Pumpkin Patch and Del Sur Festival

We made it out to a pumpkin patch this year, and took a drive to Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. It was once again a very hot day. Not sure why we always end up going there when it's super hot, since it kind of takes away from the whole feeling of being fall and starting to get cold. That's definitely not the case here in San Diego. We met up with the Bickel Family, and Sascha and Sadie had a fun day playing in the pumkin field, running through the hay maze, looking at the animals and even feeding a few goats themselves. Cameron had fun looking around and taking it all in. He took a nice nap in the stroller. I took a lot of pictures as usual!

Two weeks later we went to the annual Del Sur Festivale with the Slavin's, it was a lot bigger this year and Sascha had a blast. She decorated a pumpkin with Rachel, played a few carnival games that won her a ducky and went on 2 rides with daddy. She wasn't afraid of anything, she looked forward to the big Ferris Wheel and when they finally got on, she had the biggest smile on her face. Despite the fact that we were all getting cold, and her sweater was wet so we had to take it off, she decided that she really wanted to go on the rocking boat. Even daddy got a bit motion sick after that ride, but not her, she put her hands up and loved every minutes of it. Walking back to our car we watched some of the performers on stilts which was also pretty cool.

Phone pics

Recap: Sascha helping daddy wash his car, Ice cream social with Sadie at preschool, Cameron in a party hat at a birthday, exhausted baby falling asleep sitting, playing at UTC playground and riding the train,splashing by the pool, and hanging out with Sonya.

The UTC pictures were taken after we went to the doctors office for flu shots. We explained to her that she needs this shot so that she doesn't get sick. Sascha was super brave and got her shot first. She confirmed with us that she would get a lolipop after it. She sat there with a smile on her face, until she saw the needle, and even then she was quiet as a mouse, she hesitated and looked a bit scared, but not a peep. I wish I had my phone with me to take pictures there. Cameron was the next victim and of course he screamed. She rushed to him and said "it's ok baby brother, you're ok". It was such a sweet moment. I saw how sorry she felt for him as soon as she saw him cry, and all she wanted to do was comfort him.

Just catching up from the previous week: Daddy reading yet another princess story before bedtime, hanging out at balboa park and enjoying the koi lilly pond and the botanical garden with lots of pretty flowers, found Cameron messing up the book shelf and the "no girls allowed" book in his hands, Sascha reading in the car, Cameron excited to be on a jumpy

Cameron - 11 months

We are month away from your 1st birthday!!! So what have you been up to the last month? Well you are now crawling everywhere and attempting to pull up on things as well. You love feeding yourself, so I have started to leave some chopped up items on your tray and most of them end up in your mouth.

This month has be a bit rough on you because you had to get used to a new environment. Your nanny had some medical issues and we have been forced to put you into a back up daycare that our company subsadizes. The first few days were great, you were happy when I left and even thought I felt the mommy guilt of leaving you with a stranger in a new place, I saw that you were ok. On your first day there you were finger painting. :) But after the first 2 days, you learned that this is where I drop you off and leave, so you started crying as soon as I would put you down, and when I came to pick you up, you started to cry and crawl to me as soon as possile.

Aaah, I felt horrible for leaving you and had to take an extra day off to stay home with you last week. This week, you are only there for one day, so hopefully it will be ok. This has taken a toll on us all. You stopped sleeping well at night waking up in the middle of the night crying. I have no idea if it's because of this daily environment change or teething, or you still seem a bit congested from a cold you aquired a few weeks ago. The nanny is back tomorrow, and I am really hoping that things will get back to normal with you.

You are such a chatter box lately. Chatting up a storm while in your high chair or crawling around. You get very excited when you see us after we haven't been home. The person you get excited to see the most is Sascha. Your face lights up and you start smiling and almost giggling with joy when you see her come through the door. It is seriously the most precious thing to witness. She is usually very excited and receptive, she wants to hug you and kiss you. I have even noticed that when I say "Sascha" and if she is not in the room, you start looking around for her.

You are also very excited to see your mamma, a few days ago you started saying "Mummy", over and over. Of course it makes me melt inside, and all I want to do is pick you up and hold you all day long.

You have now been to your first Pumkin Patch (I will save the details for another post), you took a nice long nap while your sister ran around the maze and picked out pumkins. I remember this time last year very well. I was very pregnant with you, so I guess technically this is your 2nd Pumkin Patch, since you were almost ready to come out into the world at the one we went to last year.

Oh how I love your soft little blond curls. Your hair is really starting to grow fast and it's curling more and more. Just like Sascha's you have a lot more at the very top and since it doesn't lay flat it turns into an automatic little mow-hawk.

Here are a few cute photos I managed to take when we were home alone. It's definitely more challenging taking photos of the little guy now that he is on the move. Cameron was in a great mood, he just didn't appreciate the outfit changes and really had no interest in wearing a tie. I snapped a few, and he pulled it right off.

Playdates & other fun events

Once again I am a bit behind in posts.

You had a playdate with one of your friends from preschool, and even though this happened over the summer I still wanted to talk about it, because it was pretty cute. We met your friend Sadie at thee duck pond, wher you walked around feeding ducks and exploring. It was a fun playdate. You guys had a great time checking out the different ducks, swinging on the swings and walking along the water, even holding hands at one point. Sadie is one of your good friends from school and now you guys are in dance class together as well. You were in the same class last year and got to be in the same class this year at CMP, however both of our families weren't happy w/the new class and we actually decided to try out a new preschool. It's a Montessori school that another few of your friends go to as well. So next week you will be starting at the new school joining the same class as Sadie and Matty. We are excited for this new change and hoping that it's the best thing for you.

Around the same time as this playdate was your last swim lesson for the summer. We saw great improvement this year, however you are still not that excited about going swimming, in fact you usually refuse to go, which is a bummer. After about 20 minutes sitting on the side step you finally decide to go in and by then everyone else is usually getting out of the pool. I am not sure why you feel so comfortable going swimming at the swim school with Mr. Josh and really dislike going with daddy and I, but I hope it changes next year. Cameron on the other hand loves the water, he just splashes around and is super happy!

Another fun outing we had was a "Back yard campout" at the Smith's house. All the kids went on a scavenger hunt, a few late night hikes with flashlights, did a craft, planted some seeds in a pot, ate smores, and slept in the tent with daddy. What a blast! Mommy and Cameron ended up cheating and walking home late at night, but Sascha was already asleep by then. When she realized we weren't going home, she couldn't really understand why? Sascha didn't seem very excited about spending the night in the tent. She wanted your stars ladybug which we didn't bring. We distracted her with projecting thomas the train pictures from a toy projector and then she realized that this can be a lot of fun and stopped complaining.

Another outting we had was to an indoor playground called "Funbeleivable". We met up with your 2 cousins there as well as another few friends, and you had a great time. Even Cameron had a good time in the little toddler play area.