Cousins day out

Despite the 9 siblings between Ethan and I, there isn't a single cousin within spitting age of Phoenix. He has 4 lovely college age cousins, but toy trucks aren't their thing. So we've really appreciated getting together with his second cousins this time home. Trucks aren't really Elizabeth's thing either, but she's a kid and super sweet to P, and that's all that truly matters to him. We had a lovely time playing in the brisk breeze at the Riverside playground. The space boasts 3 equipment sets and some Awesome climbing areas. The climbing rope Eiffel tower area did not boast the foam pit I would have preferred :) but it was admittedly very cool. You can also see P mid-air in an above pic - he's really into jumping off of things lately. High things. In my cousin's words "You have emergency room visits in your future."

I've mentioned before how, um, particular, P is about his clothing. I'd call about a playdate with his buddy Malek and his mom would tell me she just had to throw some clothes on her kid, they'd be ready in 5 minutes. "Throwing clothes on P" and "5 minutes" are generally two phrases that don't go together. Then when we'd meet, Malek would look cute in his blue jeans, button down shirt and sweater. Often he even wears a heavy coat or a hat. This seems like a normal thing, sure, but when I see a kid in jeans, or anything bulky, I always wonder, was there a thirty minute wrestling session involved there? P would no more wear jeans than a colony of ants. Pockets? Nope. Patches? Nope. Collars? Nope. Zippers? Zip, zilch, nada. It took us a little over 2 years to understand why getting the child out the door was such a miserable affair, but we're finally getting him figured. He's super sensitive to smells, bright lights, and, apparently, anything non-cashmere touching his body.

I've hoped all along that I didn't Do anything to encourage this (while still trying to honor his needs); nature/nurture is such a bitch for a parent to ponder. So I listened with great relief when my cousin Gretchen mentioned Elizabeth is the same way. Her older son, Caleb, will wear anything, so she knows it isn't Her fault :) P and little E even share some of the same quirks - occasionally, neither can stand the bottom of their pants to touch the top of their feet. As skinny little P shivered and jumped around the playground sans coat I was pleased to hear Gretchen tell me Elizabeth used to be the same way but will wear her coat now. So, he may be stylin' sweat pants for the rest of his life, but at least he won't have frost bite if he can make it to the ripe age of reasoning at 5.