Dirt!!

What 18 month old boy doesn't love dirt?! This was so entertaining all day last Saturday! Roman would throw it has hard as he could and yell, "Dirt!".

18 Months Changes Everything!

Roman turned 18 months old on September 12! Wow, time flies so fast I can't even blink! He is such an amazing child! He learns something new literally every day! We went to the doctor this week and here are his current stats:

Weight: 27 lbs 13 oz (60%)

Height: 33" (75%)

Head Circ: 19-1/4" (75%)

Doctor says that Roman is a big, healthy boy. We're still feeding him around 16 oz of whole milk a day and 3 full meals of what we're eating with 1-2 snacks in between. Some days I think Roman is such a great eater and then some days are very difficult!

18 months has brought on a lot of changes in Roman. Here a few...

• We have had to already start disciplining Roman a lot! Our main problem is with him throwing food at meal time. Let's just say the Franks kitchen gets pretty messy! It's so hard to tell if he really knows that he shouldn't be throwing food, but I'm pretty much 99% sure that he knows it and does it for attention. We've had to put him in timeout a few times. Timeout is actually working a little bit. He knows that he has to stand there for 1 minute. It's just a really hard change for me to have to start disciplining already! I've been pushed to my limits already and he's only 18 month old! My strategy to date is to always remain calm and try to stay soft spoken, but firm. I'll keep you posted!
• Roman loves mimicking mommy! He goes throughout the house yelling, "Matt"! Hmmm, wonder where he got that from?!




• We love playing "How much does mommy/daddy love you?" And Roman responds with holding his arms up high in the sky while we say, "This much!" Love it! It's the small moments in life that are so precious!
• When we were at the lake over Labor Day weekend Roman didn't sleep very good at all. One night, of almost 2 hours of trying, I just couldn't comfort him. I think he kept waking up scared. Every time I would get him calm and lay him in the pack n play, he would start crying again. Normally, I would let him cry for 5 minutes to figure it out, but Grandma Jones was "trying" to sleep in the next room, so for the first time EVER I let Roman sleep with me. I know, I'm a hard core parent. He wouldn't sleep next to me, he had to be laying on me and holding me. It was actually so adorable that I had to write this down so I wouldn't forget the moment. I just loved cuddling with my sweet boy!
• Roman still has a little biting issue. He gives "love" bites to us and I think his friends. He gets excited and goes in for the bite. We're really trying to work on it! Ahh! Parenting is so challenging!

• Anytime we're driving in the car I always try to work with Roman on colors and signs. He now knows that when you come to a red light you STOP. He holds his hand out and says, "top". So cute!! He also knows that the green light means "go". Anytime we try to leave the house we ask, "Roman, are you ready to go go?" Then we get the repeated "go go" until we're all buckled in the car seat. So cute!

• Next to mommy and daddy, Roman's favorite word is 'ball'. He loves to play with balls and always talk about them! He says, "football" by holding his arm to his mouth and blowing out the 'foo' part. So silly!
• Dada is Roman's hero! He loves him and talks about him all of the time! While mama is his comfort. He comes to mama for love and comfort and assurance. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?!

• Bedtime is so fun because Matt usually give the bath, which is always fun for Roman. Then they play together and usually wrestle on the ground. Mama comes in and takes Roman to brush his teeth to get ready for bed. He loves to look in the mirror as we brush our teeth together. Next step, we stop to wave 'night nights' to daddy. It is so cute! He usually wants down from my arms and runs to give his daddy a big bear hug. I almost cry every time! I have mentioned how much this little boy melts my heart!?

• Roman's favorite game and song is 'Ring around the Rosie'. I will ask, "Do you want to sing a song?" And he will reply, "Ashes Ashes". He usually turns in circles on his own and then yells, "down" while falling down. Adorable!
• Roman has a friend at school! He has been going to school with Byron since he was 3 months old. Bryon went to Roman's old school too. This morning Byron saw Roman,waved at him, and said, "Ro Ro". Unbelievable! Miss Marni, Roman's teacher, said that Roman calls him "By By". Seriously, it doesn't get much cuter!
• Roman knows and can point to the following body parts: mouth, teeth, tongue, head, hair, arms, hands, fingers, toes, feet, legs, belly button.
• Roman can point to a lot of different animals and loves to tell you how a horse says, "nay" and a snake says "sssss". We're still working on barking like a dog and meowing like a cat.
• Overall I feel like the most difficult part about this stage in Roman's life is that he understands so much now, but can't speak as much as he wants. It's got to be frustrating for him to want to express himself, but he can't. It is absolutely amazing at how much he is learning and retaining every day. Even though I can honestly say Roman has hit the "terrible two's", this stage is so exciting to see my little boy growing!

We love you THIS much Roman!!!!!!!!! (my arms are as wide as they can possibly be!)

Birthday Party Extravaganza!!!

This past Saturday Roman was invited to two of his girlfriends' birthday parties! It was such a fun day! The first party was for Tessa Cason. Roman has always been smitten with little Tessa. It was at a petting farm really close to our house. Roman LOVES animals so this was such a fun adventure for him!! They had a little train to ride, a hayride and lots of animals to feed. Roman also ate "real" pizza from Domino's and a cupcake for the first time! Needless to say, his poor tummy didn't like the "strange" food later that night!

Daddy showed Roman all of the animals

Little stinker kept running away from us towards the animals!

Roman and daddy loved feeding the goats!

Mommy loved it too!

Roman loves saying, "nay" like a horse

Someone wouldn't go on the train unless daddy went with him!

This is so funny! Proof that Daddy's can have fun at kid birthday parties too!

After birthday cupcakes we all went out on a very hot hayride!

He loved it and was taking everything in!

Mommy and Roman enjoying the hayride

It was a fun group of parents and kids!

After a long nap, we took Roman to his buddy, Chloe's birthday party at Little Gym. He pretty much was in HEAVEN!!!!

He walked the beams, climbed the barrels and jumped lots!

Chloe and Roman jumping together

Such a beautiful birthday girl!

They all sat around and shook the rattles

Running under the parachute was amazing! Check out Roman's face!

Jumping on the blow up bouncer was so much fun!

Roman is a professional jumper!

It's birthday celebration time! Roman actually sat in his seat for a few minutes! I think it was the juice box that enticed him! I quickly swapped out his cupcake for crackers and cheese. He didn't know the difference. Two cupcakes in one day would have been way too much for this little guy!

The birthday girl with mommy and daddy (Lindsey and Corey)

We attempted a picture of all the kids!

I think Roman had one of the best days of his life! Poor thing slept until 8:20 the next morning. That's late for us!

Happy birthday to Tessa and Chloe!!! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you!

The boys love rain!

Last week it rained again and what does Matt do?! He let's Roman run in the rain in his clothes and socks! Oh boys will be boys!

They had a blast!!!

Labor Day weekend

We started Labor day weekend with a drive to Tulsa Thursday night after I got off work. Roman slept most of the way. Friday morning, we went to breakfast with Matt's parents and Grandma Jones. We just hung around the house all day Friday. Whitney brought the triplets over to play with Roman. They had a ball!

Will kept trying to kiss Roman on the cheek. So cute!

We had everyone join while we gave Roman a bath in Grandma and Pa's huge bathtub!

Uncle Mark!

Friday night we had Matt's cousin, Jessie, come and babysit Roman so we could all go out to dinner. Mike and Meg, Bill and Pam, and Matt and I went to sushi for dinner and then we headed to the local casino. Man, it was hilarious people watching! Meg and I enjoyed dancing to the band. Love me some Franks family fun!!

Saturday morning we headed to the lake and finally got on the boat that afternoon!

A view of the dock from our boat

The house sits on a peninsula. Here's the property. I love that the house blends in with the trees. It doesn't take away from nature!

Lovin the boat ride!

He's a professional laker!

Meg and I on the boat with all the kiddos again! Roman really warmed up to Meg!

Matt's cousin's daughter, Macy went skiing by herself! She's only 6!

Lee and Chris were there with James and Harper. He's growing so fast!

Harper and James
Big boy loves the lake!!