June Happenings!

Summer finally arrived in El Cerrito!  June and September are often our warmest months, so there was lots of outdoor play!

Auggie loves spending his time creating things and doing art projects. While Daniel worked in the yard, Auggie decorated our front fence, sidewalk and pathway with chalk (Daniel helped with the bricks). 

Our artistic 5 year old!

Before you know it, they'll be driving us to our senior bridge game. 

Guess who loves baths?

That Mama looks tired. Baby says "I don't need sleep to look amazing."

Cousin Burrito Night!

Ella's two favorite words: "Shoes" and "Outside!"

We had a fun playdate at our house with Maya and Colin's families.  Ted offered to climb our Redwood tree (see background of the picture below) to help hang out big kids swing.  Kids managed to get naked beforehand, so there are not many internet appropriate pictures of the tree climbing process I can post!

 Auggie has been getting more creative with his art work.  Below is a picture he made from 4 pieces of paper he glued together.  Below that are pictures from his schools Art Festival. 

Kristen helping Ella (and Auggie) make Daniel's Father's Day gift. 

Auggie went to Shephard's birthday party at Bridges Rock Gym and surprised everyone - especially himself - at his innate rock climbing skills. He climbed to the top of all the walls and remains enthused to go back.  (Agnieszka is hoping he continues to be interested enough to be her climbing partner one day!) 

Fun times with Papa!

Another trip to Traintown and Cline!  This time with Yuna's family!

Getting pushed up the hill on a walk from Albany home is apparently tiring, even to the passenger.

 Ella has been spending more time at the local park and it has helped her with her sleep and her shyness around other kids (and adults).  When we can get a playdate with her cousins, she (and Auggie) and absolutely thrilled! 

We had a heat wave in El Cerrito and decided to try out Lake Anza again.  This time, the water was a much better temperature for getting into and we found a great shady spot. Auggie had a blast, in the water and the sand.  Ella showed cautious restraint for the first 1-2 hours, but as we were about to get ready to go, she suddenly got up and began exploring the beach and playing in the sand. This child has her own internal social clock and we are finally getting figuring it out.

After Lake Anza, we took a break from the sun to ride the Carousel. 

This box has resulted in a lot of cute pictures

We had a playdate with Clara at Fairyland. We did not end up taking many pictures, but did manage to capture these photos (and some videos) of Ella with Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs.  Throughout the park, she was mostly too shy or nervous to set out on her own, but when she found these little statues, she quickly went around petting them all on their heads and touching their noses.  She remains more comfortable with the inanimate.

 Father's Day at Babcia and Dziadek's house was another fun day!  Lots of pool time and playtime. The dads got to enjoy beer and not be designated drivers (for a day).

We've started taking Ella for walks in the evening to help her fall asleep. This has been a wonderful addition to our day and will be missed when the rains come. 

The swing has been a success.  Here we are, risking limb and head injury with Yuna. 

It's been a busy month.