he's getting so big and his hair is so long. i don't want him to grow up anymore. =( these pictures were taken just mere hours before my sweet little monkey turned into son of satan!
we're going thru a phase right now. and it's not a good one. are there ever any good phases? really? anyway, we believe he's gone into his "i'm gonna see if i can keep Mommy and Daddy up all nite and play... or listen to me cry... whatever". it was not a good nite. you'll get more on that when i get more sleep and can type in complete sentences again.
so my boy's got a thing for steering wheels. we took him to Mr Gatti's after a day at the pumpkin patch and he loved the coin-operated boat with steering wheel. it swayed from side to side. ah, i can only imagine the temper tantrums he'll throw, in the future, when it's time to go home. can't wait!
we went to Shaggy's bday party this weekend and he found another steering wheel. he sat with Aunt S1 and Uncle BIL2 for a while before he was ready to leave. here's some video of that.
so last week, we had to bury one of my uncle's. it wasn't the most pleasant thing to do mid-week - loss of family, traveling with baby, missing work, etc. but out of that, came some good. i have vowed to keep in better touch with my cousins. i am happy to report, it's working.
i gave them all cards with my email and phone number. Ashlee was first to friend me on Facebook. then, Kenneth. then, i got an email from Gaylon. just waiting on something from Stephen now. these are all cousins from Terrell, TX. they're sending me pics soon so i can see how the whole family has grown up and changed. i don't know why i'm so excited about this. i haven't seen them since i was 10, you'd think i'd kinda be "over it" by now. but nope, i'm totally excited about reconnecting!
i found out they sometimes make it down to the island so now they can call me when they do. i told HM that i wanted to make a better effort at keeping in touch and would like to invite them to stay with us here and there. he was all for it. we'll see how it goes. i'm sure none of this will happen until next year. it's gonna be crazy busy for both of us over the holidays!
so we've been learning how to sign... as in sign language. i was a proud mommy last week when Monkey showed me the sign for "milk". unfortunately, we worked on that one so much he's using it for everything now. HM thinks it's how he says he's happy. i say he wants something but i'm not sure what. he's using it for when he wants milk but still does it a LOT more than what i'm sure is allowable milk consumption per day.
we're now focusing on signs for Mommy, Daddy, Eat, More, and All Done. in the near future, we'll work on Please, Thank You, Play, and Friend (when he gets one).
in other news, things are still working out with bringing him to work 2-3 days a week. don't get me wrong, it's definitely trying some days, but it works out. i love being able to see him all day and not miss anything new he does. once he starts walking and all the newness wears out, we'll re-visit. KIDDING!
Monkey got to see his Grandpa & Grandma this weekend along with other cousins he'll hopefully see again. S1 and i have decided we need to take over planning the "C" family reunion. i think we'll send out surveys first to see what everybody would enjoy; games, activities, etc. something appropriate for all ages. don't get me wrong - it's great listening to the guitars and Psycho Brother's really bad singing, but there could be more.
i can stare at this picture all day long and still not believe this kid is MY son. i still can't get over it. ... doesn't help that he still looks nothing like me.
not his first bath, but definitely his cutest! 
