hearing her sing

one of my greatest joys as a mother is listening to jane sing. she actually knows quite a few songs and surprises me almost every day with a new song she starts singing - usually in the car or while playing with her baby dolls. i try to record her singing but it is so difficult to catch because if i ask her to sing she says "no" or asks me to "help, mom" so i often have recorded her singing off of the baby monitor or without her really knowing. she sings all or part of these songs: Jesus, loves me; twinkle, twinkle little star; abcs; rock-a-bye baby; muffin man; 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed; and from veggie tales: the bunny song; stand up; and think of me (or whatever it's really called). i'm sure there are more, i just can't remember them right now.

today she was singing at breakfast: "think every day, hold to what i say, even from par (far) away" which is part of the veggie tales song on a cd we have. i also sing it to her at night sometimes. i didn't think she knew it but she knows almost the whole song and i caught it on video finally- in the car on the way to my parent's house. the video isn't very good because it's just me holding the phone as close to her as i can (she sometimes sings quietly) while still watching the road as i drove. sorry about the turn signal in the back ground and the shot of the ceiling. here are the real words so you can compare to jane's version.

think of me everyday

hold tight to what i say

and i'll be close to you

even from far away

know that wherever you are

it is never too far

if you think of me

i'll be with you

it's from the "rack, shack, and benny" episode about standing up for what is right and the song reminds them of what their parents taught them.

this video of her singing the abc's. it's not the most complete version but it's one that i recorded about a month or so ago:

Good Friday to you

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross

"When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."

-Issac Watts (1707)

"oodalally, oodalally, golly what a day!"

the title of this post kept running through my mind last saturday the 16th because it was quite a busy but fun day. if you get where it is from you were probably a disney movie kid like i was. saturday i attended two baby showers and one was in honor of me and little boy.

the first was a shower for ashley and her soon to be little boy. they are adopting a baby in may and have known about it for not very long - which is amazing and exciting and also a little scary. i decided there is a reason behind God's decision to make pregnancy last as long as it does - well besides the biological stuff that goes on like growing a baby - but it's to prepare our hearts and minds for the little bundle. i am very excited for them and they will be wonderful parents. jane was also able to meet some people from my youth group/college years and that was good too.

i was going to drive home and eat lunch with jane and pete then drive to lanie's for the other shower but it was going to be a tight squeeze. luckily, pete had made a trip to i.f.a. and was still on 12th street. after i gassed up the civic (part of the reason it would be a stretch to make it home and back) we met pete at i.f.a. and switched cars. jane road home with pete - ate lunch and thankfully slept three hours for him! woohoo. i knew i would eat a lot at the shower so i didn't stop for lunch. instead i went to the local hastings coffee shop (it was on the way) and wrote frantically in my baby journal in attempts to catch up to present day. surprisingly, i did! my journal for little boy and this pregnancy journey so far is all caught up, or was. now i need to write about the shower and my latest dr. appointment. jane's journal that i have been writing since pregnant with her is way back in january still so i need to catch up on that too.

so i arrived at the shower early (a rare event for me when i'm with jane but i am better at being early/on time when it's just me) and was greeted by anasten who's special job was to take the purses to a location that was out of the way of the front door. she did a wonderful job of helping host the party along with her mom and kaytee. the shower was a joint celebration for me and my friend sarah. we are both having our second child and both babies are boys so we thought it would be perfect to share and it was so much fun. i was only two weeks away from my due date and she is due the middle of july so it was a bit early for her and cutting it close for me but we made it work.

lanie and kaytee did a fantastic job with planning the whole thing, sending out invites, decorations, and food. the lanterns were a good touch and the little sandwiches and fruit was delicious; of course i loved the cookies and cakes. as the guests arrived we put the gifts in separate locations and mingled while eating the food. i was surprised by how many people came and very loved too. we truly have a special group of family and friends and i am so grateful to all who showed their support even without the gifts - but wow! thanks for the gifts too.

we had the guests write a birthday card for the little boys for every birthday year up to 15 years old so they can open one every year on their birthday. as long as i can keep track of the cards it will be fun to open them every year to see what people wrote. we also took a picture of "all" the pregnant ladies at the party - my pictures didn't turn out great so i only put one on here. from most pregnant, me, to least: me, katie (due july), sarah (due july), kaytee (due sept.) and meg (due oct.). stacy, due sept., left before i remembered to get the pictures and diana just had her baby two weeks prior.

i told myself all i had to do was make it to saturday and then the baby could come. well, we made it and still no baby. i am actually relieved and we'll see how long he decides to wait but i have already made a few more "make it till this day" goals because i would like to be part of sarah's (sister's) graduation festivities and maybe easter sunday too. if not, it's not like i will be disappointed but those are one more thing on my list. i guess there will always be "one more thing" on my list which is why people say you are never really ready for the baby to come.

i had a dr. appointment monday and she said everything looks good and she'll "see me next week unless she sees me before that" so we are waiting and my next appointment is tuesday morning. the baby room is mostly ready, i have to buy hangers for all his cute clothes and organize a few more things. i packed my hospital bag but i am constantly remembering things i should put in there. i need to pack a bag for jane for whomever takes care of her in my absence and that's about it. i am supposed to be cleaning the house right now (my brother is coming over for dinner tonight) but instead i am blogging which is a nice way of avoiding cleaning. well, good bye. sorry i am so long winded; and once again, thank you all who made saturday so wonderful!