Jane is FOUR

Jane turned four years old this week! She weighs 42 pounds (90th percentile) and is 41.6 inches tall (87th percentile and 62% of the way to my adult height). Jane is a feisty girl with big emotions. She is naturally very generous, always thinking of her siblings and others and shares much better than her older sister does without prompting. She is working hard to learn how to control her big emotions, but has many, many breakdowns and tantrums in the process. We used to think Jane was very non-competitive, but we are starting to think the reason she hates competition is because she actually hates losing and is in fact, ultra-competitive. Time will tell on that one. Jane is very smart and learned to write her name over the last year and can count (though her threes sound a lot like fours making me regularly "forty-three" instead of "thirty-three") to about 50 with minimal mistakes. 

Jane learned to swim this summer - swimming 25 yards independently the last day the pool was open this summer. She also learned to ride a two-wheeler bike without training wheels right after she turned three and has been riding (up to 6.5 miles at a time!) a lot this year. She loves singing and coloring and still takes naps about 50% of the time. Jane's younger siblings are wary of her because she still doesn't know how to be gentle, but Ben seems to think she's quite funny while Rosie often keeps her distance. 

She hasn't had a haircut yet, but we will likely cut it soon because it is getting toooooo long! She has a lot of sensory-type concerns - like she hates being "messy," sandy, wet (even if it's just a drop), or sticky. She doesn't like having her hair brushed or "ruffles" on her clothes, and these issues lead to lots of tears. Unfortunately, she also doesn't like when her "eyes are wet" which leads to more tears, and more wetness of her eyes. We are working on these things, but it is a trying process for both of us!

Outside of those things, Jane seems much more laid back than her older sister, but again, time will tell. She will always hold a special place in my heart as a middle child, since that was my (and Chris's) birth order place and holds its own set of benefits and challenges.

(Jane and her "scrunch face" that she makes in a lot of pictures.)

For Jane's birthday this year, Chris took her to Duck Donuts for breakfast, we had church, got to spend the afternoon with Antelope and Uncle Benny watching a Redskins game, and then went to a church picnic at Kiwanis Park with some of her friends to celebrate.

Happy 4th birthday, Jane!!! We love you so much!

Jane at one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fifteen, and eighteen months old. Jane at two, two and a half, and three years old.

Eleanor (four) and Jane, each at four: