5/52.

Three things that make Franz, well, Franz: 

1. his fuzzy hair that sticks straight up
2. his tongue that is constantly sticking out between his lips
3. those chubby, oh-so-kissable cheeks

I love this boy.

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we've got a roller!

Hi guys, guess what! I rolled over this morning during tummy time! I surprised myself, because when it happened, I didn't know what to think! And when mama tried to get me to do it again, I couldn't muster enough strength to do it a second time! Whew! Tummy time wears me out! I think mama is going to have her camera at the ready at each tummy time session now until I do it again. She's a weirdo. Stay tuned for a video!

Love, Franz

4/52.

Even though I'm a little late with this, I've decided to start taking weekly portraits of Franz this year using a real camera instead of my iPhone. I've taken so many pictures of him with my phone (posted to Instagram), which isn't a bad thing, but I want to take some with my real camera, too. 

Lately, Franz has taken to sucking on his fists, like, all day, every day. He's also getting sooo wiggly. This was taken after a diaper change, before I put some clean clothes on him. 

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franz's first donut.

Just kidding. Franz slept through the whole thing. But one day he will experience his first donut, and he'll think we're the best parents ever.

Zac got home from school on Monday night and said, "I smelt Krispy Kreme donuts while walking to my car after class. We should go get some donuts for Family Night tonight." We're not in the habit of having Family Night consistently every week yet, but if it involves food, you better believe we're having Family Night.

So we went. And got 5 donuts, because the "hot now" sign was on. And it was amazing.

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two months.

My baby boy is two months old already, and he is getting chunky! He has the most kissable chubby cheeks like his papa had when he was a baby, and I kiss them all day long. He also is getting really good at talking! His favorite words are hi, goo, oh, and a whole slew of other random baby words. He says hi pretty consistently though, and we like to say hi back to him and pretend he's greeting us. :)

Another thing he's getting really good at is smiling! It melts my heart each time. He gives most of his smiles out in the mornings to his mama, and I even caught him giggling a few times last week!

In his second month, Franz...

• has gotten really good at tummy time. He went from laying his head down to keeping it up for a few minutes at a time.
• loves to look at himself in the mirror. After I change his diaper, we walk over to the mirror and I talk to him, and he just flashes the biggest open-mouth grins! He also has a mirror above his seat in the swing, and smiles at himself before he falls asleep.
• is getting barely too big for 0-3 month clothes, but not quite big enough for 3-6 month clothes. I can't believe how fast he's growing!
• wears size 1 diapers, and will wear size 2 soon enough.
• has gained 5 1/2 pounds since birth; he's up to 14 pounds already! (Stop growing!)
• has to be holding onto something when he nurses. It's usually my shirt, and sometimes my finger. He also tickles my back with his behind hand while he nurses, too. 
• is somewhat on a schedule. Every 2-4 hours, he'll eat, then get a diaper change, then play, then sleep, then repeat.
• is "sleeping through the night," in that he sleeps about 5 or 6 hours from the time we put him down for bed (around 6 or 7). After that, he still wakes up every 2 to 3 hours until morning. 
• loves to be held facing outward, so he can see what's going on.
• loves to look at lights on the ceiling, the Fleet Foxes poster above our couch, the books in his nursery, and the frames on our living room wall. 
• giggled for the first time, about 5 times in a row.
• has started putting his little fists up by his eyes when he eats, like he did in the ultrasound when I was pregnant with him.
• has his hands clenched in fists about half the time.
• has 2 sets of dimples! (We actually knew this when he was brand new, but now that he's smiling more, you notice them more!)
• has a sad little cough that is slowly going away.
• sleeps in his swing, and loves movement, like car rides (thank goodness) and stroller rides. Driving around in the car puts him to sleep the fastest though, I think.
• still loves to stick out his tongue! This kid's got the longest tongue I've ever seen.
• actually likes to be swaddled now, unlike last month. He takes a few daytime naps swaddled in his crib. 
• pinched Zac's nipple while Zac was rocking him to sleep one night.
• will only smile for his mama most of the time. He loves it when I call him "handsome boy."
• loves to wiggle his arms and legs! (See proof in the blurry pictures above)
• loves his playmat that Grandma Lynn got him for Christmas. He loves looking at the lights and listening to the music (and will get sad when it turns off), and he's starting to swat at the hanging toys.
• can usually put himself to sleep, but lately doesn't like being rocked to sleep by mama or papa. That makes me sad. :(
• has found his hands, and loves sucking on them.
• loves his binky, unless he's hungry.

This second month has been much easier. I feel like as time goes on, I'm getting more and more used to this whole thing, getting on somewhat of a schedule, and I can even distinguish his cries and what they mean now (a few weeks ago, that seemed impossible). 

I am loving his mama gig. I love being with this guy all day, even if it makes me frustrated sometimes. This little boy is such a good baby. I love him!

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the nursery.

When we got Franz's newborn pictures taken, Heather snapped a few pictures of the nursery, and I just love them. I had the idea for this nursery in my head probably before I was pregnant, and slowly throughout my pregnancy, it came together, piece by piece. I'm quite proud of how it turned out, and I think it's my favorite room in our whole apartment.

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franz's blessing.

Today was Franz's blessing day! His papa gave him such a beautiful blessing, and we had a handful of family there to share it with. It was such a wonderful time. 

At the luncheon afterwards at our apartment, Franz got so overwhelmed with all the noise and people there, and started crying! It broke my mama heart, so I took him into his nursery and nursed him, even though I had nursed him just an hour before. I realized right then that he didn't want to eat, but he wanted to feel close to his mama, and that made my mama heart just about burst. It was really sweet to share that with my baby boy.

So enjoy these few pictures! I think my favorite is the one where Franz is sitting on my baby blanket from 23 years ago. He sleeps with it every night. :)

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