16 Months

Jillian turned 16 months old yesterday. It is such a fun age as she is constantly learning, growing and having fun. It is also a trying age as her motor skills are greatly outpacing any ability to reason. Kisses and hugs alternate with tantrums and meltdowns these days. My daughter is quite headstrong, independent, determined and rather reckless, but really I wouldn't have it any other way even at the end of another trying day as her energy and enthusiasm are invigorating.

It is so fun to watch Jillian change from day to day. She has sprouted a couple new teeth lately bringing the total to 9 (with another molar looking to emerge soon). Partly in response to the excess drool, she has found great joy in making spitting noises, which I should probably admonish but instead find myself encouraging because it is so dang cute. I must also admit that I'm going to miss her crooked smile, as she has had only three teeth on the bottom for a couple months now. The emergence of tooth number 4 brought relief to Jeramy though, as was beginning to wonder if it even existed.
One of Jillian's favorite things to do is go places. If you get her coat or sweatshirt out, she immediately runs to you wanting it put on. It doesn't really matter where we go because everything is still new to her. I've learned to bring treats along though, because she gets rather antsy in the shopping cart. She will walk holding my hand as long as I don't stop. She must always be in motion. Even in the car she'll still get fussy if the light is red too long.

She occasionally adds a new word to her vocabulary of dada, mama, and dog. First there was hi. Then last weekend she said the word "bye". At first we found it cute, and we'd keep repeating it back to her. After she said it for the millionth time in two days, it had become a bit more wearing. Finally when leaving Costco she said it at an appropriate time to the person checking our receipt.

She is a biter. And a hair puller. I tried telling her "ow" when she pulled my hair. In response she pulls her own pig tail and says "ow". Not exactly what I was going for, but cute nonetheless.

She is fascinated with her shoes and socks. Not only does she love pulling them off (especially in the car) but she loves trying to put them back on too with limited success. We bought her a pair of oversized rubber boots that she can put on. She also enjoys trying my shoes on and shuffling around in them. When I'm sitting in the recliner with my feet up (which is often because she likes to flip the lever if you're feet are down) she'll bring over various pairs of shoes to try on me.

I'm almost afraid to say this, but Jillian has been amazingly healthy this winter and hasn't even had a cold. Jeramy has been the sick one amongst us, which is odd considering that he is home most of the time. By the way his sore throat finally cleared after a few days of antibiotics! Hooray! No mono or anything else horrible.

In less than three short months, her world will be turned upside down with Hayden's arrival. I'm not sure how she will enjoy sharing mommy and daddy's attention, but I hope that someday in the future she learns to love her little sister. In the meantime, I'm trying to enjoy these last couple of months as the mom of one child. In all honesty I'm dreading the newborn phase and lack of sleep. I've ordered up one of those quiet newborns who sleeps all the time, only wakes up to eat, and never cries. That is possible, right?

Here are a few (okay a lot more than that) pictures of Jillian's recent adventures:

After her diaper change, she insisted on trying out Hayden's crib one morning.

Riding around our yard on a quad with Dad and then riding on her own.
Playing outside on an unusually sunny day here in Seattle.
Unfortunately she wasn't as keen on coming back inside.

We'll describe these two pictures as foods that were daddy's idea.