Ten things we did this weekend

1. Jack had his 5-year-old checkup. It included a finger prick (he cried a lot), four shots (more crying), and peeing in a cup. Since he'd gone before we left, that wasn't easy for him, nor for me with him, Kate, and a cup in a tiny bathroom. Got it on the second try! For the shots, they gave him the first one, and he wailed and writhed on the table, at which point they brought in two more nurses -- one to hug Jack tight so he wouldn't move too much, one at each arm to administer the shots. Ouch. Over the nurse's shoulder (I was holding Kate), I tried to tell him it would be OK and smile reassuringly. He'd have none of it, instead looking at me with an anguished "Why? WhYYYYY!" in his eyes. Afterward, he got a bunch of sticker, as did Kate. And gummi bears at home.

2. I played dodge ball in Port Chester, a fundraiser for local schools. Emily and the kids arrived moments after my first game, and left moments before my second game, 45 minutes later. The timing was poor. The next day I described it to Jack in vivid, semi-accurate detail, which he enjoyed.

3. We had family over, Emily's cousin Marik and girlfriend Maureen. Jack and Kate were both shy at first, but by the end Jack was putting his blue toy lizard on Maureen's shoulder, which I take to be a sign of kindness.

4. Jack and Kate played with their cousins at both Cathy's (prior to dodge ball) and our house (the next night). Kate said hi to Ian, which is a step for her; she's equally fascinated by and wary of him. He said she seemed pleased when he said hi to her: "The monster spoke!"

5. Jack and I drew pictures together. We took turns making dinosaurs on a page, and then their skeletons. So if you drew a picture of a T-Rex, you also had to draw a T-Rex skeleton. This extended to our next picture, which included random animals like a fox. Jack draws a cute fox skeleton. I realize it sounds a little odd.

6. We went to Luciano's birthday party. It was basically kids running around a large gym at a New York Sports Club, playing games led by gym employees. For the most part they had fun, it seemed, although Jack did lament afterward, "It was fun, except you had to sit and listen to what they told you to do." Jack's a bit of a ham; every once in a while he'd look over from running or dancing and give us a goofy smile and a big wave.

7. We had various meals. Jack ate well; we think he's in the midst of another growth spurt. Kate ate sporadically; she's into grazing breakfast and lunch, eating some, saying she's all done, wanting to come back 10 minutes later to eat more. A little aggravating.

8. Jack and I went to the grocery store. We used this scanner which totals your purchases as you go; I'd never done it before but Emily recommended it and Jack insisted. Took me a lot longer but Jack had fun pointing it at things. I would like to believe we only paid for things we actually put in the cart, but it's hard to be certain.

9. I did puzzles with Kate. She's getting better at them; it used to be just me doing them, essentially, but now it's her.

10. Sung both of them to sleep last night, Kate with Itsy Bitsy Spider (she sings along, "Pie....der..."), Jack with Swing on a Star. Kate woke up and babbled away for a while, but it still felt like a job well done.