Our Sweet Jenna..... And Her New Sidekick Jolene: Family fun.....

So my family from California who have been staying with us for the past 3 weeks are now back home, safe and sound. It’s been a crazy few weeks full of family gatherings, road trips, family reunions, shopping and eating…..lots of eating. I feel like I was on vacation!! Jenna had such a good time with her cousins (and Nina and Nino) and was showered with love each and every day. The day after they left, I could tell she was looking for them at every turn. She was very sad to see them go (as was I). I was even too busy to blog…..sorry about that.

Over the last few weeks, many celebrations were had on Jenna’s behalf. First off, there was her birthday party which turned out fantastic. Jenna was a little overwhelmed at all the family at first but after her nap (she had 2 that day), she opened up and was completely adorable. I don’t know that she really knew what was going on or even what to do with the cake! Do one year olds really know it’s their birthday anyway??? Then a week after there was the family baby shower that my best friend Kelly threw for me. My mom and my aunties pretty much handled all the food and boy was there a lot of food. It was a great shower with a lot more toys to fill her play room and clothes to fill her closet. Then, the weekend after that (just this past Sunday), there was the friend shower that my other best friend Erica threw for me. It was much tamer than the shower before and was just the right size to be able to share food and conversation with close friends.

Jenna continues to flourish everyday. She still isn’t walking or crawling but she’s able to stand for a few seconds at a time, when she feels like it. I’m sure she will be walking in no time, although, I don’t know that I want to push her all that much. It’s nice to sit her down on the floor and know that she’ll pretty much be in the same spot when I come back!!! She’s now able to play by herself for longer periods of time without having me or Daddy by her side every second. This, in itself, is great as it allows me to get things done during the day!!! It was so great having my nieces around as they pretty much played with her non-stop, leaving me to get a lot done. I wanted to keep them both just for that very reason, and also because I love them so much!!! She also babbles a lot more and can play cute little games with you. Grandma taught her how to play Close-Open (a silly little Filipino song) where she opens and closes her hands. What’s really cute is when all of us (Grandma, my sister and I) sing and she’ll dance and dance….it’s the funniest thing to watch and we did it over and over again when we were out at my brother-in-law’s parents’ house for dinner one night. Too bad I didn’t whip out the camera!!!

Jenna has now been with us for a month and half and I still stare at her in amazement and wonder how in the world we got such a wonderful baby. I honestly can’t imagine my life without her. She seems to take everything in stride. She’s met so many new people since she’s been home and she’ll fuss with a few people but she’s pretty much happy with everyone she meets. I have a big family so when we have a family gathering, you know it’s going to be huge. I wanted to introduce her to this scene early as this is something she will grow up knowing and, I’m sure, loving as she gets older. I know I love it when my family gets together. It can be chaos sometimes, but just having all of them around warms my heart and I’m sure Jenna will feel the same way too.

Jenna's first trip to Galaxyland in West Edmonton Mall