Jillian is 2!!

Thursday was not only Thanksgiving Day, but our little Jillian's 2nd birthday! WE didn't really celebrate that day, because of the holiday, but we sure did the next night! It seems that in our family, we tend to group birthdays. Steve, Andy and I all get one party in August. Katie, Juliet and Jillian celebrate all together in November. Mom and Paul actually get to have their birthdays alone. Anyway, we had a party for all the birthday ladies Friday night and it was a blast! As you can imagine, Jilly kinda stole the show, but hey, she's just that cute. :-)

We got the night rolling with a tantrum when Auntie Katie wouldn't let her play with the camera. Yeah, she's just kinda 2.


One of the things I was most excited for was the 'No Man Cake. When Katie was 3, she was obsessed with Snowmen, or as she called them "'No men". For her birthday, my mom made her a No Man cake and she got a No Man ornament for Christmas. This year, Mom offered to make a coconut cake for the party. We were trying to think of ways to make it more fun for a 2 year old, and Mom remembered 'No Men. So a 'No Man Cake came to be! It was a collaborative effort for sure. Mom and Katie baked it. Mom cut and frosted it. I "snowed" it with coconut. Paul bought all the embellishments. Then Mom and I decorated it. (Yeah, Mom did most of the work.) It came out SUPER CUTE!



My mom, amazing seamstress that she is, also made Jilly this BEE-YEW-TEE-FULL dress!! She saw the pink ribbon fabric and dreamed up the rest of the dress. We found the rest of the material bit by bit and a pattern to work, then she just adjusted it to her specifications. It came out absolutely lovely and suits Jilly just perfectly, color, shape and all. Mom is still going to add some embellishments to the bodice and make some hairbows, but the dress itself is all together. Isn't it just gorgeous?!


The first present Jilly wanted to open (and I mean that, she dragged the bag off the table) was from her parents. She reached in and pulled out this!


Yep, we got her a dump truck! I think it's way fun and it has duplo-block thingies she can stack or put in the back. She LOVED it right away and ignored the rest of us for like 10 minutes, pushing it all around the kitchen.


You can't see Katie at all, but this is the pretty scarf she got. She asked for one, since it's cold over there in Pullman and she needs to keep her neck warm! It's also kinda silky and big enough to use as a pajmina (did I spell that right?) for fancy occasions.


Auntie Katie got Jilly a very exciting gift. A fairy wings dress up set! Complete with wings, tutu and wand, and all in its own nifty case too. How fun!


Jilly helped open her last present from Auntie Juliet. It was a nice leggings & velour top outfit. The top is ice blue and the leggings are cream with blue and purple stripes. I can't wait to put her in it.


After the presents were over, it was time to play with the loot! We put the wings on Jilly and handed her the wand. She immediately (and I'm not kidding on that) headed over to the mirror to check herself out. She would go over, then turn so she could look at the back! Hysterical!


Check out the awesome wand.


The little fairy ran off to cuddle with her Granny and Grandpa for a few minutes.




Later, after No Man Cake, we put on the tutu as well and let her run around in her full regalia. She had such a good time showing off for everyone.


And I thought she was the most adorable thing EVER!


She even went over to her Auntie Juliet to ask to be picked up.


And here's a final shot of the back of the fairy wings.


I didn't get any pictures of her blowing out the cake with my camera, because the dratted battery died in the middle of the night. But I got some with my mom's so as soon as I get them to me, I will post them here. They're precious with the candlelight on her face.

We had a wonderful night celebrating all the birthdays. Our little girl is pretty much the luckiest little girl in the world, to have so many people who love her and want to make her happy. We love our Jilly Beans!!

Been a little occupied

Has it really been over 3 weeks since I last blogged on here? Shame on me! Unfortunately, you're not getting anything exciting.

Jilly will be 2 next week and I can't believe it!! Wasn't it just like a month ago that I was moaning and whining about being 9 months pregnant for Thanksgiving and desperately trying to get the baby OUT of me? And now she's two?! She's throwing tantrums and being Little Miss Independent (shocking). If she doesn't want to do something she shrieks, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" and flops face down onto the ground. Which usually sends us into giggles. Not sure if that's sending the right message to her, but what else are you gonna do? Get upset over it? Laughing is better. At least I think so. ;-) Jillian has also developed this new trick of grabbing my hand and pulling me off the couch and leading me to what she wants. The usual suspects are the kitchen (for food and/or drink) and her bedroom (for bed and/or diaper change). Yes my kid (sometimes) asks to be put to bed. Hands down, usually the highlight of my day when that happens. But strangely, she only does it to me, not to Steve. Well, just another one to add to that list. But she still is our happy, sunny little Beanie Breath and we love her more than we ever thought. :-)

Steve and I aren't up to very much. We're both plugging away at work and Church. Steve fills his Saturdays with lots of college football (HOOK 'EM HORNS!), that is when he hasn't been roped into working. I am still working at the same place, same hours. I've been rather tired as of late, so Steve's had to pick up the slack at home. Luckily, he doesn't mind too much and is always happy to serve his girls. But I don't think there is much else going on with us. We're boring.

So that is my mini-update. I felt bad I hadn't blogged in awhile, so this is my Band-Aid fix. Hopefully, I'll get back in the swing of things soon. Until then, persevere my loyal subjects.

Trick or Treat!

Last night Jilly got to go Trick or Treating with Granny and Mama. We went in Granny's neighborhood. We were a little disappointed there were more kids out, but I guess it meant more candy for us! ;-) Jilly was quite the ferocious and terrifying bat, and of course charmed everyone in sight.

Before we left our house, I wanted a picture of her without her jacket one, so you can see her cute Halloween shirt.


Once we were at Granny's with the Bat Bag in hand, she was ready to go!


I didn't get any pictures while we were walking around, but let me tell you. For the few houses we went to, we scored pretty darn well. One house we went to gave us a King Size Snickers! Can you believe it?! Steve was sure psyched about that one. She did a good job of either picking a candy or taking the one they offered and putting it in her bag. However, I did get the feeling she was trying to escape from me. Everytime someone opened their door, she tried to walk inside! :-) Granted, I don't think she'd ever encountered a situation where we just stood at a door and didn't go inside, so I don't blame her for trying. Hehehehe.

Jilly inspected her loot quite closely when we got home.


For quite awhile after getting home, Jilly walked around the kitchen, dragging her bag with her. It was adorable.


Then she started playing with the candy itself. The suckers were quite a hit with her.


We finally let her have a piece. I gave her a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar, which she LOVED! Can you tell? ;-)


This was an accidental video. My mom was trying to take a picture, but I forgot it was on video mode. Nonetheless it was cute and you can see Jilly licking her fingers.


On the way home, I let her hold her bag of candy. I could hear her playing with it, throwing it in the seat next to her and such. Then it got a little quiet. I stopped at a light and turned around to see this!


She hasn't unwrapped it at all, but rather chewed on the corner, melted it with her hot little hand and sucked it all out! I let her finish the Krackel, but drew the line at the Mr. Goodbar. I was not going to let her eat peanuts while I was driving! She didn't like that idea.


We got home and I let her have a "Creepy Pop" skull-face sucker. She LOVED it! And proceeded to get it all over her face, hands and clothes. Once she began using it as a drumstick on her toys and booksheld, I took it away and she got a bath.

All in all, it was a very successful and fun Halloween!!

Boogly Nights!

Last night was our ward's Boogly Nights Halloween Party. There was a Chili & Cornbread Potluck dinner, then carnival games, a costume parade and a Trunk or Treat!! It was a lot of fun and a HUGE turnout. At one point, someone counted 185 people in the gym alone, not counting anyone in the halls or outside. My guess, there were over 200 people there. WOW! It was tons of fun.

The food and games were fun. Most of my pictures are from the Costume Parade. I won't put names of kiddos on here, but if anyone either wants me to take their kiddos' photo down or email them the original, let me know!

BAT JILLY! I realized later this was the ONLY picutre I took of her that night. D'OH! Good thing I'll have two more chances to take pics of her in the costume. :-)




















Jilly enjoyed the Trunk or Treat. We knew she couldn't say Trick or Treat, so we taught her to say "Boo!" Of course, she can say it to us, but refused to do it while Trunk or Treating. Silly kid. But she liked walking around and knew to get the piece of candy, then put it in her candy bag. By the end of the night she was totally done (only got a less than 1 hour nap) but had fun. In the car on the way home, we had to stop at the store. Steve ran in while Jills and I stayed in the car. She informed me that she was a "taaahd guh" (tired girl) who needed to "go hoh" (go home) and "beh" (bed). :-)

Play time with Maya!

One of Jilly's favorite friends, Maya, came over to play today. Maya is one month older than Jilly and they get along pretty well. They spent a lot of time together in Primary, then in Nursery, and at Playgroup as well. Jilly was still asleep when Maya got here, but woke up soon and they had a really fun time together. For two 2-year-olds being together for 3 1/2 hours, we only had 5 minutes where they upset each other. Not bad, if you ask me! It sure doesn't hurt they're both very sweet girls.

They both enjoyed playing with the letters on our fridge.


Maya kept playing longer than Jilly and liked to tell me about it.


Jilly got a hold of my hairbrush after I did her hair and was playing with it. This says to me, "Concentrate....I know I can make this do something!"


Jilly watched Maya from the safety of her car.


Maya was rolling this car up and down the fridge. The girls both LOVED this car.


Jilly wanted to take pictures, so I got closeups of both their faces. This was the only one worth keeping.


Maya loved the rocking chair and sat on it for quite a while.


Then Jilly dragged the ExerSaucer over to me, so I could put her in. As soon as I did the girls both started playing with it.


This is the video of them. It's hilarious, if you ask me!


We had a lot of fun having Maya over! We hope she comes again soon. :-)

Tagged!

I got tagged by Nancy N, so I better hop to it, before I forget.

Mmkay, seven random facts...

1) Laundry is my favorite chore to do. But I am HORRIBLE about putting it away. At the moment, the Sierra Nevadas of Laundry have taken up residence on my bedroom floor. It's fairly pathetic. I keep washing the laundry, but then dumping it on the floor when it's done.

2) I dream about future events. I would say once a month I have deja vu. I'll be doing something mundane, like talking to a friend, or pulling mayo from the fridge, and I'll remember dreaming the exact thing months earlier. Usually in the dream I didn't recognize the person or the place, but then when it actually happens, it all makes sense.

3) I'm afraid of the dark. Not like when I actually sleep (I have to have it pitch black in my room), but at night, I am terrified of uncovered windows and especially being outside- woods are the worst. I blame my mother. She tried to get me to be cautious and alert when out at night by warning me about rapists and murderers. However, it got stuck in my brain and now I hate being outside alone at night.

4) While I am obsessed with pink, I cannot paint my walls with it or have too much of it around. I like pink as an accent color, not the main color. That's why Jilly's bedding is purple and green and if I was to paint her room it would be one of those colors. I doubt I could ever paint a room pink. Too much for me.

5) I hate drinking water. I would drink soda all day long, everyday if I could afford it. Water is just so bland and boring, and I don't like the taste. So I compromise and mix it with Crystal Light most of the time. But it's rare you'll catch me drinking just plain water.

6) I have lived my entire life in Washington, only an hour or so from Stevens Pass, and have never been skiing or snowboarding. And I don't care to try them at all. I'm an indoor girl, I would rather curl up on the couch and watch TV or read with a cup of hot chocolate than be outside in the snow.

7) I will not swim in natural bodies of water. EW! The only exception is Lake Chelan. Otherwise, only pools for me! Sorry dude, but lakes, rivers, and the ocean are scary and nasty. There are weeds trying to grab my legs and drown me, other creatures wanting to eat me, and I can't see the bottom- therefore am not able to avoid aforementioned hazards. Gross gross gross. Plus I have a big fear of deep water. Boats are fine, but I don't jet-ski. Strange thing is, I feel uber-secure in seaplanes. Go figure.

I will tag: Tara H, Feather Girl, Megan P, Jeanne G, Stacey S, Candace D, and Maggie H. :-D

Costume

We just got Jilly's Halloween costume and I had to take some pictures, because it was so cute. Allow me to introduce a most ferocious creature: BAT JILLY!


Isn't she just the scariest fat little bat you ever saw?

Look at those fangs!!


We got her costume at Old Navy which I was totally psyched about. For any of you unfamiliar with Seattle in October, it is generally cool. And by cool, I mean freaking cold and rainy. That means all those sweet, delicate little fairy and princess costumes do NOT cut it! It is WAY too cold to try anything like that without a turtleneck and thick thick tights or leggins underneath, which severely degrades the Cute Factor. My friend Britta reminded me about Old Navy costumes and lo and behold several different options of thick, full-body fleece costumes. HOORAY! After debate between Steve and me, we decided on the Bat. I really am happy with it. It's big on her, but I don't care. Now, if I can only keep her from trying to removed the jacket... ;-)