Fortunately, this week we got a reprieve from the mid-90 degree weather that we had had last week. Our neighbors must have been blasting their AC's, because we had brownouts two days in a row last week. The first time, it was already bedtime and the kids enjoyed an excuse to break out the flashlights, but the second time, it was right in the middle of dinnertime. Without an easy way to reheat food, Nik and I opted to take the kids out for dinner at Costco.
Pizza making is a spectator sport
Summer means longer days and warm weather. Therefore, we've been taking the opportunity to spend even more time outdoors with the kids, be it in parks or in our own backyard. We went on a little hike at Alum Rock Park and we were so proud of Kai, who walked most of the way on his own. Of course, having the extra incentive of trying to reach the playground at the end of our walk didn't hurt. :)
The look of determination
We went to check out the new playground which opened at the Berryessa Community Center.
And of course, we've spent plenty of time in the backyard.
Nik was testing out the sprinklers and the kids just couldn't resist
Sora: "Bowling is a piece of cake!" (when you use your hands to knock over the pins)
Our little gardener at work
Kai has enjoyed the deluge of presents he received for his birthday, though we rationed the presents and had him open only one a day.
Paint sets..
.. a water gun..
.. and a Totoro backpack!
After Sora saw Kai's Totoro backpack, she insisted on wearing a "backpack" of her own, so we had her carry her stuffed elephant on her back.
Our Sundays are routine. Bagels for breakfast at church.
Sometimes joining our church friends for lunch after service. We don't go all the time since it's always such a challenge to get the kids to eat well while dining out.. although for some reason, lollypops are not a problem. :P
Head over to my parents' house and then it's naptime in the car! (for everyone)
Play at Po Po and Gung Gung's house until it's bedtime.
Since Kai has turned three, he likes to say, "I three, I big boy now," and likes to boss Sora around accordingly. Although Sora may or may not listen to his well-intentioned brotherly advice.
So proud of his works of art
Enjoying the "stay and play" after library storytime
Sora babbles all the time and although what she's trying to communicate is clear to herself, it's not always clear to us. She gravitates toward Frozen (she loves "Let It Go") and calls all princesses or princess-like characters "Anna," but also loves Mater from Pixar's Cars. Sora likes to do everything Kai does and follows him around the playground trying to do everything he does; we joke that even though Sora is only one and a half, she thinks she's three.
Sora kept pointing to the counter while saying "doggie," it took a while for us to realize that she was referring the brownies on the counter. She obviously mixed this up with Po Po's Brownie. :P
"Selfie!" (does this mean Nik and I are in for trouble?)
Admittedly, when we returned from Hawaii, we didn't feel like doing much. But with two kids, work, and Kai's birthday quickly approaching, that wasn't an option. Thankfully our two little seasoned travelers adjusted back to Pacific Standard Time with relative ease and only required one day out of daycare to adjust. Unfortunately, Sora had gotten used to being picked up immediately and co-sleeping with me because of the trip, so we had to sleep train her again once we got back home. There were a miserable few nights (our stubborn little girl cried for a solid 1 1/2 hours one night) and I even ended up sleeping on the floor of our closet one night just to escape her cries.
Deceptively peaceful
Mother's Day was relatively low-key (though I received two very lovely bouquets of flowers from Nik and Kai) since we were still recovering from our trip and Nik had to work that evening, but that morning, the kids (and I) didn't wake up until 8:47 am which is completely unheard of. Thank you, kids and thank you, jet lag. :)
My Mother's Day gift
But once we got back into a rhythm, it was back to the usual routines.
Climbing up ladders like a pro
Our little bookworms can't wait to read their new book
And thanks to a friend who waited in line for two hours (I don't think Nik or I have the patience!), we even managed to visit the super-popular Din Tai Fung, which made its Northern California debut a few weeks ago.
Since Kai's birthday was a week after our return from Hawaii, we opted to postpone Kai's big birthday party for two weeks. On Kai's actual birthday, we had a small party at his daycare. The kids loved the cake and balloons!
It's definitely unsafe to drive with so many balloons in the car
The day after Kai's birthday, LSCC had a big outreach event at Pump It Up, so Kai got his birthday wish of having a "jump and slide" party.
My parents' birthday gift to Kai was a set of customizable cars which came with sticker decals and paint, so of course, Kai had to paint them.
Kai's big birthday party was just this past weekend and it felt like a sprint to the finish: Nik and I were scrambling to get the house in order, get supplies for the party, order food, and figure out how to entertain 20+ kids. But everyone had a good time and most importantly, Kai had a lot of fun. Near the end of the party, since it was a warm day, Nik let the kids play with the water hose in the backyard and the kids loved it. Seriously, who needs to rent a bounce house when you have a water hose?
Birthday chaos
The bubble machine: the best $10 investment ever
Kai didn't want to give up his nice helium balloons, so when I asked him choose a balloon to give to Evelyn, he chose the glove balloon that we had blown up for him at the pedi office. Clever boy.
Toy-mageddon
In the days following our return home, Nik had a long stretch of evening shifts and with Grandma Udom up in Portland, I had to figure out how to entertain and feed two kids on my own. Needless to say, I survived and surprisingly, it wasn't too bad.
The library is always a favorite
"Mama ap-ple!"
One morning, I even took the kids out to Emma Prusch Farm on my own to give Nik a break, though Chris and April were gracious enough to come by in the evening to help out.
Much to the kids' delight, there were pigs in the barn..
.. and a lot of ducklings to feed.
With Kai's big birthday party, my Mom's birthday, and the Memorial Day holiday, this past weekend was really busy. As usual, we started off with small group on Friday and remarkably, Pastor Josh babysat all the kids without the aid of a screen. Nik and I were duly impressed by his child-wrangling abilities.
Saturday was Kai's big birthday party and Sunday was my Mom's birthday. Nik was working that evening and my Mom wanted to have dinner out, so my birthday gift to her was taking the kids out to a restaurant on my own (a feat I would never attempt under normal circumstances). It was a three hour long ordeal and I have no pictures of my own to document to occasion (who has time to take pictures??). Though he hardly ate a bite, Kai managed by watching Thomas on my phone and with lots of help from Uncle David and everyone was impressed with Sora's sophisticated palate as she slurped down the fish maw soup.
On Memorial Day, we drove down to Monterey with some friends from church. I was amazed that there was no traffic on the drive down and we arrived early enough that there was still ample parking at Dennis the Menace Park. The kids ran around the various play structures, but eventually settled down to play in the sand.
We then walked over to the nearby beach and it was perfect beach-going weather: warm, with clear blue skies. In fact, when Kai first saw the beach and ocean, he exclaimed, "Hawaii!" The sand was soft and fine with gold flecks in it and we even found a small fish trapped in the shallow surf (we captured it and then set it free in deeper waters). Kai and Sora loved playing in the surf and Sora, our little daredevil, would walk out into surf until she was waist-deep in water.. she would've gone out further, but Nik held her back. After we had dried off the kids and changed their clothes, they busied themselves by obstructing Ansel and Scott's efforts to build a trench in the sand. We had a late lunch of sandwiches and though we ended up with a 2 1/2 hour, traffic-filled drive back home, it was a wonderful day and completely worth it.
Napping on the walk to the beach
A beautiful day in Monterey with my favorite boys
A real live fish!
Sora versus the sea
"Queen" of the hill
Evelyn: "NOOOOOOO!"
"This is a great spot to sit and eat chicken."
It's been a busy past couple of days since we've returned from Hawaii and the summer's just getting started. Looking forward to more good times! A few more pictures.. no narrative required.
