Update on the Monkey Pen

Following are the photos of the partially completed Monkey Habitat! There is still a lot to do, of course, but we are making good progress. Like all good zoos, we appreciate our supporters. The recognition plaque (which as yet has not been erected) will read:

Monkey Habitat made possible by the generous support of:
Auntie B, who painted the background color
Auntie M, who contributed ideas
Auntie A, who lent her camera for documentation
Auntie V, who has a big car and a lot of love for Ikea
Uncle S, who supplied Elmer the Elephant

and most significantly,
our dear friend Well Known Local Artist,
who created a wonderful environment where our Monkey can learn and grow

More Monkey Pen

Reading nook (pillows, blankets and baby gym)

Silver fruit trees (Ikea toy box!)

Teddy

Elmer
(Apparently Elmer has a series of books, with which we are still unfamiliar)

Monkey Pen

Bookshelf, friends, and recliner (with some outfits on it)

Desk (maybe a changing table? It's fate is undecided). Ikea chair! Crib goes in the corner.

Flowers between the doors - same flowers are in the reading nook and by the desk.

Grass behind the blue chair.

21 Weeks

We are 21 weeks today, and there isn't much new to report. Monkey keeps right on growing, and adding fat for body temperature regulation. Buds for his permanent teeth are forming, as well as taste buds. He's an active little bugger, and occasionally we have seen him kicking from the outside. We won't post stats today, since the ultrasound differed from the online charts.

Painting in the Monkey Habitat is almost complete and should be finished today. We will try to get some pictures up before we leave for vacation on Saturday. We still need a crib and stuff to put on shelves and inside drawers, but it's surprisingly close to being functional. We're thrilled with the painting on the walls and may have to take down the drywall if we ever move!

Monkey does have a name, and we've been trying saying it out loud. While it isn't a secret, we're not quite ready to post it on the interwebs. All in good time.

Hopefully we'll get some pictures of the Habitat up before we leave Saturday morning, but if not, there probably won't be a weekly update next week. In the meantime, stay warm and healthy!

Photoshoot Part 2

Photoshoot Part 1

It's a Monkey!

Our ultrasound this morning was great! Everything looks perfect and measures well. Monkey is a little on the small side, but well within normal ranges - estimating the weight at 14oz right now. (We realize that's different from our weekly updates - but this is the number to trust!) We have a ton of great shots and the tech was super chatty and friendly and told us what all the parts were - she was also about 7-8 months pregnant herself so I think that didn't hurt.

So, for all you Curious Georges out there....








Monkey has boy parts, and he's not afraid to show them off!

(Non-pornographic) Pictures coming soon!

Happy Banana Day!

Today Monkey is at 20 weeks, which means that under ideal circumstances we are halfway done with incubation! A 'standard' pregnancy is 40 weeks, but the sneaky fact no one tells you is that the average singleton baby is born at 41 weeks, 1 day. So really, it would be more accurate to say that we will be halfway in 4 days. Given the breeding records of Monkey's ancestors, you might even stretch that to 7 or 8 days and plan for the worst. We are planning for Monkey to be late and large.

Currently, Monkey is:
about 6.5" long crown to rump (just bigger than Zoo Keeper's hand) and 10" from head to heel - about the size of a banana! Yay!
about 10.5 oz
working hard on swallowing and growing!

In celebration of the combined banana day/Valentine's/20 week holiday, the Zoo Keepers will spend the evening tidying up the Monkey pen for painting tomorrow. We hope you all have similarly wonderful evenings.

Sketches for the Monkey Pen

The Zoo Keepers are pleased to share with you the following sketches for the Monkey's pen, created by our friend, Well Known Local Artist. Hopefully the Monkey Environment will be underway as of Friday. Also note the inclusion of Teddy, who is stationed on top of a bookcase next to the crib in the sketch. (Bookcases and cribs will be darker wood, not white.) Teddy, while not grown in quite the same fashion as Monkey, is another creation by the Zoo Keeper and our research indicates that Monkeys and Teddys should enjoy a very mutually beneficial relationship in their shared environment.

Forest a la Chronicles of Narnia

Mr. Tumnus keeps us company by the reading nook

The edge of the tree is actually a wall that goes a few feet back - just right for big floor pillows and lots of books. Very gender neutral fairies will be included in this magic hideaway.

Golden fruit on the trees as featured in The Magician's Nephew
(this is really metallic in the sketch, it just wouldn't scan)

Week 19

Monkey is at 19 weeks today. We are patiently waiting for our ultrasound. No news on the nursery yet - hopefully next week. Monkey's hearing started coming online last week, and it seemed like all the singing Zoo Keeper did yesterday cantoring the Ash Wednesday mass kept Monkey very quiet. There are no plans for in utero Mozart concerts at this time, but the Zoo Keepers do plan to include musical literacy as a required part of Monkey's education. We'll let Monkey choose the instrument, but it has been the Zoo Keepers experience that in general those who only vocalize end up as lazy musicians.

We've had a few questions about the stats we've been using on this page, as the size comparisons seem different. The stats are from babycenter.com, and we will give you the actual real measurements at our next ultrasound. Monkey usually measures a day or so ahead, so we think the babycenter stats are fairly accurate. They don't always include a good size comparison, so sometimes we find that some place else. We have no official stance on whether an avocado is bigger than a bell pepper, as Zoo Keeper (and therefore Monkey) does not eat either of those things. We do hear that 5% of all avocados are purchased with the Super Bowl in mind.

New stats:
about 6" long (still not including legs)
about 8.5 ozs
about the size of a large heirloom tomato
hair is sprouting from Monkey's scalp and Monkey's brain is busy designating areas for Monkey-senses: touch, smell, sight, taste and hearing