Our Climbing Monkey

It is no mistake that Curious George appears to be the closest thing that Hallie has to a favorite security companion. And this is not only because he has a yellow shirt (Hallie has a definite preference for things yellow, and has for a long time now). As it turns out, Hallie has a lot in common with Curious. Not only is she inquisitive, but she also likes to climb.



One of Hallie's favorite things to do is the climb up the wall and then fling herself down onto the futon. We hope she doesn't try this with a table or the floor but are bracing for the day when she does.

Hallie also likes to use her Rainforest Jumperoo in a most unconventional way: she climbs up on the arm of the sofa, leans over it, reaches onto the jumperoo and climbs towards the toys it contains to play with them. I've tried to train this out of her, but alas, no going so far.

So, obviously, Hallie was quite thrilled when we blew up the new bathtub for her in the living room the other night. (For the record, it was me, the klutzy mama, and not Hallie-the-sharp-toothed-biter, who punctured her old Snug Tub Deluxe. We've now downgraded to the regular Snug Tub because it has fewer things on it that mama can possibly break).

Hallie very quickly assessed the new item in the living room and determined that it was perfect for practicing her climbing techniques:









And, apropos of Hallie climbing, I share with you the following video of Hallie climbing stairs at Auntie Neystice's and Auntie Kim's on the 4th of July:



Bear in mind that Sharon and her sister used to climb up onto their roof when they were kids (and later on practiced getting down by jumping onto their camper's roof) and that, four 4th of Julys ago, when I was off working in the Russian archives, Sharon climbed onto our roof to catch the fireworks, decided that the view was better from the flat roof next door (did I mention we have a dormer roof that is angled? I have visions of Sharon hanging on by her finger nails) and climbed up to their roof instead. The house was then being renovated, so there was a door on the roof that was open (covered by plastic sheeting I think) and Sharon had the bright idea that it would be easier to get down if she went through the house next door, out the front door, and into our house the conventional way (as opposed to through the window). So this is what she did. Or more correctly, tried to do. When she got to our front door, she realized that the only flaw in her plan was that she didn't have the keys to our house. So she ended up going back into the house next door, up the stairs, out the roof door, onto the roof, jumped onto our roof, and slithered in through the window.

I am glad that Hallie can't read yet, because I don't want her to try out this particular stunt. But suffice it to say, like mommy like Hallie. Oy vay.

(And, in re: 4th of July....I still have to post ANOTHER post about what else we did that day; this is coming soon...I promise!)