For those keeping score, I’m loosing in the battle of consistent blogging this year…

As always, life is busy. A lot of our meals lately have been easy ones that aren’t worth a recipe readout. We’ve also been trying our hand at Blue Aprons, generously gifted to us, so I’m not experimenting much in the kitchen.

We’ve fallen into a nice routine around here and, despite still dealing with covid-19, I’m trying to stay in the moment and really appreciate every day. A sliver lining of the pandemic that I’ve mentioned time and time again is all of the extra time we get to spend with Cam. While we don’t have any immediate plans to send him to daycare, I know eventually he will go and I’ll be missing the days where I could sneak a cuddle in between meetings.

Extra time with my mom, who helps us watch Cam 3x/week, has also been a highlight. Right now, our weeks look like this:

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, my mom comes down from 10am – 4pm to be with Cam. Mike takes the morning shift from 7:30am – 9am, while I work; and Cam usually naps from 9am – 10am. We all break for lunch together around 12pm and it is a flurry of dishes and stealing bites of food between Cam wanting one of us to practice walking with him (a back-breaking task that Mike bears the brunt of). Around 4pm I shut my laptop and go for a walk with Cam. This is one of my favorite parts of the day. It is a nice way to decompress from working and, since we’ve adjusted Cam’s seat to face outwards, he loves looking at cars, people, and dogs pass by.

Tuesdays and Fridays are more about survival than feeling accomplished. Mike and I alternate shifts between working and watching Cam. Tuesdays are chaotic and leave us both feeling pretty worn out by the end of the day. Fridays are less crazed because we both work “scattered hours” – me in the morning and Mike in the afternoon – and catch up on emails and to dos after Cam goes to bed. The solid time blocks working or watching Cam means less context shifting throughout the day, which makes it seem more manageable. Plus by this point, we’ve made it to the weekend!

A note that almost every day starts with Cam waking up early and then, after I feed him, snuggling between us in bed and watching a few episodes of Trash Truck while Mike and I try to catch a few more Zzzzs. Some people might be like, screen time (!) for a one year old (!) but I’m like, mama needs more sleep. Besides what is a better way to start the day than baby cuddles?!

A big update is, after weeks of prepping and a tortuous experience with wall papering, Cam moved over to his own room after he turned one! His first few nights were tricky but now he seems to be used to the transition and sleeps well in there. We themed his room Adventure, with an emphasis on mountains (think: I will move mountains) and I loveee it (even with our shoddy wallpaper job).

Even though California is mostly open again, we’re still hesitant about eating out. We have, however, discovered getting take out and sitting on a little grass patch inside a round about is a close second. It’s located near a bunch of restaurants so we have a lot of choices. Plus it almost feels like eating out since we are away from the house and around people; just very distanced and in the middle of a traffic circle…… ha. Honestly though, with a baby, picnics seems soooo much easier than trying to confine Cam to a highchair.

We’re also still loving Sundays at the Farmer’s Market. Often we will grab coffee on the way there and then beeline to a French pastry stand for sweet treats, enjoying them – you guessed it! – picnic style at a big, open, sunshiny field in the same area as the market.

I’ve also started a lovely Sunday tradition of virtual yoga with my friend Lauren. Since the start of the new year, we’ve joined a Google Hangout, rolled out our mats in our respective locations, and flowed to something on Youtube. So far we haven’t missed a single session and I hope we don’t anytime soon. In life before covid, I doubt we would have lasted this long – likely getting swept up in other plans. But, with less to do, it hasn’t been hard to get in the habit of making our yoga date every week. It’s just such a nice way to start Sundays and gives us some built in time to catch up every week. Win-win.

We celebrated my 2nd Mother’s Day (!) and I have to say, it is niiice to have another day – besides your birthday – that is all about you. Highlights from my day were sleeping in; coffee and bluebs muffins upon waking up; a family walk; hot tubing and reading (two favorites); and a virtual wine tasting with my mother in law. It was perfect and full of delicious indulgences.

The most exciting bits of news is that Mike and I have both received 2 doses of the covid vaccine now! We’re actually in Tahoe right now, our first time taking a vacation since the pandemic, and it is really nice to get away with the peace of mind that we’re both vaccinated.

Stay tuned for a recap post of our time spent here, celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary!!