A Letter for Jane at One Year Old

Jane,

your name means God has been gracious.

And He has.

He has been gracious with us 

as we waited impatiently for you

to be knit together in my womb.

He was gracious with us,

because He gave us you in His perfect time despite

our anger, confusion and foolishness.

Your arrival was sweet.

When they placed you on my chest,

I whispered to you,

"I've waited so long to meet you."

I didn't just mean while you were growing inside me.

I also meant the countless nights

I lay awake dreaming, praying and crying for you to be.

And now,

here you are,

a year old already.

You are an incredible baby.

Your temperament has evolved from

quiet and observant;

to talkative and interactive.

You are still so easy going,

so incredibly happy

and rarely get upset without reason.

You are beginning to

see that you can stand up for yourself.

Giving a squawk or screech 

when you are being annoyed,

or want something that someone else has.

Straight up - you're a slapper.

It's your crazy way of showing affection.

Hitting someone in the face.

Not the most appreciated way,

but you do it anyway.

You aren't free with your kisses,

but when you're in a kissy mood everyone loves it.

You love to cuddle.

From day one you would lay your

head on a chest or shoulder

and love to just be there.

Some of your favourite things

to do are be outside and have a bath.

Baby dolls are usually your favourite toys.

You will put them on your shoulder and pat their backs and say "Ssshh."

You also love the toy cellphone,

or making anything into a toy phone,

and chat away.

Your favourite hobby is most likely eating. 

Homemade popcicles, noodles.

fruit, ground beef and chicken are in the top favourite.

Sharing food is also a favourite,

especially if its already been in your mouth.

Grabbing ice cubes out of water is fun too.

Jane, you are amazing.

You bring so much joy to our lives.

Daddy, Claire and I think you are 

such a beautiful person inside and out.

We are enamored with you! 

You are funny, smart, calm and kind.

We love you so much Jane.

We are so thankful that God knows best,

and His timing brought us you!

Love Mom and Dad

xo

Some photos from the day.

Jane's dedication to the Lord at our church service last Sunday morning.

Following the service we had a garden party for Jane in our backyard.

Thanks to Sweet Ellie Belle Cookies for these beauties! 

Just about walking!

Time for cake!

Jane: 9 months

Jane is 9 months

and actually closer to 10 months.

Of course, I am behind in posting photos.

Jane, you continue to be a happy and content baby.

You are almost always smiling.

You are getting a bit of a voice and let us know when you are unhappy,

or fed up of being handled by your older sister.

Your eyes are blue like the ocean.

Your skin is olive and tanned.

Your hair has lightened with the summer sun 

and is beginning to get wispy curls in the back.

You like to make people laugh,

but aren't quite sure what to do with yourself 

when everyone turns to look at you.

You will tuck your head to the side and peer out of the corner of your eyes.

You like to talk and have the sweetest voice.

You can say "dada", "nana" and "hi."

You have even put two together,

saying "Hi Dada!" which makes our hearts melt.

You have two teeth on the bottom which have been there for three months.

We had a good break from teething but are working hard on the top ones now.

Having only two teeth does not hold you back from eating.

Like your sister, you love to eat.

Your favourites are ground beef, chicken and watermelon.

If we give you a chicken or rib bone you will eat it clean! 

You are thoroughly enjoying trying new foods,

and enjoy almost everything.

You can couch surf like a pro.

It is quite amazing how much ground you can cover in just a moment.

You have been mobile for some time,

squirming, pulling and scooting.

You have officially started crawling recently,

in the same funny monkey crawl your sister did.

We have put up baby gates, cause girl you are on the move! 

You are growing so fast!

You are in the upper 65-75 percentile for height and weight.

You can wave, point and clap.

You also clap your hand over your mouth to make funny sounds.

You get scared by loud noises,

and startle easily.

You are are quiet and reserved,

but when you are comfortable you can be a real goof ball!

Your eyebrows are so expressive! 

You absolutely delight in your sister.

The way you look at her melts my heart.

You are just beginning to try and copy things that she does.

Although you are generally very cuddly and affectionate,

you only show it on your terms.

When Claire responds in the robust, full-of-love way she does,

you immediately pull back and push her away.

It is very sweet to watch you approach her and lay your head on her,

hug her or even kiss her.

If we can get Claire to embrace it without returning it,

it can last a few minutes and is so sweet to watch.

I am so thankful for you and your sister, Jane.

I am so happy that you have each other and each have a sister.

I pray that you each grow to be kind to one another,

support each other and become each others best friends.

Watching your relationship evolve has brought me such joy.

Your daddy and I are so proud of you.

Jane: 7 months

 

On April 18th

Jane became 7 months old.

This month I am determined to have her photos

posted near the actual date she becomes a month older!

Here we are three weeks later and just showing you her 7 month photos.

 Jane is still our serious, calm and sweet baby.

However, she is starting to fight for her rights.

She is fighting nap times,

doesn't give up toys as easily

and will give her older sister a whap when she needs to defend herself.

She is so cuddly.

One of her favourite games to play

is when we say,

"Aw, snuggles!"

She will rest her head on our chest or shoulder with a big smile.

It isn't unusual for her to lay contently in someone's arms

or rest her head on my shoulder.

Jane's relationship with her older sister is really sweet.

She will reach out to touch Claire

and see what response she gets.

Usually its an over abundance of hugs and kisses.

Soon she is trying to get away!

They are starting to play together,

which delights my heart.

Jane's face is starting to change shape. 

She is getting deliciously chubby,

with a round face and chubby cheeks.

She is the spitting image of her daddy as a baby.

She still has two teeth,

and seems to be working on a third.

Although there isn't any sign of it yet.

  

Some of Jane's favourite things are:

-eating solids, especially mango, banana and mum mums

-being outside

-her jumperoo and jolly jumper

-being carried in the wrap or carrier

-playing peek-a-boo

-dogs

(The photo on the left is one of my favourite faces of hers!)

Jane : 6 Months

Jane at 6 months.

And now she is almost 7 months.

Whoops.

These photos have been sitting on my camera for almost a month!

Jane at 6 months grew in many ways.

She got her first tooth just a couple of days before she was 6 months

and her second one a week ago.

She learned to sit up and started eating solids.

She also is starting to babble saying "da-da" and "na-na".

Not in any association with the people

but more in that she is learning new sounds.

She moved into her own crib

in her own bedroom.

It took her a while to adjust to sleeping upstairs

and has still only spent two complete nights in her bed.

She still ends up in our bed on her first or second awakening,

but it doesn't bother us at all.

She is still very ticklish on her sides

and also will hide her face and play peek-a-boo,

its her favourite game.

She has started playing shy, even to those she knows well.

The last month she has become quite the Mama's girl

not wanting me to be out of her sight even for a moment.

This has made some things challenging,

especially simple tasks like clearing the table

which takes me into the kitchen for a moment and of course,

going to the bathroom alone.

Jane still completely admires and tolerates her older sister.

They play together so well and I don't have to worry (as much)

leaving them in a room alone together for a short period of time.

The novelty of Claire holding her baby sister has only slightly worn off.

Claire absolutely loves being a helper to me

and we often have conversations reminding her who is Jane's mommy.

In the morning Claire crawls into bed and we cuddle.

Then she takes of Jane's pajamas and changes her diaper

entirely on her own.

Yes, she does this at three years old, and does it well.

When I think of Claire as a baby,

she never really seemed like a baby.

She was also so active and talkative and 

although she was tiny she was so bright.

Jane is so content, loves to be cuddled and she 

seems to be in this baby phase much longer.

Only recently have I looked at her 

like she has grown out of being a little baby,

even though she weighs the same as Claire did at one years old! 

Jane loves bath time and hates getting out of the bath.

She is so cuddly and content. 

She is willing to just lay in my arms with her arms around my neck

and put her head on my chest or shoulder.

It is so sweet.

Jane also loves to nurse.

Although it has slowed down since she has started solids,

she will bounce up and down and say "ah ah ah!" when 

I start getting ready to nurse her.

Then she moans and "num num num" while nursing.

She is a noisy nurser.

She also has the one foot straight up holding on while she does.

It is so fun watching her little personality bud.

Although she is still our sweet content baby

she isn't necessarily quiet anymore.

She will squawk when she's bothered,

she cries hard when she is scared

and lets us know when she's hungry squawking for food

as we are feeding her.