Our day at Sea World

Since it was going to be another hot day, I decided to take the girls to Sea World to cool off.

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Back on the bike

19.1 miles. Just under 2 hours. I rode almost the entire Leon Creek Trail, but turned around about 4 miles from Loop 1604 because I was beat. It felt good to get back on the bike...it had been about 4 months since I'd been on the trail. Saw the remnants of a brush fire, lots of dry areas that usually have water, and a few very skinny deer that had ventured out in the middle of the day.

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August 2011

Dear Girls,

Aaaand, it's back to the "normal" routine. Everyone is now back to work, school, and day care. And while I'm glad that we're back into some sort of routine, I really am going to miss the relaxed feel of the summer. What I'm not going to miss is the heat. It has been an absolutely brutal summer - probably one of the worst I've ever experienced in Texas. It's been so hard to do anything outside, and I'm looking forward to a break in the heat so that we can start to play outside again while the sun is up.

Rachel, you have finally started kindergarten. You're so excited to be in school, and I can see your love for learning every day, even if you are doing things you already know. You have already made new friends, and you're getting the hang of being on your own at school. When you were in ECE, someone walked you into school, took you to lunch and sat with you throughout, and basically held your hand through everything. You have to be a little more independent in kinder, and you're doing great with it. We had a friend help you out during the first week, but since then, you've been taking care of yourself.

You're also back to taking dance classes, which you really seem to enjoy. Since they're on Saturday mornings now, I can take you. We've added a new piece to the routine of going to dance class, and that is to stop in at Panera before we go. You have fallen in love with their chocolate chip bagels, and Daddy or Mommy gets a little morning pick-me-up.

Emily, you are back at Miss Rosalinda's and you have become quite the Chatty Cathy. You're pushing your sentences to four words or more now, and we are getting really good at understanding exactly what you're telling us. You still speak in that toddler talk that only family members really know, but we know that soon, we'll be able to stop translating for you.

You seem to have finally warmed up to talking to your grandparents online. Every time you see me taking my laptop back to the bedroom (that's where we talk to them from), you'll start chasing after me, asking over and over again, "Nana? Nana? Nana? Nana?"

There isn't really a lot to say about the rest of this month. We spent most of this month trying to stay cool...so much so, that just about the only pictures I have of both of your are in the kiddie pool or playing in the sprinkler.

It also doesn't help that I've been so completely crazy busy at work that I'm not even writing this until the middle of September, and trying to remember the things you both did 6 weeks ago is really hard. I promise I'll be better about that in the next few months. As long as things at work slow down a bit.

Your mother and I both love you very much, and we're looking forward to watching you learn and grow over the course of this school year.

Love
Daddy

 

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First Day...

Today is Rachel's first day of Kindergarten. We celebrated by taking her to breakfast, then walking her to her classroom.

Thirty four years ago, I was doing the same thing...

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Lunch with friends

I had to stand and eat, since all the chairs were occupied.

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Someone like chocolate chip bagels

Rachel and I stopped at Panera for breakfast on the way to her dance class this morning. When we got to class, I turned around and saw this. I couldn't help but laugh. Rachel had no clue. She kept saying "What? What's funny Daddy?"

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July 2011

Dear girls,

We are in the dog days of summer. July is behind us and in just a couple of weeks, we'll all be back into our regular routine for the year. This past month, you spent a lot of time with your mother and very little time with me. I've been working 10 hour days, which means I'm leaving the house before either of you get up, and by the time I get home, it's almost bath and bed time for both of you. Having Fridays off is nice, but the whole rest of the week, I miss you both terribly.

Emily, you turned 2 years old this past month. We had a small family gathering for your party, and you got to talk to Nana via Skype when you blew out your candles. It seems like it's taken you a lot longer to get to 2 years old than it did your sister. I don't know why that is, but I'm happy that you're growing up and starting to communicate with us more and more.

You're talking all the time now, and have expanded into three word sentences. A lot of your words still sound alike, so we have to use context to understand what you're saying, but you keep trying until we get it. One of the really exciting things to happen over the past month or so is you coming up with a name for your sister. Obviously, you can't say "Rachel," so it comes out at "Ya-ya"

You also have begun identifying things that belong to you and to other people. You were doing this last month with your things, but now you're starting to get that there's some order of ownership to the stuff in our house. "Mama tair, dada tair, yaya tair" you told me the other day while pointing to each of our chairs at the dinner table. For the past few months you've been saying "sky!" whenever you saw an airplane, then one day, this past month, you just came out with it...air-pane!

Emily, you have really gotten into reading books. You have your favorites that we have to read every night before you go to sleep. You will sit and let Rachel read to you, too. Although, more than anything, you enjoy looking at pictures and talking about them. When Nana sent you both a book of pictures from our trip to New York, and a copy (for each of you) of the Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge, Rachel sat down and immediately started reading the book, and Emily, you sat down and started looking through the photos.

Yaya...or Rachel, I mean, you have been going to summer camp a couple of days each week, and you're really enjoying it. You go on different field trips each week, and you're quite popular with the older girls who also attend day camp. You, in turn have picked up on, like, some of, like, their, like, nuances. I can only hope that when you start Kindergarten in a few weeks, you get over those things.

You know exactly what day you start school....I wouldn't say you're excited or anything.  We've been school shopping for you already, and I think you're fully prepared to start the new school year. I know you're going to miss some of your friends who are going to other schools, or are still in ECE at Braun Station, but I'm sure you'll make plenty of new friends.

Rachel, you had your first ever trip to the dentist this past month, and everything went really well. No cavities for you. You got stickers, a pencil, and a brand new tooth brush just for going. I think you're sold on the whole dentist thing.

We've been taking both of you to the park to play with friends in the mornings before it gets too hot, and in the afternoons, we've been staying inside, or playing in the pool. We've also been to Sea World a few times this summer because your mother and I got season passes for free. We bought the two of you passes, and they've already paid for themselves.

The two of you have really been playing well together the whole summer. You will go into one of your rooms and play, and play. Of course, there are always little fights here and there, but I'm constantly amazed at how well the two of you get along. I hope that continues as you get older.

We love you both very much, and look forward to what the new school year brings.

Love,
Daddy 

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