Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Caboose Monkey

"That is soooooo gross. DON'T teach her THAT!" I yell at Lola as she giggles out loud at the sight of Fifi smelling her own feet and replying, "Ew." Lola looks at me sweetly, "But it is soooooo funny that she listens to me."

"Stop it. What are you teaching her?" I ask Jay as he shows Fifi how to fly off the ottoman and land on the plush couch. "She likes it Mama, you see how she is smiling at the trick I taught her?"

As the caboose child, Fifi has innocently been exposed to couch sky diving, feet smelling, nose picking, sugared juice, sloppy Popsicles, foam swords, dart guns, iced sugar cookies, sticky gummy snacks, crunchy peanut butter... oh man I couldn't possibly list all of the items that my baby has been exposed to years before I introduced the same items to the other two. Note that smelling feet and nose picking was in no way ever taught in this house, it was a natural evolution.

Each day she observes her siblings and cautiously watches everything they do. She rarely makes eye contact as her mind races and registers every action packed moment. The good observations of Jay and Lola far outweigh the bad. On most days.

Our most favorite past time is hiking on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland:







Monkey see, monkey do. But this little monkey is also an extraordinary little person that leads us everyday to smile, laugh, and enjoy the little moments.

"Ewwwww, Mama! Bug eww." She found the caterpillar in an overgrown prairie and pointed it out for us, on our hike. "Touch it Feenster!" Lola demanded. Fifi shook her sweet little head NO and walked away on her own path. Smart little monkey too.

60classy comments:

Chelsea said...

I might be the first one!

Anonymous said...

That's gotta be the cutest caboose I have ever seen. Seriously, my caboose looks like jelly because jam shouldn't jiggle as much.

I think feet smelling is funny.

Rachel said...

Your kids are so cute! I love the picture where she joined the Bucket Head Band-wagon.

I was one of those big sisters who always looked for a way to corrupt the little ones. It's too much fun to pass up. . . even now!

Jeni said...

Ah ha! You are beginning to reap the benefits of the "Third child" syndrome! That child will copy off the other two kids like crazy and will also come up with more things that the other two probably never even had wild dreams about either! How do I know this? Because I raised three kids and the third one -yeah, third one's a charm! Or is that maybe "Charmer?" Fifi is definitely the little charmer but then too, Jay and Lola are no slouches in that department either!
Enjoy the entertainment #3 will give you! Sometimes it takes your breath away cause it is so exquisite and other times, it takes your breath away because it is so darned scary too! But the bottom line is just enjoy it and love every minute of it too!

Miss said...

Feenster. HAHAHA Adorable. Can I borrow them?

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

Oh, she is SO cute and definitely smart! I know exactly what you mean in this post; my youngest was much wiser and more "street-smart" then the oldest two because those oldest two taught her so much...good and bad!

Marie said...

Fifi rules !!...definitely !!
I should have a third child...definitely !!!
Thank you for sharing these great photos and touching/funny moments.

Anonymous said...

The youngest always gets back at the older kids in their teens.

By being cuter AND more devious.

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

These pictures are adorable...I love the buckets on their heads..

Fifi won't be the caboose for long...from the sounds of it, she will be the conductor driving the track that she chooses!

What a smart little girl....a very cute one too!

Miss Lisa said...

That's so funny. I never thought of the youngest as a caboose ;)

Anonymous said...

Love the caboose concept!

We 100% have it going on in this house too ... great pics ...great memories for the littles of the banks of the river!

amanda said...

lol. too funny. i once made my sister touch an electric fence to see if it was on, it was. and then convinced her to NOT tell my dad i made her do it. poor little sisters.

Anonymous said...

why oh why do they have to grow???? :)
well... maybe so we can have a bit of peace!
lol

Indy said...

You are talking me into it....

Val said...

Cute pictures. You know it's interesting how the last child is so much more durable. At least mine is.

Anonymous said...

so cute! What sweeties and what a fun trip.

GypsiAdventure said...

Awe..how sweet! I think it's amazing how much changes from the first to the second and on to the third child. They learn, we learn, and you know, everybody turns out ok in the end!
~K

Courtney said...

Just think, they are making memories that will last a lifetime. What a cute little caboose!

Rhea said...

Good thing she's not doing everything her older siblings tell her to! lol Smart little girl.

Your kids are just so adorable. I love seeing photos of them. Love the bucket heads. hehe

Cute post. Loved it.

Rhea said...

Oh, yes, I meant to add, my younger son is five years younger than his older brother. He was WAY older than his years when he started preschool...and wouldn't you know it, he was put in a class with all
"first born" children. I just KNEW it was going to be a rough year. lol

Babcia said...

sweet little Fifi, she knows what she wants.Definitely smart in a cute way.
Adorable siblings.

Stephanie said...

cute post! I'm afraid for my little Cupcake. She's already showing signs of intelligence at 12 weeks old, and seems to be developing much faster than my other two. Hopefully she'll be too smart to join in on the fun with the first two!!!

Colleen - Mommy Always Wins said...

Aw, cute... I can just hear, "Here baby, the bucket goes on your head like THIS!"

I see the same things in my house, only with two boys? That downward 'evolution' of ideas goes fast. Last night it was rolling each other around in the hamper. I'm in trouble!

haniaski said...

Cutest kids ever.

Jaina said...

Haha, that does happen to the littlest ones...but she's just so darn cute!

Blessings From Above said...

The pictures are so adorable. Very cool how Fifi follows, yet at such a young age she is already strong enough to make her own decisions.

I love the caboose analogy!

enthalpymama said...

Ya gotta love it. Of course, I took particular notice of Indy's comment . . . . Did you catch that too?

Sarahviz said...

Isn't it funny how the 3rd one matures so quickly with 2 older siblings??? We call our #3 our little monkey too!

Anonymous said...

That is so true about the third and final child. Mine is very much the same -- he can be a follower yet has a fiercely independent soul.

Great photographs BTW.

Anonymous said...

So funny! Hannah wants to do and eat whatever "sissy" is doing or eating. Sarah is really sweet child so she has not had Hannah do anything obnoxious or gross yet but I am sure the day is coming. Hannah has seen Sarah put socks on her hands and make puppets so she is now doing this too.

Kate Coveny Hood said...

Even though my last two are twins, I tend to think of my youngest daughter as the caboose.

And is it me - or is that bucket a bit small for her head? Ouch!

The 5 Bickies said...

So, so sweet! Caboose Monkey is a great title.

Ali said...

i have never heard the term "caboose child" it's PERFECT. and it's sooo TRUE.

great post!

tiarastantrums said...

Cute - I have a little monkey too!

Stephanie said...

My #3 is a one-year old little girl, and she is Feisty and delightful all at the same time. Maybe she and Fifi were angel buddies before they were born.

Quarantine Hobby said...

She's so cute. Clearly looks up to her siblings but also has a mind of her own--very important. What a wonderful family you have :)

Missives From Suburbia said...

I am SO afraid the next one is going to learn quickly and cover all those "milestones" my first one took forever to reach. Is it wrong to want them to not walk or talk? EVER?

the planet of janet said...

gotta love the caboose child.

and yours is quite a cute one!

mamatulip said...

I love your little bucket-heads. ;)

Rachel said...

Absolutely adorable. The bucket brigade is precious :-)

Monkey is learning everything so much faster than Princess did and it's terrifying and hysterical all at the same time.

We have the feet smelling thing going on over here, too. Argh.

Kat said...

Oh I know. My little Ben wants so badly to be older. He watches his brothers with wide eyes. Tries everything they do.
And then at times he shows them what to do and you can just see his pride when they copy. :)

Kelly said...

The same can be said for my youngest too. It's amazing how I've changed my mothering from my first to my third. I'm a lot more laid back too. (but still overprotective!)

Loved the pictures.

AGSoccerMom said...

I was the caboose child. I was the youngest of 4 and being the only girl. I was taught all boy things.
So there was alot of ewwwww.

The Daily Stroll said...

I was the third child and only girl and I wanted to do everything my older brother's did so I can relate to Fifi! But as the only girl I had to walk down my own path at times and teach my brothers a thing or two about barbies, tea parties, and playing dress up! Great post and very cute pics!

Unknown said...

Fifi is adorable. You're so lucky. Your kids are great. And they're lucky. Their Mom is great, too.

A Crafty Mom said...

I don't know if I read this blog b/c you're such a great writer and I like you, or if it's b/c I can relate to so much you write! A third child is definitely different than the first two - and I lol at the foam sword mention, b/c I pulled one out of Leah's mouth TODAY. I'm really in for it as she gets older.

Adorable pictures, as always. Looks like it was oodles of fun.

Anonymous said...

Ahh. Lucky her to be able to view and take it all in before forming an opinion. Good for Fifi. Sorry I haven't been over. I'm thinking bloglines is really messed up. I've clicked through on people who haven't posted only to find posts. I'm at a loss.

MommyTime said...

Very smart. And adorable. That Fifi is amazing.

Your site, by the way, looks absolutely smashing! So pulled together and classy. I love it.

Unknown said...

Yeah, my second is already doing stuff I NEVER would have done with my first!!

Love that last picture...

lattemommy said...

Ah, the caboose child. I guess I'm going to have to prep myself for that, huh? I'll have to read through your archives for pointers.

Hmmm....#1: buy stilettos.... :)

Tyne said...

How very true is this post? I walked back in the playroom after a minute of being gone and my ten month old's breath was super peanut-buttery... oops, guess she found one of McClaine's crackers in the couch cushion. Don't worry, My three year old, Avery, gave her a chaser of orange juice out of her strep throat intoxicated sippy cup. My fourth child is in for it!
I really love your posts, they always strike a note in my heart.

Amy said...

I LOVE it! You can only imagine what my little caboose girl gets into! Great pics!

Tonya Staab said...

Buckets on the head. A favorite activity over here too.

Angie @ KEEP BELIEVING said...

Hopefully she'll pull some of the better attributes of each child older than her into her personality as well as some of the mischief.

KEEP BELIEVING

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Oh, look at that trouble! They are all so cute, though.

Anonymous said...

haha!!! my little monkey just found her first "wooly bear" yesterday!!!

Mandy said...

Love the pics!!!!

Wendi said...

Precious pictures!
That is one cute caboose!
Glad to see she still goes her own way!

Marmarbug said...

Those pictures are so sweet! I was the caboose kid too so I know how it used to be (and still is!)

Anonymous said...

I cant begin to tell you how much I identify to your life.
I have 3 myself, with our 3rd being our huge SURPRISE!!
We too had gotten rid of everything!

Well now I have a 13 & 11 year old teaching her all kinds of crazy stuff!

Love reading your stuff!

 

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