Baby Jillian is 3!

"Guaranteed to Make You Smile," is a phrase Jillian has printed on one of the shirts she often wears. Nothing could be further from the truth with little Jillian. I've seen the grumpiest-looking people just beam when they see Miss Sassafras Jillian strut by with her big curly 'fro and grinning ear-to-ear. Who says the baby of the family just follows the others around copying them? NOT Jillian. Jillian marches to the beat of one drum--her own!

RED is her favorite "thing" right now. When I asked her what her favorite meal was and what she wanted me to fix her for her birthday meal, she said, "Red." She pointed to a red convertible on the highway and said, "That's God's car." I asked her why she was so sure it was God's. She said, "God's favorite color is red." Well then, if Miss Jillian asserts its correct, there's no way she's changing her mind...at least not for now. She makes sure to request her red cup each meal, and noticed the red stage lights when they came on a church tonight.

Jillian seems to have broken the mold in many more areas than just her opinion. CURLY, CURLY hair tops her little round face. She doesn't fight to get any one's attention, because she knows how to get what she wants with charm, persuasion or, when all else fails, force.

She just comes over to me or Travis when she wants attention, puts her little hands on our face, gets her big fro right in front of whatever we're doing, looks us in the eyes and smiles so she's sure she has our undivided attention! She knows just what it takes to get brothers and sister to play right into her hand. Can we say spoiled rotten?

Tons of love and affection with just enough sass thrown in is how I would describe Jillian's personality from birth until now. She knows what she wants and will go to pretty much all lengths to get it. I will never forget the first seven months of her life. She didn't want to go to the nursery at two months old...she wanted me. A two-month old with separation anxiety. Is that possible? She would even scream when Travis held her. She only wanted me then. I made the decision to keep it calm with Jillian and even enjoy her wanting me, since I know in about 17 years she will need me for very few things.

Jillian loves sitting on my or Travis's lap while we read books she brings to us. She also likes me taking a nap with her during the afternoons after I have read her a couple books. She's a snuggler when it comes to people she knows.

Jillian is our only child to have spent the majority of her life (and her formative speech years) in the south, so she's got some southern attitude in her voice inflection and gestures that makes her little fro-topped personality even funnier. If I had to put my money on a career that she might choose, I would pick comedian or entertainer. She's so stinkin' funny and ornery!

Here's a story that illustrates some of the day-to-day hilarity and persistence of Jillian:

The day was the day after Justis's birthday, three days before Jillian's. A huge box had arrived early that morning from Grandma and Grandpa Chadd with both Justis and Jillian's birthday presents in it. We got Justis's presents out right away so he could open them and put Jillian's wrapped gifts, along with one mom put in for Travis and I for our anniversary, aside on the coffee table. Justis opened his gifts. Madalynn and Dawson were right in the middle of the unwrapping action with Justis, but Miss Jillian was quietly hovering around the other three wrapped packages set aside on the coffee table. She kept making conversation with me about those three packages, noting the pretty wrapping paper and that, "I-I-I'll just look inside and see the pretty wrapping paper, okay?" I laughed and told her no and that her turn to open her presents would be in a few days. We picked up the wrapping paper and packaging after Justis was done opening his gifts and then I left the room to start bath water so we could all get out of our pjs. I was gone about a minute-long enough to stand at the tap until warm water started coming out and then stop the tub-and then came back to the living room to summon Jillian for her bath. I saw Jillian quickly run away when I got close to my bedroom door, which opens out into the living room. I didn't even have to look, but I knew one of the packages I told her NOT to open had been torn into. I saw a few pieces of PINK wrapping paper on the floor while my eyes were scanning to find Jillian. "I-I-I just looked to see the Dora house," Jillian said, stopping and looking me straight in the eye (as if she had nothing to hide) and putting on her persuasion hat to get her out of the trouble she knew she was in. After turning around so I she could not see me crack up, I faced her and explained that I made clear that she wasn't supposed to touch the presents or there'd be consequences. She started crying immediately (she's pretty brave, but knows right from wrong). To her horror, I picked up the present she had unwrapped and explained that I would put it away until her birthday and then she could have it. I then asked her, "Do you want to call Grandma and Grandpa Chadd and thank them for the gift?" She looked at me nervously. "No. Probly later," she said, with a SERIOUS face. "Why not, I asked?" I looked into her face and she was trying to think of an excuse to cover the fact that she didn't want to have to admit to Grandma and Grandpa she cheated and opened her present early! "Jillian," I finally said, "Do you want to tell Grandma and Grandpa Chadd thank you for the present after you open the others on your birthday?" "Probly so," she said with a relieved face. She turned and smiled at me when she got to the Dora gift again on her actual birthday, remembering full-well what she went through to (almost) get by with receiving her birthday present a few days early!