March fun

I have apparently missed a few weeks of fun! I am glad I had my phone to remind me. As I was looking through some of these pictures I realized I never posted any of these...

How cute is the photo of the kids holding hands next to the fountains. As hard as it was trying to keep them out of the water as they got braver and braver, it was worth while to see the excitement on their faces as they ran across the area in fear of one of the water streams getting them soaked. Matty, Ben and Sascha had a great time playing after dinner and yogurt.
We finally made it out to Aaron's baseball game. Cameron pointed at the ball a few dozen times and said "Ball"




The kids just love being outside, so playing out in the yard has been a favorite. Either picking rocks, or picking flowers, or playing with a watering can, they keep themselves very busy. Cameron attempts to do just about everything that Sascha does to keep up with her. We also did some planting in our so call "Herb Garden". Sascha helped me plant carrots, turnips, cantaloupe, green onion, mint, and thanks to Baba for planting tomatoes. We also celebrated Deda's 65th Birthday at PF Changs and I must say the kids were on their best behavior! Sascha was busy w/her Tag Books and ate her entire chicken and rice meal, and Cameron was totally content people watching and then eating in his high chair, so it was a very enjoyable eating out experience.




A Few more of us playing inside with some awesome star sunglasses, cars and crafts, and playing outside

Enjoying the moments... Photo Update

Although it's been a bit chilly lately, we are enjoying our time outside. Parks or our own back yard have been more than enough to explore and play at. Daddy had a great time making laps on the flying turtle with both kids on it.

We were also finally healthy enough to visit a few friends who have just had new babies. We stayed away long enough so that we wouldn't spread our "fabulous" germs, but finally everyone felt well for some quick visits and dinner drop offs, and most importantly I got to hold new babies! :)
After the first visit, I thought it was almost strange that neither Sascha or Cameron seemed jealous that I was holding another child, a sweet little baby boy JP. Leaving the house however, Sascha had a full on melt down. We later found out it's all because she wanted to be picked up and carried to the car... like a baby! Of course our hands were full w/Cameron and a bag that we didn't even realize it. We thought she was having a fit because she didn't want to leave someone's house (which happens often!). Once she calmed down and explained that she wanted to be held, it all kind of made sense. So when we got home, I had her sit in my lap and we rocked, hugged, and cuddled. So while I thought they didn't care, the kids very much noticed that the whole time I held "another baby". They pay very good attention to our actions, even when we hardly notice what we are doing. There I was cradling my 4 year old and enjoying every moment of it!
Cameron is a total wiggle warm himself. He hardly sits still, even after bath time. I have to put a toy in his hand so that he is focused on something and doesn't escape from the changing table while I am putting on his diaper. The last 2 pictures were taken on the day we went for his 15 month well visit at the doctor. He of course ran around the office like an energizer bunny. Luckily I brought a ball that he chased all around the small room which kept him busy while we waited. He is finally over 20 lbs!
20 lbs 12 oz - 4%
32.25 inches - 73 %
He's tall and lean just like his sister.
He of course hated the 2 shots he received and screamed loudly after each one, but this time he was old enough to receive a lollipop as a reward. His first lolipop... and I got a quick photo of it while he was in the back seat diligently sucking on it. To say that he enjoyed it would be an understatement.


Love this  little collage of Cameron outside, he is always such a happy boy running around outside. There are endless things there for him to find and explore. On St. Patrick's Day we weren't very festive, but we did go to a friends house for a party (no photos... oops), and then we were off to celebrate my brother -in- law's birthday at Buca Di Beppo.  More photos of Cameron playing outside, he loves carrying around that hola hoop. The last one is of Sascha and Sadie after their dance class. They just love playing together, and after their class we usually have a play date at one of our houses.



Last Saturday morning we made it out to a HS in San Marcos where our friend organizes a wellness Fair every year. We started out with a 2 mile walk. Cameron was in the stroller and Sascha walked part of the way until she started to complain, so daddy put her on his shoulders. Then we were off to compete in some challenges and obsticle courses. Our biggest challenge was to keep up with Cameron as he proceeded to run like crazy on the football field. He'd look back at us, and then try to run even faster, what fun! Sascha had a blast trying new activities with daddy, and hanging out w/her buddy Kingston.
On Sunday we anticipated rain, however the day started out sunny so we headed to a park where Sascha drew what she called a rainbow. She has been drawing lines in different colors on paper, and on sidewalk. She lines up all her colors and then goes on to use every one of them in a very meticulous way, one after another drawing a bunch of lines. She called it a rainbow. Later we met up with the cousins to take some photos in their Easter dresses. So very cute! Cameron got a new suit! He of course was not willing to cooperate. This has got to be the hardest age to photograph. He just kept running out... this is also why I don't do studio photos. :) The girls however looked precious with their matching headbands, dresses and shoes. On the way to visit baby girl Nora, Sascha was exhausted so she fell asleep in the car. I had to snap a quick photo because... well it was just too sweet to miss, and appreciate. While Cameron was not on his best behavior and kept getting fussy in his car seat, she peacefully slept.

A funny  little side story:
Sascha loves music, she sings and dances all the time. She knows a lot of songs that are "popular" now or have been before and even asks for certain ones when we are driving like Adele - "Someone like you" or Katy Perry, or Rhianna. The other day she came home singing the chorus to a Lady Gaga song "Bad Romance"  - "Ooo - la - ra- ra - ra....". She said a girl at school was singing it and that how she learned it from her. I must say it's the most annoying song Sascha could have picked to sing over and over again. It drives me crazy! She is so like her dad having a song stuck in her head singing it non-stop.
So the other night, I pick her up off the bed to take her potty (she was totally asleep). As I carry her into the bathroom she sings the chorus of the song. It cracked me up! She even sings it in her sleep!

Sickies in March

Seems like our troubles have started back in January... and we still haven't recovered. Lets face it being sick is no fun. Having sick kids is really no fun, but having sick kids and being sick yourself is just awful! Luckily we didn't over lap too much, but it came close.
We were on our way to a friends birthday party when Sascha felt sick in the car. She complained of a tummy ache that morning, and I thought it was just because she was hungry so I made her eat (not a good idea when the kid has a stomach bug!). All of her breakfast came out in my car. So needless to say we turned the car around and she missed out on a really fun party for her friend's Bree's birthday. Poor kid had a stomach ache most of the day, ate very little (and I didn't push it this time), had fallen asleep and then had a 101 fever, but felt much better after we gave her medicine. The next day she seemed fine. Yay!

The day after I went to work and started feeling pretty tired in the afternoon. No biggie... since I am always tired these days, hah... the joy of parenthood. Plus it was a Monday, so people always feel a bit sluggish on Mondays. Little did I know that I was in for a big surprise. I have never had a Stomach flu, and once it hit, things got pretty brutal. I am so glad the kids were put to bed by then and didn't even wake up when the ambulance was called. Yes I got to ride in an ambulance to the ER! To spare way too many details, I kept passing out, so J couldn't get me to ER any other way. I certainly scared the living lights out of him every time I blacked out. It happened 5 times, after the 2nd time he had our doctor paged and was advised to call 911. Apparently I may have what is called a Vasovagal reflex where you pass out due to some triggers. Plus I was dehydrated. So the wonderful people in ER made me feel much better after 2 bags of fluids through the IV and some anti-nausea medicine and we were on our way home by 4AM.

Of course we had to call my mom to stay with the kids, and little did we know my mom actually had the same stomach bug, and started getting sick as well, so she had to call my dad to come over in the middle of the night. I was pretty useless the rest of that day and didn't get up much, but started to feel better towards the evening. It was so hard to keep away from the kids, but in no way shape or form did I want to pass on this horrible sickness to them. Luckily I think at least I succeeded at that.

The next Sunday we found out Sascha had once again gotten sick with a UTI. We avoided having to go to Children's ER, and were able to see her pediatrician and start antibiotics. Now we have to repeat the VCUG test (dreading it already!) and the ultrasound. I was in shock... why? why now again? after over a year and half UTI free, the surgery was proven successful. What happened? I was so upset and emotional that day, I just couldn't' help it. I thought we were done with this whole VUR thing, isn't that why we had decided on the surgery in the first place? It sucks feeling this helpless, especially with your children. After the initial shock and sadness wore off, I realized this is completely out of our control, and once again we just have to believe and hope for the best, because there is really no point in mopping around.

Until we do the tests (which our guess will tells us that there is no reflux... since it's been fixed), we won't really know. We're trying to change a few potty habits, like drinking more, going potty every few hours and not waiting until she really really has to go (she does that a lot!) and also no more baths, she will have to start getting used to big girl showers! So we'll see if that makes a difference.

The next weekend, I had high hopes. No more sick babies or parents! Not so fast... we went to yet another Bday celebration and Cameron got sick and vomited all over me and himself. Oh boy! When does it end?
I also wasn't feeling so hot that day... but poor Cameron! I have no idea what it was too because poor kid got his 15 month shots on Friday, and then daddy gave him his first bites of a peanut butter sandwich, and you got sick an hour after and had red marks on your face and were itching your neck. So was this a virus? an allergic reaction to peanuts? I have no idea... you slept for a little while, then woke up crying to I held you and you fell asleep for another hour in my arms and then seemed perfectly happy. No fever. Still woke up the next day with a runny nose and bad cough.

So the fun in the Lewis household continues. I am really not sure why it's so bad this year, but every week I hope that this is the tail end of it. Both daddy and I also have mild colds right now, nothing too terrible just runny noses and coughs. I guess I can handle that... nor do I have a choice.

Well I hope we are back to healthy by the end of the week and it stays that way!

Meanwhile here are some photos from the some fun things we did in the last few weeks despite being sick.
A few from a park outing with great grandma Dotti... it was brrr cold that evening!
Daddy never says no to some tent building in the family room. Even Cameron and I climbed right in.


The girls next door heard that Sascha was sick and made her lemonade, lemon cupcakes and brownies from the lemons picked in our back yard. Kids swinging after dance class.
Deda and Baba went out to dinner and dessert with us.
Cameron after his bath... I was contemplating getting him a haircut, but then decided to wait a little while longer... it's just too sad for me to cut his adorably precious little curls off! He will look like a boy from then on and not a baby. I am just not sure I am ready for it.


Daddy and kiddos swinging in the kitchen. Cameron playing with his cars. Cameron waiting in the dance studio. Pictures of La Jolla and our wonderful morning breakfast (the kids were  at grandpa David's house for the night) so we got a date night and a morning all to ourselves. It was a perfect day at the beach.Yippee!
Celebrating more March Birthdays at Benihana, morning snuggles and cartoons.
Kids enjoying my a juice I made (my newest purchase  - a Juicer, in attempts to create some healthy eating and drinking habits) Who knows may be it will prevent us from getting sick so often.

San Francisco Get-Away

In the midst of everyone being sick we managed to get away for a few days and hang out in San Francisco. What a treat for us! Sascha and Cameron gladly stayed with Baba and Deda, and we were so thankful that we had an opportunity to take a few days off.

Jeromey was actually going there for work, and I basically tagged along. We stayed at a hotel next to the airport, so it was a bit of a trek to get to the city on the BART, but a total adventure! We got in on Sunday around noon and went to the Marina area to see our friends Erin and Abtin. We took a quick photo on their rooftop where you can see the Golden Gate Bridge and were off to get lunch. They took us a tasty little place for tacos and margaritas. They were ridiculously delish! Even though it was pretty cold out, we still enjoyed walking around, talking and catching up. Jeromey's friend Matt also joined us to hang out. We got back to the hotel super late, but it was totally worth it. The next day Jeromey had to go to his training, and I made plans with Erin to go shopping around Powell station. We had such a nice day together, it's always so refreshing to talk to her. She's always full of new interesting ideas, and super positive. I only wish she lived closer to San Diego so that we'd see each other more often. We had an amazing Indian buffet for lunch at Amber... seriously the best Indian food I've had. She took me to blue bottle cafe, apparently a well known coffee shop, after which I hopped on the BART to meet up with my cousin Sonya around the Mission. We walked around a bit and she showed me the beautiful murals that the mission was known for as well as her cute little place. She took us by her school, and it was really great to see her in the city and catch up. The last few times we've seen each other has always been with the kids, so it's definitely a nice change to be able to have a conversation that doesn't last less than a minute before you get interrupted or diverted to help a toddler with something. :) Jeromey met us there, and we went on to find a sushi place to have dinner at. We had the BEST sushi! It was yummy and best of all cheap. San Francisco has such great places to eat. We had to wait for about 45 minutes because this sushi place was tiny, but it was so worth it! Then we went to go have ice cream at another fabulous establishment and that ended my trip on a high note!
Jeromey stayed for another 2 nights because of work and visited a few friends from college in San Jose who were actually expecting their first baby girl that same week.

It was a great little get away and so nice to be able to catch up with our friends and family. I missed the kiddos, and I think they missed us too. Sascha constantly asked when we'll be back, and once I returned she asked when Daddy is coming home and why we didn't come home together.

I only took a few photos with my phone...

Grandpa Dave's 60th Birthday Surprise

Grandpa David had turned 60 on February 28th, and was surprised with a wonderful Party the weekend before his actual Birthday. Grandma Laurie rented out the  Firehouse museum downtown which was the perfect spot to do it at. Great grandma Dotti flew in from Florida and met the kids for the first time. We wish she could have stayed longer, so that we could have spent more time together. Also David's sister Dianne came from Denver, so it was really nice to see more family.  Of course all of Grandpa's firemen buddies came to celebrate as well. It was a great party!

Daddy worked tirelessly on a video that shows Grandpa's closest friends and family answering questions about David. It was funny, sentimental and such a wonderful memory. A great way to honor his dad.
We also put together a slideshow of pictures from the past. There were technical difficulties during the party, but in the end everything turned out beautifully and I think grandpa Dave was one happy guy!

Here are some pictures from the celebration. The kids had a good time. We chased after Cameron (Deda helped a ton), and Sascha and the girls played in a playroom.

Being surprised and a group shot of all the firemen


We made props similar to the kids bday party ones that Sarah made (actually reused some of those too) I think everyone had a great time posing and having fun with them.

Valentines Day

We got some super cute photos done of the kids for Valentines day! It was a mini-session with Tessa with Grin and Share It Photography. Sascha cooperated pretty well, but as soon as we put Cameron down on the couch he started crying. Then he actually got warmed up and even gave us some smiles which resulted in pictures we were pretty happy with.

Gotta love this smirk Sascha had, it's so her!


Sascha tried to give Cameron a hug and a kiss in this one, but he was not having it. She had a tight hold on him.


This is a Valentines Day Card that I emailed to friends and family.


At Sascha's preschool they asked that we make a cookie and have her decorate it independently and bring it to school to give to a classmate. So that's what we did the night before. It was a bit hectic since it was a weekday, and we had very limited time in the evening to get it done. She also helped me make cookies to take to work for a fundraiser, so we were mean lean cookie making machines. She of course enjoyed eating them for the next few days as well. She knew she had a few to choose from since aunt Sarah sent her a Valentine gift package with a gift and some delicious treats inside as well.

A few days before we did make a fun card for Daddy and Sarah to send to Florida. It was a bit too messy for Cameron to participate in, but Sascha had a fun time making a heart out of her handprints. I think both of them really liked their hand made cards. I wish we made more of them, next year I will be better prepared for a mass card production.

On actual Valentines day daddy surprised me with beautiful flowers which he arranged himself and a card. I was in such a daze that morning, I didn't even notice them on the table right away. There was also a gift behind them which I didn't see, Lightroom! Yay, I hope I get some time to play with it.

We weren't planning on eating out that day, but it worked out that we ended up having dinner at a local place we often get pizza from. It was actually pretty quiet in there, so we enjoyed it with the kids and had no mess to clean up at home.

The following day we met up with friends to have dinner and go to see a Russian Ballet - the swan lake. I of course really enjoyed it, especially since I haven't been in such a long time. Daddy...he tried to enjoy too, he was falling asleep in the first half, but paid more attention in the 2nd.
I am starting to enjoy this Hallmark holiday more and more. :)

And here are the photos of our Valentines Day activities

And on actual Valentines Day - Getting their little goody bags.