Don't Walk, Run

frankie in walker 1, originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

At a park near our house, there are two tennis courts no one ever uses. It's the perfect place for Frankie to run around in his walker. He loves the feeling of the wind in his hair and a rousing game of chase.

Whhheeeeee!

frankie in swing 3, originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

These Feet Were Made For Walkin'

frankie yard 1, originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

Frankie's been increasingly mobile and we've been practicing alot in the backyard. With each passing day, he stumbles less and less like a drunken fool. He doesn't like the feeling of dirt on his hands, which encourages him to stay upright. He's just learned to kick the ball and chase after it and is obsessed with flowers.

What's Goin' On...

Yes, yes. It’s been a while. We’re still alive and apologize for the lack of posts. We’ve both had very busy work schedules and Frankie has been sick for much of the past two months. Then, I had flu then some kind of strep-like virus, which I would dissuade anyone from getting if at all possible. We’ve been luck enough to have emergency care nannies Grandma (Baw-Ma) and Grandpa (Paw-Paw) B. or we’d have surely died and been eaten by the cats long ago. Frankie has been plagued by ear infections and respiratory problems, so much so that Dave and I made the decision two weeks ago to pull him out of daycare. At first the plan was to have Grandma B watch Frankie until his new, fancy-schmancy (i.e. really expensive) daycare was set to begin in January of 2007. But then, Dave and I were able to convince our respective workplaces to let us toil on different schedules, allowing us to care for him ourselves. I am working from 6am-noon everyday and Dave will leave for work as soon as I get home. Unfortunately, this means we won’t be seeing much of each other, but we really felt like we needed to give Frankie a chance to recover.

Our ex-daycare was a cesspool of green, runny noses. Frankie was especially prone to illness because he was in a room with mostly babies and one particularly dirty little kid who was basically the functional equivalent of “Pigpen”. This walking disease liked nothing more than to run his clammy, snot-encrusted hands through Frankie’s hair. We’ve had people tell us over and over, “Children are just going to get sick” and I accept that they are. But being sick 75% of the time is not normal. We think that giving Frankie some time without Penpal and his ilk as well as some visits to specialists (allergist and ENT) will help tremendously. Frankie’s been home for two weeks now and he’s much happier (the constant attention from Grandma B has sure helped). The upshot is that we get a chance to spend more time with him as well. It was quite depressing to pick him up from daycare at 5pm, have an hour and a half of playtime, and then move into the dinner/bath/bed routine during the week. I did visit him at lunch for 45 minutes each day, but still, it wasn’t the same as having him at home (plus, that yucky kid started trying to touch me too).

So, Frankie's at home with his Daddy now, doing what he loves the most. Throwing toys over the gate into the other room and waiting for you to fetch them. Life is good.

Hi Ya!

karate kid and ball 2, originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

Karate Kid sez hope you had a good Halloween!