A belated welcome to 2021

Last year, cases of Covid began escalating again in early/mid-December and the new normal of outdoor dining and getting a haircut while wearing a mask were shut down yet again. This shut down wasn't as dramatic as the first, since playgrounds and retailers remained largely open, although with reduced capacity; but the first thing we did was get Kai a last minute haircut once we got wind of the news.

We paused our weekly visits with my parents through December and January, although we had a brief masked backyard Christmas meet up with my parents and Matt, and reconvened on video chat as we ate our Hawaiian BBQ takeout at home in the virtual company of family.

Nothing says Christmas like L&L

A few holiday traditions remained intact. In the days leading up to Christmas, I made sugar cookies with the kids and they decorated a gingerbread house. The kids also enjoyed riding around in the car and looking at the various neighborhood light displays.

The kids grazed on the gingerbread house for weeks until we finally tossed it

And though NYE is never much of a thing with young kids, we celebrated with sparklers that we had squirreled away from before Kai was born and had a "cheese party" as requested by Jad. We also watched various fireworks celebrations from different cities around the world on YouTube to help ring in 2021.

Charcuterie plate AKA "cheese party" for NYE

There has been cause for hope as Nik and I are now both fully vaccinated against Covid and cases in our area have been steadily declining. We are also hopeful that the change in leadership in DC will help with logistical and administrative delays that we had unfortunately seen through 2020.

As the shut down eased, we also began seeing our friends again, starting with the Rongs and Ngs, and then on to resuming playdates with Micah and Wally.

When schools first closed in March 2020, it was supposed to be a three week closure. As things progressed, it became clear that schools would not reopen through the remainder of 2020. We were hopeful that schools might reopen in January until Covid cases spiked in December. It's been mentally exhausting to have this constantly moving goalpost, but at this point, I'm resigned to the fact that the kids may not return to in-person school for the rest of this school year. It's disappointing, but that seems to be the direction things are headed as we are now in February.

Kai was offered a spot in the parent participation group, so he recently switched teachers. I was a little concerned that the change would disrupt the routines that he's established, but he's taken the change in stride. Being in the parent participation group also gives him access to more programs and field trips, for instance, today he had a chemistry presentation over Zoom. Kai and Sora also celebrated their 100th day of school.

"The future is now! Thanks to SCIENCE!"

100 leaves for a 100 days of school

Staying active has helped preserve my sanity through these times. I've signed up for various mileage challenges and virtual races to keep active, and ran a half marathon in January. Nik and I have been trying to encourage the kids to get outside as well. We're fortunate to live by Alum Rock Park and various regional parks, so we've been trying to make use of our awesome natural resources.

I perhaps bit off more than I could chew when one of the first hikes I took the kids on was an almost 5 mile descent from Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve to home. For a while "hike" was a 4-letter word for the kids

Half marathon! My first since 2013 :)