Jillian's 4th Birthday Photos

To see all of Jillian's 4th Birthday portraits, click HERE!

I had been anxious to take photos of Jillian for her 4th birthday, but things have been so busy around here that I got delayed for about 2 weeks.  Thankfully, I managed to get them done this morning before Evan makes his debut or it may have never happened!

Jillian is such a good girl when we take pictures- she will do just about anything I say and smiles so pretty.  We love her very much.  I can't get over how much catchlight/sparkle I can capture in her eyes.  She has the perfect eye color for this!

Here's the things about Jillian at this age that I want to remember.  Don't feel obligated to read it all, this is my journal so it's the best place for me to record stuff like this!  I'll break up the list a little with some photos -wink-

- Jillian is very kind.  She thinks about other people and how they are feeling.
- She is a wonderful big sister.  She is very helpful to me, and sweet to her little sister.  She's looking forward to having a baby brother in the house.  She has totally gotten over her aversion to him being a boy.
- Jillian loves to dress up, pretend play with her babies and read books.
- Jillian can read.  Not just a little... mostly anything she picks up.  When she comes across a word she does not know she will spell it to me or substitute something that makes sense.  She's amazing.
- Jillian talks a lot about climbing trees.  When we are driving she will point out which trees she thinks she would be able to climb by herself.

- Jillian also talks a lot about death.  A few months ago my Grandmother passed away and as a result, we explained the basics about death.  Ever since, she often points out what things are alive, and what things are dead.  It's interesting to say the least...
- Jillian likes all things fancy.  She likes to wear dresses, she likes to wear fancy shoes, she likes to curl her hair.  She was over the moon about painting her toes for her birthday and loves to show them to anyone who will look.
- Jillian has two blankets she likes to sleep with.  One is "pink blanket" and one is her "crying blanket".  The crying blanket is one of those little striped blankets everyone steals from the hospital when they have a baby.

- Jillian is great at listening to Ryan and I.  She very rarely gets in trouble and is very sorry when she does.  She has a stubborn streak however, and sometimes you can just see in her eyes the fun we have in store over the years to come...  :)
- Jillian's bedtime is 8pm and she sleeps until 8am.  She does not take a nap (has not for a long while) and does not really require 12 hours at night.  She does go in her room to 'rest' while Liv is napping and plays on her bed (sometimes until 10pm) before going to sleep.  She always reads a book with us before bed, gets 4 sips of water (an upgrade from the 3 sips she got when she was 3), and gives us hugs and kisses.  She loves to delay bedtime with elaborate kissing/hugging routines.  We're kinda okay with that ;)  Her preference is to drink water out of her "sparkle cup" or "princess cup".  She also has us guess every night which cup she will choose.
- In some lighting Jillian's eyes still look very blue, but mostly I think they are blue-grey.  She INSISTS they are "just blue".

- Now that Liv is starting to really put up a fight when Jillian takes something from her, we're having to talk more and more about sharing.  It's been an adjustment for Jillian.  ;)
- Jillian is very sensitive at times and can seriously wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  It's odd.  Sometimes we have to send her back into her room for her to "get control" and then she will snap out of it.
- Jillian's favorite places to eat are PF Changs, Melting Pot, Outback and Texas Roadhouse. I feel bad for the guys who want to date her in the future.  She loves steak.  Specifically a filet, medium rare.  If it's crowned with blue cheese or gorgonzola, even better.  She's not a huge fan of any veggie, but she will eat them without complaining if I give her a portion on her plate that is "not a choice".  She has selected green beans as her one veggie she does not have to eat for now.  She really likes salads with blue cheese dressing.  If asked she always wants spaghetti for dinner with lots of parmesan cheese.  She likes anything cheesy.
- Jillian sings all the time.  When she's playing by herself (which she does so well) she makes up songs about what she is doing.  I love listening to her in her room as she creates a whole world with her babies/barbies/blocks/books.  She's so creative!

There's a million more things but this will have to do for now.  We love you so much, Jillian!  We can't believe we've already known you for four whole years!  You constantly surpass our expectations for you and we can't wait to see what this next year brings!