Jaina turns 18!

My firstborn is an adult. I still can't wrap my head around it! 18 years of loving this precious soul who was entrusted to me when I was just 23 years old.

Most new moms complain that they didn't know what the hell they were doing when they first became a mom. Honestly, I didn't really feel that way. I was very comfortable in my role as a new mom. It just came very naturally to me. I don't say this to brag by any means (and I certainly was a neurotic basket case with the subsequent births of Jayce and Jocelyn where I promptly forgot every single thing about being a mom as soon as they were born!), but just to preserve the memory of what I was feeling when I was a new mom.

Jaina was the easiest newborn. I really got lucky with her. She nursed well and slept great.

She quickly turned into a fun infant and a curious, but sweet, toddler.

And soon she was an outgoing, funny preschooler...

And before I knew it, she was in elementary school!

I loved watching her rock the big sister role with her younger siblings.

I blinked again and she was a teenager. She suddenly cared about what she wore and wanted to experiment with hair and make up.

As her love for anime, manga, and all things Japanese grew, so did her master eye-liner skills. Girl won't leave the house without some wings!

It was amazing to see her graduate High School a whole year early, as a just turned 17 year old.

She rocked her first year of Community College and even made the Dean's List this past semester!

We celebrated her 18th birthday this year during the Corona Virus Pandemic. It's still not a great time to gather in groups, so we hosted a party in our front yard with just a few of Jaina's friends from high school.

The crutches were due to a sprain from a little fall on the stairs, but she's already walking on it with little pain. She'll wear the brace until it feels back to normal.