Month 18: Monkeyin’ Around

Happy Halloween, everyone! I love the cute, fuzzy, little-kid costumes -- before they grow up and want to look all scary. This monkey outfit is the perfect costume for my little monkey. (Thanks for the hand-me-down, T!) As you may know from reading this blog, Miles is a mischievous little fella. Why, just the other Sunday, I was awakened by the sound of an alarm going off at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. Thus began another rousing game of “Find Mama’s Alarm Clock.”

See, Miles likes to swipe my alarm clock from my bedside table, set the alarm, and then hide it in all sorts of creative places. Say, under the bed, in the laundry hamper, or -- as on that fateful Sunday morn -- somewhere in the guest room.

Other fun tricks my monkey likes to play are:

“It’s a Hat.” This game involves taking any object that is not headwear, putting it on his head and saying it’s a hat. This is especially fun if the object in question is a not-yet empty bowl of oatmeal, a greasy plate, or the dog’s water dish.

“Gimme That!” Similar to tug-of-war, this has been Miles’ favorite since he was tiny. Just take anything he’s got in his hands -- a blanket or a stuffed animal works best -- and say, loudly, “Gimme that!” as you attempt to take it away. The harder you pull and the more you pretend to be outraged, the harder he laughs.

“Up or Down.” This started in the bathtub. We would ask Miles if he was ready to get out. He would say “out,” stand up, and just when you reached over with the towel, sit back down with a splash. The game continues until the parent loses patience or all the water has been splashed out of the tub, whichever comes first. Recently, Miles has started this game when I go to get him out of his crib, too. (Little does he know I could call his bluff and leave him in there all day.)

My husband’s coworkers played a little trick on me today. It was called “Bring your son into the office so we can give him tons of candy and he’ll have a sugar-fueled meltdown when you get home.” What a treat!

SHOUT-OUTS: To my friend, L., brand-new mama to Baby Katie. Congrats! And to my Stroller Strides friend and fellow mommy blogger, Prince Alex's Momma.