Fourth photo Tag

I wasn't positive what I was supposed to do but it had something to do with posting your 4th photo. Well, our fourth photo on this laptop (in our folder of Jane not weird stuff) is:



Awww, our big bald-headed baby when she was 4 months old on Valentine's Day.

Playing in the Puddles

You can't tell from the previous post, but Jane is typically a very clean little gal. She doesn't like being dirty. So she was hesitant to explore the puddles.

She tested out the waters:


Then she let loose:



But was a little sad with the results:


Then she smelled the water and decided it was good enough to drink:


But how does a girl drink from a puddle without getting dirty?

A messy art project

I like to give Jane some art things to do at the table while I work in the kitchen. I guess I was a little less attentive than usual because when I next looked at her she had smeared so many different colors of paint all over her cheeks, nose, chin, mouth and tongue that it was a solid grey color. So we took a detour to the bathtub. She seemed pretty happy about it.



Also illustrated in this photo is how Jane ALWAYS "sits" in the bathtub. Never on her bum, only on her feet in a squatting position. If I try to sit her on her bottom she cries and fights me. I can remember her sitting normally when she was a really small baby but I'd say she's been using the new position for over a year now.

The VERY last days of Summer

I was so excited when Kate told me I would have the pleasure of having her at our house for 3 days. The first night we stayed in our bedroom with Noah and Matt slept on the couch. But Noah was up all night long. So the second night Kate offered to be the one to sleep out on the couch with Noah and I didn't protest. Sorry Kate! The days went much smoother and it was fun to spend time with such a great friend. Here's Jane and Noah playing outside.



Jane slimed Noah's head with bubbles.


Noah hangs on to Jane for dear life.


And Noah loves dogs. Everytime he hears or sees one he says "Ba." Well, that doesn't really make sense but when you're around him you know he means dog!


Thanks for the fun, Kate and Noah!

The Last Days of Summer

Well, summer is gone. I usually like fall. But having experienced winter here in Utah last year fall is only signaling the beginning of a 6 month freezing cold winter. So it's making me a little sad. Here are some pictures of Paris and Jane enjoying the last of the warm weather. They are playing with some water I put in a sandbox I got at a garage sale. A really cheap sandbox sounded like a good idea until I realized I would have to buy sand at a real store for a real price. But at least they got some enjoyment out of it this way.






And here's a personal favorite: fighting over the toy.

Our Trip to Nature

A few weeks ago Matt and I decided to take a trip up the canyon with our little gal. We told Jane we were going to see "nature." Jane was whining and fussing in the backseat during the drive. Matt said sarcastically, "Is it sad being in nature, Jane?" Lest you forgot, Janey is very sensitive to things being sad--especially ducks, but it has expanded out to all things. So Jane got the wrong idea and was very concerned about nature's happiness for the rest of the trip. When we first got out of the car and began exploring nature, Jane kept saying with worry, "Nature sad." Here's one picture we captured as she expressed her concern for nature's feelings.



But we kept reassuring her that nature was happy and she eventually relaxed about it.



We had a nice little walk in the trees. Jane especially liked the yellow leaves.





Also on the drive Jane kept pointing out the mountains that she could see. Out of the blue she said, "I wanna see Jesus." I asked her to repeat what she said and again, "I wanna see Jesus." I asked her if Jesus lived in the mountains and she said yes. The only connection I can make for her little brain is that the picture we typically use of Jesus during Family Home Evening is of Jesus holding a lamb with some mountains in the background. Either way it was a heart-melter.

Some quips from her 23rd month:

During Jane's last month as a one year old she managed to make me laugh a few times. One morning I went in to her bedroom when Matt had already been up with her for awhile. I quickly caught on that Jane must have thrown up during the night because she kept saying, ever-so-sweetly to me, "What happened barf?" "What happened barf?"

Before we ever started talking about Jane's birthday to her she must have sensed it was coming. One day out of the blue she opened the front door and screamed outside, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I found a little stool at a garage sale for a quarter. When I brought it home I showed Jane how she could use it in the kitchen to help mommy. She stood on it for a minute and figured out that a new world had just been opened to her. She carried it straight into her room in front of her closet, opened the closet door and reached for her special Sunday dresses.

I had made Jane some little magnet toys for the fridge. One of the magnet pieces had broken off and Jane asked me to fix it. I put some glue on it and set it aside. She kept asking me for it and I kept telling her that it needed to dry. Finally she went and got a towel and said exasperatedly, "Dry it!"

For the first time this month Jane told me what her scribbles were. Apparently somewhere among her scribbles were a bean and a strawberry.

And lastly, I would just like to report that Jane has finally gained ten pounds since she was two months old. She weighed 14 pounds at two months and only just know clocked in at 24. Good job Jane!

Birthday Bash

Friday night we threw Jane a birthday shin-dig. Unfortunately she wasn't in the best of spirits that night, but she still managed to have a good time. It was a duck-themed party of course. Jane loves ducks and holds and caresses them each time she sees one.

Here's some of the decor:






Jane probably loved the balloons more than anything and wasn't about to let this one get away.


And here she is with Zavier, to whom she is betrothed.


We had a good time eating:


And Jane was somewhat cooperative when it came to opening presents:


until we opened the Sabin's gift which included candy. She promptly asked for a bowl and didn't want anything to do with anything else.


By the time we got home Jane was ripping into all of her presents again and loving all of them. Thank you so much to all you of who were able to share Jane's special day with us. It really meant a lot to us having you there!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE!

That's it. It's over. I no longer have a one-year-old. I can't believe it. I've had to call her "my little two-year-old" all day just to try to help the idea sink in. I tried a couple times to teach her to say "two" and hold up two fingers when someone asked her, "How old are you?" So today when I asked her how old she was she held up two fingers and said, "V." (Two fingers is the sign for the letter V).

The day started off a little rocky for our little gal. Matt and I thought it would be a great idea for both of us to go in together to get her out of bed. We walked in, flipped on the lights, and started singing "Happy Birthday." But Jane cried and said she wanted a band-aid on her eye. For breakfast she requested toast. We thought it would be a great idea to put 2 candles on her toast and sing "Happy Birthday." But Jane cried.



Resigned to her fate:


Things started to pick up when we gave her a present we saved for her actual birthday. It's the Lucky Ducks game. (from a garage sale if you are wondering where all the duck eyes went). She loved it, of course. But she didn't like having to take the ducks off of their course so we couldn't actually play the game.




And her sandwich for lunch went over much better sans candles.




Dear Jane,
Happy Birthday! I can't believe you are two years old! It's unbelievable how quickly the time has passed, yet it's hard for me to imagine that you were ever not a part of my life. Even though you are becoming two in all the ways that "two-year-old" implies and sometimes make me want to run into my bedroom and scream into my pillow out of frustration (like a two-year-old would do) I can't imagine a sweeter joy than the joy you bring into my life. I love you more than I ever imagined I would. I am so grateful that God gave you to us. You are among my most precious gifts.
Love,
Mommy

Backyard Party

Last weekend we got to go to Julie's and Terrell's house for dinner. They recently transformed their backyard into a majestic wonderland. Jane loved the water, especially the fountain in the front that she could touch. The kids even got to see the fish eat their food.

Sam, Cara, Maddie, and George wait for the fish to appear. Judging by George's face I think he's seen one:


Jane, Maddie, and Max watch the waterfall.


Jane bonds with her girl cousins.


A serious conversation between Maddie and Jane.


Checking out the waterfalls in the front with Aunt Julie:



Dinner time! Terrell serves up some delicious hamburgers.


Sharon and Steve chow down.


Jane contemplates the beauties of nature and the love of family.