What I would tell my 15 year old self...

(Pic: Yahoo Images)

...high school is nothing like the movies. You'll never met a Jake Ryan look alike.

...the friends you have your senior year will remain your best friends for the rest of your life. (With a few additions along the way.)

...being popular means absolutely nothing.

...focus more on school and less on things that really don't matter.

...you will break a heart, and then have yours broken.

...don't hate yourself for not going away to college.  You will have more fun at home creating lifelong memories with your friends (than someone who actually DID go away). 

...the guy who you almost push away (because of a recent heartbreak) ends up being the one you marry.

...anytime the possibility of vacation arises, always seize the opportunity, because you'll end up saying (for years after) "remember when we went here..." and you'll just smile and cherish those memories forever. 

...your love for writing will help you in the future when you become a teacher.

...you'll encounter a doctor telling you that you have heart failure, and it won't stop you from achieving your goal of starting a family.

...you'll make a promise to yourself to never become dull or boring when your a mom and you totally fulfill your promise.

...and finally, when your 34, you will LOVE your curly hair and appreciate having options.

**I got this idea from another blogger, so I can't take the credit.  However, I thought this was such an interesting way to reflect on my past and life today.

Dear Jake, (5-8 Months)

You have kept mommy pretty busy, but I love this phase because you are smiling and so much more active!

On November 13th, you discovered your voice and kept screaming (for pure enjoyment) followed by smiles.

You love blowing bubbles!

On November 19th, you started sleeping until 5am and eventually transitioned to the 6am mark (THANK YOU! Mommy and Daddy needed this extra hour!)

On November 29th, you rolled on to your stomach!

You love to kick when we are changing your diaper.

When we put you in your jumperoo, daddy and I couldn't stop laughing. Your feet looked like you were auditioning for Lord of the Dance.

When I'm holding you, you have the tendency to lean on the way to the side to see my patterned socks! :)

Then mommy was on her winter break from work, and witnessed two milestones:
One was on January 2nd at Auntie Vasavi's house--she located your first tooth!!
The other, was on January 6th, when you rolled from your stomach to your back. (Mommy was just telling Auntie Vasavi that you would occasionally roll back but not always.)  You must have been listening and thought, "I'll show you what I can do!"

On January 14th, you tried your first baby food.  We have the video to prove it! :)

Two little adorable habits that you have:
You sleep on your side with your tiny feet against the bumper and you place your little hands on the edge of the table attached to your high chair while your being fed.  Such a nice eater, showing early table manners!  :)

Your first word was dada, but then you said mama soon after that, but now your back to saying dada.

As of today, you have six teeth!

You love moving your hands up and down while you are drinking your milk.

You cry sometimes the first five minutes upon meeting someone new.  (You like peace and quiet like mommy and have a hard time trusting others.)  LOL!

You act like you have a pair of glasses on and you move your head upward while looking down and pout your lips while you are concentrating.

You stretch your arms out to the side and it looks like your hands are trying to grab something.  You do this when you're really excited and want to say or do something.

When I say "sockies off" and take your socks off, you just crack up and something so small completely warms my heart.

And the fun continues....

Love you boo-boo!

Mommy (& Daddy)