Almost Wordless Wednesday--My Monkey

My Monkey. He's so lovable and sweet. His new favorite thing to do is to blow kisses as he's leaving a room. Everyone melts when he does it. He's been walking for about two weeks now. It's amazing. One day he was crawling and the next walking...literally. How does it happen so quickly? On April 20th he took about 8 steps to me when I picked him up from childcare at the gym. Since then, he's been walking everywhere! By the end of the weekend he was barely, if ever, crawling. He loves people and is happiest interacting with his siblings...and by interacting I mean crawl all over them, sit on them, pull on them, and be the center of attention.

The only trait that I could do without is the earsplitting screeches.  He hits a decibel that truly hurts my ears. One day in the car poor Buggy started crying because he had screeched so loudly and it hurt her ears.  He screeches to get what he wants and we are desperately trying to break him of this habit by encouraging him to use his words (verbal or signed).  It works...except when we are in the store...like today...45 minutes was a VERY long time...I would have left earlier except I was waiting for something.

Here is a sweet picture of my little my monkey...after his overtired 20 minute crying jag.  Sweet dreams, Little Monkey.

Mr. Bananas' Birthday Bonanza

We finally celebrated Mr. B's 1st birthday last week. We kept it small by inviting family (if you count 15 cousins, 3 uncles and 4 aunts, and all of the grandparents being a small get together...we still missed a few relatives who couldn't make it!)

I was talked down from having a pinata, picture banners, and craft projects at the party. Instead we left it as it should be for a 1 year old's birthday with cousins playing, lots of food, cake & ice cream, and gifts.  My mom was very helpful and came to give me a hand which was awesome, since I accidentally double-booked Mr. B's birthday for the same day that I was attending a baby shower for a friend. Oops!

Mr. Bananas enjoyed his day in the limelight. He enjoyed all of the attention, and for the first time I saw him gravitate towards the other kids (who were not his siblings) in play.  He didn't actually play with them, but he joined the group, bopped around, and tried to pick up toys to be a part of the gang. It was really cute.

We went with a monkey theme because, well, we call him Mr. Bananas.  He had some wonderful presents, but I have to say that his "baby book" was my favorite.  His Godmother (my SIL who attended the birth) put together many of my blog posts referring to my pregnancy with him and his monthly summaries in a book. It was the most touching and perfect gift. And, yes, I know that it took her a really, really long time to put it together.  I've been reading my 3rd pregnancy journey via his baby book and I love having that reference to his life. I wish I had known about blogging with the other two so that I could have kept a better record of my pregnancies with them.  Though, they each have a traditional baby book. I might to go back and fill in with what I remember.

Thank you, L. for that incredible gift of your time by making Mr. B's memory book. It is something that will be treasured forever.

So here's to having a 5 year old, 3 year old, and a 1 year old!  When did you get so big, Mr. Bananas?  I must say, that there are days that I wonder if I can manage having three when life seems so overwhelming, and then I look at my three little monkeys playing so well together and realize that this is the life I was meant to have. Enjoying my children, celebrating their births, and being their mommy.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward."

Psalm 127:3 New King James Version

Continuing the tradition of homemade cakes. (Banana cake with chocolate frosting in the middle!)

My Monkey checking out his Monkey cake

Happy birthday to you!

Playing with (around?) his friends.

One of my favorite pictures. Mr. B. with his Godmother, surrounded by cousins.

New animal book!

The 1st born cousin with the youngest cousin=LOVE

Mr. Bananas Turns 1!

Trying out gingerbread.

With Hubby being gone, I thought I would be able to get so much done after the kids went to bed. But alas, I was so tired every single night that I was in bed well before 10pm.  When Hubby is home he puts the kids to bed. While he's doing that I clean up the house, extra chores, blog, etc. As you can tell, it's been quite a while since my last post.

Hubby came home from his business trip 10 days earlier than expected!!!! We are so excited and have spent the last few days reveling in his presence.  We have spent our time relaxing, visiting a local museum, and just loving that Daddy is back home.

While Hubby was away he missed Mr. Bananas' 1st birthday. We did our best to celebrate this wonderful milestone despite missing an important member of our family.

Playing with the "Little People" Garage set.

Boogie kept trying to tell me that he shouldn't have to go to school on Bananas' birthday because it should be a holiday. After going around and around on this issue, I found out that he was very concerned that we would be celebrating all day without him. Once I convinced him that we would wait until he came home from school, he was happy to go to school. Boog was also very disappointed when Mr. Bananas woke up and came down in a sleeper and sleep sack. Boogs looked at me very seriously and said, "Are you sure he's 1? He still looks like a baby!" Boogs was so looking forward to Mr. Bananas' first birthday and I didn't realize it was because he thought that Mr. B. would be running and talking like a "big boy."

It was a simple night with brinner (breakfast for dinner).  I made gingerbread, eggs, sausage, and bacon.  We had small cupcakes for dessert.  So tired was our little man that he didn't even open his small gift of Thomas' coaches Annie and Clarabel (from the Thomas the Tank Engine Series) until the next day.  We sang and celebrated the first year for our sweet baby.

Happy, happy 1st birthday, Mr. Bananas!

In the last month our little man is becoming clearer with his words. "Up" with raising his arms is very clear.  He also says, "Bye-Bye, Daddy" while waving goodbye. "Ma, ma, ma, ma" is another of my favorites.

He has a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and he squinches up his nose and eyes when I say, "no" as he turns on the DVD player.  I love kissing his neck right under his left cheek.  He loves to curl up in the crook of our necks when he's sleepy.  I love the way his baby butt wiggles when he crawls quickly to catch up with his siblings. He does not like being left behind and will often crawl or fuss to reach them.  He's climbing the stairs and just the other day I found him at the top of the stairs in a downward dog position with his feet on the top step and his arms a step or two below him. Not the ideal position for learning how to get down the stairs. We're now teaching him to slide down on his belly, feet first.  He loves buttons and loves the remote control, the dvd player, and anything that has a button he can push.  He loves sweets and would rather eat a cupcake or a piece of gingerbread.  His favorite pastime is trying to catch our cats' tails.

His sister loves being with him. Though, as time rolls on, I think that Mr. B. will wish he wasn't his sister's guinea pig for dress ups.  Some of the phrases I have heard recently when she's playing with him are:

Bug: Try this on. You look gorgeous!
Bug:  Let's play dress up!

While he laughs and claps and is a good sport, I think things will change as he becomes older ;)

I love everything about this little man.  Well almost everything. I could do without the high piercing shriek he has developed when he wants attention.  But overall I love this little man! I am in awe!

Happy 1st Birthday Mr. Bananas. You make our world a better place. We love you!