Spring Break

Spring break has come and gone and it was a nice relaxing break from the busy work week. Jillian, Bandit, and I enjoyed a weekend in Hallettsville for the 1st weekend of the break. Jillian loved being outside and walking around. She loved going up and down the step to the porch (with no hands I might add.)She played with the rocks and put them in the bucket...
and then attempted to carry the bucket around
On Sunday after church of course Granny had to have a fashion show. She put Jillian in the dress that I wore for my 1 year pictures. She had even put new elastic in all of the waistbands. I bet I was just as cute as she is today!
Jillian also enjoyed swinging outside - she giggled every time she went back and forth
Bandit also enjoyed Hallettsville - look no rope! He went the entire weekend without being tied on the rope. He even spent some time outside by himself without being tied up. He made a trip to the pasture with dad and rode on top of the toolbox on dad's truck. He is a totally different dog when he is in Hallettsville. I think he will make a great farm dog one day!
Jillian also enjoyed playing with Willa. We really thought we were going to have a fight on our hands when Jillian realized she could push this baby stroller. They worked it out thought and just started pushing the stroller together. This time they were actually pushing it the same way instead of fighting against each other.
The 2nd weekend of Spring break we had planned a camping trip to Lake Somerville with Kevin, Kelly, Klayton, and Kenzie. We knew that the weather did not look promising but we were willing to risk it. We got there Friday, which was beautiful and we were able to get in a quick boat ride and some fishing before it got completely dark. Jillian didn't really know what to think about her 1st boat ride but she did fairly well with the help of some food bribery.

Saturday morning we thought we were prepared for the weather. We had out pop up tents sent up over the picnic table and cooking equipment and we had a tarp blocking the north side of our shelter. We thought we would be good when the rain started and the wind started to blow. What we didn't anticipate was the sideways rain! Needless to say after a while we were all wet but Kevin and James were very wet because they were trying to secure another tarp to block the rain. After we quickly ate breakfast, we thought it was best to load everyone into the car (including Bandit, who was filthy), grab some dry clothes, and head into town for a while. Jillian was happy to be dry and warm and was able to take a nice nap. We spent some time at the Laundromat and Walmart and by the time we headed back to camp, it was no longer raining but...
It was cold! We had a good set up and made a fire close to our tents. We made it through the day and still had fun. Although some people will say that we were crazy - well many have - we survived and stayed mostly warm.
We kept Jillian warm with as many layers as possible and she had a heater directly on her throughout the night. She had warm cheeks, ears, and nose when she woke up in the morning.
Even though she made it through all right - she was happiest when we were on our way home!

1 Year Pictures

We took Jillian's 1 Year pictures yesterday at JC Penny. Jillian did great and it was very hard to decide on the pictures b/c they all looked great! We had all the pictures emailed to us so here are a few of our favorites!

Look out - Here I come

Jillian is Walking!!!

When I picked Jillian up from school on Thursday her teacher, Ms. Laura was so excited to tell me that "Jilli is walking!" I didn't know what to think. I questioned if it was just a few steps or if she was really walking and she said that even on the playground with nothing to hold on to she was walking. I brought her home and told James and we tried desperately to get her to walk and get it on video but to no avail - she just wouldn't do it.

Later that night, I went over to a friend's house and I was surprised to see that she really was walking! She was going everywhere! I got a quick video on my phone to prove it to Daddy. On Friday we were determined to get a video and pictures and she didn't let us down. She tries to walk a lot more now then crawling and she is really getting the hang of it. It is amazing how all of a sudden they decide they can do it.

She gets really excited when she walks and often falls down but she is doing very good! Here are a few videos from some of her first attempts.

One year stats: Jillian went for her 1 year well check last week and weighed 23 pounds and was 30 1/2 inches long. She can say mama, dada, and u-huh, but dada is definitely her favorite word. I'm pretty sure that dog will be her next word b/c she often looks at Bandit and says "do." Jillian is really starting to get into playing and loves to put things in containers and then cover them up with some sort of lid. I was also really impressed the other day when I was holding one of her toy tea cups and she took the tea pot and poured me some tea! Jillian is also a really good eater but Mac N Cheese and chicken nuggets are some of her favorites. We are trying to branch her out into more foods but right now she is not too sure. She loves all fruits, which is definitely different from her Mommy. She is developing her little personality and can really throw a fit when she doesn't get her way. She has also learned that she is really cute when she bats her eyelashes at you so she tries to do that to get her way. It is more like a slow deliberate blinking but she gets her point across. Jillian loves going to school and playing with her friend and I have even had her cry a few times when I've tried to take her from her teacher. She is really at a fun age and we are enjoying every minute of her.