Jazzie J

Jazzie's arrival in the world was announced to us by Zoe. She proudly wore a button that stated "I AM GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER". The family was thrilled! Another little bundle of joy was coming our way - how could we not be? I'll tell you a secret - I was hoping it would be a girl. The formula worked so well with Zoe, it seemed a shame to mess with it! I don't think I was alone - I don't want to name names, but I think a certain "Erin" and "Grahame" were pretty happy about that news too! Jasmine Jolyn Dorcas arrived in the world on Sunday, September 14th. Her parents had been preparing her arrival while also juggling life with a young toddler. Luckily there were many hands around willing to help out. Grandma & Grandpa, Nana and Grampie, Auntie Laurie, Sandra and Sharon were all parts of Zoe's inner-circle and were also there to help when Erin and Grahame were welcoming Jasmine to the family. Her name was a well kept secret until the day she was born - as was Zoe's. Her parents were finishing up her room on the day she was born.  She was a bigger baby than Zoe - and longer.  She had an absolutely angelic little face!  Two in a row - nicely done G & Erin! She certainly was able to draw a crowd at a young age - much like her sister.  She was more of a staggered sleeper and a bit fussier than Zoe was.  At 6 months old, Grahame and Erin made a very scary trip to the hospital where poor little Jasmine was diagnosed with a bladder infection. Such a scary moment for her parents and all of us.  She was OK in short time.  I guess the silver lining, if there was one, is that because Jasmine was a bit fussier dealing with her bladder and what seemed like a constant cold in her younger years, her Mommy spent loads of time snuggling with her.  Unlike most 2nd children who don`t get quite the 1 on 1 time as the first, I think Jasmine was an exception.  Zoe got spoiled by the rest of us and Jasmine had lots of special time with her Mom.  Jasmine was also a little more focused in on her parents in a large crowd - unlike Zoe who was more open to strangers.  If her Mom was holding her and you tried to get her away - GOOD LUCK! She wouldn`t cry or fuss, she would just cling to Erin with everything she had.  However, when her parents weren`t around, Jasmine was a snuggle bunny with the rest of us too! When Jasmine drank her bottle, she would play with your hand and fingers.  Before she learned to talk, Jasmine would communicate through grunting.  She would point at things or people and grunt  DAT! or UH!  She has always been very observant with people.  She is more serious minded than Zoe and tends to stay back and take in a situation on her own.  But when Jasmine smiles...oh my!  As her Grandma said, nobody but NOBODY has a bigger more beautiful smile than our Jas!  To match her smile, we quickly realized she had a BIG personality!  Jazzie had no intention of being 2nd banana and, at a young age, made her presence known in most situations.  This, coupled with her charm and sometimes shy manner, made Jazzie an instant star in the family.  Just after she was born, I`ll admit I was a little worried about how this little bundle would follow in the amazing footsteps of Zoe.  Very quickly, I realized that would not be an issue.  Jazzie has forged her own path and her own way of doing things - and it has been a pleasure to watch her personality unfold!  She and Zoe became fast friends!  Zoe loved her little sister from the start.  I remember she was very protective of Jasmine and vice-versa.  If I snuggled Jasmine too long and she pulled to get away, Zoe would yell out "HEY - THAT`S MY SISTER!".  And, as is the case today, Jasmine mimics whatever Zoe says and does.  So a lispy "HEY...DAT MYYYYYYYY SISTEW" would come from Jazzie.  Erin has many stories of how the girls played so well together at a young age - often conspiring together and putting on shows.  But for all the great times, of course there were a few fights too.  They are, after all, sisters!  The day before Jasmine's 1st birthday, I witnessed my first Zoe/Jasmine fight.  Jasmine became incensed that Zoe took her spoon.  She stood up angrily and grunted at Nana to do something about it.  When Nana did not react quickly enough, Jazzie took matters into her own hands.  She turned, bopped Zoe on the head, tried to bite her arm and then shoved her little fists into Zoe's hair and started pulling.  I grabbed her and started to disentangle her hands. She gave a final grunt of anger towards Zoe and went back to her toys. What I love about Jasmine is that she is passionate!  Sure, sometimes it comes out in some tantrums, but mostly it comes out with BIG love, BIG smiles and BIG adventure!  She is the first to spot me in a crowd and run full speed into my arms!  The first time this happened was at HYC on Canada Day.  The beach was jam packed with people.  I was looking around trying to find someone, and the firs person I see is little Jasmine.  She was about 9 months old sitting on the sand and she had spotted me long before I spotted her.  As my eyes found hers, she had a big smile and was already waving.  She got up and started towards me.  My heart melted!  Around the age of 1, she created a language all her own.  Her parents and Zoe understood it a bit more than the rest of us.  But Jasmine belted out her words with full confidence and lots of animation!  And within this language were normal words that could be understood.  In fact, she started saying words around February of 2010.  I`m still arguing that her first word was Fred.  OK - she couldn`t say the full word, but as early as 8 months old, whenever Fred came into the room, she would make a "FRRRRR" sound. Common!  Brilliant!  She continued to flash her brilliant smile - and sometimes mixed it up with that mischevious, sideways, pursed lips, hunched up shoulders, shy/embarassed look.  Jasmine always had a a lot of energy.  As a toddler, if she wanted you to go somewhere with her, she would drag you around by the hand and yell out "too too".  One time at Nana and Grampie's, Jasmine proudly dragged me into the bathroom to show me how she had unrolled an entire roll of bathroom tissue into the toilet.  Erin came up and got level with Jasmine and told her this was a NO.  Erin then asked Jasmine what she should say.  Little Jasmine looked up with puppy dog eyes and said "Soweeeeee".  It was too precious!  As she grew, it became evident that Jasmine likes things to stay the same.  When Grampie sat in Nana's chair one day for lunch, Jasmine led him by the hand back to his seat!  She is very smart and has an extremely good memory.  I remember when she went through her NO NO NO stage.  If you did or said something she didn`t like, she would let you know.  Nana would sing songs to her, and if she disapproved of the song, the NO NO NO came out until a new song was sung!  One thing that Jasmine has become known for is her love of animals - all animals!  She loves watching the birds and feeding the squirrels - but she especially loves the cats and dogs.  She would drive us crazy by insisting we go into the garage to get dog cookies all afternoon!  She loved giving the dogs their cookies and then leading them to their beds by yelling COME COME at them.  She would sit and snuggle with Fred for hours.  In fact, if Jasmine likes something, she can do it over and over and over again.  anyone who has played Ring around the Rosie with her can atest to that!  I just love her to bits!