Sweet Potatoes

The rice cereal has had only a lukewarm reception with Jillian. She would eat it, but she didn't show much interest in it. Most of the time, she just pushed the cereal out of her mouth. Mommy figured that it was because it was bland tasting (which it was!).

So, Mommy decided to try some other solid food, namely the mushy vegetables. She picked up some sweet potatoes and also some squash. We gave it a try yesterday, giving a spoonful of sweet potatoes puree to Jillian ... and she liked it! Mommy kept spooning it in, and Jillian kept eating it until the package was half gone. Yipppeee! Eventually, the feeding ended when Jillian kept trying to grab the spoon so she could feed herself.

Today, Mommy mixed the sweet potatoes and rice cereal together and fed it to Jillian, and she gobbled all of it down with gusto. So begins our adventure with solid foods.

ND Revisited

Here's Heather to report on Jillian's big trip to North Dakota:

I must say that Jillian is an excellent little traveler. I hope this pattern continues. She did very well riding in my lap on the flights and her ears never bothered her. She was very social with all the people we met on the plane. It was very fortunate on our flight out that the middle seat became open between myself and the lady sitting on the aisle. She was happy to let Jillian stretch out on the middle seat most of the flight. Jillian was quite pleased about this too! Jillian's favorite toy on the plane ride was the tri-fold plane safety card. This provided Jillian with many moments of entertainment. Her second favorite item was the plastic cup they served my soda in.

We arrived in Grand Forks at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. My cousin Rodney's wife (Carol) picked us up from the airport. It is never very hard to be found in the Grand Forks airport, since there are only two gates. We had a quick bite to eat at the house with the kids and then Rodney, Jillian, and I were off to Rugby to meet up with Dad and Meagan. We arrived in Rugby around 9 p.m. and visited with the bride (my cousin Nadia) and her soon to be in-laws, at my cousin Debora's house. Are you happy Deb, I didn't call you Debbie for once! Debbie (sorry old habits die hard) is my first cousin. Her mother Carol was my Dad's older sister. However, my Dad and Debbie are pretty close in age, Dad being the eldest. These are the complicated kind of things that happen when your Dad is the youngest of ten children!

When it was time to go, Jillian and I loaded up with Dad, Meagan and my Aunt Elvina and headed to Fillmore. At this point Jillian had enough of traveling and threw a little fit when we strapped her down in the car seat for one more ride. However, Aunt Elvina and I eventually got her calmed down and she went to sleep. Fillmore is where my Grandma Myrtle's house is. After she passed away my Uncle Dave took ownership of it and still keeps it up. It was nice to be there with Jillian. I know it probably made my grandma very happy!

Jillian slept until 10:30 a.m. the next morning (Thurs.). I think she was worn out from all the traveling. Meagan made us a very nice breakfast of pancakes and bacon.

It is very quiet in Fillmore. In fact we were Fillmore's only residence, aside from one other neighbor. Fillmore was a thriving farm town back in the day, but it is pretty much a ghost town now. It is very quiet and peaceful, so I can understand why Jillian had no problem sleeping in. We spent the day relaxing and visiting with my Aunt Elvina. Later that evening she made us a nice hot dish and my Uncle Red drove in from the family farm to join us. My Grandparents John and Myrtle were farmers. My uncle Red still lives in the original family home. The farm land is owned by my Dad, his twin sister Karen, and my Uncle Dave. They cash rent the land to a local farmer. It's a nice little extra income for each of them. Later that evening my Aunt Karen and cousin Sara arrived. Of course this means a very late evening of conversation whenever you get my Dad and his twin together.

Friday morning was pretty relaxing too! Dad, Meagan, Jillian, and I went for a drive to the family farm in Knox. Knox is about a twenty minute drive from Fillmore. We enjoyed a beautiful day and all the crops looked great! Dad was amazed at how the land had changed since he was young. He said there were certain farms you could not see when he was young. He said it was due to the land erroding with the past flooding and years of farming. It is quite remarkable to me how much things on the farm have changed since I was young. After our visit to the farm, we drove to the Knox cemetary. This is were we buried my Mom's ashes when we traveled to North Dakota last summer for the Peterson family reunion. My grandparents, great grandparents, great uncle, Uncle John, and one cousin who died shortly after birth are buried also. The area is very well maintained and the view is quite beautiful. I wish Mom could have met her blue-eyed granddaughter in person, but I know she is watching over her. Everyone always comments on how much I look like my Dad, but I got my eyes from my Mom, and now Jillian has them, too!

On Friday evening we drove into Rugby for a pig roast after the wedding rehearsal. Now, if there is one thing that they know how make well in North Dakota it is meat. Not to mention all the home-baked bread and goodies you can eat, and don't forget the COFFEE! The dinner was very nice. It was hosted at the local golf course club house. Shortly after we arrived we were joined by my brother Richard who drove up from Arizona. Everyone enjoyed themselves and many family members were excited to meet Jillian for the first time.

Saturday was the big day! The Fillmore house guest list grew over night when my Uncle Alan(Karen's husband) and their son Steven joined us. Meagan, Dad, and I needed to drive to town for some errands, so Jillian stayed behind and had some one-on-one time with her great aunts and cousin Sara.

We headed to the wedding in Orin at 3:30 p.m. The church in Orin is where Nadia's grandparents were married some sixty years ago when it first opened. So they will always share that history together. It was a beautiful wedding on a wonderful summer day. Not too hot, not too humid! The reception was held back in Rugby at the local dance hall. Dad remembered attending many a wedding dance there growing up and crashing a few parties in his teen years. A delicious buffet of beef roast and ham was served and live band played well into the evening. Jillian napped through most of the dinner and early dancing, but she woke up revived and ready to dance and socialize. It was so warm in the hall I ended up stripping her down to her diaper until she cooled off a little. Jillian danced with me and with Meagan and didn't seem to mind the volume of the music. The newlyweds were heading off to Michigan on a scenic tour for their honeymoon. We wish them all the best!

On Sunday morning is was time to drive back to Grand Forks (approx. 2 hr. drive). This time Jillian and I had to drive ourselves because we needed to leave by 10 a.m. After we said our goodbyes, Dad, Aunt Karen and Meagan showed us the way to the highway. For those of you wondering why, it's all gravel roads once you leave the highway for Fillmore, and there are no signs. Jillian and I made it safely to Grand Forks, and our flight home was uneventful (other than the binky-throwing episode). And Rick was sooooo happy to see us arrive home!

Thank you to all our family and friends in North Dakota for making our stay so enjoyable. It's good to know we are always welcome. See you next time!

Sighting No. 14

This is what Jillian does for everyone she sees ... she gives them a great big smile! Everybody she meets says that she is such a cute and happy baby.

Gums on Ice

Jillian was being a little fussy tonight, and when Daddy was talking to Mommy on the phone, Mommy suggested giving the ice-cold teething ring to her. So Daddy gave it to her, and she grabbed it out of his hands and jammed it into her mouth ... and sucked on it until the ice melted. Thank goodness that Mommy knows best!

Tilting

Jillian is almost ready to begin sitting up. We can put her on the floor in the sitting position, and she can stay there if she's leaning far forward (like in this photo). She can't do much when she's there, so she doesn't care much for it. She'd much rather be sitting up straight, and she can do it for a couple seconds, before she starts tilting back or to the sides ... so she hasn't quite got the balance thing figured out yet.

On the other hand, if we hold Jillian by the legs while she's sitting, she can stay up straight for quite a while. It's something she likes much more, until she starts wearing down and gets cranky. Funny how all these play sessions usually end with a cranky baby!

First Plane Ride

Heather and Jillian took off for North Dakota early this morning to visit the Peterson relatives and attend cousin Nadia's wedding. This was the first really big trip for Jillian so far in her young life, and according to the reports, she did really well.

Both mommy and baby got through airport security fine, where Jillian managed to make new friends by smiling at everyone she saw. Mommy used the Euro baby carrier that Des gave us, and Jillian liked it ... probably because she was up high and facing out. Their seat assignments in the plane also worked out so there was room to move and stretch. Jillian ended sleeping through about 1/2 the first flight and most of the connecting flight. Luckily, there didn't seem to be issues with ear aches from the air pressure.

So now, after being picked up by Uncle Rodney in Grand Forks, Heather and Jillian are staying the night in Fillmore at Grandma Peterson's old house. Unfortunately, there won't be any photos to post of the trip, since Daddy forgot to give the camera to Mommy.

Sleepy Sounds

One of the funnier things we get to listen to is when Jillian starts getting tired ... she really starts talking a lot, sometimes in a loud voice. Sometimes it's right before she feels a nap coming on, or well before she heads to bed for the evening, and it's then that she makes a lot of noise as if she were trying to keep herself awake. She'll keep doing it a long as she can, before she gets so drowsy that she can't keep it up.

The more angry side of this is right before the evening bed time, when Jillian knows that it's time for sleeping through the night. She'll do the same talking, but this time louder and madder. It almost sounds like crying, except that she turns it on and off quickly. She usually falls asleep not long afterward.

Apple Tree

Jillian received an apple tree from Grannie Woodruff a couple months back. We planted it in the backyard, and it was a surprise that an apple showed up. The wind knocked the apple off, so it's pretty small (compared to Jillian's hand in the photo) ... but in a few years, Jillian will be climbing the tree and eating all the apples she wants.

Push Ups

Jillian continues to work towards getting mobile. Now, when she is on her tummy, she uses her arms to push herself up ... so that at least her upper chest is mostly off the floor. She has a much better view up there, and she has also been reaching for more toys and such. She's done enough push ups now that her arms are able to hold her up for quite a while (close to 5 minutes).

The other thing we've noticed is that she has tried a couple times to pull her knees up under her, like she's trying to get in the crawling position. She's not yet strong enough for that, though.

Mommy & Baby

Mommy and Jillian got to spend some quality time on the sofa today, and they both enjoyed laughing and playing together. This is a small photo of them together.

Higher Up

Here's a photo of Jillian sitting in her new high chair for the first time. Jillian seemed to like being in it, probably because she liked the view from up so high.

As long as she was in it, Daddy fed her some rice cereal, and she seems to be getting the idea. She understood that when the spoon got close, it was time to open the mouth.

Active Eater

Feeding time isn't just about eating anymore ... lately, Jillian has gotten her exercise at the same time, usually in the form of boxing. When Daddy fed her the bottle today, he could barely hold onto it, because Jillian was swinging her fists and smacking the bottle over and over again. That went on for almost the entire feeding. Was this just the little munchkin playing around, or was she taking out some of her "bottled up" agression on the bottle?

Guest Photo

Cousin Ainsley was practicing taking photos with her digital camera, and she found a willing model in Jillian. Here's a shot of her during tummy time on Grannie's lounge chair.

Dog Lover

There's something about dogs that gets Jillian all excited. Whenever she's at Grannie's and she sees their boxer Mocha, her eyes widen and she starts flailing her arms and legs like she wants to reach out and grab the dog. And this goes on all day ... she never gets disinterested in Mocha. The odd thing is, she's just not that into cats as much.

Jill & Andy

Jillian and Andy got together today for a little photo shoot during Adam's 4th birthday party. You can see Jillian trying to grab Andy in this picture. Eventually, she got a hold of his arm and gave it a good licking.

Part-time Angel

So far, whenever anyone (besides Mommy and Daddy) has baby-sat Jillian, they have all said what a little angel she was the entire time ... in other words, mostly happy with hardly any crying. Hmmm, it seems that Jillian has two sides to her ... one when she is with Mommy and Daddy (check out previous Blog entries for details), and the other with anyone else. How lucky for the baby-sitters!

Future Husky

Here's a photo of Jillian wearing her little Husky onesie, spending some quiet time thinking about what degree she'll study for when she goes to the UW about 18 years from now.

Picky Play

It looks like Jillian is getting more discriminating about what she wants to play with ... in other words, something new or different. When she was on a car ride, she started fussing like she was bored, so Daddy gave her one of her toys (that she had played with for months). Jillian gave a "uuhhh" sound and a frown. So Daddy tried giving her another of her usual toys, and again, she did the same thing. So we got a small bag of Kleenex and gave it to her ... and she grabbed it quickly and started playing with it and stuffing it in her mouth.

News Girl

Jillian is a lot like other babies ... she loves to get her hands on paper!

The first time, we made the mistake of giving her the black and white newspaper. It didn't take long before her little hands and face had black ink all over them.

Heather's friend Dawn recommended using only the color ads, which are coated. So, we have been letting Jillian play with the newspaper ads ... and she makes quick work of them, crumpling them up in short order.

View of the Roll

It turns out that there were many people who finally got to witness Jillian rolling. During some floor time today at the Verd House, Uncle Richard got down on the floor next to her (on her left). She could hear him talking, so to get a better view, she turned over to her side, then promptly rolled onto her tummy. We could tell she was proud of herself, since she had a big happy grin on her face ... plus she got to hear lots of cheering from the crowd who watched her.

So Flexible

Not only has Jillian gotten stronger, she has also gotten more flexible, like this picture shows. Yes, those are both of her feet up by her face. Like you can see here, she will occasionally stick her feet into her mouth. She now spends probably half of her floor time playing with her feet.

Rollin' ...

Rollin, rollin ... Jillian did it today! She rolled over! Unfortunately, neither Mommy nor Daddy saw it happen.

The first time was this afternoon, while Jillian was laying on her back during floor time. Mommy stepped into the kitchen for a moment, and when she came back, she found the little rug rat on her tummy. It turns out that all of her toys were just out of reach (to her left) ... so she went after them.

The second time was in the evening, again during floor time. Daddy went into the computer room for a second, and when he came back, Jillian was on her tummy again, trying to get her toys. Hopefully, we'll get to see it sometime ... though we've found Jillian to be an independent little girl, and she tends to do things only when she wants to do them (not when we want it).

Freedom Dress

Here's a photo of our patriotic little Jillian, dressed in her July 4th dress. We took her to the lake for the daytime festivities, but she slept through most of it.

What you can't see is Mommy holding down her feet, since she constantly wants to pull her feet up in front of her.

Doctor Check-up

It was time for Jillian's 4-month well-baby check-up yesterday. Dr. Zawacki had graduated from her family medicine rotation, and was no longer available. So, Heather spent the last week trying to find another doctor. She finally found Dr. O'Neal, who she found to be very nice.

The appointment started off with the usual measurements. Jillian is now 25 inches long (75th percentile), and she weighs 13 lbs 6 ounces (50th percentile) ... so she continues to stay right on course. The doctor then checked out her leg strength by standing her up, and then her arm strength by pulling her up from laying down ... and the doctor remarked that she was "a strong girl".

Mommy got her own check-up by Dr. O'Neal. So, Jillian got to spend some time with the nurses at the medical center. She did well, but with just a little fussiness. Heather had to let them know that Jillian likes to be held facing outwards.

Finally, Jillian's check-up ended with shots, again. Mommy held her down while the nurse put the needles in her thighs. On the first shot, Jillian didn't cry at all ... until the needle came out. And then the crying began. Two more shots in the other thigh and it was all over. Like before, we had a fussy baby on our hands, but it was a lot better than the last time around.

New Best Friend

Jillian has a new favorite ... her blue elephant! It pretty much goes everywhere with her, including her car seat, bouncy seat and on the floor. She likes to pull at its ears and tail, and bite its nose. And occasionally she'll even talk to it.

New Schedule

Mommy had been dreading this day for a while, but it finally came ... Mommy went back to work today. It had been a nice long 4 months of maternity leave. Jillian had gotten to spend every day being with her Mommy, and she loved every minute of it. But now it was time for a new daily schedule.

Today, Mommy dropped Jillian off at Dany's house before heading to work. She knew it would be tough to leave her little sweetie-pie ... and it was. It made Mommy sad. But Mommy was happy to know that Jillian was a very good little girl for Dany. And when Daddy picked up Jillian after work and took her home, she was very good again.

With it being summer and everyone taking vacation trips, the new schedule is still in flux. But eventually, while Mommy is at work, Jillian's caretakers will be: Grannie Woodruff on Mondays, Grandpa Peterson on Tuesdays, and Cindy Stephenson on Fridays. We are very lucky to have such loving family and friends to watch over Jillian.

Sighting No. 13

One of the more frequent comments that people make about Jillian these days is about her little chubby cheeks ... like shown in this photo. Those cheeks also tend to be a rosy red.