It's HER party and she'll cry if she wants to!

Jillian insists on doing things on her own terms, and it's starting to worry me! She is somehow convinced every day is HER party, therefore everyone should do what SHE wants!

She's so passionate. She's passionate about feeling great and is the most loving and pleasant child when she's in a good mood. She's sour and angry with a passion and is a handful to deal with when she's in a bad mood. Then there are the emotions in-between happy and angry. Sad, scared, nervous, shy, ornery, anxious...all with passion!

Jillian doesn't hand out kisses. She'll never kiss any of us when we ask, but instead turns her head to the side as if to say, "You're going to have to work for it." She will surprise us, though, with random kisses when she's feeling passionate about kissing.

Walking is another thing that must happen on Jillian's terms. We watch her cruise around the furniture, letting go every once-in-a-while to step over and grab another support. Do you think she'll practice walking from me to Travis? Not a chance. She won't even let us lead her around by the arm. We try to stand her up and she stubbornly (with a dramatic angry head shake "no" and a slap of her hand on the ground) sits down and refuses to move.

She gives me the angry eyebrows and swats her hand in the air or swats my face every time I pick her up! She'll hold out her arms for me, then I'll pick her up and she swats my face and gives me the angry look and shakes her head, "no." Despite the fact that I have met her swats to my face with a swat on the butt, she still does it!

Jillian's scream can bust eardrums. EVERYONE looks when Jillian is unhappy, because you can't not hear the shrill scream.

I caught the tantrum pictured above at Tickfaw State Park. She was trying to grab the camera as I was taking pictures. I told her no several times and she kept doing it, so I put sat her on the ground. I need not explain anymore. The pictures say it all.

God has definitely given us a challenge in raising Miss Jillian. We have to be up for it, because we have no other choice and would want her to be no one's child but ours. God has quite a sense of humor, too. I know my parents and Travis's parents are reading this and laughing, because "stubborn," "willful" and "handful" are all words that described the two of us as children!