15 Month Exam

Adrienne had her 15 month check-up yesterday, and she continues to be a healthy little babe. Jillian accompanied us to the dr's office, and was serious about her job to help Adrienne feel better after her shots. Adrienne is now 23 lbs 14 oz (64%) and 32.5 in (93%!). Her head circumference is in the 78th percentile. She was unsure about the exam in general, looking suspiciously at our beloved Dr V as she lay on the exam table. She cried when she examined her ears (big, scared crocodile tears), and shyly tolerated the rest. She received 3 shots (two scheduled vaccines and her annual flu shot), and her dramatic tearful reaction nearly broke my heart. Jillian made sure she got lots of stickers on our way out, and thankfully she recovered after a few minutes. Oh my sweet little sensitive girl, take heart, you are done with vaccines until the age of 2!

This picture is of course unrelated to the vaccine incidient. I took it this afternoon when I let Adrienne feed herself yogurt for the first time. As you can see, she did so with gusto.

Jabberwocky

Adrienne is really jabbering these days. Recently, she started increasing syllables in more of a conversational tone, and just "chatting" for long periods of time. She was really hollering out the window just before lunch today. I tried to catch it, but she got a bit quieter after she heard me turn the video on. You'll still get a good idea. She is just too cute for words, in my totally biased opinion. Note: she still has her name tag on from the RAC Kids Club, if you watch and wonder what that sticker is on her back. Carry on.

A New Game

Today, Jillian changed the game around here. The story goes like this: We planned to go to lunch at Pi Pizza after Bible study with my group and their kids. Pi is one of her very favorite spots in town. I told her we were going as long as she was a good listener that morning. I picked the girls up from their rooms after study and reminded Jillian that we needed to go straight to the car and head over to Pi to try and get some tables. Jillian immediately threw herself down on the ground (always in the middle of the hall, in front of the whole wide world) and screamed loudly about wanting to play on the playground. I calmly reminded her that we wouldn't be able to play today (and besides, it was really cold) and that she  needed to stand up and come with me to get our stuff and get to lunch. I reminded her that if she kept giving me trouble we would just go home. We were almost out the door, when she started in again, flailing herself on the ground, kicking, etc right in the breezeway of the church. I got down on my knees (holding Adrienne, J's coat, and a large bag through all this, mind you) looked her in the eyes and told her that she needed to come with me calmly right now, or we were going home. What did she do? Screamed right in my face. So--I told her we were going home and proceeded to haul my screaming circus past about 75 more people to the car. Jillian screamed, and screamed, and screamed--about how sad she was, how she wanted to go to Pi pizza, etc. As I was driving toward home I was conflicted--follow through, or pull over and have a discussion to maybe offer her a bit of grace in this circumstance (maybe the punishment was too harsh? I was just fighting with myself, and angry that I had held up that lunch out over her head in the first place, knowing she would push and push to test the limit). So I tried--I pulled over, opened her door, leaned in, and calmly attempted to ask her what happened, what other choice she could have made, etc. This was met with more blatant screaming in my face, so I had my answer. Home it was. More screaming when she realized I really WAS taking her home. We get in the garage just as our flooring guys were leaving for the day (new flooring project in the basement right now) and wanted to talk to me. I can hear her kicking and screaming like a wild animal about wanting to go to Pi as I stood outside trying to talk to the guys (while apologizing profusely for the noise). I finally get her inside, determined to stay calm and give as little attention as possible while carrying out this unfortunate consequence of lunch at home while our friends lunched at our favorite spot. She immediately turns off her fit like a switch, looks at me and says: "That's OK Mom, I didn't want to go to Pi anyway".
My jaw hit the floor. Is this kid really only almost 4, or is she 14????  Guess I'd better figure out my strategy for this new game before she wins again.

Purple People Eater

Today was purple day at preschool. Actually it was purple and orange day. Jillian's primary teacher has been having the kids dress in various color combos the last two weeks to make their unit on colors more fun. First it was blue/brown, then red/yellow, next black/green, and finally the purple/orange day today. I am not sure how she decided on those combos, but I can assure you it has made for some interesting ensembles. Today, Jillian fully embraced the purple idea and found just about every shade of it in her drawer as she got dressed this morning. The only thing orange she owns (outside of Halloween pajamas) is an orange-beaded hair accessory that you can't see in the picture.

Tonight as we were conversing at dinner, I asked her if she had gotten any timeouts at school this year. She told me no while smiling slyly. I asked her if she was telling me the truth, and she assured me she was. Then she sheepishly began, "Mom, but if you do naughty things in Mrs Malagrino's class (junior gym), you don't get a time out. Isn't that amazing?!?!?"

Chapstick

Jillian has been having lip-licking issues, so has been dealing with some dry lips. I thought that perhaps if we found her some special chapstick, she might put it on before bed and get a bit of relief. So, Matt and I found her this lovely all-natural pink chapstick while we were at Target on our date Saturday morning and presented her with it at bedtime. She was overcome with glee, and in such a natural grown-up way, headed straight for the mirror on the back of her bedroom door to apply it.

When she was all done with copious (and I do mean copious) application of the strawberry-flavored balm, she exclaimed "I look like a real lady!!"

The pic is blurry, I know, but you can still see how thrilled she was with the result

Over Pancakes

We had pancakes for dinner tonight. I wasn't feeling great today, and was totally uninspired to make dinner. Matt was happy with the leftovers I didn't want to eat again, so I made the girls and I pancakes. I seriously had a thought while eating that I just haven't had much to write about on the blog lately, and was trying to think through the past few days and come up with some material to record. Jillian must have sensed my struggle, because with her usual interesting timing, she blurted out: "Are we going to die?"
Matt and I exchanged blank stares. He remained silent, and so, with that glance I knew he was waiting for ME to answer her. So I tried..."Well, Jillian, everybody dies someday"
J: "But I don't want to die! I'm not going to die."
Me: (sweating) "Well, we all hope it won't be for a very long time."
There was a lengthy pause, which made me think that I might have gotten off the hook for a split second. But, no.
J: "Mom, if you and Daddy die there won't be anyone to take care of us".
Me: (crying inside) "Mommy and Daddy will never let you be alone. If something ever happens to us before you and Adrienne are grown up, you will have someone to take care of you. I promise."
J: "Who?"
Me: "Aunt Meggie and Uncle D"
J: "Oh, OK. Can I have some more pancakes?"

Note To Self:

Do not give Adrienne a graham cracker for a snack. The time saved in preparation is not worth the time spent cleaning up the high chair, floor (not pictured), and child (not pictured).