Mariella at One: Our Busy Diva

A year ago, we were confident that Mariella was going to be a laid-back kid. She was a fairly mellow baby, happy to be toted anywhere we needed to go and generally content. Her angry sound was a cute, soft little "la." It was precious. She was what they call an "easy" baby.

Now that she is a year older and wiser, she's decided to put us in our place. Don't get me wrong, she's still a very happy little girl, but she has places to go and things to do--and you'd better not try to stop her! The cute little "la" is long gone, replaced by a wide-mouthed wail that is accompanied by the fastest-appearing tears we've ever seen. The tears seem to show up before the cry. Perhaps she has a future in the performing arts.

Mariella is a girl in motion. Shortly after she figured out the walking thing, she moved on to running. She is now a pretty good runner, for a toddler. She does her very best to keep up with Jacob. They will run around the house together, and even if he laps her a few times, she just keeps on going. She's started swinging her arm back and forth, like a speed walker. It's just the right arm though, so it looks pretty funny. I don't know how she doesn't just spin in a circle when she does that. She also climbs on everything. If stairs are available, those are her favorite, but she will settle for anything. One day she pulled a pillow off the couch, and then used it to climb on the couch. It wasn't entirely orchestrated, but once she got the pillow, she immediately knew what she wanted to do with it.

She still loves music. Now she tries to sing along to songs with an "ooooohhhh" voice. One of her favorite songs is "If You're Happy and You Know It," and as soon as she hears it she starts clapping. Her dancing has gotten even more entertaining. She still sways, but now it's a very deep sway on each side. Sometimes she'll do it without holding on to anything and it looks like she's going to tip over.

She also still really loves books. If she wants to get our attention, she runs to get a book and brings it to us with wide eyes. Or she might read to herself. For awhile, she would turn the pages and say, "gigo gigo gigo." It was pretty entertaining. (Now, that sound seems to mean "tickle." So it's not her reading sound anymore.)

Have I mentioned how active she is? I have? Well, she can also throw and kick a ball. And she tries really hard to jump. She'll squat down and then stand up really fast, with a cute little grunt. She really thinks she's jumping. Every morning when I get her out of her crib, she does a little jump and I lift her up high.

One thing about Mariella that really keeps things interesting is her absolute hatred for anything that requires her to be restrained. Diaper changes are usually a bit on the stressful side, but the car seat is by far her biggest nemesis. This actually began when she was quite young. She always cried when we strapped her into the car seat. Now that she's bigger and stronger, she flails, stiffens, wiggles, and often screams while being buckled. It makes running errands a lot of fun! I kind of dread leaving the store and going back to the van. I usually try to block everything out and focus on the task at hand, but I've noticed people stopping to look on more than one occasion. She can really draw a crowd. Sometimes, a small treat (bribe) will distract her long enough to get her buckled in, and once we get moving, she's fine. She likes going for a ride and being able to see Jacob, but that first step is a doozy.

She is quickly learning language. It's very clear that she understands a lot of what we say, and even follows simple directions. She is finding ways to communicate with us. If she doesn't have a word, she'll point in the general direction of what she wants. When someone is holding her, she'll point to show us where to go, as if we're hired drivers. Without taking time to actually count right now, she probably has 10-15 real words and a few 2-word phrases that she uses on a regular basis. Our favorites right now are this high-pitched "ooooooooooh" and "oh yeah," both of which she'll say when something intrigues her. That something is often something she's not supposed to have, like a handful of someone's face or Jacob's lunch. One other thing she's picked up is taking a drink, or pretending to drink out of something, and giving this very refreshed "ahhhhh."

She throws food on the floor. Not in an experimental, "let's drop this and see what happens" way. She throws with passion. I've never had to pick up food so far away from the high chair before. And, note to anyone who may feed her: she doesn't want it back. If it hits the floor and ends up back on her tray, well, don't say I didn't warn you.

Tantrums. This is something new for us, at least in such a young kid. Older brother didn't start this sort of tantrum until closer to two. What can I say, she's a quick study. She has perfected her crumple to the ground, usually ending up on her back. We do our best to distract her, but she'll have none of it. Offering a toy usually results in said toy being flung to the floor in disgust. It's pretty hilarious. One day in our ECFE class, she found the trash can and started gnawing on it, probaby to soothe her molars. We had to move it to keep it away from her, and she crumpled into a pile on the floor, wailing. This is one year old, people.

We are really enjoying seeing her personality develop, even though it leaves us exhausted at times. She is one spunky little girl. I just took her to get her picture taken last weekend, and even though she was not in a modeling mood, I'm assured that there are several cute ones. As soon as I get the CD, I'll put some up here.

Learning to Write

As Jacob has grown, we've realized that he is very particular about certain things. His cars have to be lined up "just so," and if one gets bumped while another is being parked, it can become a disaster. You do not want to be the person who messed it up, or you risk a look that lets you know you just ruined a 3-year-old's life. Mariella gets this look many times each day, but it doesn't seem to bother her.

Anyway, Jacob has started to become interested in learning how to write his name. He can spell it, and he can type it. Writing is, of course, a much bigger task. The other day, he wanted to write his name on his Magnadoodle. I suggested we start with learning how to write a "J." He watched me write it, and then he held the pen while I guided him. After a few tries, I wasn't really even touching his hand anymore so I moved away. He wrote a crooked, yet very recognizable "J." My reaction? Excitement and praise. His reaction? "It's not perfect." And a pout with crossed arms.

Oh, Jacob. I'm really sorry that you've been blessed/cursed with Mommy's need for perfection.* I suppose we should have seen this coming when you insisted on cleaning up every single little food or drink spill when you were 18 months old. In time you will learn how to use this quality for mostly good things.

*I should add that since having kids, my perfectionist ways have greatly diminished. There was no other choice if I wanted to keep my sanity.

Busy again

It's funny how a year ago I had a lot more time for this. Then again, I have 2 kids who are constantly on the go or tussling over toys vs. a year ago when I had a baby who slept a lot, so maybe it's not so funny. It's starting to get a little nicer outside too, so we're not stuck inside all day.

We're getting ready for visiting family this weekend so I'll have pictures as soon as I find time to get them up. I also have Mariella's birthday party pictures and some stories.

12 month check up

Mariella went for her check up today. She left there pretty unhappy with me, but she's doing just fine now. 3 shots and a finger stick for a blood draw would make me pretty unhappy too.

She is now just under 30 inches tall (75%) and 20 pounds on the nose (30%). So, since 9 months old she has grown an inch and gained about 1.5 pounds. Not a very big weight gain, but in that time she has been in almost constant motion, so it's not that surprising.

The doctor was impressed by her development. She is hitting all of her milestones, and is even a few months "ahead" in some areas. Jacob probably has a lot to do with that, since she is his little shadow and tries to do everything he does. The fact that she can not only walk, but climb and kick a ball put her ahead of the curve. She has a few words other than "mama, dada" that she uses on a regular basis (Jacob, hi, all done, uh oh).

While she was lying on the table being measured, she was fussing and I caught a glimpse of a new white tooth (that makes 9). The molars are here! She has one on top, and the other one is just about there. The bottom ones have to be close too. I don't know how much puffier her gums can get without some teeth breaking through.

Happy Birthday Mariella!

Mariella is one year old today!
Update: the pictures are in reverse order, and it would take awhile to fix them. So, enjoy her day from end to beginning.

Cake! We got this for free. Local grocers love first birthdays!

I knew Mariella would stick her fingers in it, but we needed a picture of the birthday girl with her cake

Jacob was so nice to help blow out the candle

She LOVED her cake! It was fun to eat, throw, and smear. Despite the mess, she didn't get any in her hair. There was no need for a birthday bath.

Mary and Mommy

Mary and Daddy (we couldn't get any of her looking at the camera, little stinker). Next to her is Baby Tad, one of her presents. She loves Jacob's so much that we got her one of her own. It's different though, so of course she still likes his better. Jacob kind of likes hers, so maybe they will arrange a trade. Her other birthday presents were new sippy cups, and a little pony that Jacob picked out all by himself.

Earlier in the day, she found a good spot to read a book



This was the actual face she was making as Jacob spilled his pop across the table. It's a perfect look of exasperation and amusement.

Here she is eating her birthday lunch. We went to visit Daddy at work, which was a lot of fun! She was wearing a dress and had a bow in her hair, and those of you who see her on a regular basis know what a Big Deal that is. Winter just isn't very practical for dresses. Bows? She's probably had one in her hair fewer than 5 times in her life.

Happy birthday girl after enjoying some apple bread for breakfast

Jacob wanted to be included for eating his breakfast, waffles. He also kept Mariella entertained by singing "Happy Birthday"

Wheels turning...



Checking out one of her birthday cards