3 1/2

Today is Jillian's half birthday, so I thought perhaps it would be fitting to summarize her development at this time. If I had to describe Jillian in one word it would be this: independent. This kid, like so many others her age, thrives on every opportunity to do any task by herself. She is so passionate about her independence that she will fight me tooth and nail over every. little.tiny. thing. Often the battle ensues so quickly that I do not realize it is happening until it is too late--then I am stuck in a tough spot: hold my ground and risk allowing day-ruining battles over silly, non-important things, or give in and prove to her that she, the child, controls the house. I most often choose the former out of desire to drive home the point that the adults rule in our roost, but wish I had let more things go to begin with. It is such a tangled web some days! I digress....
I'll say it again. Jillian is independent. She insists on choosing her own clothing (100% of the time it involves something with a ruffle...be it a tunic, dress, skirt, or tutu. In the absence of such items she insists she "can't spin"). Jillian knows how to match colors rather well, but she hasn't quite learned how to match colors AND patterns together. In her mind, stripes match stripes, whether they be red on top and green on bottom, or pink and pink. Recently, she decided she can brush her own teeth, wipe her own bottom, wash her own hands (with soap), wash herself in the tub, buckle her car seat straps, open her own juice box, and do her own hair. Any resistance on my part results in teenage-like emotional drama that will hear no explanation for my reasoning and cannot consider compromise. It is during these moments that I am reminded she is just three. I often forget because of her astounding verbal and cognitive abilities, but her emotions are intensely (and I do mean intense) age appropriate.

A few more words to describe my 3 1/2 year old Jillian......

 ...Imaginative. She is heavy into dress-up and pretend play. In recent days, she has enjoyed putting on her swim suit, spreading out a large blanket, and pretending to swim in the pool. On Friday, we had lunch at "the beach" (on a beach towel in the kitchen). I often find her wearing pajamas mid-day as she talks about it being night time and goes through our bedtime routine with her stuffed animals. I am tempted to start hiding her fairy wings from her, because she also likes to pretend she can fly . This means jumping off of steps (usually while wearing a long princess-type gown along with the wings) and I can just envision her taking a big fall as she trips on the gown. I do not think the presence of wings will save her from that tumble.

....Performer. She loves to sing in the car (and I usually hear, "Mom, I want to listen to Taylor Swift" coming from the backseat) and can carry a tune with the best of them. She is also an Adele fan. I am certainly doing my best to make sure my girls have my taste in music, because the thought of listening to kid music all the time in the car does not appeal to the singer in me at all. We like to belt out some soulful tunes together, and it warms my heart to peer into the rear view mirror and see Jillian bop along to the beat as she sings and hear Adrienne laugh at her. Ice skating is still a popular topic, and she often "skates" through Target and spins around the living room shouting "Watch me!". She certainly isn't bashful about attention from others.

....Smart. Regarding more "academic" type skills, Jillian appears to know all of her letters. She can identify them accurately most all of the time. She is very interested in what letter words begin with and can tell you what each person's name in our family begins with. Phonics is a popular discussion, and she likes to try and figure out the sounds the letters make. She is pretty good with s, a, u, k, j, and m, and is usually pretty close with several others (i.e. confusing b and d). Jillian is able to make a 'J' (usually backwards) and and 'i' to begin her name. If you are on our birthday card list, you can bet she's made you a "Jillian original" and signed her name before we seal the card. Her memory is unbelievable, and I just can't fathom how she can recall so many details from so long ago with such precision.

....Energetic. Just typing about this characteristic makes me tired. Jillian has an absolutely endless supply of energy. She is moving, unless asleep (and even then she is all over her bed). Period. I am certain that she keeps moving, despite obvious fatigue in the afternoon/evening, in attempt to somehow try to counteract that fatigue. Walking really isn't her thing. She prefers to run, spin, and jump her way through life. Matt and I always joke that it is easy to tell when Jillian is getting sick, because she slows down and becomes unusually compliant. It sets off our "spidey sense".

....Observant. She  notices everything going on around her, and indulges her curiosity as she riddles you with question after question after question, or commentary about the subject. "What's she doing?" "Why does he have a bandaid on his hand?" "Where is that man going?" "Hey, that car is just like ours" "Oh, there's where we had pizza last time".

....Routinized. She gets this from her mother. I like routine and unknowingly infuse it into just about every task. The downside of this is that Jillian has a tough time going with the flow, and little changes often bring big frustration. She always wants Cheerios for breakfast, asks for Matt to bathe her, requests me to read a story at bedtime and I am not allowed to leave the room until we sing "Jesus Loves Me" (as we have done every single night since about 4 months old), talk about our day, and count to ten in Spanish (I don't even remember how that got started...).

....A conversationalist. She likes to talk about everything, share her feelings, and express herself without abandon. In the last couple of days I have heard some good ones.
-When asked why she doesn't listen to me (after running away from me in the parking lot of the RAC): "Because I want what I want!". I have no words.
-In Target after church today: "Mom I really missed my family when you were married and didn't have me yet. I missed you then. Because God didn't make me yet."
-When climbing into bed with me this morning: "Good morning, Mom! How was your sleep yester-night? Let's talk about the big mall!"

I could type all day about our one-of-a-kind girl, but think I've covered the main stuff. Jillian is charging ahead to her fourth birthday at record speed....and that is just so hard to believe.