Halloween 2012...

Our Halloween this year was low key.  Little miss Ava was Mini Mouse by day...

and Dezi was T-Rex.....AGAIN!  This kid I tell you, he wants to be the same thing every year.  Oh well.  Dezi's school had a costume parade so we were able to go watch.  They walked around the library building a couple of times and that was it, but he was super excited to show everyone his costume!

And she was Wonder Woman by night.

We "Trick or Treated" around Mililani Mauka and headed home early cause of course they had school the next day.  We wish daddy could have joined us but he started working nights.  Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Ava turns 1...

Our little priness is growing so fast!  Ava turned one on September 22 and it just so happened to fall on a Saturday so we got to celebrate her birthday on the actual day she was born.  It was at our chuch building in Ewa Beach.  Everything went great {although I was freaking out the whole time while setting up}.  It was a candyland theme and overall I thought it turned out pretty good.  Vonn Logan did an amazing job on the food as usual and so did the family who supplied the pupu's.

Panoramic view of gym

  My sister-in-laws friend loaned us her sign

  My beautiful sign-in girl

 We had a bouncy house for the kids...

 A cupcake bar with all the toppings you could want...

{We also had a candy bar which is not pictured}

We had "Sparkles a clown" do face painting for the kids...{she's awesome by the way}

We had "Mike the Magician" do a magic show and he was also awesome.  Then we also had games and crafts for the kids.  We sang happy birthday to the ONE YEAR OLD {gosh I can't believe it!}  Then let her dive into her little cake.  She didn't really "dive in", it was more like tenderly moving the icing around and looking at it.  By the end of the night she had had it and just wanted to sleep.   I couldn't blame her cause felt the same way.  I think everyone enjoyed themselves and am grateful for those who helped and came out to celebrate with us! 

Ava Kairi, daddy and I are so grateful to have you in our lives.  Your spunky spirit and fun loving, wild personality fills my days with smiles and laughter!  You are a gorgeous daughter of our Heavenly Father and I pray that he will always bless you with nothing but the best!  We love you always, always!

Love, Mom and Dad

Celebrating August Birthdays...

...At the beach.

Sometimes you just gotta...

Kick up your feet and relax!

He's a Kindergartner now...

My first baby is now a Kindergartner!  Time sure does fly.  He did awesome on his first day.  So much so that he forgot I was there.  He just wanted to be in school.  He walked right into his class, found his cubby, put his things away and sat down to color.  He didn't even have time to say goodbye.  Hope you keep up that attitude Dezi, have a great year!

Graduating class of 2012...

He did it!!  Yes my little man graduated from preschool.  It seems a little silly but it is totally adorable if you ask me.  He graduated from Seagull School in Ocean Pointe on June 15, 2012.  They sang songs, read the names and what they wanted to be when they grew up, (Dezi said he wanted to be a teacher) and then had a lei congratulatory thing afterward.  He was so proud of himself and I was happy for him!  Afterward, we ate at Highway Inn in Waipahu.  Perfect ending for a wonderdul day!

His supporters.....with a few missing.

Congratulations Dezi!  We're so proud of you and love you more than you'll ever know!

Nuhi/Au Family Reunion 2012...

*Warning:  Some pictures may gross you out*

And another family reunion has come and gone but it was tons of fun!  Every two years my family from my Great grandpa and Great grandma Kahana's side come together to catch up with one another, eat onolicious Hawaiian food made entirely by our family and to just have plain fun. 

{Naysa, Belinha, Dezi, Ian, Kia'i}

Every reunion my family makes (from scratch) the delicious Hawaiian food that everyone can't wait to grind on.  And that includes the pig.  My uncle brings a pig every year and shows the family (who can stand to watch) how to make Kalua pig from beginning to end.  Last year was a little scary with the pig running off and the men chasing it down with it's neck slit wide open!  Believe me everyone was shocked to say the least.  So this year was improved upon.  They tied up the pig, shot it in the head, then slit the throat.  I liked it much better since you couldn't actually hear it squealing from the pain.  It was already dead.

After that they bled it out, poured hot boiling water on the skin then scraped the skin and hair off using the back of a knife.  I was proud that I got in on the action too.  It stunk to high heaven but at least I can say I helped.

The remainder of the hair of shaved off using a woman's shaver.  That's Gil in the orange shirt.  Then it was torched or burnt slightly to take off any excess hair and the toenails.

Then it was time to gut and rinse.  Gil did the gutting.  It was too gross so I didn't post pictures but here they are rinsing the whole thing out.  Then they wrapped it in bed sheets, hung it from a tree for some hours (I'm guessing to dry it out?)  I never asked about that part, then put it in the Imu which was prepped earlier that day.  It cooked over night and was shredded the next day right before we served.  It sure was good.

I love that my family gets together and we can experience all these things.  I am definitely more grateful for the Kalua pig that I eat now, now that I know all the hard work that actually goes into it.  Another 2 more years and the fun can begin all over again!

9 month old Ava...

I do realize I missed her 8th month.  We've had some problems with our cameras but I'm glad I'm back in business.  Oh this princess of mine...her personality is really starting to come out and to tell you the truth I'm a little scared!

1.  This little princess finally decided she wanted to crawl.  At her 9 month check up her doctor told me, "she's just not built for crawling."  Two days later that's exactly what she did.  However, she only crawls to an object (hopefully mommy) to pull herself up to stand.

2.  She LOVES to stand.  She will pull herself up on anything that doesn't move.

3.  She spits while eating and thinks it's the funniest thing in the world.  I guess it kind of is at first, then I realize I have to clean it up.

4.  She loves to give kisses and will keep kissing you until she is satisfied.

5.  She screams to get your attention.  (You see why I'm scared?  LOL!!)

6.  She wants what she wants and will cry and scream till she gets it.

7.  Ava is quite the talker and will voice her opinion anytime she sees fit.

8.  This princess also needs to be held.  ALL THE TIME!

9.  Even though I get exhausted sometimes, all she has to do is smile at me and everything melts away.

10.  In the last few weeks two teeth have popped out!

11.  She loves to play and hit faces.

12.  I don't where she gets it from but has a REALLY long tongue.

13.  She is a self soother.

14.  Loves her "Lovey Blanky."  Can't go to sleep with out it.

15.  Loves rice and bread.

16.  She pulls her hair when she's angry and has had enough.

I love this little girl to pieces!  It's been a whirl wind 9 months but I wouldn't change a thing!  I love you Ava!

7 month old Ava...

This little angel of mine is now 7 months old and growing fast!  I must admit in the first few months of her life I thought, "Can you please be 3 months already?"  as I was told that was the magical month for a colic baby to turn over a new leaf.  Well it was.  Her first 3 months are a blur really.  But now I need things to slow down a bit just so I can enjoy and remember her at such a young age.  So without further adieu here is "the list"


1.  My little Ava is a feisty girl!  She grabs and plays with things so intently.

2.  She will definitely tell you when she is not happy by yelling and screaming at you.

3.  She loves her brother to death and will mangle his hair and face for as long as he'll let her.  (Which is usually about 30 seconds at a time until he gets absolutely fed up with her.)

4. She is such a mamma's girl!  You read that right...MAMMA.

5.  Ava now reaches out her little arms to embrace you!

6.  Her favorite thing to do is kick.  She kicks while changing her diaper, eating, watching Einstein videos, watching her brother play,  doing tummy time, etc...

7.  She hates green beans and will gag with every bite (I probably only get a quarter of the way down the container before I feel bad and stop).  But she'll eat everything else.

8.  She is now starting to eat table foods.  Bread mostly.  It's so fun to watch her expressions as she tries to figure out how to eat it and what it is.

9.  She LOVES to be held and cuddled!

10.  Oh does she LOVE taggies!  She will find the tag in a pile of toys and start to suck on it.  Her new fav thing is her taggie blanky.

11.  SHE GOES TO SLEEP ON HER OWN!  I feed her a bottle, talk to her for a bit, kiss her goodnight and lay her down.  The rest is all her.

12.  I don't think she wants to crawl.  When I put her down for tummy time she either rolls over, lays down, or cries.  She'll prop herself up for a bit then doesn't want anything to do with it.

 

A visit from the police man...

About a month ago Dezi's school had the Police Department come down to do a little career day.  They spoke to the kids about what they do, how they help people and the differences between some of the other community helpers like the firemen.  The kids got to sit on the motorcylces and ATV's and got to go inside a police car.  The officers even let the kids start up some of the vehicles and push buttons to hear the different sounds they made.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to take some pictures of Dezi at a school function but it didn't go as I had hoped.  

Dezi was not at all into wanting anything to do with the police.  Which I have to say is probably Gil's and my fault since we would tell him that if he was not good the policeman would take him away.  Ooops!  But since then we have not mentioned anything about the police man in a negative way and now only talk good things about them.  Whew!

In the picture above you can see how totally unhappy Dezi is about being so close to a police man and sitting on the bike.  I asked him about it later and he said.."But mommy I didn't want the police man to take me away from you."  I feel bad about it now.

In this picture his teacher Ms. Mary is coaxing him to take a photo for his I.D. card.  He eventually did it but you should see his expression on his card.  She also had to be there when they took his finger prints too. 

Oh my Dezi Kain.  He can be so sweet, so annoying, so outgoing, and so shy at any given time.  But I love this little man to pieces!

My kids...

They crack me up!

They love each other!

Are to adorable for words

Are my world!

Are super silly...I love them so!

6 month old Ava...

 Ava is 6 months and I don't like that she is growing up so fast!  I need a "slow motion" button to slow things down.  But, I get to write another list of her accomplishments thus far, Yay!

1.  As you can already tell by the picture above everything is now in danger of the slobber monster!  She'll shove her whole hand down her mouth if she can and has gagged herself  a few times.

2.  She still has that smile that can light up a whole room.

3.  She is now starting to notice that she doesn't like to be out of mommy's sight OR arms.

4.  Still does what girls do best....TALK!  But it's super cute to watch her expressions.

5.  She is now eating baby food.  And does not like prunes at all.

6.  She is constantly blowing bubbles and spitting and especially loves it when I am feeding her.

7.  She can pretty much sit up on her own now and only topples over a little.

8.  She grabs at everything in reaching range. 

9.  She gets angry and flaps her arms when you take a drink from a cup and don't give any to her.

10.  She loves her brother and wants to grab at him when he holds her.  (He doesn't like it but I think it's hilarious to watch how irritated he gets...Is that mean?)

So there's my list for 6 month Ava.  The pictures below are just because she is so darn cute!

So here's a question for ya....
I've seen people post pictures as a collage and even can write on each picture and was wondering HOW DO YOU DO THAT?  Any and all information would be kindly appreciated!  Oh and Thanks a bunch in advance.

4 year old Dezi...

So since I did a post on Ava I thought maybe I should do one for Dezi too!  After all I do have 2 kids now...

1.  He is a very lovable little "Big" boy! 

2.  Loves cuddling, hugging, kissing, basically anything that shows his affection for you!

3.  He is very strong willed...or in other words STUBBORN!  When he wants something he'll do anything to get it and throws a mean tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants.

4.  My little man is also very shy.  But once he warms up he is his lovable self.

5.  He's got energy for miles.  Kind of like the Energizer bunny that keeps going and going and going and, well you know.

6.  He can write almost every letter in the alphabet.  He has started writing our names but will purposefully write the letters in the wrong order.   Why, you might ask?  I have no clue and don't even try and correct him or you'll see his lovely tantrum.

7.  I love the way he pronounces some of his words and to tell you the truth I don't correct him either because it's so darn cute...

   Spaghetti----Basketty
   Belinha (his cousins name pronounced...Be-leen-ya)---Baleena
   Filipino---Flipino

Okay that's all I can think of right now.

8.  Sometimes it takes a little while to get what he's saying like,  " I can how mom."  He means I know how.

9.  He is truly a boys boy!  He runs, tumbles, jumps and flips.  He is still is my daredevil boy!

10.  He is quick to apologize!  (hoping he won't get punished I think)

11.  He is so silly sometimes and tries to make you laugh.

12.  And he loves his sister to death!  As soon as she makes any noise he's right beside me telling to go pick her up.


This  boy does give me a run for my money but when he does slow down he is quite the sweet little boy.  I love him to pieces and wouldn't change anything about him.  It's been an interesting and fast paced road so far and can't wait (or maybe I can) to see how he is grown up.  I love you Dezi Kain!  More than you'll ever know!

Oooh Dezi...

 Couldn't keep a straight face when I asked if I could take a picture of him.  This is what I kept getting.

 Don't quite know how he ended up like that.  He eventually fell all the way forward before waking up and sitting up in his chair.  He saw me with the camera and starting smiling!

 And it begins!  She got up later than usual and I wondered why.  When I went to check on her this is what I found.  I guess he's good for something...Lol!!

He got tired of me taking pictures and wanted to take some of his own.  Thanks Dezi!

5 month old Ava...

Yes my little baby is 5 months old so here is a list of her accomplishments thus far...

1.  She loves to talk (and spit, blow bubbles, scream and even yell in between) and will go on for many  many minutes.

2.  She can roll over (when she feels like it) from stomach to back.

3.  She has a certain affection for her lovely toes and gives them wet kisses all the time.

4.  This little one can sit up almost on her own.  She topples over of course but smiles at me the whole way down.  (She hits pillows so I promise it doesn't hurt)

5.  She has an infectious smile that I can't get enough of.

6.  Loves when I read to her.  So much so that at times it's difficult because she "Attacks" the books.

7.  Loves her toys in her gym and bouncer.

8.  Has started sleeping in her own room in her crib.  It's not totally consistent but sometimes through the night!

9.  Sucks on her bottom lip to pacify herself.  Which I think is totally adorable!

10.  Can only take naps (a good nap) during the day in her swing.  Other wise it's off and on.

This little girl is so adorable I can hardly stand it!  She is such a good baby now and is hard to imagine her just 2-3 months ago when she wasn't so good.  I haven't forgotten how it was but to see how far she has come just makes me smile from ear to ear!

Days past...

We celebrated Christmas at my sisters house with games for everyone...below is a picture of a cute game I think is called Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer that my sister U'i did. And a shmorgas board of presents for all.

Enjoyed a PCC night with the family while my brother and nephew were visiting.

Gil entered yet another car show and walked away with 3rd place.

Tried to take our own pictures for a Christmas card this year. We had a few ok ones but I was
to lazy to actually download and print them out. A decision I regret. I'll just have to make one

for myself.

Bought a "flocked" tree this year. It is beautiful but is also quite messy.

Discovered a new and fun game to play with my family...Qwirkle!

Celebrated Halloween with my ODST Man, dinosaur and baby Ava!

Celebrated Dezi's 4th birthday at the pool with my family and at Chuck E. Cheese with Gil's family.

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's to hoping this new year will be even better than the last!