My sweet pea is 12 weeks old.....WOW!

Sucking her thumb at The Raber's house for the BBQ!


Those baby blues will probably get her out of a lot of trouble, I fear...

We have a wee bit of a TV problem....She situated herself this way to get a better view. Someone else in the Francis family loves reality TV, I see....

Close up after the BBQ..E is looking a little tired!

Our little munchkin is 12 weeks old. Honestly, I sound like a broken record, but Scott and I cannot believe that she is already 12 weeks old. We have had such fun the past 2 weeks because in that time, her personality to really starting to emerge. She LOVES to "talk" which most of the time sounds like a screaming howl. Really high pitched. It is the sweetest howl/scream I have ever heard. She LOVES talking to Daddy. Anytime she sees him, she starts to talk. She also loves people. She listens to people talking and will smile at just about anyone. I tend to think that she is gifted at reading auras. She is kinda picky about who she hands out smiles to, sometimes......

I wanted to post some updated pics of our girl. I love her so much...more and more every week. Is this even possible? Favorite part of the day is waking up to her smiling face. She rarely wakes up in a bad mood these days....

Love to you all!
Francis Family

Showers, colic and Family..oh, my!

We are still battling the evil monster that is colic. Just. Terrible. I really think that this should be considered a medical condition for the baby and the family members going through it. Scott and I are really standing strong and are better for going through this with our little munchkin who, when happy and not in pain, the sweetest, happiest baby. I cannot wait until her colic clears and we will all be able to share a sigh of relief. Poor baby...

On a happy note(s), we have had a busy and productive last week. My sister and niece, Grayce, came up to Chicago for a visit with Ella. I think that they agree that Ella is pretty darn cute. I was happy that Ella got to meet her cousin! There got along fabulously =)

On Saturday, I hosted a shower for my dear friend, Abby. It was so beautiful and I think everyone had a good time! It was held at a great restaurant just up the road from us (only 5 min!) in Lincoln Square, Sola. So. good. Abby got some good stuff! I hope she likes her cheesy and personlized golf balls! (I am such a dork; I got Abby some golf balls that read "Abby and Kent FOREver). Yes, I know. I am a dork. I am sure her mr. will get some use out of the balls as well.

So incredibly sad that our summer is drawing to a close. I am really torn re: my return to work. I really feel like I need the stimulation and challenges my job creates, however, being Ella's mom is one of the best things I have ever done. I wish there was a way to have it all! I am sure I will come to a decision after giving work a go for at least a couple of weeks. I will need to heavily medicated and/or distracted on her first day with Alex. I cannot even think about it! We still have a couple more weeks, right? Let's hope she starts to feel better ASAP so that we can enjoy and take our trip to Atlanta and for Timmy's wedding in San Diego for Labor Day. Cross all of your fingers and toes for us!

Love and Kisses,

Nic, Scott and E

Long time....(kinda) no post...

About to lose it...feed me now!


Okay, I will sit still for a couple more seconds.....


Seriously? That's enough. I am ready for food.

Ella and Mommy after Abby's Shower......

Me and Abby!

In the hot seat....ready to open some lingerie!

Not looking too happy....

Still not sure about this.....

We have had a busy couple of weeks! Ella is now 10 weeks old. Scott feels like this time has flown by and in a lot of ways, it has. Most of y'all know that our Ella has been colicky. There have been many days that have dragged on and on...there have been many days where I just didn't know when she was going to start feeling better! But, after a long afternoon nap for Ella (2.5 hours!), I do feel like it has gone by really fast and I have really enjoyed our bonding time during her crying sessions. I will never get that time back!

She is soooo precious with all of the smiling and cooing lately. She and Daddy have a special bond already and everytime she sees Daddy, she starts "talking" to him. These conversations can last a little while. It is so wonderful to see her alert and happy!!! I am amazed at how wonderful a father Scott is. His patience and warmth aren't surprising to me in the least. I always knew that he would be an awesome dad. It really is special to see him with Ella.

We have had a great weekend! On Saturday night, I was able to get to Abby's lingerie shower at Mary's place! I LOVED seeing off Abby on her engaged lady night out. I wasn't able to stay out long as I had to get back to help Daddy with Ella's bottle feeding session. Wow. What. A. Challenge. I wish that someone would have told me to get my breastfed baby on a bottle no later than 6 weeks. GEtting her to take a bottle has been another one of our challenges. Hopefully, she will start taking one consistently!

Today, Beth and Kristen came over to see Ella and walk to lunch at Sweet Bean! So nice to see Kristen before her big day! She is having little Ryan in 11 days! I can't wait to see the little man. No doubt, he will be precious. We are thinking of you, Joe and Ryan, Kristen!

A nice night in for us on this Sunday night. It has been unbearably hot the past couple of days...90 degrees for the first time this summer. I think that we have had a pretty cool summer here in Chicago....can't wait to get down to muggy and hot Atlanta in just over a week!

My sister and niece are coming up to meet Ella on Tuesday! We can't wait to see more family....it will be sad to see them go! I wish everyone lived closer...

I hope everyone has a great week! Love and kisses from the Francis family....