Word Monkey

Harper's favorite place on Earth is the Florida Aquarium. We have been regulars there for years now, so much so that she said her first word there ("Duck!") and, to keep the family tradition of reaching milestones there, recently Will stood up for the first time in the changing room.

I turned around and caught him doing this.

"Look what I can do all by myself, mom!"

There is a new Madagascar exhibit on the third floor, the centerpiece of which being a lemur enclosure featuring three Ring-Tailed Lemurs; two males and a female. One of the males has a shaved tail due to a recent veterinary procedure, so he’s very easy to pick out.

These are NOT monkeys.

Today, about an hour into our sojourn, we went up to the third floor so I could nurse Will in relative peace while Harper enjoyed looking at the giant reef tank and the lemurs. As you have probably surmised by now, Harper is a bit of a Social Sally, so to kill time she befriended a little boy about her age who was there with his parents. She took the opportunity to explain the lemur exhibit to him (after his parents mistakenly referred to the lemurs as monkeys not once but twice).

   

Harper (pointing at the lemur with the shaved tail): “See! That’s a lemur!”

Boy: “Monkey.”

Harper: “Not a monkey. He’s a lemur. He’s a boy lemur.”

Boy’s Mother (incredulously): “How do you know he’s a boy?”

Harper (Matter-of-Factly): “He has a penis.”

She will really use any opportunity to show off her vocabulary.