Look What the Doctor Found

Yes, #2 is on the way! We are 12 1/2 weeks right now so the bean is still genderless...Feeling good, but super tired. I was a bit nauseous at first, which was a new experience for me, but am feeling better new. We are really excited to add to our troop and are looking forward to our New Year baby.

Monster Update

Since I've sort of skimmed over the last 5 months or so I thought I'd do a quickish update for all those that have been pestering me...

February

We all went to Mesa for a Comm. conference where Scott presented some papers and we got a little tanner. We got to hang with Robert Bradford and Mary McCoy (and crash at her place-thanks!), stay with the Eberhard's (it was wonderful!) and pick their backyard grapefruits, eat a giant lemon, and ride on a tiny train. It was a really fun trip.

March

Went to the Omaha Zoo for the first time - let a hippo taste Jane
and taught her where milk comes from...
...Jane learned how to fly at the local Children's Museum and
experienced her first Institute class with daddy.
April
I experimented with making felt bacon and eggs, Jane met Clifford the Big Red Dog and hunted for eggs at Barnes and Noble and in our front room; Jane got her first My Little Pony, learned she can fit an entire Cadbury egg in her mouth without mommy noticing, saw the Easter Bunny, decided she doesn't like those cheap hallow chocolate bunnies, and learned how much fun it is to dress up.


Then mommy and Jane went to Bellevue to visit family. While there we went to the Point Defiance Zoo and saw a Beluga whale, visited with Grandpa Steve, visited with Great Grandpa Houston, mommy fell in love with a cupcake, Jane played a lot with Grandma Houston, partied hardy for uncle Jimmy's 22nd birthday, had fun at Pike Place, played at Grandma Ebertings, Jane got 2 fat lips (on at Dairy Queen and another at Kelsey Creek Farm), played at the Lake Sammamish beach, swam at Samena, and mommy had fun bonding with her wacky sibs.


May
Scott gave me long naps and a great dinner for Mother's Day, Jane pilfered our dinner tomato for a snack, I went with my friend Jentry to the ends of Nebraska, we tried a local chicken joint (not good), Jane dressed up some more and then Scott turned 28.


June
Our friends Luke and Bridget Crane came to visit yours truly and we had so much fun, including visiting the Omaha Zoo! Heather turned 29, then was called to work with the Young Women at church, Jane loves nursery and doesn't care to say goodbye when we leave her (sniff), Jane likes to wear mommy's shoes, take "shawas", play in any water she can find, and help mommy in the kitchen.

A Cute Jane Video

Photo Phriday

Yes, we may have a problem...the first step is admitting it.

In case you couldn't tell, Jane has a minor obsession with binkies. She is only allowed to use them when sleeping, but sometimes she sneaks them out of her crib when I'm not looking. One morning when we went to get her out of bed, she had 2 in her mouth.
On our last trip to Seattle, when her binky wasn't near, she grabbed the closest binky-shaped thing and stuck it in her mouth. She didn't seem to mind the cumbersomeness of her choice.

Photo Phriday

Mommies beware!
I recently found Jane in her crib with her leg stuck in between 2 bars. I tried everything I could to get it out to no avail...until...scissors and canola came to the rescue. I had to cut her jeans off and lube up her little leg. Finally it slipped free and then she was off. No trauma for her, just for mommy. It was a rough day...this was just the beginning.

Temper Tantrum Time

She was mad because Mommy didn't want to stay outside all
day to swing in the swings. I'm so mean.

It's a Lion Out There

Brrrrrr! It's flippin' cold out today. Yesterday afternoon I went out for a while and once Jane and I were both buckled in to the car, I realized that the windshield was frozen over. By over I mean there was 1/4" of ice on it. I've never seen a windshield like that before. The back window was clear and dry, but the front was icey because it was raining ice all morning (which is also a new odd phenomenon to me). We sat in the car for 15 minutes while it thawed enough for me to chip chunks off every now and then. It was quite the process.

Today Jane and I were trapped inside without a car so we were crafty. I found this fun St. Patrick's Day idea on Make and Takes. I was blog stalking the other day and discovered Make and Takes which has tons of cute crafty ideas for the home or for kids and lots of recipes. Check it out for some good ideas. Here is a shot of our Pot of Gold. I put Rollos in the pot. Yum!

After we were crafty, Jane had her first popsicle. I know, it was a cold day, but it sounded good, so we did it. Warmth is too far away to wait to eat popsicles. I like to break rules.

Growing Up

I can't believe my little girl is growing up! She has only ever been my baby and now all of a sudden she is a toddler! I'm so proud of her growth, but I also feel sad to see her become more independent because I know that she is one step closer to going off to college.

Last Sunday Jane went to Nursery. (For those of you counting, it is 1 month early, but I have connections...don't tell...) I have been dreaming of this day for many, many months and was counting down the days until she could go. Scott and I are both very busy during church and we were excited to have Jane go to Nursery so we could focus more on the tasks we needed to accomplish. But as I was walking her to Nursery I was getting a little teary-eyed knowing that my little baby was big enough to be on her own (well, you know, along with 10 other kids and 2-3 adults). A few times during the hour and 45 minutes that she was "alone" I almost started crying again. And now, even as I write about it I'm tearing up. Is this normal?!? I even spied on her 2 times during that hour and 45 minutes, for about 5 minutes each, by looking through the tiny peepholes they have in all the Nursery doors. It was so cute to see her interact with other kids. I saw her chase a ball and have a boy steal it from her. Then she sat, defeated on the floor for a minute. That poor girl, she isn't used to standing up for herself. I don't fight over her toys with her at home. She has full domain being the oldest of 1. But this will make her stronger. And me.
I am going to be a wreck when she goes to kindergarten. Watch out for the water-works! "Man the pumps!"