TRAPPED

I think we may have slightly traumatized Jane with all our Santa talk. She was too scared to sleep last night and cried for at least 2 hours. She kept saying she didn't want him to come in her room. I think he may have redeemed himself this morning with her awesome toy haul.
We have been having a blizzard since yesterday but still thought it would be a good idea to try to visit some friends tonight for a yummy dinner. BAD IDEA.
About 2 blocks from our door we got stuck in a huge pile of drifted snow. Luckily (said sarcastically) we brought a frying pan (we don't own a shovel...so innocent) to help scoop us out. Scott got our of the car while I rolled the car back and forth about 4 inches for like 10 minutes. Then, like a Christmas miracle, 3 guys came out of a house with a shovel and dug us out for 10 minutes. The whole time Jane was saying, "This is supid, mommy", while I'm hoping she is not really saying what I think she is saying. Yep, she was saying "stupid" and she learned it from us. Lesson learned.
Anyway, she was so worried about the car not working and "Where's daddy?!". 20 minutes and 2 blocks later, we were back home having our own little Christmas party.
Nebraska is awesome (said sarcastically).
Merry Christmas!

P.S. Keep your fingers crossed that this baby doesn't come until the plows get to work.

Merry Christmas!

From Christmas Card 2009

Only Adults Wear Watches

I guess I'm an adult then. Or I was.
Jane took my watch a few days ago trying to make me get up from a nap and play with her. I should have, but laziness won. And that means I lost. I lost my watch. Toddlers.
Then, last night, on a last minute run to Target to get some ink so I could make my Young Women's handouts, I decided to treat myself to a new necklace. While analyzing all the options, a couple of kids (by kids I mean teenagers...guess that makes me old) walked by talking about watches and how lame they are. One of them said, "Ha ha ha, only adults wear watches, ha ha ha." What does that mean? Since when is it lame to be aware of the time? I've actually had the same watch for about 18 years (yeah, that's pretty lame), which means I was wearing one when I was in middle school. Was I even nerdier than I thought I was?
So, I guess I should thank Jane for making me cool again. Or maybe now I just look like an old lady trying too hard to look cool. I just can't win.

First Barf - Warning...GRAPHIC

This morning Jane was having her usual milk and watching a movie while we were "working on getting up" (don't judge, we are slow morning people). After a little while, she runs into our room saying, "mommy, my wet!" and "my milk spild". I notice she really was soaking wet down her front and saw white stuff in her nose and down her chin. Innocently, I was thinking her diaper had maybe sprung a leak that had somehow traveled up her chest...I know, so innocent.

Now, let me just explain. Jane has NEVER thrown up. She takes after her daddy who last threw up when he was 8 or so, besides one exception, he did it again ONCE while on chemo. I've thrown up more this year than he has his whole life! So, we are so proud of our Iron Stomach Jane.

I followed her out to the front room where I found a crime scene. It still only looked like her milk had spilled all over the carpet. I didn't even notice a stink. I started to clean it up, and Jane happily got me some towels, acting like her usual chipper self. After a while I started to notice that the "milk" was a little bit thick with some tiny chunks. Huh, that's odd...

Then I went to change her and then scrubbed the carpet some more. This is when I started to suspect something suspicious. This milk stinks...like...barf!!!

Regular me could probably handle the smell better, but pregnant me...not so fun. (No, I did not barf in response, as I'm sure a few of you are hoping so that this story gets more interesting.)

Then we went back to normalness. I gave Jane some water hoping she'd feel better soon. I came over to the computer to type up this inspiring story to share with you all. Jane wanted me to read her some books, so I paused at about line 2 of this tale and sat her on my lap for story time. We read The Twelve Days of Christmas (which I like to sing instead of read, and Jane likes me to read instead of sing) and then she ran to get another book. As soon as she brought the book over to me and sat on my lap (at the computer desk) up came the chunky milk! I didn't know what else to do but pull her back from the computer (save the expensive stuff first!) and put out my normal-sized hand to capture all the projectile fun. I just know realized that my shirt smells lovely...It was yucky, but she handled it like a champ! Out came about 3 hand fulls (which obviously did not all fit into my 1). I was able to hold the chunks and we wedged out of the cramped computer area and started to run to the bathroom. She barfed once again on the way (which I just realized I didn't clean, ew) and then I grabbed a little plastic basket from her play kitchen which came in handy 2 times while getting to the bathroom. Then I got her to stand by the toilet and get some in there. I have to now admit that I am so proud of her. She didn't cry, she immediately wanted to play. And during the "act" she was stoic and even aimed at whatever I told her to without objection. Good girl.

So, while I wrote this she was hosing off in the shower with daddy. I'm not sure what I can do to capture more before it hits upholstery or carpet. By the way, any hints on how to clean it out of the aforementioned?

(P.S. I stand corrected, she did throw up once while Scott was holding her, but it was just a little and Scott handled it all alone. Then she slept like usual.)

(P.P.S. This post is an obvious example of first time parent's issues/bragging. I'm sure you won't have to hear about girlie number 2's barfing experiences.)

Halloween (a little delayed)

Jane LOVED Halloween. She was so excited to go trick or treating. During the actual experience she was a little shy, but for days she couldn’t stop talking about it. She kept saying she wanted to go trick or treating and trying to put her costume on. I’m glad she was so in to it. People who don’t like Halloween are lame. My favorite memory is still when Scott dressed up like a woman in a nasty dress with a nasty purse and a long nasty gray wig and didn’t shave his beard. He worked as a teller at the bank all day like that! Some customers were actually irritated with him and wouldn’t let him help them. Lame-O’s.

This year Scott went as Lt. William Riker, I was Saturn (big belly - you have to take advantage of the bulbousness!), and Jane was a cow. JK, she was a lion. The cutest lion ever. She said she wanted to be a "roar" and when we picked it out from the store she wore it all around the store until we bought it. Cutie patootie.

Action shot.

Enjoying the spoils.

Escape of the Toddler

Jane has figured out how to escape her sleeping prison. Not that she doesn’t like it in there, it’s just that she doesn’t like to wait for us to come get her anymore. I’m actually surprised she braved the escape at all. She is not one of those monkey type toddlers. She is pretty cautious and doesn’t climb crazy things. This week though has been a growth week for her. She climbed the drawers in the bathroom to get up on the counter and also realized that she can climb out of bed all by herself. It’s more my fault than hers. During one of her naps this week, she was yelling to get up (“I wanna wake up mommy!”) and I didn’t feel like rushing in to get her. So I yelled, “Just climb out!”, while lying on the couch (I am 8 ½ months pregnant – no judging please). Next thing I know she opens her door and runs out, “I did it!”. So, now my fear is that she will never sleep again and will escape in the middle of the night. Oh no, my friends, she is well trained. I forgot how much she loves to sleep (like her mommy). She goes down when we ask her and now each morning wakes up at about 7:45 am and runs into our room to declare she wants some milk. Seems rough for us (I hear many of you scoffing) since she used to sleep until 8 or 8:30 am, but it could be worse. Hopefully she won’t wake the coming-soon baby each morning. We’ll have to work on that. I’m debating over teaching her how to open the fridge to get a sippy of milk by herself each morning…hmmm.

11/29 Update:
Jane snuck out of her bed during nap time today. I only knew because I heard her grabbing a balloon that she was playing with. Scott went right in and put her in her bed and she was MAD. But after about 20 minutes she fell asleep and stayed put for a full nap.

Lately, every time she yawns she immediately follows up with, "I'm not sleepy, I wanna wake up." Just in case we were thinking about putting her in bed I guess. She's good at covering her bases.

The Naughtiest Thing - Yet...

Jane has decided this week that she THINKS she no longer needs naps...just as mommy is realizing that she and #2 DO need a nap...so, tragedy (or rather, the inevitable) occurred. While mommy "layed down" on the couch, Jane went to town. I keep forgetting to lock the games cupboard and that was her destruction of choice for the day. I thought I heard her in it, but didn't think much of it because she "knows" not to play with certain games...whatever. I got up after about 45 minutes to find the horror of all horrors had come true. The worst game of all to clean up? One of Scott's obscure faves, Therapy. It took me 45 minutes to clean all this up. Not sure it was worth the nap...

Apple Jack Festival

Each year we go to the Apple Jack Festival and have fun
eating everything apple.

Seaside, Oregon

The last part of our summer trip was spent in Seaside, Oregon with my mom and sister Sarah. We had a lot of fun and fiasco while there. Here are the highlights...

More Summer Fun Updates

We had 5 weeks this summer to spend time with family and we loved every minute of it! Here are some highlights...

Chuck E. Cheese, dude!

We decided to take Jane to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday this year. She had a lot of fun, except when the Cheese man himself walked around, he freaked her out. However, she had no fear of the animatronics animals...
They had tiny arcade games and rides just her size. After a while, it all got to be a bit too much for her, but she still had a lot of fun and picked out prizes from her ticket spoils.

Here is a clip of us all "riding" a roller coaster arcade game. Her laughing is about the cutest thing ever!

Happy Birthday Jane!

From Best of Jane 22 months-by Krisi

Our baby is growing up. She turned 2 yesterday and it seems like she just barely came home from the hospital. We love Jane so much and can't believe how quickly she learns new things and is growing into her own little person. Just this week she learned to count to 10 (mostly correctly), and told me to leave her alone while out painting the balcony with water (she's a little sassy like her mommy). She is such an independent little lady and we are so grateful to have her in our family.

A Favorite Moment

Our last night in Utah this summer, Jane became very attached to her cousins and didn't want to say goodbye. They were having too much fun playing Ring Around the Rosie. Once we finally pried her away, she cried the whole drive back to grandma and grandpa's house. Too bad we live so far away from such fun cousins. We miss you guys! (Yes, Jane still remembers who you are.)

It's a....

In case you haven't heard, we are having another girl! We are really excited and Jane is too. She keeps saying "baby sistah". Here are a couple of pictures.

The baby kept putting her hands up around her face during the 3D ultrasound so this was the best image we could get. The rest made her look like a big globby clay mush.
Look at that little baby!

Janeisms

Now that Jane talks a little, she is starting to say some pretty funny things. The other day we were walking up the stairs and we have a huge vent right by the stairs. She stopped at the vent and wouldn't continue up the stairs. Then she began saying "bunny, bunny, bunny" over and over again, kind of hitting on the vent. She did this a few times that day...we think she must have had a dream about a bunny in the vent or something. I told her there might be dust bunnies in there!

Last night I asked Jane if she wanted to say her prayer and she folded her arms and started to mumble a little prayer and then got bashful and turned away to finish. It was so cute. So then this morning we were having family prayers and Jane knelt down and without being asked, started to say it by herself! "Heawee Fawah, (something something) day..." Then she got bashful and hid in my lap. When she does things like this it makes me feel so much better about mommydom, like I must be doing something right.

Jane tends to get restless at church, wanting "bubbles" that lure her to nursery. She'll say "bubbles" over and over again and I have to convince her that it's not time yet...etc. Well, yesterday was a rough day for the ward in regards to reverence, and Jane did not help much either. As the last speaker was closing, I asked Jane if she wanted to sing with me and, just as the speaker said "amen", Jane decided to yell "Yahoo!" very loudly which then caused everyone behind us to giggle uncontrollably. As I said, it was a rough meeting anyway, and I think Jane shouted what everyone was thinking (although it really was unrelated), "Yahoo! It's almost over!". Many people told me afterward how she had voiced their thoughts. At least she didn't know she was doing that. Cute baby. (No offense to the last speaker ;)
Other things Jane says:

• "foofies"= excuse me, said appropriately after expelling air
• "sowie"= sorry, said after getting an owie, probably because it's what we say when we accidentally bump her
• "pees" = please
• "mak" = milk
• "fwing" = swing
• "mah"= more
• "woovie"= movie
  
• "hewah"= Heather
• "sock"= Scott
  

I'm sure there are more but I can't think of them now...
Progress update: Jane is FINALLY drinking milk out of a sippy cup. That was a hard one to break. She bit through her last transition cup with a soft top, so we told her it was time to drink out of a sippy cup and she just said okay! Huh, that was easy?! You just never know...

My Great-Great-Grandfather's House

My paternal great-great-grandfather, P.S. Houston lived in Gem, Kansas and his home was recently moved to Rexford, Kansas to be renovated to function as a bed and breakfast. I hope to go check it out sometime soon since we live so close. www.coalcreekfarm.com has some great pictures and descriptions of the home. This picture is from their website.

Family Reunion

We spent 5 weeks away this summer, visiting family and one of the fun things we did was have a Church family reunion up at Snowbasin in Utah. We went on a hike, took family pictures, went up and down the mountain in a gondola and ate a yummy lunch at the top of the mountain.
It was a lot of fun.

Delayed...4th of July Fun

We enjoyed our own little 4th of July celebration by splurging a little on some fireworks. Jane was in awe when they would explode, then she started to get scared and would clap and say "Yay!" when they were done.
We also went to the main city party (on July 3rd because the city changed the holiday so they could celebrate the big homegrown star, Larry the Cable Guy, on the 4th. Nice.) which got rained out. It was fun anyway. Jane and I went down a HUGE slide and we both screamed in delight. Then once the rain started we trudged back to the car in pouring rain. Good times. Just like being in Seattle.

My Life is Average

Do you ever feel like you are incredibly boring and average? I often feel like that. My usual routine includes getting up, getting Jane and myself ready, eating, cleaning, playing on/with toys, making dinner, watching TV and going to bed. Average. Repetitive. 

Because of the tedium, I tend to find mundane things quite funny. I recently found a website devoted to people like me who have average things happen to them each day.  www.mylifeisaverage.com 

Here are a couple of posts that I thought were funny:

"Today, while walking on campus I had my iPod on. As I was walking, I saw a guy with long, beautiful hair and a clean face. Just then, my iPod went to "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" by Aerosmith. I nodded, agreeing to my music."

"Today, I was eating a cup of pudding, but to make it last longer I used a very small spoon. "

"Last night I was trying to go to sleep but I was really hot under the blankets. Instead of taking them off I turned the air conditioner on and stayed under them because its scary without a blanket."

 

"Today, I threw my frisbee into some weeds. I went looking for it, and instead found two smaller frisbees. I felt my frisbee had given birth and moved on. I mourned my frisbee, but will protect its children. "

It makes me feel better to know that most people are just as odd as I think I am. I'm average, just like everybody else.

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!"

Photo Phriday

Kitty Kiddo

Shopping in the Children's Museum,
pickin' up a meat stick.

Tree House Hideout

Little Cowgirl

Chef Jane is serving pizza

Just having fun!

Grumpy in an apron

Playing house with daddy

Running up the sledding slide

Baby bucky beaver in the bath (say that 3 times fast!)