LittleShortyMonkey.com

FIRST DAY!, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

It’s hard to believe our little guy has already headed off to school. He started at a Montessori school near our house. He didn’t cry on the first day(but we did). He seems to be adjusting well, but he does miss Maddie(Holly). He is learning a lot and we can already see some changes in his language development and behavior. He’s just started telling us to “Be patient”. He usually plays that card when it’s bedtime. Stalling is a specialty of the two-year-old crowd.

SILLY SOAP, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

We’re trying to break Parker of the ugly habit of pouring water out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor. He thinks it’s great fun. Here is one of our methods of distraction – Elmo soap! On this particular night, Holly squirted the soap all over his head. Parker yelled “Mirror. Miirror” so he could see what he looked like.

SOUTH BEACH, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

We spent a few days at the beach in Miami. We thought we were taking the less expensive route by not paying for the ocean front room. Turns out we scored big. Parker was glued to the windows watching the city skyline, the cars/trucks/buses, and the boats in the waterway. We even got a glimpse of the Obama motorcade when he came to the hotel to campaign for one of the candidates in the Florida governor’s race. But a presidential visit, pales in comparison to the great waterslide at the hotel. He’s too small to go down by himself, so Holly and I made quite a few runs on that slide. I lost count at trip number 17.

BIKER BOY, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Here’s the little man surprising us during our visit to Wrightsville Beach, NC in June. That’s the Intracoastal Waterway behind him in the photo. We had no idea he could ride a “big boy bike” with training wheels, but he jumped right on and took off. Back home, we did get him a bicycle, which he loves. He still rides the tricycle a bit too…just to mix things up.

CHOO-CHOO!, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Parker’s current passion is trains – specifically Thomas the Tank Engine. In the morning, he rushes down the stairs to start playing with his trains. We took him to Strasburg, Pennsylvania to see Thomas in person. Grammy and Pappy Parker were there too. It was his first time riding a train and we chugged along through Amish country. Lots of fun!

HIDE AND SEEK, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

This cabinet in our kitchen was supposed to be a coat closet. You can see how that worked out! It is full of snacks and also one delicious little boy!

EASTER BEST, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

This is Parker on Easter Sunday in my parents’ backyard. He had a great time. Lots of kids came for my Mom’s elaborate egg hunt. And of course, he loves “hock-oh-lat”(translation – chocolate).

BUBBLE BATH, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Here’s Parker in the tub. He likes taking a bath and he loves bubbles. Now that it is warm outside we are learning the importance of our nightly baths. He is quite filthy by the end of the day. He loves playing in his sandbox in the backyard. He recently learned how to pedal his tricycle, so we tool around the neighborhood. We have to call the playground “the p.g.” because once you mention the actual word, we MUST go there immediately!

HOOK ‘EM, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

You can see that Parker is still working to recover from the University of Texas losing the national championship game. Of course, Texas is Holly’s alma mater, so she is training him well. He has learned how to say “hook ‘em horns”. He is saying all sorts of fun things – some of his other favorite phrases are “all good”, “where you goin’”, and “cheese please”. He also loves to chase the dog and giggle and say “Cay-Cay”(short for Cayman).

ROSY CHEEKS, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Here’s Parker after spending a little time out playing in the snow. We got about two feet during the big December storm. He had lots of fun playing in it – though he made it clear that he is adamantly opposed to mittens. The snow was so deep that every now and then he would topple over and yell “I stuck! I stuck!”

HMMMMM…, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

I’d like to say that Parker is pondering nature…having a Henry David Thoreau moment when i took this photo. Actually, i think he was tired of having his picture taken as i tried a little too hard to get just the right holiday photo.

SLINKY, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

I loved my Slinky when i was a kid, so I am happy to see Parker enjoying one too. His friend, Emily, got him this special Halloween Slinky for him.

TRICK OR TREAT, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Halloween 2009! Here is the little man out trick or treating in the neighborhood. He dressed as a park ranger. He doesn’t totally understand the candy thing, but he sure did like barging right into people’s houses! He hasn’t learned to say trick or treat yet. Mostly he just greeted people with a very sweet “hi”. Almost as sweet as the candy! He also liked hanging out back at the house – enjoying friends and checking out Holly’s new fog machine.

THE ARCH, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Parker loved sprinting around the beautiful park that surrounds the Arch in St. Louis. I took this picture lying on the ground. He is super curious, so of course he wanted to see the camera lens. We took a ride up to the top of Arch – 630 feet!

ROUTE 66, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

I took this photo of Parker at a diner on Old Route 66 in Oklahoma. I am trying to pay a visit to every state in the U.S. This trip should get Parker going on his list of states too!

THROWIN’ ROCKS, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Parker loves to be outside. And what’s more fun than throwing rocks with Maddie? This picture was taken at Holly’s Dad’s house in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

ALL SMILES, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

We are trying to take advantage of the last little bit of summer over this Labor Day weekend. Parker went swimming today and explored the neighborhood on a nice walk. As you can see, he has switched out of his high-chair and into a more grown up chair. He loves playing with trucks and he is great at blowing kisses!

THE WIGGLES!, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

This was Parker first “concert”. We saw The Wiggles in Hershey, Pa. He’s a big fan. Grammy and Pappy Parker met us there. Parker appeared to be in a trance for the first few songs. The trance was followed by dancing, sprinting around the theater, etc. He had a great time. And those Wiggles were pretty impressive. Did you know they just surpassed Nicole Kidman as the highest paid entertainers in Australia?

POSING FOR THE CAMERA, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

“Little” Parker is now almost 3 feet tall. He’s growing like a weed, but what’s really amazing us is how fast his vocabulary is growing. In the last week or so he’s started to say many new words everyday. He surprises us all the time. His favorite word is still “hot”. He has also learned the word “no”. We’ll be hearing that for twenty years or so! He now knows the names of everyone in the family – even the dog.

, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

This is Parker during a trip to the aquarium in D.C. it’s so nice to see him pause for a moment. We’re used to the blur of him being constantly on the go. He did enjoy the fish, but mostly he just ran laps around the aquarium.

COOLIN’ OFF, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

We spend a lot of time exploring the backyard and we’re always looking for ways to escape the summer heat. Here Parker’s pouring water from his bubble jar. He also loves to play with the hose. He hasn’t really figured out that he can squirt us. I’m sure it won’t be long!

TICKLING THE IVORIES, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

This giant keyboard may have been Parker’s favorite part of the Please Touch Museum in Philly. He loves music and never passes up a chance to do a little dancing. He also always gives himself a round of applause at the end. Hoping he didn’t inherit his rhythm from me!

CAROUSEL , originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Uncle Rob took this photo at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. it was truly mesmerizing!

FUN FELLOW, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Parker loves to play! I took this picture while he was in the tub. He loves all things with wheels – especially cars. He also loves to read. He is obsessed with cleaning supplies – brooms, mops, etc. Mostly, he loves to race around outside in the big, wild world.

BIG SHOES TO FILL, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Right now Parker is very interested in trying on other peoples’ shoes. He’s interested in a variety of styles – heels, sneakers, etc.

BEACH BOY, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Parker got his first real chance to play at the beach. He hung out with his buddy Cole at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Parker raced right down to the water. He would certainly have jumped right in if we’d let him. As you can see, he also enjoyed playing in the sand.

THE WHITE HOUSE, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

Thanks to a friend of a friend, we scored some tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll. We saw the Obama girls, Sasha and Malia. Parker wasn’t very interested in them, but he did like having such a large lawn to explore.

EGG-CELLENT ADVENTURES , originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

This is Parker at our neighborhood Easter egg hunt this weekend. He’s using the same basket I used as a kid. it’s a bit tattered, but it does the trick. It took Parker a minute to figure out that the eggs go in the basket. Once he figured out how the whole thing works, he was digging it!

BEST BUDDIES, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

As you can see, spring has sprung in Washington. The cherry blossoms and tulips are amazing. This photo was taken around the corner from our house. Now that winter’s fading and Parker is experiencing the outdoors, he can’t get enough of it. In fact, he gets pretty mad when we head indoors. It’s so confining!

CHEAP TOYS, originally uploaded by littleshortymonkey.

You can buy all sorts of expensive, intriguing toys, but let’s face it, there is nothing as fun as a paper towel roll.