Christmas Time is Here!

We caught up with Santa in North Carolina over Thanksgiving.

Ding Dong, the Christmas dog!

O Tannenbaum.

We hosted a Christmas cookie party with Frances's friends Caie,

Lily, Lydia, and Becky, and their parents.

November and December 2008

Rub a dub dub

We visited Grandma and Pop Pop's house over Thanksgiving

and caught up with Jack, Nicky, and Mattie Lou.

Lori, Jack, and Nicky read Animalia together.

Mattie Lou and Frances became fast friends!

Frances sporting some Brooklyn gear.

Happy Birthday, Lori!

Happy Birthday, Frances!

Frances turned one on November 13 and had

her first birthday party a few days later.

The Birthday Girl!

Yum! Cupcakes!

Grandma D gives Frances a birthday cuddle.

"Daw Daw!"

It's Official!

Just four days before her first birthday, Frances is officially declared to be walking!

Uncle Jeff's Visit

Uncle Jeff stopped by for an overnight visit. It was great to see him!

Happy Halloween!

October 2008

Reading books, playing with toys, and talking on the phone.

Getting used to her bike helmet.

Get down, Frances!

April in Russell County

Frances took a trip to Russell County with Momma in April. She was the star of the show and posed with everyone including...

Popaw Ben,

Grandma D,

Aunt Deb,

Momaw,

and Uncle Foster.


Frances is cool as a cucumber on one of our walks.

Here she is taking a bath and reading a bedtime story at Grandma D's house.

Alison and Ken's Wedding

In March, we headed out to San Diego to Matt's cousin Alison's wedding. It was great seeing family that we hadn't seen since our wedding (almost six years ago!) and to have everyone meet Frances.

Alison and her new husband Ken.



Here we are in our wedding day finest. Frances looks cute in a special dress made by Grandma Livingston.

Jeff, Mattie Lou, Matt and Frances at the reception.

Frances and her gecko dancing with Grandma.

Nicholas posed as the Grim Reaper at the cookout the day before the wedding.

Grandpa with his girls.

Jack's pet Coconut helped us keep our condo clean and tidy. Here's Coconut having a snack.

Easter Sunday with Aunt Carol.

Aunt Carol, Uncle Ron, Aunt Ruth, and Uncle Bob joined us for a nice Easter dinner. (Frances was getting ready for a bath right after dinner....)

We stayed at Mission Beach, and we really enjoyed walking along the beach everyday. Lots of interesting sights and some very interesting people.... After Frances went to sleep our last night there, we headed out to the beach. We rode the Giant Dipper rollercoaster twice!




While we were out, we ran into Jeff, Lisa, Jack and Nicholas. The boys were just a little sandy.

Clancy & Maria's Wedding

We just got back from spending a few days in Whistler, British Columbia, just north of Vancouver for Clancy and Maria's wedding. It was a great trip, a wonderful wedding, and such a happy occasion, and we were so happy to celebrate with them. Congrats, Clancy and Maria!

The trip involved lots of taxis, buses, and airplanes, so we were understandably nervous. Frances surpassed all of our expectations and was such a good girl!

Here are some pictures and videos from our Canadian adventure....

Proof that we really were north of the border....

Watching seaplanes land in Vancouver.

Frances enjoyed seeing the sights in Vancouver.

Frances and Aunt Clancy meet for the first time the day before the wedding.

View from a covered bridge in Whistler Village. It was really a beautiful place, and there was some serious snow!

Hanging out with Clancy's family at the Apres Ski party. (We didn't actually ski and made a futile attempt at tubing...but that didn't stop us from enjoying the festivities!)

We had an amazing view of the mountains from our hotel room in Whistler Village.

Despite the look on her face (and popular opinion), Frances was really excited to spend some time with Aunt Clancy, who spent some time babysitting.

Lisa, Clancy, and Kathryn before leaving for the wedding sleigh ride.

Frances got dressed up for the occasion.

Dashing through the snow to the beautiful wedding site.

Piper was rockin' the reception.

Ginny's surf-n-turf was a good as it looked!

Clancy and Ammy.

The morning after the wedding, Frances was still crashed out.