A Guest Post

Brian is a boy. He is VERY curious. His role model is named George. Anything George can do, Brain can do better. Yesterday Brian, his mommy (with baby Elmo in utero), his daddy also known on Halloween 2010 as Daddy in Yellow Hat and Suit came to Nana and Pappy's for dinner. Nana rarely cooks anymore so this was a special treat. Brian decide to leave Nana and Pappy a special treat in return. Just like George , Brian loves CLOCKS! At 3:00 am this morning, Nana's alarm went off! Thank you Brian. W e love you, Nana and Pappy.

The Most Christ Like Monkey

Tonight at Mass, Father Jeff asked three questions:

1. Who among you decided to attend the 4:30 Mass to avoid the snow?

Lots of chuckles...

2. Who prayed for a White Christmas?

More chuckles...

Before question # 3, the children of the parish did a skit about how God got really frustrated with his people because they weren't being Christ like. He sent lots of messages (rainbows, stone tablets, etc.) and eventually had to come down here himself in the form of a baby.

After the skit, Father asked the final question:

3. Children in attendance tonight, which of you think you have been Christ like? Who has been good this year?

More chuckles from the parents, followed by groans from their children.

But not my child. My child piped up at the top of his lungs:

"Ooo-oo, ahh-ahh" (an excellent imitation of Curious himself).

My child. The most Christ like monkey at St. Patrick Church.

Awesome.

Monkey Business

Brian had some great interactions with his monkey friends at the zoo this past weekend! He speaks monkey (or at least George monkey) better than he speaks English on occasion, so it is fitting that his monkey buddies interact with him more than the average zoo patron.

Prepare yourself. You have never seen anything more adorable. Ever.

And then there was this guy. Totally cool up in his tree.

And down he comes just like that. Scaring the crap out of my baby boy!

Sad that the picture is blurry, but this was just too funny to pass up!

Meeting a Monkey

So I am going to have to steal the wording here from another blog that I read, because it's so true and fits this post perfectly. "If you think an activity will be fun for your 2-year-old, it probably won't be. They enjoy simple things, like flushing a toilet 5 times in a row, or climbing up and down the stepladder. Save your money."
This is not to say that Brian did not enjoy any part of his Curious George Train Ride. He smiled a few times.
He wasn't terribly bored.

However, it certainly wasn't all we had hoped.
He was truly excited about the event. Every morning the week before he would ask me, "Monkey Choo Choo?" It was the first time I felt like he was really excited about something.

The train ride was hot. And kind of loud. And sometimes smelly.

And then there's that whole thing where most two year olds do not enjoy dressed up characters. Remember the Easter Bunny?


George was not quite a traumatic, but Brian certainly was not a fan either. Was the train ride worth the $20ish per person fee? Certainly not. However, we got some cute pictures, a really cute color page booklet and we now know better than to try it again.

Cape Trip Day 5

We started out our day at Tom and Anne’s where we said goodbye to all the cousins. Brian did not golf. I didn’t let him bring his clubs in. He was not happy. But I did not want him to be sweaty for the trip back. I’m a mean mama.

After, we met the Aydt gang at Panera, had lunch and said our goodbyes.

The trip back was not as peaceful as the trip to get there. Brian only napped for about an hour and he was a grump butt. We had to stop a lot and I eventually had to ride in the backseat with him to keep him calm. The Curious George books mentioned in Day 4 were a HUGE help. Thanks, Beth!

Beth also got Brian a Curious George stuffed animal. I NEVER thought Brian would have a lovey. He never cared for stuffed animals. However, the “monkey” is now his lovey. And a small monkey that mom bought him at Cheesecake Factory a few weeks back. It’s name is “baby monkey.”
Since we have been home it’s been on adventure after the next. Getting a 2 year old back into a routine is a CHALLENGE. Yesterday he lost his shoe in the waterfall at the Conservatory. One of the workers graciously climbed in after it.

Brian and Max watching the shoe retrieval. When it fell in Brian said, "Mom! Shoe!"

And lunch Tuesday was a real treat. Just ask Jennie. He was literally CLIMBING over the booths. And he managed to make quite an explosion with his applesauce container.