More Summer 2018

The last month or so has been especially busy around here, so I'm playing a little catch-up in hope of finding a tiny bit of time to post consistently (once a month? maybe?) going forward. Anyway, July brought a downpour of change around here, including the start of my new job and Declan's return to daycare for the first time since November of last year (Marshall has been attending preschool full time since January). We've all had a tough time adjusting to the new routine, but I'm hopeful that we're slowly seeing some signs of getting the hang of things.

Maybe someday I'll get another day in the life post up, but our daily routine involves Terry taking the morning shift with the kids, bringing them to their schools around 9 am and then heading to work. I leave the house before 7 to start work by 7:30 or 8, and then I get off around 4 to get to the kids by 5 or 5:30, home by 5:30 or 5:45, then a little bit of play before dinner and bed. Back to packing lunches, no time for stopping at the grocery store mid-week, no sitting on the couch until 9 or 9:30 pm. It's definitely NOT enough time with the kids, but we're doing our best to make the most of it, and we really soak up our weekends!

Some fun from this summer so far:

Swim lessons for our little fish - he LOVES it!

Our favorite swimming book (we refer to it whenever Marshall is nervous about trying something new). It's a GREAT book in many ways, and both kids love it!

Marshall wrapped up swim "camp" and can definitely swim a few feet completely independently now! With a life jacket, he can hang out for quite a long time on his own, and he's getting more and more confident every time he's in the water. 

New basketball hoop from our friends whose kids didn't use it!

Smoothies on the kitchen floor (I don't remember why they ended up there instead of at the table, but I do remember Marshall sweetly putting his arm around his brother). 

Terry and I built a ridiculously difficult 2000 piece puzzle, and we let Marshall put in the last piece because he had supported us through the weeks of working on it!

Strong little dude!

Beach time! We brought the kids to the beach without checking the weather. It was so cold! But they still had a blast!

And we grabbed donuts after--YUM!

Riding around the neighborhood! Declan is still too little for his tricycle, so he's eager to start riding for real. And Marshall is great on his trike, but he's really ready to move up to a bike with training wheels. Perhaps in the next few weeks!

Random outings when we find ourselves with time to kill in the Bay Area.

One day recently, Dec missed his nap due to our poor planning, so I cradled him and he was out in a few minutes. My arms were KILLING me!

Shopping for Marshall's new big bed! (He was in a toddler bed for about two years.)

Park time!

Baking PopPop's birth cake with mama! 

We're really loving our time with these sweet boys. This age is a blast! Of course, we have lots of moments of struggle with one kid or the other's emotions. Toddlers are dealing with a lot, and they are overwhelmed a lot of the time, so we are just trying to be patient and understanding. But for the most part, we have two very sweet, chill, funny kids, and we truly enjoy whatever time we get with them. We feel so grateful. I am already looking forward to more summer memories!

HAGS

Happy (official) start of summer!

We are ready to dig in to some delicious summer food, like one of Marshall's favorites: corn on the cob (from my parents' city, which grows AMAZING corn).

Declan and I enjoyed a picnic at the park this week to take advantage before I start work soon!

This kid at the dinner table keeps all of us laughing (his brother did the same at this age).

One of our favorite summer treats: fudge pops on repeat!

Not especially summery, but on Father's Day we took Daddy out for coffee and ordered milk for the boys. They LOVED it!

Summer baking is always fun too! We just have to get the oven turned off early before the heat consumes the whole house.

Speaking of heat, our fridge recently went on the fritz and Terry fixed it by himself like a champ! I was so impressed with this handy dude!

Other summer plans:

Bike riding!

Reading and library trips

Teaching M to use the computer!

Hopefully playing board games--Marshall is occasionally showing some interest

Enjoying Marshall's birthday gifts

Attempting to plant a small garden (the boys helped me choose tomatoes and peppers, so we'll see what happens)

Recently, we went to the doctor for Marshall, and later the same day I put out some paper for Declan to color. He must have made an association with the paper on the table at the doctor's office, because he laid back the way M did for his checkup! It was too cute.

For Father's Day, I always take sports-related photos of the boys for Daddy. This year it was a struggle to get these squirmy, less-than-excited-to-pose boys to smile or look generally decent for three photos! Some outtakes:

And some winners:

We celebrated Father's Day with a run, coffee, tacos, and a brewery. Not a bad day for Daddy!

I can't remember if I shared photos of our new house...ever...but this is where we're living for a while as we settle in up in Silicon Valley.

Kids' play area

One of my favorite walls <3

Recent cleaning of backyard toys for water play

And of course, summer fitness!

Baby and toddler yoga:

Running:

(Terry and I are actually training for a very informal 10K. My mom used to run 6 miles on her birthday every year and I thought it would be a good goal to set for my own upcoming 33rd birthday. So we set up a training schedule and are really enjoying the consistent workouts! We're following Hal Higdon's basic 10K plan, but I doubled it so that it extended to something like 16 weeks. On Wednesdays and Saturdays we do strength training, and we're up to 4.5 miles for our "long" weekend runs so far.)

Biking and walking around the neighborhood!

 Swim lessons :-)

 Prepping for Declan's upcoming start to daycare

 Here's to what will hopefully be our best summer yet. We have a few minor plans, like checking out some local festivals (growing up in the Bay Area I loved Art & Wine Festivals, music in the park, etc., and we're hoping to enjoy some of those with the next generation!), hanging out with friends and family (and hopefully snuggling--er, chasing--my sweet niblings), a wedding later this year (one of my best friends is getting married and I can't WAIT!), and more!

Have a great summer! (HAGS!)