21monthsapart

Friends

Summer is definitely here. Both Daniel and Rachel have finished their swim lessons and pre-schools and what used to be fairly structured weeks and days is now replaced with random playdates and playing outside.

Rachel's personality has really evolved since we got home from that little jaunt to Texas last month.

Specifically, she's really come out of her little shell socially. She'll now interact a lot more with her playmates from school as well as kids she meets in the park - even initiating the contact/conversations. For posterity, we'll record that she went on a playdate with Tyler, who has a crush on her and refers to her as "MY Rachel"

Our weekend routine consists of making pancakes or waffles for breakfast, and the kids usually argue over whos turn it is to help. Rachel has gotten pretty good at cracking eggs and mixing ingredients.

Rachel's preschool wrapped up with a little show, and unfortunately, this is the only photo we have from it.

As we've mentioned before, Rachel loves books, and so there's at least one trip per week to the library. She has her own library card, and can check out the books herself.

Rachel's task chart has been focused on the letters of the alphabet. She's mastered most of them by now, but still goofs off and occasionally pretends that she doesn't know them. Still, she's worked her way through to several rewards, and a trip to the ice cream store was one of them.

Somehow, Rachel picked up the word "Boring", and uses it frequently when there's something she doesn't want to do. She'll say "UGH, that's so Boawing" and stomp her feet, but most of the time, she still has a sweet, accomodating personality.

Rachel has always loved painting at the easel. She goes at it with great gusto, and usually has a story associated with what she's drawing. This one started as "trees", but migrated into being a "Zeebwa".




Take note of that smile - you'll probably be seeing it again, since that's the look we get if we encourage her to look at the camera.

OK, so I'd mentioned in a previous posting that Daniel has been a biking fiend this spring, and a few weeks back, we went for a bike ride in the state park next to the house. He just wanted to go and go, and with one thing and another we ended up taking a 9.8 mile trip to the beach. He didn't stop, and he didn't complain until his back started hurting around the 9-mile mark. Not bad for a 5-year-old!

(He slept REALLY well that night)

Another birthday, and another trip to the pediatrician to get poked and measured. The official stats for Daniel on his 5th birthday are:

• 36 pounds (15th percentile)
• 41" tall (13th percentile)
• Skills are off the charts
• (In other words, perfect)
• 
  Physical games are part of being a 5-year old boy, and it seems that no matter what it is, it has to involve a sword, a lightsaber or a gun. We had a brief period where he thought he knew Karate (one of his friends showed him some moves), and more recently Tae Kwon Do has shown up for the same reason.

With the warmer weather, the water guns have come into play in the back yard activities.

Star Wars is still the unquestioned champion of entertainment.


Daniel also had a class graduation, and I'll try to do a quick posting of some pictures from that after I get this one done.


Around christmas time, Daniel got a pair of Sketchers tennis shoes that had little flashing green lights. They are actually pretty cool. He had the first pair in his class, but by the end of the school year, there were 5-6 others wearing them. At this age, physical size apparently has nothing to do with influence.

So it's summer, and we're having a good time. Whether it's dragging our sister around the deck, splashing in the water, playing in the pool at Grandma Babe's house, it's all good.

And that'll have to do for this time. I'll try to post some graduation pictures next.

Love, ADRE.