Baby Bookworm

Lately Marlo has been really interested in her books. At first she just liked to empty them out of her bin, but now she is turning the pages and really looking at them. She even "reads" outloud. No doubt she is imitating her brother. Hayden reads everyday. Every night when we check on him, there are books scattered on his bed. Sometimes he still has one in his hand. I can only hope Marlo turns out to be as big of a bookworm as her brother!



If you look on my other blog (http://creakhouse.blogspot.com), you can see a list of books in heavy rotation here. It already needs updating...lately Hayden is into his Jokelypedia, and Marlo is fascinated by The Nose Book. We're bookaholics...I've already lost count of the number of boxes of books I've packed, and those are only mine! Who knows how many more boxes I will fill when I pack the kids' books. AND, I've already filled 2 bags for donation.

Mmmmaaammaaa

Marlo saying "mama":



Note the "better call Child Services" outfit. I'll post a few more pictures of that get-up later.

Haydenisms

From this week:

"Mama, you're not only older than daddy, you're fatter."

"Some guys are interested in their nipples."

Like Brother, Like Sister

Lately I've been noticing a lot of similarities between Marlo and Hayden. Here are comparison photos of them at around the same age (9-10 months). Hayden had quite a few pounds on Marlo. Like, 8. At least. So he's chunkier. But look at their similar little faces! And as far as temperament goes, they definitely have a lot in common. Both are happy, joyful kids. Hayden was a bit mellower at times (he crawled much later), and Marlo seems to have more separation anxiety. But in general they are a lot more alike than I would have imagined. Both are busy busy busy...but in a good way. Except for today when Marlo ate a piece of dog food...she tops her brother in the variety of objects that find their way to her mouth.

Playtime

Although Hayden will occasionally tell me he needs "a vacation from Marlo," for the most part he adores his little sister. The feeling is mutual. Marlo lights up when Hayden is around. She's also fond of his toys. The top 2 are probably the train tracks and the RC robot, Tribot. Marlo likes to chase Tribot around and try to grab its head. She also claps randomly at it, as if to convey her general sense of approval. Like her brother at this age, Marlo is fascinated by all things that move: cars, trains, balls...and now, apparently, robots.

Also, if you look closely at these videos, you may witness Marlo's patented "butt bounce." She can propel herself pretty far across a room using this method. She crawls well, but some situations just seem to call for the butt bounce instead.

False...but happy...spring

After a brutally cold winter, and less than a week after single digit highs, we were treated to 55-65 degree weather. Hayden's been stir-crazy inside, and so have I. I'm not entirely sure if Marlo noticed.

So when the weather broke, so to speak, we headed outside. The bike came out of the garage. The shiny new scooter from Christmas finally made it out of the living room. We've spent the last few days rediscovering the yard (and all the leaves that never got raked) and creek.

Hayden loves all things on wheels so he was thrilled to play with his "outside things." Unfortunately, he couldn't bring all of them out (he likes to line them all up) because some are in storage. And, his helmet is also in storage so he was instructed "not to go fast."

This was Marlo's first venture outside since her newly aquired mobility.


She's always liked being outside...but now she can get down and dirty. Literally. She puts everything in her mouth. Everything. To date I have fished out a screw, a rock, a lot of pieces of paper, bits of pinecone, and one of those wooden screw covers on furniture. So, outside gave her a lot of new things to taste. Leaves were the biggest temptation. I'm pretty sure she ate a few. She's fast, and I also had to keep an eye on Hayden.

When Hayden was a new crawler, he didn't like the grass. He wouldn't crawl on it. He just sort of sat there and looked at me like, "what IS this?" Marlo...she's off. Right into the muddy yard. So she ate some dirt too.

And yesterday, I even saw a butterfly. In March!

Of course, it snows here in April. And even May, so it's not really spring. But for a little while it feels like it.

Hayden's bookmark on the other blog

For those of you who are interested, I also keep a sort of craft/art/reading/whatever blog. Hayden and I made bookmarks the other day and I posted an entry with that here:
http://creakhouse.blogspot.com

FOOD! Part II.

I've written before about Marlo's interest in food. As her palate has expanded, so has her...enthusiasm. Ben and I moved her to table food as soon as she was even remotely ready. Otherwise, it's doubtful we'd ever get to eat. As soon as she is in her high chair she demands food. She complains if her tray is ever empty, even for a split second.


She handles foods pretty well. Most days I can give her whatever we are having. I precook and freeze veggies, broth, purees, and meat to round out her meals (and to speed up the process...she doesn't do "hungry" well). She's not a big baby--about average in weight and a little on the tall side. But she eats as well as her brother who had a good 6 pounds on her at this age. One day for lunch she had half a grilled cheese sandwich and half a mango (all diced up of course). For breakfast she typically has O's, half a banana, a whole tub of yogurt, and baby cereal. The other day she downed a full bowl of pasta tossed with spinach. She's definitely making an impact on the food budget.


She's liked pretty much everything she's eaten. Pureed chicken was a bit questionable, but she does fine with regular chicken. It's hard to even identify her favorites because she eats it all. Butternut squash is big. So are green beans and peas. Apples. Pasta. Carrots. Parsnips. Avocado. It's pretty fun to make her food because she always enjoys it. I figure I'd better enjoy it too...soon enough she'll be picky. Hayden used to eat everything and now he dissects his food. He won't eat the tip of bananas because they are "squishy." Grapes with tears in the skin...forget it. Guacamole, but not sliced avocado. Chocolate milk, not white. And so on. But at least he eats his fruits and veggies, and at least for awhile, so is Marlo.