THE COW SAYS MOO

This speak and say business is very serious.

LITTLE HELPER

Actually, the grounds still a little too cold to dig, but its hard to resist now that the snow is gone and we can see the garden just waiting for us.

WELCOME

Welcome to Two Little Monsters! This is your host, Gusmonster. The second little monster is expected in just over 3 months. We can't wait for the little one's arrival!

Stay tuned for more posts from Momma & Poppa. Coming up: we'll introduce the cast of characters, celebrate Gus's birthday, and show you a video. Come back soon!

BEST LAID PLANS

We had hoped that the first thing you would see on our new blog would be our birthday video for Gus! Unfortunately, you cannot put copyrighted material on youtube, even if it is as a soundtrack to your little boy's first year. We'll get a new version up soon (with the audio track! promise!) but in the meantime, for those of you who haven't seen it - here's Gus's first year in video.

1ST BIRTHDAY

Gus wasn't even a little bit afraid of his candle -- but he did have trouble keeping the crown on his head...


...and he liked the peanut butter and chocolate chip muffin a lot...


...but he especially liked having a whole room full of his favorite people gathered around to see him!

IT'S BIKE RIDE SEASON AGAIN

Laura took Gus on a short little ride around the neighborhood while it was warm out. Soon he'll be riding all over town. I can't wait to take him down the Greenway to Lake Calhoun and up the LRT trail to downtown.

COMO ZOO

To celebrate his first birthday, we took Gus to the Como Zoo this weekend - sadly, we were having so much fun we didn't take very many pictures. Gus was very quiet and wide-eyed the whole morning, totally overwhelmed by all the sights.


Here he is looking at the mountain lion.


And his favorites, the giraffes. They're up close because they're living in their winter home right now.


And here being held by his lovely Momma in the new front entrance. We're sure he will have many more fun visits to the Como Zoo in the years to come, and get to know all the animals to see there.

SOMETHING NEW...

Gus has a kazoo.

SO LONG ECFE

Maybe we'll do another class this fall. For now, so long!

SPECIAL SUNDAY

Last weekend, Gus and I had a special Sunday. After a nice morning together, we got all packed into the car,

and went to visit Poppa at Al's! We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes,

(Gus likes pancakes)



and watched Jay make funny faces while we were eating.


As usual, Alison was there to show us around. Alison and Gus are pals, but you can't tell from this photo because Gus is too busy trying to open the cash register.


We got a surprise right before we left. Juna and Ben arrived!


After our delicious breakfast, we were off to the Bell Museum of Natural History. I haven't been there in ages, and it was a first time for the little guy.

In the Touch & See Room, Gus saw a turtle,



(and the turtle saw Gus).


Gus also saw some bones,


a wolf,


and he played with some blocks! (watch out little bear, that moose has his eye on you!)


The Touch & See Room was a lot of fun.


We stopped in the atrium, but didn't see any wildlife there.


Gus practiced his walking in the wide hallways,


and got to play on the bog walk.


Don't forget about the dioramas! This one had caribou.


Last but not least, Gus checked out the art exhibit "LIFE: A Journey Through Time." He gave it his approval.



What a big day!