Good riddance, June!

June, you were a cruel month and I couldn't be happier to see you go.  Among the treats you had in store for us...
- Lily slicing her finger with scissors, resulting in a trip to the ER to get it glued shut (she was VERY brave...such a trooper that the nurses gave her a teddy)
- Matteo being struck down by "unknown viral syndrome" resulting in multiple trips to the hospital and a week of spiking fevers and miserable little man (same admitting nurse as Lily the week prior)
- Pinched sciatic nerve for me that resulted in - you guessed it - a trip to the ER (no, they don't offer a family punch card...yes, I asked)
- Chris dropping the extra car seat on his head while trying to put it in the attic.  No trip to the ER.  Silly male pride
And to add insult to injury, Junuary weather was in full swing.  Sigh and shudder. 

But thanks to being blessed with two fantastic munchkins, there were a few bright spots:
- This actually happened the day before Matteo turned 1, but I forgot to write about it at the time. I was sorting the mail and dropped an envelope on the ground where he was playing.  Without hesitation, he picked it up, crawled to the recycling bin, lifted the lid and plopped it in. Coincidence or AMAZING BABY?  I say the latter
- By the first week of June he'd started to master more motor skills.  The first was playing back and forth with Daddy and the little Sounders ball, and the second was standing up on his own.  He's not quite sure how to walk unassisted yet, so once up he will look around and then sloooooowly lower himself back down.  It's pretty amusing to see
- Lily continues to make my heart melt with the small things she does.  Her new thing is that she like to get all conspiratorial with me.  If I am sitting, she will come up and casually drape her arm over my shoulders and talk in my ear, leaning her head against mine - it's like her reminder that we're a team.  She also took me on an elaborate tour of her classroom the other day, complete with blow-by-blow of who got in trouble where and who plays with what and how.  Her pride in sharing was a great reminder of the importance of staying connected to her world and always making sure she knows I'm interested and have time for her
- Mr Matteo, once better, spent the 2nd half of the month all about climbing.  No, he's not yet walking on his own, but man-o-man can that little dude climb a step ladder.  Just like his sister, he's in no hurry to verbalize, but he has a major fire lit with all things gross motor, including climbing on top of his toys, the coffee table...pretty much anything he can lift his leg up to.  I smell trouble.  Crazy, climbing trouble
- While the leaps in Matteo's development are very obvious, there are equally fantastic (though more subtle) advances from Lily.  In the past few months I've noticed more and more how her art has progressed.  All of a sudden they are now full pictures that tell a story rather than single images.  Girls now have huge lashes and mile-high heels (must be the Barbie effect - Lord knows I don't wear them) and every week she delights in showing me a new shape skill
And of course no month would be complete without a recap of the endearing things they say...
- "Zip, zip!" complete with hand-across-lip gesture...Lily's response when I tell her talk time is over and it's time to go to sleep
- "Oh I knew you'd say that (pick that/make that/buy that/etc)" Lily's response to my response to any given question.  Said with gleeful delight
- "Bad throw!" Response to any pitch she misses playing baseball in the front yard
- "Baaaaaaaaaaaaa!" accompanied by a whole-arm wave on those rare occasions Matteo acknowledges the teachers saying goodbye at the end of the day.  It's the closest he's gotten to a word and he's quite stingy with it
- "What's available?" Lily's response to my asking if she'd like a snack
- "Meh-meh-meh-meh" accompanied by plaintive mama-leg climbing anytime I've been so bold as to wash my hands/try to make dinner/answer the phone/anything that takes me from little man.  I think it's a hold over from him being sick and wanting to be held 24/7.  It's fairly heartbreaking
- "I like about Paul that he's funny...I like Nancy because she talks with us if we get in trouble...I like Andrea because she pushes really fast on the tire swing...I think Barbara is a good teacher because she takes care of all of our problems." Lily's thoughts on her teachers
- "I'm older than Ella - I'm 5 and three quarters. When I'm five and four quarters I'll be six." She's a math whiz already!
- "Arrr-arrrr-arrrr!" Matteo as he awkward slide-crawls across the floor, refusing to let go of his two favorite plastic balls
- Me: Matteo has a dirty bottom, I need to brush him off    Lily: or we can use the hose!
- Me: You're funny   Lily: I'm supposed to be funny!  Me: Really, why?   Lily: Because God made me supposed to be funny!

Yes he did, my sweet.  That and so, so much more.