Starting School

So I am going to skip over the fact that  I have written NOTHING for a year and just start explaining what the past week has been like:


Last Tuesday, Alivia started first grade.  She  had not been to public school yet so it was a pretty big change from her kindergarden of 5 kids in Mrs Harwoods sunroom last year.  Mrs Gonczarow had invited her to her classroom with Matt and the other kids the week before school started.  She had played on the smart board and met the teacher and was excited for school to start.  On the first day, she wanted me to drive her to school and walk her to her classroom.  I was happy to do this.  As we walked into the school her grip on my hand tightened but she was very brave and walked right to her locker.  I helped her unload her things into her locker, took a few pictures and went into the classroom with her.  She sat at the desk for another picture and then it was time for me to leave.  She was fine, I DID NOT WANT TO GO.  I wanted to sit right beside her and watch what was going to happen.  It wasn't really that I was worried about her, I just wanted to know what was going to happen.   I wanted to learn all the kids names and see who would become her new friends.  I wanted to see what they did in the classroom and watch her enjoy the day.  I knew I was limited to knowing only what Alivia decided to tell me at the end of the day.  So, I kissed her and headed out.  In the parking lot I ran into three other moms that I knew.  We all just stood there like maybe we could just hang out in the parking lot for the day.  After some chit chat we all headed out and left our babies in the giant school.  I am sure that Alivia will love the school and that she will do great.  One week into school she loves Music and Art and riding the bus.  I hope she learns a lot and that the teacher can keep her busy and entertained.  She is so smart and good at everything she does.  It will be fun to watch her grow this year.  May it be school activities and not Lady Gaga that she is excited by as she learns about so many new things.

We had more places to go.  We had to take Molly to her Montessori Preschool open house.  She marched in and walked around like she owned the place.  The teacher was painting pictures on the children's arms and she sat and waited patiently to get her painting done.  Mrs Campanelli actually had to leave the painting area before Molly got her picture so Molly sat patiently for several minutes for her to come back and paint again.  Molly amazes me with her bravery.  It doesn't even occur to her to be afraid or hesitant.  She just jumps in does whatever it is time to do.  Now that she has been in school for a week, she still has not had one tiny hesitation about marching right into school all my herself each morning.  She loves it.  She is so proud to be in school like the rest of the kids.  I am proud of her too.

Marlin started Kindergarden at Mrs Harwoods today.  Yesterday was Sunday and Marlin was working on reading his BOB books and working on math on our chalk board.  I noticed that he was pretty intense in his studies.  He was insisting that I help him more and he seemed to be frustrated when he told me "Mom I am working on my math but I only know 1 plus 1 and 2 plus 2."  We sat down and I asked him if he was working this hard because Kindergarden started tomorrow.  He said yes and admitted that he was a little nervous about Kindergarden.  I explained that he did not need to know everything before school started and I was sure that he would do just fine. So, today when I dropped him off he ready.  He walked right in and cautiously put his backpack away and sat at his chair.  Within 30 seconds he was working away on a puzzle and I had trouble getting his attention to tell him goodbye.  That boy has some serious focus.  He is in his own world.  I hope Mrs Harwood can find her way into the world where Marlin lives and get him to focus on what they are doing in school.  I am sure he will have a great year with her.  When I picked him up and asked him how his first day of Kindergarden went he said "It wasn't as fun as I thought it was going to be.  I thought there would be all kinds of kids running around everywhere."  I am not sure what that means.  I sure hope tomorrow is a little more fun for my little man. 

Hair Cuts for Everyone

(this post has lived in Drafts for a year. Written in August 2010, posted august 2011)Molly's hair was very uneven so it became time for her first haircut.  Above and below are before shots...

During...

After.  Not very dramatic but the first hair cut is always a little dramatic for Mama so we went with a little trim so I didn't cry.

Next was Alivia.  She has been growing her hair long for over a year.  It has gotten so long that she can not brush it herself.  It was a lot of work and needed to be worn in braids unless we were up for hours  of detangling and screaming and yelling from both of us.  Just kidding about the screaming and yelling...no, actually I'm not kidding :

Before...

Before...

After...
What happened to my baby!?!?!!!!

Then Marlin Man put in his own special request.  He wanted a Mohawk!  We went with a mild cut that could still be a non-mohawk when we didn't use gel.

So far, we have used gel every day.  He loves his Mohawk and I love his sweet face...even with the Mohawk.

Molly Moo Turns Two

Dear Molly,
I could just sit and watch you for hours.  You are the happiest person I have ever met.  You have a giant belly laugh that you use all the time.  Everything makes you laugh.  I hope you keep this ability to enjoy the little things in your life.  Not only are you happy, but you are growing and changing so fast.

You talk non stop.  You say everything Alivia says (good and bad)  You also copy everyone else.  There are plenty of original words and thoughts comming out of your mouth too.


This week you started calling me Angie, and you think it is funny.  You love baby dolls and spend hours placing them in chairs, laps, strollers, tables, floors and beds then covering them with blankets.  You take your babies everywhere.

You are one tough cookie in a tiny package of cuteness.  Your blonde hair and blue eyes fool everyone when they meet you.  I just let them visit with your for a while and it never fails that they come to me and say "Wow, she is a tough little one isn't she!"  You have no idea that you are not as big as all the older kids that you play with.   Not only do you already think you are 10 feet tall but you have NO FEAR.  You will jump into a pool by yourself.  You actually get mad when swimming because you want us to LET GO.  You climb the highest equipment at every playground we go to and you insist on being in the middle of the action at all times.

I guess no fear isn't exactly accurate.  You do not like loud noises like the neighbor's go cart or the lawn mower.  You are afraid of the tiny fan at the top of the stairs, but not of climbing up and down our huge steep wooden stairs.  You are also afraid of Rugar's (Grandma and Granpa's dog) rawhide chew bone.  What is that all about?


As you grow and change from a baby into a little girl I continue to be amazed.  I learn from you every day
You are my second daughter and my third child but definitely second to none.  You are your own person and have  been since the day I met you.  I love discovering who you are and wondering who you will be.  I love you with all my heart.  Happy Birthday baby girl.

HOT!

Molly has a constant stream of noise comming from her mouth.  She copies what people say, she joins in on conversations and talks right along, she talks to herself, she talks to her toys, and she sings...a lot. 

Molly and I were in the garden today picking this weeks veggies.  I had half a grocery bag of broccoli, brussel sprouts and eggplant when her wining became more than I could take.  (I didn't even start to pick the green beans) So our conversation went like this;


Me: ok Molly we can go back to the house.  Are you hot? 
Molly:  Yeah, HOT (hahahaha big laugh of happiness from molly after she talked because I know what she is going through and we are going inside)


As we walked back to the house she said "Me hot"
I said "Are YOU hot?"
Molly:  "no ME!"
Me:  "You are hot?"
Molly: "No I!"
Me: " I am hot?"
Molly: "Yeah" (another big laugh as she was relieved to be understood.)

The English language is rough when you are one...

The Walmart Chronicles

We have had a few adventures at Walmart lately.  I honestly shop at Walmart about once a month.  This month I went twice and I paid dearly for it.

I took all three kids to Walmart because we needed groceries and non grocery items and I wasn't in the mood to buckle everyone up, unbuckle everyn, unload the kids from the minivan, shop with the kid, load the kids back into the van, buckle the kids into their car seats, drive, unbuckle the kids from their car seats, unload the kids from the minivan, shop with the kids again, load the kids into the minivan again, buckle them in again...you get the idea (aka: haul all three kids to two stores)

So we had a very successful trip, the big kids rode on the side of the cart and Molly was ok with sitting in the seat of the cart.  We played "find the food" and "all aboard (the cart is ready to move)" and filled the cart to the top with much needed items.  We were almost done, in the very back at the milk and orange juice.  I opened the refrigerator door to get out some orange juice and hit Marlin in the head with the door.  It didn't feel like I hit him that hard.  I didn't even turn around to look at him until I had reached in to get the orange juice.  When I turned around he was holding his forehead and crying.  Blood was running down his face.  It did not look good. 

Then the chaos hit...

Alivia saw the blood (that Marlin was un aware of at this point)  Alivia screamed and panicked and started freaking out. 

Molly decided that there was a lot going on and she was missing it so she didn't want to be in the cart anymore and started screaming to get out. 

I needed something to wipe the blood off so I could decide if this was a bandaid emergency or a stiches emergency.  I was thinking it would be stiches.  So I pulled the cart with Molly screaming and arching her back, Alivia freaking out and Marlin crying with blood all over his face and hand down the isles to the bathroom area where I ran into a Walmart employee who ran to get me a first aid kit.  As we were headed to the bathroom I remember thinking "even if we have to go to the hospital, I am buying this stuff first because I am not taking all the kids back here to do this shopping trip again."  I'm such an ass but hey, I have three kids.  If it would have been my first or second trip to the emergency room I would have probably skipped the check out lane. 

Once we got the blood cleared away I saw that we did not need stitches.  I thanked the lady for her help and her tiny bandage and I hauled our circus to the first aid supply isle.  We sat down in the middle of the isle and opened antibiotic cream, butterfly bandages and spiderman band aids and fixed my little man right up.  No problemo.  Did I listen to the Karma gods and stay away from Walmart?  Nope

The next week we returned to walmart where we needed to buy some non grocery items.  We were in the toothpaste isle.  Everyone was picking out  new toothbrushes and new toothpaste.  I decided to try the blue mouthwash for kids.  The idea is that you rinse before you brush and then you have to brush the blue off your teeth.   Brilliant (btw the bottle is still full and in my bathroom if anyone wants it).  So as we walked along Molly was riding in the back of the cart and throwing things out of the cart.  No big deal, the big kids pick the things up and it keeps them all entertained.  Then she threw the blue dye mouthwash out of the cart and everything started moving in slow motion. 

As the bottle hit the floor I saw it split open and start glugging blue dye into an enormous puddle on the floor.  At that exact moment Marlin was stepping forward and he stepped into it, slipped around for quite some time and landed face down in the puddle.  It was on his face, his sweater and his tan pants.  Marlin was crying, Molly was laughing and Alivia was freaking out because she thought we would be in trouble.  I thought that too but I didn't care.  I was hoping someone would notice and help but they didn't so I dragged the crying blue Marlin to the laundry detergent isle and sprayed him down with Shout stain remover.  I needed to buy some more stain remover anyway. 

I threw the stain remover in the cart and headed to the check out lane.  On our way there I passed an employee that  noticed my blue child and I said "we made a mess in the mouthwash isle, you might want to check it out" and then I jsut kept on walking.  I have not been back to the store since.  I'm not sure they will let us back in. 

The magical train station

Retro Post 5

We stopped by the train museum on the way home from grandma's one day.  This place is tiny but it was filled with Christmas warmth.  There is something about old trains and christmas that makes me want to sing songs and drink eggnog.  We watched the old train sets as the trains circled through the hills and scenes.

Then we talked to the Jolly Fat Man.  Alivia is not in the following pictures because she stayed a good ten feet away from him the whole time.  Marlin and Molly went up with Matt and told Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

Then Little Miss "no-Fear" sat on Santa's lap.

What's Gonna Work?

Farm work!  What's gonna work...team work.  We have a wood burning furnace and that means that Matt spends a lot of time cutting and stacking firewood.  Sometime, if we want to see him on the weekend we need to help out.  We look forward to having three strapping children capable of unloading a truckload of wood in 2 minutes flat but right now we will take what we can get. 

For the princess, the proper clothes for the occasion are always required

The little princess doesn't miss a thing.  She truly believes she is as big as everyone else and she is right in the middle of the action in every situation...including stacking wood.

When it is her idea, Alivia can work hard and be very helpful already.  Im proud of my 5 year old "farm girl"

I am also proud of my 3 year old "farm boy."  Marlin worked and worked to get a good sized (for him) log to the wood pile.  He dropped it several times and finally got it stacked on the pile.  Then my little son swelled up and strutted off to get his next log. Its hard to describe how his entire posture and expression turned from a struggling little boy to a serious bad  ass. 

Party at Barbara's

Retro Post 2

Halloween was pretty big this year.  The kids wore their costumes to three different events.  The first Halloween event we attended was a party at Barbara's house.  We love Barb.  She planned a very fun evening for all of us.

Here is Barb and baby Lily. 

 

The whole gang

Alivia holding Lily for the first time.

Cortney and baby Lily...we love them too!

 

The party picked up its pace after the sugar was handed out.  People were dancing on furniture, drawing on windows and running around the house without their pants on.  It was CRAZY!

Thanks Barb!

Pretty Granny

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Alivia. 

Princess Alivia decided Granny needed a makeover.  So she put her hair in pony tails and added 25 hair clips to add some sparkle to granny's hair.  Granny was a good sport.

The princess has a tiger for a little sister

Even tigers need makeovers.

A Sledding Story by Alivia

Alivia: "Me and marlin had lots of fun.  We went sledding in our back yard before we went sledding at the cabin."

Alivia: "That's when we went sledding at the cabin.  It was really fun.  We liked it a lot and we had hot chocolate when we got home.  And we had snowball fights and made a big snowman when we went sledding." 

Everybody Ready....

GO!

Alivia: "Don't tip Daddy!"

Laughing out Loud!

Molly was laughing the whole way down the hill everytime.  She wanted to go over and over again.  When we headed back to the cabin she let out 2 seconds of crying and then leaned back and fell

asleep in the sled. 

I tried to lay her down in the cabin but it didn't work.  We came outside and built a snowman.

Molly did not participate.  She was DONE!

 

My Arms are Full

Molly woke up at 3:30 am.  Nothing was wrong with her, she was just awake.  When I got out of bed Alivia (who was sleeping with me)  also got up and followed me around the house.  I woke Matt up off the couch and sent him to bed with Alivia so I could have the couch with Molly. 
  We watched a little tv together and she rolled all over me and eventually fell asleep.  I was into a show at that time so I stayed up, holding my little girl and watching her sleep.  When I finally decided to get up and put her back into her bed I cradled her tiny sleeping body in my arms and stood up.  I watched her little mouth squirm.  I noticed how much her hair has grown lately and I just breathed in the moment and tried to lock it into my memory.  So sweet and so amazing. 
After putting Molly back to bed I crawled into bed where Alivia rolled over and cuddled my head.  (its like sleeping with a cat)  I cuddled back and thought to myself how full my arms are all the time.  Not just during the day but 24 hours a day 7 days a week I am surrounded by little loving people. 
When I got up this morning.  I woke Marlin up and we sat on the couch together snuggling under his ball blankie and talked. 
I am sooooo tired today. Instead of being grumpy I am grateful.  Grateful to be surrounded by so much love.  Who cares if I never get a full night's sleep agian. 

A Group Effort

Ah the grocery store.  The place where we go to get all the things we need to eat.  The place where I continue to foolishly think I can do EVERYTHING and I bring my three children with me to gather food. 

In the first picture you can see Molly holding the "ba" (ball, aka orange)  Notice the food stacked in the seat of the grocery cart and the child in the back.  Anything wrong with that picture.  She won't sit down.  I can't get the strap tight enough to keep her from standing up so I give up and let her be in the back of the cart where she can stand up, eat and smoosh the groceries and throw anything out of the cart that she doesn't think is worth purchasing.  Is she my major challenge in the grocery store?  Well, its a three way tie.

Still in the first picture, note my sweet Alvia...with my purse.  Three minutes before I took this picture I heard her talking to someone and when I turned around to look, she was wearing my purse and talking to her dad on my blackberry.  How old is she? 5? or 15?  Sometimes it is hard to tell.

She is actually helpful at the grocery store if she is in a good mood. 

Remember the nursery rhyme...

There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good she was very very good

and when she was bad she was horrid! (see next picture)

Actually, in this picture she is just making that face for the camera.  She likes to make the worst face possible when I take her picture.  It's awsome, NOT

Does your grocery store have jungle gyms?  Ours does.  You pick one up right inside the door and push them around with you the whole time you are in the store.

Three kids can climb at once.  But they can also tip it over.  I spend most of my time at the store saying "Get off the cart." 

For some sick reason I actually like to take them to the store. (In theory anyway) After I get there I always wonder what I was thinking but I do it over and over again.  Every third or fourth time it even goes smoothly and we all leave happy and eating chocolate rewards.


***This is not because Matt will not watch them and let his poor wife go to the grocery store.  I'm just nuts and voluntarily do this to myself all the time.

Being a girl

Being a girl is so hard. I wish there was a way to give my daughters the knowledge I have now so I could save them from the next 25 years of figuring out that they are wonderful.



It starts so early these days, Alivia wishes she was a barbie. She also plans to die her hair blond so she can look like Hannah Montana. She doesn't watch Hannah Montana and she just got her first Barbie last week. It doesn't matter if you try to protect them. They still grow up in a world obsessed with skinny, unrealistic perfection where girls stare in mirrors and hate their flaws.



How do you teach your daughter that flaws are not flaws? They are part of her beauty. They make her who she is and that is amazing.

I already see Alivia worry about what people think, worry about what she looks like and stressing out over outfits and hair. I'm not sure where all of it comes from but I need her to know how perfect she is in every moment of the day no matter what wardrobe decisions she makes.

When I think back to junior high and high school, I cringe thinking that my girls will have to go through the insecurity and self loathing that is part of growing up. I hope that they learn more quickly than I did how cool they really are. I hope they learn to step into their skin and be proud of who they are. Life gets so much easier when you finally embrace that...

Bye Bye Baby

Molly Moo is ONE!

I can't believe it. I'm sure I can not explain what that child's short life has done for me. She has given me the best year of my life and the worst year of my life.

During this past year...

She has learned to roll, sit, crawl, walk, eat and play.

I have learned many lessons about how precious every smile and every moment truly is. Her spirit, her personality, her happiness and her strength is unlike anything I have ever known.

She has learned to understand the English language and to "get her brother and sisters" and to hold her own bottle and to love kitty cats.

I've spent some time in a constant state of prayer, a constant state of shock, a constant state of thankfulness, constant state of exhaustion, a constant state of fear, a constant state of bravery, a constant state of helplessness and a constant state of happiness.

She has learned to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! (yeah molly it only took 11.99 months, I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with your mother's inability to discipline you or let you cry)

Add her undeniable cuteness and she is a lethal weapon. I'm still not sure I will ever be able to say no to that kid. Unless she eats glass or attempts to dive head first off the porch steps.

Not everything Molly did this year was learned. She came into this world knowing several things instinctively. From the moment we met her she knew how to let us know when she wanted something, she knew how to be loud (no idea where she gets that), she knew how to love and she knew how to be my third child my little spunky baby.

Her screams are either very good or very bad. There is no middle ground when it comes to this girl. Her squeals of delight are fantastic. They pierce your eardrums. It is the greatest noise in the entire world. (Well its a tie with the squeals and the laughter) Her cries are every bit as intense. Her first day at the babysitter I received a phone call and rushed over to feed my starving baby. She was fine by the time I got there but the babysitter said "I just didn't expect her to cry so HARD."
She developed a reputation among the nurses at the hospital as a little spitfire at 4 months old. We were asked several times if she was a red head. The strength in that tiny human has amazed me hundreds of times in this crazy roller coaster of a year.

So thank you Molly Moo for teaching me to love more than I thought possible, to appreciate a world I didn't even know existed and for keeping us all smiling everyday. May you always be as happy as you are today. Happy Birthday

SLOW DOWN!

This week Molly had her first pony tail, first steps, four more teeth and a couple words. Please slow down baby... I can't take it!

childrens museum

See that wagon full of ANGELS? This is from the day we went to the children's museum this summer. They are eating cookies that I bought them on our way out of the museum because they were soooo good all day. We were supposed to go to the zoo but the lightening on our way to the big city changed our minds. We have been there before. We play and look at things until someone melts down and then we go home. I kept waiting for the meltdown.

We were with a huge group of friends and family. Brad and Lauren and Audrey were among the crowd. We checked out the dinosaurs, dug for bones, tried on dinosaur costumes. We drew pictures of dragons. We explored an Egyptian tomb and when we came out of the tomb Alivia saw a map of Africa and said "look it it is the Continent Africa!" (go preschool!)

We touched and played in every room at the museum. I kept waiting for the meltdown but they just kept being awesome little explorers.

There was an incident in the Egypt room where we lost Marlin for about 5 minutes. I blocked off the exit and systematically found him but it was a terrible experience and I was seconds away from a complete meltdown when I finally found him.

Molly fell asleep sitting upright in the wagon drinking a bottle. If my Internet connection wasn't so slow I would post more pics.

I kept pulling the wagon up and down the ramps. Going from room to room. I was soooo tired, and still waiting for that meltdown where I could blame our exit on their tiredness. It never happened. Every room they played until they looked at me and said "lets find another room."

I was so proud of my little angels today. We stayed longer than everyone else and we had a great day. It sure is fun when it works out like that.

Our morning routine

In one morning, these are the things that come out of my mouth.

Good morning sunshine, time to get up.

What do you want for breakfast? We have cheerios and oatmeal.

Oatmeal? ok. Changed your mind? Ok cheerios.

Here is your cereal. Its the same as his cereal. Your spoons are the same too. It doesn't matter which one you get.

Don't touch the baby's medicine.

Eat your food. Alivia get back in your chair, Marlin get your hand out of your cereal.

Where is Molly?

Molly are you hungry?

Molly, are you done, you want down? Come here baby.

Marlin, lets get dressed. Here you go. Put these on. Good job.

Alivia, Are you done? Go get dressed.
You want me to help you pick out your clothes? ok
How about this, ok. How about this. ok. How about this? ok. How about this? Are you going to say no to everything I pick out? What do YOU want to wear? Ok thats great!

Why aren't your clothes on?
Please put your clothes on?
What are you doing in the bathroom on the counter looking in the mirror and why haven't you put your clothes on yet?

Marlin, I already dressed YOU once. Where did your clothes go?

Brush your teeth. You don't need your Diego toothpaste, you just put on whinnie the Pooh toothpaste. Open your mouth. Open. open. open. open. open. OOOOH I saw a polar bear in your mouth let me get it with this toothbrush. Ok got him, we are good.

Alivia's turn. (repeat toothbrushing conversation)

Marlin, you can not poop standing up.

its time to go. Get your clothes on. Put your shoes on.

Get into the car. No, you cant sit in that seat you have to sit in your seat. Its not too tight. Stop touching the baby. Give the bottle back to the baby.

You have to pee again? You just peed! Pee in the grass, we aren't going back in the house.

Back in the car. No you can't take your blanket.

We are here. Everyone out of the car.
Why did you take your shoes off? Put them back on.

Where is the baby's bottle? Why did you throw it into the back of the car?

See you guys later, have a good day, I love ya, be GOOD



This is before 8am. I used to do less in a week!

mooey

I have been calling Molly, Molly moo for a while now and Marlin has turned that into Mooey. So Mooey it is for a while. Little mooey is a fast little crawler. She zipps from room to room getting into everything. She can also stand unassisted for quite some time. She has taken a few steps on her own too. I thought she was going to walk a few weeks ago because she kept letting go of things and trying to walk. She isn't quite ready yet. She doesnt have the balance but don't tell her that. That kid thinks she is 10 feet tall and can run!

She also loves to be in the middle of the action. We were at a friends house this weekend and the kids were jumping on the trampeline. Everytime I let go of Molly she crawled right to the middle where her siblings were bouncing. She was bounced out of control and she giggled loudly. ...little thrill seeker

EYE Can't SEE!

Yesterday my boss asked if everyone was well at my house. She also has three tiny children and understands that someone is ALWAYS sick. I hesitated to even answer but said yes, we are all well. Then I got to thinking, we haven't even been to the doctor one time this week...that is a major accomplishment. Well, little Molly moo fixed that! She poked me in the eye last night when I was trying to get her to sleep. I guess she wasn't tired. Of course it was completely unintentional but the little fingernail must have done some damage because I am struggling. I can't read without my eye hurting and watering up. I couldn't sleep last night because when I lay down it hurts more. So, I am off to the doctor to see what they have to say. If I have to wear a patch I am not going to be happy.

Large purchases

I LOVE to buy diapers and formula in bulk. It is sometimes on the edge of being out of control. I bought five packs of diapers yesterday and as I loaded them into the car I just smiled. I think my baby will be around long enough to burn through all these diapers. Instead of complaining about how many diapers I have to buy and how much they cost, I celebrate. I shine with the knowledge that my daughter is going to live, she is going to live long enough that she will cost me tons and tons of money. Thats ok as long as I have her around. Just one more perspective that has come from Molly's heart.

On another note, I had to take her to the dr this morning for her monthly RSV shot. Marlin came with me. I told him he could get some hot chocolate as a special treat when I drove through the coffee shop. For the rest of the drive I heard this:
"I am going to get hum(some) hot chocolate." (repeat 600 times) He has such a sweet two year old voice. People are always saying "awwwww" when Marlin talks. He is such a sweet boy.