big kids

i didn't know this before i had kids, but i know it now: a 4 years old kid is a real kid. a 2 years old kid is an amazing and challenging but mostly totally amazing kid. she is mastering skills that seemed impossible just yesterday. he is learning words and concepts and logic and surprising us with it every single day.

for example, since spring (which was just 4 months ago, shockingly), ramona learned to ride a bike. since then she's gone from wobbly short distances to totally independent starting, stopping and hill climbing. she rides alongside david and i to get to school, over 6 blocks away. and in the last month, she's been riding greater distances on her new tagalong. this weekend, she rode all the way from our house to the zoo! then she rode from the zoo to the terrace! and then back home! that must be 8 miles!


at the zoo, james got over a major fear of the zoo train and even managed to enjoy himself aboard the train. he still can't handle the ape house. he can't even look at it. but all the other animals made him nearly explode with word salad joy.

at home, they have both become helpful. like, actually useful. they peel corn! even in lion costumes!

but, however big they may seem, they still look small and vulnerable when they nap on the big bed (although naps happen almost never).
 

total love.