July, 2020

One of the best things about this month was sleeping in every day until 9am! The kids are on a great sleeping (and napping!) schedule. Au and Cha sleep from 10pm until 9am and they both also nap every day at 2pm. Au usually naps until 4 or 5, whereas Cha naps until 6pm, a solid 4 hours. I go to bed around midnight and still get close to 9 hours. I've heard that some 5-year-olds no longer nap, but I'm holding on to this dream as long as I can.

Wait, Au and Cha? Previously, I was writing their names as A and C, but using just an 'A' gets confusing. I'm not trying to conceal their names necessarily, but do want to prevent them from having a google presence just yet. We'll save that until they're 12 and aspiring famous YouTube-ers.

On the first of July, we had Au's birthday party at Wish Out Loud, a place I highly recommend if you're in Orange County. For the party package that I chose, we were limited to 12 guests and she had 13...a great turn-out for a party held during a pandemic! First, guests had pedicures. Then, they split into two groups - one to make charm bracelets and another to have their hair done. Next, it was time for a pizza/tea party at the beautifully decorated table, complete with real china. During the luncheon, Ariel came out and made the rounds, interacting with all of the guests. She was there for the rest of the party, which included signing happy birthday, serving the beautiful cake, a crowning ceremony and dancing on the stage. Toward the end, bubbles started falling, which was a welcome surprise for all guests (and, me!).

Before quarantining ahead of our trip to Oregon at the end of the month, we squeezed in as many play-dates with Au's friends as we could. We had few beach trips, hikes and pool or hot-tub dates with friends. We also celebrated the 4th with a park play-date for her new school, and fireworks on our street with our neighbor friends.

In Oregon, Au became comfortable swimming in the lake! This was a huge step, because now she is truly water-safe there. She went in almost ever day, and was even able to swim to one of the little islands, and also the water fountain. I continued my daily 3 mile runs, and started taking both retrievers with me.

It was a summer of salamanders, as Au and I caught some most days. We would only keep them a day or two and then release them and catch some more. I also took the canoe out most days, just the kids and I. As always, it was a relaxing time. Although we didn't get to go to Krakow and Croatia as planned, extra family time is always valued. I love the adventure and freedom that Oregon allows them, with Au venturing out some mornings to feed pony while I cooked breakfast. With encouragement, she almost walked around the lake on her own.

My running buddies.