Quick! Somebody catch that monkey.

KC has burst full throttle into a new stage of development. It seemed to coincide with our vacation, but in reality, I’m sure it crept up slowly like all other stages and we just didn’t notice it until we were hundreds of miles from home. She’s almost 2 and it shows. She gets a little crazy sometimes. Not necessarily BAD crazy, just crazy. She likes to explore everything. People are always saying, “That’s such a good sign! Curiosity is great!” I agree. I do. However, it’s kind of hard to deal with sometimes.

Case in point. I took her to my office on Friday for a visit. She had not been there since she was about 3 months old. She was totally adorable and entertaining. Not shy at all. She bolted around the office like a little monkey on speed. I had to run around after her and make sure she didn’t touch or take everything she liked. My officemates are great people. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing her and she even scored a cute stuffed animal from one of my friends.

I had planned to take her to lunch along with two of my co-workers, but I had to beg off. She was clearly full of energy and I just knew sitting in a restaurant wasn’t going to work for her. Ted and I discovered this on vacation more than once. I have just accepted it now. For a little while we will avoid eating in restaurants with her. Drive thru McDonald’s taken somewhere that she can run. That’s a better plan! So that’s what I did.

My friends were understanding. I think I really looked the part of the worn out Mom when I arrived. It was a hot day and carrying her across hot parking lots, up stairs and basically just trying to keep her from jumping off furniture and running randomly down hallways had taken it’s toll. We not only visited my office, but had just come from an appointment at Children’s ENT department prior to that.* It was time for lunch and a nap. For both of us.

I joked with one co-worker that taking her places sometimes makes me feel like I am Jack Hannah and I am visiting the Tonight Show with the worlds’s craziest monkey. It’s not the first time I’ve made the joke that I feel more like her “handler” than her mom. She’s a handful, our little girl. She’s awesome and she’s funny and she’s so smart. I love it. It’s just tough following that little monkey around in places unfamiliar. I wouldn’t want her to hurt herself. Or poop in someone’s shoe.

Not the most flattering photo of either of us, but you get the point.

*KC had a bunch of ear infections during about a 6 month period. It’s customary to get that checked by an ENT specialist. They saw nothing of concern…ears looked great, hearing is fine. No worries unless the infections kick back up again. Then we may take another visit. I had to have tubes in my ears as a kid. Remains to be seen if this will also happen with her.