Summertime - and the living is easy...

Friends

The last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun around here. The weather has been fabulous, and that means lots of time spent in the backyard and on the cul-de-sac. We've biked over to the local beach a couple of times, and as you know - both Daniel and Rachel are complete water-hounds.

Last year's splashing pool is too small for two kids, so we inflated a larger one and filled it with water. The first day it was out, Daniel jumps/dives off the deck and into it. Not to be outdone (ever!), Rachel immediately does the same and stands up with the biggest grin you've ever seen.

Other water sports include getting sprayed with the garden hose as well as our first trip to Pirate's Cove (a municipal pool/fun center) of the season.

Rachel has grown a couple more teeth since last time, which she hasn't enjoyed much. She's also discovered two-syllable words, and can now say "melon". The poor girl never gets a word in edge-wise if her brother is around, though.

Daniel hit a bit of a milestone today in that for the first time, he was genuinely helpful when there was a job to be done (cleaning the garage). He's certainly been "helping" for a long time, but today he sprayed, scrubbed and vacuumed and was a real help.

He is a whiz on that tricycle -> earlier in the week, he rode it all the way to the grocery store and back (about a mile), and he would have zoomed around inside the store if Anida hadn't put her foot down on that.

And then, there's the fact that he added "Stupid" and "Poopy" to his vocabulary. If he'd been in daycare, this happy day probably would have come much earlier, but as it is, he got it from an older kid. We may have squashed the use of "stupid" as it relates to other kids at least - time will tell. Poopy - well, he's just looking for a reaction.

The neighborhood we live in is overrun by rabbits. You can see them everywhere when you go for a walk. Recently, the baby rabbits have been out. Rachel adores them, and points them out when riding in the stroller. Unfortunately, the cats seem to have also discovered baby rabbits, and have brought a few into the house. The first one we found when it was too late, the second one we escorted out of the house again.

Anida spent Father's day visiting Ms. Monica in San Francisco and had a grand time there. That left Eric alone with the kids. With the responsible adult out of the house, a party was called. So we had a bunch of fathers and kids running around. A good time was had by all.

I'll do a separate quick posting of some video from the local concert series - Daniel is quite the player....




When Eric was little, he had a red stool with this ditty painted on it:

This little stool is mine
I use it all the time

To reach the things I couldn't

And lots of things I shouldn't.

That about sums up how Rachel has embraced the new stool/steps. She can push it around the kitchen and with her long arms, she can reach *everything* on the counter. If she wants grapes - well - she'll go get grapes.

And that's about it for now. Until next time.

Love, A.D.R.E.