ME AND MY BANGS

Thought I would give bangs a try since I decided my forehead is too big. I think I'm liking them!

REALLY??

Is my 5 month old really sitting up on his own already? Really? Where does the time go? Where's my little baby? I think that the more kids I have, the more I realize how I just want them to stay little longer. I guess Levi just wants to keep up with his brothers...he loves to watch them and if I lay him on the floor he will roll and scoot himself all over the place. He grabs at everything, holds things in his hands, loves to eat rice cereal with fruit/veggies, enjoys his bottle (getting too impatient to nurse), loves to smile, pushes up on his knees and toes, and can now push up to a sitting position without even realizing it. I can't believe how fast he is growing...makes me sad.

A couple weeks ago I decided to give the rice cereal a try...Levi seemed to really be interested in food and I just felt like he was needing a little more nutrition. He liked it OK, but once I added a little fruit he LOVED it... if it's warmed up, even better.

PRETTY BOYS

Oh how I love these boys! I never would've imagined that I would be blessed to have 3. I love the relationship Wyatt and Luke have. Wyatt is a great big brother to Luke (and Levi). He protects him and makes sure he is doing OK (most of the time anyway). I sometimes wonder if Wyatt is the reason Luke doesn't talk much. It's funny to hear Luke say something that we don't understand, and then to hear Wyatt try to guess what he said..."Do you want sugar, Luke?" Even though whatever Luke said wasn't even close to that he will always say yes. Wyatt loves to call Levi, "my baby" and likes to hold him. Luke is talking a lot more and is so cute. He says, "self" (for myself), and lots of other things. He is really good at repeating and if he doesn't know how to say a word he will make something up. We had family pictures taken last Saturday afternoon and after we got back we decided to have a little photo shoot of our own in the front yard. The boys were so tired of smiling, but we did catch a few good ones. I'm anxious to see how our family pictures turn out...

VETERAN'S DAY

Thank you to all of the veteran's out there who have and still are fighting for our freedom!...and that includes my dad (Desert Storm veteran). Jared laughs at me, but I am very patriotic and sometimes get emotional when I sing or even just hear the National Anthem. I know how blessed I am to live in this country and to be raising my family here. Although my dad was away at war for 9 months, I have such fond memories of living on the base in Ft. Campbell, KY. I always knew I would see him again. I will never forget how all of the wives pulled together when the men were away and supported each other. At school we sang how we were proud to be an American, and our front yard was decorated with yellow ribbons. When my dad came home we made patriotic "Welcome Home" signs and watched as he flew in formation in his helicopter. It was neat hearing all about his experiences (he kept a journal) and looking through all of the stuff he brought home. I wish I could remember everything better...I knew what was happening, but I was just 10, so all I really cared about was which team I would be on for capture the flag. I realize now the huge sacrifice that my dad (and mom) made.

This year we went out to Superstition Farm's Moo moo Palooza (Jared worked, as usual, and was certainly missed. I always feel bad when he calls on his lunch break and hears about all of the fun we are having without him). The farm offers tours, horseback riding, animal feeding, and lots of free milk. The weather was hot, mid 80's, but at least it wasn't in the 90's like it's been for the past couple of weeks! My dad, Mickey, Chance, Cole, and Connie and Tim's family joined us for a fun couple of hours. The kids were so, so excited! Wyatt was confused for awhile and thought that we were going to Taylor to visit his cousins farm. Our conversation to the farm consisted of me trying to explain to Wyatt that we don't ride cows. He then explained to Luke that cows are just for things like milk, yogurt, ice cream, and cheese. Both boys couldn't wait to get there, so the line to just park felt like forever (it was very crowded..apparently other people like to get into places for free too)! Wyatt is such a boy! He was dirty and dusty just 1 minute after getting out of the car. I asked him what happened. His reply, "I was kicking dirt." Wyatt is all of the sudden Mr. Independent, so he ran off several times to go find free candy once we got inside. He also rode on a pony named Scooter and tried to kick a soccer ball into a hole. I laughed when he decided to pick the ball up and throw it into the hole his last try. He also surprised me with a brand new cheesy smile... hilarious. Luke, on the other hand, was afraid to lose me , so he held onto my hand most of the day. He didn't want to feed the animals or ride the horse, or eat his white ice cream (he wanted blue like Wyatt), but he did enjoy the milk, candy, hay ride, and getting up into the tractor.

Levi is such a pleasant little guy. He was just content being held by Grandpa Webb the whole time! He also enjoyed playing with an empty milk carton.

FALL PARTY

Here we are at the Francom's annual Fall Party! I look forward to this party each year for many reasons...the cooler weather (Hey, I was just excited to be able to wear a light scarf and not break a sweat), the live music (this year Cam and Jenny even played a little ditty), the dessert table, the good company, the food, and the decorations! For the past couple of years Jared and I have had the priveldge of attending, and each year it just gets better and better. For me, the party marks the beginning of the holidays...family get-togethers, food, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I enjoyed visiting while sipping my hot chocolate topped with whipped cream, and having a fun night with my favorite person...Jared.

HALLOWEEN 2009

This year for Halloween our costumes were put together so last minute! I hadn't even thought about them much and then all of the sudden it snuck up on me. Luke's was the only one we had been talking about for awhile. Once, a couple months before Halloween I asked the boys what they wanted to be and Luke said he wanted to be a ghost (we cut up a pillow case, painted his face, and put flour in his hair). A couple of times after that I would catch him chasing Wyatt around yelling. "oooh, ghost!"

Wyatt was Superman. I used some of the stuff from his Nacho Libre costume from a couple years ago and Jared made the logo (he's so crafty). Jared was a senor and I was his senorita, and Levi was our burrito (which, sadly, we didn't get any pictures of).

This year was much more laid back compared to last year! We had the annual Williams Halloween party, complete with a cackling witch and a pimp. Every year Jared's mom dresses up as a witch and at the end of the night everyone has to give her a kiss for some candy. Every year one of the kids is deathly afraid of her..this year it was Luke. Luke kept his eye on the witch the entire night and would not give her a kiss. Finally once we were headed out the door and grandma took her hat off, he gave her a kiss.

On Halloween we attented Abbey's 4th birthday party and then dressed up one last time for our ward Trunk or Treat. While we were driving home we noticed a big party at our neighborhood park, so we let the boys jump around in the bouncer they had set up. It was funny watching Luke bounce (and get bounced) with the big kids! We figured the boys got plenty of candy, so we decided not to go around our neighborhood for more (in fact, we're still working on what they did get).

OH NO, NOT AGAIN!

Well, it looks like I am way behind again. Time slips away, and before I know it an entire month comes and goes. I have so much to share, I don't even know where to start. Levi John was blessed Sun., August 2. It was a great day! Amazingly we were on time to church and Levi was a complete angel the entire day.

Our family of 5!

Wyatt also started his second year of preschool in August (he dressed himself and was so proud).
Luke hit his head really hard on the windowsill and had to get stitches! I especially felt bad that he would have a scar on his pretty little face. Jared did a great job stitching him up. I was nervous about the whole thing, but I am grateful we didn't have to take him to the hospital and deal with all the trauma. Right after Luke fell asleep we got him out of bed, Jared numbed him up..oh yeah, and he slept through the entire process! And look, he's still cute as ever!

Wyatt turned 4 Aug., 30th and we celebrated with a water party....and lots and lots of kids! I think I learned my lesson and will start to do smaller parties from now on. It was crazy, but a lot of fun. Before the party in the afternoon we went to "Golfland, Sunshine Splash" (as Wyatt calls it). Wyatt loved the waterslides!! For his party he got a water slide and water toys, so after pizza, cake and ice cream, we went out to the retention basin and played. Wyatt is especially excited about his birthday every year because his is the last out of everyone in the family. For Labor Day we spent the weekend at Lake Powell with Jared's family. Last year we rented a motor home, but this year we waited too long and weren't able to get one...so we stayed in our tent. The first night was not so good because Levi was cold and woke up like every hour. Wyatt and Luke didn't sleep very well either because they kept falling off the air mattress. Anyway, it was rough (and comical), but we soon got it figured out and slept better the next couple of nights. Wyatt was looking forward to Lake Powell and the "big banana" for months! We even made a chain. It started out with over 50 links and I ended up finishing it because he got tired of taping the links together. It took us a couple days to get it completed!
Poor Wyatt. He had to go back to the hospital (we were there in May for his tonsils) to get hernia surgery after Lake Powell. He was still excited to go and play with the toys, but I think he got a little scared and started to remember his last experience. After the surgery his was quite upset and confused. He didn't want any tubes or tape or anything on him, and lucky for us they let us go home shortly after the surgery. The hardest part was trying to get him to stay down for 2-3 weeks! He was given an epidural so that he wouldn't feel any pain 6 hours after the surgery...and he hated not being able to walk! I took him to get a Jamba Juice on our way home, and told him to sit down and wait for me at the table...next thing I know there he is on the floor! He didn't believe me that he wouldn't be able to walk for awhile. At first he was a little timid showing anyone (family) his scar, but now I really have to watch him because he'll start lowering his pants to anyone and everyone! He loves showing off his scar.Little Levi just turned 4 months and is not so little anymore. I can't believe how fast he is growing! He can roll over and even gets up on his knees and moves. I swear he's going to be crawling by 5 months! He is always happy and loves to talk. I love going in to get him in the morning and after naps because he smiles and is so excited to see me. He eats and sleeps well...who could ask for anything more?!

So there you go! We are all updated for now...whew!