8??? Really! Even though we're already 5 months into Jane being 8 while I'm writing this post, it still feels a little funny when I tell people I have an 8 year old. Seriously? That means I've been a mom for 8 years. Has it really been that long?? She is a full fledged big kid. Deep conversations, legitimate worries, thinking of others, good decision making (most of the time), problem solving skills and she can even give me some really solid advice. She is good at helping me remember my goals and priorities too. We've even given her some "babysitting" jobs and she's done great. Of course it's always when a parent is still at home but she is given responsibility of keeping up with and entertaining Flynn. I always give her a choice and I pay her a couple of dollars too. As much as she does a great job as the little momma in our family, she's not the mom so I don't expect her to take care of her littler siblings without compensation. But man is it nice to have a kid old enough to help out in that way!! It's been invaluable this past year while Sam has had to deal with his back issues. She stepped up and helped out where we needed it. I still think back to my 18 week ultrasound with Jane and finding out she was a girl. I had been wanting a boy because I had an awesome big brother and I thought I wanted that for our family too. I remember Sam and I saying since we were already thinking we'd have a bigger family that a girl first would be better, But now with 5 kids I know without a doubt that God gave me a girl first to be that perfect big family, motherly helper. She loves having lots of siblings and I'm so glad!! I mean she is the one who was determined to pray for another sibling last summer. Those are some powerful prayers!
Jane still loves to dream about her future. She still enjoys learning about biology but since Atlas's broken arm I think she decided being a doctor is not for her. She also realized how much school you have to do to become a doctor and that's also not a plus for her since she wants to be done with school as soon as possible. Chef and Fashion designer are still contenders but recently she has decided being a world traveler is at the top of her list for her future career. She adores learning about interesting places around the world and says she will visit there when she gets older. She's really gotten into Anime this year and we've talked about taking a trip to Japan together for her senior year. We'll see if that sticks but if we do, we'll prepare by learning the language and all about their culture so we can be respectful tourists. As she has helped out more lately, she's really started to see how much I do around the house and how busy I am with kids. Now she's not sure being a mom lines up with all the traveling she has in mind. She says she may be a mom one day but not at first. I'm glad she is already seems wise enough to figure it out later.
The biggest difference from 7 to 8 that I can tell so far is maturity. She feels a lot closer to someone I can talk to on an equal level instead of just always instructing her. She can understand a lot more complicated things now especially about how other people feel and how the world works. Which might be why she is getting into older kid shows now and enjoying more of the same entertainment I do and less of what the younger siblings want to watch. She will even comment on how none of her friends that are her age watch the same shows as her. Now that is partially because Anime isn't huge in the younger home school crowd and also just because she seems pretty mature for her age concerning what she likes to think about. Until you start talking about farts or butts then she's as juvenile as any kid out there. Hahah!! I mentioned last year that from 6 to 7 the difference was being truly helpful instead of "help" that takes more work from me than it actually really helps! And that is even more true now. She still complains sometimes but she was so excited to get a new chore chart recently and even started doing Atlas's chores for him while he had a broken arm. Such a blessing!
School is still more of a struggle than I would like, but I feel like we've solidified her favorite subjects. She loves History and Science the most. Once she started writing a paragraph using the outline helpers in IEW she really started to enjoy writing too! She's good at it as well. She gets all of her problems right on her math test but math bores her so it takes her a long time and she doesn't like to do it. She started her first classes without me this past year! She loves Super Friday!! She looks forward to it all week. Her fall semester she took It's Greek to me, I've Got Rhythm and Tap Dance. Greek class was her favorite that semester. In the Spring she took Perler Bead Design, Duct Tape Warfare and Christian Youth Theater. Duct Tape Warfare (pictured above) was her favorite of all so far. She was in a musical play at the end of Spring semester and really enjoyed it. She was an electric eel and didn't have any speaking parts on her own. She was glad because she said she would have been too nervous to speak on her own. Practicing handwriting and reading are still sore points in school. It's kinda hard to do almost any school without those two things which is why school is still a struggle. She has really improved this past year and I'm really feeling like she's going to get it down this next year and things will come a little easier. 2nd grade was definitely our best year of school yet and I'm hoping 3rd is even better!
Jane is still such a goer!! Going anywhere is the best thing to her. I hear a lot less of "I'm bored" these days though. Mostly because I told her if she kept saying I would make her pay me money each time she said it. She switched it to "What can I do?" Which is definitely better but I'm still working with her so she learns figure out how to entertain herself when no one wants to play what she wants. Jane LOVES to shop. She goes grocery shopping with my mom on Fridays and my mom let's her pick out a few things and she loves it! Of course shopping for clothes is her favorite! I take her to the kids thrift store and she enjoys finding a good deal. Anything new is Jane's favorite! She wants to go to a new park, a new house, a new restaurant, even new chores are exciting! She begged me for a new chore chart and the first week after she kept talking about how much she loved her new chores. The next week they had already become mundane to her. I love how well she rolls with change but I have to figure out how to teach her that there are still beautiful/fun/exciting moments in the every day grind and we can make even something "old" enjoyable if we try.
Jane loves to be social! She is definitely an extrovert. If you ask her who her best friend is she will say Paige. They moved into the country this past year so we live a little farther apart but she is always so excited when she gets to see Paige! She loves all her buddies in science co-op and at park day. She especially loves her friends in our home group. Priscilla has become a close friend this year. I love that she makes friends quickly and is always willing to welcome a new friend to play at park day. We've learned the importance of keeping friends secrets if they confide in you this year. (as long as it's not a secret that puts the friend in danger.) She's not someone who keeps secrets herself so she really didn't understand that it would hurt a friend's trust in her to share information that a friend thought was just between the two of them. After I explained it to her she got it and hasn't had an issue since. I love to watch her grow in her relationships and learn to care for others.
Jane loves her siblings so much that 3 was not enough. On her birthday post last year I wrote that Jane had baby fever and I told her she would just have to be content with snuggling friend's babies. That wasn't enough for her. She prayed hard for another baby last summer and more specifically a baby sister. Later that same year her prayer was answered and I was pregnant with Piper. now she has two sisters and two brothers. Perfect! Atlas and Jane have always been buddies. They were the first built in friend each of them had. Of course they have their squabbles but they love to talk and they are always the first person they want to tell anything exciting to. Jane and Xan have an up and down relationship. One day they are best friends!! Happily playing animals or mommies and babies. The next day they are fighting about everything and say they will never play with each other again. They always make up and play again though. It's because both of them have big emotions and are head strong, independent girls. I'm glad their relationship has gotten deeper from last year! Flynn used to be Jane's baby and she adored him! She still loves him but he has moved into the irritating younger brother role that messes up her stuff and is loud when she wants to hear her tv show. They still have the same energy and love active games, so they can still have fun together! Jane has adored Piper since the moment she knew she existed. I'm excited to watch their love for each other grow!
Weight
Birth: 8 lbs
1 Years Old: 18 1/2 lbs
2 Years Old: 25 1/2 lbs
3 Years Old: 29 1/2 lbs
4 Years Old: 34 3/4 lbs
5 Years Old: 40 3/4 lbs
6 Years Old: 45 lbs
7 Years Old: 52lbs
8 Years Old: 66lbs
In the past Jane has always been on the thin side of the percentiles in weight. This year she finally made it over the 50th percentile! She has filled out and is no longer a twig. It's hard to believe that the kid I used to barely be able to get to sit down to eat anything I now have to put limits on how much she can eat. At this age I'm starting to wonder if I should stop charting her weight here. When does a girl become self conscious of someone talking about their weight? It's a little sad that their is so much pressure for a girl to look a certain way that girls become embarrassed about it so young. She doesn't seem to care still, I hope that sticks awhile longer! I will definitely keep charting if I can still pick her up! :D No matter what her weight is I hope she always knows just how beautiful she is inside and out!
Height
Birth: 21 Inches
1 Years Old: 28 1/4 inches
2 Years Old: 32 3/4 inches
3 Years Old: 36 1/2 inches
4 Years Old: 3' 3" (39 inches)
5 Years Old: 3' 6"
6 Years Old: 3' 8.5"
7 Years Old: 3' 11"
8 Years Old: 4' 2.5"
Jane is right under the 50 percentile in height! She has grown a lot this year. She really feels like a big kid this year. She is still projected to be about 5' 4". I'm pretty positive she is going to get taller than me one day! She is only got about 1 foot to go! I'm still really excited that she's tall enough for all of the big rides at amusement parks. I have been a little bummed this past year that I haven't gotten to go on any rides with her because I was pregnant with Piper, that didn't stop her though! When we went to the fair she went on all the big rides on her own!
Firsts/Notable Moments
I have so much fun flipping through all the pictures of the previous year to find the moments that stick out or have a fun memory attached. It's so cool to see them all lined up together throughout the year. It makes me happy that even though I was pregnant for a good part of this past year Jane still got to get out and have a lot of fun experiences this year.
 |
| Pair of big kid skates - May 2021 |
 |
| Frying Chicken - June 2021 |
 |
| Treat from the Ice Cream truck - July 2021 |
 |
| Climbing to the top of the swing set - August 2021 |
 |
| Super Friday!! - August 2021 |
 |
| Reading Manga - September 2021 |
 |
| Bun - October 2021 |
 |
| Cosplay! (anime costume) - October 2021 |
 |
| Stage performance - November 2021 |
 |
| Skating Party - December 2021 |
 |
| Magnatile creation - January 2022 |
 |
| Duct Tape creations! - February 2022 |
 |
| Lost Molar - March 2022 |
 |
| Funnel Cake - March 2022 Favorite ride - Zero Gravity (gravity spinner ride) |
 |
| Play performance - April 2022 |
 |
| Slip and Slide of her own - May 2022 |
 |
| Oobleck Party! - May 2022 |
 |
| Big kid waterpark rides! - May 2022 |
Favorites
Jane's creativity and imagination has no end! She will come up with a story for everything and make anything fun for herself because the worst thing to her is to be bored! So anything that presents itself as new is exciting and anything that seems old she will try to make new again because everything has to be fresh to capture her attention. She continues to love all things girly and sparkly and loves to dress up and have all the accessories to make her pretend world feel more real. The thing Jane loves most is to talk! She is a self professed chatterbox and proud of it. She is social to the core, so she makes friends easily everywhere she goes, but will forget a name in seconds! ;) We're still working on that. I love her love for music and dancing. She definitely has a particular taste in music. It's got to be upbeat and have a good rhythm. I try to put on KSBJ sometimes but she always says the music is boring. Haha! 96.5 is her favorite radio station and Billie Eilish is her favorite artist at the moment. She enjoys all different types of weather but always wishes it would snow more often.
Food!! Jane is such a foodie! She says she is very grateful for taste buds. Her favorite food of all is anything cheesy. ;) Red Lobster cheese biscuits are a huge favorite, along with all Pizza especially stuffed crust, Papa John's is her favorite delivery pizza. She has to have their garlic sauce too! Other favorites are chocolate milk with whipped cream and sprinkles, Whataburger, Schlotzskys, all cake and cookies, Cookie Two Step ice cream, sour gummy candy, toaster strudel, hash browns, chicken sandwiches with extra mayo, cheese quesadillas, breakfast quesadillas, chicken strips, grilled cheese and tomato soup, grilled hot dogs and ONLY dad's grilled hamburger. There are many more! She can be picky at times, but I'm glad she'll try just about anything!
Jane is really getting the hang of reading! She read independently without being required to do so for the first time this year. She still prefers for me to read to her but we're making progress! Some of her favorite books for me to read to her are Farmer's Market, Atlas Obscura, Osborne's illustrated fairy tales, Hannah's A to Z sandwich and any book About the body. Her favorite books to read on her own are Dick and Jane, Elephant and Piggie. Her favorite audio book is The Phantom Tollbooth.
Guys.... I'm pretty psyched that one of my kids is old enough to enjoy Anime and loves it!!! :D We started with America's anime-like show, Avatar and she loved that. Then she enjoyed the sequel Legend of Korra. She kept saying she wanted more shows like that so I let her try Sailor Moon and she adored that! Glitter Force was another one she enjoyed. Then we took a little break from Anime and she watched Kipo and the age of the wonderbeasts and Dragon Prince and wished there were more seasons. Finally, Sam and I convinced her that she should try out Naruto and she was completely hooked! Ever since she has wanted a new Anime to try once she finishes one. (she's still working on Naruto because the dub is hard to find and she can't read fast enough to watch the sub yet) Her current favorite as of May 2022 is Black Clover and her favorite character is Noelle. (she already found a new favorite but I'll save it for her 8 year blog) I absolutely love having her as an anime buddy. It's so fun! Another big thing this year that is a first is when I asked what her favorite movie was she didn't say Frozen! The two she came up with was Cloudy with a chance of meatballs and The Sea Beast. She just always wants to watch a new movie so it's hard to know favorites. She did enjoy going through all the Descendants movies this year too. Jane did find her favorite video game of all so far! Miitopia! It's a simple role playing game where you get to make all of the people. She loves the demo! She has asked for the whole game for Christmas. She definitely enjoyed playing Pokemon Sword and Animal Crossing this past year too. Man, it's just really fun to have a kid old enough to start enjoying your favorite entertainment with you!
This section will be short because Jane has very few favorite toys. Lamby is still number 1. Still always wants her for bedtime and enjoys dressing her up more than American Girl dolls. It's sweet and I love it! Her second favorite toy is her stuffed cow. Otherwise she really enjoys building with magnatiles. All other toys are just tools for whatever imaginary game she is playing and have no use once that story is over.
As far as activities are concerned Jane loves it all! Swimming is still one of her very favorite activities. Jumping on the trampoline is up there too, but lately the trampoline has become less about jumping and more about how it can be a place to imagine. Creating stories is one of her very favorite things to do. She also enjoys gymnastics, dancing, slip sliding, playing board games, cooking, crafts, and riding her bike and hoverboard. I could go on but other than reading and doing school I haven't found an activity she doesn't enjoy! She is all about staying active!
Jane loves to GO! As I mentioned near the beginning of this post anywhere and everywhere is her favorite place to go! This past year Jane has learned that home can be a fun place too and sometimes staying home every once and a while isn't so bad. She knows that a day of rest has it's place now. BUT if you give her the choice to stay home or go, her choice is always to go! Some of her very favorite places are The Beach, The MOCO Fair, Big Rivers waterpark, Zero Gravity, Marmee and Pappaw's house, the interactive aquarium, the library, the zoo, any friend's house, the thrift store, Home group, Co-op and Park day. I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting because this girl even enjoys going to the dentist and the doctor. Anything to make her day more exciting!
Jane shines bright!! The description I wrote for her 6th birthday is still holding strong, it's at the very end in this post. She is becoming wise beyond her years. Obviously, she is still 8 and thinks farts are hilarious, but she will say things I need to hear and find deep meaning in small things. I have really enjoyed my big kid! She helps out and can take care of herself pretty well now. It's so much fun to get to become true friends with your kids. I am her mother first of course, but there are times now when I just get to sit back and chill with Jane and my motherliness can take a back seat for a while. It's an interesting feeling to start to let go a little and trust that I've taught her what she needs to know to make the right choices, treat people with kindness and protect herself. I'll overhear her talking to the other kids and hear myself come out. Sometimes I'm proud with how well she's instructing them and helping them make right choices too. Other times I'm humbled because I'll hear her talk harshly and yell at them for a mistake and know that's because she see me do that too. I'm hoping she learns to apologize when she loses her temper like I can at times. She is always quick to remind me that I need to apologize for being too rough. Humbling myself and taking that advice can be hard sometimes, but I'm still glad she is bold enough to say it when I need to hear it. Jane has such a love for life! I hope she never loses that spark! <3
Happy 8th Birthday Girlie! We love you so much!
2 Corinthians 4:6
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
