This Past Weekend

So, let's recap what happened this past weekend...

First, on Saturday, we kicked off Brian's birthday week (a tradition from my family that Brian has wholeheartedly embraced) with a trip to Sublime Doughnuts.  OMG people, I don't know if I can adequately explain to you the beauty of these doughnuts... especially the strawberry and cream doughnut.  They sound heavy but they are incredibly light... which of course means you will eat more than one and you will plummet from your sugar high just a few hours later.  But thankfully that sugar high lasted for a little while because Brian was able to put together all of the chairs we bought on Mother's Day weekend... yippee!

Next Brian, Evan, and I went to Toys-R-Us so I could get another package of the alphabet tiles for the floor.  The floor no longer has that "almost finished" look with half alphabet tiles and half rug.  Now it is all alphabet tiles and Monkey has a fabulous time picking off the edges and eating them.  He has also figured out how to take apart the tiles... his intelligence sometimes makes it difficult to childproof (and yes, his mother thinks he is a genius).

Then Monkey got to hang out with his cute babysitter while Brian and I went out for his birthday dinner at Maggiano's (yummy).  It was the first time we had been out alone, at night, for a long time. I think we only did it once before. 

Saturday closed out and Sunday dawned.  I made Brian banana waffles (thanks for the awesome waffle maker mom) and then Monkey and I went to Piedmont Park so Brian could work.  Piedmont Park is my new favorite place in Atlanta... I didn't want to leave yesterday.  To most it is just a city park but I've been living in this loft for so long that an expanse of green is so welcoming.  Monkey got to play on the grass and eat the grass (Mommy was apparently distracted) while he watched the older kids play on the swing set.  Then it was time to come home.

I made Brian a birthday dinner of marinated flank steak, mashed potatoes, and salad with blue cheese dressing and we put Monkey to bed.  He didn't feel like sleep so I was going in every 5 minutes to turn him over, put his covers back on, and basically be "Big Bad Mommy Who Says You Are Sleeping No Matter What."  After a few times I walked in and found this:

Can you tell what he is doing here?  Yes, that's right, he is kneeling in his crib.

Of course I called in Brian so he could see this and Brian immediately went to get the camera.  Because we knew you would want to see this as well.

So, after Evan had his photo session, I put him back down, covered him with his blanket, gave him his lambie, sang him his song, and turned out the lights.

Once I was back in the kitchen Brian and I were talking about the whole episode (which we couldn't believe because he had NEVER done anything like this before) and Brian said, "At least he wasn't standing."

He was quiet for a little while and I thought he had gone back to sleep.  But, I was wrong.  Pretty soon he was calling for us again (the signature cry that says, "Okay, game's over, I'd like to come out now").  And so I went in to put him back to sleep and this is what I found:

Notice any difference between this photo and the previous ones.  Yup, his head is a little higher because MY BABY WAS STANDING IN HIS CRIB.  I know... what?  He had never tried to pull himself up anywhere, but I guess the kneeling gave him an idea.

So, of course I called Brian again and of course he brought in the camera.  You can see my hand in the lower right corner because Monkey wasn't completely stable.  So, since we wanted to get a picture, I was ready to pounce in case he started to tumble out of the crib and on to the concrete floor.

Moral of the story?  Monkey got his wish.  He came out to play while Mommy and Daddy lowered his mattress to a position where he can't get out of his crib (surprisingly easy, but time consuming) and to a position which necessitates that Mommy go and buy a step stool to be able to comfortably reach Evan in his crib. 

So, this one was a Daddy milestone (as opposed to a Maga milestone - as explained in this post).  While it meant Daddy had to work, I think it was Monkey's way of wishing him a Happy Birthday.