One fish two fish red fish blue fish

Dr. Seuss has officially re-entered my life!  I missed those books and am happy to see them back again.  In fact, many of the books which are Tricia's favourites are books written before either of us were born.  A classic is a classic and good things don't go out of style.  For this post, I would like to get back to my point form stylings and give you some Classic Franks North updates.

Popsicles, or "popdicalle" as they are sometimes called - You may recall Tricia loves her popsicles.  So much so that in the mornings when I wake her up (she's always sleeping in) she often groggily informs me that it is not time for a Popsicle just yet, "no popdicalle, not yet".  I agree saying something about after lunchtime.  Tricia is often reminding Ryan and I that there have been boundaries placed.  Just last night she told Ryan in some sort of run on sentence that "no hit, just gentle; no soapy; no more potty treats, just one; and no suit." As the weather has changed Tricia has been a little depressed that she can't wear her swimsuit everyday....

Best Homemade Popsicles  

(thank you neighbour Amanda for this!)  

1.  Go to the juice section at the grocery store and buy tetra pack gourmet juice (i.e. the not from concentrate kind where the first ingredient is the fruit itself)
2.  Return home and open the box.  Pour into clean popsicle moulds.
3.  Freeze until solid and serve to everyone who needs one.

Note: After some experimenting our house fav's are Lychee fruit and Mango Nectar, they're uh-mazing! Please see Stuff I Like for the best ever Frozen Jewel Popsicle Molds.

Foster Family for Dinner - Another milestone this past week was a visit from our dear and lovely Foster Family.  I literally can't say enough about Tricia's guardians from birth to July of this year.  These dedicated sweet people aren't just caring for babies until they find homes, they are creating a home and a relationship that children can re-visit and stay connected with.  Sure Tricia is exceptional and even Dodo and Roy will tell you they have a special place in their hearts for her, but these folks treat everyone with such incredible care and having them to our house for dinner was an honour.  The best part was how little time it took Tricia to remember them and get right back in their arms for snuggles.  She even provided a pre-dinner dance show that wouldn't have ended if supper hadn't been ready!  When I dreamed of my ideal adoption scenario it looked a lot like this reality.  A whole group of people invested in Tricia's well being, willing to love her as she grows and in love with her because of who she is.  It doesn't get much better than that!  Since their visit last week every time I ask her if Dodo came for supper she exclaims "DODO, ROY, RAY" with tremendous enthusiasm and laughs at her own memories.  We can't wait for the next visit....

Letter to birth mom - Just wrote it today.  Kept it simple, caring and open with little tidbits about our girl.  If you think of it, we would love to have this letter lifted up in thought and prayer that it would be received in an appropriate way and that it might be the first of many.... thank you!

Ryan's Birthday - The Skins come to Toronto, and we've got tickets!! - Ryan is 31 and we celebrated with Breakfast in bed.  Then we washed all the bedding since we had that much fun with Tricia and Miley joining us, so fun.  We also took a trip to the zoo with Josh and Katie, had a family feast and had some special calls from Franks Central.  The big news of the day however was Ryan's gift from his oh-so-lovely wife of tickets to see our beloved Washington Redskins play at the Rogers Centre in October - woohoo!!  Dream come true!  Now, who wants to babysit??

Potty Training Update - #1s are off to the races, with almost no accidents and no diaper needed during nap time.  Hooray!  #2's are a different story and despite Tricia placing her baby dolls on the potty for "poopy" we haven't seen much progress.  She is upset when things go "a-muck" but not enough to make any changes.  Her newest funny thing is pretending to poop in a serious way with her face going red and not breathing she is "pushing" so hard.  Only problem is she is not on the potty and doesn't need to go.  Oh pieces, please come together, we're so close....hah!


Upcoming.... Swim Lessons - I will do anything apparently (including be in a swimsuit in the middle of winter) for my child.  No but seriously, it'll be fun.  We're going with friends and it's high time Tricia started learning some water safety, the girl is obsessed with water in any form and needs to know how to be safe.

Curry Feast for Nicole - let's link it to a stand alone page, cause it's that good (it might not be up right when this gets posted so be patient with me)! Recipes and how to's for a do-it-yourself curry feast just like we had for Nicole's birthday this past winter. xoxo my sweet sis-in-law. Link: http://franksnorth.blogspot.com/p/curry-feast-for-nicole.html

Keep the comments coming!  This tool has been therapeutic for me, the new mom, but I would love to hear from you (my readers) too.  Share your own story with us, or picture or anything at all.  I love my community of people from near to far, from here to there, and interesting things are everywhere!

PS - my sister Bethany and I are starting a little business and are preparing for launch as we speak.  More to come on that but we will hopefully soon have both our Etsy shop and website up and running.  For now I'll just share the name, Firefly Creations by Katie and Bethany, can't wait!