January Update

Well, again I have totally neglected the blog. I'm still getting used to managing two kiddos plus Steven was travelling a lot this month. He's home now and I have a greater appreciation for my husband and for single parents.

This month has been a busy one. Tis the season for illnesses and germy things. Zoe had a stomach bug, Lily and I had nasty cold/cough/sore throat and then she and I ended up getting pink eye. FUN! Let me just say that putting eye ointment in a 4 month old's eyes was an interesting experience. But we are all through that and hopefully healthy for now (knock on wood).

Zoe's been busy with her preschool and classes. She's doing a creative class (arts and crafts), Munch N' Crunch (her cooking class) and ballet. She is a busy litttle body but really enjoys it. Everyday she asks us, "Where are we going tomorrow?" There are few days where we reply, "no where." Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but it is what it is for now.

Lily and I are taking a little Mommy & Me class at my ol' place of work, Isis Maternity. It's specific to second time moms. I really love it as it is a great opportunity to discuss the challenegs and concerns of having multiple children. In many ways it's so much easier the second time but then there are new challenges...and joys....to manage. BTW, Lily is 4 months old now! Where does the time go?

So there are lots of photos to catch up on. Here is the link to where are the galleries are:http://nicolelewis.smugmug.com/Personal%20Galleries

You can pick which albums you'd like to view. And as always, the password is "guest." Most recent one includes, January 08, Buttonwood Zoo, CMK's 4th Birthday Party and Zoe's Dance Class.

I'll sign off for now. Hopefully, I'll blog again soon.

Happy New Year & Happy Anniversary!

We wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008!

And Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband of 7 years! Are ya itchin' yet?!?! I'm so grateful for you, Steven. You are a remarkable husband and father. I love you!

Adam James Was Born!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for Carly and her baby. The big news is that Adam James was born (via c-section at 29.5 weeks, the night of December 23rd, weighing 3lbs, 1oz and 15" long! Amazingly, he scored 8s & 9s on the APGAR and is breathing on his own - stunning even the doctors. He is truly a Christmas miracle.

Carly and Ryan are home; Adam is in NICU and doing well. They say 6-9 weeks in the NICU, depending on his progress. This will give Carly and Ryan some time to recouperate and get ready for Adam being at home.

Again, we are grateful for everyone's thoughts and prayers during this time. Things were a bit hairy here and there but are now looking very good. Carly is an amazing woman for enduring what she did - kudos sis for your strength!

Carly & Baby

My sister Carly went into pre-term labor yesterday morning - she's 29.5 weeks along. She was 5 cm dialted and 100% efaced as of yesterday evening. The baby is footlong breech and his feet are pushing against the sac (putting her at risk for her water to break). Both baby and mom are doing well considering the circumstances. Carly is obviously nervous and scared but sounds in good spirits and is incredibly supported by family. The ultrasound shows the baby to be about 3 lbs and measuring at 30 weeks. The doctors have been able to slow the labor and give the baby steroids to helps his lungs if/when he is born. Their goal is to keep him inside for as long as possible, whether that be 24 hours or another week...or even better two weeks. Carly will be in the hospital until the baby is born and when the baby is born he will be in NICU until he can breathe and eat on his own - probably a couple months. We are all concerned about them both but have been encouraged by the physicians that things will turn out positively....just a long road ahead for a few months.

Your thoughts are prayers for them are greatly appreciated. I will post any updates or news on this blog.

Happy Birthday, Steven & Mark!

Happy 40th birthday to my wonderful husband and his brother Mark. You both look maaaahhhvelous! Do you feel maaaaaahhhhvelous?

The Snowy Weekend

We had a couple of snow storms come through this past week/weekend. Ten inches on Thursday and about 6 inches on Sunday. We survived without issue and Steven and Zoe even had a good time in it, making snow angels and Zoe's first snowman. I stayed indoors with Lily and took pictures. Click here to see them (password is "guest") and some of us decorating for Christmas. Above are a couple to enjoy now. Gotta run...Lily's crying.

How Long Has It Been?!?!

Zoe dressed for winter...and summer...with the Cheetoes in hand.
Zoe decided to decorate her sister as well as the Christmas tree this year (Dora stickers all over Lily)
Smiley Lily
Smiley Zoe

So, I realize it's been a REALLY long time since I've posted on the blog. Sorry 'bout that but life sometimes gets a little busy. I've had quite of few photo gigs these days so I've been focussing a lot of my time on that and of course my family....oh and gearing up for Christmas, too!

Thanksgiving was really nice. We hosted and had the Lewis clan, my mom, Karen and my sister, Crisann with us. And the turkey even came out yummy!

Lily is growing so fast (almost 3 months old!) and is the most smiley baby I've ever seen. She's also very mellow and pretty laid back - must be a Cali girl at heart (just like her momma). She also hit another milestone on Dec 4th - she laughed for the first time.

Zoe is doing well. Her vocabulary and phrases are expanding. She often cracks us up because she sounds so adult sometimes. Her current favorite word is "actually." She's also very helpful and makes our lives easier with Lily by doing a lot of things for herself and for her sister. Zoe is also very excited about Christmas.

This past week we decorated our house and Christmas tree. Everything looks so festive and the 10" of snow we got yesterday added to the feeling of Christmas. We're suppose to get another storm this weekend - so by Monday I'll probably be changing my tune about the snow and begging to move west.

Speaking of moving west, my sister Crisann is moving back to Phoenix tomorrow. We'll totally miss her but excited about her next life adventure. She's going to take some time to explore her artistic side. Go girl!

So that's the update in a nutshell. I'll try to post some photos soon but in the meantime above are a few to enjoy.