Jane's 1st Birthday

Nils and Jane... "You're 1 year old today, Janey!"

Jane and Emily

"It's my birthday and I won't wear this crown if I don't want to -- won't wear this crown if I don't want to -- won't wear this crown if I don't want to.
You would cry too if this happened to you."

Cumpleanos Fiesta!!
(Her birthday was the same night as the youth dance. Nils being the Young Men's president, we decided to take Jane out to party hard and celebrate her first year.)

I made Jane a "short cake" because she's a shortcake.
And the decorating... not bad for ziploc bags if I do say so myself.

Happy Birthday Jane!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!

It's never too early

I'd heard from several good friends (yes, you Meredith) that moms can potty train their babies. When it was first explained to me, it was in the context of tents and dirt floors and a matter of just holding little baby over the 'toilet' til they go. I'm sure it was my imagination that painted the desert scene, but even the thought of holding my baby over a nice white toilet bowl sounded like a huge time-waster to me. Then my friend Sarah showed me this baby potty and I couldn't resist giving it a try. Holding the baby over the toilet -- definitely not. Letting the baby sit and do his/her business -- maybe. For a few dollars I figured it might be worth a try if it meant getting a head start on that dreaded milestone.

So... how has it worked so far? I'd say pretty well. Though Janey doesn't tell me when she has to go potty, she is fairly good at filling it up whenever I place her cute little bum on the pot. Don't believe me? I have pictures to prove it!


I'm supposed to do what? where?

Oh! I get it!

See!

(Admit it, we all turn around and look at what we did in there)

Our little Scooter

Facepainting - What a party!

I had no idea kid birthday parties could be so cool! One of our new friends, Linda, put together a fabulous birthday party for her twins. She had fun activities like decorating cupcakes, various games, and a facepainter! So of course, I had to see how cute Jane would look with a little mariposa ("butterfly"... see, I'm slowly learning Spanish!) on the side of her face. Jane sat intently while the lady, who's name happened to be Leidy (sounds like "lady"), gently painted. Then, one of the other mothers at the party suggested I get my face painted too! So I did. Then another mother, with two daughters, one Jane's age, had her and her daughters all painted the same too. It was so so cute! Here's the result.

You can kinda see Jane's two small bottom teeth!

Isn't this just so cute!!

DC Deaf Branch Anniversary

Our family attended a deaf congregation in Washington, DC before moving to Bogota, Colombia. Well, the group celebrated their 30th anniversary and we put together a little "birthday message" for them. I thought it'd be fun to share it with all of you too. Enjoy!

Jane's first sign - Milk!

I wasn't sure she knew what she was signing... until she did the right thing at the end ;)