Two peas

Marshall and Carly are like this (if you were sitting here in my living room, you would see that I was crossing my fingers). They are that tight.

Carly loves her daddy. They are so much alike. I think it is sometimes hard to see your own personality's effect on your child, but I can see Marshall written all over her. The way he interacts with her has really shaped who she is. She is goofy, and carefree, attention seeking, sharp, and kind of a rough and tumble kind of girl. I bet she gets her attitude and bossiness from me. But that's beside the point. She probably also gets her active imagination from me. Also besides the point.

Carly and Marshall are both kinda neurotic. Marshall has always had a touch of OCD. He is generally disorganized (at least by my standards), but there is an apparent method to his madness. He is very specific about where his mess goes. He also has funny little habits, like putting the TV on a certain channel and volume every night before bed. Or lining things up a certain order. Or eating candy or cereal by color. Or eating his hamburger in a circle, every time.

Carly is the same. She loves to organize her alphabet letters by color and letter and in a straight line. If in the process she runs out of fridge, she has a melt down. She lines up her blocks down the hallway, and if I put one out of line, it is the end of the world. Her blankets have to be arranged on her bed in a specific order at bedtime. She has to be holding a certain stuffed animal during a certain movie. She has very specific ideas of where things go, and will tell me if its wrong.

Probably the biggest way Marshall has rubbed off on Carly is they way they rough house. Carly has been raised with daddy tossing her around and smashing her on the floor. She can't get enough. Shrieks and squeals and laughter are the background noise in our home when daddy is home, along with daddy's explosion sound effects. One of their favorite games when Carly was just starting to walk was "Super Bully." This is a game where Marshall would wag his fingers in his ears, while crouching down, and chanting "super bully! super bully!" And then Carly would scream and tackle him. Hours. On. End. And Marshall never misses a chance to practice his wresting moves on her, or piledrive her into the couch.

Now that Carly is verbal and so good at telling us exactly what she wants, conversations about rough housing are some of my greatest entertainment. Tonight before Marshall left for work she was asking him, "You pick me up and hang me upside down?" And "You pick me up and throw me on the bed?" Of course Marshall happily obliged.

And once he had left, it was apparent just how much this is all a reflection of Marshall, and how little of it has anything to do with me. She brought me a chip clip and said, "Here. You chase me and pinch me with this clip?"

Me? Not going to chase my toddler and pinch her. We put away the clip and she helped me make dinner.
Marshall? Totally would have.

And I love that that's their thing. That Marshall is able to shape her and give her qualities that I totally would not. I love watching those two become best friends.