Let me just get this out of the way before I’m mobbed: I don’t think the monkey is getting any less cute. He’s cuter and more wonderful every day!
That out of the way:
Every parent eventually comes to the point at which they realize their ‘baby’ is gone, replaced by a child. I personally don’t find this a particularly sad occasion, but it’s a notable one. And even though it doesn’t make me ‘sad,’ I’ll miss the baby!
Possibly my favourite thing about toddlers: they don’t know much about fake laughing. And they have absolutely no concept of keeping their laughter in check.
I don’t think I’ve ever tickled my son into a breathless cheek-hurting mess for his own benefit. It’s pure selfishness (well, and sometimes ‘cause I know it’ll make mommy smile in the other room). I absolutely love hearing the sound of his laughter, seeing his dimples deepen on his cheeks as his face breaks out into a huge all-teeth-showing smile. I don’t think anything in the world re-energizes me the same way.
As mentioned in previous posts, the Monkey is a clever little guy, learning language pretty quickly. He’s not exactly going to win conversationalist of the month yet, but he’s pretty fun to talk with.
Along the way, his brain put together the fact that some words, like “eat”, often get an -ing ending when we use them.
Read the rest of this entry »
My favourite thing to watch lately is the growth of the monkey’s imagination. He’s been doing the usual “vroom vroom” thing with toy cars or “choo choo” thing with toy trains, but a fully-realized session in imaginationland is pretty new.
We were playing one of our favourite games, “Tackle” (Cacko!), which involves running back and forth between his room and the master bedroom, with me catching him, “tackling” him (really, just catching him and gently rolling around with him, zerberting him, and tickling him). He can go back and forth for what seems like hours. “Mo? Mo cacko? Pease?” A few days ago, though, he plunked down on a body pillow that happened to be on the floor, the way one might sit on a log near a campfire.
“Appo” (Apple), he said.
“Going to eat an apple, are we?” I asked. Head nod.
Read the rest of this entry »
Language skills are really taking off right now. He’s a pretty good blabber, and likes to make up words and sentences. He can identify all kinds of things by name, and ask for them when appropriate. “Cheese? Please?”
It’s fun engaging him in conversation to see how far it can go. Today brought a pretty short but neat little sample. As soon as I arrived home, he wanted to take me into the kitchen. Apparently snacking was on his mind.
Read the rest of this entry »
Monkey House is populated by three lovely and wonderful simians–Greg, his wife Alex, and their son Cole. He is a jack of all trades, she is a scientist/athlete, and their son is a poopsmith.