How has it been 365 days since this post: Jessie is One?!? I'll admit: I just teared up a little scrolling through last year's birthday blog post. As a good friend noted this week, "time is a thief" when it comes to raising children. One moment you're preparing to head to the hospital, and the next thing you know you're drafting a second birthday blog post.
Jessie is sassier than last year. She is so, so smart, and it scares me. I can only imagine what her teen years will bring me... haha! If you told Jack to do something at two, he'd do it. Jessie? Not so much. She's the kid who will look you dead in the eye while continuing to do the thing you asked her not to do. Is this a second-child thing? A girl thing? A personality thing? Who knows. Sometimes it's entertaining, most of the time it is frustrating.
Jessie is so maternal. I'm not sure how a baby girl knows how to handle a baby, wrap it in a blanket, and set up a pallet bed for it, but Jessie does it all. She can't go anywhere without a doll, and squeals in delight when she spots a baby anywhere in public (ironically enough, she will point out "babies" clearly her age...). At any given time, you can find at least 2 soft blankets, a few dolls, a couple "loveys", and her water bottle in her crib. Speaking of crib: Jessie is the kid we will want to keep contained as long as possible, so no telling what next year's birthday blog post will hold!
This girl LOVES to eat. She loves so much fruit, edamame like her brother, scrambled eggs (with cheese!), and "chalk milk". Everything that Jack eats, she eats, and 40x more. She caught up in clothing size, after a minor lapse back when she wore her hip dysplasia brace from 3-9 months. In fact, there are times she will wear one of Jack's shirts!
Which leads me to the next topic: Jack. She loooooooves her "bro". When she wakes in the morning, she wants to know where Jack is. When we pick her up at school, she runs next door to his classroom to find him. Sometimes we'll arrive and all the classes will be outside on the playground, but divided by age. It's not uncommon to see Jack over at the chain-link fence, laughing & giggling with Jessie. I love to see what they get into together, especially when the TV is off and they are left to their own devices. I often find them side-by-side in the playroom, or tearing through the book collection in his room. One of their favorite pastimes is to sit on the dining room rug together, playing with Legos. Jack is so good about sharing with her, and he often keeps an eye out for her as well. (Although tonight she knocked over my essential oil diffuser, spilling water everywhere, and he was quick to let me know it wasn't him...). One of my all-time favorite things about motherhood is listening to the two of them belly-laugh from another room while they're entertaining each other.
Jessie is half-half Daddy's girl, Mama's girl. She likes to keep a pulse on where everyone in the house is at- even Luna if she is outside. I love her social qualities and her sweet little hugs and the way she brings us a bottle of nail polish to "paint". I hate that she takes her shoes off in the car and rips her pony-tail out before we arrive somewhere, but I imagine one day this will change.
She is currently obsessed with The Bee Movie, hence the theme of her dress, this session location, and her birthday theme. Shout out to the Butterfly Rainforest for providing the perfect backdrop and entertainment for her 2nd birthday milestone session, even if she wasn't super cooperative or into it. She did enjoy watching the butterflies fly around, but I didn't time nap time well enough so our time was limited.
I'm so grateful for my sweet, inquisitive, determined, & thoughtful girl. Happy 2nd birthday, Jessie!