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The summer is flying by so quickly! Vaughan has been attending a summer pre-school program and he loves it. It is held at the pre-school he’ll be attending in the fall. While Vaughan is at school, Rheya has been enjoying some one-on-one time with Mommy. It’s also a great time to do some shopping since shopping with one child is always easier than shopping with two!

Both kids continue to be excellent sleepers. Vaughan has given up naps completely and Rheya is down to one nap after lunch. They both go to bed easily and stay in bed all night (except for the occasional trip to the potty for Vaughan).

Rheya still doesn’t have many teeth. As far as we can tell, she only has the front eight teeth…four on top and four on bottom. She’s not very cooperative, so it’s hard to look in her mouth to see if there are any others. She’s been acting unusually grouchy, so maybe there are some more teeth on the way. She’ll be 18 months old next month and we’ll see how much she has grown since her 15-month appointment at the pediatrician’s office. Last time she was a pound lighter than she had been at her one-year appointment, so we’re hoping she has put on a good deal of weight to keep the doctor happy. She eats well and is learning and imitating all the time. She still doesn’t say any recognizable words, but she has been doing several signs for many months now, so she still can communicate very effectively.

Vaughan is a little chatterbox. He narrates his entire day…it’s like a running commentary of everything that’s happening. And, in case you missed anything, he’ll be happy to fill you in! His vocabulary is huge, but his pronunciation is not where it should be. So, he was attending speech therapy this past spring and will continue with it in the fall. He loves the computer and is very good at figuring out anything that has to do with technology. He has a very good memory for games and how to use any electronic gizmo you put in front of him. He can do mazes for an hour and then still want more! He also loves riding his bike with Daddy and going to breakfast with Daddy on Saturday mornings. It’s their special one-on-one time!

I take A LOT of pictures of the kids and here are a few of my recent faves.

These days it’s pretty hard to get Vaughan and Rheya in the same picture, but if I’m quick enough, I can do it! I even got Vaughan to put his arm around his sister…even if she only sat there for a few seconds.

Rick and I were getting ready for Denim and Diamonds this year and once Vaughan saw Rick’s cowboy boots, he just had to try them on…with his hat, too. He tromped around the living room in those huge boots until Rick had to ask to have them back so he could get dressed! Yeehaw, little man!

We had another fun night of food and festivities at Denim and Diamonds! A good time was had by all!

What’s better on a hot day than a run through the sprinkler? Vaughan loves it…Rheya, well…not so much. She stayed mostly dry. Perhaps the water was a bit too cold for her liking.

Like most little boys, Vaughan enjoys superheroes…including Spiderman, Batman, Super Why and others. We just introduced him to Superman as well, so I’m sure he’ll add him to his list of go-to characters when he’s pretending to fight “the bad guys” (lately the bad guys have been pirates). I found this adorable cape pattern at Puking Pastilles and just had to try it!

It’s reversible with Batman on one side and Superman on the other. Once again, my machine embroidery skills are pretty pathetic, but from a distance it looks great and Vaughan thinks it’s pretty cool!

We had quite a few days of gorgeous weather (followed by an entire weekend of dreary rain), so the kids have been taking full advantage of the outdoor playtime.

We have finally painted our front door in our favorite color…red! It looks great and I’m so glad we have such a pretty, welcoming front door now. The storm door is also new. That was some of the best money we have spent!

As I looked at these pictures of Rheya and her adorable pigtails, I came to realize that she just looks so much more grown up!

I still can’t believe that Rheya and Vaughan share the same genes because they couldn’t be more different.

Vaughan was always so cautious and rarely took risks of any kind. It took him a long time to feel comfortable enough to leave my side when we went to public places like the library or the playground and he tried out new skills very slowly and with much encouragement.

Rheya, however, is a completely different story. She wanders off the second her feet hit the floor. She goes right up to other kids to play with them, and now…she has discovered climbing! The other day in the bathroom she got up on Vaughan’s little step stool and gave me the proudest look I’ve ever seen. It was cute, but terrifying all at the same time. Then, at the park, she climbed up four stairs on the playground equipment. Yikes! Then, today, she climbed up on the rocking chair in the bedroom and might have climbed up onto Vaughan’s bed if I had given her the opportunity. Will I survive this?