We spent a few days at one of the CenterParcs in May; for reasons I can't explain (because I don't know, not because they are too horrifying to explain) I didn't get many pictures. But on our final day I managed to snap this one of Ethan calmly coloring while we awaited our food at the Pancake House. This is a milestone for 2 reasons: 1) I never believed I'd live to see the day when Ethan would sit quietly in a restaurant like an actual human being and 2) nor did I think he would ever voluntarily choose to color, and furthermore to color inside the lines, filling all the white space, rather than inscribing each page with a single cursory scrawl and calling it a day.His lack of coloring aptitude was problematic only in that it so concerned his kindergarten teacher that he was referred to physical therapy, where he spent many hours resentfully tracing patterns while grinding his teeth into powder, and many additional hours complaining about how much he hated the therapy sessions. (His therapist also drove me insane, insisting that he was right-handed and we must encourage him to use his right hand...see photo above, notice which hand he's using? The child does not so much as pick his nose with his right hand - sorry for the tmi- and he never has.) Fortunately the next year his teacher was herself the mother of 3 boys, and confined herself to observing, "He really hates coloring, doesn't he" with no mention of therapeutic remedies.
And here we have Avery with her first pig-tails (cute bows are courtesy of my friend Heather, check the link if you have a child in need of adorable hair decor!)
Next up we have a lesser-known milestone: Avery trying to produce her first urine sample. What, you don't have a page for that in your baby book? She was running a fever for a few days and when we couldn't find any other explanation the doctor suggested I try to bring in a clean-catch sample to check for a u.t.i. Oookaaay... so I put her on the mixing bowl in front of the tv for half an hour, nothing- then foolishly turned my back for 2 seconds to grab the remote control and she sprinted over to the couch and left her sample there. That's when I decided she was probably fine and we'd give the fever another day or two before making a second attempt. Fortunately she was back to normal the next day.
This last one is not a milestone per se, but it was cute. Ethan & his friend Dylan created these Iron Man costumes out of the contents of the recycling bin, plus a Super-Soaker and a defunct light-saber.
Coming soon- pictures from my sister's wedding! Assuming I remember the camera.
