17 Months

We are nearly to the 1 and a half year mark...and to having two under two. We are about to embark on some crazy times at our house.

This past month Jillian continues to perfect her climbing skills. Jeramy's mom found a swing set/big toy on Craigs List for free, so Jeramy picked it up last week. He needed to replace a lot of the lumber and buy some new accessories but it still ended up being a really great deal. I'm surprised how much use she can already get out of it. Jeramy built a climbing wall that was a little less steep so that she could get up by herself. It has been an unusually sunny winter here in Seattle so we've been able to go outside to play several times.




Lately she has taken to climbing into things. For example she likes to empty all the toys out of her red bin, walk around with it and then climb in. She has also climbed into smaller bins, which doesn't always work out as well. If I were a nicer mom, I'd help her out rather than grabbing my camera first.


Jillian continues to pick up a new word occasionally. This past week she learned a new name..."Cujo". Well it sounds more like "Ujo" but close enough. She likes to talk, but you can rarely understand what she is saying. I keep reading that language development really takes off after 18 months, and I'm starting to get excited about communicating with her in a more verbal manner. Right now the game of guessing why she is having a temper tantrum is not a lot of fun and trying to reason with her is futile. For example yesterday, just before succumbing to a nap, she'd cry for help to put her boots on. Once on, she'd kick them off. Then cry because she wanted them on. I'd help, and then she'd kick them off. And cry. It made me want to cry too.

She loves going places and always wants to go "bye bye". Even when there is no place to go. I have taken to go to the drive through coffee stand on weekends, just to give into her pint sized demands. When she wants to go someplace she'll run and grab a sweatshirt and/or shoes. Or she'll go to the front door and cry "bye" several times. When we are not about to head out, I try explaining that we are staying home to no avail (see the end of the above paragraph).

Her molars have been growing in at a snail's pace. I think it was two months ago when I first felt one poking through. That one is still only a little grown in. Two others have since began to emerge. For the most part it doesn't seem to bother her, although we'll get an occasional night that is filled with tears until a dose of Tylenol kicks in.

For the most part she is a pretty good napper, and if we don't throw some crazy kinks into the daily routine you can usually get a good two hours of peace and quiet from her. Last Monday this was not the case. She only napped for Jeramy for 45 minutes all day, and upon my arrival home I could tell that both Jillian and daddy were basketcases. During dinner sleep finally overcame her. This photo was taken at 5:45pm, and she slept from then until 6am the next morning.


One of Jillian's favorite activities these days is having a book read to her. She has a few favorites: Busy Busy Kitties, Hand Hand Finger Thumb and Doggies. Jeramy and I frequently hide these, because they get a little old after you've read them 12 times in one afternoon. I bought her a few new ones in hopes that she changes it up a bit.

Over the weekend we went to Bean's 2nd birthday party. Poor Sunny had to miss most of it due to some contractions (which is bound to happen with you have a baby bump the size of a small planet), but Jillian enjoyed herself thoroughly. She is used to playing with other children, but doesn't rarely more than one or two at a time. She was also a big fan of their dog, who she followed inside and outside, and inside and outside, and inside and outside. She was also a fan of stealing everybody else's food, juice boxes and forks. Apparently she hasn't gotten the memo on personal boundaries yet.