The Francis Family: 41 Weeks and a first tooth!

Caden and the first time on his swing in our yard! Thanks Grandpa Joe for putting it up for me!

Nia scratching her back on the hammock.

Caden swinging on the hammock with his stick.

Caden playing with a stick...and then there was Nia.

At Ward Park in Versailles with Amy, Rob, Andrew and Isaac Winner.

Saying hi to his buddy

After 9 1/2 months, Caden's first tooth popped through yesterday and I can feel it today. I thought he was crawling a little more taller today...he is so proud of his new tooth! I will try and post a picture of the new pearly white, but no promises...he will not let me even touch his tooth with my finger. We will see who will win here! Turns out Caden wins! It is near impossible to try and get a look at the that tooth. This is my first attempt...maybe I will wait until it is a little more noticeable.

Here is Caden for his 41 week picture.

THE GARDEN

I am done planting the garden for the sseason. It is a bittersweet time of year, because I can sometimes dread preparing the garden and seeds/plants...but then I love to wait and watch everything grow. It is so much fun to see what will succeed and then figure out what to cook/make with our produce! So much fun. My gardening love is definitely something my parents instilled in me since I was little. At our old house in Hudson, my parents had a great garden that we were lucky enough to help out with. We would help pick asparagus, carrots and tomatoes among other things. If you get the chance and can grow some veggies in a garden or even just a pot, it is so much fun for kids to watch the little plants grow. I can remember helping mom pick the veggies when they were ready...nothing tastes better that a tomato right off the vine that is warmed by the sun. So ever since then, I have always loved growing vegetables. This is our 4th garden at this house and we are hoping that it is the best one yet! We planted tomatoes, banana peppers, jalepeno peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, garlic, snap peas, asparagus and blueberry bushes. The garlic has been the easiest so far, we planted it in October last year and just wait and watch them grow. I almost forgot, mom also helped me plant lavendar, sage, basil, chives, dill, rosemary, thyme and mint (regular and apple)on the side of the house. So now the hard but fun part is waiting to eat the fruits (or veggies) of our labor. Another new thing with the garden this year is that we put newspaper and grass clippings down on the entire garden to A)keep the garden more moist and most importantly B)keep me from weeding all summer! Weeding is my least favorite task outdoors. So we look forward to delicious veggies this summer and fall and sharing them with all of you!

Dad and Caden swinging at Duke Park in Troy before Dad's game. I cannot wait until he enjoys going down the slides. He went down by himself, but I think the static freaked him out a little bit. After he got to the bottom, I think he realized that he had fun!