Mackenzie: 18 Month Update

Kenzie turned 18 months old on September 19th! With my laptop out of commission, its a bit harder for me to write blog posts now. I finally had some time to sit down in the basement on the desktop and write about our sweet girl.  

Since turning one, Kenzie has changed so much! She doesn't drink bottles, eats (almost) anything you put in front of her, and is VERY sure on her feet. She is FAST!

By this age I can really see her personality, and she is truly the sweetest kid. She hardly ever cries, mostly when her sister messes with her. 

Here's a story to give you an idea of how different Kenzie is from her sister...

Last week while Marley was at school, Kenzie and I were out running errands. It was pretty early in the morning and the sun wasn't very high in the sky. As a result, it was in Kenzies eyes the whole time we drove around. 

This sweet girl of ours just quietly turned her head and looked the other way, without making a peep. If that had been Marley she would have just stared straight into the sun and screamed the entire time. (She still does that!)

Kenzie is a very happy kid, and it takes a lot to make her mad. She is very tender hearted, and when I get stern with her she almost always starts bawling. (This usually happens when she steals the remote, or gets into the tv stand.) Or maybe I have a drama queen on my hands...we'll see!

By this age, Marley started showing major attitude and I think that's when we had to start doing time outs. Kenzie is just content to snuggle and hold hands at the moment. She has been doing things a little slower than her sister (Walking, talking, eating solid foods, etc) so I'm sure its coming!

Here's how other things are going....

Mackenzie Likes

Getting to sit on the couch

Watching Little Einstein's and Curious George

Playing with her sister

Shopping with mama

When the baby gate gets left open 

Getting to play outside

Snuggling on the couch and holding hands

Getting her back scratched

Pulling out all our shoes 

Bathtime

Sneaking up on people (She's so quiet, I am constantly bumping into her because she comes out of nowhere!)

Pumping her fists when she's excited

Eating! Favorites are: Pretzels, shredded cheese, goldfish, ALL meat, and nutri-grain bars.

Talking: Mama, Dada, ball, nigh-night, and hi.

Mackenzie Doesn't Like

Being gated in the living room

When mom opens the door to check the mail, but doesn't let her play outside
Being scolded (A stern "NO! NO!" will bring her to tears)

Getting toys taken away by her sister

Staying awake in the car after shopping

Getting out of the tub

Noodles or beans

Letting Mommy sleep in

Lots of big changes are coming in the next few months. Kenzie gets to go to nursery and will soon be talking our ears off like her sister does. 

The Whole Story....

There once was a Marley who swallowed a screw...so we had to go through her poo. 

Last Saturday evening I was getting a bath ready for the girls, and went into Marley's room to get her. I had noticed she was hiding in her closet being suspiciously quiet, but I figured she was just playing. I told her it was time for a bath and she ran over to me crying and holding her throat. 

She kept saying, "It hurts! It hurts!" and I immediately asked her if she swallowed something. She said yes, and I started asking her what she ate. I couldn't get a straight answer out of her, so I asked her what it looked like. 

She said, "It had a circle with a line on it, and it was sparkly." By this time, Jason was in the room too and we were looking around trying to find something that fit the description. 

**Side note... The closet doors in Marley's room are accordion-type, with hinges that are screwed onto the back. They are pretty old, and the screws are always falling out. When I spot one on the floor, I pick it up and put in on Marley's dresser so that I can have Jason fix it when he comes home.**

There was a screw I had found a few days earlier sitting on Marley's dresser, and I grabbed it and asked her if that is what she swallowed. She said yes, and I looked at Jason and said, "Looks like we're headed to the emergency room."

He stayed home with Kenzie while I drove Marley to the ER in Murray. (Looking back, I realize I could have totally just gone to Instacare, but I was freaking out.)

I got her all checked in, and she loved every minute of the attention from the bubbly nurses. The doctor came in and asked me a bunch of questions. I started to get a little annoyed because I could tell they thought I was crazy. They kept saying, "So you didn't SEE her swallow the screw?" Or "She seems so fine and happy, breathing normally."

After I saw that x-ray pop on the screen I said, "Yeah, NOT crazy!!" Marley is very well-spoken, and I knew once she described the screw to me exactly what had happened. 

So we met back up with the doctor and he said that since the screw had already made it to the stomach, that we just needed to wait and hope it passes. He recommended a follow up x-ray two days later just to make sure that the screw was moving through her system.

Marley got such a kick out of getting to see her bones on the x-ray, and seeing the screw in her tummy. She kept telling the nurses (with a sigh) "Yeah, I swallowed a screw."

We headed home, with a haul of 6+ stickers, a box of crayons, and a coloring book that Marley conned from the nurses for being "so cute" (I wasn't buying it...) and brave. 

By Monday we still hadn't seen the screw so I took Marley back to instacare for a follow up x-ray. They never showed that one to me, but the doctor told me that things were moving along and that the screw should pass in the next few days. 

Finally, after 4 days of searching poop for a screw...having to tell Marley's teacher that if she happened to poop in her pull up that they needed to call me so I could check it (that was fun, I love getting looked at like I'm crazy)... Jason found the screw in her pull-up on Wednesday, the ONE morning I slept in. 

I have to say, I was a little jealous that I wasn't the one to find it but I'm just glad this craziness is over. Marley loves telling people she "pooped out the screw," and has promised that she will never eat anything that isn't food again.

A lot of people ask me why she did it, and I have absolutely NO idea. My theory is that she had it in her mouth, and when I came in and told her it was bathtime, I surprised her and she swallowed it by accident. But honestly, who knows?! 

Toddlers are the worst... 

  

My Baby is Growing up!

Lots of big changes around here for miss Marley! She started preschool and dance class last month, and is loving all of it.  

This kid is SO high energy, I decided it was time to find her some kind of organized activity to take part in. The class she is doing is very fun and carefree. Its only for 2-3 year olds, so there isn't much stress over proper technique and all that. The kids are just having fun figuring out what their bodies can do! There is lots of scarf waving, twirling, and posing. Marley is having so much fun so far, and doesn't even realize her teacher is sneaking in some dance technique.  

A week after dance class started, Marley had her first day of preschool. She was so excited to wear a backpack (Pack Pack, as she calls it.) and get to go to school. 

Her first day was a little rocky, and I got an interesting report from her teacher. Marley struggles a little bit with the structure of school, is very impulsive, and doesn't like being told what to do. I'm grateful she gets the opportunity to learn from someone other than mommy. 

Since that first day, Marley has improved so much. By day 3 her teacher told me that she has greatly improved and is listening better. Right now I'm just waiting for her teacher to tell me Marley didn't yell at all during the day, and then Marley gets a slurpee. (Her choice of reward) We're still waiting...

Our weeks are now kept pretty busy, but I like having places to be and getting Marley out of the house. Marley will have a dance recital in December, and I can't wait! It will be so cute. 

Mommy For a Day

If Kenzie were Mommy for a day...

-We would watch Little Einstein's all day long.

-No one would slam the baby gate in her face.

-Someone would hold her hand at all times. (She has a hand fetish)

-Mommy would lay next to her and snuggle for her whole nap/all through the night.

-Marley would share her crayons, and no one would care if she ate a few.

-All the paper-back storybooks would be torn to shreds.

-The TV remote would be all hers, and she would push EVERY button.

-Daddy wouldn't leave to go to work. 

-We would play outside all day long.

-No one would freak out if she put rocks in her mouth.

-All the applesauce pouches in all the land would be hers. 

-No one would get mad when she opens the doors to the tv stand and pulls out the dvd player. 

-She wouldn't get in trouble for destroying EVERYTHING her sister builds out of legos. 

-All food, especially things that come in crinkly wrappers, would be surrendered to her immediately. 

**I wrote a similar post when Marley was this age. Read that one HERE

Summer Fun

We've been having lots of fun this summer. With Jason busy working his internship, the way I keep myself sane is by getting out of the house. Marley is SO high energy, she gets stir crazy too if we've been inside too long. Fortunately, we have been able to find fun things to do in our area. 

We love going to the library for story time! 

The library also put on a super fun ballet workshop, and Marley LOVED it. She talked about hardly anything else for a week straight. 

We also love playing at the park in the morning before it gets too hot. I've been able to go walking with a friend sometimes in the mornings, and its a bonus for the girls because we end it right at the playground. 

Mostly fun for Mom, but we all love going shopping! The girls are great little shoppers and they love going to Target with me because that means free cookies. 

We visited Thanksgiving Point last week and the girls LOVED the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Since Kenzie has just learned to walk, she was in heaven getting to play. 

Playing outside in the water counts as getting out of the house too! We've got lots of water toys, and the girls would do this all day if I let them.

We've still got a month of summer left to have many more adventures! Marley will start preschool next month and I'm also planning on signing her up for a dance class. We love keeping busy!