a milestone diary of marlow’s second year

photos (finally) taken aged two and a half

for thirteen months we want to remember

that wooden walker rolling up and down the hall

how you started to play oh so independently

the hugs

copying your mama and cleaning things with baby wipes, tidying toys away and helping out with the laundry

walking whilst holding only one hand

standing independently

expanding your vocabulary (often) to include “no”

taking B-I-G bites out of bananas

after fourteen months you were

pressing buttons on traffic lights

walking inside independently and outdoors whilst holding our hands mostly (in your first ever pair of shoes)

practically running when pushing your walker along

trying to jump

jibber jabbering all the time and you mastered the zipper

… still continuing to dip your finger in ketchup for dinner

at fifteen months

you suddenly walked on the eve of the twenty-ninth of november after deciding that it was a-ok and hey you could totally do this

followed closely by the nod on the seventeenth of december

we are particularly tickled by your 'lick of approval' when you are tentatively trialing new foods

and are invigorated with joy to hear you laugh at things which amuse you… like daniel tiger hopping on tv

at sixteen months strong you

understand so much and follow commands

want to be carried instead of walking places

started waking in the middle of the night and wanting to leave the bedroom (we did not oblige)

have new obsessions - namely skips and swings

continue to love the outdoors and were so dismayed when we had to isolate - you repeatedly kept bringing us your shoes

seventeen months of you brought us

a puddle obsession

the words; ‘shoes’, ‘juice’, ‘daddy’ or ‘dada’, ‘freddie’, ‘nanny’ and a couple of other things but still no ‘mama’

backwards walking like ‘miss elaina’

quiet snoring from you as you sleep through the evenings in the cot in your own bedroom

a few new favourites - you figured out how to switch the light switch on and off and love playing with our reusable straws hidden in the bottom drawer of the kitchen

and i am constantly searching for things in all your hiding places around the house... your favourite spots include; the inside of our shoes, behind the tv, and in the french market bag we brought back from tourettes sur loup

at eighteen months you

became more adventurous and ran further from us in the park to explore. in fact, you love to run fast everywhere - and get lots of comments from strangers on your speed

love to give kisses, point and touch flowers (which you do so gently), and spot squirrels

you pick daisies for your mama

and particularly enjoy lift-the-flap books with animals beneath the flaps

new words this month included; ‘car’ (your favourite), ‘tree’ and ‘hi’

i am still nursing you to sleep but you often stop, read the book for a while with your daddy then go back to '“boob” (which is adorable when said by you)

we have discovered that you have a wonderful sense of humour, making lots of funny facial expressions you know will make us laugh

with nineteen months came

so much personality

newfound fondness for uncle adam

feeding animals for the first time at windmill animal farm and laughing when they licked your hands

sitting on benches

you and your daddy saying “hoo-hoo” back and forwards and “uh-oh”

wearing hair clips in your hair

and our keys have gone missing a few times….

with twenty months you

went on a choo choo train with daddy and didn’t want to get off

… after which you proceeded to say ‘choo choo’ non stop for days

the new favourite word is ‘church’

the start of nursery school

twenty one months have passed and you are

absolutely OBSESSED with cars (although you love your dolls and teddies too). mucky bear is your clear favourite and you cling to him at nursery, but when you go out you love to bring a teddy, toy or car along with you wherever you go

constantly saying ‘carry’ and holding your arms out expectantly

the youngest ballerina in your class

only nursing overnight

fond of your great grandad's old toy cars and all of grandma joan's teddy bears, which we discovered when you visited your great grandma in maltby for the very first time

twenty two months - and oh what a busy month it was

this month you are like a parrot repeating everything we say, and coining together short sentences like ‘two cars’. our particular favourites include ‘ow-kay’ and ‘daddy-da’

your word for chocolate is ‘ta-ta’ - not sure where that comes from, or ‘tella’ for nutella (courtesy of your dad)

you say ‘daddy’ and ‘nanny’ all the time but NEVER mummy, we seem to both be ‘daddy’ as on occasion you have been noted to hilariously demand ‘daddy-boob’

you went on your first holiday to cornwall and overcame your fear of sand and sea!

you took another trip to ireland and made nama suzi cry with joy when you said ‘nama’

you got your first illness which totally wiped you out - a nasty case of tonsilitis, but you were a superstar taking medications and waving your hands, shouting ‘yay’ with us to celebrate polishing off every syringe of medication we thrust at you

at twenty three months, as two years creeps closer you are

finally saying ‘mummy’.

(you also made an EPIC sentence on the swing one day, which sounded something along the lines of: ‘daddy can you take mucky bear please?’)

full up of coughs, colds and gastroenteritis every single week this month (thanks for that nursery)

two years young

you freak out if your socks fall off (a phase which we were pleased didn't last long as trying to find socks buried in the duvet in the middle of the night was… trying)

you say ‘muff-oof’ for muffins and ‘moob’ for moon - which you search for each night with your daddy out of the windows before bed

you go to sleep in your cot, while we lay next to you until you fall asleep

you have a strange obsession with pinching our necks - it hurts

you are getting oh so much braver and boy oh boy we love you