We are officially . . .

. . . crawling!

we'll try to get some video of it up later. it takes me a while to figure all that out. i'm off to baby-proof the house :)

March 2008

hello again friends. boy am i tired. all this rolling around just wears me out! the big news this month is that we have a new addition to our family. pete is my new puppy. he's part jack russell terrier and pomeranian. well, that's what we think anyway. he's keeping us all busy.

like i said, i've been moving around alot. you put me on the floor and i'm gone. i love to get into my mom's basket of magazines. and then i try to eat them. for some reason i really like the taste of paper.

i've been getting a little frustrated too. i don't understand why a girl can't have things her way, when she wants them. is that too much to ask? why does my mom keep telling me "no" and moving me somewhere else? and i really hate it when she takes something away from me. the other day we were in the grocery store and i was happily minding my own business chewing on a birthday card. all of a sudden my mean mom takes it away from me! to add insult to injury she tries to give me her keys to chew on. well, i voiced my displeasure for quite awhile in that store. they won't forget me there anytime soon.

i'm eating alot of table foods now. i like pretty much anything. on bathnights mom lets me have a teething biscuit or a messy cookie. yummy. and my pincer grasp is perfect now. sometimes i can even move the food nicely from one hand to the other. thank god for thumbs!! and on aidan's birthday i had cake and ice cream. woo-hoo!! i'm liking that stuff.

my first st. patricks day and easter were nice. alot of good memories with family and friends. and maybe next year i'll be allowed to have some of that candy-stuff that was in the plastic easter eggs. just have to wait and see i guess.

i'm crawling a little bit. well, forward that is (i can go about 3 "steps"). now backwards i'm a pro. i can make it clear across the room. i can also transition from laying on the floor to sitting very nicely now. pretty soon my crib mattress will have to be lowered because i've pulled to stand once or twice by myself.

i'm really talking alot too. and singing now. my mom and i watch sign language videos sometimes during my last bottle (our cuddle time) and she's showing me how to move my hands to make the signs.

spring has arrived around here and i'm really looking forward to spending some time outside. going to the park, walking the dog, maybe getting a swing (hint hint mom!) . . . stuff like that. i hope you all enjoy the warmer weather too!!

see you next month - MARLEY :)

Happy Easter

or "hoppy easter" as uncle andrew made us say today! we hope everyone had as wonderful a day with family and loved ones as we did.

the easter bunny did not forget marley on her first easter. we woke up this morning to a wonderful array of goodies in her basket and beside the tv. she got some new pajamas, 3 books by one of mommy's favorite authors (patricelli), some socks, a little train engine that has popping balls and will move across the floor on it's own (to entince someone into crawling FORWARD), a stuffed bunny from build-a-bear and a set of tony stewart sippy cups. woo-hoo!! and i guess the easter bunny thought marley was too young for candy because she got some sweet potato puffs instead. and he was thoughtful enough to send along a new mirror for marley to look at while in the car because the one she got from aunt bridget, aunt bridy and aunt amy broke.

we spend the afternoon with our family in warren, pa. marley loved the easter egg hunt. she got her eggs and hugged them tight to her chest and rolled around on the floor talking to them. and if one got away, she went right after it.

February 2008

well, i had a really busy and eventful month for february. my mom is still trying to catch her breath and that's why the update is coming so late!

as you know from before, i had rsv. which can be a pretty dangerous respiratory virus in babies. i seemed to have a relatively moderate case of it (as in i never had to go to the hospital). i vacationed at home with mom for about a week and a half, and then was back at school. my cough and a little bit of congestion hung around for a while, but other than that i was good to go.

and go! go! go! i go. i go alot. i'm in constant movement now. i roll all over the place and never stay still for long. something always catches my eye and i have to go after it. i'm thinking about crawling, but i've heard it's hard on your knees so i think i'm gonna hold off on that for a little bit more. i like to get up on my hands and knees and rock, and i really like to push myself backwards while on my belly. as you can see from the pictures i love love love the jumperoo aidan and jonah let me borrow. it's divine. a good place to take a nap.

while i was home with mom and feeling miserable anyway, i decided to get all the discomfort over with at one time. i got 6 teeth. in less than a week. 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. it's really changed how my face looks, especially when i smile. and now mom will give me alot of new foods. i like fork mashed fruits and vegetables, and i can even chew up small pieces too. i like cheeris and gerber puffs. i can pick those up with my hand, but i'm still working on my pincer grasp so i can get them into my mouth. mom gives me tastes of everything: brownies, cookies, grown-up oatmeal and applesauce, crackers. sometimes she'll let me have a biter biscuit or a cookie on my own. yum!

i'm also enjoying talking to everyone. i can say and wave "hi" and i say "mama". i sing to myself when mom lays me down at night and while we're riding in the car. and since i'm a big girl and can sit in the front of the cart when we go shopping i will talk to anyone and everyone who talks or smiles to me.

and i like to eat paper.

i hope everyone has a safe and happy st. patty's day! oh - and an easter too.

love ~ marley (and my mom)

nt45z45sz0. (she finally let me type)

Marley On The Move!

Marley's on the mend . . .

i hope!

it's been 4 days since the diagnosis of RSV and we've had a few ups and downs.

the dr office had me pretty scared that we were gonna end up at children's hospital in pittsburgh. they think the RSV started on tuesday, and about day 5 is the worst of it. which would have been over the weekend for us. by sunday she had yet to spike a fever (even a little one) and was doing well with her breathing treatments. so we finally left the house for a trip to lowes and then to my parent's house. aunt deb and uncle steve were coming to visit and had never met marley, so we had to see them :)

you can tell she's sick. she's not herself at all. quiet, kinda sits around and just looks at you. not eating or drinking nearly as much as she usually does. but she's alert, awake and not seeming too uncomfortable you know? and saturday she slept through the night and well into sunday morning for the first time in i think 2 weeks. :)

then last night all heck it the roof. she was up and down all night, just so uncomfortable and miserable. but still no fever, or anything i could pinpoint. she's teething too, so i finally gave her some motrin thinking that that may have been the culprit. she fell asleep, but was restless in the bouncy seat she's been sleeping in since i don't know when. so i got brave and put her in her bed, and she rolled onto her side and was out like a light. i woke up about 2 hours later to the most god-awful wheezing i had heard yet. really, it wasn't even that bad the first day at the dr office. i get her back up and do a breating treatment. she fell back asleep but was still wheezing. just as bad. it usually stops right after the treatment and then starts up again just before the next one is due. not today. she wheezed for the next 3 1/2 hours, until i gave her another treatment. she did get better with that one. but has been wheezing more today than the past few days.

and her little head is so stuffy. all this yellowish and greenish gunk coming out. dr thinks its related to the virus, so no antibiotic. i'm just to continue giving her benedryl. i mean, it worked so well so far you know?? but she's less stuffy tonight, so i'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow am brings. i'm supposed to call the dr if she gets a fever or a puffy look under her eyes. i'm beginning to think marley has some crazy immune system b/c she hasn't gotten a fever yet. kid has rsv, and still no fever.

so thanks for all your well-wishes. those top teeth are really coming in, so before too long they'll show up on the camera. :) and you know i'll post a picture.

RSV

. . . more details later . . . i have one miserable little girl . . . it's only going to get worse according to the doctor . . . no daycare for all of next week . . . keep Marley in your prayers . . . and mommy too . . .