Tales of the Monkey

I've got a few more good stories to share about the Monkey, who just turned four last Monday. And believe me, he is in every way a four-year old.

• With our recent travel to Canada, all of us being sick in some form or other, and other general busy-ness, we never got around to decorating the outside of our house. We put up our tree and other decorations inside, but we didn't do anything outside. We definitely live in the 'burbs, so our neighbors are quite prolific in their decorations, and our house tends to look a little bare. The other night we were driving home, and the Monkey was enjoying all the lights in the neighborhood, oohing and aahing over the decorations. Then he pipes up: "When we see a house with no lights, that's OUR house." As we turned the corner and saw the bare façade of our home, he said, "Yep, there's our DAAAARK house!" Next year, HE gets to put up the decorations.
• The other night he said something about wanting a cat. I told him that, since we have Cappie (our dog), we're not going to be getting a cat anytime soon. He thought about that for a second and asked, "Will we die when Cappie dies?" I said no, we would still be alive when Cappie died. So he said, "Well, then when Cappie dies, I want to get a cat." It's good to see him have such loyalty for the family dog.
• We took him to Chik-Fil-A for his birthday the other night. As we're going out to the car to leave, there's a guy leaning up against the car next to us, smoking a cigarette. I was just ignoring the guy, when the Monkey pipes up in a voice, loud enough for people in the next zip code to hear: "Pee-yoo! What's that stinky?!" I'm not sure if the guy heard us (although I can't imagine how he didn't), or whether he noticed me trying not to laugh hysterically, but about thirty seconds later he put out his cigarette and walked away. Ahh, to be as uninhibited...