Franny, Holland, Paul, and Amelia

Since Christmas

2010-04-27T13:55:00.011-06:00

Here are a bunch of non-chronologically ordered pictures taken since Christmas. Sorry that they have no rhyme or reason. Time has really been flying and we're having a lot of fun. Franny is 2 and 1/2. She loves singing and dancing. She often yells at me, "Mom! Come dance with me!". She is obsessed with the movie Robin Hood. I bought it, not remembering how seriously violent it is. She'll find anything to use as a sword and yell "Ooo-de-lally!" or she'll find anything to wrap around her head as a scarf to be Maid Marian. She loves her little brother. The first thing she does in the morning is run to his room and say, "A-Goo!" Then she comes to my room and says, "Where's my dad?" I often hear her explaining things to him. "Paul is your daddy and Ameria is your mommy." She makes Holland laugh all day. She's also obsessed with the difference between "real" food and "treats". "Are carrots real food?...is chocolate a treat?... Are french fries real food or a treat?" "At the store, they are a treat. At home, they are real". Hmm. That's not confusing. I could go on about all the funny things she does and says, but all of you that have had a two-year-old know how fun and challenging it is.

Baby animal days

Holland is a bit less complicated. He's almost 9 months old. He smiles and laughs a lot. Crawls around a lot. Bonks his head a lot. Plays with toys. Puts everything in his mouth. (A week ago a "helicopter" seed came out in his poop...totally in tact!) Loves wagon rides. Loves to be in the backpack. Loves his mama. Loves to nurse.

Big smile with four teeth!

Have you ever seen anything so amazing? Didn't think so.

Mama and H at Zion Park

Fran and Daddy

Coral Pink sand dunes

Bryce canyon

Best invention.

April fools snow. Boo.

I love when I find them talking on the floor together

Tubby time

Christmas '09

Singing around the tree

"I am a little gypsy girl..."

Tubby time at Grandma Marilyn's

Ice skating

Nativity with Spencers

H (4 months) and his cousin Micah (8 months)

New years'

Las Vegas cousins

Birthday boys

Sledding at old main. Two minutes after this pic was taken, she cried until we left.

Sledding fail.

After watching Little Einsteins, she wanted a violin, so Paul found this ornament for her. She's pretty good.

Franny sings

Halloween and Thanksgiving and Baby Holland

2009-12-14T21:03:00.007-07:00

I'm finally posting some pics of our little kitty cat on Halloween. We just took her to the "trunk or treating" (which Paul hated). She also was a big hit at the Aggie basketball game. Maybe we'll do the real thing in a couple of years when she really gets it.

This spooky tree was created in the back of a family's truck at the trunk or treat!

The pumpkin walk was so cute and clever this year. It always is, I guess.

The theme was "commercials". This was our favorite. The Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial.

Franny was excited to see the characters from her favorite book.

I was a bad mommy and didn't dress Holland up for Halloween. But here is a cute pic of him loving tubby-time. (3 months)

And speaking of tubby-time, Our friend David came to visit for an Aggie game and brought his little girl. She and Franny had a fun time together. For some reason this is the only picture I took.
And this is them in the spring of '08

Here are some pics of our Thanksgiving turkey bowl

Touchdown!

Go team!

Here is Holland with his only other boy cousin with the last name "Gutke". Funny because Paul has three brothers.

He found his thumb a few weeks ago. So cute!

Holland and Tanner

Christmas family

Santa's helpers

My cute kids

Pig-tails

I was "teaching" Franny how to play with tape

Swine flu?

Big Weekend...like 4 weekends ago

2009-10-10T09:14:00.009-06:00

So, I've been busy not blogging. I'm not busy today. Really not busy. It's 12:30 pm and Franny and I are still in pjs. Holland's the lucky one who is bathed and dressed. I decided since Franny and I are sick, we're allowed to be in pjs until after lunch. That time is rapidly approaching. In the meantime, here is a post of our big weekend: Holland's blessing and the TOU marathon. It was also Franny's and Liz's B-days, but I already posted that.

The Spencer grand kids await the arrival of Melis and Adria in Providence
(My brother in law, Mike, also participated, but he was ahead of the girls)

Here they are! Just 6 more miles to go

Finish line! Amazing!

Adria's rockin blister from the race.

Later that day we blessed Holland at Leah's house

My sweet little angel

Note to self: If someone says "I have a good one of your family", make sure there is a good one on your camera.

Uncle Zach and Aunt Amber

Bless Melissa's, Mike's and Adria's hearts for coming to the blessing. They were hammered from the race. Hammered. They couldn't even get up to get food. They had to be waited on the whole time. They also were emotional wrecks. Not from the blessing. Mike held it together but Adria did not. Note to self: Don't ever run 26 miles consecutively. Ever.

Party people

Here's what else has been going on the last few weeks:

Here's Franny with a bowl of cookie crisp (I did not buy those. Paul bought those.) watching the slide show screen saver. I love when she does this and labels all of the pics as they flash on the screen.

I didn't see this when it happened

or this

Franny took a Kindermusic class. Her first class other than swimming. Super cute.

Holland is still dang cute.

Franny watching Little Einstiens while nursing. TV while nursing? Where did she get that idea?

One day, one Melissa's way to my house, all four kids fell asleep. Success!

Did I mention my kids are cute?

Really.

2 years! For Reals??

2009-09-22T21:18:00.003-06:00

We can't believe Franny is 2 years old. What a lucky girl to have so much family that love her and have watched her grow along with Paul and me. I love living here where she has been able to know her Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Thank you all for loving Franny (almost) as much as I do.

This is our favorite video of Franny. She was 14 or 15 months old and just learning how to talk. She called us both "Dadden" for the longest time. The funny thing is that she could say "Mom".

Franny "pumping". Apparently milk comes out of her belly-button.

When I go to get her from her nap, she brings all of her books up to her bed and waits for me.

She likes to help the baby with tummy time

Like I said, she's a lucky girl and got to blow candles out twice. Once with the Spencers and once with the Gutkes.

Here's the only song she knows on the guitar

These don't have anything to do with Fran's B-day, but I wanted to show some of the beautiful sights where we live.

Lots of cool old barns. Who knows how old they are

LOTS of cows and horses everywhere...and goats and chickens and roosters and ...

Lots of corn

We love it here

Labor Day Extravaganza!

2009-09-13T15:35:00.009-06:00

This was our third year going up to Lomia as a family. Thanks to everyone (and hot showers, toilets and a full kitchen), we had a wonderful time. Now that's what I call camping!

The Gutke Family campers

Masoner von Trapps. "One bottle of pop..."

Talent show dance

The blackjack tourney
We thought the Chinchilla was real cute the night before...

Then we realized it had been reeking havoc all night long.

A hike up the mountain

A short walk for us

Baby Holland

Lucy and Lizzie...Friends in the morning...

In the afternoon...not enough pink playdough

Rough riders

Why is a freezing cold canal fun?

Shuttle run during the fitness test

The spectators

Melissa and Cesar taught us a funny Argentine dance

"A chu chi Wa Wa Wa..."

Dance party...

Thriller

Work it...

Camp shuttle

The Perez-Spencers

A perfect Mallow

Labor day evening, Marilyn had us over for her delicious BBQ turkey. The kids had a lot of fun playing with each other.

Holland is so loved

I took this a couple of days ago. Franny kept pointing to Holland's baby acne and saying, "Oh, owee!" and kissing it "better".

Franny reeeally wanted to take some pictures.

A little frog and a big cousin

2009-09-02T14:20:00.007-06:00

I can't believe it's September already. I also can't believe my little six lb. baby is already 4 weeks old and now 9 lbs. He's a healthy boy with a healthy appetite. I am loving being a stay at home mom and am so grateful to have a husband that works so hard to take care of us. Since the baby arrived, Fran has been quite the little stinker, so my alone time with her has been more precious than ever. She's starting to talk in sentences which keeps Paul and me laughing all of the time. She says the most random things that we didn't know were rolling around in her brain waiting to emerge. She's also very polite..."Mommy. Go away. Please." I'll have to take some video. We also area loving living in Nibley. There is a produce stand down the road from us with Cache Valley corn and Brigham city peaches. So, that's pretty much why I love living here.

See how he's chunked up??

I looked over one morning and saw this cute silhouette

This picture makes it look like we have grass. It's just the weeds in the dirt.

Paul brought a frog home to show Franny. It was very entertaining for a few days before we released it back into the wild (Marilyn's pond)

Hates to smile for the camera, but I still think she's cute

Here is 3 week old Holland with 4 month old cousin Bailey. I had to take these pics because I have a feeling that he'll pass her up in size once they reach the 5th grade (or 8th).

Um, yeah. Bailey is massive (and darling and sweet) and her mom has guns to prove it.

She is 4 months and wears a size 9-12 months...just had to throw that in.

Why am I blogging instead of napping??

2009-08-17T20:55:00.007-06:00

I've been taking a lot of pictures to capture my sweet little boy before he grows up. I'm loving having a newborn. He couldn't be sweeter. Franny's struggling sharing our attention, but she'll snap out of it soon...right?

This is what I get to wake up to every morning

My babies

Franny is so sweet with Holland and loves him a lot. She just doesn't like me so much right now.

Here's Franny in the bassinet we all use in our family

And here is Holland

I love when he's bright-eyed and looking around

Already loving the moby...we both are.

This is usually what happens if I hold Holland too long

Proud papa

Visitors...

I forgot to get a picture of Sandy, but here is Will (2 months) with his new friend Holland

Cousin Lucy has been EAGERLY awaiting his arrival.

Aunt Melissa and Tio Cesar

Jake's favorite way to nap.

Grandma Marilyn

Boots

The Lows

Self-proclaimed "favorite Aunt" Sarah

Ima Chiq and Ipa John

And I just had to add this picture of Franny walking around with her favorite things: her nicey, her baby and her leche. She's really needed these things lately.

I don't know why she started using her foot as a phone, but it's too funny...

Good Times Summer '09!!

2009-08-08T13:38:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone! I mentioned before that we were going to have a very busy July. I wasn't kidding. In a nutshell: Gabe and his family came to visit from Baltimore, Julia's little Micah got blessed, we had our Gutke Bear Lake reunion, we had a baby and got a new house! I wanted to show everything that we were able to do, but there were SO many photos, so I put them into slideshows. That way, you can pick and choose that ones you really want to look at.

Our BIG news is that Holland was born on August 3rd. He's a tiny baby weighing in at only 6 lbs. He's so sweet and we're loving this special time with our newborn. Our other big news is that we bought a house in Nibley. We love living in the "country". We live just off of the highway and we love visitors, so drop by anytime you're going in or out of Logan. Enjoy!

July, Here we come!

2009-06-29T13:29:00.002-06:00

It has seriously been raining for like 2 months strait, so I have no cute pictures to post. I guess I could've taken pictures of us finding things to do around the house...but I didn't. The sun is finally out and we've been having some summer fun, but July is when we're going to have a ton of action. We'll get to see lots of cousins and friends and we'll have some great pictures then. Until then, here is Miss Franny getting bigger and cuter (and finally getting some hair) and me at 7 months pregnant. Oh, and Paul's doing well, too.

Spring Smorgasbord

2009-05-18T14:11:00.006-06:00

Hi. So, I have some random pics for a blogpost. The reason is that my computer was sick and in the computer hospital for almost a week and it's taken me some time to reconfigure everything. If you happen to have $1,000 lying around, kindly send it my way for a new computer. In the meantime, this old clunker is still serving it's purpose. Oh, I also need a new camera, if you needed to know.

First of all...piggies! Fran's hair is finally long enough for girlie hair styles! I'm so excited and especially happy that she hasn't been pulling them out (yet).

Here's my cute little baldy back in December.

Second, Marilyn is such a fun Grandma and bought Franny this cute rake to "help" out in the yard.

She really likes being outside in the dirt.

So helpful.

Here is Julia's little Micah. I need to post a better pic of his face. He's so handsome.

Franny's getting some good practice for August.

I remembered that I had some pictures of Lucy and Franny when they were about the same ages as Franny and Micah.

Some people can come in and out of your life sporadically and you can always pick back up where you left off like you just saw each other the week before. That's how I feel about my friend Rowie. I met her about 6 years ago when she married one of Paul's best friends. They live in Massachusetts, so we don't see them very often, but when I do see her, we have a great time. She was in Utah visiting hers and Rob's parents and Franny and I got to go see her and Sid for a while.

And here is Holland at 6 months. I really popped from 5 to 6 months! I'm already 7 months so I'll post in a few days. This pregnancy is really flying by for me.

Try to not smile

2009-04-23T21:58:00.002-06:00

I drove behind a car with this on the bumper down the length of 4th North today. I had to smile the whole time. Try to look at this and not smile.

Hogle zoo and Easter

2009-04-14T16:41:00.007-06:00

Franny's interest in Animals and animal sounds made us (mostly Paul) think that it was time for her to experience the real deal, so we went to Hogle Zoo last Fri. The weather was perfect and we had a nice day. After the zoo we went to the "This is the place" monument for like 3 minutes (exciting) and then to dinner with Marilyn, Bob, Christine, Spencer and his parents before they went to "Wicked". Jealous. I'm mentioning our dinner because when the crowd dispersed, Paul, Franny and I went and got dessert crepes and the were AWESOME. It was this place on 4th S and 7th E in SLC called Lunaberry. So good.

The exhibit we spent the most time at was the carousel. I guess those animals going around and around were more exciting than the sleeping animals. At every other exhibit, Franny kept making the sign for "sleeping".

We had Easter at Leah's house with Adria's, hers, Melissa's, mine and now, Julia's families. (I don't know why this is underlined) The meal was great. Luckily, the storms subsided on Sunday for everyone to have fun outside.

Here are the kids getting ready to run...

We practiced hiding and finding eggs on Saturday, so she kind of got it.

Here are the "babies" sizing up each other's loot

Here are all the cousins sans Elle and Seb in Baltimore. But we did get to talk to Gabe and Seb via web cam for a while. Super fun!

I don't have any footage, but somehow, after the hunt, we all wanted to see how well we would fair at stunting. Jake and his fiance, Tori, took turns doing basket tosses with the grand kids. I thought it didn't look too hard, so I decided to try. I would've made it, except Tori and I started laughing so hard and I almost wet myself (and the stunters). I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Mostly because Melissa was trying to do cartwheels, round-offs, and a back bend.

Franny the Easter Bunny

We had another egg hunt with Franny's cousins, Ada and Ridley (Christine's kids) on Monday night. It was less chaotic.

Franny and Ridley had a fun time following Ada around and copying her.

And last but not least, here is my 5 month shot of baby Holland. I should've posted this ages ago, but I took this right after Micah was born, so I forgot about it. I'll have another one next week because I'll be 6 months!

Julia's New Baby

2009-04-08T13:33:00.004-06:00

As most of you know, Julia, my younger sister had a baby boy 2 1/2 weeks ago. She and the baby were sick right after the birth with an infection called coreo amniitis. I know that's not how it's spelled, but basically Julia's water broke and the nurse sent her home because she didn't think it had broken. Her amneotic sack was compromised and infection ensued. The baby was so sick and lethargic when he came out and Julia was really sick for a while too. Little Micah was in the NICU for 10 days on an antibiotic and has been home now for just over a week. They're both doing great now, but the moral of the story is...if you think your water has broken...DON'T LET THEM SEND YOU HOME!

Mom and Dad right before the birth after a LONG week of labor. That wasn't a typo. She was in labor from Tuesday until Saturday. They fianlly admitted her when her contractions were 3 minutes apart and she was dialated to a 5. She is now the toughest girl I know.

Pep-talks from sisters

Moral support

What? You didn't have a cheering section at your birth?? Weird. look at Leah's and my mom's faces.

Sweet little Jules Micah Cano. Born Saturday, March 21st at around 9:30 pm.

Courtney meeting his little boy for the first time.

Finally, Julia's turn to meet little Micah.

We're having a...

2009-03-24T14:49:00.002-06:00

BABY. Just kidding. We're having a boy!
My computer is not letting me download our pics from the ultrasound. But, if you've seen one, you've seen em all, right? So, I googled images for "Baby Boy" and I thought this was funnier than the cheesy pictures they gave of little baby boys sleeping on crescent moons and the like. Anyhoo, we're excited and little Holland is already as busy as ever in there! We'll get to meet him in August...

Las Vegas and other randomness from February

2009-02-19T14:35:00.013-07:00

Our friend Stacy Moss came up to see her Mom and came and got together with Kristen Thompson and me. Here we are with our kidlings (I stole that word).

I found Franny doing "Airplane" with her dolly. I thought it was great. Can you blame me?

We're having an earring issue at out house. She wants to wear my earrings, but as soon as I put her earrings in her ears, she takes them out and gives them back to me. Maybe she's just too fashionable for her time.

Franny's first plane ride! We found CHEAP tickets and decided not to pass them up. She was pretty good and the time went by FAST. It was only an hour flight to Las Vegas. I don't know if I'll ever want to drive to LV again.

At Jocelyn's baptism, we wanted a cousin picture, but Franny frook out when we tried to take her bottle. My bad!

There was a better cousin picture, but it didn't have Justin's awesome JAZZ-hands!

Here's my first in a series of baby bump pictures. I'm going to post one every month till the babe arrives (Aug 5th-ish). Sorry if that's annoying to some of you. Oh, by the way, if I haven't told you, I'm 16 weeks prego with our second baby. Whoot!

Christmas! and Snow! and Cousins!

2009-01-14T17:02:00.010-07:00

I'm finally blogging Christmas and some other events in December. We had such a great time with both of our families and so much fun with Franny and her love of cousins and parties. Here are some highlights...

It really snowed a week or two before Christmas. It was Franny's first time playing in the snow.

She was in awe of everything about it
Paul's multi-tasking because Fran wanted a ride in the stroller
Time to go in. So sad.

Horsey and Doll for Christmas

You will love the stroller Mommy bought for you!

Paul had to steal my thunder and get Franny a present that was way more fun then a Doll and stroller

Shepard and a wise man

Gutke Nativity

Gutke Cousins

Spencer cousins

2007 Spencer babies...Fran and Seb

And here they were last Christmas

Any of my friends and family know that Franny was sick from the middle of November through the first of January. It was sad, but I thought I'd capture the moments so I could appreciate the healthy times.
Like her sicky bed-head?

She had a fever over Christmas which gave her welts all over her body. It was so sad. I actually took this picture to show her doctor.

Now, some happy footage...Many of you know that Paul and I took a "Baby Sign Language" class when Franny was 6 months old. She did her first sign at 9 months. We have loved the communication we have been able to have with her and we love that she can "tell" us things that she is thinking. I won't blame you if you don't want to watch all three of these videos, but I was so excited to finally get footage of her signing. For those of you who are avid signers like me, you'll see that she has modified some of the signs to her liking.

Shanksgiving

2008-12-02T13:23:00.018-07:00

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas! I would just as soon forget about the trips to and from (because of one toddler who shall remain nameless), but while we were there, it was great fun. The best part...Las Vegas Weather! and being together as a family.

Las Vegas cousins and Fran

Doing what the guys do best...analyzing the BCS

Picking at the turkey while Grandma carves

Ready to eat already!

Cousin fun at John and Destiny's

Does Franny like her bottle?

Don't be fooled. She wants the camera

Cute girls! Justin was busy doing boy stuff

Franny loved kissing Eden all weekend. Eden was not so into it.

Franny also loved Eden's rocker. She kept climbing into it.

Here is Franny sitting on Eden back in March

Here is Eden returning the favor

over Thanksgiving weekend

Wayne Brady was nice enough to take a picture with us at the mall.

Paul wouldn't go with me to ask for a picture because Wayne Brady is "just a guy". But John understood me and helped me approach the star.

And finally, here are Franny's latest tricks. I can't get her to do her baby signs on camera...yet.

Chicago has big buildings

2008-11-22T12:57:00.014-07:00

Paul's younger brother, Steven (aka:Noodles) is going to school in Champaign, Ill. He wanted us to go to his school's big rivalry football game and Paul and I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to go see the great city of Chicago. It was such a fun trip. Thanks to our families for taking care of Franny while we were gone.

Navy Pier

Sears tower on the architectural boat tour

We thought it was interesting/cool that the city had put up congratulatory banners for Obama.

Paul didn't understand why I "wanted a picture of me looking at a picture" but seeing this painting in real life was pretty amazing for me.

Millennium Park = Bizarre!

Cloud Gate ... aka:"Silver Bean"

Crap! I didn't get the whole thing in the picture!

Illinois vs. Ohio. Probably the coldest I've ever been.

Hunting season?

Game day shirts

Here's a little snippet of Fran doing her booty shake. I don't think this would be appropriate in primary, but we'll allow it in Grandma's basement.

1 year pictures...Finally!

2008-10-24T21:44:00.012-06:00

Our nice brother-in-law, Sean, agreed to take some pics of my family with his awesome new camera. Franny was a wiggly stinker and would NOT smile for Sean, but we managed to get a few good ones out of the bunch. Thanks a ton, Sean!

Vernal, Baby!

2008-10-22T13:57:00.008-06:00

I'm loving life ever since Paul sold his lawn business and we can actually leave town for longer than one day at a time. It has allowed our family to be able to travel to such places as Las Vegas, St. George, Bear Lake and VERNAL! We went to visit Dave and Shelby Gilliatt over UEA weekend. We had a great time going to the park, talking, going to the other park, visiting some more, and eating at the "Country Grub". I think we all filled our yearly quota of grease. Their two year old, Allie, had so much fun with Franny. She'll be a great older sister (any day now).
I just have to say that I had never been to Vernal, but It was a really pretty town with lots of farmland. Not Shelby's cup of tea, but they're really enjoying it there.

Paul teaching Franny and Allie how to frolic in the leaves

Yes. That is an eye behind my head.

Dave really pressured us to play on this with him.

This gazebo was salvaged from the old Vernal Tabernacle when it was converted into the temple 10 yeas ago.

Babes and our babes

I bet Dave and Paul never anticipated this moment when they were living on fast food in Manassas six years ago.

Franny just started really loving going down the slide. This girl already has a need for speed.

I couldn't resist these funny shoes. They make everyone laugh. Shelby and I found them in a baby shop in Vernal.

Bye!

Happy Birthday Franny!

2008-09-22T12:20:00.002-06:00

Our little Franny is one! This year has been so much fun. We don't know what we did (or talked about) before she came along. Here's a Franny update: She is a really happy baby. She walks everywhere now. She can understand and sign back: food, water, tubby(bath), brush teeth and book. She can say Duck, Hi, Wow, Uh-Oh and Daddy. She loves to fake laugh whenever she hears anyone else laughing. She loves to dance. I haven't gotten any great footage yet, but man, can she move! Most of all, she is really social. She recognizes all of her cousins now and gets so excited when she sees them. I won't bore anyone with all of the other stuff she's doing. Just read "What to expect the first year" to find out.

Waiting for Franny

Francesca Pilar Gutke
Sept. 21, 2007
1:37 am

She sure growed up fast, didn't she!

She's been blowing her candle out all week. When it came time to show the masses...no cigar

Thanks everyone for the cute presents!

Here is some footage of her walking (for those of you who haven't seen her yet)
and one of her first words

Here are a couple of her signs...and more walking

Reunions and Jake's home and Franny is Funny

2008-09-02T21:25:00.011-06:00

August was just as busy as July, and I'm glad because as the summer closes, I can look back and know that I didn't waste the golden sun by staying in. I love the summer. I hate the winter. So why do I love Logan??

We had our second annual Gutke Bear lake Reunion at the beginning of August. It was so fun
not being pregnant this year. We went way faster on the wave runner than last year.

Franny was cracking up at what? Oh, just her cousins walking in a circle.

Cousins forever!

This picture sums up what was REALLY going on between takes

Paul's stellar golf moves

No, Paul is not wearing a tee-shirt on the wave-runner

I had a lot of fun with Noodles' new camera

Maybe not as much fun as John
I can't believe this shot was captured. Her squinty smile only lasts a second, and it kills me every time!

Steven really outdid himself with the GREAT shots of my little sweetie

Some of us stopped by Tony Grove on the way home. I forget how lovely it is.

On Aug 14, my little brother Jake arrived home from his mission and got to meet Franny (and 3 other neiphlings) for the first time. On the way to the Airport, Julia taught Franny how an ipod works.

Is this okay with the TSA?

Elder Spencer...who is this guy??

This is random, but I was so excited when Franny actually cared about the TV for the first time. I can now do my hair in the morning without her pulling on my leg and trying to eat the lotion and hairspray.

I didn't take a lot of pictures at the Spencer Family reunion at camp Lomia in Logan Canyon, but here's a keeper of Paul helping Fran play ping-pong. She was smiling so big the whole time. It was so funny.

Franny figured this doggy sound out by herself. Now she won't stop.

The End
Oh, and Franny now walks, but I somehow forgot to document it. I'll get around to it hopefully before the next season passes us by.

Summer Fun

2008-07-23T12:52:00.012-06:00

Hi all! Let me warn you, July has been a BUSY month. So busy in fact, that I haven't made time to post, so this post is like 4 posts in one. It's a little unorganized. I just posted chonologically. We've had some fun times! Check it out...

The forth of July with cousins Lucy and Hailey. Hailey is the oldest cousin... Adria's daughter.

Forth of July fun at the aquatic center

What the? How'd you get in there?

At first I just thought it was cute that she was opening and closing this cupboard...

Then she totally got in! This picture was not staged.

Here we are boating In Burley, Id with the cousins...Franny's first time on a boat!

I was eating breakfast one morning and Franny was being eerily quiet. I found her going NUTS on a sucker I had accidentally dropped. She was in heaven.

I am a good mom, so I took it away.

Playing with Uncle Noods

Cousin Ada

Second cousin Gabby. Are they second cousins if Franny's dad is first cousins with Gabby's mom??

I love this picture because this is where she usually is every morning after her breakfast while I'm having mine. Her little toy and book corner.

My girls and me the night before our 10-year class reunion. Yes, I really am that old.

Highschool friends at good old LHS

Franny's first Bear Lake experience

Loving it!

Looks like Franny got my skin...thank goodness

Fran always has so much fun with her cousins

Davis and Franny had a fun time bothering Grandpa John during his nap

This was about the first time Franny stood up for more than 3 seconds. Sorry the video flips, but I frook out when she was actually standing, and this was the best footage.

This was so cute. Fran was playing with Zach's new dog, Rusty, when all of the sudden, she stood up on her own! It was the first time I had seen her do that, even though Paul says he had seen it earlier that week.

Okay, I know this is overboard, but I love this video.

Okay, bye

July already!

2008-07-01T12:42:00.008-06:00

Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been such a long time. Well, as you can see from these pics, Paul and I haven't been very creative with our camera lately. Here's a quick update on our family and I promise to have way better pics after the 4Th of July.
As for Paul and me, Paul is at work every day at Adams school in the morning and then at Diversified Home Loans most afternoons. Some afternoons he plays with Fran and me. I've been keeping busy trying to work off my gut from having Franny (that's fun!) and reading Stephanie Meyer novels when Franny naps. Paul and I were called a few weeks ago as the new Gospel Principles teachers in our ward. It's been a fun experience so far. We've been trying to take advantage of the summer since we know it will fly by. We've gone to the Farmers Market every Saturday to buy bread (yum!) and we've been taking walks around the neighborhood at night. We love to hang out and BBQ in our backyard and feed the duckies. We love Logan in the Summer.
Franny is now 9 months old and busy as ever! She's been cruising around the living room for a while now with only minor bruising. She loves to give kisses (which always end in a raspberry). She has just recently figured out that she likes Paul and me more than strangers and boy can this girl eat! I've stopped buying baby food and pretty much give her whatever we are eating. Fun! Her favorite treat (when Mom isn't looking) is paper. Why? Who knows? She also is getting very vocal and we're anticipating her first word any day now. She can sign "Leche", so that's a big step since I've been showing it to her for 3 months. She also waves on command now and does "GOAL" by putting both her hands in the air. She still struggles with pat-a cake. Cutie!!

Why, Franny?

Delicious

People magazine tastes the best

In her new swing

Happy at the pool with Mom, Melissa, Lucy and Grandma Chiq (EE-ma)

A lifeguard offered to hold her still while I snapped a pic. Um, I don't think Franny liked her.

We were trying to trick her into eating meat, so Paul would feed her a couple bites of fruit, then I would shove the chicken soup in. The results were funny. She has since gained a liking for meats. Side-note: Isn't it cute how Lucy calls me "Meeya"?

Having fun in her swing in the backyard

Here is Franny on caffeine. Just kidding, she just gets a little nuts after church. Don't we all? I apologize for my behavior. Sometimes she gets me wound up.

Eden Elizabeth Gutke

2008-06-09T12:53:00.003-06:00

Here's little Eden. She was born June 2nd to David and Lindsay (Paul's brother). She weighed in at 8lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches long!! I guess it's no surprise since both her parents are not short.

Finally here!

Meeting the family

Two nieces in one night!

2008-06-05T10:42:00.004-06:00

For those of you who know my family, or Paul's family...or both, you'll know that my sister Melissa was due to have a girl at the end of May and my sister in law Lindsay was due to have a girl at the beginning of June. Well, Melissa went in to be induced on Monday afternoon and had little Belen at 12:45 am Tuesday morning. Lindsay went into labor on Monday night and gave birth to Eden on Monday night at 11:38pm. Since Utah time is one hour ahead of Nevada time, these two little girls were born just minutes apart! So cute. Congratulations to both families and I'll post some pictures of Lindsay and Eden as soon as I recieve some.

Melissa and Camila Belen Perez Spencer
June 3rd 2008 8 lbs 4 oz 20 1/2 in long

The proud aunts and papa

Two surprises...a baby and a diamond ring!

Wow! It's been a while!

2008-05-28T10:46:00.013-06:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. So much has happened to little Fran in just a month. We're dying at how much has changed. It seems like just yesterday she was just a little new-born and now she's so grown up. She is not only crawling, but climbing up on everything and even starting to cruise a little on her own. She says "Ma-ma-ma" and "Da-da-da". She also has learned to scream which is cute, but sometimes very annoying. She is starting to show a lot of emotion. She gets so happy and excited around babies and kids (especially her cousins) and animals. She has started to wave (not at anything or anyone in particular). To see her waving go to the Spencer Blog She loves going swimming and somehow understands that it is different than the bath. She gives the sweetest little kisses and she gets so mad when she can't see Paul or me in the room. She also has a couple of teeth now. We can't wait to see what will be next for her.

Swimming "lessons"

Kristen and I had some friends over for lunch that we haven't seen in a LONG time.
Amy Soffe, Caroline Smith and Holly Wright

The ducks are back! They are surprisingly smart. Most times when we go into the back yard, they come waddling up for food. They love bread heels!

Who needs first dam? We've got our back-yard!

Franny has been pretty sick the past couple of weeks. The only good thing about it is that she's so mellow and cuddly and STILL when she's sick. Cute.

I was eating breakfast when I heard Franny getting mad. I turned around and she had stood up holding on to the chair, but didn't know where to go from there. This now happens daily.

Our friends the Gilliatts came to visit for the holiday weekend. It was fun for Fran to have a sibling for a few days

Tubby time with Allie

This is Franny's other friend, Kadence and her dad, Chris

Cruisin with Davis

For a few days she hardly ate because she learned this fun trick...

Teef!

She likes to feel her new teeth with her tongue

Later

Surprise! Franny is still cute

2008-04-23T18:27:00.008-06:00

Before I caption these photos, I'd like to quickly thank all of my "Blog" friends for all of your kind words of support. It really meant a lot to me. I went to the hospital yesterday to have a D and C. Everything went as planned and I'm recovering well. Every day is a little better.

We went down to Las Vegas again a couple of weeks ago. The weather was nice while it snowed in Logan. Even though Franny is still an infant, I couldn't believe how much she LOVED playing with her cousins. It was so cute to watch and so great to have baby sitters!

Justin being very helpful

Emily was so great with Fran

You'd think it was the middle of the summer from this photo

Franny's first time in a swing...LOVED IT!

Dad "helping" Franny take a nap after we went to the park

We went to the conservatory at the Belagio and other exciting Las Vegas attractions while we were there

Franny's first time in a pool. It didn't last long. She wanted to stay in, but it was not as warm as I would've liked it to be.

Bowling with the cousins

We're laughing in the photo because Franny sneezed right before John took the picture

Night night

Hoover Dam - Awesome

We stayed with Zach and Amber in St, George on the way to and from Las Vegas. Franny had lots of fun with them

The last time Zach tried this, he got a mouthful of spit-up. He was brave to try it again

Yummy tummy

Emily had Franny laughing so hard! This is such a rare occurrence for us.

This is Franny really crawling at 7 months. She's getting alittle faster every day and now can pull herself up to just her knees.

Sad News

2008-04-19T13:01:00.003-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a while and I really have some great videos and photos to share. I'll get to it soon. Paul and I have some really crappy news. Yesterday we went to the OB clinic to see a picture of our little baby. When we looked at the ultrasound screen, I could see that there was no movement. My kind doctor looked at me and said, "I'm so sorry, Amelia. There's no heart beat". Obviously we are heart-broken and devistated. From the ultrasound, she found that the baby stopped growing a week and a half ago because it wasn't growing properly. We've been sad today and yesterday, but luckily, Franny is keeping things pretty light with her babble talk and funnyness. Every time I start to cry, she must think I'm laughing, so she starts to laugh. Then I do laugh, so she's helping me a lot. We'll try again for another baby later on. Better posts to come...

Cousin Ada

2008-03-31T16:21:00.005-06:00

This is cousin Ada. Her mom recently had a new baby so Franny and I had her over for an afternoon while her folks got some rest. At first , they were so cute with each other...laughing and speaking in Norwegian to one another, and then...

Ada started taking away anything Fran had in her hands. The funny part was that Franny actually cared. Ada kept looking at me like, "what is her problem?"

Maybe I should've stepped in, but I was laughing so hard because Franny's never had to deal with this type of situation before. It was so funny. I was dying.

A nap later, they were friends again...

Until Franny pushed Ada over. (I'm not lying)

But Ada forgave her.

In other news, I keep finding Franny in the splits? Has this ever happened to any of you?

Here are a few shots from Easter

I left my sister Sarah to babysit for a few minutes and they got a hold of the camera

Chillin with sun-burned Grandpa

Not to disappoint Justin, here's a "bideo" of Franny getting so excited whenever I sing her the book, "Where the wild things are" She doesn't do this with any other book. Please keep in mind that I'm not a vocal or composition major.

Our trip to Las Vegas

2008-03-21T14:49:00.011-06:00

We went to Vegas to visit John, Destiny, Lindsay, David and the cousins last weekend . It was all sorts of fun

Here is Franny hanging out with Joc and Tallie. I have to say that Joc was quite the excellent baby-sitter.

Tramp fun with the cousins

Franny really loved Destiny. Maybe Franny thought it was her mom holding her.

Easter egg from Grandma Marilyn. She gave me the insides because she's so nice.

Park adventure on a FREEZING cold day (55 degrees F)

New sensation...Grass

Playing with cousin Emily

Sitting on her other cousin, due in June

Loving cousin Justin

Here are a couple of "bideos" for Justin"

Getting mad when we take things away from her

Playing with Destiny. She still has a "grunt" laugh. No real laugh yet.

Hey there...

2008-03-18T08:39:00.006-06:00

No milestones...just 6 months old and cute as ever!

Another milestone...eating

2008-02-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here Franny is eating for the first time. We were glad that she liked it so well. It's helping her to sleep a little longer through the night.

Things are going a lot smoother since this first try

Here are some random pics I took of Fran on our new couch. Doesn't she look like Adria?

Franny screams like a crazy person when she's tired. We love it!

Rolling over!! Laughing!! and Miss Potato Head

2008-02-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

Two days ago Franny figured out how to roll over! Now she won't stop and diaper changing has become tricky. She also gets herself stuck on the side of the crib. Also, she FINALLY laughed for reals for the first time this morning. Don't pay attention to Paul. The noise he's making is freaky, but it was the only thing making Fran laugh.

Look how much faster it got over night!

That looks fun. I'd like to try that

Yummy Zach's nose

Yummy sock

So Sweet

Franny and friends

2008-02-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with cousin Lucy and Auntie Sarah. I love the looks on their faces in this pic.

"Abrasos" from Luz

"Besos"..."MMMah!"

New hat from Luz's trip to visit her relatives in Argentina

"I LOVE MY NEW HAT!!!"

Hi Mom! I have a...

SURPRISE!

So pretty at 4 months

She's learned how to yell. Her she is in action.

Auntie Sarah is teaching her the "finer" things in life

Go Aggies! and more cuteness

2008-01-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Paul and Fran got new Aggie shirts for Paul's birthday

Snuggle

Franny is eager to sit up on her own. Every time I let her grasp my fingers, she tries to get up. We like the funny face she makes while trying.

More talking and kicking

Three months...

2008-01-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

HI! Nats was getting on my case because I haven't posted pics of Fran in a while. I don't have any pictures of Christmas because I'm a genius and left my camera at my sister's house for a couple of days. I'll get some pictures from other family members and post later on this week. Anyways, here are some cute(I think) pictures and videos of how big Franny is getting.

The many faces of Fran...

Content

Perplexed

Excited
Bewildered

Dada thought I would look cute in the laundry

I'm confused

Snuggle

Smooches!

This is my cool cousin Sebastien from new york. He's two months older than me and has a weird accent.

Getting more talkative

New "grunt-laugh"

Playing with Mom

Blessing, etc...

2007-12-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

Franny was given a name and a blessing on Dec. 9. It was a nice afternoon with lots of family and a few friends. Here are a few pics of cute Franny. My siblings were there...I guess I forgot to snap some photos of them. My bad!

Con Mama y Papa

Grandma and Grandpa Gutke

Great-Grandma Gutke

Kartchners and Grows

Having a laugh with Mom

Tired from laughing

Thanksgiving and Moby Fun

2007-11-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

We've got some more recent photos from Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy!

The Family -- above

Franny already taking Trivial Pursuit very serious.

Franny in her new Moby wrap.

Paul on the roof going overboard with the Christmas lights.

Franny got her ears pierced last week...so cute!

2007-11-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

Now that Amelia has a blog of our own, up and running, I thought I'd post a few pictures of our new house. If you hadn't guessed already...it is in the "island" area. The first photo is from the front of our cul-de-sac LeRuisseau.

Above: The front of the house.

Views of our back yard and looking west from the yard to the temple.

Also in the backyard is a nice canal that brings ducks to our porch for bread snacks. Fun.

The canal is now dried up for winter...no more ducks.

2007-11-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I had so many pics that I wanted to show,so I decided to create my own blog. That way, if you want to take the time to look at tons of pictures of Franny, you can. If you don't have the time, just look at the Spencer or Gutke blog where I will post a few pictures a month. Here's our little sweetie over the past 6 weeks. Enjoy!

Holding her head up at 3 weeks

Her first time smiling at us for reals at 4 weeks

Playing video games with Paul and our friend David.

For the longest time, she would only sleep in her bouncer. Good thing we bought a crib!

So cute in her little seat at 6 weeks

Talking to us at six weeks

Halloween. Stacy Moss gave me this cute suit. It has ears, so we gave her whiskers and called her a mouse. Good enough.

Recognize this carrier? It was made in '77 for Gabe. still going strong!

Nap time

I love this picture

Franny's first aggie game. She was the belle of the ball and was a peach through the entire game. She also really loved Jaycee Carrol!

Her new hat from a former client of Paul's

From day one, Fran has always been so content in the bath. Future swimmer??

Davis sings to Fran:

My nephew Davis kept saying "Take a picture of me and Franny", as you may or may not have have deciphered in the video . He's so sweet with her. He gets euphoric when he sees her.

Paul likes snuggling up with Fran for a napski.

Franny had woken up from a nap, so I put her on her tummy for some playtime. I turned around, and in classic Spencer fashion, she was asleep with her mouth and eyes open.
And then she had a nice dream.

My niece Lucy is so darling with Franny whenever they see each other. She always gives her besos and talks to her. This particular day, I finished taking a few snapshots of them, then I turned around and Lucy was trying to feed her from her sippy. Franny wasn't so pleased, but it was a nice gesture.