This post thrills me so much. I am so in love with the idea of Marlowe drawing, painting, making, and creating. The other day, while Marlowe was napping, I rolled some kitchen parchment paper onto the coffee table, taped it down, and then oh so patiently waited for her to wake up. I was so incredibly eager to see what would happen when I let her have at it with a brand new box of crayons. Well, she loved it—- really, really loved it. I need to plan to buy some proper drawing paper soon, the parchment paper is a bit waxy for little drawing hands… and maybe, possibly… I should buy her a little easel too 🙂 I worry for my white walls, but I’m pretty sure any mishaps will be worth it in the end.
I often wonder if Marlowe is lefty or not. Like me, she seems to be quite ambidextrous. She eats with her right hand, but more often than not, her left hand seems to take over with everything else. I’m not sure at what age or stage I’ll really be able to know for sure… maybe soon or maybe in a few years? No idea. One of my furthest memories back is: me sitting with my dad at our kitchen table and him showing me how to draw and write… I must have been 3 or 4 years old or so. It was so long ago and I have no idea if I could really do much of anything (drawing-wise) at that point, but I’m sure both my parents must have known: I was lefty. When will I know about Marlowe? Does it even matter yet if I know? Probably not. Either way, I’m really, really looking forward to even more creative days to come.
*psst. by the way… since I posted a photo of Eric last week on instagram and twitter I got about 70 (million) comments/tweets saying: “#teameric” and telling me how wonderful Eric is. Well, since I’m certain I’ll have a few questions here too, I should mention: we are not together and will not be together 😉 Eric is still a great friend to me and beyond wonderful to M. We still hang out from time to time, but thats it. No romance, just friends 😉 #teamfriendswithareallyawesomeandcaringguy
**pssst again: Marlowe’s adorable rosette c/o: upatreecupatea
28 Comments
Ah! Oh well… This is what I signed up for.
@sarah: I am a lefty! I do use my right hand for a lot of things though..
@elizabeth: heh. Well… it lasted until I weaned her…. so about 14 months 🙂
On a post a long, long time ago, you mentioned that Marlowe would nurse up to 16 times a day. I also have a super frequent nurser, and I was wondering how long that lasted for you.
Wonderful post !
sorry that last comment about playdoh and paints was actually from me, was signed into my brothers account unknowingly
Long time lurker – I have a 21 month old who LOVES to paint and color like M.
they make rolls of paper for kids that you can put on the table. water colors are fun at that age and so is finger paint!!! 🙂 also try playdoh- you can make that from scratch and that is edible 🙂 Good luck and remember to keep those first drawings as a keepsake for her when she's older!
ben says that hand dominance in children can sometimes be determined by how they turned their head as an infant (he studied hand dominance in white faced saki monkeys and gorillas, left handed and right handed respectively, but he had to do a lot of research on humans because we are apes, what a zoologist). i dont think it comes out for sure until a few years old.
are you lefty? ben is lefty and i am righty. of course he wants jules to be lefty. what do i care except that he can write!
My husband is lefty and he TOTALLY hopes our son is lefty, also. He writes with his left hand, but plays sports with his right. And Ben seems to be using both hands kind of equally. Will definitely be interesting to see!
i remember you commenting on a post i did about doing art with Lily. how you couldn't wait to do it with M. well, here you are. that was fast!
I noticed the hairy arm and was actually hoping that Marlowe's dad might have shown up to see his daughter. Too much to hope for maybe?
The colouring is adorable. My now 7-yr old is OBSESSED with arts and crafts. She loves making lists too. Her tool-usage breaks my green heart (as in eco-friendly) but I can't bear to stop her from using her imagination and having fun.
Marlowe is adorable as usual.
#teamart ! An easel should definitely be in order. Looks like you guys are having a grande time!
Magic erasers are perfect for getting crayon off stuff. I love them!
Have you heard of Color Wonder? Perfect for toddlers…the markers only show up on Color Wonder paper. So if she decided to draw on your walls, floors, etc. it wont show up at all. Ive used it with my 3 and love it….think its made by crayola. You can find it anywhere. 🙂
it is hard to tell for sure if they will be right/left until they get to preschool age or start writing a lot. i was sure rowan was a lefty until recently and she just turned four 🙂
My sister's little girl wrote on her bedroom wall when she was just learning to write her name. It's still there because my sister can't bear to remove it. It's tiny and so funny that she thought she'd get away with writing her own name anywhere, even if the h is the only distinguishable letter. An early childhood specialist who works at the school I work in said to me just the other day actually, that the choosing of a dominant hand is important by the time they reach school because it is an indicator that a number of brain connections have been made with the body before learning can occur. But before then kids will choose this at different times. What a great activity for her to wake up to!
Haha saw the mad eric banter on IG. Glad a good pal is around for you though…lovely stuff.
I like lining paper from diy shops (think i bleeted on about this on IG too…) it is cheap and strong because it's supposed to go on your walls and rolls out so she can enjoy drawing massive pictures. Enjoy – i can't wait for Stanley to get to this stage! Sx
http://sarahillustrator.blogspot.com/
I LOVE YOU BLOG. YOUR SO HONEST
cute photos! also, people are nosy.
regardless of what your relationship status with eric is, im really happy to see him on your blog & with M again. she needs a strong, supportive male in her life! <3
It's so exciting to children when they are just starting to discover art! I can't wait for that that one day!
My oldest (now 7) is a lefty. She is a dominant lefty, meaning she does everything with her left. Neither of her parents are lefties and my dad (her grandpa) was ambidextrous. I think we really saw that she was a lefty when she was around two. Before then it is hard to say because all kids use both hands.
love the first photos. what cute idea taping parchment paper to the table. xx Alice Barton ♥ The Mow Way
This is all sorts of adorable. Eric included 🙂
Love this! Yay for art & great friends. <3
ikea sells easels and paper for very cheap, and a magic eraser is a walls best friend when you have a crayon handed bandit on the loose.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50021076/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20152281/
I love watching kids draw and color! It is so fun!
That looks like fun. Now, to get my one year old to not be afraid of "ruining" the white paper….Maybe I will show her how Marlowe enjoys it. 🙂 Def worth a try.
great post! Jealous of your "Eric". I need and "Eric" right now.