A Monkey Turns 2...

Even though our monkey has been 2 for a couple months now, posting pics from the party is better late than never.  We celebrated the big event at Meme's house with what other theme than a monkey theme.  Monkey picked out her favorite foods to serve- fried chicken and fruit, and I channeled my inner Martha Stewart and made monkey cupcakes.  Lots of friends came to celebrate, and our hearts smiled at how many family members made the trek from the Delta and Nashville to join us.  Our monkey is lucky to be so loved by so many people!  We tell her daily that she is the most loved girl in the whole wide world... and we're not kidding.



The Birthday Girl

How Martha Stewart is that?

Looking over the fence to see who's arriving!

Monkey and Meme- you can't imagine how much she loves this woman!

Lilly, Abby, and Gracie- Monkey thinks they are all the coolest!

Silly Alden

The Godparents- they remind me constantly of what a bad Godparent I am; They don't miss a thing for monkey :)

Monkey got her very own backpack so that she can carry her own juice, snack, and diaper!

My sweet, precious family :)



Easter

Well, I guess we all know one thing... I'll never be a professional blogger.  I can't seem to find the time to pull together a post but about once every 6 months.  So, with that established, here is my monkey, 6 months older since I last posted pictures of her.  She is now a little over 2 years old and she is a mess!  She is so smart... like crazy smart.  Her teachers at Parents Day Out have asked if they can bump her not 1, but 2 classes ahead so that she will be with children "more on her level."  How crazy is that!  At her 2 year old doctor appointment, doc suggested we consider montessori schools when looking at preschools.  Doc worried that monkey would be bored and have behavioral issues in a "regular" Pre-K 3 year old program.  Seeing as how this is the only child we are ever around, we have nothing to compare her to.  We just thought that all kids recognize and point out letters and numbers and carry on conversations at one year old.  According to her teachers and doctor, this is not so.  Who knew?  Doc was very impressed that monkey went into full detail about her friends and all of the activities she does with her friends at PDO.  Doc says she should be into "parrallel play" at age 1 and not so much into having full conversations with her friends and referring to them by name.  Who knew?  So yes, we are delighted that we birthed a baby genious and thankful to the Lord that we didn't kill all of our good genes in our 20's.  Monkey is the most precious little being ever.  She knows EVERYTHING and has very strong opinions about everything. Her strongest opinions come out regarding food, and having her picture taken.  She hates having to stop for a picture, and protests this by refusing to smile or look my way.  I don't care though, I snap hundreds of them a day anyway. She is so full of energy and yet is turning into a little love bug.  She loves "family snuggle" time each night, and has settled into a routine of having Goodnight Moon, My World, and Potty Animals read to her each evening before bed.  Her favorite outing is to the zoo, which is our own personal playground and we are there at least twice a week.  Currently, her favorite animal is the meerkat, and every time we watch them she starts to cry because she wants to take one home.  She says, "I want dem, Mommy.  I take dem home. Peeeeez."  It's so stinkin cute.  She is the neighborhood greeter and yells "Hiiiiiiiiiii!" at anyone walking, biking, skateboarding, or driving down our street until they say hello back.  She also does this in restaurants.  She's the sweetest, cutest, smartest monkey ever, and we're so glad she's ours.  Here are some pics from Easter.  We lost our camera and didn't get a family pic, but here's a couple my Mom sent.



Bella, Me, and Monkey (refusing to look at camera)



 Uncle Buck- sweetest uncle ever :)

And yes, I realize these pictures are sideways.  I have tried every which way to turn them, but can't figure it out.  So just drop your head to the right and enjoy.  

Halloween all month long...

So if you know husband and I, you know Halloween is our favorite holiday of all time. We're a festive bunch, and we love any reason to celebrate.  And if we can drag a birthday or holiday out for an entire month, you better bet we do.  We love to be the talk of the street with our Griswold-like decorations and blinking lights, and now that we have a monkey to dress in holiday flair all month long... well, lets just say we're in heaven.  So here are a few Halloween shots I've snapped.   Enjoy :)

Rock-N-Romp...

There is so much for families to do in our part of the jungle, and we take advantage of it every chance we get.  We have an incredible Parents Network in our neighborhood that over 70 families belong to, most with children under the age of 5.  There are free concert series throughout the year where you can bring you own cooler and picnic basket, all sorts of festivals most weekends, story time at bookstores around town, and so much more.  One of our absolute favorites is Rock-N-Romp, held one Saturday per month.  They used to be held in peoples backyards around midtown, but it has grown pretty large, so now is held at different venues around town. Three bands play each one, there are beer kegs for the grown ups, BBQ for everyone, and tons of stuff for the monkeys to run wild and do.  It's a great way to spend an afternoon with friends and everyone's kiddos.  Here's some photos of the August RNR that was held at the Levitt Shell close to our hood...

checking out the all girl band on stage- woohoo for girl rockers!

yummy bbq provided by Central BBQ   :)

it was so stinking hot!

slip and slides!

baby pools!

giant water slides!

and monkey's favorite... sprinklers!

wishing this little girl would get off of her sprinkler  ;)

great live music

and relaxation in the shade :)

So Grown-Up...

We took our first family vacation last month, and I swear it was the most grown-up I have ever felt in my life!  Husband and I have spent the last 10 years planning lots of rock and roll getaways, but this was different.  This time we planned, booked, and financed the entire vacation without the help (or company) of our parents.  AND, we were responsible for a very mobile 18 month old monkey who ran wild on the Florida beaches, charming the pants off of anyone who passed our way.  How grown-up is that???  We had an absolute blast.  It was so much fun for us to be able to relax with our monkey for 5 whole days- no schedule, no routine, no stress.  Just fun, fun, and more fun.  And I know it was so much fun for monkey to have her mommy and daddy completely relaxed and focusing on her. Here's a recap...

Her first steps on the beach!

Checking it all out...

The baby pool may have been monkey's favorite part of the trip.  She LOVED being able to run around in it without us holding on to her!

We only ventured out one night for dinner.  We went down to Schooners and ate beachside.  This is a picture I snapped of her eating her very 1st crab claw.  She loved them!  We showed her one time how to pull the meat off with her teeth and she got it immediately!  It was too funny watching her eat them :)

After dinner, we walked down to the beach to snap a few pictures.  It was pitch black and we couldn't see a thing.  I wasn't even sure if I had monkey in the frame until the flash went off, and this is what I saw on the screen...

Poor baby!  I quickly scooped her up and snapped this adorable picture...

We spent our days collecting sea shells...

Building sand castles...

and playing on the beach playground next door to our condo...

We visited Shipwreck Island and monkey had a blast!  She was such a big girl and did all the kiddy area stuff by herself.  She had no fear walking around in the water, even when it was up to her chin.  She would just stretch her neck up and stand on her tippy toes and keep going!

We rushed down to the beach after the waterpark for our last sunset beachside.  Monkey was sad to leave all the beach chairs that provided her with endless climbing opportunities...

Taking it all in until next year....

One last beach pic before we packed it all up...

Our condo had child size bunk beds in one of the closets, so husband and monkey spent our last evening playing this game...

I'm not sure she has ever had so much fun!

We had so much fun on our first family vacation, and it was so needed.  After the month we had in August, we deperately needed a get away.  It gave us time to reconnect as a family, and a short break from the stress surrounding Beck's illness and surgeries.  I'm so thankful we were able to do this.  After we put monkey to bed, I poured a glass of wine and went out to the balcony to join husband.  We immediately heard a large boom, and looked to our right and saw this....

It's not a great picture, but there was a 30 minute gigantic fireworks display right on the beach next to our condo.  What a perfect ending to a perfect vacation :)

Sunday at the Ball Park...

My workplace had a box for the Redbirds game this Sunday afternoon so we took the monkey to her first baseball game.  We all had a blast!  The heat index was 116 on Sunday, so an air conditioned box was necessary.  The stands were pretty sparse, but  lots of people packed the boxes.  I can't wait to take her back when the weather cools down so she can see the kiddy area.  She is going to be amazed!  We spent our time at the ball park doing lots of the following...

Watching the game... we lost 3-1

Checking it all out... especially that giant red bird running around

Eating and watching the game in the AC

Cheering on the Birds

Running the halls

And being as silly as possible :)

Really paying attention to the game!