May and June

Nicholas playing on his "computer" on the bed as Bumblebee and Iron Man watch

Strawberry picking

Eating ice cream cones on the deck

Ahhh....May and June, two of my favorite months, have passed so quickly! Here are updates on the boys, including recent "funnies:"

Nicholas: At the beginning of May, Nicholas was petrified of the water. We signed him up for swimming lessons at the Y, but he literally screamed each time he had to get into the pool. After about six classes, his comfort level increased, and he started to get in willingly, but had not come close to being able to swim on his own. We decided to sign him up for another round of lessons. Just last week, he started to put his head under the water. On Saturday, he had a breakthrough. Chris took him to our neighborhood pool, and after a couple of hours with Dad, he came home saying, "I can swim!" Yep, no floaties or anything! We are so proud him!

Here are some Nicholas funnies:

• "Mom, can I have some sand appetizer?" (If he hadn't been pointing to the hand sanitizer on the counter, I doubt I could have figured this one out.)

• Bev: Father's Day is coming up! Nicholas: When's it going to be Boy's Day?

• "Dad, you're a nice dad AND a nice engineer." (patting Chris' back)

• "I like my brother, and he likes me, too!"

Daniel: We have entered the "terrible twos!" Screams of "NO!" are a frequent part of D's speech. Running away while laughing hysterically is another daily occurrence. If anyone out there has a solution to the running problem, PLEASE, I beg you, fill me in.

On the positive side, Daniel's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds- we'd estimate somewhere around 200 words now. It's so amazing to hear him speak and communicate.

He also has a little sense of humor. Anytime we are in the car and he wants to make us laugh, he'll say, "Arby's? McDonald's?" He first said this in the car when we were on the way home from dinner out one night. We had literally just eaten, and the kid was asking to go to McDonald's. Naturally, we burst out laughing at the idea that he could still be hungry. So, now he says it randomly to get laughs.

Another common phrase is "Yummy cake!" This could be said after he tastes anything from toothpaste to a hamburger. Guess it means he likes what he's eating!