All About Jane

This title not only refers to this post, but also to my life. My life, our family, and our home are ALL ABOUT JANE. Is it possible to be TOO obsessed with your own child? I'm not sure, but some things have happened lately that have made me wonder:

1. We were at Matt's sisters and it was time to go. Jane was really enjoying herself as she played with a dump truck. When Matt picked her up she started crying. I asked Sharon if we could borrow the toy. And then it dawned on me....this is how it all starts. In my own defense, it is difficult to make the transition from caring for a baby and it being your duty to solve their every cry to caring for a toddler and realizing that sometimes they're going to cry and you don't have to or simply can't fix it. So I've vowed to start teaching Jane that there actually are limits.

2. The second sign you may be overly obsessed with your child: Matt and I were both home on Saturday afternoon. Jane took a nap much longer than usual. By the last half hour Matt and I kept talking about how we wanted Jane to come play with us. When we finally heard her wake up we looked at each other, excitement on both our faces. And we went in together to get her. I wonder what was going through her sleepy head as she blinked at the brights lights and the 2 crazy people walking towards her while talking in funny voices.

3. The third moment really hit it home for me. Jane was in church today and she was obsessed with this lady's earrings. She kept touching them and playing with them and the lady was nice enough to oblige. So the thought came to mind "I should pierce my ears so Jane can play with earrings." WHAT?! I truly felt a little sad that I was depriving Jane of the privilege of playing with earrings.

4. And the fourth sign of being overly obsessed is when you post little details about Jane's day that no one cares about but yourself and grandparents. So without further ado:

* Jane loves shoes right now. She can get into her cabinet where I keep them so all throughout the day she brings me a new pair. Yesterday I changed her shoes 5 times.

* Jane has started a new habit of eating raisins with dad. She gets dad to walk her into the kitchen and points to the pantry door. Then she points to the raisins. When he picks them up she points back to the living room where she will sit on his lap and eat them.

*Jane has figured out trash cans. She takes tissues and little pieces of trash she might find and puts them in the trash can.

*Yesterday I couldn't find my water bottles. I kept looking and looking until I found that our little pack rat had put them in her dump truck (the very same toy I had to borrow from Matt's sister.) I was happy they weren't in the trash can.

*Jane knows her cups of milk go in the fridge. She can't open it by herself so she stands by it and whines until we come to help her. Then she usually does the sign for milk and we open the fridge. And she loves to put her cup back on the shelf when she's done.

*My brother recently moved to Utah and has visited our place several times with his little 2 year old daughter who Jane loves to play with. Yesterday he stopped by but didn't have his daughter with him. Jane was excited to see him but then started to look panicked. She had us open the front door a couple times and she looked all around. She finally accepted that her playmate hadn't made it.

*Most kids get attached to one special thing around this time and for Jane that is "ducky." She loves ducky and always has him when she goes to sleep. When I take her out of the crib she has to make sure she has ducky. She has patted the little tuft of hair on the top of his head so many times that it has now formed dreads. For a few seconds at the store I thought ducky had disappeared and I was on the verge of a panic attack. Anyway, when it is time for nap time or bedtime and we don't have ducky with us I usually walk around the house with Jane calling for ducky in a high pitched-calling for someone sort of way. The other day I saw Jane walking around the house saying "duh-ey, duh-ey" in a similar high pitched voice. It took a minute for me to figure it out but sure enough she was looking for ducky.

When did I become the mother of a toddler?