Okay, okay so I’m finally back to trying to blog on a some what regular basis. Shocker, I know.
Please excuse my tremendusly long absance. To make up for it, lots and lots of pictures of our adventures for the last several months.
In February, Little Monkey turned 3. To celebrate we had race car party complete with race track cake!
Little Monkey blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.
One of the most popular toys to come from the birthday season is the Bilibo. The kids love this thing and are still playing with it almost three months later. Little Monkey loves to turn it upside down and stand on it and then jump off. Young Owl on the other hand, loves to sit in it and spin. The day care kids love it too. I think I am going to have to invest in a couple more.
Little Monkey playing with one of his favorite new toys.
Young Owl decided that he wanted to learn how to do chores and start earning an allowance. He insisted that Papa Penguin teach him how to do dishes because that sounded like a better chore than taking out the trash. Needless to say, his enthusiasm for doing chores was short lived.
Young Owl learning how to wash dishes. (He asked to do this, I swear!)
Little Monkey, in his quest to be as much like his big brother as possible, has started to show an interest in learning his numbers and letters. He has been surprising me with his willingness and desire to learn (I’m not trying to push him in any way). Below he is doing what he dubbed his homework, number recognition and touch counting.
Little Monkey working on touch counting and number recognition.
When he isn’t trying to mimic his brother, Little Monkey can be found in the kitchen begging to help cook. The boy practically has a melt down if I don’t let him help in some way. A few weeks ago, we put one of his new skills – peeling bananas – to good use and made Banana Peanut Butter muffins.
Little Monkey perfecting his banana peeling skills while making muffins with Mama Zookeeper.
This past weekend, Young Owl convinced Papa Penguin to teach him how to play his old He-Man game. Not that this took much, as Papa Penguin enjoys introducing Young Owl to the joys of his childhood. Young Owl of course loved the game. Anything to be more like Papa.
Young Owl learning to play Papa Penguin's old He-Man board game.
We are finally enjoying some warmer weather again (thank goodness) and I have been trying to get the boys outside to enjoy and explore nature. We ventured out on a nature walk a this month with Papa Penguin and Auntie in toe. We had a great time discovering bits of this and that from nature, listening to the animals and spying several different birds.
Boys enjoying their nature (run) walk.
This past weekend was low key around the house. As I as getting ready to make dinner one evening Young Owl noticed the bright the light shining in the kitchen window. He decided to see what type of shadows he could make on the fridge. It wasn’t long before Little Monkey joined in too.
Young Owl making a cobra shadow on the fridge.
There really isn’t much news on the new baby front. We are simply awaiting the newest one’s arrival this summer and taking the time between now and then to educate ourselves on cloth diapering and natural childbirth.
Papa Penguin has been busy at work with a project that should be wrapping up soon. When he’s home the poor guy has been taking care of more of the household chores and Mama Zookeeper. I think he is looking forward to the baby’s arrival when I finally go back to cooking and cleaning on a more regular schedule.
In addition to being waited on hand and foot (not really), I have been busy with day care, pregnancy and reading. I seem to be fast approaching some ugly little birthday called the big 3-0. I have noticed that recently I have become more “hippie-dippie granola happy” which seems strange but natural at the same time. Perhaps, I’m finally growing up and worrying less about what popular culture wants for me and my family. That’d be a shocker, me a grown up by the time I turn 30.
Well, that’s all the exciting adventures while we were away, or at least those were all we had pictures to remind me. Because as all the zoo knows, Mama Zookeepers memory is on vacation until the baby comes.