Dear. Lord.

"Dear. Lord."

That's the response I got from my gorgeous sister in law, G. We had an email exchange this morning and she told me that B had started to walk while pushing things! Just in time to turn 1.

And, while G is proud of her little girl, she's mourning the loss of her baby. Because really, once they are walking? They shed that "baby" aspect and become a toddler. Which we love! We do! But the baby? That innocent, sweet baby stage? It goes away.

I comiserated with G by telling her what hijinks Jellybean's been into lately:

Yesterday she jumped and actually got BOTH feet off the ground. Isn’t that something they’re supposed to be able to do by – oh, I don’t know – THREE?? Oy. I also found her standing on the toilet yesterday. She got up without a stepstool – not sure how she got up there, but she did. She was ransacking the shelves above the toilet…nothing is safe from her, these days! (not sure why I’d expect anything less…the kid walked at 10.5 months!)

I turned around (because I was literally right there in the (teeny) bathroom with her) and my jaw dropped. I think she climbed on the edge of the tub and then scooted onto the toilet, then stood up. Otherwise I’ve no clue how she could get up there, the toilet is almost up to the middle of her chest.


She also dragged the overturned laundry basket across the living room, so she could get on it, then get onto this rattan cube we have, so she could get on top of our media cabinet, so that she could kneel there and try to pry our TV off the wall. No joke. Thank g*d we paid some professionals to install that thing, or she’d have had 200+ pounds of TV squishing her….

If there was ever a kid that prompted the invention of a baby jail? She’s that kid - reincarnated.

Yup. I think G's response just 'bout sums it up: Dear. Lord.

Fearless

So for everyone that wonders why I call Monkey's daycare "school"? Well, for one, since they held "parent teacher conferences" recently.

We showed up, not sure what to expect, and both inwardly groaned when the "teacher" opened up the conversation with "How can we describe our Monkey"....pause, smile, laugh....."she's fearless." Um, yeah. We noticed.

The teacher (whom we adore) used that word over and over again, describing how Monkey will leap or engage in some other acrobatic behavior, narrowly make her landing, then turn and smile at her teachers....who are hurtling across the room attempting to prevent this lapse in decorum. Um, yeah, welcome to our world.

We learned several other things. Monkey is the "queen bee" and likes to sit on the rocker and just admire her subjects (I mean classmates). She is fearless. She loves to read books. And she's fearless. Oh, and she speaks Spanish - knows that agua means water. I doubted this until yesterday, when both Dad and I heard Monkey say agua - clear as a bell!

So she's a bilingual EvilKenival. Woot!

Monkey see, monkey do

A new friend of mine has a child that is one month younger than Monkey. We have made plans to go hang out at AMNH in about a month...and got to talking (ok, "typing") about whether or not her son would be walking solo by then. He's about 14 months old, and content to walk with a helping hand from mom and dad. My friend commented that she loves getting together with us, and seeing what the older and "wiser" child is doing...a preview, if you will, of what her son will do soon.

Somehow I doubt the term "wiser" applies to Monkey. I'm thinking "dare-devil" is more like it.

To wit: last night I found her hanging almost upside down off of her pack n play! She gripped the top like she was on a monkey bar, and then somehow she worked her feet up to well past her waist...and was happy as a clam! Literally hanging off of the bar, dangling in the breeze.

Did I grab her and protext her from harm, prevent gravity from having its way with her noggin? Nope, I was busy trying to dislodge my heart from my throat.

And, before I could even flinch, she nonchalantly dropped her feet down and went on her merry way.

Her nickname IS Monkey for a reason. Somehow I don't think this is what my friend wants her kid to do.

I am SO not sending her the link to my blog. Nope, no can do. Monkey needs her playdates, and I'll drive away enough of her friends later on in life....sooo, I'll just let my friend (and her son) learn the hard way, when he starts keeping up with Monkey and does a triple lindy into my friend's startled arms. Heh.