Merry Christmas!

We finally made it out of West Seattle (after a full week!) on
Christmas Day. The rain and warmer temperatures had melted most of the ice and snow, so we had a pretty easy drive. We spent two nights in Steilacoom, and had a very nice time with Jeff's family. Marley says, "Merry Christmas, Everyone!"

Mars and Cousin Cindy had lots of fun playing together.



And Marley is becoming quite the little monkey!


Note: I added a video of Mars after his doctor's appointment to the previous post.

Big Boy!

Marley had his One-Year doctor's appointment today. He got four shots plus a blood draw (finger poke), and he was a very good boy! His doctor is extremely pleased with his growth and development. He weighs 21.5 lbs (27th percentile), is 30 inches tall (50th percentile!!), and has a 44 cm head circumference (2nd percentile - I guess you can't win 'em all). He's, also, hitting all the important milestones for his actual age: pulls to standing, claps hands, drinks from a cup, finger feeds self, says "mama" and "dada", and responds to his name. Yay!

In other news, we're still snowed in:( We are supposed to get another 1-3" tonight. Mars and I went for a walk to Nancy's today and the roads are SLIPPERY! I'm starting to resent all those people who have chains or snow tires. Or All-wheel-drive. Or snow shovels. Or shovels of any kind. Check out the West Seattle Blog for updates on our weather conditions.

More Snow!

It has finally stopped snowing. Hopefully it will start to melt soon, cause I'm not looking forward to shoveling snow or digging out our car. We'd like to go down to Steilacoom for Christmas. But we shall see what the weather has in store for us. For now, we busy ourselves by trekking around West Seattle on foot! Off to visit our friends!


Ah! Here we are safe and warm at Liz and Chris's house. They took us in and fed us hot cocoa, chili, and corn bread. Mmm... Mars prefers looking at the snow through the window to actually being out in it.


Anyone care to join us for a barbecue? Didn't think so.

Snowy Adventures

We've had some exciting weather in Seattle this week. Last Saturday we got snow that turned to ice and made for some slippery conditions. That didn't stop us from walking over to Nancy's for dinner. Marley bypassed all the stuffed animals and went right for the tree.

Later, he had a very fun time playing with her dog, Juneau (or is it Juno?)


It was a little scary driving to school on Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday were fine. On Thursday morning, though, it began to snow - a lot. It looked like we were going to have school, but at the last minute they canceled. The snow continued and Friday got canceled, too. I'm glad I didn't have to drive in the snow, but I was a little disappointed not to have the last day before break. We had a fun day planned including making 3D paper snowflakes, photo ornaments, and a lunch time pizza party courtesy of the PTA. My class won our school's Box Tops contest by collecting over 700 Box Tops for our school. Now we'll have to find a day when we get back to do the party (it's doubtful the kids will forget about it, but one can always hope).

So, now I'm officially on break and we continue to get more snow. We've been out walking around West Seattle (luckily there's lots to do around here) but we haven't been in the car since Wednesday.

Marley's not sure what to think about the snow. He likes looking at it through the window, but he's not so fond of actually being outside in it:)

Par-tay!

Finally, some photos from Marley's birthday party last weekend. Thanks to everyone who attended. We had a blast!


Yay! The first present!

Okay - I'm tired now.

So much wrapping paper to eat, so little time.

Birthday's are hard work!

Getting help from Cousin Cindy and Nai Nai

Baby Annie (with Colin)

Baby Maddie (with Nancy)

A birthday kiss from Jada

Liz and Nate enjoying the party

Mmm...Cake...

At the end of a long, napless day! Whew! Thanks, everyone!

BFF (breastfeeding forever)

I have lots of cute photos from Marley's birthday party on Saturday. Then, there's a video from our dinner at Nancy's on Sunday. But, those will have to wait. The only computer in our house that will let me upload photos and video happens to be Jeff's work computer, which he seems to be using for work all the time (how dare he!). So, you'll just have to settle for my ramblings for now.

I've decided (long ago, actually) that Friday will be my last day of pumping at work. The pump and I have had a long year together, and it's time we parted ways. We've always had a love-hate relationship. I love that I can provide Mars with breast milk, even when I can't be with him. I hate lugging the pump around, finding somewhere private to pump (and the time!), and most hated of all - washing pump parts!

Now that Marley is one, he can begin drinking cow's milk. We need to talk to his doctor (his one year appointment is next week), but I think we will wait to introduce cow's milk until his one year "adjusted birthday" in the beginning of February. In the meantime, he will drink formula during the day. He's already had formula in small quantities.

His breast milk was fortified with formula for the fist two months, meaning we added a small amount of powder to increase the concentration of calories and help him gain weight faster. Then, after about a month back at work, my supply dropped a bit. I only pump once a day and I get about 6-8 oz. Mars drinks about 10 oz, so he gets a couple oz of formula each day. Occasionally, he drinks a bottle of just formula when he and Jeff are out and about during the day. Anyway, it's been such a small amount that the free samples from the hospital have lasted us until just last week.

I'm hoping that my body will adjust to the new schedule over winter break. I still plan to continue breastfeeding in the morning and at night for now. I'm looking forward to having more than ten minutes to eat my lunch!

Dear Son

One year ago today you completely changed our lives. We
experienced a fear like none we had ever felt before. This was due, in no small part, to the unconventional way in which you entered the
world. But in reality, the fact that you were here at all scared us to
death.

Our little family of two had become three, and would be forever
transformed. The awesome responsibility of caring for another human
being weighed heavily upon us. After one look into your tiny face,
however, we had no doubt that the transformation was into something wonderful.

It has been remarkable watching you grow and learn over the past year. You astound and impress us daily. Your spirit and tenacity are a force to be reckoned with. We are so proud of you. You rock our world.
Happy Birthday.

Thanksgivings #2 and #3

It was fun having Brian in town for Turkey Day

Eating dinner with cousin Cindy

Spending some quality time with Grandpa Franklin

Playing the bells at a really cool park near Nai Nai's house

Hanging with the Husons

Another yummy turkey dinner!

Early Birthday Present

Mom? Why is there a giant box in our living room?


A birthday present? For me? From Grandma and Grandpa C? Yahoo! They knew exactly what I wanted for my birthday:
Styrofoam Packing Peanuts!



Oh. That's not my present? This chair is my present? I guess that's pretty cool that Grandma restored the rocking chair that my mom got for her first birthday over 30 years ago! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!


Marley 2008


Dawn 1978

Happy Turkey Day!

I did it! I finished the hardest week of the year: Conference Week. I held 25 conferences total: 6 were in Spanish, 2 in Vietnamese, and one in Cambodian. (There was an interpreter, of course, though it would have been easier if I were able to speak those languages!) Only one parent didn't show for her conference. I tried to reschedule, but was unable to reach her. All in all, I feel very good about this year's conferences - especially now that they're over! Woo hoo!

Now for the turkey! Actually, I have to admit that we started early this year. Last Sunday, we were lucky enough to be invited to our friends, Dustin and Cecily's early Thanksgiving dinner. Cec is going out of town this weekend and Dustin's parents were here, so they decided to celebrate early. I wish I'd have taken a picture of the spread (maybe Cec can post one) - it was delicious and included a few things I hadn't had before, like mochi rice stuffing and sweet potato casserole topped with coconut and pecans. Mmm...



We have, not one, but TWO more Thanksgiving dinners to attend this year. This will be the first time in 14 years that we will spend Thanksgiving Day with family (not that the Funkhousers and Husons haven't long been considered family!). We will go to Jeff's parents' house in Steilacoom and have dinner with Jeff's whole family! Then, on Saturday, we will have our final Turkey Day with our "adoptive" family the Funk-Husons:)

On Sunday, we plan to take naps and unsnap our pants. Better yet, we will wear elastic waisted pants:)

New(ish) Photos!

We posted some photos from August, September, and October on our Picasa site, including some from Pat and Cyndi's wedding. Enjoy!

Day Out With Dad

As Jeff's collar bone has healed over the last several weeks (He goes back to the doctor for another x-ray on Tuesday), he has been able to do more and more with Mars. They have gone swimming at the YMCA, ridden the Elliot Bay Water Taxi, visited the Sculpture Park downtown, gone for lots of walks, and taken the bus around Seattle. This week they walked through Schmitz Park to Whale Tail Park, where Mars enjoyed the swings.



Then, they headed over to Alki Beach to play in the sand.



Having this much fun is exhausting!

11 month old Marley FAQs

Favorite Pastime: Pulling up on unstable objects/furniture, bumping head

Special Skills: Grabbing things, clapping, playing the kazoo, blowing bubbles under water, screaming really loud, staying awake - even when VERY tired, biting

Favorite Food: Mom's sweet potato pancakes (I'll post the recipe some time)

Favorite CD: Vampire Weekend

Likes: Peek-a-boo, dogs, books, musical instruments, hair

Dislikes: Loud noises, being left alone, getting his nails trimmed

Locomotion: (see video - however, he has gotten more skilled at his "crawl" even in the day and a half since this video was taken)

Happy Halloween!

Mommy and her Little Pirate

Flying Ninja Move

Grabbing Ninja Move

Raiding the Booty

Little Monster

Music Man

After fighting though work on Monday and Tuesday, I finally decided to stay home today. Yesterday was particularly bad. My throat was so sore that I could hardly swallow. I drank hot tea all day long, but that didn't seem to help much.

I think I'm feeling a little better today, but it could just be cause I didn't have to talk to 27 kids all day. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel, so Nai Nai came over to help out with Marley. He's still not sick (knock on wood) and we're really trying to keep it that way!

I'm going back to work tomorrow (wish me luck) where I have a HUGE stack of papers and unfinished progress reports waiting for me. We have a busy weekend planned, so hopefully we can all be well for that, at least. Who knows when I'll finish my grading. Ahh...'tis the season!

We're back. And we brought germs with us.

We're back from our whirlwind trip to Michigan. Pat and Cyndi's wedding was beautiful. The bride looked like a princess, the groom her Prince Charming. The reception was a blast. Mars stayed up until 1 am partying with the family. He was great on the plane, though he didn't sleep much on the way back, and was VERY squirmy!

I must have imbibed in one too many wicked cocktails of stress+sleep deprivation+air travel because I was feeling like crap today (sore throat, stuffy head, feverish). I left work right after school and slept for an hour. I'm feeling a bit better, but I just hope that whatever it is, Marley doesn't get it.

My computer hasn't been letting me upload photos for some reason (I have to get on Jeff's to do that). So, in the meantime, check out my mom's blog for some wedding pictures. You'll also get to see Sarah's favorite past time: Photobooth:) Matt and Alicia have some good ones too. Plus, you can watch a cool video of their trip to Cedar Point.

All Better, Part II

Mars and I are both feeling much better this week:) I guess all that fussiness and fever over the weekend was just due to teething pain. (I'm not sure what my fussiness was due to). His two tiny, little lower incisors erupted without incident, but the upper two giant, rabbit teeth presented more of a problem. But, they're through and now that we have FOUR teeth (three weeks ago there were ZERO teeth!) maybe we will have a little break from teething for a while.

Besides getting new teeth, Marley is doing all sorts of other things. He can blow bubbles underwater in the bath tub. He can pick up small pieces of food between his thumb and index finger, very well. In fact, his entire dinner tonight consisted of finger food that he fed himself with NO help from me (cubes of sweet potatoes, cheese, and chicken, and spiral pasta). Mars can pull himself to standing by grabbing my hands (he can't do this on furniture yet). When I first set him on the floor, he stays in "crawling position" for a few moments before sliding down to his belly. He rolls all over the place and has figured out how to get to most of the toys (and electrical outlets) he wants. He loves his noise-making toys and his touchy-feely books. And can you believe that he's going to be 10 months old on Saturday?!?

Jeff got another x-ray this week. His doc said that he can stop wearing the sling and start doing more with his left arm (YAY!). Basically, the doc told him to do whatever he wants, but to stop if it hurts. The only rule is that he isn't allowed to lift his arm above his head.

All better?

Well, the fever's gone (as of yesterday morning, actually - so I did end up going to work). No new cold or flu symptoms yet, either. I'm not really sure what was going on, but he seems to be mostly back to normal (maybe a little crankier than usual - just teething?). So, it seems that we've dodged that bullet...for now. He gets his first flu shot in mid-November - hopefully, we can stave off illness until then.

I did have kind of a major break down yesterday. I feel like I'm missing so much of Marley's growth and development all week long. And, although his caregivers (including Jeff) are AMAZING, they don't do things exactly as I would. How could they be expected to? Mars is a happy, healthy little boy, but I can't help feeling like somewhat of a neglectful mother. Not to mention that it's a long week, and by Friday I miss him like crazy! Jeff pointed out to me that every working mom in history has probably gone through the same thing. I wish I knew how they did it.

Fever all through the night...

Mars is sick! We knew it was bound to happen some time. Yesterday he was cranky all day. Jeff thought that maybe he was just teething (his top central incisors are coming through). But by the time I got home around 5, he had a temperature of 101. We gave him tylenol and I nursed him and he slept for a bit.

When he woke up, I gave him a bath. When he went to bed, at 7:30, his temp had dropped to 99.3. However, when I went to bed at 10:30, he was burning up. He stayed sound asleep while I took his temp (102.2!). I called the consulting nurse, just to make sure we were doing everything right. I learned a lot about fevers!

She said that, if it's a virus (probably), his fever should be below about 104 and back to normal within 3 days. I'm not really sure what's going on since he has no other symptoms (besides crankiness). I'll keep you posted.

Pay Day!

Woo Hoo! I got my first pay check in six months today! I bought milk, butter, and diapers (not with the whole thing, thank goodness).

Tooth #2

Well, we now have two little friends popping up in Marley's mouth! Both lower central incisors are visible, though they are still hard to see. I think he's getting tired of me opening his mouth to show people:)

We made it through another exciting week. On Monday, Kristina watched Mars in the morning while Jeff went into work. Then she stuck around to help out all afternoon. He didn't nap well that day, but did manage to fall asleep in his high chair.

Tuesday, Emily and two-month-old Maddie came over. Jeff went to work all day on Wednesday, and Mars got to spend the day with Jada and Tanya. Also, Kristina's fiance, Adam, arrived from China.

Thursday, Jeff and Marley both went to Jada and Tanya's house. They got to go to toddler gym class (Jeff felt uncomfortable being the only male there). And today Nai Nai, Jeff and Mars watched Jada while Tanya went to work. Then, Jeff and I went to a Mariners game while Nai Nai stayed with Marley. It was fan appreciation night and since there weren't that many fans there, you'd think that we would have won something, but no. At least the M's won their game!

Hello, Little Friend

It's official. Mars has a tooth! It's barely visible, right now, but you can definitely feel it. And, if he lets you, you can kind of even see it. It's the one on the lower right side. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures once you can see it better.

In the meantime, I know that I've been slacking on the photos and videos. So, here you go. Enjoy!


Faux Hawk

Signing "Goat" at the Puyallup Fair

West Seattle Farmer's Market with Kristina


Laughing Baby

The results are in...

For all of you who are waiting excitedly:
Weight: 18 lbs 5 oz (14th percentile), Winner: Cec!
Length: 27.5 inches (11th percentile), Winners: Gram and Sarah!
Head Circumference: 42.5 cm (1st percentile). I didn't have you guess this one, but it's the first time Mars has been on the charts for head circ - so YAY!

So Very Tired...

Tonight was curriculum night at school. I convinced my friend, Kristina, to bring Jeff and Mars over to the school so I wouldn't have to go so long without seeing them. (Thanks, Kristina!) We didn't get home until 8:30 tonight, and I'm exhausted! Five students and their families showed up - not the best turnout I've ever had - but not the worst either. One year, only one parent came AND she had twins, so she had to split her time between my class and her daughter's class. That was a very sad start to the school year. Percentage-wise I'm doing a lot better this year, though, since I lost a couple of kids and am now down to 25 on my roster!

Jeff saw his doctor today and was told that his clavicle seems to be healing nicely. Finally, some good news! He still isn't allowed to lift anything and needs to keep the sling on for the next three weeks, though. At that time, he will go back for another x-ray and we are hoping that he will be given the all clear to start doing more with that arm.

9 Months Old!

Marley is 9 months old today. Woo hoo! Next Thursday he goes for his 9 month doctor's appointment. So, you have another opportunity to guess his weight and height. I'll make it a little easier this time by providing links to the CDC's growth charts for weight and height. You may remember that he was still on the small side at six months old. We feel like he has gotten SO big, though, so it will be interesting to see how he compares. Also, this will be the first appointment that I have to miss due to work:( Ah well, at least I don't have to see him get shots!

Jeff Update

So, I guess Jeff's orthopedic doc consulted with a few others who specialize in clavicles, and they decided that Jeff probably will not need surgery after all. They will check to see how the bone's healing next Tuesday (a week from tomorrow) and should know more certainly after that. Keep your fingers crossed!

This week will be a crazy one for us. Nai Nai is in Hawaii so Mars will be spending three days this week with our sister-in-law, Meng, in Redmond. I'm not looking forward to the extra long commute, but she will be doing us a huge favor and it's only a few times. Of course, Tanya and Jada are doing their share this week, as well. On Wednesday our friend, Kristina, arrives from China. She is staying with us for a month and will be able to help out, too. I haven't seen her since we were in China last year and am very excited for her to arrive!

Smart Little Boy

Today when Mars was napping, Jeff heard him wake up and cry for a second. We figured he had fallen back asleep when we didn't hear anything else. Jeff decided to go check on him and found that he had reached up and turned on his Rainforest ALL BY HIMSELF! He was just laying there watching it. This is a very useful skill, indeed!

Later in the day he was showing us how good he has gotten with his touchy-feely books, touching the right spot on his own (this is very cute - I'll have to try and get a video of it). He's also getting better with his self-feeding, not really any cleaner though.

Survived Week One!

Whew! We made it through the first week of school. Thanks SO MUCH to Tanya and Nai Nai for helping with Mars this week. School is going great (although I missed Marley terribly by the end of the week). The kiddos are very sweet and seem exited about school. One big change for me is that I will no longer be one of the tech liaisons for our school. I'm trying not to take on too much and am already on at least two other committees, including the school steering committee.

Also, some of us are really trying to carpool more this year. Having to cart Mars all over the place is kind of putting a strain on that, but we were still able to carpool twice this week. Yesterday, Alfred and I rode in together, and today Nancy, Alfred, and I all drove together. (Last week Nancy, Bethany, and I carpooled to one of our meetings). My goal is to ride with at least one other person in the car four days a week.

Jeff saw the orthopedic doctor yesterday. We're still waiting to hear back (the doc was going to consult a clavicle specialist), but it sounds like Jeff will need surgery. Fortunately, the recovery time will be the same with or without the surgery. I suppose we will have to wait until Monday to find out more. I'll keep you posted!

Survived Day One

Yay! We made it through the first day of school! Jeff and Marley spent the day at Tanya and Jada's house. (Thanks for taking care of my boys!) I have a lovely class of 27 (so far) who were very excited to be back at school. At the end of the day, one student exclaimed, "It's time to go home already?!? Aww, man!" Hee hee:)

Jeff has been trying very hard to be helpful. Yesterday he took Marley on a two hour walk so that I could clean house and get ready for school. I had to get the stroller out and strap Mars in, of course, but Jeff seemed to do okay after that.


Mars still loves his bath. He was trying to drink the water out of the faucet, which is why I got out the camera. Of course, he didn't do it again once I started recording. But, it was cute anyway - so here you go!

The Best Laid Plans

Well, we tried to be prepared for my return to school, but alas, the Fates have it out for us. Last night at Jeff's soccer game, he fell and broke his collar bone (or more accurately: was tripped by a player from the opposing team). Luckily our friend, Dustin, was able to take him to the ER at Swedish to get an x-ray (Thanks, Dustin!). Jeff had thought (hoped) that he had just dislocated his shoulder, but the x-ray showed a fracture. He has to wear a sling for 6-12 weeks and cannot move his left arm at all. AT ALL! This means our plan for Jeff to stay home and care for Marley four days a week - beginning on Tuesday - is out the window. We hope that Jeff's arm will heal enough over the next few weeks that he can at least change diapers and such. Needless to say, there will be no soccer or bike riding for a while (among MANY other things). So, if anyone has any free time and feels like caring for an invalid and a baby, let us know.

Here We Go

The school year has begun. At least for the teachers (the kiddos come next week). My days of stay-at-home-mommyhood have come to an end *sigh*. I think we've finally worked out the details who will look after Mars during the day.

Luckily, Jada doesn't charge much for her services:) Honestly, we think we have it worked out pretty well. Jeff will be home with Mars four days a week. He will go to work once a week on Wednesdays. Tanya (and Jada) will alternate with Nai Nai in taking Marley on Wednesdays. Jeff will work from home the rest of the week to get to 20 hours per week, giving us an extra half an income (originally, Jeff was going to stay home full time). We are immensely grateful to Tanya (and Jada) and Nai Nai for helping us out. We couldn't do it without them!

Marley Goes to School

Mars came into school last week to "help" me set up my classroom. Luckily, there were other youngsters "helping" their parents as well.
Addison and Marley
Addie, Maddie, and Mars

Four Generations

Back in June, we took this photo of Mars with Mommy, Grandpa Collins, and Great Grandma Collins.

Last weekend, we got to take another four generations picture of Mars with Daddy, Grandpa Franklin, and G.G. (Great Grandma Franklin).

July Photos

Finally, the July photos are up. Enjoy!

Photo Shoot

I took Mars to Sears today to get his picture taken. They had a pretty good deal. It was $5 for: 1-10x13, 1-8x10, 2-5x7, 16-Wallets, and 16-Minis (whatever those are). Of course, they are all the same pose. I picked the 4th one of him sitting. Check out the rest of the photos.

email address: dawn.franklin@gmail.com
password: marsphoto

Learning to Feed Yourself is Messy!

Sleeping Better

Well, Mars is still sleeping in our bed at night (and occasionally for naps since he will only sleep for about 45 minutes at a time in his crib). But, he is sleeping MUCH better. He's back to basically sleeping through the night (sometimes he wakes up once) and he's sleeping for 10+ hours now!