Tough Days, and Tough Nights

So probably because I ask her, "Are you having a tough day?" when she is crying or seems unhappy. Jane has now taken to saying. "Tough day, Mama." when she is unhappy. And we have been hearing it a lot lately.

"Tough day, Mama." when she can't wear her orange crocks to school (I hate those shoes)
"Tough day, Mama." when I won't open the shower door and let her join me in the shower with her clothes on
"Tough day, Mama." when the plastic hangers don't work for hanging up stuffed animals in the closet
"Tough day, Mama." when she wants to eat yogurt and won't wear a bib
"Tough day, Mama." when Papa says you have to sit down in the bathtub
"Tough day, Mama." when she would like to ride in the open part of the shopping cart, even though we have never let her do that in her life
"Tough day, Mama." when I want to listen to NPR for just 10 minutes, and she wants to listen to "Row Row Row... Boat" for the 700th time

And now since I am 35 weeks pregnant, I am having a tough time sleeping, and I have caught a cold (I don't even know one other person in the world with a cold right now, so how did I get this?). So last night. which was like the 3 or 4th night in a row where I just could not sleep. I found myself saying to Mars, "Tough night, Papa."

This too shall pass.

Cut It Off, Cut It All Off!

So as many parents, I am sure, can relate, hair is quite a repeted battle in our house. Whether it is washing it, drying it, brushing it, pulling it out of Jane's face all the time, keeping food out of it, etc. It has become a topic all its own. That said, Mars and I, and Jane, had been talking about cutting it off for a few weeks. You know, I have a new baby coming, it is hot and summer, and why add any additional complications. So this weekend we did it. We went to a little barber shop in El Segundo, Marcy's, and Jane sat very still, and a lovely woman named Tammy, cut it all off. I love it, Jane loves it, Mars seems good with it.

Okay, so the picture took a while, but here it is.

Oh, that Easter thing.

So I guess, I loved holidays until I had a child of my own. I mean with the expectations, and the things you "should do" it sometimes seems like a lot, but this Easter was truly easy. We went to Pata and Mana's house, and did an egg hunt on Sunday afternoon. Jane was a happy camper, we really enjoyed it, and we had some of the best pictures ever. (scroll down)

There is so much Easter excitement

Let the egg finding begin!

Quite a good egg haul (the ones we could keep away from the dogs)

AND THE BEST ONES

The Jane you know.

The Jane we know, and love. She cracks me up!

Kayaking With Papa

So against my better judgement. Mars took Jane out on a sea kayak last a few weekends ago. Jane loved it, and was very well behaved (except for the picture where she is standing up). They did stay in the harbor, and though Jane was not clicked into anything, she had her wetsuit and life vest on. She got to see her favorite animal sea lions, up close.

It is all going so well, and then she stands up, but oh well. That's why kids have two parents, right?

Spring Splendor

Last weekend, we took a road trip to Pebble Beach to visit Aunt Kate. Jane was a trooper in the car for six or seven long hours, she liked the big backyard, and the boats in the harbor. She and Uncle Dave had a mini-photo shoot in the clover and flowers in the backyard. I feel relived because her hair cut finally looks normal.

Fun With Friends

So lately we have been very lucky because Jane is truly starting to enjoy the company of her "friends." She likes to play with (as opposed to near) other little kids, and we have taken advantage of the many friends we have near by, to all of our great joy.

In late February, Jane and I went to the LA Zoo with Heidi, Freddy, and Scott (who Jane calls "Tack" or "Sock" alternately). They were great together, played peek-a-boo in the Meercat exhibit, they went into the petting zoo and brushed the goats (this is an activity that spurned its own song by Jane called "Brush, brush, Brush Your Goat." sung to the tune of "Row Row Row Your Boat"), they ran around, smelled stinky flamingos, and she talked about it for days.

In early March we babysat for Zadie while Tori and Kate had a work activity. Jane worked on being gentle and patient with a toddler who is just a bit younger and smaller than her, and doesn't talk, much to her frustration. They had a great time. Since everyone tells me all the time how much Jane looks like Mars, it was really the first time, where I looked at her that day and thought, wow she looks a bit like me too. Especially in the photo with them both in the little car. They also had a sippy cup drinking contest, which was some how hillarious to them, but we didn't get the joke. Zadie would drink her cup, and Jane would watch, then drink her own cup, then they would crack-up together.

Just a week or so ago we went to Jane's first concert, we saw Dan Zanes, and Jane loved it. Kirstin had come up with the great idea, and I think the girls loved it. They sang, clapped, danced, and left totally wiped-out.

February at Lake Tahoe

So back in February we were all lucky enough to get a week off, and head up to the Brown's house in Lake Tahoe. It was wonderful. The first few days more exciting than we planned, with a huge snow storm, slippery roads, and hitting a tree (very slowly). After that it was perfect, Jane played in the snow for the first time, she enjoyed the indoor pool, played piano in the "big room" and bonded with Uncle Steve. It couldn't have been better.