maybe we came from monkeys after all

The boys and I have a standing play-date with our buddies Rachel, Lela & Ellie on Wednesdays. Today we hit up toddler gym time at a local community center for some trike riding, hoop shooting, and general burning off of our kids' endless energy. Now you all need to know that Nate and Lela are betrothed. They adore each other. Rachel and I finally had to tell them no more kissing, only hugs, because a) it was borderline inappropriate and b) they passed the same cold back and forth at least 7 times.

Back to today: we arrived before the girls so Nate was already running around with a horde of boys when Lela arrived. Seeing that he was unavailable for their customary greeting, Lela just walked up to the first boy she saw and gave him a hug instead. The boy was very obliging, and the two of them stood there in slow-dance position for a solid three minutes - it was really cute. Lots of cell phone pictures by their moms, etc. Eventually Nate noticed them hugging and came over to check it out. He walked slowly around the couple. He sized up the other dude. Then he lifted his shirt and hopped around crazily while pounding his chest. Full on primal. It was like an Animal Planet special on mating rituals, right there at toddler playtime. If this is happening now, I am going to need some sort of special training to handle puberty. Pray for us.

I don't have a picture of primal Nate, so here's the next best thing: Dexter with about 3/4 of a banana in his mouth.