Eleven months... nailed it!

Jane hit eleven months last Friday.  She's doing more and more every day--she pulls to standing and walks pretty well if you hold her hands.  She calls everything a dog.  She's still not napping all that well, and nights are hit-or-miss, but even with her current cold, she's been sleeping pretty darn well overall.

It's also been completely confirmed that she loves curry.  I think it's been the biggest hit, maybe tied with blueberries.

We went pea-picking at the farm last weekend and there are pictures, but I don't have them handy.  She ate some peas, even biting off some pieces with her fancy new upper tooth.  (Fancy because it's gold, of course.)

Future so bright...

 No shades if Jane can help it.

 Standing with a magnet in her mouth.

 She's very good with books, most of the time.  She likes The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

 Hey Daddy, were you trying to get a shot of me peacefully looking at a book?  I see you!

 Oh, I can't bear to look...

 How bad is it?  Give it to me straight.

 Last night Andy took out his phone for some distraction-time while I was getting ready to cook, and got some good shots.

Now, what kind of (cup)cake do you think Jane wants for her birthday?

A Michigan Trip

Jane and I made a quick jaunt to Michigan this past weekend.  My grandma needed surgery at the U of M hospital, so the timing worked out that she and my aunt were around too.  The surgery went well and we all got to visit a bit.

M@ and I went to see the Kids in the Hall on Saturday night, which was amazing from the FRONT ROW!  A feather fell off the Chicken Lady's costume, so I'm now the proud owner of that!  They didn't come out to do autographs in between shows, and I wasn't up for staying there until well after midnight.  But it was really fun and exciting.  M@'s phone died on the way in so we had to call someone for directions.  We also got some Culver's along the way, which we don't have in Massachusetts, so I enjoyed that.  I don't usually go for fast food, but they are an exception.  How can you go wrong at the home of the Butterburger?

I don't know what kind of face that is.

 That's better.

 Jane and Great-grandma Agnes, enjoying some sunshine

 Do I have to wear this hat?

 No seriously, do I?

 Pam got Jane some not-sandals.

 Happy

 A knit dress from Grandma Mary Lynn.  Dad didn't bother to take her other dress off first.  He also put it on backwards.

Just like Mom

Jane loves blueberry pancakes, just like her mom.  Even without syrup, she still managed to get plenty messy.

We did a few neighborhood walks with me trying out the Poco pack.  It's not easy, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be.  I'm certainly not up for hiking in it, but walking on the paved street was fine.  It did start to rain on the way back, which meant a much-quickened pace, which was tough.

 She loves the mesh part.  And she loves smiling at her daddy.

 I just love the blurry shots!

It was only a few days ago that her nose finally stopped running and she finally seems over her cold.  She had a really terrible night last Wednesday, the worst of her life.  She was crying and wouldn't nurse or calm down to sleep for four hours.  I've been going to bed increasingly later (sometimes 9!) because she's been doing so much better, so that huge interruption hit us all hard.  On the beginning end of the night, she is a total pro at going to sleep.  Lately she's been waking up around 3-4 and needing to come into bed with us, but last night it was 11:30.  It's hard because we know she can sleep through the night.  Oh well, she'll get there.

This weekend we weren't up for hiking but we did walk into the center of town.  It's a little over two miles there and back, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

It seems like something must be bothering her, with her early wake-ups and semi-fussiness of recent mornings, and our best guess is teeth.  She's only had just the bottom two for quite some time now.

Jane's having a good time crawling around our living room and kitchen.  Now, if only we could get our dishwasher fixed!

A Visit from the West Coast

Dick and Wendy came out to visit last weekend.  Jane was a bit sick through it, and Andy too, and now it's taken me down.  It's surprising how long it's taking Jane to shake it.

But lots has happened since then: she started crawling and slept through the night a few more times!  Even with being sick, she's sleeping really well.  Luckily her cough isn't keeping her awake (though it wakes me up most times, and then I listen for her for a few minutes).

I stayed home with her today because I'm not feeling great and last night she seemed worse and even threw up at dinner.  The tricky part about that is that it was probably just a bite of food going down wrong, but coupled with her other symptoms, we decided she shouldn't go to daycare.  She's doing better than last night, I have a sore throat, but the most strenuous part of the day so far has been rescuing the dog who got his leash triple-wrapped around the tree outside.

On to the pictures!
Dad set the timer... beep... beep... click!

 Wait, let me grab that!

 Grandma shaking up the beehive

 Admiring my baby

 Check out that gut!  Waiting for our table at a restaurant in Brattleboro, VT.  We were in their upstairs biergarten overlooking the Connecticut River.

 Self-explanatory

 Seated at the restaurant.  Another place that uses Mason jars as glasses!

 Walking around Look Park

 Everybody's smiling!

 Swinging.  She was NOT so sure about it.

 How long do I have to sit here?

 Down the slide

 Yayyyy!

 On the train

 Is this working?  Is it taking pictures?

 I guess it took a few.

 Dad and Jane

 "That's not how..."  "No, I got it!  Don't worry!"

Mother's Day Hike

Last weekend, we went for a hike.  We're planning on going again today, but Jane had a bit of a rough night and a hard time going down for nap, so we'll see how it plays out.

Either way, have some pictures!

Mama

 Encouraging Brisco not to stop and sniff every blade of grass

 Dad and Jane in her hiking pack

 Happy in her little cocoon with a ring to chomp on

 View from the top

 Our little gal

Jane is even more amazing!

JANE STAYED IN HER CRIB THE WHOLE NIGHT!!

Jane is amazing!

The biggest news from today is that I was able to put Jane down for a nap in her crib!  I think we were all completely surprised that it worked.  I can't express how I was feeling when I crept down the stairs.  I was nearly in tears because I was so surprised and excited and proud!

On to the pictures!

Posing with Dad

 Jane's Personal Pan Pizza

Eating pizza is serious business.

Well...

Maybe not so serious. 

 Jane's (and Dad's) favorite toys

 Brisco

 We had our first hot day, so Jane got to wear her Jurassic Park romper.

 The Peras gave us this t-shirt.  It's got "patches" and "buttons" on it that say things like "The Stay-up-Lates", "Death to False Milk", "No Nap", "Anti-Crib," "Bedtime Sucks", "Question Authority" and some others I can't read/remember.  Doesn't she look like a kid here and no longer a baby?