18 Months!

My dear little Jane is 18 (errr.. 19) months young! Right before starting this post I was looking back through some past posts and was amazed at how time flies! Her growing up is bitter sweet. Bitter because she is our last and knowing that makes me both cherish each moment and hate to see them go by. Bitter also because I know I will miss her just being small and this age. I will miss everything about it. Sweet because it is fun to see her develop her own unique personality and opinions on matters. Sweet because she is discovering every day that she can do something that she couldn't do the day before.


A funny and sometimes annoying, part of her every growing personality is how quickly she switches between smiling, sweet, happy Jane to mad, foot-stomping, "world-ending" Jane when she doesn't get what she is certain that she deserves or if someone (usually Charlie) dares to cross her. We have found that there are two things that you should NEVER take from sweet Jane: her doll and her pink shoes. Taking either of these will instantly turn sweet Jane into extremely screaming, almost uncontrollable Jane.

 Speaking of shoes, she is obsessed. Seriously obsessed and particular. She gets extremely frustrated if she can't get a pair on (this mostly goes for her shoes and Charlie's red rain boots), but if you attempt to aid her in her efforts she just gets more upset. We have found that if we hear her yelling and crying by the front door, it is a shoe related issue and we will just let her sort it out. She usually does, in time. She likes them off (but nearby) while eating and doesn't like them without socks. She is equally particular about outfits. Suffice it to say that it has been a bit of a shock as to how different kids come. Charlie still doesn't care much at all about what he wears.

She does enjoy playing with Charlie's trucks, something that Charlie is gradually beginning to accept. The picture on the right is one of my favorites. It is the moment she realized that her Easter egg contained candy. When I look at it I can still hear her loud exclamation of pure childhood excitement.

Her hair is crazy! None of the pictures in this post do it justice. I really should take the time to do her hair more often. Doing so keeps it out of her face and keeps the tangles down to a manageable level. She is pretty easily distracted when I take the time to do it, so that part is actually pretty easy.  Basically this whole idea of doing a little girl's hair, a skill that seems to come quite easily to some (see pictures below), is only slightly easier for me than if you handed me a rubix cube to figure out. I am not sure what to do with it and when I do come up with a game plan it usually turns out looking terrible. I just never take pictures of those so there is no evidence.  ;)

I love what I caught Charlie doing in the bottom left picture.

(Side note: this really should have had it's own post; but my sweet mom braved the North Dakota winter to visit when I had surgery to instal the VNS device.)

Jane LOVES books. If it is long at all than she doesn't enjoy having them read to her. However she finds joy from simply touching them, flipping through the pages, pointing out the animals and making the appropriate sounds, and just sitting there pretending to read. In relation to the animals, if she doesn't easily recognize what it is she will decide it is a dog and say "woof woof!" For example, she thinks the buffalo on the North Dakota license plate is a dog.

 One more thing: she is a true Merrill/Temus mix and LOVES olives of all kinds. She demands them if they are within her sight. She especially enjoys eating them off of her perfectly sized fingers.

We all love our dear sweet Jane, even when she throws her little tantrums. I am infinitely glad that Heavenly Father intrusted us with her care, for she is a true joy.