Out with the Old

I accidentally left my razor on the edge of my bathtub and before I could say "No", Marlee had already picked it up and cut her thumb (pretty bad I might add...I might have freaked out and called 911...and an ambulance might have come to our house).  And unfortunately, it cut her left thumb, which is the thumb that she sucks. :(  The first day after the accident, her whole hand became useless.

I felt so sorry for her because she wanted to suck her thumb so bad to soothe the pain.  Nap time and bedtime were a challenge that day without her thumb.  But, by the next day, it was like she never sucked her thumb before.  She was over it and Momma and Dada were sad.  We never thought we would love our child being a thumb sucker, but we have grown to love it and we weren't quite ready for her to give it up yet.  But, she is a big girl.  And big girls don't need to suck their thumbs.  Fortunately for Marlee, she has an additional security tactic besides her thumb: her monkey.  For quite some time, she has been rubbing the corner of her monkey between her toes, on the palm of her hand, on her cheek, and in her ear.  But now she is taking it to a whole new level.  Instead of her falling asleep with her thumb in her mouth, she likes to fall asleep with her monkey between her toes.  Can you see it below? Silly girl.

Shadow

Marlee discovered her shadow a couple weeks ago.  At first, it scared her and she could only look at her shadow while holding onto Mama or Dada.  She became obsessed with it and constantly wanted to go outside to see it, but then would get nervous and just hang out in the shade.  Once she got used to it, she started looking for it every where.  She would study it and then say "Where did it go?" once she lost it.  She is still fascinated with her shadow, but she is getting used to it now. ;)

Anniversaries and Babies

We celebrated Ma & Pa's 50th anniversary a few weeks ago.  Here is Marlee Mae at the party.  Once she discovered the candy bar, she came back to visit it about every five minutes. ;)

 She was on a sugar high for awhile, but eventually passed out on her Dada.  

We also got to meet sweet baby Hayes while we were in Fort Smith.  He is so little, precious, and perfect!

18 Months

We celebrated Marlee's 1/2 Birthday with pancakes and a couple presents.

• I'm not sure what she weighs.  She has her 18 month checkup next week.
• Update: Marlee weights 23 pounds, 2 ounces; still in the 25th percentile.  She is 2'8" and has shot up to the 50th-60th percentile in height.
• Wearing 24 month clothes and a size 3 diaper.  She has really shot up in the past month.
• Talking like crazy and starting to say small sentences.  Here she is saying "It's a bee." and "It's a bug."

• Like I said before, she is getting ornery and definitely testing her limits.  But, when she knows we mean business, she is good a listening and doing as she is told.
• James let her "drive" his car a couple weeks ago and now it has become one of her favorite things

• Getting better are using her utensils with her meals.  She is getting so big. ;)

• Likes to give high fives
• When I say I love you, she blows kisses
• Knows some of the motions to Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, If You're Happy and You Know It, and Row Row Row Your Boat.  And she likes to just randomly throw them out there so we will start singing.  And then she just grins from ear to ear.
• Still enjoys her wagon, but only for short distances.  This girl has never liked being still.

• Still loves to read and loves when her Dada comes home from work.  I will try to video her reaction to her Dada coming home so you can see how excited she gets.  She is usually stuck to him like glue until bedtime.

• Likes to go with me to the bathroom (what toddler doesn't?) and will say "potty?".  So, I went ahead and bought her a potty.  I don't plan on potty training anytime soon, but I thought it would be good to get her used to her own potty.  When she sees it, she says "potty?" and sits/stands/climbs in/on it.
  
  I just realized that her monkey is in most of these pictures.  She loves that monkey.  And I love that she loves that monkey. ;)  James and I absolutely love this age and say at least once a day that we wish we could freeze time.  Children are truly a blessing from God and this little girl has most certainly swept me and her Dada off of our feet and changed our lives forever.  Happy 1/2 Birthday Marlee Mae!  We love you to pieces!!

Ornery

My sweet baby girl is starting to show an ornery side.  She likes to scream...A Lot.  Here she is screaming at Walmart

 And here is her report from school the next day

Here we are in the car after a trip to Gordman's.  See the pink elephant?  We couldn't leave the store without it.  She had a death grip on it, accompanied by the scream.

Buddies

I think I have mentioned how Marlee and Frank are finally buddies...thank goodness!!  I think Frank has finally accepted her as part of the family.  Little does he know, his world is going to be rocked again in a few months. ;)

Memorial Day 2013

We usually head down to Lake Ouachita for Memorial Day weekend, but since Hayes had not made his debut yet, we all decided to stay in town.  We spent Saturday on Beaver Lake with the Bradley's.

 We found the handle on Marlee's life jacket to be very helpful.  Haha!

The kiddos had fun exploring the island, driving the boat, eating, playing in the pool on the boat, and watching the iPad.

 We headed down to Fort Smith Sunday for some family time.  Here is Marlee sporting her "Papaw Ken hair" 

 Marlee had a blast swimming with her cousins.