Magic!

Wednesday Moment of Zen

Monday Matinee: Two and a Half Verucas

Chimpy and Sis singing "I Want It Now" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with a special guest appearance by Jojo.

Super Winner Super Swimmer

Chimpy's ability in the pool is nearing her confidence.

Masterpiece Monday

Jojo reenacting a scene from The Shining.

JoJo, Man of Mystery

What happens when you don't blog about your son for three months? He becomes a little man, that's what.

My happy, handsome son.

Sometime around Halloween Jojo's personality, comprehension and communication all shot through the roof. He's using signs now, asking for books, registering opinions (complaints) and has developed the inevitable boy passion for trucks.

Feeding himself?

No big deal.

Lemur attack?

I can handle it.

Merry-go-round?

Well, maybe just a little help.

His relationship with Chimpy is very typical (long moments of peace interrupted by sudden hair-pulling or toy-grabbing). It's obvious he loves his big sister, in this picture they were eating cupcakes when he spontaneously needed to give her a hug.

A perfect moment.

Here we are on our way to pick Chimpy up from preschool. The hand waving is his sign language for 'music.'



That's an update on our wonderful boy. I'd write more, but I often feel like I'm just getting to know him myself. I love this guy!

Jojo Signs

Continuing on the fast track to toddlerhood, Jojo took his first steps yesterday. In unrelated news he hit his head and needed an ice pack and a bit of quiet time. I missed catching his first steps on camera, but I did catch Jojo doing some sign language while recuperating.

Week of Pictures: Day 7

Let's round off the Week of Pictures with a couple of movies.





We now return you to your regular programming.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Ten

When Ford's a-laughing...

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Nine

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Four

As I don't expect to be able to get my hands on a partridge or a pear tree much less eleven lords, we're taking a less than literal approach to the Twelve Days of Christmas. These posts might take some figuring, but they do make some sense. For the record, that was "free bench pens" yesterday. Here's today's:

Moo-ry Christmas

Monday Matinee: Chimpy at the Toy Store

Monday Matinee: Chimpy Signs

K and I have been doing signs for Chimpy since the get-go. When asking if she's hungry we make the sign, when changing her diaper we make the sign, when chasing rats out of our kitchen we make the sign. The signs must have sunk in because she is returning them. Not just in mimicry, but legitimately. And I have to tell you, it's a little creepy. Suddenly there is this little person talking to us. K and I have never had any problem 'reading' Chimpy, but this is a whole other experience. Specifically, "more" has been the strangest. It could refer to anything: more food (usually), more music (when I stop singing), more hug (aw...), or in this case...



And because people have asked, here's Chimpy's vocabulary (in order of learning):

hungry
diaper
flower
cat
more
bath
milk
music
book
light
toothbrush
dog
dog-book (her first compound word)
compost (means "let's go check out the garden," I started saying "compost" because we take the compost out most mornings)

Wednesday Moment of Zen

Okay, so the Doors aren't really zen, but there is a zen lesson here and that is to enjoy some of your favorite music.

Monday Matinee: Cat Propaganda

Monday Matinee: Dog Crazy

So Chimpy is dog crazy right now, absolutely crazy. When she sees one she points and screams really loudly. Yesterday we went to a Mother's Day fair and passed a lot of dogs, Chimpy was amazed. Here she is letting us know she sees a dog and freaking out said dog, a golden retriever named Boomer. (Boomer is, incidentally, the largest dog she has ever seen, I don't know what she'll do when she sees the Irish wolfhound at O'Reilly's).

Monday Matinee: Daddy Train

Monday Matinee: Chimpy Boop

One of our early-morning routines is watching a Betty Boop cartoon. Chimpy's really gotten to like them and when I ask, "Chimpy, do you want to watch Betty Boop?" she will smile and put her arms up (if she's in the mood). Here is Chimpy clapping when we get to her favorite part of Betty Boop, M.D. (a cat can't see over a crowd and throws his head in the air to get a better view):



And in case you think the applause timing is random:



Here's the full cartoon:

Monday Matinee: Chimpy's Crawling Academy