Silly Munkey Belle

Today we went hiking and it was super windy. There was actually a dust storm here and you couldn't even see the mountains. We survived though. Munkey had her Winnie jacket with a hood and she was soon asleep on the trail with her head tucked down under the hood, nice and cozy.

I've been really trying to pork her skinny little self up a bit. She was only in the 30th percentile for her weight but she was in the 70th percentile for her head circumference and her length. I'm hoping by her four month check up she will have gained more.

I fed her before, during, and after the hike to try to squeeze more feedings in. I would hate to think that my hiking and the travel time to get there is depriving her of feedings she needs. It's kind of strange to feed a baby outdoors but at the same time it feels natural. It's just the mental hang up you have to get over exposing yourself outside of the privacy of your home. Eventually someday it is inevitable I will be spotted by someone because I'm kind of careless. It's hard to keep a cover over her and she doesn't like it very much anyway.

In other news, I love how much she smiles and interacts with us now. We don't have to work as hard for laughs either. A cat meowing noise usually gets a laugh every time. She likes to hear new noises that surprise her and she laughs the hardest at those.

We are taking her to Capitol Reef National Park this weekend and it could be her first camping trip if we are brave enough and if the weather cooperates. I hope we have a good adventure. Thanks to G-Kepi for sending us info from her recent trip there. We are super excited as neither Munkey Daddy nor I have spent much time there but it seems like a neat place (and of course I'm excited because it's a Geology lovers paradise). Also thanks to Munkey Daddy for taking us to S. Utah, my favorite place.

Who she looks like

She's getting more hair now on top, soon she will have enough for a comb over. It's still very red and we like it because it suits her. Dan and I have stopped answering the question of who she looks like, it's obvious she looks like herself, a Sara Belle Munkey. We tell her every day, usually several times a day that she's the cutest Munkey we've ever seen.

Little Hiker Girl

Not sure I want to go hiking today Ma. Also look at that hand, she is learning to play the air piano.

Learn to sprechen sie Munkey Lingo

The Munkey Daddy (her baby daddy)...


The Munkey Bucket (her car seat) and her Munkey Plug (her pacifier)...


Also she gets Munkey treats from the Munkey Mommy, no picture provided, use your imagination. On second thought, don't. And yes, we have lost our minds, thanks for noticing :)

Sara at 2 Months

Sara Belle is 2 months old now. She seems so much bigger to me now as I look back on the photos I've taken. She goes back for her 2 month check up on the 22nd and we can't wait to see how much bigger she is by the numbers.

She is getting more and more social every day. She makes new squeaky noises and really makes eye contact and follows us with her eyes wherever we go. I love to try to surprise her with new noises she hasn't heard before. It always causes her to either giggle, raiser her eyebrows, or look at me really confused. Today for example I sang her the song, "Jingle Bells" and kind of moved her to the motions she would experience in a one horse open sleigh. She was mesmerized by it. I know it's weird but Christmas songs are easy for me to remember and I tend to like them, so I sing them to her a lot. It entertains us both and I speak for her because she can't yet. I'm sure someday she will blog about how damaged she is from her Mom's singing.

Another 2 month old happening is that she likes to cuddle and it's so much fun. She likes to lay on your chest and nuzzle her head right up under your chin and go to sleep. Sometimes I hold her like that if she's upset and it seems to comfort her.

Also she has taken up drooling as a part time hobby. She drools if she is held in her "Monkey Hold" which is on top of our arm but facing downward with her limbs hanging down. She usually drools heavily on the persons arm proportionately to the length of time she is held in that position. I recently bought Dan a new fleece. The old ones wicked drool away so that you stay dry, apparently the new one just sucks it all up like a sponge. I guess they didn't test it out on baby drool to make sure it would stand up. It for sure wouldn't make it long on Mount Everest, with all the drooling babies and sub-zero temps.

We love our little girl so much and we tell her so all the time. She is such a joy to have around. We both can't wait to get up in the morning to see her. Dan usually rushes in to her room at the first squeak to greet her. I stay up late with her sometimes at night to give her "Monkey Treats" before she goes to bed. It's my favorite time with her. She has also been sleeping 8 hours at night, we're keeping our fingers crossed that it will continue.

Big chair, little girl

Pipeline Trail Hike

This weekend we also went to visit GKEPI and GTDD at their house in Salt Lake. We all went on a hike on the pipeline trail, what a view. We found fossils in the rocks and a nice warm pipe to sit on.

Spring Flowers

My flowers are coming up. They live! Sara and I sat out in the yard enjoying them some today.

Another Rock Canyon Excursion

Today we hiked in Rock Canyon again w/ D & B and their adorable offspring. It was such a nice mild day for a hike for a change here. Even though there was still snow on the ground we were all comfortable in the sun.

Turn that frown upside down little Sara

Is this not the cutest thing ever! She is a big pouter and this is her classic frown face. This picture cracks me up in contrast with Dan's huge grin :) Love it!

Sara visits Daddy

Today Sara got to go visit Daddy at work. She also got to meet some of his coworkers, it was funny to see which ones she smiled at and which ones made her cry. The ones who made her smile really had to work at it though. At least it's not just me. I find myself doing the most ridiculous things just to get a little smile from her, but it's worth it.

Monk's Hollow Hike

Here are some pics from our latest adventure on Saturday to Monk's Hollow in Diamond Fork. There is so much to explore in D-Fork that we're always amazed every time we go. Dan and I enjoyed this hillside we found on the hike where most of these pics were taken. The sun was shining and the view was amazing in every direction and the three of us were out together to enjoy it. Dan said it was one of those, "Life is good" moments. We were also saying that this little girl has seen more nature and been outdoors more already in her short life than most kids several years older.

Little Monkey Look-A-Like

I guess there was a reason we are calling her our Little Monkey. We found it at Target.

Diamond Fork Hike

Today we walked in Diamond Fork. It was a beautiful sunny day and my challenge was to keep the sun off Sara. She is going to be a very fair skinned child due to the red hair gene and Utah has particularly scorching sun so it will be a fun challenge. Today we began by applying an Octopus to her head.



Little Swimmers makes these UV stickers for kids so you can tell exactly how much you've roasted them and you won't have to just guess. We also put on 50 sunblock twice and I kept a light blanket over part of her head for shade. Still, I think we got a little pink but not red like we did on our Rock Canyon hike.

A shot of us together before we began to hike:
Some pretty sights along the way: