Summertime in the City

Friends

We've been having too much fun this summer to slow down and write about it, so this is going to be another one of those brain-dump postings to catch up on the last 3 weeks.

A nice development over the last couple of months is to see the kids actually play together. Daniel can still be protective of his toys and dominates the play, but he can also be a really sweet big brother and honestly play with his sister. It's fun to watch - Rachel absolutely adores him, so she really feeds off his positive attention when he wants to give it.

This is the catch-up on video posting too. One reason for that is that we've been trying a new suntan lotion, and while it works well, it makes the kids look blue in virtually every picture from July.

The first video is from the children's museum, which has a lot of fun activities and is a great place to escape to when it's too hot outside. Daniel got to build a tractor, and both of the kids love the oversize legos in the construction zone.

Then there's the second video, where Daniel gets to help make dinner. Thanks to aunt Sara for the idea. He also got to fry up the mushrooms afterwards, and showed a proper level of care around the stove, so it was a great experience for him. It's not faster to have the help right now, but eventually it will be.

Video #3 is a quickie from the annual carnival/festival that our town throws. We missed it last year because of Iceland/Norway, but it was an impressive arrangement that will be fun for years to come.

















There have been a number of trips to Pirate's Cove and the beach for swimming (no pictures due to the "blue" issue mentioned above), trips to Tinytown and weekly concerts in the park. Last week Daniel had his friends Harrison, Carly and Eli at the concert and impressed everyone with his flirting skills. He regularly picks up girls that are 8-9 years old and gets them to dance with him all evening long. He has a strong preference for redheads...
















On the last post I promised a picture of Daniel in his new helmet and pads. So there you go. Stylish, isn't he? Daniel's been continuing swimming lessons with Ms. Jenny at the local pool and is making some nice progress. Now that he has swim goggles, he's not afraid of sticking his face in the water ("talking to the fish") or turning it to the side to breathe ("listening to the fish") - pretty soon we expect him to start using his arms to swim, and then he'll be off to the races.

Daniel's been showing some selective hearing lately (eg: ignoring his parents when he doesn't like what we say) that has gotten him in some timeouts. Just typical 3-year old behavior, really.

And if you're thinking - this has been a Daniel-heavy post, you're right. There's an 18-month-old who's getting a posting all to herself tomorrow.

Until next time.

A.D.R.E.