the best christmas yet!!

I put Jill in my stocking because she provided me with the best Christmas yet!! On Christmas Eve's eve she gave me her first real belly laugh. I've heard her giggle while sleeping a lot. Awake she's only squealed and giggled less than a handful of times. On the 23rd while in the bath she really laughed!! It was so fun. I was splashing her feet around and she couldn't get enough. She's hasn't laughed like that since but I can't wait for more.
To make Christmas even better she has begun conversations with me. Okay, it's really just imitations but I love it. Jillian's been cooing for about a week, but there kinda random and unpredictable. Last night (Chrstimas night) I was basically doing ". . .fa, so, la . . ." with "ooo" and "aaa" . All the sudden she was copying me. I'd respond to her sounds and she mine. Jill is learning so fast!! I love to hear her sweet little voice. What great presents!!!

We had a busy but nice Christmas day. This picture was at the Crane's (Jeff's mom) annual Christmas brunch. Jill had fun getting to know her cousins. After lunch we were able to talk to Stanley. He gets home in a month!! We can't believe how fast two years went. We missed spending time with the Peterson's and hope to see you all soon. Tomorrow we leave to go to Hawaii and spend time with the Taylor's. We can't wait. Hopefully Jill will be okay on the plane, she's nervous :)

Big bow for a big day

As we get ready for Christmas I can't help but reflect on how our life has changed in the past year. At this time last year Jeff and I were working night shift, half in a home half in an apartment, both working Sundays, and Jeff was spending more time with criminals than with family. Now we're established in our home and ward, have a normal sleep schedule, jeff isn't commuting 2 hours to deal with bad people, and we have a special addition. The Lord has blessed us more than mentioned here and we recognize His hand in our life.
Jillian is a healthy 2 months old!! (okay really not 'till tomorrow the 20th, but i had a moment to post). She is such a sweetheart. Jill loves to sleep with mom after her morning snack. She also loves when Jeff gets home and plays with her. Three days ago, Jill started to "coo". We love talking to her and letting her respond. We're so excited to see what new things she'll do this month!!
Jill loves being held by momma and momma loves to hold her.
I originally thought today was her 2 month birthday, thus the big bow. I was later informed that i was a day early by my friend i visit teach (her twin girls are exactly 1 month older).
kinda silly but really really cute.

our little girl has a little cold:(

Jillian woke up today with a little cough, a lot of sneezes and a little runny nose!! (of-course everything with her is little b/c she's just a little person). you can hear the congestion when she coughs, it's so sad!! my bulb syringe is worthless, so if her cold gets worse i'll need one that actually sucks. she's been handling it with a smile though!!
Jillian has to be going through a growth spurt!! the past few days she's been wanting to eat every two hours!! feeding takes approx 30 minutes. with only two hours from the start of 30 min feeding to the start of the next not much is getting done around the home. i am not complaining. i'd much rather hold my sweet one close and feed her than sweep anyday!! :)


Jill finally likes her swing. actually it's not the swinging she likes. she loves the mobile on top of the swing. she smiling at the zebra, her favorite.
she's a little concerned about what just happened to her nose. (i tried the syrine with no success)
this is jill's new favorite spot. the corner of the couch helps her sit up.
i just liked this one. i wonder if her eyes will stay blue.

7 weeks and growing big!!

I've hit 10 lbs. can you tell?!
Jill acts shy sometimes when I'm making her smile. I'm still trying ot get use to the bow on a sweat band. Not sure that I like the look, but it keeps her ears warm, and catches any extra sweat she my have on her head. :)
Jill met Santa for the first time yesterday. She was pretty inpartial to the whole situation. We were at a Christmas party at the skating rink. I've forgot how fun it is to skate around and around and around. I may sound sarcastic but I really do have fun skating. Unfortunatly they didn't have skates to fit Jill. She was pretty sad.

6 weeks and more great nights

Jillian is smiling more and more each day. She giggles a lot while she sleeps. I have only got two or three giggles while she awake though. It seems that right when she turned 6 wks (last Friday) she decided to be more aware and more interactive. I love it!!

Jill has been playing with her tounge lately. It's so fun to watch Jill discover things. This pix was while Gma Nettie was making her smile.

Jill just chillin', literally. We've had a few nights below freezing. Last week we turned on the heater to 75. Speaking of nights. . . Jill continues to sleep great. Only once this week and a half has she slept shorter than 5 hours at night. She still has her night-time fussy fit (more like crying unconsolably) that is usually calmed by a bath. She is crying less and less though. Especially since we've learn what her crying means. (Thanks Oprah!)

Jill is the happiest after she eats. This is in between her post-feeding drunkeness and fully awake. She is so stinking cute. This picture just makes me laugh.

This Jeff's sweet tent. This is while at the Queen Creek Swap Meet. The tent graps your eye and is really great for events like these.