AF+ AF = Forever: Milestones...and Motherhood

As I wrote the Title I wondered...what does a Milestone really mean? So...."Milestones are constructed to provide reference points along the road. This can be used to reassure travellers that the proper path is being followed, and to indicate either distance travelled or the remaining distance to a destination." So, in life we have milestones. In the life of a baby, there are many milestones that tell us how they are developing and if they are a bit slower or ahead of the average pace. I just know Jayna will do everything in her time and when she's ready. The first smile, the first laugh, following you with their eyes, learning to hold a bottle, cup or toy, learning to sit up on their own, crawl, learning how to swallow food and eat for the first time, to respond to her name, walk, talk, hug, kiss, and the list goes on and on. What a responsibility we have as parents to teach our children. As soon as they can follow you with their eyes they are learning. Learning from our example and seeing what we do! Children are smarter than we think. I have seen parents talking away before maybe about something they shouldn't be talking about infront of their child thinking they aren't listening...until the child repeats it out loud later on! Children listen even when we don't think they do, this I know. Children see even when we don't think they are looking, this I know. I feel the responsibility of this knowledge and pray I can do my best to set a good example and always remember I have little eyes and ears watching me! haha. Of course I can't be perfect, but being aware of this helps me, especially as Jayna gets older and I have other children. But just because she is a baby doesn't mean she isn't learning how to be from me, so I need to make sure I am setting a good example. It is so interesting to me how everyone is so different in parenting and to see that. Like, just the way parents talk to their kids, hold them, soothe them, pay attention to them, it's all so different. I guess that's why we are all so different from eachother, and it's rare to meet someone that was raised a lot like you were. Like for me, my Mom always made us smoothies with toast cut into strips with butter on them, and we would dip the toast into our smoothies! Sounds gross? Well, it's soo good. But if I wasn't raised that way, I might think that it was gross if I saw someone else eating it. Amazing, cause Andrew was raised on the same thing!! Also, we ate waffles with peanut butter, peaches, and syrup and it has to be Aunt Jemima LIGHT syrup. Weird right? But I was raised on it, it's amazing. I never knew there was more than one way to make Kraft Dinner till I saw my one friend make it when we were teens, or my cousin who follows the instructions to a T...I had never once looked on the back to see how long you cook the noodles for! haha. Food aside, there are so many different ways to parent. It's crazy to think that when Jayna observes things for the first time, alot of it will be biased to how I do it or think. Until she is in school, when she asks me a question that she doesn't know the answer for, Andrew or I will be the ones to tell her, and that will be her first experience of knowledge about whatever she has asked. That is so interesting to me! Because for lots of things there could be a variety of answers, but her first experience will be the ones we tell her! And then that forms the way she thinks, what she knows. So much of it comes from us, Ashley and Andrew Forin. It is such a heavy duty to think of parenthood and all that it intitals. It's such a big deal that anyone pretty much can have a child, literally create a life, and bring that life into the world and influence that life for the better or worse. Sad to think of the children being brought into the world as a "mistake" or that are neglected. Being a Mother is a holy calling, it is a privilege, it is an honor. It is very hard work, it is 24/7. It is a blessing and a joy. It is a huge responsibility. I have only been a Mother now for almost 6 months and some days have for sure been better than others. I have learned that I am at my best for Jayna when I have balance in my life. When I get a little break here and there, and when I get sleep. And those two things are really hard to get! But I try to do that so I am my best for her. Life is great, it really is. I wanted to have a baby for a few years, was thrilled to be pregnant, and everyday I look over at my growing daughter and think, "wow that is her, she is really here! This is what she is like!" It is an incredible feeling. I am so excited and thrilled for her to see her achievements and to watch her reach her milestones in this life. What a gift Heavenly Father has given to us as women, to be Mothers. Here is Jayna sitting for the first time! I quickly went and got some pillows and the camera. I got emotional when she did this, I was so proud of her! I called Andrew right away at work and he was excited too!

Nose dive! She didn't cry or anything, she was fine, good thing it's a soft ball! lol

Having a nap after the hard work

Lately Jayna has been grabbing at our cups, Andrew has let her drink out of them a few times, and she totally knew how! So cute! I thought I would let her try out her own cup. It was the cutest thing ever, because she discoverd that if she sucks, some water comes out and she would suck in a bit of air after each sip and her eyes would go big, and she did that about 5 times. haha

So I put Jayna down on a blanket while I was doing some dishes. A minute or two later I heard a noise from her and looked over to see her sucking on the hardwood floor, and she had mirgrated like 4 feet from her blanket with her legs under the couch not being able to go back any further! I called her name, "Jayna" in a surprised tone and it startled her, she did a little shake and her eyes got big and she looked up. Then she smiled so big and did a little giggle! Oh my heck, I love my daughter!So another milestone, she can crawl/move backwards...still working on moving forward.lol

So on June 25th, Andrew and I felt like Jayna was ready for something other than breast milk...RICE CEREAL! She had been grabbing at our plates and was so strong she would grip a plate full of food and pull it towards her! haha. When I got the Rice Cereal ready in a bowl and was walking towards her she was sooo excited, arms and legs wiggling like crazy! It was so funny. She ate the whole serving and didn't spit anything out, she was a pro for her first time! We were really proud of her, and excited for this new experience and to see her reaction. We took lots of pictures and even some video of her eating. For the last 4 days, I have been feeding around 5pm, that seems like a good time for her, and she is loving it.