"Da da"

Now, to the legion of fans Scott has following this blog, I do not want to get your hopes up with the title of this blog post. We've been hearing a lot of "da da" out of Jane lately. It's "da da" this and "da da" that. In Jane's world, however, "da da" means baby - not "daddy." Sigh...


Since we've been hearing so much "da da" lately, we decided that it was time to get a dolly for Jane. Imagine our surprise when one just magically arrived in the mail from Scott's aunt Joanie. It has quickly become Jane's FAVORITE thing.

You see, Jane is not a sentimental gal. No sir! Much to her mother's disdain, she is not attached to a blankey, toy, or lovey. She could care less if her favorite book gets left behind. That is until the baby doll arrived. Now the baby has to come to dinner (as evidenced above). If you want to see a full on meltdown, try explaining to Jane that the baby cannot come into the bathtub with her. Good luck pal!

Yes, in the picture above, Jane expresses her complete horror at the suggestion that maybe the baby should sleep in the toy bin and NOT in the crib with Jane. Yes, you guessed it...da da goes night night tightly snugged into the crook of Jane's little arm.

-

Fortunately, da da hasn't had to go to daycare, but you know it's coming. The cutest thing though is that we caught Jane giggling "ticka ticka ticka" and tickling the baby's tummy. Ahhhh, parenthood, it's like super-duper fun!

-

Thanks aunt Joanie! Your gift is a hit!

Spoonfuls of Jane

We've started to introduce Jane to eating with spoons and bowls. She was definitely quite proud to have a spoon. Take a look at her skills. Not too bad for a starter.

Exploration

Jane will be fourteen months tomorrow and she is definitely letting us know that she is becoming a big girl. She is very busy around the house these days, having no fear to explore every nook and cranny. Here are a few of her favorite spots:

Jane liked lounging in her old car seat that hadn't quite made its way to the attic yet. She was disappointed when she woke up from a nap and her recliner was missing!

Jane discovered that her toy baskets are just her size.

And...so are the shelves.

Jane likes taking baths and decided to hang out in her bath ring fully clothed!

When getting dressed in the morning, Jane is quick to point out that her socks and shoes go on her feet. But, she has also discovered our shoes and tries to put them on...constantly.

But, Jane's favorite activity these days is reading. She spends lots of energy walking to and from her book shelf bringing us books to read to her. When she only sits still long enough to read the first few pages, this means we read A LOT of books! But, Jane is a discretionary reader, preferring books with animals, pictures of babies, and anything that is touch and feel, declaring "oohhh" when touching soft things.

Christmas with cousins is always fun!

Despite lost luggage and a fantastic 10-hour layover in the O'Hare airport, a trip to OH to visit aunts, uncles, cousins and Grandma is well worth it! We spent the weekend before Christmas in Springfield at the Yost hotel (thanks for your room Jaeden!). We had a great time playing lots of card games, video games, and board games. And a weekend together wouldn't be complete without a round of Texas hold 'em (with a Vivio showdown at the end, but Frank prevailed). Although we were definitely missing Grandpa, we knew he was with us in spirit, through the laughs and giggles of delight.

Jaeden is never too shy to show her affection for Scott.

Grandma donned the girls in matching Christmas outfits.

We were all in awe over Claire's overwhelming cuteness and gigantic cheeks!

Jaeden and Cole had a great time showing Jane how to play with her new toys (but, I think they enjoyed revisiting these old toys!).

Jane is a big fan of Uncle Travis, waving to him and cuddling with him whenever she could get a chance!

Jane shared lots of books with Grandma.

Jacob and Scott were buddies all weekend.

Jane made herself quite comfortable with the tupperware in Aunt Krista's kitchen.

Thanks for all the fun! We can't wait to see you again soon!

Happy Holiday's Yo!

Well folks, it's been far too long since our last little update here. We've just been busy gallivanting around the country. Between Scott's job interviews, traveling for Christmas, and spending more time than is reasonable for one's sanity in the O'Hare Airport, our little blog has been neglected.

We decided to kick off the holiday in traditional fashion by grabbing a Christmas tree from the local girl scout troop. I think this particular troop camps at the Peabody hotel, because their prices were a little steep this year. Despite the price gauging, Jane had a good time helping us find the perfect tree.


Of course, this year Jane is able to participate in the Christmas fun. What's nice is that she doesn't think touching the tree is a good idea, so that's been nice for the ornaments. The poor things were pretty traumatized at the idea of a 13 month-old having unfettered access to the bottom half of the tree. Happily, none have suffered the fate of an untimely crash to the floor.



It's been a little chilly in Memphis lately, so Mommy went out and got Jane an appropriately colored puffy coat. Jane tolerates it to a certain extent, but she has been known to pout...


Well, with the temperature getting down to...YIKES...the 30's, we've chosen to do some more indoor type activities. Below is Jane's latest trick. Learning to stand from a crawling position has tapped into her natural ability in Yoga. I know, we're very proud. She's not a very serious student though. As soon as she realizes she can see you through her legs, she starts giggling. It's nice to know that she's a introvert, just like her father.



We hope all of you guys had a great Christmas as well. We'll be posting some pics from our trip to Ohio, so look out for those as well.