My Monkey

This past Thursday Chase and I were supposed to attend a birthday party for one of his friends... but her mommy went ahead and gave birth to her baby sister instead! (Truly Sadie probably wanted the baby more than the party... she was made to be a big sister)

Since everyone we hang out with was supposed to attend the party, we all collectively decided to head to Monkey Joe's.

A few of us had scouted the place out a week or so before (it's new to the area and since rainy days come to frequently, we are always in search of a good indoor alternative). I love it. Other places (who will remain nameless) just don't compare... the courses and the height of the slides are too much for him so boredom comes quickly. Not MJ's. They have all different levels of bounce houses. Chase immediately hit up the smaller slides and was in heaven... not even a hint of boredom.

Then we went back this past Thursday, I think the smaller slides gave him the confidence to try the medium size slides. He made it up the 'steps' just fine but was very sad when he realized he had to slide down. I stood as close to him as I could and reached out my hand... he leaned forward and slid down... and almost instantaneously was back up and climbing the steps again. He repeated that loop for a good 20 minutes straight.

This was what I was greeted with every 2 minutes...




I was so proud of him for conquering his fear!!!

Once he figured out that the slide wasn't so bad he started pushing the limits on other slightly larger ones... before long I couldn't keep track of him... he was moving through the place so fast.

Then came the massive slide. Twice this slide has been his Everest.



He had little problem scaling the steps (but as you can see the staff are there to help them out ;~)... it's once he gets to the top and realizes that the slide is the only way down when the real trauma starts. He sits up there shaking his head, pouting as far as the bottom lip will go, tears welling up in his eyes... and he defiantly moves away from anyone that comes near him to help him.

Cue pregnant mom climbing the steps... not a pretty sight folks.

Then Chase clings to me as we slide down together. And to his defense, it's a little daunting when you push off!

But after all this fear conquering, Chase tried it again. He scaled the steps and sat up top for a half a second before flinging himself down the slide.

There is no picture of him coming down the first time because I was so proud of him it was all I could do to stop cheering for him.

I did capture a run or 2 later...


I am so proud I could burst ;~)

During our 4 hour adventure at MJ's we stopped to have lunch. Bekah went to check on Alexander and laid Nikolas down... who promptly started to fuss. I asked Chase to go say hi to Nikolas and this is what I see a few moments later...


He is going to make an excellent big brother.

Sometimes I just can't believe how big Chase is getting. It really is amazing to watch him grow.

One more picture for my CA friend Amanda...

Apparently Chase thinks Riley needs Jesus as much as Ru thinks Broccoli does.