After a fun road trip with these folks...

...Jane is enjoying her first week at family camp on Lake Michigan! For now, we're busy roasting marshmallows and tie-dying t-shirts so we'll catch ya next week!

TWJ 20 - To the "Not Average" Dads

I heard about a study recently that revealed the average American five-year-old spends 25-30 hours per week on electronic media and 25-30 minutes per week of quality time with his father. How tragic and, might I say, revealing.

Jane, thank God your father is not average.

And neither is mine.

Jane, do you know how privileged you are to have a dad who sings to you, snuggles with you, and comes home on his lunch break just to see you?

Do you know how hard he works to provide for our family so that you & I can stay home and play all day?

Do you know how proud of you he is, that after you were born he went around bragging to everyone in the check-out lines at Target and Fresh Market and O'Henry's coffee shop that the most beautiful baby in the whole wide world had finally arrived?

Do you know that those big strong fingers simply cannot wait to teach you how to throw a frisbee and that those hands would do anything to protect you?

Sweet Jane, do you have any idea just how blessed you are??

To all the fathers who are anything but average-- 

THANK YOU for loving your children so well. Thank you for spending time with them, for teaching them to catch balls and ride bikes and for showing interest in the tiniest parts of their lives. Thank you for protecting, providing, and bringing stability to the home. Thank you for pointing them to our Heavenly Father who loves us unfailingly. 

And thank you for loving us, their mothers. There is nothing we love more than to see you loving & enjoying our children.

Fathers, we honor you today.

TWJ 19

We were supposed to go camping in North Carolina this past weekend. It would have been a great blog post, I'm sure, but then I realized I just wasn't quite willing to live it. "Here is Jane screaming for 13 hours in the car..." "Here is Jane with a blow-out diaper on the trail..." "Here is Jane eating while she's attacked by mosquitos..." Hmm, I guess some things do change with a baby... ;)

So instead we stayed home, had brunch at the neighbor's, and spent a fun afternoon at the pool with the Seiberts. Great decision, I'd say.

Jane also spent some time with her friend, Luke. He's on our "Approved List of Suitors." A bit premature to be thinking of such things, I suppose, but as my dad says, looks like the dog's sniffin'... ;)

Seriously, though, sometimes it strikes me how quickly Jane is growing up-- that we'll blink and she'll be driving or graduating or getting married and having babies of her own. She's only four months old, you say, quit being so dramatic. I know, I know. But I looked at newborn pictures the other day and already she's a different Jane. And it makes me so excited and sad at the same time.

Excited to see the Jane she is becoming-- the peaceful, contented, perceptive Jane who takes everything in with wide-eyed wonder. The crazy-haired, squinty-smiled, grabs-everything-and-sticks-it-in-her-mouth Jane who knows just how to make us melt.

Excited to imagine the Jane she will become-- as Jane's 10-year-old cousin Emma wrote in a precious note, "Dear Baby Jane, I can't wait to see you grow up. I hope God puts an amazing heart in you and I know that you will be loving to everyone. Your parents are going to grow you up to be an active, brave, and adventurous little woman. I know you are going to be a great helper if you have other brothers or sisters. I always wonder if you are going to be fancy or you're going to love hiking and going on trips. I hope you stay soooooo healthy!" I wonder these things about Jane too, and I sure hope she takes after her cousin Emma!

And yet, as eager as I am to discover these "future Janes," I also feel sad to leave behind the Janes of the past-- the snuggly newborn Jane, the #1 Baby Jane, the cross-her-feet-while-she-nurses Jane. And we're only 4-months in! Do all moms feel this way-- do all moms live so torn???

Here's to being thankful for the past, savoring the present, and anticipating the future!

TWJ 18

Man, those crescent eyes get me every time... sigh.

Another ordinary week around here with no real developments to report-- Jane is still fascinated with her feet, her hair is still untamable (it's the first thing everyone notices, "Wow, look at that HAIR!"-- to which, once again, I recall another "Aunt-Martha-ism:" When in doubt, take it as a compliment!) ;) and her smile still makes us melt. So I'll stick to mostly pictures today, which I'm sure no one will mind. :)

Jane Seibert

Likes: The Magic Green Chair

Dislikes: Rolling Practice

(I read somewhere that 4-month olds should be rolling over, so now we're having boot camp over here. Poor Jane...)

Likes: Warm Water


Dislikes: Cold Water

Jane & Caroline's first daddy-daughter date at the pool... went real well, I'd say.

Likes: Symphony in the Park

With Texas last summer and our honeymoon trip the year before, Danny & I haven't spent a summer in Birmingham since we were dating! So it's fun to enjoy things like this all over again, this time with a baby!

One thing is certain, we sure LIKE our Janie Bear! :)

Tuesday with Jane - 4 months

Four months already?!? Everyone says, "Enjoy each day-- it goes by so fast!" Only four months in, I absolutely believe it.

This week, Jane laughed. She laughed! A real, responsive, hearty laugh. And I was giddy with love for this little pumpkin who I have the privilege of watching grow up right before my very eyes.

At four months... the crazy hair lives on. But as my Aunt Martha says, "Wear it with confidence!" I think Jane does this quite well. And that unruly little tuft sure makes a great Pebbles Flintstone. You go, girl.

At four months... her sneezes come in sets of 4, multiple times a day since birth, and are still impossible to catch on camera. This past weekend Jane broke a record with a set of 7, followed by an "ah-ah..." and 2 more, making a grand total of 9, her personal best.

At four months... she's discovered her hands and now her toes. You think this is exciting, Jane, just wait 'til you try ice cream...

At four months... as my sister Audra put it, "Jane's all in when she smiles"-- squinty eyes and crinkled nose and head cocked to the side. She even "smiles" with her shoulders sometimes. I melt.

One of my favorite moments of the day is being greeted by this smile after every single nap. She doesn't always go down with a smile, but she sure wakes up happy. :)

At four months... I'm beginning to understand this mother's beautiful words. Sweet Baby Jane,

You make me want to conquer time itself, so that I could rewind and relive all your sweet milestones, or fast-forward so I don't have to wait one more minute to see who you become, or pause. Mostly just pause. I want to stop and stare and marvel and savor this moment, any moment, every moment, as long as you're in it. (Savannah Guthrie to Vale, Time Magazine May 2015)

Learning to pause today.