My Lil' Monkeys!

Today they did this right after tearing the family room to pieces. So Sweet!

Meet "Monkey Boy". He's always been a wild lil' Monkey and full of lots of energy. I can't believe all the growing and maturing he's done over the last year. His eyes are so expressive and melt my heart.

Sometimes though, even Monkeys get tired...on VERY. RARE. OCCASIONS.
He was on the very corner of our bed on risers, I was afraid he'd fall off and moved him right after this picture. :)

Meet "Chunky Monkey". He had a brief time as a baby that he had some baby fat on him. As of late, he is "Howler Monkey" due to the colossal tantrums he continues to throw despite being over 4 years old. I think we're all ready for the Howler Monkey phase to end. :) I love his black eyes! He says the funniest things with the funniest intonation.

Howler Monkey showing Little Monkey the fine art of neck breaking....

Meet "Little Monkey". This child climbs EVERYTHING he can. He has me scared all day, everyday. If my furniture arrangement doesn't accommodate his climbing goals he'll rearrange it to suit his goals better. I keep lots of dairy going down him in an effort to fortify those little bones of his as much as possible. Monkey Boy does a great job of watching out for Little Monkey. Howler Monkey, on the other hand, just joins in on the great fun till Mom ruins it at all. I love his laugh when he thinks something is really funny.

Then along came "Monkey Wrench". I'm adamant about spring babies. Monkey Boy taught me a good lesson about summer pregnancies...not ever again. Yeah, I'm due at the end of October...Translation...PREGNANT FOR THE ENTIRE DANG SUMMER. I had this grand plan that IF Stephen got a job we'd try again in August thus resulting in an April spring baby. Well, you know how planning goes... I discovered this little Monkey Wrench earlier this year. Stephen was still in the interview process so I didn't tell him for about a month. After all the interviews ended and we were left to just wait for a call I told him just how much I hoped he'd get hired. Poor guy had no idea (which tells me how preoccupied his mind was) then chastised me for not telling him sooner. He was kinda ok with it when I explained that I wanted him to have as clear a mind as possible so he could do his best. I'm happy that the job did come through and he's enjoying all the training so far. Have I mentioned exactly how relieved we are that he has a job? Remember, our Little Monkey was a self pay baby...LAST year. We had made all kinds of plans for this summer and the next couple of semesters. We felt confident that our plans would have us solidly back on our feet next year. Monkey Wrench received that name because all of those plans are no longer feasible. {Sigh} I guess that's why I'm not The Master Planner. Not only were our plans shot out of the water, but so were Nanny and Papa's. We're still working on a new plan that accommodates a baby....it makes my brain hurt sometimes, so I'll let Stephen come up with the new one. ;-) I'm busy after all...





Oh, and by the way...

The sonogram lady pulled this up and said, "Here's a really clear picture of the gender." I thought, "Ummm not really I don't see anything." That should have been my first clue, but I'm dense and had decided that it was a boy. I'm pretty good at identifying boys now. I knew Little Monkey was a boy even before she said anything. She was folded in half, as in feet next to her ears half, so this is a direct rump shot...I think. Regardless, it's definitely not a boy. Everything looks good and healthy.
Not really sure what to do with one of these, or where we'll put her. We're both really curious to see which "style" of kid she ends up being a girl version of.
Stephen was still at the academy, so Gabriel and I put an "It's a Girl" balloon and pink ribbons on his manly truck for him to find when he got out. He has such a funny wife....or something like that. :-)

Gabriel: (threw his fist up in the air) "Yes! Our first sister!"
Garrett: Jumped around the room shouting, "A girl, A girl!"
Lincoln: (just glad Mommy was home) ran up and gave me a great big hug.
Stephen: "Hey, no girls allowed. Thanks for all the pink stuff on the truck." He says the one he's married to is all he can handle. He's fantastic with the one he's married to so I think he'll be just great with one to raise too.
Me: There are plenty of things that really are all on me, but not this time. :-D We've never even cracked the girl section of the name book before. What a change. Like always we do have a middle name ready to go, so "Baby Girl" will have to do. It was good enough for the boys. ;-)

Here's to some CRAZY times comin' up.