Bottle Withdrawl

Jillian is going through bottle withdrawls. We ran out of bottle liners on Friday night, and Jillian had turned 15 months old, so it seemed like as good a time as any to get rid of the bottle feedings, which were happening every morning and night. It had become a comfort-thing for Jillian, so we knew it would probably be a tough transition. And it has been, but it's gotten better. On Friday night, Jillian refused to take her milk from a sippy cup, and eventually went to sleep without it. Saturday morning, she actually had a bit of milk from the sippy cup, so she was mostly OK with it ... but then she was very unhappy again on Saturday night. Sunday morning and nights have been better, and Jillian has been a little more willing to drink from the sippy cups. She is on her way to being more and more of a "big girl".

Big Girl Breakfast

We have begun working towards having Jillian feeding herself at the big table. We are sliding her high chair up to the table, and putting her food out in front of her, and letting her take care of it herself. She got to have breakfast that way this morning, with Cheerios, a banana and milk. She did a pretty good job ... she ate lots of Cheerios (which is funny, because she didn't like them for a while). She also got to eat like this for dinner, when Mommy made enchiladas. Jillian ate 3 helpings, so she must like meat!! She used her little fork to scoop up bites most of the time, but when she got impatient, she went back to the fingers. It was a bit of a mess, but she did a good job of eating.

Horsey Ride

Jillian rode on a horsey for the first time on Saturday. We all went up to the Paul house for an afternoon barbeque. The food was great! Jillian took her swimming suit, but she wasn't very interested in getting into the pool, so she just sat by the side and splashed her feet. Later that evening, everyone went out to the stables, and we got to watch Lindsey and Mckenna ride their horse "Cowboy" around. When we took Jillian up by the horse, she wasn't so sure, but she eventually reached and touched him. Then, when Lindsey was riding, we put Jillian up with her on the saddle (see the photo). She thought it was pretty neat, and rode around for a while. She was also getting ready to ride with Mckenna, but when Cowboy started sneezing, she got a little scared, and declined a second ride.

Sighting No. 34

Here's Jillian, sporting another summer dress, on her way to celebrate her Auntie Greta's birthday.

Outside Bath

There's no need to give Jillian a bath anymore ... she gets soaked almost every day when Mommy goes outside to water the plants. Jillian loves to touch the water spray, which makes the water splash everywhere, usually all over her. And after she does it, she tenses up and says "ooooh!" Then she reaches out for more. She also thinks it's neat when the mist from the spray lands on her, and her reaction is the same.

Mommy's Little Helper

Jillian loves to help Mommy with the laundry. She gets right into the laundry basket and pulls out all of the clothes, throwing them all over the floor. Lots of times she'll try putting on the clothes over her head ... which isn't so cool when it's our underwear. It's pretty funny, though. In this photo, she found her jam-jams, and was trying to put her feet into them.

Beach Trip

It's been a very long time (in Jillian-years) that we've been to the beach, so this was almost like a new experience to Jillian. And she had a very fun time.

We went to Grannie and Papa's beach cabin in Ocean Park for Memorial Day weekend. Mommy and Daddy looked forward to getting away from it all for a while, and having Jillian get out on the beach and play around. We got there on Friday evening, and Jillian went right to exploring the cabin, even though it was way past her bedtime. She wandered around in destructo-mode, and eventually found lots of good books to read.

On Saturday morning, Jillian slept in to only 7:00 am, so Mommy and Daddy were very tired. So, we all headed to Full Circle Cafe for some coffee. We then came back to the cabin and took a short mid-morning nap. After that, it was time to head to the beach. When we got Jillian out of her stroller, she walked around in the dry sand for a while ... she thought it was pretty neat that she could dig her toes into the sand. After a little bit, we walked towards the ocean to play in the water. We weren't even within 20 feet of the waves when Jillian turned around and took off back towards the dry sand ... she wanted nothing to do with the ocean! When we tried to coax her towards the water again, she started crying. So, we stayed a good distance away from the waves, and dug holes and filled them with water from the pail. Jillian splashed in that water a little, then got crabby, so we headed back to the cabin. If we couldn't play in the water at the beach, we could at least do it at the Astoria Aquatic Center. We went there in the afternoon, and Jillian had a great time in the little kid pool that was less than a foot deep. We finished our day with a campfire, hot dogs and s'mores.

On Sunday, it wasn't as nice out, so the only thing we did at the beach was take a walk in the morning, with Jillian in the stroller. Then we took off for Seaside, where we met up with Scott & Cindy, Helen and Lindsey & Mckenna at a Liesure Time Resort. They had a very nice pool, and even a little one (this one was 1-1/2 foot deep), and the little one was very warm. So, Mommy, Daddy and Lindsey all hung out in the little pool with Jillian, and got soaked with all her splashing. It took her a little while to get used to trying to walk around in water that was up to her waist. But once again, she had a lot of fun. We finished this day with a yummy dinner made by Cindy, and ice cream for dessert (which Jillian got lots of spoonfuls of).

Monday morning was sunny, warm and calm ... one of the nicest days we've seen down there. So, we all headed right for the beach. The tide was way out, so we stopped at the tide pools and let Jillian play in them. The water was warm, so she was able to play for a long time without getting too cold. She used her shovel and pails, and dug and splashed and made a big mess. Then, we went into the dry sand to relax, and Jillian got even sandier. When she got restless, we headed back to the cabin and Jillian took a bath to get all cleaned up. Then it was time to go home. Jillian was a little go-go girl the whole time we were there, and loved having so much to do.

New Stuff VII

There's been a lot of jibber-jabber lately, but of the things that we can (kind of) understand ...

1. "Hup" : We told Jillian to ask for help when she needs it, like holding onto a hand when going down stairs, so this is how she says help.

2. "Hi, Daddy" : After Daddy said "Hi, Sweetie-Pie" to Jillian, this is what she said back.

3. (Cough, cough) : Whenever Jillian coughs, she now pats her chest ... we guess she's trying to mimic when we pat her back.

Car Playground

There's something about the inside of Mommy and Daddy's cars that Jillian loves to play all over. When we get back home and take her out of her car seat, she turns right around and wants to climb back into the car ... not necessarily to go anywhere, but just to crawl around inside. She likes to get into the back seat and sit in her car seat herself, and work on buckling back up again. Or she'll just explore around and look out the windows. Then she'll crawl into the front seat and sit on the driver's side ... this usually brings a big smile. She'll grab onto the steering wheel and give it a yank, and sometimes she'll even push hard enough to make it "honk". We're not sure if she likes that yet, since it's so loud. Throughout all the climbing around, she has plenty of stumbles and crashes, and the occasional getting stuck in a crazy position.

Backing Down

Jillian has decided that, when it comes to stairways, she'd rather go down backwards. Apparently, she had a little tumbling incident on the stairs at Grannie's house ... it was pretty minor (she only rolled down a step or two), but it shook Jillian up a little, and made her be much more cautious around stairs. Here's a longer video of her backing down the front porch stairs at our house. Note that she's being slowed down a bit by the fact that she's gripping onto a rock that she found.

Hair Washing Time

For quite a while, Jillian did not like having her hair washed in the bathtub. We would lean her on her back and pour water in her hair, and she would cry and cry, and let us know that she didn't like it. Then something changed, and she doesn't mind at all having her hair washed. Now, when it's time for the washing, she goes ahead and leans backward herself ... and then waits patiently (and quietly) for it to be done. We're thinking that she's being good so that she can have many more bathtimes (since she loves them so much). Whatever the case, it has made for a much happier bathtime for both Jillian and Mommy.

New Stuff VI

More new things in Jillian's world ...

1. "Ta-da" : There doesn't have to be a reason for Jillian to say this ... she just does it whenever.

2. "Shoes" : She says this now when it's time to put on her shoes.

3. "Ice (cream)" : Jillian can get the first word down, and them just jumbles in the second word. She says it whenever it's time for ice cream, which in our family, is often. In fact, as Cousin Tierney found out, if you have a bowl of ice cream, Jillian will stand in front of you with her mouth open and demand that you give her some ... and end up eating all of it.

4. "Ba-ah" : This is her word for the bottle.

5. "Bite" : Jillian literally yells this at us when she's roaming around the dinner table, looking for a bite to eat from our plates.

6. "Hot" : She repeated this over and over, after Mommy warned her about the barbeque being hot. This might be the beginning of Jillian's parrot-phase, when she repeats everything we say.

Wink ;)

Grandpa Peterson showed Jillian a very cool new trick. She now knows what a wink is, and she can wink at you if you ask her to! Here's a short video of her giving the camera a wink ...

Tractor Girl

Tractors and lawn mowers (that are running) have always been a little scary for Jillian, probably because of the loud noise. She likes to climb onto Papa Woodruff's tractor and lawn mower if they're not running and play around. When we've tried to give her a ride while their going, she gets upset and wants to get away.

Today, Grannie took Jillian and sat on the lawn mower while it was idling. Then they drove around for a bit. Grannie asked Jillian if she wanted more, and Jillian gave her the "more" sign. So they drove around again. Then Cousin Tierney showed up, and they drove around some more. Here's a little photo of Tierney and Jillian on Papa's John Deere mower.

Stitches All Gone

Jillian went to the doctor today to have the stitches in her bottom lip removed. Dr. O'Neal was her physician this time around, and Mommy helped out by holding her down. Jillian didn't cry as much as when the stitches were put in ... she actually did pretty good; she was just a little mad. Now her lip looks pretty good. It's hard to tell that she even had a big cut.

Mama's Day

Today was Mother's Day, so Jillian gave Mommy all she could handle by being a little go-go girl all day long. It was a very busy day, starting off with Starbucks and a card (from Jillian). Then we went to church, followed by lunch at the Pancake House with Cousin Meagan. Unfortunately, it got to be way behind Jillian's nap time, so she had a meltdown and it took a while for her to calm down and sleep.

After waking up, we went up to Grannie and Papa's house for a Mom's Day barbeque at the firepit. Jillian spent nearly the entire time over at Uncle Dan and Aunt Robin's house nearby ... because they have a water fountain and pond. Jillian took every rock she could find and hucked them into the pond. Here's a little video of some of the action:

Spring Dress, Again

It's hard to tell sometimes that Spring is actually here ... but when it's nice and sunny, Jillian likes to put on one of her spring-like dresses. Here's a photo of her in the backyard, heading off to Sunday morning church.

J & A, Part III

It was time for the annual Peterson / Stephenson / Paul and More garage sale. It was another big event, and we had it at Auntie Greta and Uncle Clark's place this time around. There was lot's of stuff, and lot's of kids running around, including Jillian and Cousin Andy. Here's a little photo of them chilling out together at Adam's little picnic table.

Wet Noodle

Part of Jillian's newfound ability to throw a little mini-tantrum is her new maneuver called the "wet noodle". When she has her mind set on something, and then we (or anyone else) tries to pull her away or pick her up, she goes all limp. A lot of times Jillian will arch her back and throw her head backwards, but at the same time, she'll get all floppy in her arms and legs, which makes holding her pretty difficult. And of course, she's yelling and crying while she does this. If we don't hold her up, she'll end up laying on the ground. We actually thought it was kind of funny at first ...

The Nurturing Side

In between rambling around like a wild girl, Jillian will show us her nurturing motherly-side. She'll lay (or toss) her baby onto the floor, and then lay a blanket over the top of baby. Here's a little photo of one of those times.

Helping Hand

Used to be that Jillian would walk right up to some stairs, and then step off on her own, expecting someone nearby to catch her. Nowadays, if someone is close, she'll reach out her hand for help getting down. She seems to be getting used to the idea of hand-holding, because if we grab onto her hand in a parking lot or a store, she'll go ahead and hold on.

Hurricane Jill

The stitches haven't slowed down our Sweetie-Pie. She is right back to her "destructo-mode", making the house look like a hurricane ran through it. Here's a photo of Jillian going through her clothes drawers ... unfortunately, she just couldn't find a thing to wear.

(By the way, Jillian had yet another crash this afternoon, falling forward and hitting her head on her blocks ... she ended up with a nice bruise just above her right eyebrow. As if Mommy's nerves weren't already frazzled enough!)

First Stitches

Jillian received her first stitches today ... and she's only 14 months old. If she's anything like her Mommy, there will probably be many more stitches to come.

This morning, while playing around in the living room, Jillian decided to climb her toy refrigerator. She reached up to the top shelf and pulled herself up, only to slip and smack her mouth on a lower shelf. Mommy saw the whole thing happen, and as soon as Jillian hit her lip, it started spurting blood everywhere. Mommy immediately put pressure on it to stop the bleeding, and then got her cleaned up. Jillian was very upset! Mommy knew it was a pretty deep gash, so she called Daddy at work to ask for help driving Jillian to the urgent care clinic in Vancouver. Daddy came home and we loaded up for a quick trip.

When we got to the clinic and while Mommy was checking in, Jillian ran around with her split lip, exploring and having a good time in the waiting room. It was like nothing had even happened. Eventually, we went to our examination room, and when the physician assistant came to visit, it took only a moment for her to look at Jillian's lip and decide that she would need stitches. That's when she went to get someone else to help out (with holding Jillian down).

The nurse came in, got out a heavy blanket, and wrapped Jillian in the "burrito-wrap" ... and just like when she was a baby, Jillian got very mad!!! She doesn't like being confined! Mommy and Daddy helped hold her down while the nurse held her head, and the PA injected saline solution into her lip. Then she quickly put in 2 stitches. Jillian screamed the whole time, but once it was over and she got out the blanket, she was OK again.

On our way home, we stopped by Burgerville and picked up a vanilla milkshake. It was kind of like how Mommy got a soft-serve ice cream after one of her owies. Jillian slurped down the shake, and was in a much better mood afterwards.

Pretty Flowers

No flower is safe from Jillian ... she loves to pick them! Mommy has many flowers in front of the house, and when Jillian goes outside, the flower bed is the first place that she goes. Her favorites are the little purple flowers (like the photo shows ... she had just picked one). The others that she likes are the tulips. The only problem is that she tries to eat the flowers every time; though she doesn't care much for them, since she spits them out.

Pretend Cooking

Now that Jillian has some cooking-wares (pots, pans, dishes and utensils, compliments of the Paul's), she has started playing make-believe with them. She likes to pretend that she is stirring a pot with a wooden spoon and then eating the make-believe food. The other thing she does is hand us a pan, which we reach into and grab the make-believe food and then eat it ... then she'll do the same.