A Beautiful Saturday

Today was the most beautiful day we've had in Vienna so far this spring! Today was also my dad's last day in Vienna, so we went to Zanoni & Zanoni for ice cream and we met our friend Jana there. Jana came to VCS with us 2 years ago, and she is leaving after this year to marry Jimmy. We will be at her wedding in San Antonio, TX, in August. The middle picture is Cole in the new magical sleeping position: sideways. Pure cuteness.

3 Week Doctor Visit

Today Cole had his first appointment with his pediatrician, Dr. Stein. Everything looks great! The doctor's office is only a few minutes walk from our apartment. Since his birthday, Cole has gained just shy of 1 kilogram, so now he's up to 4.73 kilograms, or 10.4 pounds. He also has grown 2 centimeters, so now he's 56 cm long. Cole & I celebrated by getting an ice cream cone from Zanoni & Zanoni, which is conveniently located just around the corner from Dr. Stein's office. I didn't pick it for that reason, though, I promise. They have a new cookie flavor called Biscotto. It's super yummy.

We Haven't...

Fallen off the planet, I promise. Sorry for lack of posts. Here's the latest from the Franks. On Easter Sunday, an amazing rainbow appeared outside of our window...very cool. Yesterday Cole attended his very first amateur sporting event...a VCS softball game. We also had our first foray with the stroller on public transportation, and our first night out to dinner. Whew! It was quite the eventful day. AND, to top it all off, I lost my wallet in Prater, the park by our house. Bummer, right? Yes, but as we were getting ready for bed, the doorbell rang and two police officers had my wallet. The best part was that everything was intact. Nothing stolen. Whoever found it must have turned it in, thankfully.
That's not all...
Cole has hit a growth spurt we think because he has turned into a ravenous eating machine, and hasn't been sleeping so well at night. But, all that is worth it because today was the FIRST time he ENJOYED the bath tub! OUTSTANDING! It's fun having a baby:).
Last picture...my mom & dad after witnessing Cole's and my victory over the bathtub today. What more can you ask for?

Happy Easter!!

I hope you have a great day and enjoy rest and joy - remembering the enormous statement God made by flexing his muscles and bringing Jesus back to life after being dead. Thanks to God!

Mama sleeps, too!

how cute and adorable and sweet and darling and every other appropriate word. :)

More Sleep!

More sleep!

Contrary to popular belief, we have been doing more than sleep! We visited an Easter market downtown Vienna. I've been takiung Cole on walks in the park by our apartment. Omi took care of Cole while Chris and I had breakfast at a local cafe today.

Notice...the middle picture is of Cole in his (well...our) favorite hat...DON'T MESS WITH ME. It's been useful to fend off the ladies. He's still a little young. Maybe a few more weeks and then we'll turn him loose.

Omi is Here!

My (Anne) mom arrived from the states yesterday to meet Cole and hang out with us for three weeks. So far, she's been a professonal baby holder, and this afternoon she and Cole read The Very Hungry Caterpillar together. My dad (Grandbob) arrives next Saturday. We're excited to have them!

for the COLE fans

So many friends have been bringing us dinners this week, and then staying a little to hang out. It's been great! The other night when Chad, Phil, & Megan were here, we attempted to give Cole his first bottle. Success!
We've also taken Cole on a few Vienna adventures in his Baby Bjorn lately. Yesterday we went to the hospital for Cole's circumcision. Ouch! We also stopped at the Coffeeshop Company on the way home and enjoyed our drinks as we walked along the Danube Canal home.
And lastly, just this morning Chris and Cole were reading The Treasure Principle together on the bed. Not sure how much Cole understood! We're trying to keep Cole awake for a little while after he eats each time, so today Cole & Chris hung out.

Theme: Sleep

Trip to Prater

This is Anne and Cole on their first walk together. We all went over to Prater today - it's a huge park that is a 5 minute walk from our apartment. There is a huge road down the middle only for pedestrians, bikers, etc. You can see all kinds of people jogging, biking, roller blading, strolling, sitting on benches, etc. Once spring really hits, it will be much more pretty with all of the greenery.
Anyhow, the walk was nice, but it tired Annie out. Cole was just fine - he didn't make a sound. I think he enjoyed the fresh air. You know, I was thinking we might get reprimanded by an old Austrian lady that we shouldn't have our baby's neck exposed to the draft. It's common to believe that it makes you sick - unless it's like 70 degrees or more. Strange but true. And people here (usually older Austrian women) feel free to let you know their opinions and what you ought to be doing about your driving, how you dress your child, how your windows are dirty, or whatever.
One cool thing about Austria is that babies are a big attraction. All kinds of people look and smile (normally its abnormal to smile) since you have a baby. They chat away to the baby and think it's great. You get a lot of positive attention that doesn't normally happen. I've seen old sophisticated men making crazy baby faces and chatting away to babies - something that would be absurd in any other circumstance.
By the way - isn't it a cool stroller? I like it a lot. The car seat pops out of the top and can be replaced by the seat for bigger kids.

first day home

so...it's anne here! it's been great to read all of your comments about our new life with cole byron frank. we are super thankful and feel very loved & encouraged.
it's nice to be home from the hospital now, even though the stay was restful and much needed. i got a massage daily and rested on the balcony in the sunny weather some.
so yesterday was our first full day at home as a family...woah.
cole is eating like a champ, and sleeping like a champ most of the time. he seems to be nocturnal, go figure. i've been amazed at the power he exerts in his diapers! yesterday he projectile peed all over himself, his hair, and his clothes. i thought i could dodge the bath thing for a few days, but plans changed, and our first bath happened. below you see a clean & snuggly cole after the pee was cleaned off!

yesterday's highlights

Mom on the balcony. 

Cole getting snuggly warm before the trip home. 

The new and improved Franks. 

Annie, enjoying the sun on the balcony at the hospital room. Notice the flip flops - a key part of the trip home. :) 

Home again

Annie and Cole just couldn't wait to get back home again. We're all here now - thanks so much for praying for a safe delivery for Anne and Cole, eventhough you didn't know his name yet. Cole is doing fine - sleeping right now in a bassinet that our neighbor let us borrow for a few months. He's been doing all the normal baby things (as far as we know) like sleeping, eating, filling up his diapers, and even using his manly power to pee on Anne. :) That was pretty funny - I'd heard boys do that sometimes, and Cole didn't waste any time.
Anne is feeling very well. She still needs more time to totally recover, though. I've been having thoughts about all of these changes - and thinking about how God views it all. There must be thousands and thousands of babies born every day. Somehow, God knows about and wants to be close to each and every person and situation (parents and child). That just doesn't make sense - how can he do that? He has set up an amazing system of how the human body works - both mother and baby. And the emotional things that go on also play into all of this. God really is a creative genius. But this makes me think of how we are all like children and some of the many comparisons the Bible makes between us and children; God and parents. I was an orphan and he adopted me. Crave God's words to me like a baby craves mom's milk. And then I think about how God loves me eventhough I'm not perfect, but he loves me because I'm his son. It's only better when I pay him attention back, like a parent and child.

Enough deep thoughts from Crispy.

Donnerstag

So, Thursday is the day we're all going to be back home - good news! It will be really nice to have Anne and Cole here. And I think Anne is looking forward to that much more than me - just be more free and have the comforts of home. Cole's room is all set and I guess we're as ready as we can be - but of course we have tons to learn. There's always tons of advice coming our way and we need to blanance that with what we feel is best.

Enough with all the boring typing, Chris! Put on more pictures, you might be saying. Well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. I left the camera at the hospital. Although I could always put an "old" one on the blog and you'd never really know...

this one is for you, then:
hmmm, I guess that picture will be on top. oh well.

First Visitor From Afar

Where is afar, you might ask??
Orlando, Florida to be exact. My friend and old roomie (from the old Austria days in Guntramsdorf) John just flew in this morning. Well, he didn't come just to see Cole - he's here on a work trip. But we like to think of it as our first international visitor. He even beat Megaoma to the punch, plus Grandbob.

We're about to go over to the hospital to visit Anne and Cole. Don't worry, you picutre crazy folks - I'll put up more pictures soon. :)

Day Two

So, I just got home from being at the hospital all day with Anne and Cole. They're doing well - Cole looks better now that his head isn't so much of a conehead anymore. Anne is feeling great - even put on some of her own clothes.
We had a few visitors and phone calls, which we great.
Also, the weather today was amazing - probably 65 degrees, which is the warmest it's been in soooooo long. I'm sorta sad to say this as a SoCalifornian, but it felt HOT sitting in the sun and so nice. I used to think 65 was kinda cold.
I changed my first diaper and WOAH - it was a stinky nasty one. I think we let it go too long before checking. I realized today that his weight was actually 3.785 kg which means more like 8 pounds and 5 ounces I think.

Anyhow, I'm going to add a few pictures on top now. Enjoy.

He made it!!!

It's true, official, and frank: our baby was born this morning!!
His name is Cole Byron Frank.
He was born at 5:45am on Sunday, March 26th.
His weight is 3.875 kg ( 8 pounds 7 ounces).
His length is 54 cm (21 inches).

He's healthy and sleeping a lot. Anne is doing better than I imagined - and I have a pretty wild imagination.

Now for some pictures:

And here he is!!! 

The new and improved Frank family! 

Catching some Z's 

The Latest

Miles David Luginbill

Our new cousin: Miles David Luginbill

March 23, 2006

Isn't he cute?

Baby Luginbill!

I have a new cousin...Miles David Luginbill! He was born Thursday afternoon, March 23, 2006, and mom & baby are doing well. Thanks to my aunt & uncle, John & Kim Luginbill, there are now 8 Luginbill grandchildren, and adding Chris as honorary makes it 9. Now we're just waiting for Baby Frank's arrival. Soon, please!

View From The Bridge

In the distance, you can see a few important things...
1. The top of the Prater Ferris Wheel. It's in a great park in our neighborhood. Famous Vienna thing.
2. The top of the orangey looking building down the canal a ways on the left. That's OUR building.
I took a walk yesterday to an outdoor market and took this picture on my way home from a bridge. You can see the walkway along the canal where I run sometimes, too. It's great. The weather lately has been beautiful, so I've been taking advantage of the time I have to take long walks around the city.

Green Buddy

Well, with the 3 day weekend, we've had a little extra time. We basically did normal Saturday things like cleaning and going to the grocery store. But tonight, we had some creative juices flowing and practiced our videoing skills. Since baby Frank is coming soon, this was good practice - we made our very own movie. There were credits, various scenes and costumes, and background music. Anne was the main character, but Green Buddy made a cameo appearance. No one really knows who he is, except Meg and Bob. Maybe you'll get to see the movie someday - or at least a picture of Green Buddy.

A VCS First

School's OUT tomorrow because the troops are dropping like flies from the flu! Today alone, 51 kids and 18 staff were out. 9 staff are at a conference in Hungary, so only 9 are sick, but STILL. Woah. Principals subbed, secretaries typed letters to parents explaining this fiasco, and people like Chris shut the business office door and drank tea (the cure-all Austrian remedy for EVERYTHING) all day to fight off whatever is taking over our little school. So...a 3 day weekend for all! Except me...every day is a weekend until Blank Frank arrives. Soon hopefully. I WANT TO MEET HIM, and see what he looks like. Fun!

Some New Discoveries

This week has been my first week of not working since I graduated from college...except those summer or holiday weeks that no teachers work. It's strange.

I've made some new discoveries this week, though, throughout my lazy days.

1. Haribo (a WONDERFUL candy company) makes Saftbaeren, which means "juice bears," and are gummy bears made with fruit juice. Yum!
2. I really DO need a lot more sleep due to this baby living in me.
3. Even though doctors SAY they think a baby will come soon, they are often as clueless as you are. We're still waiting...
4. Don't drink Coke for dinner and expect to sleep at night. A mistake I will definitely learn from next time.

DONE!!!

Yesterday was my last real teaching day, but today was my last OFFICIAL day as Mrs. Frank, VCS 4th grade teacher. The kids had a little party for me yesterday, and they made me a book called Frankly ABCs. It's super! This photo was taken yesterday of me & the girls in my class. I'll miss them!

Photos Long Overdue

I wrote not too long ago about Spiritual Emphasis Week. Here are a few photos from that week. Jerry Jacoby was the main dude, but teachers were called up on stage daily to lead song motions, dance, or hold song cards. It was a great week:).

4th Grade Geometry Fair

So the fourth graders at VCS put on a stellar GEOMETRY FAIR a couple weeks ago. The kids learned all about geometry, then designed 11 geometric activity stations. They invited other elementary classes, the 6th and 8th grade math classes, and a bunch of staff. It was a HUGE HIT! Above you see Anne with a geomask on roaming around, and above that you see Vicky leading some kids in a tangram activity. It was a super day!

what you've all been waiting for...

above our changing table...___byron frank and some verses we like

pillow covers & shelf curtain made by meg luginbill!

hanging chair. excuse the ladder, yes, we're lowering it soon

free crib, comfy with meg luginbill bumpers and musical mobile!

10 days away

We visited Dr. Husslein yesterday, and according to him, Baby Frank will most likely make his GRAND ENTRANCE in Vienna within the next 10 days. No inductions, no C-sections, just a big early baby. All systems are functioning, and we are ready to meet this boy! Please be praying for a safe and healthy delivery...whatever day it happens. I'm just hoping I won't go into labor at school! I'm working half days until Thursday, March 9th.

We also picked up our stroller and carseat last night, too. It's such a cool contraption! Pictures to come soon...also of the room.

Kids a Bloggin'

Hey:). Some other teachers & I at VCS have been doing "book clubs" with our 4th and 5th grade kids. Once a week, we meet and talk about the novel our group chose to read. We've met three weeks now and we started a blog! I think all the kids have posted at least once, and I wanted to give you a chance to read first hand what the kids say about the books they're reading. The books (in case you're not familiar) are:

Chocolate Fever
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Half Magic
The Littles
The Hundred Penny Box

Take a look! www.4clubbin.blogspot.com The kids are pretty into this! Oh yeah, the group I lead is the Chocolate Fever group.