Pint Sized Fun

Evan and I are quicky learning that, as parents, we have the unique and unbelievable honor of being responsible for raising our daughter to become an outstanding citizen.

We have also learned that we are allowed to dress her in whatever clothing we would like....and she can't do anything about it. Yet.

Such is the case with the below set of pictures. I'm pretty sure some would consider this child abuse, but we like to consider it our weekly entertainment.

Yes, this is Jane dressed in a pseudo-ice cream cone outfit. The outfit was a gift and packaged in a pint sized "carton" of strawberry ice cream. It was absolutely adorable, but we're not convinced that Jane saw the humor in it like we did.

Sorry Jane, but I can promise this will not be the last of the ridiculous outfits.

So Long Sweetgum!

Last Friday afternoon, Evan and I had the pleasure of signing all the paperwork necessary to finalize the sale of our beloved Sweetgum house! We were thrilled to be turning our first home over to a wonderful young couple, but were rather nostalgic as we signed our names and handed over the keys. We loved our Sweetgum home, as it was a cozy house and treated us well as we started our lives together back in 2005. With the help of the world's greatest realtor, we had a great experience turning our home over to the next young couple who were super excited to be moving in. It was a great feeling to know they would take great care of it! And, I need to mention that the world's greatest realtor had a little bit of help....from the world's greatest sister (in-law). Leslie moved back to Rochester before the holidays and moved into the Sweetgum house. The very day she moved in was the day that our buyers called to see if they could see the house. Leslie's furniture and decorations made the Sweetgum house even more appealing and they were hooked right away! Now that's what I call Gottschalk teamwork! Goodbye Sweetgum!

The Faces of Jane

These are the faces I make when.... ...I'm ready to eat.

...Aunt Leslie misses my mouth trying to feed me.

...I'm pondering the meaning of life.
...my dad starts to talk about interest rates again.

...my mom starts to talk about ice cream!

...I'm ready to play!

...I'm trying to stare at the lights to impress my Uncle Joel and Grandpa

...I'm just a little tired

...and when I just want to be super sweet.

Colts #1 Fan

We learned this past weekend that Jane is taking after her mother in her love of the Colts. She was so excited for their game this past weekend and cheered them on to their win against the Ravens. A true sportsfan. (her dad also dressed her this day - socks over the pants?!)
No lie - this was Jane's pose right after the Colts scored their first touchdown - too funny!

Sitting on Aunt Leslie's lap...she was rather content. Resting before the big game.

Cousins!

Jane and Keegan, only 2 months apart, hit it off right away! As you can see, Keegan invited Jane to share his froggy seat with her, and even put his arm around her in a loving gesture. The 2 of them sat in this seat, just as content as can be, and allowed us all to laugh and take about 50 pictures of the two of them. We had a great time introducing them to one another....something tells me this will not be the last of the posed pictures like this... Jane isn't sure at first how she feels about this
But she definitely warmed up after awhile

And then got so cozy, she thought she would try to eat Keegan
We couldn't resist getting the grandparents in on this pic

Road Trip

Jane experienced her first road trip this past weekend, heading down to Nky to see friends and family. She did very well on the 3 1/2 hour trip, and only got a bit cranky with 30 minutes to spare. She enjoys being in her carseat a lot and enjoyed being held and loved by many people this past weekend. Evan and I had a great time too - relaxing, shopping, a double date with Brian and Meagan, visiting Joel's new condo - it was a whirlwind but a great time. Thanks to mom and dad for being great hosts! Very proud grandparents - what a great picture!
Jane being held by Aunt Jane and Keegan Dude just chilling with the ladies

Jane very relaxed in Grandpa's arms

The Scheper women admiring Jane
GG Aunt Lil, mom, and Great Grandma babysitting Jane while Evan and I went out to dinner
This is our first family photo - only took us a month to get it!

Jane with Granpa and Great Grandma Dorothy Jane.

Christmas and more....

Well, it's been a few weeks since my last posting, and I'm warning you that this post is very picture-heavy. We enjoyed the holidays here at home in Rochester and had a great time visiting with friends and family. It's been nice to have things settling down a little bit, and we are eager for Jane's first visit to Nky to meet her aunts, uncles, great-grandmas and many more!