dear Monkey,

so, it's been a smidge over one year since you blessed us with your presence.  there are so many things you've learned in that short time.  at first, sure, you were just a bump on a log.  but now?  NOW??  we can't get you to stop moving!  it's pretty scary and wonderful all at the same time.  especially when you're being "little Hercules".  yes, i know you're strong but you don't have to prove it by picking Daddy's shovel up and almost hitting me in the head.  that's really not necessary. 

you've got the "toddler" thing down, for sure.  you walk around like a little mini Fred Sanford.  hence the other nickname, "little Sanford".  your cousin Kenny thinks we should now teach you to say, "it's the big one, elizabeth!".  but your cousin Kenny's a damn fool.  KIDDING!  but really, we're not teaching you that.  let's get Mama and Dada down before we go into multi-word sentences, shall we?

one thing i absolutely adore about you - you are super loving!  my favorite part of the weekends or days off, is when you're winding down.  you like to crawl into my lap with your sippy or bottle and just chill.   LOVE!  THIS!  it's all good for about 20 minutes and i soak it all in before you realize, "hey, i could be outside playing".

Aunt S1 says you always look like you're mad and you never laugh.  i disagree.  it's not a "mad" look.  i tend to believe it's a look of determination.  you have the wheels turning up there and they won't stop until you find "that thing", whatever it may be.  you're an explorer.  an engineer.  plus, she's just not funny.  =)

your new obsession is cars.  i took you to a birthday party this weekend and all you wanted to do was scoot around the floor, the ground, the concrete (whatever it was and no matter how many holes it was putting in your cute little jumper) and push the cars around.  it was the cutest thing.  your first addiction.  not unlike Daddy's.  i see many days in the garage, with your Daddy, in your future.  your other new obsession, and this goes back to the "being a toddler thing", is running away from Mommy.  not cool.

i'm hoping you will be "reading" soon.  you've shown an interest in books (and not just eating them any more) and we're trying to nourish that.  Nana is showing you dvd's so you can learn words.  i think if you had an attention span longer than two seconds, it just might work.  before you start reading, though, i will give you credit for learning to sign.  this is totes cool!  you now know the sign for "all done".  this is nice and much better than throwing your food on the floor when you're finished eating.  not good, however, when Mommy's trying to change your diaper and you throw up the "all done" like it's a gang sign or something.  never gonna work, 'cause dude... have you smelled your diapers?  they need to be changed.  but i appreciate the effort in using it in the right context.

Love, 
Mamamamamamama

Happy Birthday, Monkey!!

Today was Monkey's birthday!  look at him all growed up in his birthday boy shirt.  ready for a full day of fun!!

 

we started the day off with Daddy.  he took us to Denny's for a big birthday boy breakfast.  they even sang Happy Birthday to my little monkey boy.

 

after breakfast, we went to the Children's Museum for two whole hours!  he played with his new friends from the mommy group - all around his age.  it's so amazing watching Monkey at the museum.  he's figuring out so much!  he wants to know how it works and if he can't figure it out, he gives it me to show him.  of course, he takes it right out of my hand as soon as he sees it's working again.  after he was all played out, we had lunch with our new friends then headed out to see Daddy.  

after our Daddy visit, Monkey had a nap on the way home (he was pooped).  when we pulled up to the house he was still asleep so i sat in the driveway for a little while, checking email and catching up on facebook.  one of the mommies posted a visit to the park so away we go.

 

after the park, a bath was definitely in order.  he LOVES baths!  i hope it stays that way.  oh, and he loves his new "toy".  let's just hope he doesn't rip it off... because, trust me, i think he's trying to.  yikes!

learning skills

he's trying more and more to put things where they fit.  

he doesn't know the sign for "all done" but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his own way of letting us know when he's done.  usually, at the point of him throwing food to the dogs is when he's done eating.  he's got his own signs.  hey, at least he's not throwing up gang signs!

he loves Ringo.  he loves to pet Ringo.  or slap him... whatever.  and now he "snaps" to get Ringo's attention.  he saw me snapping to get Ringo and so now he tries it.  how cute is that??  

he also LOVES baths.  ohmigod, do not get him out of the tub when he's not ready!  total meltdown until you finally get him to his crib. 

he really likes his trampoline.  i'm not sure if it's the jumping or the fact he can crawl right into the bean bag from the trampoline.  either way, it's a winner.

weekend update/recap

let's just talk about Saturday. because Saturday we did the most. we played outside all day. helped Daddy with the lawn. ate some dirt. YUM! after nap, helped Daddy more outside. after we came in, there was bath time then nap. then Mommy forgot to feed me!!! how do you forget to feed your kid??? ask Mommy. *(for S1) you gotta be a special kind o' stupid to forget to feed your kid!

Mommy here: get off my case, kid. you ate some stars in the car!

saturday nite - we went to Senior Serve. Senior Serve is where you get hardly anything to eat and are expected to "tip" the seniors serving you. it was a fundraiser for Project Graduation and it was fun because my kid was an angel during the whole thing! i know i'm totally jinxing myself here, but i have to say it. he was GOOD! the whole time we were there! even starving! j/k! i fed him. eventually.

i can't even tell you how excited i was. it was his first night time outing, after bed time (excluding Christmas Eve and that didn't count really cuz he was getting sick). needless to say, first outing: a success.

you tell me... does this look like a cranky baby to you?


i think not.

Happy Valentine's!

_________________________________________________________________

we leave tomorrow!

we are ready to go. i already miss my Monkey and we haven't even left yet. there were a few topics i wanted to go over this week but every time i thought of one, i didn't write it down and now i've forgotten.

i do remember one was to talk about how my little explorer is moving around a lot more now. he's figuring out the mechanics of sliding doors... clapping and dancing along with music (so cute when he does that)... saying mamamamama... and taking a lot more steps!

this weekend the Monkey will be breaking up his time between the grandma's. two nites with Mamalane and two nites with Nana. what can i say? i got a popular kid. packing for him was harder than packing for myself. good god, this kid needs a lot o' stuff!

i'm kinda just rambling at this point. i need to get some sleep. it's 10:00 now and our flight is at 6:40am!

weekend update/recap

friday - had dinner with Nana. we weren't in a real rush to get home, but i was starving, so she fed us. by the time we got home, there was a little playtime with Daddy then off to bed.

notice, i have nothing else to say unless it involves the kid. you don't wanna hear about my day at work. trust me.

saturday - we were stuck inside all day. nasty weather makes for a really long day with baby. so, we played chase and attempted more signing and i swear he said, "Mom"! we had a good time.

sunday - Monkey and i planned on going out to the WUWU, but it was way too cold to get him out of the house. i went alone. as much as everyone was happy to see me, they were equally upset they didn't get to see him. that was the whole point of going, after all.

since he wasn't there, i helped out. Pollie is getting her share of bananas so i better be tasting some banana nut bread in my near future. it's a passing tradition. the shelters won't accept any of the fruit so we all divvy it up. i made out like a bandit, this year - animal crackers, two loaves of bread, hot dog buns, two crates of bananas, other stuff to snack on for the year!

oh, and p.s. - he took more steps! he's on his way. just a matter o time before he's running away from mommy kisses. =(

one trick pony

okay, so he took a few steps. he's done. no more. Nana brought him home last nite and though we didn't really try to get him to walk, he sure as heck wasn't doing it on his own!

at one point, right before dinner, he was standing in front of the island and i was by the sink. i asked him to come to me but he clung to Daddy's legs instead. his safe zone of sorts. any time we play peek-a-boo in the kitchen, it's Daddy's legs he hides behind.

i'm sure he doesn't understand the concept of "hiding" just yet. it's so cute, though. he thinks if you can't see his eyes, he's hidden. his whole body is gone. like, "poof", it's magic. you can't see me. when in all actuality, he's just right inside the doorway, blocking my way to the restroom.

communication breakdown

so we're now into the "eh eh EHHHHHH" stage. he won't sign and he refuses to talk. i can't help him. KIDDING! i'm still working on the signing (AND the talking, S1) but he's really just content to scream and throw a fit if he doesn't get what he wants. lucky me, right?

in other baby news, he took his first steps last night! did i see them? NO! he was at his Nana's. i was so upset i missed it. she did get it on video, though, and sent it to me promptly.

i'm not gonna mention any names... but somebody needs a new phone that takes better quality video. just sayin.

how charming of you to say

so i had my charm party. two mommies showed up. S1, Princess, and Mom were there also. though i expected more people, it was perfect. it was still fun and i learned more about another mommy, J. apparently, we went to the same high school (11 years apart, but whatever) , i know her cousins, her cousins were living in my hometown for a while (weird).

i think it was fun. and it was cool watching Princess help S1 and her Nana with jewelry making techniques i had taught her. i think mine came out the cutest, of course. but you wouldn't know this because i forgot to take pictures of everyone else's! i had my camera out and forgot. DOH! i really wish i had remembered. they were all so cute. and the charms were all really cute. they all brought some really cute ones. we had:

• hot red lips
• engagement rings
• various metal hearts
• red "be mine" and "kiss me" hearts
• lock and key charms
• album cover charms
• shrinky dink ipod charms
  
• red/pink/blue heart beads
• and monkey faces (those were mine)

though many people didn't show, i'll do it again. maybe for Halloween. that would be cool! just think of all the charms for Halloween!! next time i'll do an evite, though. invite friends outside the mommy group just so there's a good mix. nothing against the mommy group... i just didn't know that kind of thing was allowed. i know better now.

update - the shack

we just got another update from PapaTom and Mamalane. we now have walls.


hey, Princess, looks like that birthday beach weekend is looking like it's gonna be do-able, after all. you may start worshiping me, now. i know i have nothing to do with it getting to the actual point of being live-able, but if you wanna use it, you'll have to go through me... so, you're gonna have to do some serious sucking up between now and your birthday. maybe some baby-sitting services... hmmm???

charmed, i'm sure

so last nite i was up later than i would have liked. 9:45, but still. i like to go to bed with the chickens now a days. since Monkey had a sleepover at his Nana's, i had some time to get things together for the charm party i'm having on Monday. i got all the bracelets put together with heart toggles. sidenote: i really need to start taking more pictures again. because they were really cute with nothing on them. imagine how cute they're going to be AFTER we put all the charms on them! anyhoo, all bracelets ready. all my "bought" charms have jump rings on them. almost everything is ready. almost.

i wanted to do something "special" for the women coming on Monday so i still have a bunch of charms to make. it shouldn't take too too long. but you know how it is when you have a kid under foot and a husband with a list of chores he wants to accomplish... i'm hoping i can do some stuff after he goes down tonight. crossing fingers

i want to make this fun and i think the charms i'm making will help add to that. i imagine, when they see them, they'll say, "ohmigod, how cute! these are SOOOO perfect." at least, that's how it's going down, in my head, right now. so wish me luck tonite and over the weekend, praying i'll be done with everything by Monday, 7pm.

i'm so excited!

and i just can't fight it!

i'm getting ready for my charm party this weekend. YAY!

i'm so ghey.

weekend update/recap

so this weekend was pretty uneventful until Sunday. we didn't do much of anything at all, Friday. i picked up a pretty sleepy and cranky baby, but that's about it. always fun.

saturday - we were supposed to have a play date with a few of the mommies. cancelled. not because of me or my kid, but cancelled none the less. it worked out for us anyway. we went to Hobby Lobby for last minute "charm party" stuff then headed up to meet Woz at Berryhill.

it was good catching up and planning out the events that would unfold on Sunday. of course, now that we have a kid, there's really no use in "planning out" anything because (A.) you will never be there on time or (B.) you do not have enough energy to try to be there on time. my kid slept late and i wasn't waking him up. more on that later.

saturday evening - i headed out to Babies-R-Us for a new car seat. my Monkey is getting VERY uncomfortable in his seat... all stuffed into it. poor thing. so i got him the My Ride 65 convertible, because he still has to face backwards. i didn't get him the one i wanted, because we would have to order it and i don't think he would last another day in his old one. i didn't wanna wait. the My Ride is nice. it looks like a mini lazy boy for the back seat. plus, it has cup holders! not that he cares. he's cool with throwing his bottle across the back seat or shoving his snacks under his pants. not that he does that on purpose (the snacks that is. i think he totally knows what he's doing with that bottle), but that's where they all seem to end up. we have a car with a kid in it... and it shows!

sunday - marathon day! we're going to see "Uncle Monkey" aka BA run the Houston Marathon. the marathon start was at 7am.... pa-shuh! right??? Monkey slept late and momma slept right along with him. when we got up, i really didn't want to rush him. i thot we could wing it until nap time then he'd sleep on the way.

so i made my boys some pancakes and strawberries for breakfast. Monkey loves him some strawberries! we ate, got ready and got on the road. nap time. damn, i'm good. =)

we got to the finish line about an hour early so we walked around for a bit. checked out everything going on. Monkey was having a blast. you wouldn't know it by looking at that always serious face, but he was. trust me. plus, he was on Daddy's shoulders and he LOVES that!

we got to see BA cross the finish line! YAY!

afterwards, we met Frisky and Albert & Shannon out for lunch. that was fun and a whole 'nother story. man, i love my friends!

until next time, i'm sweet t and you're not.

if at first you don't succeed...

might as well give up 'cause he's never gonna sit and watch the damn thing!

i tried sitting with Monkey last nite to play with his little vtech toy he got for Christmas. it says "9mos+" but, COME ON. who are they even kidding with that?? my kid would not sit still for more than two seconds. it doesn't help, the toy has this bright blue on/off button that he'd rather be playing with. or the fact there are new wires coming out of the tv and "ohmigod, where did THOSE wires come from? i haven't seen THOSE wires. i wanna play with THOSE wires!". because partially pulling the dvd player out with the other wires isn't enough for him.

i'm not a bad mom. i'm not a bad mom.

i keep thinking if i repeat it enough, i might actually start believing it.

i feel awful. it's time to look at daycare. i don't want to. i really don't. but he's needing more attention than i'm able to give him, while at work. i would love for him to stay here with me and play all day, but that's just it. he wants to play all day, but he wants me to play with him. which i do, sometimes, but it's not enough. i knew we should have had twins! at least they'd be able to entertain each other. am i right??

so we need options. options that aren't going to bankrupt us, preferably. i've been doing searches in our area, on the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website, but when i call they're either "not doing child care anymore" or i just don't like the way they sound. there is a neighbor down the street who watches kids, but she keeps "teacher's hours" and i would need to change my hours to make sure i pick him up on time. which, i don't think would be a problem but i'm not sure she has any openings. i'm still waiting for a call back.

wish us luck on this endeavor and ya know, just kinda tell me i'm not a bad mommy when you talk to me next. that'd be great!

one step beyond

he took a step! okay, he took two steps with the same foot and he was kinda going in a circle... does that count?

my Monkey wants to walk really bad. he's standing for longer periods of time now. he's even squatting and getting back up without holding on to anything. he'll be walking by next month, i'm sure. for a while there, i wasn't so sure. he was cruising along like he wanted to walk but then decided he would get there faster if he crawled. my kid's smart like that.

he's still not signing, but then again we're not being real diligent about teaching him. we really need to be. i'm going to see if he'll sit with me after dinner and watch the little "learn and sign" thing Uncle Psycho and Aunt F gave him. because now it's just pissing me off, reading other "mommy" blogs and their kids are signing at 10.5 months. that should be my kid! =)

new year, new site

Happy New Year to you all. All two of you who regularly read this, that is. we have a new site. you can now find all our info in one place - http://flavors.me/mwh. it'll change up a bit, here and there. i'll add some more stuff, but for now, you can see our flickr pics, my tumblr, yourdailywill, videos, and sunburn alley on facebook all in one place. the videos may be a bit wonky, until i can get them all crossed over.

this blog (islebehere.com) will not be linked from the new site, however. it was started for my dad and will stay for my dad.

in other news, i know i haven't posted since before Thanksgiving. there's been a lot going on. we lost the family matriarch when Granna passed away. it is very upsetting to me that Will will never know her. she was a strong woman with a lot of spirit. sure, he'll know her from pictures, but she was so much more than a picture could ever convey. a force to be reckoned with is what i liked to think of her as. and always spoke her mind.

i will definitely put more effort into posting more. i have so many stories. so many pictures. so many milestones Will has hit. this little boy who has brought so much sunshine to my life. how ghey am i? lol

we're right now at the edge of walking. he's standing for more than 10 seconds at a time, but he's still afraid to take that first step. and at this point, he's figured out he can get there faster if he crawls! more on Will, later. for now, i'm going to bed. it's 10:00pm and already two hours past my bedtime.

until next time, i'm sweet t and you're not.

first haircut