Jane: 8 months

It's been so busy that I've missed a few months, with birthdays, holidays, work schedules, and orchestra practice getting in the way.

Jane has made some huge improvements the last few months... Here are some of my favorites:

RE-BINKYING! That's a real word, right? Jane needed to re-learn how to fall asleep on her own after her illness back in November. This led to a few sleepless nights, plenty of crying, AND she can now put her binky back in her mouth! This has her sleeping 12-13 hours straight most nights! We are big fans, and I think everyone is better for it.

ROLLING OVER:  She isn't a huge fan, but will occasionally roll over both ways now. I've only caught her rolling to her tummy at night, though.

SITTING: it took a few sessions with Katie, but Jane is now a pro at sitting. It's her favorite way to hang out. We're still working on tummy time being acceptable to her. Jane's favorite thing to do while sitting is to read! Jane and sit and read with us for nearly an hour some days!!! Some times, the only thing to help her stop crying is to give her a book...and she'll cry when if we take it away.  Such a little bookworm.

SOLIDS: Jane has been the pickiest baby.  She wouldn't hardly eat ANYTHING for several weeks...not even bananas! But, she has since discovered that real food isn't so bad and is coming around to most foods.  She prefers to feed herself, which is fine by me and is good for her motor skills. I would say her current favorites are peas and carrots, bread, meat, and anything that I am trying to eat. Caleb and Lily are big fans of feeding Jane. 

SLEEPING: Jane hasn't cried out at night for months! I love sleeping all night!  Usually, she goes to bed around 6:30, wakes up around 7/7:30 and takes an hour nap around 10, and a 1-2 hour nap around 2. I'm a huge fan of the afternoon nap because it overlaps the twins' nap. This means I often get a full hour with only William awake.  And since he is almost always playing with Legos, this is my most productive time of the day.

PEOPLE: Jane is not really a people person. Parties and loud gatherings make her cry. In fact, for a few months, the only person she didn't cry with was me. If I try to hand her off to someone for a quick minute, it usually results in a very sad baby. If she had her way, Jane would be content for me to hold her all day. And many days, that's what we do. Our neighbor Max and his mom, Sophie are other favorites. She has since discovered Dad is not so bad, the grandparents are starting to grow on her.  And siblings! When the mood strikes, Janie cannot get enough of her brothers and sister.  They are super cute together and so happy.

TALKING: Jane now says Mama!!! I love it! Occasionally she throws in a dadada or bababa, but for the most part, she's not a huge talker.  But baby babbbles are my favorite, so hopefully that picks up a bit.

Overall, we have been very happy to have Jane in our family.  She is definitely an important part of our family and we love her dearly. She is definitely her own kind of baby. Jane is fairly quiet, and not super outgoing and it will be interesting to see if that continues to be her personality.  And she LOVES her Momma, and her Momma loves her. Jane is pretty much my favorite little buddy right now and is content to hang out and do almost anything, as long as I'm holding her.  It's nice to have reached the point where having a baby is more enjoyable than it is work...it took a lot longer when I had two babies. We've got a routine down and Jane is mostly content to go with the flow, as long as we eat and sleep in regular intervals. Once winter is over and we can get out more, we'll have a ton of fun with our Janie-pie.