Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Left to Right: Jillian, Jeremy, my sister Allison, Allison's friend Erika, Josh, Luke and Joy Burson. I didn't get a great angle with the camera, focusing on the 1/2 full serving dishes....next time I'll stand on a chair.

Turkey.....we love turkey! :) I should fix one more often! I'm so thankful that Allison was here this year, she is awesome in the kitchen!!!! I'm grateful for all her help! :) She recently purchased plane tickets leaving Alaska on January 15th...she is moving to Chicago. I am missing her already!

Little Readers

Jillian and Zachary reading books together. They did this all on their own, how cute! :)

Happy Halloween!

Jillian and I dressed up as kitties this year. This was the first year for Jillian to dress up and we had fun! We're only sorry that Daddy is in Oklahoma and missed the big day! We went to Bell's (a local nursery) today and my sister Allison took our picture with what was left of their pumpkin patch. Thanks Allison!!! :)
Jillian didn't really like the pumkins and this was the only time she came close to touching one. :)


Last Saturday we were invited to a kid Halloween party. Here is a shot of all the cuties. Jillian had a blast playing with the kids and eating many yummy snacks!

Yum Yum, an apple! Jillian decorated her own mask and pumpkin...with a little help from Mama. Jillian even got to pick a prize from a bucket filled with styrofoam marshmallows....actually, more styrofoam marshmallows made it into the goody bag than actual toys.

The Sweet Spot

Nestled between Anchorage and Denali is this overlook that has the absolute best view of the mountain. On the drive home we scored a pretty decent view of Mt. McKinley, other than the little cloud cover, the mountain was visible and beautiful.

The Interior

Here we are in front of the pipeline. The 800 mile Trans Alaska Pipeline System carries oil from Prudhoe Bay (northern AK) to Valdez (southern AK) and is easily viewed in Fairbanks.

Before moving to Anchorage, we lived in North Pole for almost 4 years. Our apartment was just down the street from the Santa Claus House. Santa is normally in the shop every day to take pictures with the kids....just our luck, he was on vacation the weekend we visited. The sign said he was getting ready for Christmas. :) So, we sat in his chair and took another family picture.

Santa's reindeer live outside and were very friendly. You may be able to tell that Jillian is signing "please" in this picture. She LOVED them and really wanted to touch and pet them. Daddy, can we please have a reindeer? Athena would love the company! :)

The Great One

On Saturday the 16th, we drove in to the park. We left around 9 am (or so) and drove into mile 66 (what used to be the Eielson visitor center). We took this picture after a long day in the car - nobody looks especially pleased. Maybe next time we'll take the family photo in the morning when we're awake and happy and ready to get the day started. :)


This bear was AWESOME!!!! Jeremy and I climbed up on the roof of the car and set the tripod up there. She was massive and beautiful and we were glad to be off the ground. She was foraging very close to the road and she drew in quite a large crowd of spectators. Everyone was standing around outside thier vehicle while this bear roamed well within the 50 yard park implemented limit. When she decided to cross the road, she walked in between the cars to do so and came within 3-5 feet of many of the people. I'm sure the park animals are very used to humans.....but still! All I could do was repeat, oh my god! Oh my god! I missed many good shots because I leaned in through the window to alert Jeremy.

I think this was the baby....on the way out we saw a baby and mama moose eating alongside the road. When they crossed the road Jeremy got some really great shots. :)

OK, most of the park road is great - BUT, there is a HORRIBLE section where the very narrow road is set between a mountain and a sheer drop-off, with several sharp curves thrown in for fun. I refused to let Jeremy stop for pictures until we reached a relatively safe section. This is nothing.

Dall Sheep. We scored when it came to animals this trip....in addition to the moose, bear, and dall sheep, we saw wolves and a red fox - oh and ptarmigan and squirrels woo hoo.

What a long day! Time for a nap! Jillian was a trooper through the whole day. We took plenty of breaks and had lots of snacks to munch on. She took 2 naps in the car. She was to ready to get out and run around that night!

Denali Princess Lodge

In the lobby of the Denali lodge is this statue of Balto. Jillian loved him, she hugged and petted him. I thought he was just a statue of any old mushing dog until Jeremy said I should write the story of Balto. I said, why? Who is Balto? I had to look the story up on the internet to remind myself of the great mushing dog who led his team the last 53 miles to Nome in January 1925 carrying the serum to end the diphtheria epidemic. They called it the "Great Race of Mercy". And, after looking close, I can see the name "Balto" engraved at the bottom of the statue.



The lodge is set up like a little village with paths connecting the room buildings with souvenir shops, mini theater, and cafe's. A wood-carved bear stood in front of each shop holding a salmon sign - one side said open and the opposite said closed. We thought this was pretty cute. And Jillian signed "fish" as soon as she saw the salmon. That was even cuter. :)

Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge

Thursday night we stayed in Cooper Landing and hiked down to the Kenai river. We found this sign on the river, advertising the Lodge for everyone driving along the highway on the opposite bank. My sister Allison worked at the lodge all summer at the tour desk and I think she had a blast.

This is the view off the deck that ran along the back side of the lodge. Can you imagine seeing this everyday? Its so beautiful and the river water is this gorgeous green color. The lodge is practically in the middle of nowhere - an hour's drive from the closest hospital/doctor. We're so glad we had the opportunity to stay and experience a little bit of the Kenai. Thanks Allison! :)

Making the Weight

This past weekend we planned a major road trip: 5 days, over 1000 miles and 24 total hours of driving. We must be nuts. It all started when we received news last month that we won the Denali road trip lottery. Every year the Denali National Park holds a lottery, for a fee anyone can enter, they pick 400 people to drive their own private vehicle into the park. 100 people per day, over 4 days. You can go as far back into the park as you like, even farther than the park sponsored tours, stop whenever you want and for as long as you want. Its pretty cool....this was our 4th visit to the park (2 bus tours and our 2nd time driving in). So, about a month ago we learned that we won our first choice, Saturday - Yeah!

In planning the trip, we decided that since we were so close to Fairbanks we might as well make the journey farther north. Many of our Fairbanks friends had never met Jillian and this just wouldn't do. Our 2 day trip became 4 days.

One of my sisters (Allison) is working at a lodge on the Kenai. This was their last weekend for the season and she called to say that she got us a cabin for Thursday night. Awesome. Whats one more day and a couple hours in the opposite direction?

We figured that with all the upcoming driving we should take Jillian in to the pediatrician's office on our way out of town. Our little girl is a tiny thing, she doesn't even weigh enough to make it on the chart for national averages. This means that at 18 months she was still rear-facing in the car seat. We fed her a HUGE breakfast before her weight check and prayed for 20 pounds. The resulting weight was just under, but he said that it was close enouth for us to flip the seat around. Sweet! Jillian really needed that, facing forward helped dramatically improve her attitude in the car. The weekend was still going to be long, but now it was going to be bearable.

We took about 280 pictures....the next few blogs will chronicle our trip.

Big Hug

For some crazy reason, maybe its all those cookies, the past few days Athena has been more friendly with Jillian. And Jillian loves it. Athena sits still for pets and hugs, this totally makes Jillian's day.



This grin says, "I just got the best hug!" :)

Our Little Scrapper

I feel guilty. The last few journal posts have focused on Jillian's less than desirable behaviors, even if completely normal. I feel bad about this because many of Jillian's readers do not have the opportunity to see how lovely she is every other moment of the day. She is a happy girl who fills our home with love and laughter.

Much to Athena's delight, Jillian still loves the cookie game. She grabs a bone from the pantry and runs around the house while Athena chases her. Often, Jillian traps Athena in the bedroom with her. We can just hear Jillian sing, "I've got the power!" Forced play is still play. :)

She has started to say "Hi" to her reflection. She will see herself in the mirror, glass and even the shiny metal drain in the bath tub and say "Hi". Like a little friend who follows her wherever she goes.

I try to keep Jillian out of our bedroom...it's just heaven for nosy babies who like to empty drawers, baskets and the like. Jillian has an internal radar and comes a runnin' each time the door is opened. Another new thing, she has been trying on my shoes! Its awfully cute to spy on her while she is in the closet, pulling all the shoes off the rack and trying them on before throwing each one to the corner. She does not appreciate an audience and will not perform if she thinks she is being watched.

The latest phrase in Jillian's vocabulary is "go go go". She says "go go go" riding the tricycle around the living room or while pushed in the laundry basket down the hall. She says it softly and hesitantly as if she's unsure of her speaking abilities.




The dining room table has morphed into scrapbook world. Sorry Jeremy. Jillian loves to climb onto the table every chance she gets. Here, she is helping me get organized. Thanks babe. Someday she will be roped into helping me with her book. I can't wait to see the pages she'll make! :)

Cool Chick

As I write this Jeremy is in Ninilchik, AK, on a halibut fishing charter. We're hoping he catches a big one! :) Being optimistic, we bought a freezer yesterday to hold his catch. I put Jillian in the freezer and she was cracking us up dancing and stomping all around. We had to capture the moment.

Here is Jillian blowing kisses to her parents.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Here is Miss Jillian at the Pre Show and Shine car show at McDonald's a few weekends ago. Our friends, Tina and Bob, stopped by to say Hi and took this picture of our baby. Thanks guys!! :)

Terrible Two's already? Miss Jillian has been throwing temper tantrums....several times a day. She throws herself on the floor, slamming her head back, kicking and screaming. And this in response to statements/questions like: Lets change your diaper, Are you hungry?, Let's wipe your nose, Time for a bath and No, my dear, you are not allowed to climb on the dining room table. Yes, as her mommy, I am highly skilled in baby torture. Just ask Jillian.

Jeremy has been traveling every week for the past 5 weeks. We get to see him on the weekends, but honestly, he is gone more than he is home. He came home last Thursday and was home this entire week! Yeah!! Jillian is so excited to have him home. In fact, she is so excited for him to be home that she tolerates baby torture from him. I was regaling him with all of Jillian's antics, especially her behavior when I changed her diaper. You try it and see what she does, I told him. So, Jeremy took my challenge and proceeded to change Jillian's diaper. From the front room I heard giggling and happy hums. No crying. No screaming. Nothing but sweet baby noises. Fine by me, I'm thankful that Jeremy is home and his presence makes Jillian a happy girl. Thank God for Daddys.

Too Much of a Good Thing can be...Tiring

We went to 2 car shows last weekend. On Sunday, this nap came out of nowhere! One minute Jillian was having a fun time watching all the festivities and the next she was konked out. I promptly took her home where she (thankfully) finished her nap. Jeremy stayed to visit a little longer.

Happy Kid

The car seat is here and Jillian is thrilled. :)

Jillian's Blankie

Jillian sleeps with the same blanket every night, it has become her favorite. She carries this blanket all around the house and sniffs the fleecy material. Its pretty cute. The blanket stays at home and there is no need to bring it on errands - thank God for small favors. I do like to bring the blanket on the long car trip to and from Cooper Landing (2 hours one way) when we go down to pick up my sister Allison. Car rides are not a favorite, but the blanket helps in a small way. I'm hoping her new car seat will help in a big way! She is still in her infant seat, but we ordered the new one and it should be in tomorrow. And Jillian is almost 20 pounds, once we hit that mark, we can turn her around facing front! Yeah!

Miss Jillian is starting to be a bit defiant! Her new favorite cookies are raspberry fig newtons, yummy! Not too long ago, Jillian was eating a yummy newton and Jeremy started snacking on tortilla chips and salsa. Another snack favorite. Jeremy told Jillian she needed to finish the cookie before eating chips. So, she threw the cookie down on the floor. I don't remember what Jeremy said then - something like, you should not have done that. So, Jillian stomped and ground the cookie into the carpet. We were astounded, I can't remember our reactions and I can only hope that we didn't laugh. She catches us off guard with these curve balls - we wonder, did she intentionally stomp that cookie?

Jillian is having a rough time with her teeth right now. She only has 4, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. Her teeth have been slow coming in. Right now she has 2 on top working their way in, plus a molar and 6 more swollen bumps. We also think she is growing. All she does is sleep and eat. Poor baby! :)

Cookie Police, Stop this baby!

There is a new game in the Withrow home: feed Athena as many cookies (dog bones) as possible. Jillian has discovered where the dog biscuits are kept and is having fun spoiling Athena - and Athena thinks this is pretty cool. Athena is gentle and always takes the bone nicely from Jillian, and everyone else for that matter. (Unless she is trying to steal food - like that chicken wing! - then she gets a little excited!) In the beginning Jillian would give the bone to Athena and then try to take it back mid-chomp. Athena has learned to eat quickly! And Jillian is learning to leave Athena alone. Now, Jillian has figured out that if she takes the dog bone and runs around the house, Athena will chase her. Great fun! Especially because Athena normally gives Jillian a wide berth. We think this is Jillian's way of forcing Athena to play.

Big Dress

In my free time, which has been in short supply ever since 3-11-05 (imagine that), I like to sew. :) I started making a dress for Jillian while I was still pregnant and finally finished it last month. Its HUGE! She'll be able to wear it next summer....maybe. I had her try it on one day to see how it looked. The dress got left on a chair in the dining room and later that night she brought it to me to put it on again. It must have felt fun - like wearing a tent or something. :)

I took some pictures of her playing and here she is doing the sign for "drink", she also does the same sign for "eat". We are teaching Jillian sign language and she is doing great. She adapts some of the signs to a version all her own.....which is pretty cute. For example, the sign for "dog" is to pant with your tongue hanging out of your mouth. Jillian wiggles her tongue back and forth. We LOVE that Jillian can sign a few things because she is able to communicate with us without talking. She says a few things, but right now prefers signing. Jeremy and I can't take all the credit for teaching her, she has taught herself many of the signs on her own. We have sign books that have a baby on each page demonstrating a different sign. She sits and looks at each page and copies what the baby in the picture is doing. If you are at the house long enough, she will bring one of the books to you and will perform her signs.

So, come on over - we'd love the visit! :)

Twizzlers are the best!

We don't eat an extreme amount of candy in our house - unless its Easter or Halloween, and Holidays don't count - but, Jeremy and I do have our weaknesses. Personally, my downfall is anything chocolate. Jeremy on the other hand LOVES strawberry twizzlers. He can eat an entire bag in one sitting or one car ride. He eats them until his jaw is sore from too much chewing. Hee Hee. :) Jillian needs to try everything we eat. So, if its something she can't have, we can't eat it in front of her. The other day she wanted a twizzler, after seeing Jeremy chow down. Of course, he gave her one to try and she LOVED it!

I had to grab the bleach because after her twizzler snack, Jillian's white shirt was covered in red drool! :) We love to capture her facial expressions when she is truly enjoying something - she is so expressive. And we can tell she completely enjoys the twizzlers. Too cute.

I Love you, Daddy!

Welcome to the world Baby Jillian! Here in the hospital, on day #2, Jeremy is cuddling our sweet baby.

The first man a girl falls in love with is her Daddy. Jeremy, thanks for being such a great Daddy for our baby girl! Thanks for being my partner in raising our daughter. Thanks for all the diaper changes, bottles given and meals fed, baths, stories, and car rides. Thanks for getting up with Jillian at 3 am to watch the military channel and lulling her back to sleep. Thanks for being so wonderfully you!

Miss Jillian getting ready for her first Corvette ride - don't worry the front air bags DO turn off! In this picture, Jillian is just 1 month old. Jeremy took Jillian in to work to meet everyone. I stayed home and took a nap, it was glorious!

Jeremy and Jillian in Oklahoma City at 3 months old. Jeremy had to leave to attend a 4 week class for work. Jillian and I flew down to spend the last week with him. Jeremy's Mom and brothers drove down for the weekend to meet Jillian. We had a fun week! Jeremy was worried that Jillian might forget him - no way! Everytime Jeremy walked in the room, Jillian would laugh and smile. She was so happy to see Daddy!

Jeremy and Jillian cuddling before bedtime, Jillian is 5 months old here. We love this picture! Jillian loved eye contact and returned every smile! :)

Jillian is 6 months old in this picture. She is fascinated by Jeremy's hats - and he is always wearing a hat! She takes them off and now she likes to wear his hats!

Jeremy and Jillian swimming at the local YMCA. Jillian is 7 months old. As soon as she was old enough (6 months), I enrolled her in swimming lessons. We had a blast. Jillian is definitely a water baby. Jillian is wearing a onesie - the water is freezing and the extra layer helps (some).

Go Ohio State! Jeremy's family are big fans of OSU. Jillian is 8 months old in this pic and she is wearing an OSU cheerleading outfit from Aunt Peg and Uncle Dave. (We added the jeans because it is so darn cold here in Alaska!)

Nine month old Jillian is resting after the rough hike up to Diamond Head on Waikiki. Jeremy carried sweet thing the whole way up and down. I'm just kidding, that hike is not too bad at all - its almost easy. And I am not a hiker. I was super paranoid, trying to make sure Jillian got enough water and that her sunscreen was always freshly applied. Another thing us Alaskans take for granted. (Julie, with 104 temps, I imagine that sunscreen is always nearby!!)

Merry Christmas Little One! Jeremy and Jillian decorated our tree this year and they did a fabulous job! Here is another 9 month old picture, its very sweet. On Christmas day, we wanted to video the opening of presents (of course - we video everything). And I wanted to look not quite so scary for the video, so I made everyone wait to open presents until we all had showers and were dressed for the day. By that time, Jillian needed a nap. We did not open presents until after 1 pm! Thats very late for us! We are morning people, and we normally have the presents opened before breakfast around 9 am. Jeremy laughed and said that this will probably be the only year that Jillian will allow us to wait so long. I'm sure he's right.

At 10 months old, we took Jillian sledding for the first time. We went on a weekday and the park was deserted, thankfully. It was cold, but we all had a fun time. Jillian was a trooper and never complained. I'm not sure she enjoyed the experience either, though. Maybe next year she'll fully appreciate the speed and wind and snow.

At 12 months old, Jillian is the apple of her Daddy's eye. I would say thats still true today, at 15(!!!) months old. Jeremy adores his daughter and I can tell the feeling is mutual.

Jeremy; Jillian and I (& Athena & Zorro too!) are so thankful for you! We love you, we love you, we love you!!!! Happy Father's Day!