365: 81

Since it has either been raining or at 1000% humidity this week , Monkey and I have been spending a lot of time inside. I find myself having pretty great conversations with Monkey, such as what sounds animals make and what it would sound like if they were hanging out together. Monkey is particularly amused by what it would sound like if the turkey had the the duck and the chicken over for lunch. One sound he DOES NOT like is the cow, who knew "mooo" could be such a mournful sound? He gets this look on his face for about 10 seconds before bursting in to tears. He also does it if we sing "O solo mio" to him...mean ol' mommy and daddy...

365: 80

Okay, I will admit it...I am a facebook junkie. But where else in my life can I have silly and sarcastic bumper stickers, pieces of flair, my favorite tunes, and pictures of my friends all in one place? And for those of us who don't have the opportunity to socialize like we used to, it's a great way to keep in touch with people I would have lost contact with. Of course, part of Facebook is choosing a good profile picture that tells everyone "I'm not currently covered in baby food and wearing my PJ's at 1 in the afternoon, I am sitting here looking fabulous and wearing make up!" So here is my current profile picture as of tonight:

Yes my bangs were glorious and shellacked and huge...as were everyone else's :)!

365: 79

Every once in a great while in life you find a friend whose sense of humor is so similar to your own wacky, off beat sense of humor that you find everything they say downright hilarious. For me, that would be Erin (aka Aarid, the wind beneath my wings). I didn't realize how many inside jokes we had until her boyfriend said that when we get around each other it's like we talk in clucks and whistles :). For several years now, we've had the nicknames "Phat Girl Slim" (me) and "Busty Flat Chested" (her) in honor of our physical attributes. So imagine my surprise when I was in Sephora the other day and I spotted this:

I'm famous!

365: 78

Two years ago today I became an Auntie for the first time! I can't believe how fast she has grown and what a cool little kiddo she is. Happy Birthday, Goose!

365:77

My new fashion statement, but hopefully not for too long. I found out at the end of my shift Saturday that I have a stress fracture in my left foot, from what I have no idea. I am working on a good story involving saving a squirrel or kicking down a door or something. In the mean time I am gimping along...

365: 76

Self taken pic of The Hubs...ahh, that man still makes my heart go pitter-pat :)

365: 75

Monkey was a very sleepy boy but would do anything for his cantelope..in fact he loved it so much, he felt the need to rub it all over his face and hair! Good thing it was bath night!

365: 74

Poor Monkey. He only had two teeth, which were not side by side. Not only is he getting his front teeth in, he also getting the tooth in between the other two in. This means neither of us have slept well the last few nights and Monkey did not want me to leave his sight or take a nap all day. Finally, wonder of wonders, I get him to sleep! A short 45 minutes later, he is awakened by this across the street:Of course, we just hope everyone is okay, but I about cried :)

Checking out some bubbles before dinner.

365: 73

What can I say, it is Wednesday night and after getting very little sleep the night before (comforting a teething Monkey), getting Monkey to bed, the dishes done, taking a nap and watching Project Runway was a very productive evening for me :)

365: 72

Monkey is standing whenever he can find something to pull up on. I just love his little rolls, when else in your life will you have a big fat roll roll right across your thigh AND people thinks it's cute :). I can't believe he is 10 months old today!

365: 71

As I was folding clothes tonight, I had a hypothesis....so I tested it out and yes, The Hub's head is bigger than Monkey's body. However, I may be on to a new trend of hats for proud papas :)! Monkey is pulling up on everything, including outstretched legs, or maybe he is just admiring my painted toes :).

365: 70

My in-laws drove up today to hang out with Monkey and send The Hubs and I on a date day, which was awesome! We went shopping and tried out a new restaurant called Saddle Ranch Chop House which had a mechanical bull right in the middle of the place. We had a pretty good time watching these nice biker ladies attempt to tame the mechanical bull. While we were gone, my father in law kept Monkey highly entertained with (of all things) a tape measure. So long Fisher Price and Baby Einstein, hello Craftsman!

365: 69

My imitation of projectile vomiting at work...ahh, the things we discuss during lunch would turn the stomachs of most people :).

365: 68

Monkey got this piece of mail labeled "personal and confidential" and so out of respect for his privacy, we asked him first if we could open it. He hasn't said yes or no yet so I hope it's nothing important :).

365: 67

Today was busy but wonderful, we spent a perfect afternoon at the pool. But since I don't like taking my camera near the water, I wanted to share someone else's artwork (thanks google images!).
**Oops, I forgot I did take a picture that day! Here is one of my favorite summer treats, BLT sandwiches...yummmmy!

365: 66

Monkey's first few tentative crawls have turned into full on hustling from one place to another. He is especially fast to get to anything he shouldn't have and the remote...

and since he started pulling himself up to stand, he's been practicing trying to stand whenever he can...

But he always finds time to sit and snuggle with Cole :). Ahh, the lazy days of summer :)

365: 65

Some pictures from our after dinner stroll tonight, it was a beautiful summer night and we needed to work off the steaks we had for dinner :)!

365: 64

Monkey had his MRI today and all went well. I had been so caught up in knowing he'd be getting an IV started that I was completely caught off guard when I learned I couldn't go back with him. Luckily for both of us, his wonderful sedation nurse let me give him a quick snuggle and kiss and whisked him off before either of us could get worked up :). I waited, paced, and got him a new friend from the gift shop. They called me back and there he was, chugging apple juice half awake. The gave him a pacifier, which he actual took (he stopped taking one at about 3 months)! It's been several hours and he is still snoozing the rest of the meds off. No word yet, but I am hopeful this is last invasive procedure he'll have for a while :)!

365: 63

And so a man's love for control of the remote begins... (if it is on the floor, Monkey will crawl at lightening speeds to get to it)

Monkey is VERY well monitored...mainly because I left his monitor in Indy when we were visiting and we had to buy another. So now we have 4 receivers and because I am in the habit of carrying them around with me, we'll have 3 or 4 all in the same place.

365: 62

PROOF THAT KANSAS IS NOT FLAT :)!

365: 61

I have hands just like myDad's...which is great if you're a man :). My mother had long thin fingers with beautiful fingernails and my brother and sister got them (what does my brother need them for??). But I have a different perspective after talking to my sister in law. She was involved in a mother's group at church and during a discussion they had to say what their best feature was. One woman said her hands, because they have held the hand of her husband, held and cared for her child, etc. It reminded that everything is based on your perspective of it and it can be positive if you choose to see it that way :).

365: 60

So I am trying hard to make sure that not all of my pics of the day are of Monkey and I actually had another picture lined up for today, but then I peeked in on him before I sat down at the 'puter and had to share these:I guess that bumper was better for Monkey containment than I thought...

"Thanks for fixing me, Mom. Ahh, booty in the air, that is much better...

365: 59

So I finish changing Monkey out of his PJ's and set him in his bed to keep me company while I put his clean clothes away. I am thinking about how at breakfast he waved for the first time, another milestone to add to calender! So imagine my suprise when I look up and see that Monkey has hit another milestone this morning...

He pulled himself up to stand for the first time!
Good thing we took the bumper out of the bed this week to wash it, it's supposed to come out for good when he is sitting unassisted and pulling up to stand!

365: 58

Since I spent most of day tending to an under-the-weather Monkey, I decided to go back in the Bryan archives for a picture to capture the mood of our day...good job, Jack :)!

365: 57

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Monkey finally has teeth! But in typical Monkey fashion, we can't do things the easy way, which is why my dear, sweet boy has a gap tooth, slightly hillbilly-esque smile :). Oh well, teeth are teeth and we'll take what we can get!

365: 56

As a kid, I was never accused of being organized (a closet and under a bed can hold a lot of clothes and misc stuff if you are in a hurry) and put off doing chores until about 10 minutes before my mom got home. So imagine my surprise when I grew up and the site of a freshly vacumed room and a clean sink free of dishes before I go to bed make my heart go all aflutter. I think I need to get out more...

365: 55

Oh, it's wonderful to find people who get and share your same sense of humor...lucky me, it's my family :). For Easter, my mom made Stephanie-on-a-stick so I could participate in the festivities. For the 4th, she made a Monkey-on-a-stick! Among other things, he enjoyed a good snuggle with Uncle Bub and a smooch from Mare Bear!

365: 54 (Happy 4th of July!)

Happy 4th of July!!!The Hubs in front of his pyrotechnic creation :)

365: 53

My in laws and brother and sister in law live next door to one another out in the country, so my father in law mowed a nice little meandering path from one house to the other. Right now it is in the middle of field of purple, yellow, and white wildflowers.