Big Announcement

Great news, everybody.  Mookies House is now on Instagram!  Follow us at mookieshouse

I'll meet you over there. 

Dancing!

 

If

This week presents an important milestone here at Mookie's House; I'm starting school.  It's not a huge deal, really.  Two days a week for less than three hours a day.  And I don't think the academics will bee too rigorous.  Mom said she picked my school because it has the best playground.  But Dad says this is no small deal.  He said I've officially crossed the line from being a baby to a little boy.  He also said something about how the world is a tough, ugly place and he is realizing he can't shield me from that forever or take away every challenge life presents.  He said he wouldn't do it if he could anyway.  

He did send me off with some advice, though.  He said this poem is something to reflect on as I begin this new adventure.  

If

By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

 

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Monkey business

Swim time!

Try and stop me

Ceiling fans

Mesmerizing 

Hair bow

Having a girl in the house means we have lots of new accessories.

Mum-mums

This is Shakira's reaction when she gets to eat her favorite snack, Baby Mum-mums. As you can tell, the girl loves to eat!

The B Team

The nanny is sick and Mom can't miss work, so Dad is taking care of us today. He said we're going to story time at the library and then maybe get pizza (shocker, I know). He looks nervous though. And it's not even 9:30.

Time for a reader poll: should Shakira and I take it easy on him and be extra cooperative or should we mess with him? Answer in the comment section.

Update

Hi everybody, Shakira here.  Mookie's taking a nap so it's Shakira Takeover time.

We've been getting requests for an update.  Unfortunately our lives are extremely boring.  There was one bit of exciting news today, though.  As you can see we got a new, bigger recycling container.  This is mostly exciting for Dad because it means he doesn't have to wait until it gets dark to go roaming the neighborhood putting our trash in our neighbors' bins.  I always thought that was below him.

For my Uncle

Sharing toys

Shakira is almost crawling. That means she can access all my toys! It's a good thing I like to share.

Hello? Aunt Annie?

Dad calls this my Grandma Carolyn pose.

My sweet ride

Choo choo!

I love trains and this weekend Dad took me for a ride on one. It was awesome. I don't know why Dad has such a silly smile on his face. Riding a train is serious business.

Cooling off

We're having an unusual heat wave! I'm keeping myself cool with plenty of ice cream.

My new park companion

Day by day, Shakira is becoming more and more fun.

Dad

What is it with my Dad and mascots?

Check out the bling!

Hello, Sir

Another photo shoot, swim suit edition

Helping Dad

There are so many chores to do around the house so I help out as much as I can.

Best bud

Shakira is growing up and she is becoming a good friend of mine.

JJ awesomeness

I was so lucky to have JJ visit me for a few days. We had a blast!