Thursday, July 2, 2009

Whoa! Where have we been???

My goodness... my intent with this blog was to be a regular updater... I need to do better! We continue to be BUSY, BUSY! This summer has been a blast so far filled with trips to the pool, a weekend trip to Aledo to catch up with Franks relatives, a great trip to Door County with great friends, and bike riding! We finally got Reece a bike seat and it's been great since we live so close to tons of great parks and trails.

This weekend is the 4th of July- one of my favorites! We will spend the 4th the way we always do- at the Janci's celebrating Sarah's birthday! It truly is one of my favorite days of the year! Great food and great friends!

I will be running in my 9th annual Independence Day 5K and then it's back to Wheaton to see Jerm marching in the parade!!! Yep, you read that right, Jeromy will be marching!!! Reece should get a kick out of that.


We have been taking tons of pictures of our fun summer and I promise to update the gallery soon!


But here are a couple that just crack me up!



Monday, May 11, 2009

Beebos!

I had an absolutely perfect 2nd Mother's Day. Jeromy and Reece spoiled me and I got to spend the day with my 2 men doing exactly what I wanted! The perfect weekend was capped off with a special Mother's Day dinner prepared by my dad at our house. Dickie Moe whipped up a delicious dinner and I was able to celebrate Mother's Day with my mother too!

This title of this blog can be explained by the pictures below. Reece loves to show off his beebo (belly button, thanks Maddie Williams!) and now he loves finding other people's beebos too. He found Papa's beebo!













Papa and Reecie will have more beebo time on Thursday night when Papa babysits Reece for the first time alone!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Best Buds

How lucky are we that Brian, Amy and Jack moved back??? Reece and Jack truly are two peas in a pod. This weekend was a perfect example of how lucky we are...
Poor daddy was super sick last week and didn't get any work done. Aunt Amy really helped us out and took Reecie on Friday morning so Jeromy could get somethings accomplished. Jerm said Reece didn't even see him leave because he was too busy playing with playdough that Amy had set up for the boys. Then, Jeromy and Reece headed back for boys night with Brian and Jack later that night! How fun!
We ended up spending the entire weekend with the Brinks and the adults sat around amazed at how much these boys love spending time together! SO great! Look at Jackie Blue with his arm around Reece at Megan and Jack's bday party!











Busy, Busy Spring!

Happy 19 month birthday to my little man! I cannot believe that it has been 19 months??? Where does the time go? Well lately the time has been spent outside! What a beautiful weekend we just enjoyed. Reece wants nothing more than to be outside so Jeromy and I are happy when the weather is cooperative because otherwise we shiver while Reece plays!

Reece found himself in puddle heaven last week after all that rain. I even surprised myself by stripping him down and letting him splash around in the muddiest puddle ever! People gave me some really strange looks, but Reece couldn't have been happier. Puddle play was followed by a quick dunk in the kitchen sink. This was Reece's first time in the kitchen sink and he sure got a kick out of it!




























Our web gallery has been updated so please take a look at all of our adventures.








































































Monday, April 13, 2009

What a difference a year makes...

GO CUBS GO!











Run Chicken Run!

I wanted to give a "shout out" to Jennifer "Chicken" Janci who ran her first marathon last weekend! Chicken is a regular follower of the Franks 'n' Beans blog and we are so proud of her! She had a beautiful day for running and finished faster than her goal time! Wish we could have been there to cheer- but great job Chick!!!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A Musical Child?

While there are very few doubts that Reece Dean will be a ball player of some sort, I am wondering if there is any chance that I will have a musically inclined child. Although I consider myself to be an excellent singer... there isn't an overwhelming amount of musicality in our immediate family. However, I am using these recent pics of our little man with his Grampy as my glimmer of hope!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Spring has Sprung!






Since I am tired of blogging about sickness, colds, wheezing and surgeries- I am putting out happy vibes for Spring! Despite Reece's illnesses and eye issues, life has been plugging along and not one to miss out on the action- Reece has been right in the mix! We have gotten to spend tons of time outside, playing with friends, hanging with family, and just enjoying so many fun things around us.



Reece seems most interested in playing outside, playing with other kids, and taking baths and when any of those activities are taken from him- HE CREATES A SCENE! Getting him into the house every day has become a task because he wants to ride in his little car and play with his ball. Reece is a total prune by the time I drag him crying out of the tub.






And playdates are filled with many hugs and open mouth kisses from Reece! Reece has proved to be an "all seasons" kid, loving all that each has to offer so far. But, there has been something lately with this spring weather that really has RDF excited. Last night he ran around on the deck like a crazy man while Jeromy and I shivered chasing after him so he didn't fall through the slats! Enjoy some of these pics and please check out the Mac Gallery link on the page. Hopefully soon we will post some pictures of Reece's newest pets... 2 tiny turtles! For a mom that doesn't like animals- my house sure is a zoo!



Reece will have a sleepover on Thursday night with his Grampy, Grammy and Uncle Josh- I'm sure their knees will be sore from playing the tunnel game!!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Successful Surgery


Thank you all for thinking of Reece as he underwent his first (and hopefully last) surgery. Reece was the first surgery scheduled on Friday so we had to be at the hospital at 6 AM! Early morning, but nice since Reece wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after dinnertime the night before. Reece was such a champ- he let the nurses and doctors poke and prod him and never made a peep. Probably the cutest part of the process was the baby scrubs that Reece had to wear! I can't say enough about Central Dupage Hospital and all of the doctors and nurses- so wonderful!

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Woes of Ear Infections and Wheezing!

Reece Dean Franks thrived as a 5 week early, 5 lb. newborn coming home from the hospital 2 days after he was born. He has not however been as lucky as a toddler. Reece is prone to frequent colds, which to most children is not that big of a deal. Reece however has a couple obstacles against him.

1. He has clogged tear ducts in both eyes. We kept a close watch on this and have recently scheduled surgery to remove the blockages on March 20. We feel very good about our pediatric opthamologist and know that Reece will benefit greatly from this surgery. Our poor little guy has constant watery eyes and whenever he gets a cold, his eyes gunk up since they can't drain. While I am very nervous about the anesthesia, I think this will be a good thing.

2. Reece's minor colds result in ear infections and wheezing. Reece has never indicated that his ears are bothering him, but 3 times that we have taken him to the doctor to check his cough, they discovered ear infections! Couple this with the fact that he's allergic to amoxicillin and you have great fun! Most concerning to the doctors is that he develops wheezing. We have finally gotten a handle on that as well and are using a nebulizer twice a day. Initially, he was using a rescue nebulizer 3 times a day and a preventative nebulizer 2 times a day. Now thankfully, we are just using the preventative nebulizer twice a day and frankly, Reece has never been healthier! He responded very well to the most recent treatments and we are very happy with our decision to switch pediatricians as we finally feel like we have a handle on everything.

So Reece will continue with the breathing treatments for a couple weeks to get us through cold season and then we should have a healthy little man! No more watery eyes, ear infections or wheezing! Keep your fingers crossed. Despite these little battles, Reece has remained happy and mostly unaffected. Doctors marvel at how well behaved he is. He lets them poke and prod him all they want.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Friday's with GG






Jeromy and I are incredibly fortunate and lucky that my mom watches Reece on Friday's. Reece and his GG have been sharing Friday's since Reece was 4 months old. As many of you know, GG has worked in the field of early childhood education her entire life and is very esteemed in the field. So how lucky are we that not only does Reece get his GG every week- but also a child development specialist!

GG is always conducting informal developmental checks making sure our little man is progressing properly! GG has a deep love for nature and science and through her love, she has introduced Reece to a whole new world! GG often arrives on Friday mornings with "equipment". Sometimes this is plumbing tubing so Reece can explore how objects fit and roll through. Other times this is a basting brush so Reece can "paint" the deck. Often the exploration includes water play. Tubs of water on the kitchen floor, splashing in sinks and bathtubs- and the favorite- bringing snow inside during the winter! Reece and GG spend time sorting and classifying- another great developmental skill to achieve! This has been our new activity as GG arrived with 100 different color balls last week! Reece Franks + 100 balls = perfection!











Probably the best part for Reece and GG is their shared love of nature. Although truthfully, Reece probably loves nature because of his GG. They spend time looking out of windows, playing outside, and soon they plan to be regulars at the arboretum.

Reece and his GG share a very special bond. I often have to get on her for babying him too much, but Reece loves her very much- and so do we! I know GG enjoys Reece at 17 months but her biggest excitement is yet to come- when they can go golfing together! Enjoying nature on the golf course is GG's style!

Monday, March 9, 2009

The Franks are bloggers!


Welcome to Franks 'n' Beans! This is my first attempt at blogging and am hopeful that it's a great way to share all of the new and exciting happenings in our lives- especially for all of the people who we don't get to see very often! So please check the blog often, and I promise to keep the updates and pictures coming. Also, soon I will include a link to our Mac Gallery so you can see TONS of pics!

The Franks (of Franks 'n' Beans) live in Wheaton, IL. Jeromy and I welcomed our first child, Reece, in October of 2007. Since then life has been filled with so much excitement and a million firsts! Reece is a fun-loving child who loves people, animals, balls, and sleeping! At 17 months of age, he's starting to amaze us with new words and abilities. His favorite words currently are "mama", "dada", "mom", "dad", "turtle", "deer", "geese", "ball", and "snack". Reece has also recently discovered that he loves running and climbing up and down stairs.


As a family, our days are filled (well other than with work) with trips to the zoo (GG works there!), the children's museum, the library, visits with friends and family, shopping, eating in restaurants (Reece's and my fav!), reading books, throwing balls, and exploring nature! As the weather warms up, you will often find either Jeromy or myself running the streets and paths of Wheaton with Reece in the BOB!

So now you have been brought up to speed on us! Since the blog is new- I'll be sure to include a lot more blogs quickly! As I get more familiar with this blog site I hope to "pretty up" the page and include tons of pictures!