Mid-Summer Update

We're about halfway through summer and I'm 8 weeks back to work in the office, so I thought it would be a good time to check in and update. 

We're still enjoying a lot of time at home but have found a new fun family activity on the weekends to get out of the house -- hiking.  Each weekend we find a trail in our area to go out and enjoy the weather (albeit hot) and get some exercise in. Thankfully we live in a great area with trails galore, which has made it fun to get out while social distancing.  We may or may not reward ourselves with ice cream depending on the day and temperature but it gives us something to look forward to on the weekends.

Declan is so happy to be back at school too.  Our little guy missed the interaction with his friends and teachers and besides day one, when he was a tiny bit sad at drop off, he's thrived with being back in his routine. Unlike myself, my son is a social butterfly who likes to go play with his friends and teachers each day.  It makes me feel better knowing that he's excited to go to school each day and I know the school is taking all of the extra precautions to keep him healthy.  He's such a smart boy too and at 21 months, he knows all of his colors, a multitude of animals, sounds, names (he remembers every name!), different foods and all sorts of objects (tools are his favorite).

Working on puzzles at school

We also re-enrolled Declan in swimming lessons this summer and he absolutely loves going to the pool on Saturday mornings. Like preschool, the facility is taking extra precautions and the class size is limited to just 4 babies/toddlers but he's having a blast in the water.  Unfortunately our neighborhood pool is closed for the summer, but the lessons on each week have been a blessing for us and so much so that we've signed up for the next 8 week session so Declan can go to the "pool" through September.

Swimming with Daddy

Next week, D and I are taking off a week from work for our vacation.  We debated for months if we were going to take a trip somewhere or just stay home and we finally decided given the uptick in Covid cases all over, we'd just take a stay-cation this year. We're still planning to enjoy our time off but rather than driving 13 hours to the cabin or to a beach, we're going to spend the week exploring our own area. We reserved a spot at the zoo for one day, we're going to go hiking a few days and hit other outside attractions during our time off -- all focusing on being outside and keeping our distance from others.  Both D and I are in need of time off as work has been crazy for both of us and I'm ready to unplug for a week.

Other than everything mentioned above, the only other activity taking up our time is spending time helping at my mom and Michael's house.  They moved in a few weeks ago and are finishing up the last of the construction/clean up/moving in process and we've helped out as we can.  It's also allowed Declan to spend time with Nana and Papa and typically, we get to have dinner together a few nights a week.

Having 2nd breakfast at Nana and Papa's

It's been a pretty good summer so far, nothing like what I expected of summertime (in pre-pandemic life) but we're making memories and enjoying our time together.