Shout Out

To my homeskillets TR and MC:


ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!?!?

Go Horse!

Update from our doctors visit

Monkey officially has his first cold, according to the ever brilliant Pediatrician. He seems to be on the upswing so we have been cleared to visit all our new cousins and friends who have been born this month, taking normal handwashing precautions, of course. The good news is that he is 12 lbs and 12 oz, and 23.25" long! So, while a few pounds heavier, he is now just barely longer than his cousin R when she was born.

Since we've finally gotten our fall cold snap, we've been putting on our jackets and socks (although it was 80 when we visited the pumpkin patch on Monday) and come to the distressing conclusion that while Monkey is wearing large 0-3 clothes and small 3-6 clothes, his little feet are still size 0, i.e., newborn sized. So no shoes for Monkey yet (although Mrs. Zookeeper is drooling over these for when his foot is a leetle bit bigger). We did pick up a car seat cover today so he will be nice and toasty in the new car. Sadly, the bunwarmers are only in the front seat.

My Name is Monkey, and I am a Paci Addict

There are a few brands here, but Sassy MAM are the hands down favorites

Poor Monkey. He has some sort of illness which DEMANDS that SOMETHING be shoved in his mouth at all times. That may mean a finger (his or whichever is in reach) or a paci or the side of his exersaucer or the tail of his singing lobster, Rocky. Once a paci has been secured, it's considered a best practice to grind your face into your Keeper's shoulder while squealing and making pathetic, 'I am in pain' cries. Unfortunately there don't seem to be any teeth erupting as a result of all this frenzied chewing, and our very unhappy night leads us to think that something else is definitely going on. We talked to the nurse today and she said he needed to be seen before the weekend, so we are going in at 9:30 tomorrow morning. He already has an appointment next Wednesday for his 4 month shots, and we really want him to be healthy before he has those. So we will see what they say tomorrow. (My money is on ear or sinus infection, but we'll see.)

So sad because we had planned on going to the zoo for their Halloween excitement with our friends this afternoon, but unfortunately they are teething 3 molars at once (!) so everyone is spending the afternoon at home instead.

Vote Monkey 08!

Are you feeling lower than the Dow?

Election coverage burning you out?

Then turn off that debate and enjoy Monkey in 08!!

A Letter from Monkey

Dear Internets,

Hello! As you can see, I am a highly advanced Monkey who is typing this blog entry right now. All by myself. Ignore that giant hand! Yes, yes, this is actually Mr. Zookeeper's laptop, but I've been very busy conducting my Very Important Scientific Research (V.I.S.R.) which leaves little time for making money. Like so many academics, I find that my funding is somewhat limited. So my very own laptop is going to have to wait awhile.

I'm sure you realize, Internets, that for someone who is three months old I have a very busy schedule. My resident photographers and videographers have been kind enough to document some of my very exciting activities today for posterity. (Although I am seriously considering hiring some replacements because their skills of a photographer are sort of lacking).

This has been a very exciting couple of weeks because I have made many new discoveries. The biggest breakthrough is that my eyes are working together now so I finally have binocular vision and depth perception. Whew! Now I can grab all sorts of things with one hand (currently, I prefer the left hand for grabbing). In addition to my regular schedule of eating, napping and exersaucing, today we read some books. Brown Bear Brown Bear and Snuggle Puppy. I like the pictures in Brown Bear and the song that Mrs. Zookeeper sings in Snuggle Puppy. Strangely enough, our copy of Brown Bear seems to be missing 2 pages, so the White Dog only appears at the end! I will need to conduct some more V.I.S.R. on that.

After a trip to the local library, sending some presents to my new friends in Massachusetts, and flirting with all the elderly ladies at the grocery store, I did some Pondering. I Ponder many things, but today's topic was, will my hair actually come in red? Or is this just a strawberry phase? What do you think, internets?



Then, I supervised Mrs. Zookeepers activities in the kitchen for awhile. She's not that interesting in the kitchen, so I also did some V.I.S.R. on String Theory. My theory is that I like to play with the string. Also, it is good to look at. I like to refer to my Bumbo seat as my Laboratory. You know, like, la-BOAR-a-tree. It's the most scientific way to say it.










When Mrs. Zookeeper was done in the kitchen, I retired to my Boppy only to discover that my airspace was being invaded by teddy bears! If this activity continues I will open diplomatic relations with the teddy bears and begin trade negotiations. I like to carry my rattle as a symbol of my peaceful intentions.

When I was born, my Grandpa T said that my long fingers would destine me to a career as a pianist. Since the Zoo houses a piano from Grandma and Grandpa K, I have been practicing diligently. No one is paying me for my concerts yet, but surely that day is very near. I like to add my vocal stylings as well. You know, for the ladies.

Well, Internets, that is as much V.I.S.R. and artistic excellence as I can fit in one day. I must go now and practice my swimming so that I can defeat Michael Phelps' paltry Olympic records.

Until then, I wish you all an evening of political excitement.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night.

-Monkey

Exersaucer, Exercitement!

Three months and counting...

We've been trying to capture Monkey's most adorable and exciting moments - and failing miserably, as you might guess if you just watched that riveting (ha ha) video. I have no idea how to add some more... interesting background music to that video, but I guess we can console ourselves with the most excellent sound effects performed by Mr. Zookeeper. When I first watched the video I assumed it was more boring news in the background (Banks are failing! Politicians lie! Doom and Gloom!) but listening again it sounds like a discussion of mojo by someone who sounds like Orson Welles. So, um, yeah. No idea what we were watching.*

So. As you have just witnessed, Monkey very much likes to fly. He would spend whole evenings airborne if we had the wrist strength for that kind of activity. He's been having some rough times with his reflux lately, and we think he likes the counterpressure on his chest as well as the clear superiority of space travel. He's been on a different medicine for about a week and we are starting to see some improvement. Last week he weighed 11 pounds and 4 ounces, which is more than double his birthweight! Most babies double their birthweight between four and six months, so he is ahead of schedule. He has also grown another inch or so (he was pretty squirmy) so it is safe to say he is over 22 inches long. We have a couple of 3-6 month outfits for fall that he has been wearing, but he can still wear most of his newborn clothes if he has a disposable diaper on (as he might if we are going out for an extended type outing). Very exciting.

He's discovered the fun and excitement of fitting his entire hand in his mouth, and has been more interested in his rattles and his hanging toys (see below). Continuing with the standing, of course, as he is a world champion stander. We just borrowed some exersaucers from our friends and can't wait until he fits in them! He is a gold medal contender in the bath time olympics, and still sad that the pools are closed. Not much luck in the sitting unassisted department, but we're still working on it.

It is hard to believe that three whole months have gone by since Monkey's arrival - he is growing so fast! He even has his own library card now!





*Figured it out - a most excellent television series by Joss Whedon. Genius! Extra points to anyone who can guess which series, and bonus points for identifying the people speaking!