For Blog's Sake

 Can't say enough good things about Big Cassie being at Family Tree. We love visiting.

The wind up and the pitch for throwing in fish food.

 This is "Time Out" in Cassidy world. Thanks, Coach, for teaching her the basics.

 Kind of...

 One fish, two fish, red fish blue fish. Actually she likes the white one with black and orange spots. 

Working on the wink. It looks a lot like Wyatt's wink.

Everything's Archies

Cassidy has discovered the world of Hulu (hulu.com) and now she wants to watch "The Archie Show" everyday. I'm trying to keep it to a minimum, but she enjoys it so much it's hard to say no. And they're not spooky or dirty, although Reggie is no longer known as "that guy in green" and is instead "that mean guy". Cassidy prefers the girls and Hot Dog (she named the dog EJ got her at World's of Fun "Hot Dog"), but I think she secretly likes Jughead too because he's silly.

Here's the real song: http://www.televisiontunes.com/Archie_Show_(The).html

And here's Cassidy rocking it out on her own. The words get a bit confusing, but she learned it on her own. Does this mean she's watching it too often?

Just in time

In case you missed it, this is from my Photo Journey on Tuesday, the 22nd. (If you want to take a look at past photography, then take a gander at my "Look" page.)

Good thing I took a photo of the orchid when I did. It opened yesterday and has quickly progressed into a strikingly beautiful bloom. Sorry the quality of the photos don't do it justice. I'm still trying to figure out the settings and no natural light really hurts a picture.

This thing is gorgeous; a great 'sale table' find at Family Tree. Thanks, Honey!

Here it is Wednesday

Here it is today, Thursday

The Oven

She can make cookies or cupcakes or sarkoshia (I'm not sure what that is, but she makes it). See those three little rectangles on the top of the door opening? Those are magnets.

 They stick to the three magnets on the door that Sam embedded, like this one below. That's brilliant. And they keep the door from swinging open unexpectedly.

THE Kitchen

All I can say is, check it out now...

When Big Cassie said she could make a kitchen, she wasn't joking around. Chef's hats off to Sam and Big C. They pulled it off. Expect more posts about THE Kitchen.

Miss Fantastic Turns Four

I was induced with Cassidy; it was mid-February, I was 18 months removed from my last delivery and I was LARGE. It was time for the little lady to come out, if in fact she was a lady. When the sonographer told us we were having a girl I cried from pure shock. How were we having a little girl? Aren't the Blakes predominantly boys? On Monday February 13th at 10:30 AM, after an hour and a half of labor, out came the cutest dark haired firecracker. Sure enough, Cassidy Faith had arrived.

You would be screaming too.

Turns out Cassidy is easy to live with. She is joyful, obedient, gorgeous,

incredibly loving and hilariously funny.   

 Do these boots look familiar?

 Her curls are a great asset, but they are also a hotly contested issue when it comes to combing. Tom has promised to take over the de-tangling process.

I am sure her brothers cheer her on from their elevated view;

Wyatt always was Cass's greatest encourager.

 
She loves spending time with Papa, especially if it's a video about the Tabernacle.

Little Chef.

Big Chef.

It's truly impossible to express how thankful we are for Cassie Faye. If it were possible to do, without spoiling her, we would make every day her birthday.

Birthdays All Around

My dad will turn 67 on Friday, my uncle turns 74 tomorrow and Cassidy turns 4 on Sunday, hence, 67-74-4. My mom is pretty creative. And a really good baker. That was a great cake. 

Here they are, some of my favorite people. You will be hard pressed to find a man sweeter than Uncle Jack. I've never heard a cross word out of him, even when Nebraska plays horribly. He is an encourager and a listener. I appreciate how much he has invested in my life. In the last year and half he has been one of the few people who can speak words of truth and life to me. His hugs always carry an extra pound of encouragement and compassion.

My dad is one of the most passionate people I know. His heart is so big, his love is so deep. He is a great example of the Father's love. He has always been involved closely with my life, my biggest fan when it came to being on the stage. The one who believed I could do anything and do it the best. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm a Franz. Anyway, having a father like mine means never wondering what love feels like. I think my number one (and two) love language (gifts/food) come from him. He always gives my mom gifts and the man can cook.

And Cassidy, well she speaks for herself. She's more wonderful than I can express and I am thankful to be her mama. If  you don't believe me, come on over and spend a morning with her. Blessed, that's the only way to describe being the mother of Cassidy Faith.

Not featured here, but definitely as important, is Landon, who turns 9 on the 17th. The oldest of the Texas cousins, he is the first one to get Wyatt to hold something in his tiny little hand. He is a great hug giver, a wonderful BIG brother to three (maybe four) sisters, and excels at whatever he sets his mind to. He is a strong athlete and will follow quite well in the footsteps of the Blake boys. He is also very smart and knows so much about G-d you would be encouraged about the future. I love him very much and I am thankful for his hugs and kindness.

Happy Birthdays my wonderful family!

Rocking the Microphone

Cassidy got a new piano and microphone for her birthday --"Just like Noah's!" I put in the batteries and she rocked out all morning. It was more like karaoke, since she used her new CD player to sing along to her favorite song. Oh, and that's a new baby on her lap, too. Just what she needed, another baby...

The Skunk Song

I don't know where she got this idea, but she's rocking it.

New Addition

Jessica's new photo project has inspired me to take more pictures, too. I am not promising pictures every day, but I'm going to try. I like the idea of having photographs that document life, so I plan on keeping them in a folder where they're labeled with the date. I might move it over to the main section, that has yet to be determined. In the meantime, go check out Jessica's blog.

Snow Day Revisited

Woohoo! Snow day all around and we're loving it. Tom shoveled the driveway and Cassidy and Maasen played in the growing piles of snow. I figure a lot of people are at home, checking their e-mail, surfing the interweb, so here are some photos.

Then after her time outside she came in and I tried my hand at home-made hot cocoa. It worked pretty well, and she was very excited about it. She may have also had a cookie...(I couldn't help myself. I love snow days!)