A great week

What a nice week we've had!

Though we have our daily moments of frustration, in general my little family is in a nice groove. We are so blessed!

On Monday, Juliana and her girls came up, and we went to Kabuki for lunch.

Both girls enjoyed their (free) birthday lunch, and I especially enjoyed the large portions. No cooking for me, that night!

Cora did amazingly well with her chopsticks, on her first time using them. She didn't ask for or need a fork!

Violet also mastered taking food from the sticks.

We then walked over to the Undergrounds coffee house at our church, where coffee and pastries made for a nice dessert.

Undergrounds is a donation-only establishment, with some of the funds raised going to a local nonprofit.
All of our girls did great and had a nice time together.

Besides the chopsticks, Cora did something else that amazed me: When I was ordering our drinks, Cora was counting us, and counting the number of chairs at a table she wanted us to sit at.

It's a little thing, but such a grownup little thing to have done, and she did it all on her own.

On Tuesday, we had a MOPS leadership meeting, followed by school for Cora. Wednesday we went to a MOPS mom's house for a pizza-making playdate, followed by storytime at Castaic library.

On Thursday, Cora and I made muffins before she went to class; during class, Violet and I got my car's smog check completed. Violet was a sweetheart, affectionate and playful while we waited.

Today, Friday, after Stroller Strides the instructor brought a parachute for the kids. Cora was running around shrieking with laughter, and Violet was almost equally enthusiastic. We then met our friend Jaimie and her two, Mackenzie (pictured) and Luke, at a park for a picnic play date.

Good times! The kind we want to remember.