C&K Rand Family: Marissa 12-14 months old

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Marissa 12-14 months old

As soon as I wrote Marissa's 1st birthday blog, I noticed even more new things she started doing and couldn't wait to write them down! She keeps growing up!

Here's a list of the silly and the skilled...
-can walk with one or two hands holding on to something (an adult/sister/stable toy)
-says "mama" and "dada" when she sees us--she DOES know what they mean!
-says "nana" for banana
-becoming social--says "hi" to anyone walking in the room, and will walk up to a kid in public and smile and/or say hi
-knows her name (turned toward me as I was making casual conversation with her and said her name mid sentence)
-lights up when she sees someone she loves--especially fun for the grandparents!
-likes mommy's food better than her own (threw her own banana on the floor, but would eat mine)
-throws her food down off the side of her tray when done eating or if she doesn't want that food item
-learning to use a plate or bowl (without picking the plate up sideways and dumping everything)
-learned to drink from a straw
-crawls around with a toy hanging out of her mouth
-loves sitting in the princess chairs with books
-loves all ride-on toys, either pushing herself, or being pushed/driven around by her sisters
-climbs the kitchen step stool (it must stay in the MIDDLE of the room or she'll get into dangerous things!)
-climbing on anything (including the baby gate, but luckily not the crib)
-likes to play in the toilet water (need to do a better job of keeping those doors closed)
-loves hanging out with the big kids...she follows them around, and she'll play a good customer at her sisters' pretend restaurant.
-attempts to use objects appropriately: moves a hairbrush over her head, tries to buckle her chest clip in the carseat, phone to her ear and say "hello", waves good bye, lipstick on lips
-the toy lipstick is a favorite toy...just a perfect fist size to hold, or to click the top on and off
-learning to color with a crayon (I am attempting to keep it on the paper)
-started using her pointer finger to point
-WALKING on her OWN! Right at 14 months. (More on this in the next blog post)
-two new molars broke through her gums on top

STATS: (as measured by nurse at the doctor's office on 12/20/13 -- 12.5 months old)
Height: 29.5" (2' 5.5") (54%ile)
Weight: 17 lb 6 oz (12%ile)
Head Circumference: 17.5" (35%ile)

We rearranged the living room so the baby gates keep her IN her own zone, rather than keeping her OUT of the older girls things. I am so glad I purchased the expandable baby gates so she has a large area and we can even sit on the couch and hang out with her. I feel a little bad leaving her in there all alone to play sometimes while everyone else is in another room, but it has been a safe place, and I can't feel too bad because there is plenty of space to move and a number of toys to move to and from. Notice the foot sticking out in the picture? She's a climber!

Marissa still fits and rides in her portable infant car seat, which still comes in handy occasionally for naps. Although she will only fall asleep on the freeway, not driving around town, and being that I don't get on the freeway too much (it's 10 min to the freeway anyway), it's rare. She won't fall asleep driving on roads, rather she will look out the window and enjoy the scenery ...even at midnight the one time I resorted to driving around in my jammies at that hour.

Mid-January, Marissa bit her tongue while falling off a little chair. There was a lot of blood in her mouth when it happened but mommy stayed calm (by the 3rd kid, you know a few things) and blotted it up, discovering this double bite--her tongue must have curled out so the bottom teeth bit the tip and the upper teeth bit further up. I'm such a meany mommy; I got this picture by dangling her pacifier just above the camera lens. I think the white spot is a bit of tongue skin.