Kaylee's first movie

So we finally broke down and took the kid to see her first movie tonight. But we took advantage of the great weather (about 73 degrees as I type this) and took her to the drive-in. The lot was full, the top was down, Indiana Jones was doing his thing (2.5 out of 5 stars or so) and the kid was behaving – for the most part.

She was great, as long as we didn't try to put her to sleep. But we didn't figure that out until she spent 5 minutes screaming at the top of her lungs. After Rae calmed her down, everything went smoothly. The kid just climbed all over dad and the car and bounced up and down clapping at the end of the movie. I think she likes John Williams.

And since Kaylee got her first movie – I decided to throw together a new movie for you.



Kaylee today: Up way past her bedtime

Practice run

To get ready for our upcoming trip to the beach house, Rae is practicing her family-friendly recipes. Tonight – chicken pizza.

Kaylee approves.

She also approves of Dairy Queen.

Storm warning

We got our first real taste of the "terrible twos" tonight. About an hour of yelling and screaming and crying and pushing and floor pounding and more screaming and yelling and crying. We haven't seen a tantrum like this since – well, since we were around someone else's kids.

All that was missing was "I hate you! I wish I'd never been born!" before stomping off to her room and slamming the door. (Luckily, I think we have a few years before that kicks in.)

And all this just because she didn't want to eat dinner. She wanted a cereal bar. And mean old mom and dad said she had to eat ravioli. Poor kid. And then it took both of us to get her pajamas on her. (More kicking and screaming and ... ) Several time outs later she was so worn out that she could barely fight us when we declared it bedtime.

I guess that counts as one victory for the evening.

Kaylee today: Fine ... until about an hour ago.

Cleaning house

So you remember all that free stuff we got from family and friends? All the used clothes and nipples and boxes of random toys? Well we decided to pay it forward – and give all of our baby stuff (well, except for the things Rae plans on bronzing for the "Kaylee's First Year Museum of Natural History") to a friend of Rae's who is expecting her first kid in a few months.

We dug out walkers and onesies and play sets and breast pumps – and a car seat. A car seat that someone wasn't quite ready to get rid of.

4 month old pic posted to give you a size reference.

And another ...

Never trust a toddler to feed you raisins.
They won't end up in your mouth.

Mom and the kid ... just being sassy.

Hat trick

Three days in a row. Woo!

"Stoopid papparazzi!"

Download day 2

Kaylee wants to know where the bird flew away to.

Freshly downloaded

Hooked up the camera today and realized that we hadn't done that for a couple of weeks. So get ready to enjoy several updates in a row!!!

A big thanks to Sheryl for the new monkey placemat.

It makes a great hat.

Mothers Day: Now with photos!

So I know this "magic trick" where I can take a crayon, stick it up my nose, pull it out my ear, etc. This photo shows why you don't teach the trick to a toddler. (But at least I used the crayon and not the steak knife.)

We spent the afternoon drawing with chalk on the driveway.
And hugging.

It's been a week ...

... since last we updated. A quick recap.

• Kaylee didn't sleep well with Rae gone.
• Rae missed Kaylee and called all the time.
• Rae came back and Kaylee slept just fine.
• Mike got his wireless network up – so he's now playing Grand Theft Auto online.
• Rae rolled her eyes.
• Mike won a major award – and got a pot instead of a leg lamp.
• It was Mother's Day and Rae got a hummingbird feeder for birdwatching with Kaylee.

And that's about it. Exciting lives, no?

And my sister finally updated her blog with some nice pictures of the kid. (And her kid too.)

Dirtiest. Baby. Ever.

You know Rae is out of town when the kid is this filthy. After her bath – I swear you could skim a layer of dirt and grime off the top of the water.

You know how you can take a piece of chicken, roll it in egg, and then bread crumbs – bake it in the oven and it gets a nice crispy crust to it?

The same thing can be accomplished with a baby, yogurt, a back yard full of dirt and the Tucson sun.

I think we're going to have to burn the clothes.

An update of sorts

OK - I've been neglecting the blog. But things have been really busy around here. This is really the first chance I've had to sit down at the computer and throw something together. (But at least I've updated the site with all my wedding photos. I'm looking at you sis.)

And then when I did sit down to upload these really great pictures of Kaylee eating at her brand new monkey place mat (a gift from a generous reader - hint, hint) – the computer locked up and ate the files.

But I'm putting this up now to let you know that we're still alive – and that you should expect another delay in your next shipment from The Monkey House. But this time it's not my fault. Rae is taking a business trip and will be gone Sunday through Thursday. I'm going to be so busy chasing the kid around, I doubt I'll have time for anything else. Well, not much else.