Can I Tell You Sombing?

Jane is at the age where she says the cutest things. Right now one of her cutest phrases will be when she is talking with someone. If she was talking to The Farmer she would say, "Papa, can I tell you sombing?" Then she will continue on with what she wants to say. She will say this to start on conversation with you, or sometimes in the middle of a conversation you are having with her. Either way it is so cute and sweet the way she says it.

Jane is 3

I have been holding off on this post hoping to get more answers to these questions. But Jane does this thing when you ask her a question her answer is always "I don't know." So that is the response I got to most of these.

How old are you?....

What is you favorite color?....pink

What is your favorite toy?....

What is your favorite fruit?...blueberry

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?....peanut butter and jelly

 What is your favorite thing to wear?....clothes

What is your favorite thing to game?...

What is your favorite animal?....cow

 What is your favorite song?....

What is your favorite book?....

 What is your favorite snack?....

What is your favorite thing to do outside?....

What is your favorite thing to drink?....

 What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?....

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?....

What is your favorite thing to do with Papa?....

 What is your favorite thing to do with Micah?....

What is your favorite thing to do with Ethan?....play

Who is your best friend?....

What do you like to take to bed with you at night?....

What do you want for dinner on your birthday?....mac and cheese

What do you want to do for work?....

What do you want to be when you grow up?....

We Do Have Other Kids

Micah is growing and maturing physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He is really into pretend play. Most of the play and scenarios he comes up with are from things he has observed or been involved with, especially if it involves his dad or anything guy related. So there is lots of cars, trucks, hunting, chopping, building, and repairing happening with him. He will also do some cooking with pom poms and fort building with Jane. They are starting to play more and more together which is fun to see their relationship grow and for them to enjoy each other. Their relationship is something I pray for that it will continue to strengthen and remain through their lives. Micah is also so in love with Ethan. He will stop in the middle of whatever he is doing to say hi to him. Micah is very eager to help in anyway with Ethan. Micah will also hold his hand anytime they are near. Whether we are sitting together reading a book or they are in their carseats Micah is almost always holding his hand. Micah really enjoys reading, he will also stop in the middle of whatever he is doing if you offer to read to him and he will sit there as long as you are willing to read. As Micah is getting older he is getting to be more responsible and helpful. He is still a little boy and I love my snuggles with him.

Jane is at the age where what she says and they way she speaks are just the cutest things. Like the way she will often tilt her head and almost squint her eyes when she speaks. Or her pronunciation of words like, Efin (Ethan), Mitah (Micah), tib (crib), puzz (fuzz) and many more. Or that she calls cold cereal breakfast and if we have something else for breakfast she doesn't think she has eaten breakfast. Or how they both call a meat and cheese sandwich a "pickle samich". She will also continue to repeat what she has said until you acknowledge her. Ever time I tuck her in for nap she will tell my "my tummy hurts and my eye", to which I say "Okay, go to sleep and you will feel better." and that's it, she then goes to sleep. You will never find Jane far from her blanket (she calls it her poka ought diedent) and her baby doll Mindy. Jane is eager to help me in the kitchen and with the laundry, that will be great when she actually is helpful. She too is in love with Ethan and wants to help with  him. Jane will usually try help him feel better when he is crying. Jane is a sweet girl and we often say she can't get any cuter.

Reading Reading Reading

Micah has always loved reading. He will sit and read book after book after book until you say it is time to stop. Jane hasn't always been as interested but she is more now. She still mostly prefers to read by herself versus having one of us read to her, though that is beginning to change now. The one time of day she will always sit and have a book read to her is before nap. Right now she is going through a phase where she likes to read the same book everyday for what seems like weeks at a time. So far the books have been, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, The View at the Zoo, Green Hat Blue Hat, The Tooth Book, Doggies and now back to The View at the Zoo. Which means I pretty much have those books memorized. But it is these little things I know some day I will miss. Now we just keep reading and reading and reading.

Jane is 2

 Jane had her two year old check up on Thursday. She did really well, though not much talking and she refused to open her mouth for the doctor. She weighs 25.6 pounds and is 35 inches tall. I don't remember the specific percentiles but both were about average. 

Jane at two is so much fun and it is great seeing more of her personality come out. Some of the play she enjoys the most certainly show she is a girl, she really enjoys coloring and playing with her babies. But with an older brother she still likes to play with cars and trucks. She enjoys playing with Micah too. It is fun to start to see them playing together in their own pretend play or just chasing each other around laughing. We get a little moment of snuggling in the morning before Jane will ask for breakfast. She likes to eat almost as soon as she wakes up, which typically around 6:30. She will also take a nap at 1:00 for two to two and half hours and then bedtime is between 7:00 and 7:30. Jane is still just attached to her blanket as she has been. When she is tired she will hold it up to her face covering her mouth and nose. She likes to be involved in most everything I'm doing, as well as what Micah is doing and she does not like to be left behind. What fun she is and I can't wait to see her as a big sister.

Certainly love this girl.

Amen

During VBS Micah's class would end prayer with all the kids saying amen loudly. That has now transitioned to our house and Jane enjoys doing it just as much if not more then Micah.
7-26 Micah amen from Meagan Rice on Vimeo.

7-26 Jane amen from Meagan Rice on Vimeo.

Jane's Words

Jane is speaking so much now and becoming more clear in what she is saying. I recorded a few of the words she says because I was noticing already some of the cute pronunciation are already changing. So enjoy some Jane cuteness.
7-26 Jane's words from Meagan Rice on Vimeo.

18 Months

Well Jane is over 18 months and quickly coming up to 19 months. We have had her check up and she weighs 22lbs 12oz and is 32.75 inches tall. She sure is growing quick! Her language development seems to changing quick too. She is speaking much more, always saying new words and will repeat most words you ask her to. Some of her more used words right now are:


Mama or Mommy
Papa
Micah (which is dah-dah)
Jane
Nana
Opa
Joe
Grandma
Grandpa
Beth
Please
Thank you
Read
Amen
Up
Down
More
All done
Baby
Necklace
Hi
Bye
Teeth
Get you
Blankie
Play
Milk
Snack
Breakfast
Bike
Socks
Shoes
Hat
Light
Sit here

Bible
Book
Spoon
Bite

Wow I guess she is talking a lot because there are many more words she says and she will attempt to repeat most words we ask her to. Jane is so fun she makes us laugh everyday. It is a joy to start to see her personality emerging more. She still continues to enjoy being close to me and I right now I will take all those moments with my little girl.

Beach Trip

This year the beach came together just a few weeks before. It was a bit crazy a few days before leaving. I was enjoying a weekend scrapbooking and The Farmer was getting some trees planted. This year we headed to Seaside and despite a turn in weather we still got to get out and enjoy the beach.We were there when the whale washed ashore but we didn't go over to it. It looked like it had decomposed quite a bit and was very smelly. Micah had an especially good time with his cousins this year. It was a great trip, over too quick of course.

 Jane loved to dig in the sand, fill up the bucket, dump it out and do it that over and over again.

 The two boy cousins, I am looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops over the years.

 The kids dug a BIG hole with a tunnel entrance. They did have a bit (maybe a lot) of help from the dads.

A Few Things I Want to Remember

I made a similar list for Micah around this same age and I have loved looking back at it and remembering the little things they do that are easy to forget. So here are a few things I want to remember about Jane right now.

:: You will start to dance almost as soon as you hear any tune.

:: The way you say Mama and Papa over and over and over.

:: How much you love to play peek-a-boo.

:: Your love of your blankets and how you pat it and say with your mouth closed "mmmmg".

::The way you talk without ever opening your mouth. Which is starting to change now.

::The way your eyes sparkle and are full of joy.

::Your running in place, or sometimes we call it quick feet.

::When you are tired or want comfort with your blanket you will hold it up to your nose and pull your lower lip in.

::How you like to snuggle when you wake up, though even that is starting to decrease now.

::Your fearlessness especially in how you like to fall from the couch to the ottoman and back.

::You love to put on your coat even if we are not going outside.

::If there is someone, anyone going outside you want to join.

::You like to put things away where they belong.

::How you say amen, "meh"

::When marching you will kick one leg out.

::You are so tickalish.

::"Ahh mmm" is your way of getting someone's attention, of saying you want something, in general it is your phrase for most things.

::You hack to say cold.

::You wake up with the craziest bedhead.

::I love that I am still your number one knowing that that will change one day.

::The way you like to put your feet on my cheeks after bath.

::Anything that is hot or even warm you will blow on it.

::The way you say hat, hot and socks all sound the same.

::When we say it is time to brush teeth you start sticking your tongue in and out.

::After you finish eating you crawl up on my lap whether I am done or not.

::You love the nursery rhythm book and always want to see the page with the ball on it. You will say ball nonstop until you have the book open to that page.

::If you are looking for something you say "a" then the person or object. So if you are wondering where Papa is you say "A Papa"

Too Smart

 There are times I think kids can be too smart for their own good, or at least for the sanity of the parents. Jane has figured out too early how to reach things off of the counter, the table, or anything just slightly out of reach. There are a couple kids size wooden chairs here. She will grab one and push it all around to climb up onto to reach the desired item. Now she has upgraded to a full size chair.

If she sees me at the chopping block in the kitchen she knows that means food is being prepared. She will run and get one of the chairs in the dining room and push it into the kitchen next to me. She will push a chair up to the dining room table so she can then climb up onto a dining room chair and be up at the table. Jane will mostly use the kid chairs in the dining room and kitchen where she can push them around. But even in the living room if there is something she can't reach or climb up on she will find something to give her a little step up. If she can problem solve like that now I wonder what it will be like when she get older.

What's the Word

Apparently I have become a once a month blogger. I would prefer to be posting weekly but life doesn't seem to be giving me time for that lately. Now is usually when I would be posting my word for the year. It is a word that the Lord has placed on my heart as something to focus on for the year. Right now I don't feel lead to any word. Perhaps my problem is not being silent and still enough to hear God. So maybe my word should be something like listen or focus. I think it will be best to wait on the Lord instead of picking a word just to pick a word. So we will see, maybe it is a year without a word and that's okay.

Now as for an update...wow a lot has happened since my last post. Life as been a blur. I almost feel like I am just riding the waves, which I don't like I would much prefer to be directing life more. But I feel like I am just keeping my head above water, perhaps that is because we are coming out of the busyness of the holidays.

We had a great time seeing a lot of family.

 All the Rices got together, this is Grandpa reading to all the grand kids minus babies.

 The Sunderlands

The Wolfes

I entered a new decade. I hardly feel old enough to be 30.

Celebrating with my family, unfortunately The Farmer was sick that day.

The kids are as busy as ever. They bring constant challenges and constant joy. If you ask me what we have been doing I will be at a loss. Some how the days get filled, things get accomplished and many things beyond taking care of Jane and Micah don't get accomplished. So one day I might become better at blogging more regularly.

Blanket Love

I am not sure when Jane's attachment with her blanket began nor why, but she carries it around everywhere like Linus from Charlie Brown. Since she was a baby I would tuck her in with a blanket but not the one she loves now. She found these ones on her own and won't let go. Thankfully I do have two that are the same material and she likes them equally so I can get them washed. I am partly tempted to buy another to be on the safe side. When she is tired or in need of comfort she grabs the blanket and pulls it up to her face. As a baby it made me a bit nervous that she was covering her mouth and nose (I quickly got over that). It is nice that she developed an object as a sleep cue because I can just lay her down with one of the blankets and she is ready to sleep. I wonder when the attachment will fade, right now it looks like it is staying for quite some time.

Recent Moments

Life is adventurous, entertaining and of course busy! Here are a few of our recent captured memories.

 



Baby bums are so cute.

 

 

Micah had a blast at the harvest party this year. He worked the press for over an hour.

 

The Farmer got to go up flying with our brother in-law. He got some beautiful pictures with all the trees changing colors.

 

I am no longer nursing Jane. She seems to still miss it in the mornings but over all she has adjusted great.  

 

The kids marching with strainers on their heads. Quite entertaining. It was in fact Jane's idea to put the strainer on her head. 

 

 "Micah God's Mighty Warrior". He is dressed up resembling a character in a book we have titled Will God's Might Warrior.

Micah God's Mighty Warrior (with a different hat)

 

All of us riding in the land cruiser, a first for Jane.

12 Months

 My oh my, my baby is one! Life has flown by and shows no signs of slowing down. As I have said before Jane is a joy to us, and this past month has been no different. She continues to grow and develop. Our biggest milestone she reached this month is walking. We have a walker! She is getting pretty quick too.Walking around occupies most of her time and entertainment, she loves walking around the house. She especially loves "marching" around the house either following people or leading people around. I also get great laughs chasing her around.

Some of her other favorite activities are playing with stacking rings, stacking cups and blocks. Jane also finds it quite funny to stick her fingers in other peoples mouth. Micah and Jane both crack up laughing when she puts her finger in his mouth and thankfully he has learned how to be gentle. I love seeing their relationship develop. Her talking hasn't development too much. She says bye, daadaa, bah bah for me, and she will make a sort of barking noise when asked what a dog says. We have started to wean, I am dropping one feeding per week (we were at four a day). Jane still LOVES watermelon. You should see her smile the moment her eyes see a slice. On the flip side she already doesn't like vegetables. I guess it is pay back for all my picky years. Jane has four teeth now. Two on the bottom and two on the top. The top two are now all the way in yet, but they have broken through.

 I will write a whole post of this but another thing about Jane right now is her love of her blankets. There are two that are from the same soft fabric and she is attached. It is pretty cute. We were just at the doctors for a check up. Jane weighs 20lbs 3oz and is 29.5 inches tall. The grow so fast in the first year! Still can't believe it has been a year. What a blessing Jane has been to our family.

A moment with Jane

God is so kind. He gave me a sweet moment with Jane the night before she turned one, just like I had with Micah. Before bed she usually doesn't let me hold her very long, she is just wanting down to play or to be put down in bed. But this night I was able to hold her. I started out singing (secretly hoping this would calm her down so I would be able to hold her longer), then we talked that she was about to turn one. I spoke of how much joy she has brought to us, and then she stuck her finger in my mouth and started laughing, I did too. We spoke of God's love and how she can chose to follow Him and He will guide her through all her life. I told her I would try and stumble and fail, but I would attempt to point her to Him. I continued to tell her what a precious sweet girl she is (crying of course). "Tomorrow is a big day for you. Sleep well sweet girl, I love you."

11 months

11 months! Wow time has gone fast, and I suppose I could say that about every month with our sweet girl. This month held a lot of firsts. First steps, first time Jane stood from sitting without holding on to something, first time swimming and first tooth! Also new is we are totally done with baby food. She likes the real, feed myself kind of food. Watermelon is her absolute favorite. So now I am in the tricky stage of coming up with balanced nutritious food for a baby with only one tooth.

Jane is busy exploring her world, I can't hold her long before she is wanting to be put down. She still enjoys putting things in and out of some sort of container. She also really enjoys a board book we have called You and Me, Baby. She smiles and laughs through out the entire book. Jane has also become quite chatty. I haven't heard her say mama as much anymore but she does say dada and papa. There are even times it sounds like she is saying Micah. She has started to give kisses too. The open mouth slobbery kind of kisses, but they are great.

Loving our girl and can't believe we are almost at one year!

10 Months

We have enjoyed another month with Jane. A development that actually happened more around 9 months is she will say "mamamama" when she is wanting me. We still continue to have a very close bond, of course we are still nursing so that makes sense. She knows her name now too, she might have learned it earlier but I have noticed it much more lately that she will look when you call her name. Jane has become quite chatty, there are times she will try to repeat words like hi. She will also wave hi and bye. She is not walking on her own yet but she is making progress, cruising has begun and she is starting to stand without holding on more often. For play Jane is liking putting blocks into a box. And not quite as helpful, she likes to pull toys and books off of the shelves. She has also learned how to clap. We have found Jane to be very ticklish, especially under the arms, which makes the game round and round the garden fun for us all. This girl is always on the move and wanting to explore. Getting a picture of her on her blanket was near impossible, I have a lot of shots like this one catching her in mid roll over.

Yesterday we had a scare with Jane. I was in the kitchen cleaning up lunch and she wandered into the dining room and discovered an old can of sterno (sterno is methanol). When I went to her there was dried out crystals around her. Since I wasn't sure we assumed she ingested some. The Farmer called poison control and they instructed us to take her to the ER. Jane was looking fine and the doctor was pretty confident she that even if she did ingest some of the crystals it was very unlikely that there was any methanol left. They did do a blood draw to test. We were sent home to wait results. The carrier would be coming from The Dallas or Portland to pick up the sample and then take it to Portland for testing. Ridiculous, I wanted to ask if we could just drive her to Portland. We got a call from the doctor around 7:15 that there was zero methanol, praise God. It was a relief to get that call, though I am still dealing with guilt that it even happened.