A Jillian Clare update

So, it's been a while since I've written about Jillian and all the wonderful things about her...so here goes!




Jillian is 32 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds (90th percentile)...and has a shoe size of 7.5! She's beginning to fit all her 3T clothing perfectly, which means she'll be in 4T before we know it. Who makes these size charts? Her hair is well below her shoulders and has some really pretty curls and waves to it. It's also beginning to become more blond now that it's summer. She loves to have her hair blow dried after her bath (a new bonding thing we've been doing) while she sits on the bathroom counter and plays with all the toothbrushes and q-tips. Oh--and she just loves to put lotion on her hands and rub it on her cheeks. A real beauty queen!

Jillian has a very large vocabulary for a 22 month old. You can carry a conversation with her and she basically puts 5-6 words together at a time. Sometimes I think there's an echo in the house, and sometimes I think she literally says everything that comes to her mind. There's no "think before you speak" when it comes to Jillian...she says it all. I often find her standing in front of my full length mirror having conversations with herself like this: "Hello! How are you today...I'm good! My name is Jillian Blanchard...bye byeeeee." She usually walks away from the mirror looking back at herself to see what she looks like walking away. So funny! Sometimes she'll pick up her play phone and say "Call Daddy...Hi Daddy! I love you Daddy!"

Kisses--Jillian is one of the kissiest little people I know! Every morning she gives Jasmine (our dog) a kiss...with a big "Muah" sound. Whenever I watch our neighbor, 7 month old Tula, Jillian will spend the first five minutes trying to give Tula a kiss on her head, her cheek, her arm..anywhere. She almost always kisses all her friends if she can get a hold of them. So sweet! All her stuffed animals get kisses throughout the day too...and of course, Mommy and Daddy get their share as well! She's starting to randomly run up to our legs and give them kisses...and she sometimes will ask "Give Jasmine a kiss?"

Swimming has become our new favorite activity. She has been "swimming" since she was 6 months old and has never shied away from the water. She has mastered bubble blowing and can do a pretty good flutter kick. She's learning to "scoop" the water with her hands and can definitely move herself through the pool in her swim-sweater ring. Once she hits the pool she is literally off and running---she'll walk right through the 2ft area and will keep going to the 3ft unless we tell her to stop. It's wonderful that she's so comfortable in the pool--but a little scary at the same time. She's become one of those "pool rat" kids that acts as if she owns the place and just climbs in and out and jumps around all while playing with everyone else's pool toys. It's such a joy to see how truly happy she is in the pool...there's nothing better to perk up a day than a visit to the pool.

Jillian can sing several songs, too! She sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" "Ring Around the Rosie" "Old MacDonald" "ABC's" "Wheels on the Bus" and of course her favorite "Hello Song" from our FunFit Toddlers class. She is usually found singing when she thinks no one is listening--such as in the car, or in her crib after a nap or while she's playing with her toys. I'm still trying to figure a way to record her singing without her knowing but it may be a while before that happens! She also sings the theme song to her favorite show: "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse; come inside it's fun inside." And she usually adds the "Miska-Mouska-Mickey-Mouse!"

Food--Jillian is becoming a true foodie. She eats almost anything...there really isn't much that she won't eat. Whenever I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner she assumes I'm cooking her favorite foods--recently she said this to me: "Mommy's cooking. Tortolinis! Mommy cook a tortolini, and a broccoli and a popsicle." I think she was placing her order. She loves Special K with Strawberries (also known as "Mommy's cereal") and she'll eat raisins, bananas, grapes and apple sticks all day. She's a yogurt girl and loves cheese and PB&J sandwiches. Every night she eats broccoli---and absolutely LOVES it (yay!) She is also a fan of tuna sandwiches, grilled chicken, spaghetti, meatballs, scrambled eggs, and toast. She loves popsicles, pickles, nuts, goldfish, and those little Gerber Juice Treats (like gummy bears, but for babies.) We call it "Special Snack" and use it as bribery because she loves it so much--we usually tell her she can have some Special Snack after she gets out of the pool--otherwise we'd never get her out. She asks for her "Special Nack" every single time we leave the pool. And, just like her mom and dad...she's a fan of chips and salsa! She even likes the spicy salsa, too! Dip, dip, dip.

I could write many more paragraphs about all the wonderful things Jillian says and does (and how very proud we are of her) but I think I'll stop for now. We are due to go on our first long vacation (10 days) this Friday up to VT for some family time and to attend our friend's Taffy and Joey's wedding. We are really looking forward to the road trip and some much needed R&R up on Lake Champlain. Happy 4th of July to all...we'll post again after the 8th!