Grapes (April 17)

Easter

This was Jane's Easter basket this year.  One of the chocolate bunnies is for Daddy, and the other one Jane shared with Mommy.  But she loved the slinky and the bouncy ball!

April 23

This is Jane in the cute skirt that Grandma made for her.

Nom Nom

Jane is still exploring the world via putting things in her mouth.  Oh sure, she can still touch things and pick them up and look at them.  But nothing beats a good ol' taste test.  Right, Jane?

Poor Elmo gets introduced to Jane's "business end"

I don't think that's the right way to use the floss, Jane.

But as Jane will soon learn, putting things in our mouth does not always lead to good things (more to come).

Random Pics

Jane loves to climb on things right now. If we pull the cushion off of our blue chair, she can use it as a step to get up into the chair. I looked over at her this afternoon and she was just sitting calmly in the chair, stacking these little rings. It was so cute, but of course as soon as you go to get the camera the moment is gone. Here is the moment AFTER the moment.

And I just wanted to include this picture because I think Jane looks like a muppet.

Shady

Jane usually rips everything off of her head that we try to put on there: sunglasses, hats, clips, bows, etc. But we made such a fuss when she wore Daddy's sunglasses that she thought she'd keep them on for a little while and bask in her parents adoration.  And then she ripped them off.

Outside

It is FINALLY warm enough to let Jane run around outside.  Months ago when she just started to crawl and get really interesting in moving around, winter hit and she was cooped up in the house for months and months.  This week has finally been so warm that she can run around in our big backyard and get into all sorts of trouble.  She loves it!  She also puts all sorts of things into her mouth that Daddy is really unhappy about.  Mommy just thinks it's funny (bad mommy!).

She found an old pile of leaves that she thought were pretty fun:

Michael put her on his shoulders and ran around the yard, with Jane bouncing and giggling all over.  Of course when I went and got the camera she didn't make a peep for the first thirty seconds, so I have a really boring video of them running around the yard.  Well, it is pretty cute to see her little arms flailing around.  And she does start giggling after a bit.  So it is kind of cute... okay, super cute.
But I am biased.

Evidence of Bad Parenthood

Jane, what have you got there?

Jane, where did you get that?

I think it's too far away for your tongue to reach, baby.

Jane are you trying to drink it?

I think that will be hard with the lid screwed on.

Not that we'd let you.

But we will sit here and snap photos of you trying.

That's the wrong end, silly!

Silly baby.

New PJs

Life is good when you got new PJs!  Thanks, Grandma.  Here is the picture you were asking for.

First Shoes

Oh, sure.  We've gotten Jane shoes before.  Little soft things that looked cute or kept her feet warm.  But a couple of weeks ago we went out and got Jane real shoes.  As in: Run-out-into-the-yard shoes.  Walk-down-the-street shoes.  Tour-the-petting-zoo shoes.

Want to see?

And check out those tiny shoeboxes!  I want to give them names and put precious things in them.

Mommy may have gotten some shoes, too.

My shoebox wasn't as cute.

And here's some random pictures of Jane from 2/16 meeting Grandma's dog and being generally cute, since this post can't just be about shoes!

Happy Valentine's Day

Jane did her first artwork today!  I keep forgetting to take a picture of it, but that is coming soon.  She made a Valentine's day card for Daddy.  Way to go, Jane!

Laugh Riot

Today I made a "MUH" sound with my mouth and Jane thought it was the funniest darn thing she'd seen all day!  I took a video, which is quite blurry at first, and around the 1:35 mark I finally focus the lens.  Either way, it's a riot to listen to.

Can I still call her baby?

Jane continues to grow and grow.  I like this little shirt that she's wearing so much that I also bought it in blue (18 mos. size).  When I saw it in the store it just said "Jane!" to me.  Today Jane was playing with the little stepping stool that we have in the hallway, and I took a video.  It's probably boring, but to me it is so cute and funny to see her moving something so big around and climbing on it.  She's so intent on her work, whatever that is.

Feb 6

Dear Jane,

I don't know what it is about this cable knit dress, but it makes you about five times as huggable.

Daddy and I bought it in 2009 to celebrate after we found out we were having a girl. It looked so big, we weren't sure it would ever fit you!

But you grew! And today you were finally big enough to wear it to church, even if it was a little long.

You sure looked comfy.  When I held you it was like hugging a teddy bear!
Maybe we can get away with it 2 Sundays in a row. =)

Chillin

I don't know what it is about the big blue chair.

But everybody loves it.

Jane likes it, too!

You can see she's holding the remote.  She likes to press buttons until she messes up the tv in some way, changing the channel or bringing up the menu, and then she hands the remote to me to fix it, and then she takes it back and starts pressing buttons again.  Fun game!

Jan 31

This week Jane learned how to put her arms in her jacket by herself. She still needs someone to hold it up for her, but she knows what to do with her arms. So helpful!

366 days old

Congrats, honey!

First Birthday!

These are some photos that didn't make it onto her official birthday post (on our family blog), but I still like them.  Happy Birthday, Jane!

Last day of her first year

Writing this post is making me very sad. It's hard to believe it's really true. In less than an hour, at 12:04am, Jane will be one whole year old. In some ways I can't believe it's here already, and in other ways it feels like it's been forever, and that so much has happened. My mom always pushed down on my head when I was growing up and she'd say, "stop growing!" I've been thinking about that a lot in the past couple of weeks. I understand it so much better now. This girl is growing like a weed, and while I love every new thing she can do and every new day with her, some part of me is sad that I no longer have the snuggly lump of sleepiness, or the baby that would reach up gingerly and bat at her toys. It's almost like every few months she is a whole new person, and it's kind of sad that I won't ever hold or see Jane that way again.

But times, they are a-changing!  And even though the list of things she can do grows longer and longer every day, there are still some things that remain consistent:
Jane is a positive, happy, joker of a girl! She loves to giggle and make jokes, and she wants to explore new places and be with people.  She loves children, has always loved to stare into their faces and have them talk to her, and she loves looking at babies as well.  If Michael or I am sad, she'll come and look up into our faces as if to say, "Hey, don't feel bad.  There's a whole world out there and we can go play in it!  Let's go!"  It's hard to not be happy when you're with Jane.  It makes me think of that song from Mary Poppins, but I have to put Jane's name in instead:

Oh, it's a jolly holiday with Janie!

Janie makes your heart so light

when the day is gray and ordinary

Janie makes the sun shine bright!

Oh, happiness is blooming all around her,

the daffodils are smiling at the doves...

Oh it's a jolly holiday with Janie, 

no wonder that it's Janie that we love!

Love you, baby.
-Mommy