Monkey

Ella has a new best friend, and his name is Monkey. He is one of the plush toys that came dangling from her activity gym. She discovered him several days ago, but it wasn't until I detached him and let her grab at him and play with him that she truly fell in amor. I mean, what's not to love about Monkey? First of all, he's brightly colored. Secondly, he lets her slobber all over him, and he never complains. Thirdly, he has one ear that never stays up (there's a word for that--the kind of ear that flaps down when it should stay up, but it's lost on me at the moment), so he just kinda looks like he's been through a lot...I like to think he's the outsider of the dangling animals from the gym, and Ella has a heart for the outcasts. Hal always says that I get overly defensive of people that can't defend themselves--like I make it my mission to defend them by employing my teacher stare and vicious rhetoric toward all those who seek to harm. My hope is that Ella has the same mission, but with maybe a slightly nicer tone. The thing that I love most about this new friendship is that Hal and my first nickname for Ella was Monkey, so they truly are kindred spirits. (Side note: we have since developed many more nicknames for Ella. Nicknames are my "thing", apparently. It started with Kaiser--Kaisey, Kooza, Kooza-Woo, and many more that probably just fell out of my mouth at different points. It has continued to our daughter--Monkey, Turtle, Ella Bella, Boo-ba, Baby Girl, etc. I probably sound a little nuts, but I think it adds flare to the day.)

Pictures to come of Ella and Monkey.