Wait.... I have a 9 year old??? My friend told me that 9 signifies the halfway point of childhood. How is that possible? There are days where I think to myself, "I'm missing it!!!" And while it is true that her childhood will be over before I know it and there's nothing I can do about that, it's a lie that I'm missing it. I've been right here to witness it all and it's the best!! It's just different than I imagined/expected. I grew up home schooled with just one older brother and we were best friends. We were just 1 year apart and my mom was able to do everything with us pretty much all the time. There were no other younger siblings and neither of us remember life without the other. My childhood was wonderful, I wouldn't change a thing. Early on in my mothering journey, I fell into a trap of trying to duplicate my childhood because I loved it so much. The fact is Jane's childhood cannot look like mine, it's impossible. (Thankfully Sam helped me see that awhile back. I let go a little more all the time.) First of all it's not the 90s anymore. It's a different time. Secondly, She is the oldest of 5 kids, 2 sisters and 2 brothers. Lastly, her baby sister is 8 years younger than her! Yes, her childhood will be very different than mine, but it doesn't mean it won't be any less wonderful. We're not missing things because there are younger siblings around, we're doing different things. She says all the time how lucky she is and how much she loves me. I'm hoping that means she will look back on her childhood with the same fondness that I do on mine. It will be different, but man, everything would be pretty boring if it was all the same!
Jane loves to dream big! Her mind is always trying to think of the next exciting thing she can do. She likes to dream of her future as well. She has combined two passions she has for her dream job, traveling and food. So she wants to be a traveling food vlogger or TV food personality that travels or a traveling restaurant critic. I mean they all sound right up her adventurous extroverted alley. If that doesn't work out she wants to do something science related. She has always been interested in the science of how things work, but after watching the anime, Dr. Stone, her love of science really exploded! I love how a good show can do that. :) She has realistic dreams for her very first job though, she says she wants to be a pizza delivery girl. Haha! sounds perfect for my pizza loving girl. She even likes to imagine her future dream home. She tells me it would be a 3 story house with a gate, white aesthetic inside and pink outside. She said she wants to live close by, but not right next door more like 5 min away. Haha! We'll see!!
Since Jane is my first born I like to include a little section about what this new age is like. It’s the first time I’m parenting a 9 year old! So it's new for both of us! The biggest difference from 8 to 9 is the questions. She's asking questions about life that are hard to answer. I'm grateful that God can help me guide her to some answers, but sometimes I have to tell her I don't have the answer and she'll have to find out for herself or maybe we can try to figure it out together. Then there are some times she asks hard questions and I do know the answers to them, but I'm not sure if she's ready to hear the answers. I don't want to burden her with too much before she needs to know, but I also want her to know I trust her with the truths of this world. It's a hard balance to find, I'll keep working at it! 9 really is a great age though. We can hang out after the little kids go to bed and it's fun. Like I feel like I can turn off mom mode and be a friend to her. If that little kid side she still has comes out and she gets too hyper, I tell her to go to bed because after bedtime is my time to be "off" so I can recharge to be a good mom the next day. The best part about parenting a 9 year old is the way she can take care of herself pretty well and help with her baby sister, Piper! She is such a great babysitter. If I need a little extra time to work Jane will watch Piper so well and she can earn a couple dollars. Because of this, Jane is Piper's favorite person other than me. Win win win! The hardest part of parenting a 9 year old for me is mostly the attitude that is starting to come out. Figuring out how to make sure she is heard without letting the attitude "win". The big mood swings can be a challenge to manage. Thankfully her norm is a joyful, talkative kid. So usually all we have to do is talk things out and give it a little time and she'll be back to feeling like herself.
I'm not sure Jane will ever like school. I never really did either though, so I don't blame her. It's definitely not the struggle that it has been in previous years! I'm grateful for that. Math continues to be her most dreaded subject. We're only a little more than halfway through her 3rd grade math book and that's ok! It's not because she's not understanding the material, but just because she thinks it's hard and boring so we take a while to get through a lesson. She still loves history and science the most! She is always asking to do another science experiment or learn more about the world. For those reasons she really enjoys our science co-op that she named Discovery Crew because it's all about learning something new about the world or science. She has made great strides in reading!! She has read for fun without me even asking a few times this year. A few times may not seem like much, but it's a huge breakthrough for Jane! She's always surprising me with what words she knows when she's reading. Nothing out of the ordinary for her age, but compared to what she knew just 6 months ago it's a big jump. What you learn from homeschooling is not to compare your child to their peers, but to compare them to their previous selves. Are they making progress is all you need to ask. And for Jane that is a definite YES! More than any core subject Jane loves going to Super Friday!! She looks forward to it all week. The classes she took this past year were Countries and Cultures, All about Christmas (crafts), Physical Education for Fall 2022 and Fencing, Taekwondo and Physics Phun Phest for Spring 2023. PE is still her number 1 favorite class. She wants to take it again. She's so excited for Atlas to start coming with her this Fall!
It makes me so happy to see these pictures of the great friends Jane has! The first picture here is Jane and her bestie Evelyn. They first bonded over Anime. Specifically the Anime Spy X Family. Since then they have found much more in common and love to chat on Messenger Kids. This is my first experience with a kid "texting"! I like Messenger Kids because I can monitor what is talked about and it has other helpful parent dashboard settings. It's a whole new world for me! So far it has been a great place for her to learn about digital communication and being safe online. The second picture is Jane's park day girl squad! Such a fun and kind group of girls. Spearheaded by Jane they decided to plan a party for all of park day by themselves. Ellaria, Aubrey, Priscilla, Poppy, Sophia, Evelyn and Kensi were all apart of the planning committee. They made decorations, planned who would bring what food and made sure their were enough invitations to hand out to everyone to make sure no one felt excluded. All the other mommas were so sweet to be supportive of their plans for the party as well. It went off great. I never knew a group of 7-8 year old girls could plan a party so well. I was impressed. I am so so grateful for the wonderful community we have that allows Jane to have such lovely friends. <3
Big sister is a big part of Jane's identity and she owns it! I love how she looks out for her siblings and is a little momma to them, especially to Piper. She prayed so hard for another little sister and God answered that prayer with a big fat YES! This picture of them is when Jane just turned 9 and Piper was 9 months. They have a special relationship. Jane can calm Piper the best after me. I told Jane since she prayed for another baby she would need to help out and she is very happy to help(Most of the time). Jane is the least motherly to Atlas of course. They are only 21 months apart, Jane doesn't remember life without Atlas around. They are buds and really enjoy having their beds next to each other since Atlas is in the top bunk and Jane is in a loft bed next to him. Since I started letting them stay up with me after the little kids go to bed they have bonded even more. Sure they fight and annoy each other still, but they have really grown in their relationship over the past year. Xan and Jane have a sweet sister bond. They do have their moments of letting their big emotions get in the way of playing together well, but usually they come back together pretty quickly and move on with whatever game they were playing. Flynn and Jane still have the bond of being thrill seekers and more high energy. There is a good amount of her feeling like he's an annoying little brother. Thankfully they still have fun together and Jane will always make sure Flynn gets to see a tornado or volcano if she sees one! Jane cares for her siblings so well. I am so grateful for the good example she sets for them.
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"
9 Years Old: 4' 4"
Jane is growing steadily and is pretty normal in height for her age from what I can tell. (We haven’t been to her yearly check up yet. I’m waiting to take her at the same time as Piper’s one year check up) She has grown out of all of her size 8 clothes. Her clothes now range in sizes from 10-14. This is the first time I can’t just go shop at the store according to her age. She has to try things on now to see if they fit right and look how she wants it to look. It’s still hard for me to believe we’re already at this stage! How has she grown up so fast??
Firsts/Notable Moments
A year through pictures
Looking at the two pictures above of Jane on the waterpark ride a year apart it doesn't seem like she's changed much over the past year. When you take a closer look and go through the pictures below one by one each month you can see a maturity come into her face. Especially once you hit January 2023. She's becoming a big kid! She'll be considered upper elementary this coming school year. It happens so fast!! Going through these pictures each year is part of my process to hold on a little bit longer.
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| Bubble Machine - May 2022 |
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| Dressing up Lamby - June 2022 |
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| DIY Birdhouses - July 2022 |
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| Making Omelets - August 2022 |
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| Baby she prayed for! - August 2022 |
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| Free junior bridesmaids dress of my dress! - August 2022 |
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| Suction cupped by an Octopus! - September 2022 |
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| Catching a gecko - October 2022 |
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| Lego set completed - October 2022 |
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| Making perler bead Christmas presents - November 2022 |
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| Riding the hoverboard on her knees - December 2022 |
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| Letter to Santa - December 2022 |
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On our own saucer swing! - January 2023 |
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| Cosplaying with a friend! February 2023 |
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Spring Break trip to Brenham - March 2023
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| Planning her very first party on her own with her friends - May 2023 |
Favorites
Jane is still my excitable girl who’s always up for something new! I have noticed that she has slowed down a little this year as far as just always having to be moving and be entertained, less hyper I guess? She can entertain herself pretty well nowadays and some of those things are introspective. She likes to journal and she has really gotten into music this year! I got her a portable radio and her own headphones and she loves to listen to the radio before she goes to bed. She is picky about the stations I play in the car. She likes most current pop music, Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Brendon Urie, Billie Eilish, BlackPink, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. Of course women singers are her favorite, she’s all about girl power! Songs for her have to have a good beat or be fast paced. Ballads are not her jam. ;) Some of her favorite songs are Bad Guy, California Girls, High Hopes, Uptown Funk, How you like that, Dynamite, Vampire, and Flowers. She says there are too many to remember that she likes. (all of these are radio versions and really she likes them for the way they sound.)
Jane is still a foodie!! It's funny because when I was pregnant with her I felt like I could eat pizza everyday and do you know what her favorite food is?? PIZZA!! She likes Digiorno cheesy crust pizza and Papa Johns is her favorite pizza place. Papadillas are her favorite item there. She says my homemade pizza is the best. Other favorite food items are a Chicken sandwich with mayo, (McDonalds, Chick fil a, Popeyes) Hamburgers with cheese and mayo, especially Dad's grilled burgers, Grilled cheese and tomato soup, Pappaw's grilled hot dogs, White mac and cheese, Queso from Cliantros, Watermelon, Pancakes, omelets, bacon, broccoli, cheeto puffs and many more things. Whataburger and Schlotzsky's are her favorite fast food places and Cliantro's is her favorite sit down restaurant. As much as Jane will try things and has lots of favorites, I have trouble with her not wanting to eat anything but her favorite foods. She wants every time she eats something to be the best! We're still working on it.
I started reading aloud chapter books to the kids this year and Jane loves it! She is most definitely my most attentive listener. Amazingly, just like Sarah Mackenzie said it would, (from read aloud family/revival) it seems to have inspired her to read on her own and read even when it wasn’t required by school! I’m seeing a lot of growth just recently! This picture was when she decided there should be a kids read aloud time lead by her. It only lasted two days, but I loved her intention for it. Her favorite book from her early childhood is Farmer's Market. Most times requested from the library, Love, Santa. Her favorite read alouds we’ve done so far are: Just David, The Brambly Hedge collection and the Fabled Stables. Her favorite school book was Atlas Obscura. Her favorite books to read on her own are Usborne's Illustrated Fairy Tales and Billy and the Mini Monsters Christmas. Her favorite audio book is still The Phantom Tollbooth.
Jane is way into Anime! Probably even more than she was last year. When she doesn’t have new episodes to watch she asks me which anime she can try next. Her favorite by far is Spy X Family! Yor is her favorite character. She can’t wait for season 2 to release in October. She still rewatches Black Clover episodes and we watched the new movie together. Other favorites are Bofuri, Dr. Stone, Mashle and most recently Cells at Work. Her favorite non anime shows are probably Is it Cake? or Bake Squad. She still has a place in her heart for Frozen 2, but I can’t tell you how long it’s been since we watched it. She adored the The Super Mario Bros. Movie, mostly because she loved the strong role Peach played. Another favorite movie is Nimona. She really understood the deep message of love and care for others and how if someone doesn’t have that it can have a negative impact on the decisions they make. I love to hear her opinions of story development and other aspects of media and what makes something good entertainment.
For the first time Jane really got into video games! She got Miitopia for Christmas and enjoyed that making her family members and friends as characters in the game. I let her try Roblox and she loves it! I don’t… haha! I’m a gamer but Roblox games are quantity over quality and then there’s also the fact that it’s only online games which I wasn’t quite ready for. She’s only allowed to friend people she knows and isn’t allowed to use the chat box in the games yet. There are definitely some weird games, but I try to let her make her own decisions about it. She plays where everyone can see what she’s playing so I feel like I can monitor it pretty well and give her some advice or guidance if I feel like it’s needed. Most recently she had gotten into Minecraft! I love the creative aspect of Minecraft and to see what she comes up with!! She has been teaching Atlas about Minecraft. I love to see them bond over video games. I know my brother and I did.
So this used to be just a favorite Toys section but with Jane’s age I feel like it’s time to change it to her favorite belongings. Lamby is still #1 in her heart. <3 She really loves Fifi the squishmellow that she got for her birthday. Other favorite stuffies she always wants in her bed are Chimera, Cow, Evie, Vaporeon and Little lamby. She loves her many dress up dresses and make up and enjoys bringing them to park day to share. Her favorite dresses are her white junior bridesmaid dress and her black Yor-like dress. Her portable radio and headphones are very important to her too. Her favorite toys are her Peach and Minecraft lego sets.
Swimming is still at the very top of Jane’s favorite activities! Jumping on the trampoline used to be at the top, but I think last year with Atlas’s broken arm and stitches accidents she got a little nervous about it. She will still jump, but very conservatively. She enjoys playing board and card games, she also enjoys games like tag and hide and seek. She finally became patient enough to like doing activities that require a good amount of detail and focus. Things like perler beads, cross stitching and sewing. She loved her fencing and taekwondo classes at Super Friday. I still can’t really think of something she doesn’t like doing.
The beach is #1 on places to go for Jane. Just like activities, I can’t think of somewhere she doesn’t like going. I asked her some of her favorite places and this is what she came up with. The Skating rink, Marmee and Pappaw's house, Super Friday, the park, big rivers waterpark, The moco fair, and Urban Air. Although she still loves to go everywhere I’m glad she also enjoys a day at home now. <3
Jane is a leader. She is a creator. She’s a dreamer. She’s so different than me in the most beautiful ways. I still see some of myself in her. Her perfectionism, her struggles with school and her outbursts of anger I can complete relate to. I feel a little bad she has to deal with those issues mostly because I struggle with them too. I hope we can work together to find solutions so we can turn what seems to be negative tendencies into positives! Letting the desire to be perfect lead her towards excellence, but to let go and give grace to herself when her efforts result in less than perfection. Leaning into learning instead of letting pride get in the way. Turning those big feelings into care, empathy and understanding for others and let them give her the motivation to do what’s right. Motivation is key for Jane. She can be the biggest helper and accomplish sooo much if she’s motivated and in the mood to do it. As soon as her mood changes she can be downright slothful and the opposite of helpful. Maybe this is true of all kids her age, but Jane seems to take it to the extreme. (Like with most things) Once she figures out how to do hard things even when she doesn’t feel like it, I have a feeling she’s going to be unstoppable! Keep shining bright Jane! Don’t let anyone stamp out your dreams, not even me. <3
Happy 9th Birthday Girlie! We love you so much!
Romans 8:31-32
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:37
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
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