Here's a picture of Marin in her 6-12 month outfit she got last summer (it was big on her then). Now she is 14 1/2 months and it fits perfect. She's our little peanut :)

This past Saturday I helped host a baby shower for one of my good friends here in Cleveland. Marin of course was there and seemed to enjoy the shower, although it took her a while to warm up. After the shower we let her play with all the leftover balloons. We had to videotape it, it was so hilarious. Enjoy!

Marin sitting face forward in her car seat for the first time at 14 1/2 months old. She loves it!

These past few months have been both fun and also frustrating. Fun because of all the new things Marin is doing, and frustrating because she has been having ear problems that have sent us to the doctor 10 times since February! She developed an ear infection in her right ear back in February and was put on oral antibiotics. We had a follow up appointment a few weeks later that revealed the infection was still there. We went through two more rounds of oral antibiotics when they decided it wasn't clearing up enough. Next step was antibiotic shots three days in a row, which finally seemed to do the trick although I think an ENT visit is in our near future.

This past month Marin finally hit 20 lbs! We were so excited to finally turn her car seat around so she could face forward. That will definitely be a plus when I am driving down to Cincinnati...she will now be able to see the DVD player :) Marin isn't walking yet, but she's cruising on the furniture and she is able to stand for a few seconds on her own. She walks well when we hold her hands. She's a master at crawling and scooting and gets into plenty of trouble even though she can't walk yet! She is babbling constantly now. We can't really understand what she is saying except for mama, dada, and woof. She has long conversations and seems very intent on what she is saying. I tried to video tape her several times, but she always stops talking when she sees the camera. She's been doing better with associations lately. When she hears the water running she starts rubbing her hands together (check out the video below) and last night she saw a commercial with a dog in it and said "woof!". It is so fun watching her learn and figure things out.

Marin's First Birthday!

March 13, 2009 was Marin's first birthday. Patrick and I drove to Cincinnati that day, and had a little party for her the following day. We went to Johnny Rockets with both sets of grandparents and Michelle. Marin did really well and ate her first chicken fingers. She fell asleep in the car back to Patrick's parents house, so we let her nap for a while before we started the party. When she woke up and saw everyone, she got a little shy and upset but eventually warmed up. She received lots of beautiful gifts and really enjoyed playing with her new doggie from Geri and Joyce, her stroller from Granny and Pappy and her drum from Grandma and Grandpa. She also enjoyed eating her cupcake that I made for her out of babyfood. Marin had a wonderful first birthday and we look forward to celebrating many more!

In November, Patrick and I took Marin to London to visit her Uncle Adam and Aunt Meredith for the first time! We loved seeing the city and spending time with Adam and Meredith. Marin ate up a storm as usual and was such a good baby on the long plane rides there and back. Adam and Meredith babysat her all day one day so Patrick and I could visit the Tower of London. She certainly enjoyed her day without mom and dad!

This past week, Marin has started eating 3 meals a day...just at daycare! She is eating up a storm...she must be going through a growth spurt. I also am starting to think that her appetite might be one thing she got from me! I guess I better start budgeting a higher grocery bill :) She also started eating more finger type foods. She loves "puffs", although you have to place them in her mouth for her. She is very prissy about how she eats. She won't actually pick the morsels up herself and stick them in her mouth - yet. She also loves tasting anything and everything we give her, including guacamole. Yup, that's our kid!