Mommy's B-day

Today was Mommy's Birthday, and we celebrated it at La Hacienda Real, one of Mommy's favorite Mexican restaurants. Jillian was there, joined by the Peterson / Verd / Stephenson / Paul clans. Mommy had a good time seeing everyone, despite still being a little under the weather. And Jillian enjoyed seeing everyone, as well. Her own big day is just around the corner!

Pop-ups

Jillian learned a new maneuver on Saturday at Andy's birthday party. From a sitting position, she got up on her feet ... without grabbing onto anything to pull herself up! She has learned to get her feet under her and push up with her arms to a standing position. And as of today (Monday), she is choosing to crawl less and walk more, which means she pops up to standing most of the time when she wants to get somewhere. Maybe that should come as no surprise, since Jillian has become a speedy little walker. Here's a little video:

Tooth Update

It didn't take long. That bottom-left tooth must have just come in, because it's peeking through today. So that brings Jillian's tooth count up to 8. Even though she's got all these chompers, she's still fussy when it comes to eating solids.

Three at Once

Within the last day or so, Jillian had 3 teeth come in! Ouch. We knew that something had been going on for awhile now, what with all the congestion, biting everything in sight and the all-around crabbiness. And we had been feeling some sharp little bumpies just under her gums on both the top and bottom for a long time. Well, today Cousin Meagan noticed that a tooth had come in, and after further searching by everyone else, we found out that Jillian had 2 new teeth on the top and 1 new tooth on the bottom (and the other bottom tooth must be very close). That now makes for a total of 7 teeth so far.

Andy's B-day

It was party time today in Snoqualmie, as older Cousin Andy celebrated his 1st birthday! (Where has the time gone?)

It was non-stop action all afternoon long, as Aunt Sheryl and Aunt Denise's house was packed with kids and adults. Everyone gorged themselves on Andy's favorite foods like tortellini, lasagna and mac & cheese ... except Jillian, who couldn't be bothered with food - there was too much to do! Then, we sang to the birthday boy and ate cake and ice cream. It was a great time, and Jillian loved it, too ... though her favorite thing had to be the great big staircase that she climbed up many, many times.

Whistler

While at a volleyball tournament, Jillian got ahold of a whistle ... and it wasn't long before she was making all kinds of "tweeting" sounds. Mommy also keeps a whistle in one of the desk drawers, and Jillian likes to pull it out and play with it. Here's a short video of some whistlin':

Sighting No. 24

With Jillian, there's always lots of photo opportunities. Her expressions are constantly changing, so we can always get something a little different from one second to the next.

Once again, it was a visit outside that got her excited ... so much to see and do. Unfortunately, it was still pretty chilly out, and her little "paddies" got cold fast; not that she minded much. Daddy managed to take a bunch of photos, though, following Jillian around everywhere, since she was constantly on the go. That little motor of hers is always running.

The Librarian

Jillian has quite a collection of books. She has a ton of them in Mommy and Daddy's room, and she has a little stash of her favorite board books in the living room. She spends a good part of her time grabbing a bunch of her books, sitting down on the floor and flipping their pages. Most of all, she loves to have Mommy or Daddy read the books to her, over and over again. If we're in the room with her, she'll motor over to her books, grab one and lift it up to us (sometimes with a little "yell").

Baby Kisses

Here's a photo of Jillian giving her little baby a big, sloppy kiss. She now knows what the word "kiss" means, and when we tell her to kiss her baby, she opens her mouth up really wide and plants it on baby's head ... sometimes that just ends with her chewing on the baby. Jillian will also occasionally give Mommy or Daddy a kiss if we ask for it, and it's the same way ... nice and big.

Outdoor Girl

Jillian loves being outside. She's been that way for as long as we can remember. But it's just been too cold and wet to go out there ... until this past weekend when the sun came out, it dried out and warmed up a little bit. So, Daddy took her out back and let her roam around. She had a big smile on her face, and couldn't wait to get into things. Jillian really didn't have much interest in staying on the path; she'd rather check out all the dirt and grass (more like weeds). It looks like Spring is going to be a very fun time for Jillian (and busy for Mommy and Daddy following her around).

Swinger

We took a little trip up to Seattle this past weekend to visit many of Mommy's friends, and it was a very fun time, and a chance for everyone to see how much bigger Jillian had grown. We stayed with Laura Nelson in her new digs, and took time out on Saturday to walk Green Lake since the sun was shining. We stopped at a little playground, and put Jillian into one of bucket swings. She wasn't so sure, but once she got a little push, she thought it was pretty cool. Most of the time, she just liked looking at the little kid swinging next to her.

Just say "No!"

Jillian's vocabulary now includes the word "No" ... it was going to happen sooner or later! Right now, she just says it when we read the "Where's Spot?" book to her. When we ask whether Spot is behind the door, inside the clock, etcetera ... she opens up the book flap and says "No". Here's a short video of it:

Smooth Moves

Jillian's entertainment center has a lot of catchy songs that make her want to dance. Here's a short clip of her "getting down" to some kid tunes (and if you watch close, you can see her do her little leg kick at the end ... it's one of her signature moves):

Long, Long Nights

The past few weeks have been very tiring for Mommy and Daddy. Jillian has not been sleeping very well at all. She fights going to bed, as usual, but now she is waking up at all times throughout the night. And once she's up, there's lots of crying. We've found that one of the things that wakes her up is the congestion she has in her sinuses. Jillian seems to breathe OK during the daytime, but once she's been asleep for awhile, things start to plug up ... and when she can't breathe through her nose, that's when she wakes up. If we prop her up a little, then she'll clear up and go into a deep sleep again ... We're not entirely sure what is causing this, whether it's a mild cold that's hanging on, or teething symptoms (though no teeth have pushed through for awhile), or maybe allergies? Whatever it is, we hope it's a phase that passes soon.

Speeding Up

It seems as though Jillian has picked up a little foot speed in the last few days. Now it's not a matter of whether she'll stay on her feet, but how fast can she get to where she's going. Here's a short clip of Jillian zipping along:

Cap o' Water

Here's a guest video sent in by Aunt Des, showing Cousin Rielee giving Jillian a little drink of water out of the bottle cap. Rielee really likes to feed Jillian, and Jillian likes it, too!

The Chase Game

One of Jillian's favorite games is "The Chase Game". It involves her crawling down the hall (usually towards the bathroom where she's not supposed to be), and Mommy or Daddy chasing her, saying "I'm gonna get you!" Jillian tries to crawl really fast, but her giggling slows her down. When we catch her and tickle her, she giggles even more. Then, she keeps crawling and we keep chasing her. She thinks the game is pretty hysterical.

Girl in the Mirror

Here's a little bonus video of Jillian today. She thought it was pretty funny to see herself in the mirror (the big one in the hallway) ... then she gave herself a big kiss!

The Giver

Something new for Jillian is that she likes to give things. It's usually a toy or book that she has, and if she wants us to play with the toy or read the book to her, she'll reach and hold it out for us to take from her. So we make the toy go-go or read the book, and as soon as we give it back, she gives it back to us ... and that can go on for awhile. This is far different from when she has been trying to keep things away from our hands.

Sighting No. 23

Couldn't resist putting up this photo of Jillian (it's from about a week ago). Her hair has always been a little bit out-of-control, and some days are crazier than others. She gets her hair color from Mommy and the straightness from Daddy ... as for the wild looks, well, that's just our sweetie-pie!

Sighting No. 22

Here's the latest photo of Jillian, still sporting a bruise from her head-banging incident. She got another "owie" today when she crashed face-first into her entertainment center, cutting her lip a bit (since she had a little bleeding in her mouth). Mommy and Daddy have now begun aging at a faster pace.

Gym Rat

It was a long, long day at the gym on Sunday. Mommy coached her club volleyball team in the first tournament of the season, and Jillian spent the entire day playing around in the gym and in the school halls. She had lots of company, since there was a lot of family to help babysit, including Grannie, Auntie Greta, Uncle Clark, Auntie Sheryl and Aunt Robin. Then there were all the volleyball players, which included her cousins Tierney, Meagan and Macee, who entertained her. And Cousins Adam and Andy were there for even more fun! All of the action eventually wore Jillian out, and she took several naps throughout the day, despite the noise in the gyms. Through it all, Jillian was a happy little girl, which is a good thing, because she is going to be spending many, many more days in gyms in the months and years to come.

Entertainment Center

Jillian received quite a little entertainment center (see photo) from her Uncle Clark, Auntie Greta and Cousins Meagan and Adam. It has it all ... lights, moving parts and best of all, lots and lots of music and sounds. Thankfully, it has an "off" switch! But Jillian loves to roam all around it, pushing every button and even trying to crawl on top of it (uh-oh). It has become the centerpiece to Jillian's play area, which just so happens to also be our living room.

More New Stuff

It's all hard to keep up with, the new things that Jillian figures out. Here's a few more ...

1. She has started pointing at things, although it's with kind of an open fist. No finger pointing yet. But, she likes to point her arm in the direction of photos of people she recognizes, or things that she wants.

2. We'll have to see where this goes, but Jillian has gotten into the habit of yelling when she wants to get our attention, or when she wants something. It can be pretty loud, and she tenses up her arms and legs to get the maximum effect. Sometimes she'll laugh afterwards.

3. When we feed her, Jillian has usually used a grunt or she swings her arm out when she doesn't want something. Now, she'll shake her head "no" to let us know she's not interested. When that happens, we know that feeding time is pretty much over.

Goose Egg

Jillian started off 2009 with a bang today, getting a nice little bump (a very small goose egg) on her forehead. Lately when she's walking, if she gets close to something like a chair or wall, she'll reach out and lunge for it, rather than taking one more step. Well, this time she was walking over to the living room window, and lunged for the wall ... except she was nowhere near close enough. So, she went head-first into the wall with a big thud, and ended up with a nice mark on her head. She cried for a few seconds, then wanted back down to walk around some more.