Jane is 3.

Somehow this little person that I prayed for has been a part of our lives for three whole years.

Oh what a whirlwind.

From the baby blues, to an anaphylactic reaction, to a pandemic, to three stitches.

In her three short years, she’s had an ambulance arrive for her twice.  Oy.

This is not what I had envisioned.

BUT – the good outweigh the scary and our sweet girl has made our lives so much more joyful, exhausting, silly and memorable.

My dear Jane,

I’ll forever remember walking into our hospital room and looking at a picture of a little girl in a garden up on the wall…and I almost knew that you’d be a girl.

It was so hard leaving that room.

I truly enjoyed being pregnant and I enjoyed the process of both, labor and birth.  I enjoyed our quiet little moments together for those short hours.

I loved when the nurses told me how much hair you had – it also explained all of that indigestion. 😉

You came out looking just like Daddy.  I still think it’s funny that I carried you in my belly and kept you warm and safe, but you looked the least like me and the most like your Dada.

Being a third child, and in the midst of virtual learning, we’ve had to find time to get to know one another, which has been a struggle at times.

I know this though…

You love to hug.

You’ll hug any little kid or baby.  You’ll give them the sweetest little kisses on their heads.  You love deeply.

You love to dance and twirl.

At Kindermusik you twirl in the middle of the room.  Had you been my first, I would have told you to sit down, but watching you in those blissful and naive moments makes my heart sing a tune.  I love that you twirl.  I love watching you in those imaginative moments.  What are you thinking about?  What music is playing in your thoughts?  

You can name all the Disney Princesses and you currently love Cinderella and “Anna Go.”

You can sing to almost all of the songs, too.  You don’t get the words right, which makes it even better.  The way you sing is adorable.  You close your eyes and you give it your all.

You make us be “the evil witch.”

Apparently the “evil witch” cuts a princesses hair, hence her wickedness. 😉

Mommy and Daddy say that our girls are intense.

You’re intense with how you sing, how you love, how you know what you want, how you care.  We love that intensity.  It’s your greatest asset and if you use it wisely it will take you far.

You love Amy, our next door neighbor.

You adore her and you’re always talking about her.  You haven’t had any play dates at our house in these three years (thanks to a pandemic), but knowing that you have Miss. Amy as someone who loves you fiercely means the world to me.  You love Pom (Tom), too, and not to mention Warren and Ev.

You’re brave.

You’ve been snow skiing, tubing and on rollercoasters.  You shrieked with joy while at Disney World.  I’m certain you’d go sky diving if we let you.

You’ve never met a stranger.

I’ve said it since the beginning – you’re our social butterfly and I’ve always known it.  You’ll talk to anyone…well, not the first time we went to a store during the pandemic when you kept your head hidden away, but once you warmed back up to the world, you blossomed.  

You’re continuing to blossom.

…and we’re continuing to learn who you are and what you like in this big ole world. I promise to never give up on you, I promise to always stay your advocate, your Mama, your best friend.  I promise to love you fiercely and unequivocally…Daddy, too.  You are after all, his “Papa Nana!”

We love you more than you know.  You’re beautiful and kind and funny and sassy and goofy and loud (in the best way) and smart and so much fun to be around!  Here’s to a year of learning and goofiness and understanding. 

Happy Birthday to the little girl that I prayed for – Happy Birthday Jane Kathryn!

Love,

Mama and Dada