Sascha - 4 1/2

So you actually turned 4 and half in June, so this post is a bit overdue... as most of my posts are lately.

I am definitely seeing a big difference having you be 4 and 1/2 years old. You are getting more mature, you understand so much more. You are much more independent. We'll ask you to put your PJ's on and get ready for bed while we are busy with Cameron and you will cooperate. Or in the morning if you're not too grumpy and tired (big IF), you will get dressed yourself, go potty and brush your teeth. You're not a morning person by any measure, and this you definitely took after your parents, since neither one of us likes to wake up early. You are also able to buckle and unbuckle yourself in the car seat. Yay independence!

You love working on projects and crafts, and you are so proud to show them off after you're done. So much that we've dedicated a whole wall with little clips for you to display the things you'd like to show. You like writing your name and can do it without any help, and now even ask how to spell things out. You wanted to make a card for your aunt Sarah, and you asked how do I spell "I love you Sarah!"?. So I spelled it out, and you wrote it on a card for her to take to Florida when we come for a visit. It was pretty cute. You have a bad habit of writing from right to left, so I usually remind you where to begin, and you take it from there. You're also doing very well with numbers, counting to 30, 30, 50 and on, and I am starting to see some worksheets at school where you're doing some simple addition. You're not as interested in doing worksheets at home. I bought a book of them, and while the first few times you seemed excited to work on them, the novelty quickly wore off. Which is fine, I am ok at doing fun stuff at home, especially since it seems like you're working your little tush off at school. Montessori is no joke. You come home and tell me  "Mommy, I worked really hard today", "Miss Heather was very proud of me".

You did get lots of fun playtime this summer. You got to take a music class every Friday, along with Tumble Bus on Wednesdays. Every thursday the school had splash day, and on Fridays there were lots of special guests like the magician, or pony rides. Pretty fun stuff!

We are super excited for you to be considered in "Kindergarden" this year. After much discussion with your teacher, we came to the conclusion that it will be a good challenge for you, and since there is not a huge change as far as the classroom or teacher, it wouldn't be a difficult transition by any means. We do have a decision to make for next year to either continue on with the Montessori 1st grade or repeat Kindergarden at a public school, but we decided that we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now I think you're pretty happy about it.

The things we love...
We love watching you be gentle and caring with your little brother. Yes those sweet moments, when it gets really quite in the house and I go to check on your guys and get to peek at you playing together so nicely.
When you ask us to pick you up from school. Or when you notice that daddy is not home in the morning, and get sad that you didn't get to see him before going to school. How you reason and negotiate with us. How you want to be a part of the conversation, and you want everyone to be involved. How you love dancing and goofing around. How you love making Cameron laugh even if we ask you to stop doing what you're doing because it might be dangerous.
We discovered you in Cameron's room at 9:45 at night, lights on, and you're reading to him on the floor while he's standing up in his crib happy as a clam. We were downstairs relaxing and had no idea you two decided to have a late night party until we heard noises. Pretty funny stuff! Walking out of his room, you said "I told him that if he doesn't go to sleep he will be very tired". As if this whole thing was his idea!

Here is a favorite photo that I took while you were looking up at the big fish in an aquarium.
We love you little munchkin!

4th of July Festivities

We started off with a mini-neighborhood parade.
Then we were off to swim lesson for Sascha and her little friend Lauren, a quick nap, and were were off to a BBQ at Beegley's house with your friend Nathan and Sadie.
Busy and fun day! We actually watched the fireworks the night before so that we wouldn't have to stay up too late trying to find a place to watch them on the actual 4th of July considering that it fell on Wednesday this year. We still got to watch it with our neighbors and lots of our friends and their kids. Both Sascha and Cameron loved them. Cameron sat on my lap and didn't move the whole time.

Considering we had no plans for the 4th until only a few days before, it turned out to be a very fun filled day for our family. A bit sad that we didn't get a family photo of all of us, but I did get a few at the parade :)

Back yard campout with friends

This June was our 2nd annual Campout at the Smith's place. Such a great idea, so much fun for the kids, and great memories were definitely made. We ended up sharing a tent with Amber's family since their tent was huge, so we didn't even have to break out ours. The kids started off by making "pet rocks", played at the water table, hiked up the back yard slope and searched inside the treasure box filled with gems and fake bugs, which was at the top of the hill. We had a delicious pot luck dinner, followed by s'mores. Both Sascha and Cam loved the s'mores. It was Cameron's 1st s'more and Sascha had 2! It was time for Cameron to go to sleep which he did without much trouble, while the older kids put on head lamps and went to "explore" on a night hike.

Sascha had her sleeping bag and went to sleep without any problems (such a big girl!). She wasn't scared like last year when we had to convince her that it would be fun. This time around she was excited.

A few of us stayed up and chatted around the fire before calling it a night. Good times!
Cameron woke up unusually early, probably since he's not really used to sleeping outside. We enjoyed breakfast and a nice swim in the pool before heading back home (less than a mile away from the Smith's).
Always so much fun, and after this Sascha has asked so many times "Daddy, can we go exploring today?"

Somehow I failed to get any photos of us as a family, must remember to do a better job next time.

But Here are a few of all the kiddos and our tent set up.

Cameron enjoying a piece of pizza with Kingston and Kasia in the wagon


Sascha and Paloma sitting on a bench inside the garden


Kids patiently waiting around the fire to get their turn at making a s'more


Here is one of all the girls and the kiddos around the camp fire


Here is an awesome video that our friend Herbie made

Enjoying the small things

I have been following Kelle Hampton's blog for some time. Something draws me to it, I get inspired to go out and do more things with my kids, to be more creative, more patient, to live each day to it's fullest. Yes it sounds a bit cliche, but it's true in so many ways. It's no secret I feel guilty to be a working mom, the fact that I don't always get to pick up my kids from school, and do all the things I want to do with them on a daily basis, but I think we do our best, and make the best of the time we do spend together.


I read this article today written by Kelle, and I decided I must have it on my blog TODAY. It doesn't matter than I have about 5 or 6 unfinished blog posts waiting for photos or just time in general to sit down and finish them. I had to do this one now. I want to remember these 6 things to follow.


1.Create Mantras!

I create new mantras every year and I repeat them to myself whenever I need to hear them. After Nella was born, I owned the word "Capable." I whispered "You are capable" to myself, I wrote about it, I believed it, I lived it. This year, I remind myself to "Breathe Compassion." I practice it with my husband, my children, my friends and when I'm ever faced with negativity, it helps so much to know that I am in control of my own response, and I can always be compassionate.

2.Give Room for the Low Points!

As a naturally positive person, my first response to feeling sad or discouraged is often to push those feelings away. But then they just dwell and build. I've learned to give a little hug to all of my emotions, to be aware of what I am feeling and take ownership of what I can do about it. Crying is good sometimes. So is sharing a vulnerable moment with a friend. And then, I move on.

3.Tell What-Ifs to Take a Hike!

Dwelling about all the bad things thatcould happen in life is pointless and destructive. I am a far more productive person when I believe the best and when I don't waste time worrying. Do challenges lie ahead for all of us? Most likely, yes. But I know I am equipped to handle them. My dad always tells me, "Don't let your worries for tomorrow rob you of the joys of today." There is so much truth in that statement.

4.Enjoy the Small Things!

It started as the title of my blog for me, and it's become a way of life. I am very aware of all the things in our life that make it rich, and I make time to think about them, talk about them, write about them. We tend to think big and flashy for the rock star phrase "Rock your life," but really it's about the little moments. Make time for fun and friends. Drink good coffee, cook with the good dishes. Find a signature perfume and own it, splurge on flowers. Let your kids help you bake and don't worry about the mess. Tell people you love them. Read to your kids. Sleep under the stars. Plan trips. Don't ever be too old to skip.

5.Dream Big!

Talk about your dreams—places you want to go, jobs you'd love to have, people you want to meet. My friends and I play a game called the "If" game, based on a book called "The Book of If." I used to take that book everywhere, pulling it out and asking questions like "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?" "If you could have any job, what would it be?" Not only is this a fun way to learn more about people, but it makes us realize "What are we waiting for? Who says we can't do these things now?" Write your dreams down and look at them frequently. Find ways to create action plans for the ones that are important to you.

6.Do Something for Someone Else!

Always. Think about others and find ways to help, encourage, be there for people. It's life changing. It's empowering. It affects you just as much as it does the person you are helping.

Obviously these aren't my ideas, but they ring so true for us. I agree 100% with every single one of them, and want to remind myself everyday to live by these simple principles. 

So this Saturday we "Enjoyed the small things" and loved every moment of it. We had a spur the moment idea to grab the kids and go to the beach. Yes it's less than 15 minutes away from us, and we just don't do it enough. The kids didn't even have dinner. I quickly sat them down with a few random things to eat, and some packed snacks and we were headed out the door! My parents joined us too. I am pretty sure they had just as much fun as the kids. 

We set up our blanket and a few chairs and walked barefoot for as long as we could with running in and out of water. At first both Cameron and Sascha weren't too excited to be touching the cold water, but then it became fun! We'd run towards it, and as a wave would come in, we'd start running away. Both of them were wearing clothes and they both got wet. 

Sascha, Baba and I collected fun shells and pretty rocks and put them into a mason jar until there was no more room. We got back to our blanket, had a quick snack and it was time to head home. I loved every minute of it, their sandy dirty feet, messy hands, all totally worth it. 

I love that they are holding hands here... even though it lasted a few seconds and they couldn't' wait to get free to run around

I love this photo of Cameron's sandy feet, even though his face is funny in it because I had just given him some crackers to snack on. I love our San Diego weather and living so close to the Torrey Pines beach. I love to watch and enjoy these sweet times between daddy and Sascha (she wanted to hold his hand or my hand while we walked), I love her sweet innocent smile and the hair in the wind, while she holds on tight to a jar full of shells. We went home and spent another hour washing and organizing them the next day. I love, love, love my  family and these precious little moments we get to spend together.

Picnic at the Poway Lake, PQ hike and Birch Aquarium

Even though I have to admit to being a big fan of planning things out, and very often get frustrated when we don't have a  plan, at times our spontaneous little outing are the most fun. This was the case with all 3 of these outings.

We wanted to get out of the house, so Daddy looked up a concert that he thought was happening at Poway Lake, but once we got there we discovered that nothing was going on. A bit disappointed at first, especially Sascha who was looking forward to music and dancing (promised by us), we made the best out of our time there. The kids played on the little playground, ran around,, had our picnic dinner followed by rolling around on the grass, (obviously daddy's idea to roll down the hill) and playing hide n' seek. 

These pictures are just pure joy, and make my heart all warm and fuzzy when I look at them...

PQ Canyon hike was a last minute decision as well, and even though we didn't make it very far because Cameron started to get tired and cranky, it was still enjoyable. After our little picnic at the Lake, Sascha was very fond of the idea and asked if we can have another one, so we set up a little blanket off the trail and had lunch. A ranger actually stopped by to check on us to make sure we weren't around any poison ivy. Luckly none was right next to us, however right behind the tree we sat by, she pointed out the shiny 3 leave plants. Sure enough it was poison ivy! Glad we didn't let the kids run around too much. :) We packed up and headed out on the trail. I am hoping next time we get an earlier start so that we can make it to the waterfall. 

Cameron loves being outside, and Sascha is really liking hiking. Not sure how long she would last before starting to complain about walking since we didn't get very far, but I do see a lot of hiking in our future!
(only had my phone while hiking... pictures to come soon...)

Birch Aquarium - it's been over a year since we've been there, and we wanted to meet up with our friends who proposed the aquarium which I thought was a great idea. It was a gorgeous sunny day outside, and after the kids explored the inside there was also plenty to do outside. Sascha loved looking at all the underwater creatures, and wasn't afraid to get up real close. Cameron was much braver this time compared to when we took him to the Sea World aquarium on his first birthday. He pointed and talked, and didn't mind standing on the ledge where the rest of the kids were. We also got to hang out with Luka who is just a few months older than Cameron. Once we got outside, the little guy fell asleep so we let Sascha play in the tide pools and some of the water play they had set up for the kids. Seemed like she would be happy to stay there for hours!