A Brand New Year

I think my life has finally calmed down enough to get back to writing following our crazy December.  We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's with friends and had a fun party for Jackie's second birthday.  We're excited to share this milestone with everyone who has been an encouragement to us as we enter the twos and helped make our little toddler anything but terrible.

Such nice weather!

Say cheese!

Yes, our fall was very warm....be jealous!!

Recent accomplishments

• She is finally leaving the ground when she jumps!
• Stepping down or up a step without holding on to something
• Counting to 20 (okay, she forgets 16 every time...)
• Singing her alphabet
• When the need arises we can now put her down to nap at a friends house or in our (huge) walk-in closet on a sleeping bag and she will stay put.  However, we're still finding the crib to be pretty convenient...

Tea party with the best Dad ever!

And favorite activities

• Coloring - this girl is better at holding a pen than I am.  If prompted, she will tell you exactly what each little scribble on her paper is supposed to be.  She still shows signs of left-handedness, much to our chagrin.
• Peeling every single sticker off a sheet of stickers and putting them on her shirt.  This kept her busy for approximately 4 hours on our recent airplane trips.
• Going to the park.  Usually this entails Mommy pushing her on the swing for over an hour, but she really enjoys climbing and sliding too.
• Reading books - We usually go to the library once a week for story hour and check out several books.  However, her favorite book is still her Treasury of Curious George....sooooo tired of these stories......
• Helping Mommy - She loves to be around whenever I cook, do dishes, empty the dishwasher, sweep the floor, or fold laundry....and to be involved.  My hope is that if I let her in on it now, I'll have a well-trained helper by the time she's 16.
• Singing songs - We still continue to go to music class once a week, mostly because Jackie has enjoyed it so much.  She knows all the songs and participates so well.  She likes to listen to music in the car.  She is particularly obsessed right now with The Sound of Music and all the songs from the movie, which I am required to play on the piano for her at least once a day.  Other favorite songs include Happy Birthday and Jesus Loves the Little Children.  Josh and I have started directing the choir at church and she loves to hang out during our practices, singing along with the adults.
• Dancing - it's taken her a long time to warm up to this, but we have worked on it at home and in music class, and I'm told she rocked the dance floor at a recent Daddy Daughter Dance.
• Anything that involves hanging out with other kids.  So we do it as often as possible!

In heaven!

At the park with best friend Ian :)

Can you pick out Daddy, Mommy, and Jackie?

Reading with Uncle Don

How to Speak Jackanese (favorite words and phrases)

• "Ah gah it." ("I got it" - back off Mommy!)
• "Dackie" (This is what she calls herself)
• "Watch Seelella!" ("Watch Cinderella" - I hear this every. single. day.)
• "Joshair" ("Josh bear" - quick story - this beloved blue bear was the first present Josh ever gave me - before we were even dating.  When we had Jackie I planned to give her all the other stuffed animals and reserve this special one for myself.  As any parent can predict, this quickly became her favorite toy.)
• "Cake" (Another treasured toy - she has adopted a blanket with cupcakes on it as her special blanket despite Mommy's best efforts to keep her from having a "blankie")
• "No....go...to...bed!" (Pretty self-explanatory - we hear this a lot too.)  Variations: "No....go...home!" and "No....take...bath!"
• "Why not?" (You have to imagine her saying this one with a pronounced whine in her voice.  She uses it as a multi-purpose way to question Mommy's and Daddy's judgment in a variety of situations.)

My favorite things

• Our non-cuddler has gradually gotten more affectionate, and often will lay in Mommy's arms or give sweet kisses.  The one nice thing about sickness is it usually brings out the cuddle bug in her.
• Listening to Jackie sing to herself or along with us in her little high-pitched voice.  
• Finally, she is past the point of pushing and hitting friends constantly.  Instead, she enthusiastically gives (sometimes unwanted) hugs and likes to hold hands. :)
• Jackie really enjoys her Toddler Bible, and it's so fun to see a child's take on the stories.  She has picked up on how evil almost every king is, and will say, "No, King!" when they appear.  Jesus, however, is our "twoo king" (true king).  Her favorite characters are Eve and Esau at the moment, so...she knows how to pick some winners.  During the recent Christmas season, we talked frequently about Baby Jesus the true king, who was born in the barn and worshiped by uneducated shepherds...shocking and amazing, is it not?  We pray every day that the Holy Spirit will open up her little mind and heart to the truths that we are teaching now.

Future Naval officer?