Jennifer’s another Year Older and I Love Her More Today than Yesterday

When I first thought about having a child I knew I wanted a girl. My husband at the time wanted a boy so I changed my mind and decided I wanted a boy too. This photo was taken when I was about 3 months pregnant. We had taken a little vacation with my husband’s cousin and wife to Corpus Christi, Texas and over the border to Mexico. I remember feeling sick to my stomach all the time and especially when we went over the border and smelled the food and fish cooking. Yuck, I can still remember how bad my stomach turned.

I was so happy to be pregnant and knowing that I would have a child of my own made it even more fun. This photo was taken when I was around 8 ½ months pregnant.

Little did I know that my Jennifer would take her own sweet time to come into this world and continued to move at her own pace as she grew up (she was 2 weeks late). I never knew I could love someone so much, until they laid Jennifer on my stomach and then in my arms that day 40 years ago. I didn’t even care that she wasn’t a boy. 🙂 Jennifer’s Dad and I looked at each other and as we took her home in the rain; he said, “she’s all ours!”

It was funny my sister was pregnant at the same time as I was and she ended up going into labor the night that I had Jennifer. So my Jennifer and my sister’s son Jarred grew up more like brother and sister than cousins.

Jennifer was very active and before I knew it she was pulling up to the side of her baby bed. I caught her just in time in this picture; it would have been a matter of minutes before she would have toppled right over the edge of her bed.

I loved putting her hair in piggy tails for the first time.

Jennifer loved to grab my craft project and run away with it whenever I wasn’t looking. Here I was trying to explain to her that the embroidery thread was mine and I needed it. 🙂 Of course she didn’t understand, she only knew that I wasn’t paying attention to her so she was going to get my attention one way or another.

I still remember that first Christmas, I think I let her open every present that I had for her way before Christmas even arrived.

Here she was at her first birthday party, my sister and I decided that we would celebrate both of their birthdays on the same day to alleviate family members getting together two days in a row. I can’t remember when we stopped the parties together but my memory was something similar to chaos when all 5 of the nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles would gather for these parties. 😉

I remember my Mom had Jennifer one night and decided to take her bottle away from her. Then the next night she sent her home to me. I told Mom that if she ever tried that with any of the other kids that she should keep them until they got over it. We had a rough couple of weeks, but Mom thought it really was time for her to give it up. What? she was only a little over 2 years old and my first child.  🙂  I didn’t want to take anything away from her.

Jennifer and I literally grew up together. I remember Jennifer loved to sit on my lap for about an hour in the morning until she woke up all the way and got hungry. Then the day would consist of me doing my chores. When it was time for me to vacuum, Jennifer would gather up a bunch of her toys and sit them all on the couch. She would stay there until I would go out of the room and then when I would come back into the room with the vacuum cleaner she would hurry and jump back up on the couch. It was funny. I only enjoyed my crafts after my household chores were done and Jennifer knew that she would have to play by herself while I created things. (mostly sewing) Now days the household chores are on the back burner and creating is always on the front burner.  🙂

When Jennifer was in middle school I started dating John and when we found out that we were going to have a baby I worried about telling her. I remember the day we told her and her reaction was nothing like I expected. She only said, “I’ve always wanted a brother or sister!”

Joshua and Jennifer were friends from the beginning. Jennifer stayed up with me when Joshua was little and when I needed an extra set of arms to hold him while mine rested. I don’t know what I would have done without her.

When Jennifer found out she was pregnant she loved every minute of her pregnancy too. She knew that she always wanted to be a mother, just like I did;

and a good mother she has become. I love you Jennifer and I hope your birthday is filled with sweet things just like you. Love, Your Mommy!