(this is my 400th blog post! Crazy, right? 400 posts of meaningless drivel! All 9 of you readers are so sweet to come back here. I know you're just looking for pictures of Mookie, but it still makes me feel loved. :o) )
So, Saturday, there was a Fall Festival...and do you think I would pass up this great opportunity to show off my favorite little duckling?? Heck, No! What kind of a mother do you think I am?
And she got all ducked out, and she had fun. We were only there for about 45 minutes, but she. had. fun.
First, I have evidence that she knows how to be a true duckling. I apologize that I'm a video-idiot...a vidiot. I tried to edit the video, but then it was distorted, and just not as cute...so, I'm sorry, but to get the full effect, you'll have to cock your head to the left for 12 seconds. Oh, and be sure to turn the volume up. :o)
She got to pet a goat. (the others seemed a bit frightened by this huge duck approaching them.)
She got to ride the train. (and held on very very very tightly to Mama's hand the entire time)
She played in the toddler-friendly bouncy area...for about 2 seconds, then wanted out.
Then she tackled me. (and got up first)
(but isn't that the cutest duckie rumpus ever to be had?) (No need to answer that, I know it already!)
She spied some friends from up the street.
As we were leaving (read: Mama took off the costume), we noticed more animals at the petting cages, so we went back.
She got to pet the super-soft bunny rabbit.
And she got to pet the donkey (again, with the death-grip on Mama's finger...)
And, then she got confident, and had to let go of Mama's hand to offer the donkey a blade of grass. Which, thank you Miss Donkey, she ate.
And, she fell asleep in the 4 minute ride home. Duckered out, she was.
I'll be honest. If I were Donald Trump, and I built a gazillion dollar golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where the land value is about $1000 per square inch, I wouldn't spend any money on a "public" beach, either!
See, there's the Trump Golf Course near us. And the developers were kind enough to leave access to the ocean for public use. They were less-than-kind, however, in the accessibility of the access. See, in order to get to the public "beach", one must hold onto a runaway stroller walk down a long, windy, narrow, rocky path. And when you get to the "beach", you see there isn't much sand. But rather, large rocks.
And tiny, little tide pools filled with various forms of miniature sea life.
Mookie was less interested in the sea life than in the sea "wotts". Oh, how she loved the rocks. Picking them up, dropping them in the knee-high water, picking more up, eating them, showing them to Mama, etc.
Something tells me I've created more of a geologist than a biologist. Dangit.
It really is beautiful down there, and I'm ashamed that this is the first time we've been. I will say, however, that we'll be going back. And maybe next time, we'll pay attention to the tides, and have a bit more luck finding starfish and other sea life in the tide pools like Grant and Kelly seem to find.
And one, sweet rock that I found for my honey...♥...
And, next time, I'll be taking a stroller-pusher with me! The hill coming back up is BRUTAL!!
Mookie cracks me up. A hundred times a day I'm giggling at my sweet child. God is so good to have blessed me with this child.
Below you will find a video. I don't quite know how to explain this video. :o)
First, you'll see a 16-month-old baby wearing Mama's coat. She loves to wear my coat. She'll walk around the house with the sleeves around her neck till I roll them up and put the coat on her. She does this all the time. 16-months seems a bit young to be wearing Mama's clothes, but, hey, I can share. :o) A neighbor said she looked like a Harry Potter character. Hee hee.
Second, as you listen to the dialogue, you'll hear me ask her a question, and she says something that I love love love. It is, without a doubt, the absolutely, positively CUTEST thing any child in the history of the world has ever said. And I'm not exaggerating. Not one bit.
So, sit back, call your friends over, turn the volume up, and enjoy!
See, last week, out of the blue, Mookie started to answer my questions. Some questions. They had to be worded right, and have an affirmative answer.
And she would answer.
With enthusiasm and authority.
Mama: Do you want more grapes? Mookie: YES!
Mama: Would you like to go up the street to see your friend? Mookie: YES!
Mama: Are you ready to go home and eat dinner? Mookie: YES! (waving bye-bye as she walks away)
I look at my child a million times a day, and see myself. Other people look at her (that know Dave) and say how much she looks like him.
I don't see it.
Also, I don't have any baby pictures of him.
But neither do the people who say she looks like him, so, I guess we're even.
But in my defense, I would like to prove to the world that my little sweet munchkin really IS the spitting image of me.
Behold, On your left, you will find a photo taken sometime in late 1972, which contains a young Rob and a 10-month old Melissa. And on your right, a photo taken in 2009, with Uncle Rob, and a 10-month old Mookie.
See the resemblance? See it? Right there? Yup, she's my child. :o)
(Uncle Rob still has that boyish grin, and, dare I say, a bit more hair back when he was 4??)
Severed fingertips 
