Jayna's 4th Birthday!! December 29th, 2015

My little Jayna Joy is growing on up! It's so crazy she is four...she has really been changing the last few months. It is an amazing thing to literally watch your child grow up before your eyes!! It seems like all of a sudden they are more mature, it kind of happens in waves. We have really noticed that the things she says lately, or how she says them is so mature. Well little kid mature. Andrew and I look at eachother and we're like, " huh, she was just a baby yesterday!" It's exciting! I would have to say the last year has really been a challenge with Jayna at times for both Andrew and I. 2 and 3 actually haha. There is so much I could write on that subject, but I am glad that things are evening out and she is changing for the better, and we are too. Being a parent is so hard! And being a little kid must be too!! But we love, and forgive, and move forward trying to do better each day. This year for Jayna's birthday we were low key. Actually, we have been every year for her, ha. I haven't gone all birthday crazy yet, I just think she is too young still, and what's the point? I want her to feel extra special from the moment she wakes up till the moment she goes to bed, and we have always done that, but no elaborate parties over here. Since it is now January 17th that I am writing this post, I don't remember what we made for breakfast, haha, but we started the day with lots of hugs and kisses and Happy Birthdays, then ate and got ready. She opened a present from Grandma Jane, a little soft purse, and was a few sets of beads to make necklaces etc! So cool, cause she just got into that recently at Nana's and made her first necklace a month ago. She handed Daddy each bead and they made a big long necklace with her name on it, a bracelet, and two rings. Andrew is such a good Daddy. He plays with Jayna a lot. She just loves him and spending time with him. We then went to the Movie store and she got to pick out a movie! She chose Scooby-Doo! She is really into Scooby-Doo lately. Side note: Jayna likes to be creeped out and watch 'scary' movies. She didn't get those genes from me, I am sissy when it comes to that stuff! After the movie store ( the only one still standing here) we walked over to Second Slice and got pizza! One of our family's favourite foods. Even Julian will ask for pizza sometimes! The kids got a free plate, frisbee, and brownies! That was nice! Throughout the day she got to open her presents from us. I hid them in her room and she had to find them, she loved that! Her Birthday Bear:

We went home, and ate popcorn and watched her show with her, well mostly Daddy did cause I had to put Juju down for his nap. Grandpa Marshall stopped over to say hello and pass on some gifts from my Auntie Carol. There was one for Juju and Jayna and they loved them! Each a hat, and then a stuffie in a can, a moose for Juju and a bear for Jayna!

The bear hat and paws are SO Jayna, she loved it so much and was so excited! Acting the part...

We just chilled, and then Nana, Papa, and Auntie Michelle came over! They brought home made Turkey Soup for dinner and I made baking powder biscuits, the best ones yet too;) For some reason they turned out extra good this time. My family is a big lover of baking powder biscuits:) Jayna got to open her presents from Nana, Papa, and Auntie Michelle: I love Jayna's expression in the second photo, so one of her faces:)

After dinner we had cake and sang Happy Birthday! It was so cute after we sang, she said, " Ok Mommy, help me blow out the candles!" So Juju and I did:)

Here are some more "quality" photos of the night! Jayna would reply: "an ice cream cake!" whenever I asked her what she would like for her birthday cake. So off to DQ I went. ( Holy expensive, and a rip off! ) My brother Josh offered to pay for her cake...all the way from Vegas! What a nice Uncle:) When I saw the one with sprinkles I knew she would like that one. She did. She was so excited and was like :"Oh wow, thank you so much Mommy, I love it!" I definitely love hearing those things from her:)

So when we were getting family pictures with Jay and her cake she started licking it...HA! This continued, and Julian had to get in on it too. These two have alot of fun together now and I love it when they play so nicely together and laugh. It is a joy to watch. I was close to my little brother growing up, and it's neat to see my own kids relationship with each other.

Decorating her face with ice cream, apparently that is what you do when you are little:) These photos really crack me up!

It was a great day, and in the evening, Jayna said: "This is the best day! Thank you Mommy!!" Wow, music to my ears:) “The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." Jayna is our firstborn. She gave me the title "Mother, Mom, Mama, Mommy." She is a piece of my heart. In a lot of ways it seems as though she always existed, far more than 4 years in our lives. I wonder our relationship with our children before we were physically born on this earth. If they pick us from heaven, or we all agreed on it or what? I'm sure glad she came to our family. She has taught me a lot. She is what I expected, and not what I expected. She is her own person. She is so special and I love her so much.

A bit about Jayna at age 4: She is social, has been since she was a baby. Throughout her life thus far she is comfortable talking to people she has never met before if she has a question for them, or something about them interest her. She just starts up a conversation. She can make friends wherever she goes, that has been really neat to watch. She can also be shy at times, and when she is, she puts her fingers in her mouth, or will talk in a baby voice. She loves to bring something with her when we leave the house, always has done that... from a stuffie, to sticks, a bag, a doll, a tool, anything she wants to bring. Jayna has a tender heart. She freely expresses her love for family and those around her. Throughout the day she will say : "I love you Mommy and Daddy, and Julian." She loves to cuddle, hug, and give kisses. I have many special moments with her where we look into each others eyes and express our love for each other and then hug or give a kiss. I cherish those moments. This year we had to teach her that not all friends like hugs, and that high fives are ok too, and kisses are for family only:) She is so observant. She notices so many little things around her, and points them out. I love that so much about her. Jayna is strong willed, and she fights fire with fire. We have learned that, and have adapted to suit her needs better that way with behaviour (and are still learning). She isn't afraid to speak her mind and let you know what she is wanting. She grasps things you explain to her in her own way, and repeats them back in situations that later call for that technique. Like: " Calm down, everybody take a deep breath. " I always teach her to breathe when she is upset, and breathe through it. Jayna is very good at expressing her feelings with her words when she is calm and can listen and express herself, she has amazed me a number of times with her maturity in that area. She has a really good memory and often will bring up experiences she has had back to when she was even age 2! She is becoming more independent, and helping me more around the house, and doing things for herself. She likes playdough, painting, blocks, loves her stuffies, beads, babies, watching shows on netflix: Superwhy, Masha and the Bear, Scooby-doo, Disney movies (old school ones) and she loves to watch things over and over, then moves on to something else. She LOVES to dance, loves bugs and being outside exploring, loves swimming. She recently jumped into the pool and swam to the other side for the firs time! She loves going to Nana and Papas, and has sleep overs sometimes, and loves helping Nana in her garden. She likes olives, soups, pizza, avacado, cheese strings, Mama Chia, and carrots. She has been eating a carrot before bed for a few months now, haha. She still wears a pull up to bed. She is size 9-10 shoes, weighs 36lbs, and not sure how tall she is, but she is tall for her age. Her hair is down to the middle of her back if you pull it straight, but is ringlet curly and sits past her shoulders. She loves baths, and notices her fingers and toes get wrinkles when she stay in for a long time. She finally likes primary now! Most of last year was a struggle for her. So that's awesome, Today she told me in the hallway, " I'm not scared in Primary now Mom! " Maybe she will sing now in the Primary Presentations;) She just started pre-school this month, and really likes it! She goes from 9-12 two days a week with other 4 year olds. She has lots of energy, and loves to be silly, make funny expressions and act goofy. (my kind of girl:) She is loud, and has a great deep laugh when she really gets going. She loves tag and to make things a game, and to laugh alot. She likes things to be fun, and needs them to be to really be her true self. It is a privilege to be her Mama, and I will keep improving myself to be better for her and her needs, I love you my sweet Jayna Joy!!

Christmas Day 2015

Oh, how I LOVE Christmas! For so many reasons...Our Saviour first and foremost celebrating his Birth with the world and feeling of His Spirit. I also love how those who have a little bit of faith add light to those that have a lot. I love the food at Christmas and all the treats! I love all the activities that are available, the Nativity, Gingerbread houses, skating, sledding, lights, crafts, so many more! I love giving and receiving in a variety of ways, Santa Clause, and the joy and wonder of the children. It is the longest celebrating Holiday and the funnest! Then comes Jayna's birthday on the 29th, and New Years Eve and New Year Day. I love it all:) This year I felt different about all the gift giving. I didn't have a list for me actually, and Andrew and I didn't get each other gifts this year. We did get a rug that my mother in law chipped in on for our Family room! So grateful for that. And the kids received a lot when 4 separate grandparents bought them gifts each added on what we bought them. I was distracted this year because I had so many etsy orders leading to Christmas and I did a photoshoot on the 16th, so I was editing a lot. But I still managed to do some good prep for Christmas. I had a peaceful feeling and was blessed and grateful for this Holiday Season. Grateful more than ever for what I have. We had Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve at my Mom and Dad's house. Wow, my mom is such a good cook and I just love Christmas Dinner at home! It was a fun evening. Christmas morning came, and the kids opened their stockings in Jayna's room, then we went downstairs to see what Santa brought... Some shots of Julian playing with his new plane. He was so into it for about 20 minutes, which is awesome for a 21 month old:) I sure love my sweet boy. He truly warms my heart with his sweet spirit and love that he shares.

I've been on the lookout for a piggy bank for Julian...gotta love Winners. He was so excited, and Daddy got coins out right away to show him.

One of the things in Jayna's stocking was a fossil that you had to chip away to find an insect inside. She wanted to do that right away, so with the help of Daddy, we found the insect inside. She loves spiders, and bugs of every kind, so she was so excited and so into it!

I just adore being the one capturing these precious moments in time with my family. Jay tried on this hoodie and slippers a few months ago in Superstore and she LOVED them so much. She could hardly take them off and really wanted it. I told her she can do some chores and save up for it and I would chip in. Or, she could ask for it for Christmas, she wanted to ask for it for Christmas ha. She reminded me a few times after that...." Don't forget about the sweater and slippers, ok Mom?" I was happy to get her something I knew she really liked. Look at her cute expression in this photo!

After our little Christmas morning at our house, we went over to Nana and Papa's for Christmas Day breakfast. When I grew up, my Mom would tint the waffles green or red, haha. We liked that. We LOVED having waffles, whipping cream, and strawberries for Christmas breakfast, along with hashbrowns, eggs, or sausages, or whatever my Mom felt like making. Again, I sure love my Mom's cooking. We just relaxed, and then opened presents from Nana and Papa. We watched "Home Alone" later on as a family, and ate leftovers, and just spent time together. We received some really cool gifts. I loved it when my kids would automatically get right into their gift and want to play with it right away. Here is Jayna painting with her new paint set. So focused. She gave this picture to Daddy:)

Mom had a hat that sang and moved, the kids LOVED it, and both took turns wearing it. hehe so cute. Love that smile on my girl. A pic of Nana and Jay...

My Mom is so thoughtful, and I sure love her:) Juju drinking from his new Christmas cup, and also opening a new pair of church pants from Nana and Papa. By this point he had had good practice opening gifts and totally had the hang of it. He was super excited opening these pants and was whipping them around with joy too, haha. One of the best parts of Christmas is watching the children's expressions and excitement.

As the kids get older and can understand more things, I want to bring Christ more into our Christmas. We talked about Jesus, and watched some videos. But I really want to have some traditions that are unique to our family and really help us feel the love we have for the Saviour, and his love for us. I have always loved Christmas and especially the gifts! As I have gotten older, that excitement has died down somewhat, but this year I really felt differently, and I'm glad for that. There are absolutely not pictures of me on Christmas Day...I guess that's what happens when you are the one taking them. Well Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!