Big sister

What better place to put this giant sticker than
on the bottom of your foot?

So, Jane is a big sister. As I mentioned in the previous post, she is doing pretty great considering this massive change. Not only is there a new person in our family who cries loudly, but the person who has pretty much given her undivided attention for the past three years is now continually distracted by the tiny newcomer. All that to say, Jane is taking it in stride, and we are all very thankful for Daddy's well-timed winter break!  

When Jane first came to the hospital to meet Ouisey, she wanted to hold her right away. She was so excited... then after about five seconds she said, "I want you to take the baby off." Ha! 

This pretty much sums up her reaction to her new baby sister. She is intrigued by her, but definitely not the "little mommy" type who wants to love on her all the time. She is trying to be helpful, though, always wanting to be the one to put the paci back in when Ouisey spits it out, and bringing her stool over to the changing table to help/watch the diaper changing.

We have tried to think of ways to make Jane feel special during this transition, since the baby gets so much attention. One thing that we (and lots of other well wishers!) did was to give Jane a big sister present. Here she is testing out her new doctor kit.

Another special treat was that Jane got to spend the night in a hotel with Fancy and Papoo, her first time! She was so excited... especially since they got cake pops on their way to the hotel, ha!

Back home again...
Jane already had this purple "Big Sister" shirt, so when I saw this purple striped "Little Sister" outfit, I had to get it for Ouisey. You can't read either shirt in any of these pictures, but they still look pretty cute together, I think.  

Jane likes to hold the back of Ouisey's head...
not sure where she came up with that.

Jane has gotten lots of Daddy time this past month, which has been so great. One of their projects has been organizing Richard's shop. Jane loves sorting things and putting them in containers, so this was a home run for Richard in terms of occupying a three year old and accomplishing something at the same time!

One thing we are quickly learning with two children is not to ask Jane to do anything that is not worth a battle. Relinquishing control of Jane's wardrobe, for example, is helping to keep the peace, which is especially important when we're trying to get out of the house semi-on-time. Sometimes I can get away with guiding her choices by picking out part of the outfit so it sort of matches, but on this particular day I had to let her dress herself head to toe, including jewelry. 

As much as I would like to choose her clothes myself, it is pretty fun to see what she picks out and give her creative control. Supposedly, when I was her age I used to insist on picking out my own clothes and would wear several outfits at the same time, like pants with a skirt and dress. I guess it runs in the family!