Jane's 2nd Birthday

It is very hard for us to believe that Jane is already 2 years old!  It truly doesn't seem that long ago we were coming home from the hospital with our itty-bitty 6lb baby with the biggest brightest eyes we had ever seen.  We have watched her grow and change, and of course stay the same in some regards (her knees are still the fattest part of her legs, and she still has more idiosyncrasies than anyone you'll meet) and we cannot imagine our lives without her.  Even in her worst moments, spared normally just for us, we still find ourselves in awe of how wonderful she is. 

Jane is incredibly kind-hearted, always wanting to help us and her brother.  She offers him toys when we change his diaper, stops what she's doing to get his pacifier if she hears him crying, wants to see him first thing every morning, and offers him hugs and kisses on a whim.  I fully recognize this may change in the coming years, but for now, I'm cherishing every moment of her love and tenderness towards him. 

She is incredibly bright and picks up things very quickly, her particular favorite right now is jigsaw puzzles.  She loves to sit on the floor (demanding that you join her as well, of course) and put them together and she actually can do them by herself.  It amazes me.  She also LOVES stickers and has graduated from adorning her shirt with them to actually putting them in sticker activity books which can consume her for hours. 

She has some new obsessions as of late - including hand sanitizer, lip gloss, chapstick, and her stepstool.  She will re-apply, re-sanitize, and re-place her step stool all day long.  If she learns one new thing, she continually has to repeat the same action in exact sequence the next time.  While semi-cute, and semi-remarkable the first time it happens, it can lead to a battle of wills the 2nd and 3rd and 4th time.  I'm afraid to admit that sometimes she wins. 

We enjoyed celebrating her birthday with her - we made cupcakes while Luke napped, and enjoyed her favorite meal for dinner - meatloaf!  Grandma and Papa G. came over to help unwrap gifts and enjoy cupcakes and ice cream.  It was a wonderful day and we love her very much!

The birthday girl in the morning having breakfast -  an English muffin with cinnamon and sugar.  Notice how she pretty much just scraped off the sweet stuff.

Helping mommy bake cupcakes.  She did great putting the liners in the tray!

Carefully and precisely adding sprinkles - no cupcake complete without sprinkles!

A pause to smile.  Please notice the plethora of stickers on her shirt....

Reading a card from Grandma while cozy in her pink slippers from Great-Grandma and Grandpa

The most adorable rain suit ever from G-G Aunt Lil!  This came with matching boots and we cannot wait for a rainy day!

A snowsuit from mommy and daddy.  She loves putting her hands in pockets

At first, very afraid of the candle....

...but then very excited to about it once we told her she could eat it

Gently holding it while diving right in

Not to be outdone, Luke offering his puff to the camera

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

The month of November afforded us the opportunity to travel to Nky for a long weekend to visit with family and participate in a surprise 90th birthday for my Grandma Kubala.  We were all semi-concerned that a "surprise" party might lead to some sort of cardiac event for my Grandma, but the quite the opposite happened - I don't think I've ever seen my Grandma happier in her life!!

We had a great time that weekend visiting with all of my family.  As per usual, this trip to Nky was a whirlwind of activity, with visitors coming and going, lots of food, and lot of play time for the kids! 

I shared a long blog a few months ago for the Scheper Family Reunion in May, and wanted to do a similar posting here with my dad's side of the family.  I am forever in awe of my rich heritage and amazed at what a blessing a large family can be.  My grandma's suprise party consisted mainly of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but also was attended by some of her friends and nieces and nephews as well.

My grandma, Dorothy Jane (known as Dot in most circles), was born in Columbus, OH on Dec. 4th 1921 and had 1 brother, Jack (known as Bud).  My grandma grew up in Columbus and stayed there until she met my grandpa at the USO Club.  My grandpa, Bill, was 1 of 12 children (yes, 12!!), born to parents who had immigrated to Youngstown, OH from Czechoslavakia.  Together my grandparents had 9 children themselves - Michael, David, Stephen, Barbara, Paul (my dad!), Anne, Nancy, Carole, and Bill - and moved around a few times before settling in to Ft. Thomas, Ky. where they lived for 30 years before my grandpa passed away in 1982.  I simply cannot fathom all these children and wonder how anyone maintained a household of 7, 9, or 12 children!  I struggle most days with TWO!!

My grandma is fun-loving, always up for a great time, always ready for a trip of any sort, and continually grateful for whatever life throws her way.  I think you'll see some of these qualities in the pictures below!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

Jane really wanted to wear Aunt Katie's boots.  I have no idea why her hands are like that, but it's so cute!

Keegan and Jane with Aunt Katie

Relaxing with Nana

Luke trying to impress the ladies with his one-hand ability on the trike.  Jane is, of course, telling him how to do it.  He's not listening.

My grandma was all smiles on her birthday.  And she wore her princess hat for the whole party!!

I love this picture even if Luke was preferring to be held by someone else.  I think Luke looks a lot like my dad with his light blue eyes, which he gets from my grandma.

Jane and Grandpaul, putting out the vibe

Grandma with all of her grandchildren, minus 1 who lives in Seattle and couldn't make it.  19 in total.

Grandma with all of her great-grandchildren.  12 so far

Grandma with all her children.  All of them still live in Nky, with the exception of 2.

Our family enjoying the party.  An exceptionally warm evening allowed us to be outside for awhile!

I don't even know how to comment on this picture.  We asked them both to smile for the camera and this is what we got.

My mom, sister, and I

Luke was ready to go by the end of the evening.  He gets completely stoic when in front of the camera.  And still looks nothing like me...

I Love This Picture