Those 9 month pictures

We had Jane's 9 month photo session with Glass Lantern Photography at the beginning of April. It was a few weeks late but I was hoping for outdoor photos and we were in California so this was the best we could do for timing. 

 

We were doing morning pictures and it was still pretty chilly when we headed out to the lake. We had a rough beginning so we used the time to get some of each of us with Jane which we hadn't really done since her newborn pictures. 

An outfit change and a stool to stand up on turned things around and we started getting some smiles. 

Happy girl!

Love those smiles!

I didn't feel like trying hard for photos of the girls and while I was glad I had no expectations there were a couple pictures that I love anyway. 

Anna making Jane laugh

The best family photo we've managed yet!

Our little cutie pie!

Anna was off playing in the flowers while we tried for a picture of just Mommy and Daddy with Jane. 

Love this girl so much. 

Can't believe that our next session will be Jane's 1 year session. The days do seem long sometimes but the years most definitely go by fast. 

Earth Day and Silly Girls

The Parents As Teachers program we are a part of held an Earth Day event earlier in April that we were able to go to. I wanted to go last year but it didn't work out so I was glad we made it. The girls had a blast!

There were all kinds of activities to do from climbing in large box houses, threading pool noodles, "fishing", painting with water, and more. There were rabbits, ferrets, a hairless rat (yuck), and a newt the kids could pet too. 

Lots of fun stuff and many great ideas for things to make at home. There was also a fire truck and the kids were able to climb around inside. 

And outside too. 

One afternoon Anna decided to share her lunch with Jane. Anna loved sharing and Jane thought it was pretty hilarious to have food put in her mouth. 

We went to a birthday party for a playgroup friend and Anna loved the birthday hat (after we got home of course). She was pretty dirty from playing at the park and I managed this goofy picture before taking a bath. 

Jane's been cruising all over the place. She even took a step the other day! Kevin had come home early from work and he was pretty excited that he was home for it and that it was to him!

 She hasn't done it again but based on how she's pushing things like the laundry basket all over the house she will be walking before we know it. A little video to show you what I mean. If she has open space she'll go across the entire room!

More March Stuff

I was sorting through pictures and thought I'd put a few more up to wrap up the month. I intended to go through my phone and upload pictures but I just can't seem to get to it.

There is a group of ladies that I've met through playgroups and we've been getting together every so often for a Mom's night out. At the beginning of March we turned it into a baby celebration since Rebecca (far right) was due with her daughter the next week. We had such a great time and I love our nights out. We have another one planned for the beginning of May and it will be to celebrate Amanda having her second baby boy the next week. 

Me, Amanda, Meg, and Rebecca

This is from when Jane was just starting to really stand. The diaper box was the perfect height and we still have the box out since she loves it still. 

Anna has been really into building blocks lately. She often asks in her adorable little voice "Do you want to build blocks with me for a little bit?" with the "little bit" raising up really high. We just bought some nice wooden blocks and she's been getting into those. All she wants to build with them is a hospital though and then that turns back into playing doctor and giving check-ups. 

I was over at my parents house one day and I plopped Jane down next to Seth. Typically Seth doesn't really pay much attention to the girls unless he thinks they are going to chew or slobber on something of his. Every now and then he gets interested (he likes it when they laugh at what he is doing and will play along but other then that the don't exist.) This particular day Seth was okay with it and gave me a series of pretty funny pictures. 

We have broken out the wagon a few times and it's fun now that Jane can ride in it too. 

I thought it was cute that Anna wanted to haul Jane around for a little bit. 

Kevin's older brother James proposed to his girlfriend in March and they will be getting married this July. We're so excited for James and can't to welcome Michelle to the family!

James and Michelle

We were in town one weekend to celebrate Gama's birthday. Kevin and his Dad randomly decided to pull out Twister and we got a kick out of watching them play. 

Uncle Joe was in town that weekend and the girls had fun hanging out. 

We also went out for lunch the next day and had fun trying to get a picture with Gama and all the girls. It was tough to pick a favorite but I really like this one. 

Gama and her girls

Jane: 10 Months!

The pictures were taken only one day late but I'm a  week late in getting this post up! I can't believe this little lady is 10 months old already! Before I get into the changes we've seen this month I'll put Jane's 9 month stats up. 

Here are the stats:

Weight: 19 pounds 13 ounces (75%)

*Height: 27.5 inches (41%)

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (99%)

*I'm now convinced the nurses don't know how to measure height. This is the second appointment in a row where they've had to remeasure and added an inch to her height. I KNOW she's taller then this and yes I realize it doesn't truly matter but I find it super annoying they are so far off. I like proper records people!

This past month we've seen a lot of increased movement. Jane still loves to stand more than anything and is cruising more and more each day. She's been squatting to pick things up (while holding on) and has even begun standing solo for a few seconds at a time.  She loves climbing up the stairs and if I'm carrying her and heading up she practically lunges forward so she can do it herself. She gets faster each week too. 

Jane has been very into waving this month. She will do it in response but will also initiate it. Mimicking us is another favorite thing right now. Grunts, coughs, sticking out her tongue, tongue clicks, etc. Just wants to copy everything!

Jane loves sticking that tongue out!

This month sweet Jane has started playing peek-a-boo with us. It's so fun having her initiate the game and laugh so hard when we act startled. We also think Jane might be saying "dada" and meaning Daddy but we're not 100% sure. Hopefully that and "mama" come soon. We sure love her sweet little voice. She is also a bit of a dancer. She loves to groove. The best is when she puts one hand out and bounces. I definitely need to make sure I capture it on video if I haven't already!

Presently we are experiencing a very clingy stage. At home I can barely set Jane down without tears setting in. Forget about walking away. (Jane woke up since I started working on this post and I am currently holding her and typing one handed.) It's a little frustrating at times but at least we know she loves us!

As mentioned in previous posts Jane got to experience her first plane ride, first swim, and first time at the beach. Just working out the traveling kinks before we take her to Spain with us next month!

We've had some issues with Jane and biting which seems to have peaked this month. It's gotten much better but every now and then she still gets us. We joke that between the growling, biting, and her fondness for shoes that Jane is a dog. (Seriously, this girl loves shoes. If she sees you take one of Anna's off she will beeline for it. I'm pretty lax about things in the mouth this time around but this one is disgusting.)

Jane is a very persistent little girl. She will climb over any of us to get to whatever item she wants. She won't stop working for it no matter how much grabbing or body maneuvering it takes. I think this is part of the reason that I'm still up with Jane once at night to eat (although this is still an improvement and she's doing so much better overall. Sleep is so much less stressful then it was at 6 months!)

Jane continues to adore her big sister and it's incredible watching them play together more. It's been such a fun month and I know we have exciting things in store this month. 

Easter Weekend

I need to do Jane's 10 month post but I thought I'd at least get Easter done first. I may not properly finish up March but since April is already half over I guess I need to move on. 

 Jane's 9 month pictures were that Saturday so we were in Topeka the entire weekend. After finishing up pictures in the morning we headed over to my Mom and Dad's. 

This was Anna's first year dying Easter eggs and I was so excited. I have so many great memories dying eggs growing up and watching Anna do it for the first time was awesome. 

Grandma showing Anna what to do

 Anna loved it like I thought she would. We opted to give Anna the cracked eggs and that ended up being a great decision every since she wasn't exactly gentle with them. 

Anna's first egg!

 I had fun with the eggs myself and it was wonderful getting to help Anna have fun too. 

Mom and Hailie had a great time too. We enjoyed experimenting with different color combinations. 

 Showing off her eggs. 

It was a little chilly that day but Anna didn't mind too much.  

Jane slept through most of the activities but woke up for a little bit of fun outside. 

Just chillin' with Grandma

A little later we went back over to Kevin's parent's house. Gama was out of town but we were getting together with Thomas, Serena, and Adell so the girls could have an Easter egg hunt together. 

Eventually Anna figured out she could be more efficient by carrying several eggs back to her basket at a time. (the basket was a little big for her to carry around)

Jane enjoyed watching the action from Daddy's shoulders. 

The girls with their eggs! There was a pretty hilarious series of Anna and Adell together. 

I won't include them all but by the end you could clearly tell how annoyed Adell was that we were still taking pictures. I love her so much. 

The next day we went out to the Farm for lunch. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked for Jane's first Easter but what can you do. We had planned another egg hunt but Anna fell asleep and Jane was needing to sleep so it didn't happen. It was fairly windy so it was probably for the best. Hopefully next year we'll be able to get some good photos since it will be Jane's first time hunting. 

Hopefully everyone had a Happy Easter!

Huntington Beach

A few weeks ago Jane and I joined Kevin on a little trip to Huntington Beach, CA. Kevin had a work conference and we thought it would be fun to tag along. We decided not to bring Anna on this trip (two little kids in one hotel room with different activity needs didn't sound fun to me). It ended up being a good thing we planned it this way because Anna had pneumonia earlier in the week and while she was doing better when we left she would not have been okay enough to travel. Thanks Mom for taking care of our sick kiddo!

This was Jane's first plane ride! We joked that she was getting a late start since by this age Anna had already been on about 5 plane trips. 

She did really well on the flights although she was super active and wanted to do stuff. We had hoped she would sleep during the actual flights but she basically just fell asleep toward the end of each leg. The younger the baby the easier they are to fly with (in my opinion). Jane actually did better then I did since I was recovering from a sinus infection. That pressure kills!

Our flight was incredibly early and we arrived well before check in so we had to wait for our room. We killed some time in the lobby (I even managed a nap with the little stinker). There was even enough time for us to take a walk to the grocery store to stock up on supplies for our hotel room. 

Finally we got our room and we were very happy. We mostly just hung out and relaxed since Kevin wasn't feeling 100% that weekend either. The view from our room was amazing so we just enjoyed the sunset on our balcony. 

A zoomed in picture of the pier that we walked to the next day. 

It got chilly pretty fast once the sun started to set but we were able to stay out long enough for a few cute pictures of Miss Jane. 

Dinner on the balcony!

Cuddles before bed!

We weren't sure what would happen with sleep and the time difference but Jane was nice and slept really well that night. She was pretty tired and took a long morning nap. Most of it was on Kevin and we just watched tv and rested. It had been such a stressful week with sickness and preparing for the trip that we really needed the down time. 

The very end of Jane's long nap. 

Once our sleepy head woke up we took Jane down to the pool for her very first swim! Of course we had to lather her up in sunscreen first. We put in on her head too and some nearby people made fun of us but we were like "have you seen how pale this kid is?"

The water was a little chilly but Jane was having a pretty good time. She started kicking like crazy as soon as she got into the water. It was all fun until Kevin did the head under water business. Jane did not enjoy it at all. 

Daddy with his baby.

We thought maybe it was a little too cold so we thought we'd head over to the hot tub to warm up. Jane LOVED it in there and would have stayed longer but we didn't want her to get overheated. 

A little later that afternoon we went out for a walk along the beach. 

It was a gorgeous day to be out and Jane loved looking around at all the people. Made it a little difficult to get a good picture of her but it was so fun seeing her take in everything. 

We meant to ask someone to take a family picture but that never happened. This was the best group shot we managed during our trip. I love it though. 

It was a little chilly on the pier so we stopped to put on Jane's jacket. 

My cutie patootie!

We had a really nice dinner that evening and the next day it was just me and Jane since Kevin had to go to the conference. Jane and I enjoyed breakfast together, a nice walk along the beach, a lovely nap, and hanging out by the pool. 

That night we had one last dinner with Daddy before Jane and I were heading back to Kansas. It was a short trip but I was missing Anna pretty bad so it was good to get back.