Marlowe Update: Age 1-2

I often talk about how I fail at posting updates regularly (because I do), but recently I realized just how extensively I’ve failed at Marlowe’s updates – as in, I haven’t written one since she was 1!!!!!!!!!!!!  I thought I did one last summer, so maybe an 18 month old or something, but…no.  And now she’s just 4 months shy of age 3!  She’s a completely different human since age 1.  Sorry Marlowe….2nd child problems.

I don’t even know how to start an update that is so past due.  I guess I’ll give the cliff notes, baby book style, add a lot of pictures, and do a separate update to age 2.5 (because I realized I pulled too many photos to use for one post).  I cannot narrow it down to 5-10 pictures when doing an update.  There are just so many cute ones!

Marlowe age 1-2

First words (before age 1):  mama, dada, boof, papap, papaw, Jenson, baby, thank you, all done, bye bye, again, Hi Boof, reindeer, stinky, pupa (for puppy), doda (for doggie), where Jenson?

First Birthday Party: Since her birthday falls between Christmas and New Years, it’s going to be difficult to figure out a party date. Since it was her 1st birthday, we had it January 8 at our house so more people could come. It was only appropriate to have a Wild One theme for her. I didn’t want to do “Where the Wild Things Are” theme, which is what most “wild” themes are, so I did girly pink and metallics with cute wild animals. I always set out a book that fits the theme for people to sign and leave a little note for the birthday kid.  For this, I picked Wild by Emily Hughes.  It’s about a girl who is raised in the wild by animals, and humans find her and try to raise her like a little girl.  She’s too wild and they have to let her return to the forest.  It ends with a quote, which I loved:  “you cannot tame something so happily wild.”

First step: February 9, 2017 (13 months)

Walking: March 6, 2017 (15 months)

Sentences: 13 months “I want that” 14 months “what’s that?” 15 months “I did it!”16 months “I love you”

Sleeping: She started sleeping through the night after I stopped nursing her around 17 months. She’s always been a dream to put to bed though – we lay her down and leave the room (that has changed much since then). She wasn’t giving up nursing, but I went to Las Vegas when my sister had her baby to help out for a few days, and that did the trick. I let her nurse once or twice after that out of desperation, but she wasn’t getting much, so thankfully she wasn’t interested.

First vacations: Trip to Las Vegas to visit the Allgoods when she was 14 months old, weekend trip to Indianapolis and Dayton at 19 months to watch my niece play college soccer and then to stay the night at their cousins house near Dayton.

Potty Training: She first peed on the potty at 18 months, but wasn’t really ready to start potty training.  We are still working on it, but having trouble staying consistent.

18 month milestones: Sings ABC’s, counts to 20 (sometimes skipping 15 or 16), sings “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Brooklyn Brooklyn (I and love and you) by The Avett Brothers, “Happy Birthday”, holds full conversations with asking questions, back and forth talk.

Favorite songs: “I want a funk you up” (Uptown Funk), “Johnny Be Good”, Hello, Goodbye” “Johnny Be Good” “Kokomo” “Single Ladies” “Brooklyn Brooklyn”.  She loves dancing and can pop her hip to the side in a way that seems unnatural

Her likes: Obsessed with The Shazzbots (a local band, especially Luna), animals, Minnie Mouse, loves wearing hats – the sillier the better.  She’s a good eater, loves picnics, and occasionally falls asleep while eating – just like Jenson did.  She loves her brother – deeply – and looks up to him so much. He’s so good with her, so I couldn’t be luckier.  She loves playing Doctor, often with power tools. She’ll pick any flower she sees, and loves any animal she sees.  Once she stopped nursing, she took on a strong attachment to Daddy, and if he was home, I was chopped liver.  I have to admit, since I get all day with her, it was kind of a relief. She’d been my baby kangaroo for so long (which is a story she loves to talk about now – how she was my baby kangaroo, and I was her mama kangaroo, and I carried her around in my pouch and never put her down).

Here are some adorable photos I couldn’t leave out from that year, before I get into the holidays.

Easter 2017: She did great with Easter Egg Hunts, and had a lot of fun! We went to an Easter Egg Hunt at the YMCA, had one with Lo’s family, and a small one at at our house on Easter.

Summer 2017: We had a busy summer – so busy! We went berry picking and peach picking, to the Zoo, Olentangy Indian Caverns (where she kissed a cow), Dawes Arboretum, Velvet Ice Cream, overnights (without us) at Nana and Papaws over the 4th, and other fun around the city events. One of the highlights was meeting her baby cousin Owen, and getting to spend time with her other cousin Max (and her big cousins who were all visiting and got to spoil her).  We celebrated my parents 50th anniversary and spent time with both families. Played outside in the sand and the water…basically all of the summer things!

Fall 2017: Our falls are always busy, and this one was as well. Lo’s brother got married, so we had a few busy weekends with wedding festivities.  Jenson’s birthday was right after that, plus pumpkin patches, the best time to visit the Zoo, and Halloween!

Halloween 2017: Lots of trick or treating and Halloween parties.  She’d even say “trick or treat” and “thank  you”.  She dressed as a butterfly for some, and Minnie Mouse for others.

Christmas 2017: Shriner Christmas Party with Lo’s family, Santa parade, Christmas Tree Farm, Breakfast with Santa.  She was nervous about Santa early in the season, but after seeing Santa in the mall and sitting and talking to him when no one was around, she kept saying “Santa is nice, I like Santa, Santa give me sucker”. The next time we saw Santa, she was more willing to take a photo with him.  We did St. Nick’s Day like normal (the kids wake up to gifts in their shoes and holiday PJ’s, an ornament, and a holiday book the season. We made Christmas cookies, a gingerbread house, and leave treats for Santa and reindeer food, of course. We had Christmas Eve with Lo’s family, Christmas at home, and went to my family’s the following weekend over New Years.  My dad’s birthday is the day after Marlowe’s – he’s 76 years older than her, and my Grandma’s birthday is on January 1, so it was great to be there to celebrate her 91 birthday with them.

Funny things she says:

April 2017: M- “I want this” (pointing to nurse). Me- “can you say please?” M- “Nah”
May 2017: I stinky
June 2017: “Where Pappap?”…”Mommy, I eat my macky”…When waking in morning – “Where Daddy? (at work) Oh, Daddy at work. Where Brother? (he’s sleeping) Where Boofy (she’s downstairs) Oh.”
July 2017: “Mom watch, watch mom, watch dad….ready?”
August 2017: “It’s heaby (Heavy), its haaard”
September 2017: Playing dr – “I’m check you back neck, chin, arm, etc with stethoscope (me – how is it?) M – It’s betta
October 2017:  “I want a funk you up” (asking to listen to Uptown Funk)…”I talked to Luna (from Shazzbots) me – no you didn’t, why not? M – “I was shy Mom”….”I un do it myself”….”Where’s Minnie? (I don’t know, where is she?) I un no”.
November 2017:  “I super sorry mommy, super sorry” (just copying Jenson)
December 2017: “That’s so cool”….”I have an idea (what is it?) A good idea”….”Jenson’s not being nice”

Personality

Marlowe was a clingy and fussy little thing for her first 17 months.  Once she stopped breastfeeding, she started sleeping better and wasn’t super clingy with me anymore, and it was fun to see how she changed after that point.  Plus once she was able to communicate with us and keep up with Jenson, she became easier and more content – especially if her daddy was around.  She also stopped screeching as much, which was a relief.  I swear her screeches and screams ruined my hearing.  It was a piercing that seems so impossible.  My dad would always say, “I’ve never heard someone screech so loud” – and his hearing is terrible (he watches the TV at like volume 50 – it hurts my ears).

She’s spunky and sweet, and particular about how and when she wants things done.  We try not to give her exactly what she wants, because we don’t want her to run the show – but honestly, sometimes we just do for our sanity.  She’s different than Jenson, who can basically be calmly redirected from everything without a fuss.  She’s a Wild One – but not in the sense of bad behavior – she’s actually quite well-behaved and listens as well as Jenson does to directives. She’s shy with people at first, but not at all at home.  She definitely is drawn more to men than women – she adores her older cousins, uncles, grandpas, and great-grandpas (and most of all, her dad, of course). She loves to snuggle and she loves kisses and tickles, and can melt your heart with her snuggles.  She the sweetest little thing, and she’d going to take care of herself just fine as she grows up.