My 28th Birthday

My 28th birthday was on Sunday. We had a great time together as a family and Brian treated me like a princess all weekend. First, he let me sleep in both Saturday and Sunday and got up with the kids (lately, that's been 5:30am!). Those of you with little ones know that's a huge gift in itself! He made breakfast on Sunday before church and Natalie came to wake me up saying, "Happy Birfday, Mommy!" After church, we had lunch and Natalie and Brian baked me a cake...chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. It was delicious! :)

After cake, we went on a walk and to the playground. The kids loved it since Brian isn't usually with us when we go.

We set him on the ground by the slide and next thing we knew, he was climbing up it! He's a boy, all right! :)
Check out Natalie's feet... she loves that "jumpy bridge."After the kids were in bed, Brian made me dinner all by himself...
...and even set the (coffee) table with candles and music. We had a relaxing and romantic dinner together, reminscent of how we used to always eat dinner, pre-kids. I am so blessed to be married to Brian. He works so hard all day at work (getting up at 4:30am everyday) and then he comes home and is super dad to the kids, always asking how he can help. And then he takes time to talk with me about my day and to spend time with me in the evenings. You're the best, honey, I love you! Thanks for the terrific birthday! :)

And since we didn't have a blog last year, I have to brag about how awesome my husband is a little more... it would take forever to write it all out but for my birthday last year, he planned an incredible surprise getaway. Let's just say it involved arranging for our neighbors to watch Natalie, a scavenger hunt around the house with clues about what we would be doing, staying in an amazing room at the Hawaiian Hilton Village down in Waikiki, a fabulous Thai restaurant, a beautiful diamond necklace, and fireworks on the beach. I was way pregnant with Blake but here's one picture from the night. Thanks again, Brian. You are too amazing for words! :)

And here's some more of the kids. Blake is standing and crusin' all over the place!

Don't ask... she wanted her baby on her body like that.


She loves to dance and spin in circles.All her animals lined up... I asked her where they were going... "To Gamma's" :)

Sleepovers and Surgery

Sleepovers: We watched Carter and Katie on Friday night so Jason and Jess could go camping. It was a full house with 4 kids aged 2 and under (all 4 kids in diapers!) but we had fun. :)

It's a long story but then we all ended up spending the night at their house Sunday night before Bri's surgery on Monday. They watched our kids all day for us while we were at the hospital. Thanks guys, we really appreciate it! We're looking forward to Bellows so we can actually hang out with you instead of just swapping kids. :)

Partners in crime: Carter and Natalie

At the playground Pancake time!
Blake drooling (literally) over Katie :)
Yes, they did watch a video... they got the chairs out though!

Before bedtime with our kids.

Hard to get everyone looking good... Surgery: We went in early Monday morning to get Brian's tonsils out (they also cut out his "hangy-downy thing"). He did great but they made him stay the night just as a precaution. I came home for the night with the kids and then went back and got him in the morning. He actually was in Progressive Care (a step down from ICU but not on the regular floor) so he was hooked up a bazillion monitors and tubes. (Forgot the camera the first day and he was already unhooked by the time I took the picture.)
We made him a special bed on the couch. He's drinking lots of liquids and cold things like pudding and popsicles and ice cream... Natalie's loving his new diet as she gets to have some samples! :)Yep, Blake is standing! He is pulling up on everything... even if only for a little while before he loses his balance.
Making a road with lids. Enjoying playing with all the extra pudding we have around here. Keep praying for him--he's still in quite a bit of pain. Hopefully the next few days will be better. We appreciate all your prayers and emails. Thank you!

Everyday Life Again

We love having company but then when they leave, it's always sad because I know I can't just be on vacation anymore and we have to get back to reality and everyday life and work. And I don't have the help of extra hands and adults to talk to during the day.

But I do have my cute kids to be with and I really do enjoy being a mom. Blake is on the move now for real. He's been scooting and scooching and dragging himself and halfcrawling for awhile but now he's up on all fours and all over the house...which means I have to watch him like a hawk. He's already pulled the candles and books off the table, messed with buttons on the TV and tried to pull the blinds down. And he's trying to pull up and will walk if you hold his hands. Ahh, it's going too fast!

Natalie is growing up before our eyes too, saying the funniest things. She says "honey" or other terms of endearment all the time, referring to me or Blake: "Mommy honey, you okay?" and "I want wear sweater, sweetie" and "Hi honey Bakey" And when she is eating she'll say "Mmm Mommy, it's SOOO good!" or "Juud (good) job Mommy, it's licious!" And when I tell her about something we're going to do that day, she says "I'm so excited!" And if something falls down or something bad happens: "Oh my guhness(goodness)!" The best is when I put her to bed and she prays "Dee Jesus, lud (love) you. Thank you Mommy Daddy Nanee Bake. I lud you Jesus. Amen" followed by "I lud you Mommy sweetheart" as I walk out the door. Can't beat that! :)

Our disposal was leaking and therefore we had a huge puddle of water under the sink and mold on everything. Yuck. Natalie was so enthralled she actually was sitting on that purple chair watching Brian. (Well, actually, she was in the way so we told her to get her chair and she did and came back with a book too to read while she watched!)Reading to her baby. She was actually pushing off on the couch with her foot so she could rock. :)

Jess and I took Natalie and Carter to get "real" haircuts last week and to "Dondalds" afterwards. Up in the playplace bubble.
Helping fold the laundry.
Look at me go!
Watch out, I'm going to be walking soon!
Maybe he'll inherit some of the family "piano genes"-- he certainly loves this one!
Please be thinking of Brian on Monday--he's having surgery to have his tonsils out and will be staying in the hospital overnight. Pray that all goes well. Thanks! :)

Grandma and Katherine's Visit

As usual, we have about a bazillion pictures from their 2 week visit with us (literally over 500!) so I'll try to pick the very best. We had a fabulous time and it was so great to spend time with my wonderful mom and terrific sister. Both Natalie and Blake loved the extra attention and extra playmates. Thanks for all your hard work. We had so much fun! Love you guys and miss you tons!! :)

Katherine and I went down to Waikiki for dinner at Duke's and then walking around. I love you, sister. Thanks for coming even though you had to miss some classes!

Out to lunch one day. Easter Egg Hunt with Melanie
Yummy Easter Meal after church. Victoria and Melanie joined us for the day.
My Lemon Blueberry Trifle. Delicious! Brian was working nights practically the whole time they were here. We missed him but were grateful for the few hours a day we got to spend with him. His masterpiece of a playdough cabin. Making guacamole, wearing her new apron from Grandma. Yum! Grandma's favorite beach: Ko Olina

I LOVE this picture of Blake. It's the epitome of being a baby in Hawaii. :)
Mommy and Baby

One morning, we parked ourselves on the North Shore to watch the surfers. The big 20-30 ft waves are in the winter months but people surf year round and it's still awesome to watch them ride the smaller ones.
Natalie being a surfer girl. My pretty MommaKath and Blake
Me and Blakey Boy

Lunch at the Shark's Cove Grill
I love this picture...definitely the one to frame. :)
Kath makes a good mermaid but Natalie looks more like she just got eaten and is trying to get out!
We bought chocolate macadamia nut pie at Ted's Bakery. Yes, it's as fabulous as it sounds... that's why they're sneaking a bite!

Mom and Katherine helped so much--I don't think I did a single bathtime! They also watched the kids for us so Brian and I could spend the night down in Waikiki. It was wonderful to get away together-we even got beach time without kids, something we'd never done here yet! Thank you so much, Mom and Kath! Helping Grandma wash the van.
We went to Germaine's Luau one night. As always, plenty of delicious food, fun entertainment, and great memories! Pretty Katherine by the beach

Natalie practicing the hula on our table.
Of course, the fire dance from Samoa.
All the girls... Blake was already asleep.
Sisters :) We went to Kualoa Ranch and went on a Movie Tour to see where they've filmed many movies such as Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, 50 First Dates, Godzilla and You, Me and Dupree to name a few. It was beautiful and really interesting too.
The tree they hide behind when the dinosaurs go running by.
With all the movie sets around, Blake decided to try out for a role as Baby Godfather. :)

I'm sure I'll have some more to post later but that's plenty for now. We had a great time and won't forget the memories we made. Thanks for making the trip out to see us. We love you and miss you!