It's The Little Things...: Jenna (12-17months)

Dear Jenna,

Mommy thought it was about time to give you and your brother some individual time on the blog to note your extreme differences! You have really shown us your personality the past few months and it is something else! You have become stronger and stronger physically since turning 1. You quickly started walking at 14 months and turned into a runner overnight. You are FAST! As soon as you felt stable on your feet, you are turning out to be quite the little monkey...you love to climb things. I think you have abnormal arm strength to be able to hold yourself up on the baby gates and climb UP slides. Mommy has a hard enough time doing that....how are you strong enough to do so? I have got to get you in a tumble gym class.

You are my super duper eater. I can put anything in front of you and you gobble it up. You were the first to take a sippy cup....months and months first. You fought me for 3 days, then took it like a champ. You continue to do so well with your sippy cup...any drink, watered down or not, you chug it. You like to try new, outlandish things like gripping your sippy cup with your teeth and throwing it back. :) Your favorite fruit is mandarin oranges. Your favorite vegetable is garden peas.

If Caden is my perfect sleeper, you are just slightly more maintenance. You sleep great overall with the exception of a few things: You can hear like a bat. You are the lightest sleeper when you want to be. Mommy and Daddy have to be so quiet when we check on you at night (we do it every night, you know. It is mommy's favorite part of the day). If you hear anything you pop right up in less than a second, standing up ready to go. However, your brother can be SCREAMING and you will sleep right through it. Is this the beginning of selective hearing? :) Also, if you play too hard that day and don't get a sufficient nap, you are a little work to settle down. You cry on and off for the first 2 hours of laying you down...sometimes you go to sleep on your own, sometimes Mommy and Daddy have to come in and rock you for a few minutes, then you are in your deep sleep and have no further problems.

You figured out you LOVE the ball to be stuffed up your shirt. You think its hilarious!

You are one tough cookie. You can fall down, scrape your knees or hands and if you are on a mission, you pop right back up and continue on. You LOVE strangers....mommy is just old news. When I leave you are fine...when a visitor or family leaves, you fall apart at the door. What is that!? You still LOVE cartoons. Mommy has to be careful about leaving the TV on or else you will pop right down and become a couch potato. You can sit through an entire Baby Einstein or Praise Baby DVD with no problem.

You are so independent. You are not afraid of anything. You are making mommy and daddy discipline you right now because you go swat at your brother if your mad about something. oh my! A little girl hit you at the park the other day and before Mommy could come over you had her arms down behind her back...now if only we can channel your need for justice to defend the Gospel and your brother :) Your favorite animal is by far the doggy. Any animal you see is a doggy - you start to bark at it. That is probably why you love Snuggle so much.You have never once shown fear and honestly, you torment him sometimes. He loves you too and has never snapped back at you.

You continue to be quite the Wubbanub theft. It is absolutely normal to see you with all four wubb's if brother isn't around. As soon as he figures out you have them, you usually share one of his frogs and run way with the remaining three (his other frog and your two). You are something else!

Your biggest characteristic right now is that you are obsessed with books. You can play and flip through books all.day.long. Its amazing. You go get a book and back right into someones lap. Sometimes you don't even let us read the page before you have flipped to the next page or brought another book! You love music and click your tongue anytime your hear a beat you like:) Its precious. Your hair is soft and fine. Its growing like a mullet. Your eyes have settled into a Hazel color. Your Great Grandma had hazel eyes..maybe that's where they came from? They are beautiful...and big ;) You are still more olive toned than your brother.

You appear to get excited when Gigi or Nana get you a new outfit...you let us put it on you and squeal and walk around with it on. You LOVE shoes and headbands. People think it is Mommy that always has a headband in your hair, but many times you bring it to me trying to put it on. You always want your shoes on...even if it does not necessarily go with your outfit :)