April 21, 2010 · filed under: Family, Grace Evelyn, Holidays by Jill

Spring time = busy at the Janes household. There seems to be much to do as the world awakens from winter, and keeping up with Grace has added to that this year. Needless to say, one project that has been neglected has been posting recent pictures. Here are some highlights from the last month:

Top on the list is Grace’s first Easter holiday. This year she spent Easter with Mom’s family, seeing Grandpa Paul & Grandma Darla’s farm first. After visiting the cows and new baby calves, it was on to Guthrie Center for her first Easter egg hunt. Although her bucket wasn’t exactly brimming after the hunt, Grace enjoyed watching the other kids and seeing the Easter Bunny. When the excitement of the hunt died down, Grandma Donna & Grandpa Ron took her for a quick stop at the farm and home store with baby chicks and ducks. Unfortunately, Mom said no to Dad and Grace, and we did not return home with a duck. Finally, Grace practiced hunting eggs again on Easter morning with cousin Landon before church. It was quite a weekend!

And the unfortunate baby chick incident:

Grace & Landon getting into trouble:

Aside from the holiday, its been project time at home again. Grace’s projects including pulling herself up and “helping” with everything. Recently, she has “helped” clean up dinner, she “helped” Dad work on the car, and she “helped” inspect the basement work.  Although it seems her help usually slows the job, it certainly keeps things interesting. And Mom and Dad keep thinking about how fast time goes and how soon she really will be helping with everything as she proves what a big girl she is becoming.

See more pictures of our big girl this spring in the gallery.

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January 4, 2010 · filed under: Family, Grace Evelyn, Holidays by Geoff

It’s been a great holiday season, and we’ve enjoyed every extra minute that we’ve been able to spend with Grace. It was also our first Christmas as a family of three, and the first time we stayed home for Christmas Eve. Grace has brought a whole new set of wonderful traditions to the holidays, and we enjoyed our first try at a lot of them!

The holidays started with Christmas at Grandpa Paul & Grandma Darla’s house. It was Grace’s first real chance to get into the wrapping paper, and boy did she enjoy it! She also got to say hi to several new cats, and meet King Arthur, her first 8-point buck!

Next came the Benton family Christmas with Grandma Donna & Grandpa Ron. Grace spent the evening getting into trouble with Landon as they helped unwrap presents. It was also a chance for Grace to be a STAR! We took Benton family photos, and Grace was the center of attention as everyone waited for her to smile in the pictures. Fortunately everyone was patient enough that we got some great shots.

Then came Christmas with Great Grandpa Bob & Great Grandma Bea, and a chance for Grace to meet some family she hadn’t met yet.

After a great weekend with family, it was time to return home. This year was our first year to have Christmas at home, and to prepare for Santa’s arrival. That meant preparing our stockings, baking Santa cookies, and getting to bed early so we didn’t hold Santa up.

Then it was time to jump in the car for the long trip to the cabin, Grace’s first visit and a test for a long road trip. Fortunately, Mom & Dad decided to leave close to Grace’s bedtime, so Grace could sleep the majority of the way.

With the holidays behind us and our return to normal life, both Jill and I are already missing the extra time we were able to spend with Grace during the holidays. The few hours we get each night before bed don’t measure up to all of the great time we got over the holidays.

We also look forward to the next surprises from Grace. During our time off with Grace, she got her two upper front teeth, learned to sit up on her own, began feeding herself cheerios, and has started what might be considered crawling. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Many more pictures are available in the gallery, so check them out! Happy holidays from our family to yours.

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December 5, 2009 · filed under: Family, Grace Evelyn, Holidays by Geoff

The last month has been crazy with visits and activities for the holidays. With Mom & Dad hosting Thanksgiving, Grace was busy trying to keep up.

First came the preparations, and Grace was busy helping Dad decorate the house.

Then came the visitors. Vivi Otto decided it had been long enough, and it was time for her to visit Grace. So she brought Russ & Anna and Dawn & Kyler along with her.

And just after Vivi and company left, it was time for Thanksgiving and the arrival of family.

And following Thanksgiving dinner, Grace decided she needed to get out of the house to walk off some extra calories. So, Grace decided some geocaching was in order.

Following Thanksgiving, it was time to get our tree. It’s become a tradition to get our tree with the Thompson family, and Grace was looking forward to seeing Luke again.

And then it was time to decorate. With the Christmas music blaring, Grace got first-hand experience of what it is to decorate for Christmas in the Janes house (as crazy and over-the-top that it might be).

The holidays have reminded Jill and I about the important things in life. Family and friends have and continue to be the most important part of our lives. We’re also reminded about how blessed we are to have been given the privilege of being Grace’s parents.

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