Happy Birthday Jane!!

Jane turned one this month, and some pictures are below for your viewing pleasure. (If anyone has more pictures, I would love to add them to my meager collection...) We had a large family party in the evening of her birthday (September 4th) with cupcakes, balloons and a few presents mixed in with all the aunts, uncles, cousins and friends...She had a good time, and since then has been acting like a true toddler (well, except for the toddling part...she is not walking or even crawling yet) and not like a baby anymore! She is able to make it through the morning without a nap (though only when absolutely necessary!), understands when I talk to her (she can drop her pacifier into her crib after naptime without too much hesitation, and eat a vegetable before she gets a fruit or another favorite food), she can actually do things with toys besides hold them, drop them, and eat them; and she can say "pa-pa" when she wants to (which is, unfortunately for Brendan, not as often as he'd like!) She is beginning to learn the mechanics of walking with the walking wagon we have (she walked a whole block and a half last night, knees buckling and arms holding on for dear life...but she loved it and cried when I tried to pick her up). And she can climb the stairs! She was awfully quiet this morning and I found her up in the bathroom with Lucy! (Usually we still stay right behind her when she climbs, just in case).

She can say "more", "all done", and "please" in sign language, and we make her say them often...one of her favorite games is to say "all done" after a meal in which she has been dawdling with a few last bites for a while, and then as I go to wipe her hands clean she'll pick up a bite and put it in her mouth so that I'll have to stop wiping her- grrrr! But pretty funny, too, because it happens so often.

She has mastered the art of the "cup drop" and Lucy and Geno show their most helpful sides by almost always volunteering to pick it up for her. Hey, as long as it helps them grow in virtue I'm all for it...if they ever stop being so willing, Jane will learn quickly that she'll be "all done" with her milk if she purposefully drops it.

Here are some pictures of her party, and life with Janie these days:
Waiting to blow out her candle (or, actually, wishing the candle part would hurry up so she could jut eat the cupcake...)

Eating the candy off the top of the cupcake, and realizing how chewy gumdrops really are (luckily she doesn't have many teeth for them to get stuck in).
The number "1" on her bedroom door, to continue a Hendricks' family birthday tradition.
"What's in the bag, Brendan?"
"Peekaboo!" (She looked so comfortable in there, and she obviously thought it was pretty fun).
Janie dressed up in her finest to watch the Michigan game with Brendan...Gene generously let her hold his Teddy (whom she is also very fond of).
Modeling the dress that Lindsey and Donal picked out...she wore it to church last Sunday and was the best-dressed Cousino that day!

When Jane gets really excited about something, she opens her mouth wide and tilts her head back a little...and knows she is being a little ham. In the above picture, she had just maneuvered an alphabet letter into the plastic magnetic thingy that will say the letter sound out loud and play the alphabet song. It is tricky for her to get it in, but she likes to try, and was so proud when she got it!
"Oh yeah, I'm walking...just look at me. I could do this all day..." Way to go, Janie!