age as me: two are younger by a few weeks and one is older by a few weeks. I always watch them when I see them, and they watch me.

I know where my dinner comes from now. When I'm hungry and I see my mama, I just look there, and she knows what I want. I don't even have to say anything (though I like to wiggle and grunt too, just to make sure). But if I'm eating and I hear someone else talking nearby, I have to stop and listen.

The other day my parents dragged me all over and I didn't get much chance to have a sleep. I was really cranky. The next day I needed to have a lot of naps to make up for it. When I'm tired I just want to sleep, but if it's after 5pm, my parents always seem to make a lot of noise and it wakes me up. They stomp around and talk loudly. Don't they know I want to sleep?

Love,

Franklin

Seventeen weeks five days

Hello world!

I've had a busy week, and I don't have much time to spare for naps. When my mama puts me in my big boy bed, I remember I need to yell, but I can't exactly remember why. Then I roll on to my tummy and suck my fingers and get my back rubbed, so I sometimes fall asleep.

We drove to a big field and my mama and daddy took me in my stroller and left me there. Even though I could smell a delicious smell of strawberries, I didn't want to be by myself. After ages and ages my dad finally came and got me and we went and had a picnic. I could still smell them, but I was too busy eating to care. Later that day we had another picnic at home, with more strawberries. But I like my own picnic food.

It's strange, but whenever someone opens the fridge, it smells of strawberries again.

I can completely roll over now. I'm really good at it. I roll onto my tummy and then onto my back. I can also blow a raspberry. Mama and I practice it when it's time to get my bum changed. She's not too bad at it either.

A lady came to our house last week to talk about me eating, and she asked me if I wanted milky moos. I thought it was a funny word, but I did want them. And I got weighed (again) and everybody was really happy when it was done. I think it's the milky moos.

Love,

Franklin

Sixteen weeks four days

Hello world!

I got some new books and toys recently and I love them. I found out I can put stuff in my mouth and everything seems to taste so good. My very favorite book is called Have You Seen My Cat?--mama reads it to me every day and I look at all the pictures. When we were waiting at the doctor's, I saw another baby my age, and even though he was a lot fatter than me, he wasn't as grown-up. I was sat up on mama's knee, listening and watching, adding my own comments here and there; but he was just laid down in his mama's arms staring at the ceiling, sucking on his sucker.

I've been really grumpy the past three days because I lost my sucker. The first day, mama put me in my big boy bed without it and I reminded her that I didn't sleep without it. She said, "I'm not giving it to you," so I said, "Well, I'm not sleeping." Then I said, "We'll see who caves first!" and I kept saying that over and over again until I got so sleepy I needed a little nap to refresh me. When I woke up I couldn't remember why I was yelling, so I didn't bother yelling again. Until next naptime.

Mama took me in to get weighed (I like taking my clothes off) but the nurse said I needed to gain more weight, and they talked about a lot of stuff that wasn't very interesting (I hate getting my clothes back on) about centiles and grams and latching and pacifying; the nurse said mama should feed me more--this sounded great to me, only I didn't realize I would lose my sucker in the process.

This means when I wake up at night or during my nap, wondering where I put my sucker, I get to eat instead. This is a good thing for me, because I love to get up and eat and play. Mama also loves to feed me and play with me at any hour, day or night. But at night she falls asleep during our games a lot. It's ok, though. I just wake her back up.

Love,

Franklin