-We've got language exploding all over the place at our house. New words and 2-3 word combos are spoken every day. Yesterday, she told me, "Nose stuffy". I had no clue that she even knew what "stuffy" meant, but she was right! In other examples, she commented "Baby sleeping" when we walked past a sleeping baby in a stroller at the park, and told me "Rain ow-side" when she saw the rain outside through the window.
-Jillian is starting to answer questions appropriately with "yes" or "no" responses. It used to be that she would just say "no" to everything, or just repeat the last word I spoke, but now she can tell me "yes" if she does in fact want what I am offering. She has also figured out how to pose a question to herself in a ploy to get me to do what she wants. The best example of this occurred last week when I picked her up from the RAC daycare following a workout. We walked past the cafe and she saw someone with french fries. She looked at me and said, "Freh fys. Yes!" This request was repeated with great emphasis, and eventually was accompanied by an all-out tantrum when she learned that I would not oblige her request.
-I am continually amazed by Jillian's memory. She remembers things for what I consider to be long periods of time for a child her age, and even remembers events/people/things without repetition. We were looking at her Elmo picture book last week and came to the page depicting a birthday party scene. Jillian pointed at the cake and said, "Cake Nah-nad (Grandad) bow (blow)" and then proceeded to imitate blowing out candles. I was stunned, but quickly realized that she was telling me that she helped Grandad blow out his candles (2 weeks prior). I said, "That's right, you helped Grandad blow out his birthday candles didn't you?" She replied with a huge grin. Additionally, she quickly associated a trip to Target with getting a cookie after I got her one just once in a desperate attempt to get through the store on a rough day. Now I only have to tell her that we are going to Target before she shouts "Doo-tee" (cookie).
-Jillian is intensely interested in all things potty-related. She is curious about us going potty, and anyone else who will share the experience with her. We were with some friends watching a triathlon last week when Jillian noticed that her friend (who is currently being potty-trained) went potty while we were there. She probably told me that "Sa-wah (Sarah) pee-pee" about 100 times in the following days. So, I decided to break out the "Bear potty" once again to see if she was interested. She is. In fact, today after her nap she requested to sit and insisted that all clothing be removed first.
She sat for a good 2 minutes before exclaiming "biper" to request I put her diaper back on. Then we had to repeat the whole thing a full three times in less than 30 minutes. She had a wet diaper after her nap so I knew that success was unlikely, but I figured I should reinforce her interest so we did the whole song and dance until she tired. In another attempt, she decided just to try sitting sideways with her clothes still on. Interesting theory, but I went with it because it made for a cute picture.
-Jillian is very into having her toys experience the things she experiences. For instance, the favorite game of late has been trying diapers on all of her stuffed animals. She asks me to help her put it on, then she exclaims that the toy in question has pooped ("Elmo poop!") and proceeds to remove the diaper, wipe the toy's bottom, and asks for the diaper to be put on again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Last week when she was coloring, she decided she wanted her stuffed kangaroo to try and hold the crayon and color, too.
-The biggest news of the month is that Jillian can finally go down stairs safely! This has been a big worry of ours because of our two steep flights of stairs, and her tendency to just run at them with no regard for safety or plan to get down them. After multiple failed attempts, I finally succeeded last week in getting her to understand how to turn around and go down them backwards on her hands and knees. Now she just drops to the ground before getting to the steps and shouts "Knees!" as she begins to descend.
While it is true that Jillian often expresses her emotions with frequent tantrums, she also has a very sweet and caring side that melts my heart. She is quick to offer kisses for our boo-boos, hugs her friends, says "bless you" (more like "meh-moo") when we sneeze, and notices anyone crying as "sad" while wearing a concerned expression. Some days I feel like I might be going crazy as I am chasing around our toddler, but then I realize that I am really just crazy about Jillian.
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