Sam's major milestone and I'm gonna have to make a lifestyle change (or get really good at hiding)

Since Steve switched over to a new battalion recently, we had the honor of being one of the farewells at his old battalion's most recent hail and farewell. It was supposed to take place last Friday. No one could be bothered to tell us that it got rescheduled for this Friday. (Yes, I have many words... but won't share them here.) We arrived (late) yesterday evening to the always classy and kid-friendly Buffalo Wild Wings. Steve received his plaque and I got a rose, which Sam then used to beat the ground/my leg/Molly's carseat with. Also, during some of the other hails, Sam started chewing on my straw. The child is still clueless as to how to suck anything out of a straw (this might explain some of our breastfeeding issues?), so I always let him chew on my straw no matter what is in the cup (although, for the record, I had a cup of water last night). But lo and behold, I felt something cold touch my fingers and Sam was DRINKING WATER FROM A STRAW!!!! Miracle of miracles, I wanted to stop the speech and announce this to everyone.

The huge upside to this major milestone is that there is no more pressure for me to remember his sippy cup whenever we go out. The gigantic might-almost-outweigh-this-little-milestone downside to him learning this is that he is now going to demand we share whatever we're drinking, which, in my case, is usually Coke Zero. And I do not want my child drinking Coke Zero. So I guess I will have to start getting water when we go out so as not to create an unhealthy influence on my child. Do kids under two years old understand the phrase "do as I say and not as I do"?

Molly slept for most of the evening, despite the weirdies that wanted to keep touching her feet and commenting on how gigantic she is.

Guarding her milk like her life depends on it (and it does).

This is how I looked at them when they touched my sleeping baby.

After arriving home, everyone became partially-dressed in a matter of minutes. Sam drank so much water out of my straw that he was thoroughly soaked up his back and Molly was drenched too. So after everyone got changed/undressed, we went outside and played. Ok, Sam played. Molly watched in adoration and I guarded my straw like my life depended on it. (Was secretly drinking more Coke Zero.)

So there you have it. Twenty-two months old (today!) and he finally learned to drink out of a straw. I wanted to document that properly. Here on the internet, of course.