Sutton is 5 months old

I can't believe that Sutton is already 5 months old. Time seriously flies, it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Sutton is one social little baby. He loves to make you smile and as soon as he does he gets really bashful about it. He loves to be around people and prefers being held to playing by himself. When he does play by himself, he only lasts a little bit and then he will coo at you until you pick him up. He has rolled from his back to his stomach once (March 20) and he has rolled from his stomach to his back twice (Feb 26) but he hasn't done either since. He hates to sleep, hates it. Right now he goes to bed about 6:30pm and wakes up between 5am and 6am, and takes 3 naps a day but they aren't very long at all. Sutton adores his big brother and loves to watch him play. We are having so much fun with him right now. I'm just trying to treasure every moment because I know that time is fleeting.

Shhhhh!

We finally have a sleeping baby in the Frace household. After 2 rounds of "crying it out" and upping his reflux medicine, we think we've finally found the trick to getting Sutton to sleep....his belly! I tried about a month ago to get him to sleep on his belly (it's magical, I tell ya!) and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. He wailed. Louder than he had ever wailed in the past. But, I had to try again because a Lindsey with no sleep is not fun to be around. Just ask my husband. So, here's the sleeping baby on his belly. Doesn't he look so content?

Ford and his Birdhouse

So, thanks to my mom and Mark, Ford is ADDICTED to birds and squirrels. If any of you have ever seen their backyard, you know that it's absolutely gorgeous and full of little critters. When we're in Oklahoma, Ford loves to sit outside and watch the birds and help his Papa switch out the corncobs that the squirrels eat. Birds in Nana and Papa's backyard

The cardinal in Nana and Papa's backyard

Well, today was Ford's lucky day...he got his very own birdhouse.

He is so excited that he just can't stand it. We have to go outside every 5 minutes and let him play with the bird food and stick his finger in the hole to check for birds. Poor guy, he thinks the birds are going to move in immediately and take up shop. He doesn't get that it could be months before there are birds living in his "burr howwwse".

Hopefully, the birds come soon. I don't know how much longer I can stand holding him there while he plays:)

All About Kailyn

So, we have the most AMAZING babysitter and her name is Kailyn. I met Kailyn when she was a sophomore in high school when I became her pom squad coach. After I quit coaching, we stayed in touch and it just so happened that she was looking for a job when I needed a babysitter. She started watching Ford when he was about 7 months old, and she's been with us ever since. At first, she was just here about 10 hours a week. That was enough time for me to get my stuff done, but now with 2 kids, not so much. She's now here about 30 hours a week. Ford and Sutton just adore her and Ryan and I love that she loves our kids so much. Having no family around has been really difficult the past few months, but Kailyn is always willing to help us with whatever. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. Thanks for all you do for us Kailyn, we love you!

The Crossans Come to Town

Ryan's friend from college (who also happens to be his business partner) and his family came to town. Clay and Alli have 3 kids (a girl, Ava, and twin boys, Wyatt and Logan) and Ford just ADORES all of them. During dinner, the adults sat in the dining room and the kiddos sat at the kitchen table. Clay asked Ava to ask the blessing and I happened to be in the kitchen making my plate. Ava and the boys bowed their heads and folded their hands and Ford folded his hands and stared at them in awe. Ava began asking the prayer, which was just the cutest and sweetest prayer, and all of a sudden Ford just yells "AMEN!". It was sooo funny! I'm so glad I was in the kitchen to witness it! Here's some pics of our fun night together. We had such a blast!

My Lucky Charms

Taco Bar

One of our most favorite meals is our chicken taco bar. It's so yummy, not to mention quick and easy. Here it is:

3 chicken breasts
2 cans of rotel (choose mild, original or hot)
2 cans water (you can substitute low sodium chicken broth if you'd like)
1 packet of taco seasoning

Mix ingredients and place in the crockpot. Make sure you cover the chicken completely. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. When chicken is done cooking, shred it and put back in the crockpot. Serve with tortillas, lettuce, tomatos, salsa, sour cream, cheese, olives, avocadoes, onions, etc.

I always cook a little extra and make enchiladas or taco salad for leftovers. Ford loves the shredded chicken in a quesadilla.

Let me know how you like it!

Happy 38th Birthday Ryan

Ryan celebrated his 38th birthday on February 23rd. We've been so busy lately with family in town, sick kids and a work seminar that we didn't get to celebrate it right away. But, since I believe in "birthday months", it worked out just perfectly! Ryan's parents gave him some money, which we used towards our big night out. My parents got Ryan a Wii and some games, Ford and Sutton got him some workout gear and I got him courtside tickets to the Nuggets/TrailBlazers game. Yep, you read that right, COURTSIDE! We are so excited! All in all, I think we did the big 3-8 up right. Happy birthday, honey. You're my everything!

My little Elf and his 4 month doctor appointment

My mom got Sutton some fantasic "elf" hats. When she was in town last week she did a mini photo shoot of him sporting his new do. Isn't he the cutest?



The hats are a little big, but it could be because Sutton has a peanut for a head. We took him to his 4 month doctor visit and his head is seriously TINY. He's in the 5 percentile for his head. We weighed in at 14 pounds, 11 ounces (about the 50%ile) and he was 24.5" (25%ile). When Ford was 4 months, he was 14 pounds, 14 ounces and 27inches. So, the boys are definitely different in their bodies.

Sutton's visit was great. About the last week or so, he's started waking up in the middle of the night again and not napping very well. Well, fabulous Dr. Roy thought that it might be becuase I decreased Sutty's reflux medicine. And, guess what? He was right! We immediately upped his dosage again and now Sutton is sleeping, praise the good Lord for that! Mommy and Daddy were TIRED. We've come to the conclusion that Sutton's reflux must be pretty bad and we feel terrible that he was hurting this whole time and we didn't know.

Good news is that other than the reflux, Sutton is thriving. Ryan and I are SO blessed to have 2 happy and healthy boys.

Go Vikings!

My dear, sweet friend from college is Kevin Williams. Who's that, you ask? Only the GREATEST defensive tackle in the NFL! You can view him here.

Kevin and I met my sophomore year of college and we've been friends ever since. We don't get to talk all that often, but it's nice to be able to see him on tv and cheer for him.

K-Dub, me and Chris Massey

When I was 38 weeks pregnant with Ford, the Vikings came to town to take on the Broncos. Kevin was sweet enough to get me, Ryan, my mom, step-dad, brother and brother's girlfriend tickets to the game. It was freezing cold, but we had a blast!

My mom was in town when the Vikings played the Saints so we had a little viewing party while we watched Kevin play.

Even though the Vikings didn't make it to the SuperBowl this year, we are still SO PROUD of Kevin. He had a great year and I can't wait to watch him in action again in the fall! Goooo Vikings!