Letter to Jade

Miss Jade,

You are now officially two and a half years old. Even as I type that, I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday that you turned two, but as I look back at pictures and the things I wrote about you then I realize just how much has changed.

You have adjusted so well to Oklahoma. You still occasionally ask about your friends in Virginia, but you're asking about friends here more and more. They love you at Mothers' Day Out and at church. The ladies at MDO especially love to tell me how sweet and smart you are. I definitely agree :)

You have become such a good big sister. There have been some difficulties now that Piper is moving more and showing her opinions more and more, but ultimately, you love your sister and show her that every day. It's not uncommon at all for you to sing "Jesus loves me" for Piper if we're in the car and she's fussing. She almost always stops crying when you sing to her and you get so excited because you "made Piper feel better".

Every day, I realize how much like me you are and how difficult that makes it to be your mama sometimes. I have no doubt that we will continue to butt heads as you grow older and I pray that you will always know that your daddy (both earthly and Heavenly) is there for you when you're upset with mama :) I also pray, constantly, that I will do a good job of training you up in the Lord. That your stubbornness, and temper can be reigned in for good. This is something that I'm also working on in myself!

You seem to be having a little problem with the concept of becoming a "big girl", no doubt because you see the attention Piper gets because she's a baby. Some days you declare that you are also a baby and crawl everywhere and tell me you need to wear a diaper. Other days, you proudly act like the big girl that you are. It confused me at first, and then I realized that of course it's scary to start doing new things and I know that you'll adjust soon.

We've started spending a bit more time at home, which has given us time to do some crafts here. I feel bad that I didn't do anything with you sooner, because you really enjoy it. You also loving "helping" mama cook dinner.

One of your favorite things is to put on your Rapunzel dress and dance. If we are home, there's about a 50% chance you'll be in either your Minnie dress of your Rapunzel dress. It's adorable :)

Speaking of Minnie, you STILL love to watch Mickey Mouse. I'm still waiting on you to get sick of it, but it just hasn't happened. You generally watch one episode in the morning after breakfast and one after you wake up from your nap.

One of my favorite things about you is how much you love books. You "read" them constantly, you sleep with them, you always grab one before you get out of bed and come to our room in the morning. I am constantly amazed at how many of your books you have memorized. You bring them to me about 5,000 times a day for me to read to you. I love it and truly hope that the joy you find in books never fades.

You are becoming such a beautiful little person and I am amazed every day by how much I love you. God's got big things in store for you, little one, and I can't wait to see where life takes you.

Lots of love,
Mama