Girls Day At The Beach

I forgot to post these pictures from our most recent visit with family. YaYa and Saige and I spent a nice sunny morning relaxing at the beach. Saige was so funny dipping her toes in slowly and eventually stomping and splashing in the water. There isn't much that beats the warm sun, salt air and the smell of sunscreen...except maybe chocolate. We miss you YaYa and hope you're feeling better!

Haircuts, Moons & Daddy's Socks

It was inevitable that the day would arrive...Dayton is fully immersed in the "why" phase. Not too long ago, as parents, Scott and I were wondering when that stage was coming and thought maybe he was a little behind with his "questioning". Well, today as parents, I'm quite sure we'd have been happy to prolong the phase from starting just a little bit longer. Now don't get me wrong, the why questions that are actually meaningful are a pleasure to answer and talk about. Like the other day Dayton got this smile and said, "Can I ask you a question mama?" (It was the cutest thing and frankly I was quite scared about what might come out of his mouth) "Why do dogs eat bugs?" Scott and I burst out laughing! Those are the questions I enjoy. I don't enjoy: "Dayton, it's time to eat." "But why?" he asks. "Because it is dinner time." "But why is it dinner time?" Now I know all you parents out there know exactly what I'm talking about...it's those endless why questions that are preceded by a "but". What are the parenting rules with this? Do you just keep on answering until they stop asking? Do you answer with a "because I said so?" Do you ignore their constant questions? Seriously, how do you manage to cultivate learning or instill patience during this developmental phase when all you want to do is say "I love you, but please shut up child." Thought I would share a true Dayton photo: way overdue on a haircut, missing shorts and sporting daddy's socks. Somehow, it is moments like this one that make all the "why's" less aggravating.

A Memorable Valentine's Day

I had decided a long time ago that I wanted to surprise Scott with the sex of the baby and play along that I didn't want to know. Originally I had wanted to present it as a birthday gift for him, but that isn't until March and I wasn't sure if I could wait that long knowing that I was holding the answer in my purse the whole time! So Valentine's Day seemed the next best option. We opened the envelope together this morning. He kept saying, "are you sure you want know?" Dayton was with us to open it and who knows how much he "really" understands about it, but he started acting really silly, so I think he was excited. My intuition from the very beginning was that it was a boy and the only thing that had me second guessing myself was the baby's high heart rate. Dayton's was always below 150 and Saige's was always above 150. This baby has always been above 150. Needless to say, there must be more to the heartrate than all the other wives tales out there. Dayton has been right about the baby all along. We're expecting our second baby GIRL! Saige is going to have a little sister and Dayton is going to be aggravated by two younger sisters! Here I am at 20 weeks...excited to meet our baby girl.

My Sweet Valentine

Well, my blogging holiday is over. I'm still sick, but not so sick that I can't type and post pictures. I've had plenty of pampering over the past week and feel it is time to resume my duties in motherhood. My foggy brain will likely forget some things that have happened over the past week, but let me see what I CAN recall. Oh yes (how could I forget this one), a bill (or rather a statement) from the insurance company came in the mail from Dayton's trip to the ER for 3 stitches. Anyone want to wager a guess on what 3 stitches might have cost had we not had insurance? 2000$ Are you kidding me? I shouldn't complain too much, we did get a new pair of PJ's out of the process AND we didn't have to pay that out of pocket. What else? Dayton has learned some new songs at school that he has been singing at home and he has also picked up this 3 year old attitude that I've never seen before too! I like how he has started to say to Saige, "that's not funny Saige." Oh and he has been referring to the baby in my belly as "his baby" and always asks, "is my baby doing okay mama?" Cute huh? He and Saige made cute little picture frames with our one day a week nanny (Miss Katie) for us for Valentine's Day. I need to take a picture of them. The three of them also baked some Valentine's Day cookies. Ah..a day of love tomorrow. Everyday in my life is Valentine's Day! Snicker Snicker, but it's true! I am undoubtedly, madly in love with my husband and children (and my dogs), and am surrounded by love from my family and friends. Regardless, we are going to spend some alone time together tomorrow afternoon/evening in Waikiki. I imagine we'll walk the beach for a bit and find some new place to eat a special meal.

A Sick Mommy

After a month of being surrounded by my sick kids and sick husband, I have finally succumbed to the germs. Therefore, I am taking a blogging holiday. Lets see if I can stretch out the pampering until after Valentine's Day. Soaking in a nice bubble bath, dinner cooked for me, no cleaning, no night duty with the kids, stay in my PJ's all day....surely there must be some benefit to being sick? Send me well wishes, but not too fast. I'm going to curl up in bed and let Saige do whatever she wants today.

An Update Of Sorts

Dayton seems to be back to normal - thank goodness! And hopefully he stays that way. Saige is still sick, but seems to be on the mend now that she has started some antibiotics. I am doing my best to ignore my increasingly sore throat. I had my 19 week ultrasound today and all looks well with the baby, which is currently hanging out in the breech position and growing nicely. I still have my hunch that it is a boy, but I guess we will all have to wait to find out! He or she was perfect looking and nearly sucking on his/her feet. I am always amazed by the thought of growing life and the ability of technology to demonstrate its process. Hope you are all well and as always miss each and every one of you.

Dayton's First Day Of Preschool

I still haven't had a chance to download the pictures I took of Dayton on his first day of preschool in January, but fortunately YaYa took a few when we picked him up on his first day! Thanks for emailing them to me! He loves wearing his little "uniform" that Daddy thinks is the ugliest thing ever! Here he is proudly showing off some things in his classroom and where his "cubby" is that he keeps his change of clothes/blanket and other things in. He has grown up so much in the past few weeks that he has been going to school. I'm so proud of him though and my heart melts when I pick him up each day and he runs into my arms saying, "mommy, I missed you today." It is the first thing he says and he has never not said it. On the days I might not feel like the best mom in the world, his words always lift me up and remind me that I must be doing something right.

Playing Catchup

Finally, a few rare moments to sit and upload some more pictures from the holidays! Sorry it has taken so long but hope you enjoy nonetheless. I'm pretty sure they are all from our wonderful visit with YaYa, Sir, Auntie Jess & Auntie Judy.

A fabulous picture of Saige with YaYa. I wish I knew what was causing their expressions!
I missed this one by a moment! Sir and Dayton crossing the street hand in hand! But of course I caught the part where Dayton decided he could cross like a big boy and not hold any hands. Oh well, a cute picture of the two of them anyhow.
We went downtown to Waikiki Beach and walked around. In order to fit 6 adults and 2 kids in my car, we had to leave the stroller behind, so Saige had to walk like a big girl. The pace was much slower than normal, but she enjoyed her freedom so long as she was holding onto someone's finger.
This was taken on the only day we had available to try and do some family pictures on the beach. Of course, it was rainy and very windy that day and neither child was in the mood to co-operate! I captured this cute picture of Dayton with his movie star Auntie Jess.
And this is our best attempt at the family picture. YaYa isn't really choking Dayton to keep him in place, it just looks that way. I on the other hand, probably wanted to choke him because he was being so bad. Saige wouldn't look at the camera in any of the pictures. Dayton either tried to climb off someone's lap, close his eyes or hold a stick in front of his face. A miserable experience but at the same time, made for a memorable moment.

Saige Visits The Doctor

Saige seems to be getter worse rather than better, so the doctor decided to do some bloodwork. He is hoping that she is just dealing with several issues at one time and that is the reason her fever has been lingering so long. It seems like the fever has been the only consistent symptom and all the other ones have come and gone and or are cropping up as new ones. We all just hope that everyone is better soon, as we have not been able to enjoy our usual play and outside activities. Personally, I am most tired of all the whining! On a more positive note, she continues to grow! She is 33 inches now at 18 months! (Much taller than Dayton was at that age) But, she has not gained anything in 6 months...she is still just a mere 24lbs. Funny because she seems heavier to me lately. What else is new besides all the illness....?Dayton has been celebrating the Chinese New Year at school and likes to talk about it like he knows what it is. Part of his morning ritual now is to ask me what they are having for lunch and snack at school and what he's doing at school that day. I think Thursdays is religion day as well as physical education and art. I'm pretty sure he has also started to learn about the Hawaiian Islands and yesterday they started learning about maps. The only reason I know this is because I check his curriculum guide each day so that I know what kind of questions to ask him when he gets home. Otherwise, he just replies with "my don't know." What did you have for lunch Dayton? "My don't know." What did you play with today? "My don't know." What did you do all day? "My don't know...I slept and pwayed on the pwayground." Oh, and have I mentioned that almost every single day there is an accident report in his mailbox? *me rolling my eyes* The other day the had one that said "Dayton was accidentally pushed down during playground time today. Scraped his left cheek. Ice applied." I asked Dayton what happened and he told me that a "boy pushed me down an' smashed my face." Who do I believe? I'll have to look and see if my child is the only one with these little slips in the mailbox every single day!

Mommy's Turn To Be Sick

It was bound to happen eventually. Ugh. Nothing worse than being sick while you are pregnant! Unfortunately I have to miss my little lunch at Dayton's school today! Ah, the guilt. Poor little guy will wonder why all the other kids parents are there and not his. And for the first time since starting school, he did leave the house screaming today and apparently screamed all the way there. (I'm sure that will do wonders for his congestion) He wanted to watch a movie on the way to school and was upset that Daddy's car doesn't have TV's in it. Go figure. Can you tell he's been watching too much TV since getting sick? Well, since today is overcast, rainy and cold (yes it does get cold in Hawaii - it is only a high of 73 degrees today...but feels much colder on our bluff in the rain)Saige and I will be spending the day in our PJ's.

Looking For A Live-In Nurse

So, I'm thinking about changing my sleeping schedule to be from 6am-6pm and stay awake from 6pm-6am, since that seems to be when I'm asleep and or awake. Last night I lay on Dayton's floor for a little over an hour trying to comfort him through a coughing spell. He gets so upset about it and then the tears cause more snot and congestion and thus more coughing. Mostly he is upset that I am denying him access to sleep in our bed. Normally, he would wake up in the night and just climb right in, but I am trying to limit my exposure to germs as much as possible (if that is even possible when you are a mom). Afterall, who likes snot rubbed on their pillows and hands rubbing all over their face during the night when trying to sleep? So I am instead nesting (quite uncomfortably I might add) on his floor until he falls asleep. I tried sneaking out once last night and he woke up yelling for me. After I snuck back into my own bed at 2:30 am I heard Saige crying. Since she normally doesn't cry during the night I went to check on her and sure enough, she was covered from head to toe in diarrhea. Poor baby. She was shivering uncontrollably and her little teeth were chattering. I put her straight into a warm bath to get her clean and warm her up. Would I ever get any sleep? No. She was still pretty cold after the bath so I wrapped her up in a warm blanket and we snuggled a bit. I changed her bedding gave her some tylenol, rubbed her back for a bit and then tried sneaking out. No such luck. Normally I can just pat her back and leave her room and she is fine, but last night she wasn't, so I resigned myself to creating a little nest on her floor. By now it was 4am and she didn't fall asleep until 5am. She kept checking to see if I was still lying there and on occasion would try and make conversation. The only response she got was "shhh". Finally, at 5am I crawled into my own bed (at that point not caring about the time - just wanting some warmth)and immediately fell asleep. Only to be woken up moments later by Dayton crawling in bed. I was too tired to take him back to his room so I just let him cough on my back. At 5:30 the alarm started to go off. Thankfully, Scott only hit snooze one time (usually it is more than 3 times). I think I got an extra 15minutes of sleep in there before I had to get up and get Dayton ready for school. Today, Saige and I are doing nothing. I am going to feed her lunch shortly (it is only 10am here) and put her to bed and then I am going to sleep and hopefully I wake up in time to pick Dayton up from school. At least that is my plan. Hence, I am looking for a temporary live-in nurse...well, not really, but it is a nice thought.

Sleepless in Hawaii But Getting Better

Still a whole lot of coughing at night and complaints about a sore belly as well as lingering whining...but overall it seems the worst is over and the norm is yet to come. (knock on wood) The day did begin with a split lip though..need you wonder who? Dayton of course. He banged his mouth trying to get into his chair for breakfast and his tooth pierced his lip. Certainly not the first time that has happened. He said, "first my chin and now my lip and spittin up Monday, Wensday and Fursday." Then he started to cry. Poor thing. On the upside, since I've been spending so much time with him, I've noticed that he's doing and saying lots of new things that he must be picking up from school. Like counting in spanish???? Umm...hello...either Dora is doing a great job teaching him or he's picking it up at school because I most certainly cannot count in Spanish. This morning he was throwing a toy across the room on the floor and jumping over to it. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was "playing hopscotch." I just sort of gave him a strange look...who taught him about hopscotch? It makes me happy that he is enjoying school and learning new things. I just wish they were germ free. This week is Catholic Schools Week Celebrations (I'm not really sure what that is) and Saige and I get to join Dayton for lunch at school on Tuesday. It should be fun - I'm sure he'll enjoy showing me everything that he does.

A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

No vomiting, no loose potty...thank God for small miracles. Still a rough night with bouts of coughing, nose blowing and crying, but much better than the night before. Dayton is drinking a little bit more each day and eating little bit more at each meal. Last night he still had fever, but was running and jumping around in his usual fashion...a sure sign that he is feeling better! It's about time..it has been such a LONG week. The kids have certainly had their share of colds and tummy bugs, but have almost always rebounded within a day or two. This has been the hardest week of motherhood thus far. I know there will be many more challenges in the days and years to come but illness and injury it seems, is one of the more taxing ones. Saige is still suffering from gastritis and a low grade fever but otherwise seems her usual joyful self with short lived moments of misery. She finally let me stick a finger in her mouth last night without biting it and I was able to feel the first signs of her two year molars..well at least one of them anyway. Now it makes sense why she's been putting anything and everything in her mouth and constantly saying "mouth", "mouth". It also explains why she's been constantly poking at one of her ears. What I would like to know, is why she needs them 6 months early and why her eye teeth haven't come in first. The dogs are surviving the disruption in the house but not liking the new sleeping arrangement with Dayton on our floor and a vaporizer in the room, nor the bouts of coughing keeping them up. Perhaps they'll realize what it is like for me when they constantly wake me up with their scratching and wandering. Outside of the sick house, it is another beautiful day in Hawaii. Warm breezes, hot sun and ocean views.

My New Little Bed

It was NOT a good night last night...for any of us. After several bouts of spasmodic coughing/choking followed by vomiting, we decided to put Dayton's mattress in our room on the floor so that he might feel a little better. He liked the idea and initially slept ok, but woke up with several choking episodes and throwing up. We haven't quite figured out if he is suffering from a stomach flu or if the vomiting is triggered by his choking episodes. For the most part, it seems to be related to the latter. Finally, around 1am he slept peacefully. I floated in and out of sleep, worried about my little boy. This morning he has drank a little bit better; though not his normal amount and ate half a banana and a mini muffin. He kept that down but did complain about his belly hurting about 2 hours after eating. Close to lunch he asked if I was going to make him lunch...he ate a whole peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It is now 2 hours after that meal and it also seems to be staying down. He's trying to nap right now but having a hard time because of the choking episodes. I'm worried it may trigger another "spit up" as he calls it. Initially he wanted his bed set back up in his room (which I thought was a good sign), but after several episodes he sweetly asked me if I could put his "new little bed" back in Mommy's room. Very cute, and hopefully not a habit, but much better than kicking me all night and choking in my ear. To be continued I suppose....here's hoping for a weekend filled with recovery.

Pitiful Dayton

Well, we decided to keep Dayton home from school today and replace it with a trip to the doctor since he spent a lot of time awake, coughing and choking last night. Very low grade fever and still bouts of loose potty. The doctor of course felt he was mildly dehydrated and said he needed to drink more and be eating better before going back to school. No antibiotics, no cough medicines (he is so conservative with medications and little ones) just rest and fluids. I was beginning to think we were doing a bit better today since he did eat some mac'n cheese and didn't complain about his belly after. It has been hard getting him to drink though. I am constantly telling him to take small sips here and there, but I don't even think he is sipping enough to wet his lips. So we were sent home with instructions that he needs to have a pee at least once a day. *sigh* Well that was this morning...this afternoon he now has a fever and just had a horrible bout of choking followed by some more vomiting and still no pee today. I thought we were over that last Sunday. I guess not. So now I am extra worried about the possibility of a hospitalization for dehydration. Will keep you all posted.

My Poor Baby Boy

First a trip to the ER on Thursday night for stitches, then a stuffy nose on Saturday, followed by vomiting at 6 in the morning on Sunday. Not much fun for a 3 year old that has never thrown up before (the exception being motion sick on the SuperFerry) and not much fun for a mommy to be woken up by vomit all over her. Daddy got the fun job of cleaning all the bedsheets and Mommy got the fun job of getting Dayton to the toilet to strip him down, wash him off and sanitize everything. I guess we can count this as our first illness since starting preschool 2 weeks ago. *Sigh* I knew it was bound to happen eventually, but in just 2 short weeks? Ugh. Yesterday he was acting fine (besides the semi-stuffy nose) and in fact was acting so silly he said he was "trying" to hurt his chin again. Only from the mouth of a 3 year old! Now the trick is keeping his sister away from him and hopefully healthy and keeping myself and the baby healthy. We would like to avoid another trip to the ER. Needless to say, he's not been up to having me take a picture of his stitches nor his cool new PJ's from the hospital. So today, he is spending the day in his most favorite spot of all...on the sofa, with a blankie in front of the TV.

Our First And Hopefully Last Trip To The ER

Every mother's nightmare is to have to take their child to the emergency room for illness or injury. Our first trip was last night. Right before bed Dayton was reaching across that small gap between your bed and night stand...he wanted to push buttons on Daddy's phone. On his way crawling backwards to the bed, his hand missed and the underside of his chin connected with the corner of the nightstand. Right away he started screaming (I was dripping wet from just getting out of the shower) and I ran for the ice pack imagining that he just lost his first tooth and blood would be everywhere or that his lip would be fat. I saw it happen and heard it happen and there was nothing I could do to stop it. When I got back upstairs, Daddy said he had a cut under his chin and that it wasn't really bleeding too bad. I was not expecting to find a gaping hole under his chin about an inch long!!! I knew immediately that he would need to get stitches. Daddy was calm and helped keep Dayton calm but he didn't immediately seem to realize that it needed stitches. I think it helped that Dayton couldn't see the cut and that there wasn't much blood. I got dressed and off we headed to the ER. Daddy stayed home with Saige. Fortunately the ER wasn't insanely busy and we were ushered in right away. They applied a numbing gel and band-aid (Dayton screamed for this) and then we waited 30 minutes for it to numb up and for the doctor to come and see us. It needed stitches (I didn't really need a doctor to tell me this). They strapped him to a papoose board so he couldn't move or wiggle. I couldn't even hold his little scared hand. Poor thing screamed and kept saying "mama, I want to hug you," "mama, I want you to hold my hand." I felt horrible that I couldn't do anything except stand where he could see me and touch his hair. The nurse held his head still. First they injected the area with more numbing agent via a small needle. Yes, he screamed for this too and I tried my best to not cry as they pried the flap of skin on his chin open. He wouldn't stop talking/screaming, which made it kind of hard for the doctor to stitch him. He calmed down after the first stitch and was able to answer some of my questions (I was hoping to soothe him a bit) and then when the doctor told him she needed to do two more stitches he started screaming again. "Mama, I want to hug you," "Mama, I want to go home," "Mama, I want out of here," "Mama, I want my blankie." My heart was breaking. After it was all over he calmed down immediately and then started screaming once he realized his shirt was all wet. He wanted his hospital bracelet OFF as well. The nurse came in with a brand new pair of PJ's with the character Dash from the incredibles on it. All was well in the world of a tired and traumatized 3 year old. He emphatically told me to "throw his other shirt away" as if it were to blame for his situation. 3 hours later (and 3 hours past his bedtime I might add) we made it home. We both crawled into bed together after proudly showing daddy his new shirt. Now the hard part is to keep it covered, change the dressing twice daily, keep it dry, free of food particles and in about a week we can uncover it to wash it and hopefully the stitches will be ready to fall out. I know that it could have been worse and that parents have had to deal with situations much more difficult, but that was a first for me. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to witness. No parent likes it when their child gets hurt but it is much more difficult to see them so scared, vulnerable and just wanting a hug and there is nothing you can do about it. I can only pray that it was our first and last trip to the ER.

Holiday Traditions

I know I wrote previously about Dayton making his first gingerbread house, but I never got around to posting the picture of it. We of course, also made cookies for Santa and his reindeer the day before Christmas Eve. Dayton acts like he's helping, but really he just dumps sprinkles all over the place and then says, "oops, my eat that." Saige just watches. But it is all part of holiday season and developing family traditions or passing on old ones from previous generations.

Some Catching Up

Let's go all the way back to decorating the Christmas tree days....we got our Christmas tree a little late this year because Daddy was sick, but he certainly did a good job picking a beautiful one! The kids helped decorate and wanted to touch every single ornament...so as you can imagine, what should have been a couple hour job, turned into an all day affair. But that's okay, they had fun and so did I. Scott participated by going to work that day and unfortunately (since I know how sad he was) missed our decorating adventures. Saige was mostly interested in the bell ornaments that she could take off the tree and shake and hide all over the house, and Dayton was fascinated with the train set under the tree. Look with your eyes and not your hands rule didn't work that well this year. As always (well since kids anyway) we went with the alphabet letters theme mixed with the traditional family ornaments (from "kids, stand on your tip toes and see how high you can reach" level and up). Anything non breakable went at the bottom. It's really a system that works well for us. It might look a little unbalanced and funny, but it works. Here's a picture of the kids in front of the fruits of their labor!

Somewhat Of A Blogging Holiday

I know...I know...I haven't posted pictures in a LONG time and I haven't even been keeping up with updates. Life has been busy along with holidays, visitors, restoring order to the house, preschool starting and my photo software has been out of commission. So, I've gotten a little lazy and now I'm so behind with keeping my pictures organized that laziness has just turned into procrastination. Obviously I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions this year! Pictures and updates coming soon - hang on all you withdrawal sufferers! As always, love and miss you all!

Big News

Don't be disappointed by the title! This may just be big news to our family, but I couldn't resist in sharing my excitement and pride. Saige, who is now 17 months old, did her business on the potty last night! She was looking and sounding a little like she was "trying" to go so I asked her and she said yes. I asked her if she wanted to use the potty and she said, "yup". So off we went. She got it all set up with her big brother's Dora seat, I plopped her up there and VOILA! I was soooo proud of her and she was quite proud of herself, asking for toilet paper, asking to flush and wanting to wash her hands! I figured it was just great timing on my part, but was quite impressed that she was comfortable enough to not "hold" it. Then this morning while I was getting her dressed, she told me "pee, pee" and went and put the potty seat on so I got her all undressed and put her on the pot and she peed right away! Now, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but I think she might be on the brink of potty training herself! What a Christmas gift that would be.

Jingle Bells

Christmas has officially arrived at Ho'oolako. We have our tree, which is fragrant, full and beautifully decorated with kids in mind. Meaning there are no breakables that curious little hands can reach. Saige likes to look and poke at the decorations but for the most part listens to her mama and leaves it alone. Dayton on the other hand, likes to remove decorations and stuff them in the stockings or hide them in the trunk of his bike. (Yes, the same trunk that he peed in a couple weeks ago) I think he is overly excited about this whole Christmas thing this year...he is talking a lot about Santa, his elves, the reindeer and the North Pole. I need to remember to be consistent with what I tell him or he catches me. It has been fun because it has truly put me in the spirit of believing again. Christmas through the eyes of a child is really special. Today he will be making a gingerbread house and doing some Christmas crafts. We are all getting excited for our family to arrive after Christmas as well. So much to look forward to in the coming weeks and no better way to end and start another year.

An Update of Random Events

It has been a busy couple of weeks and it seems as though there is much to update you all on, but my aged memory seems to already be on Christmas vacation. Dayton has been accepted into a wonderful Catholic Montessori Preschool. It was on the top of our list and we've been waiting almost a year to get him in. He will be starting January 5th. I'm excited, nervous, scared, sad, proud... He's growing up so fast and I know he will love it and I will come to love it. He will be going Monday - Friday from 7am-2:30pm. A long day for a 3 year old. He'll get used to it though. It will take some time for both Saige and I to adjust to him being gone all day. She will miss him...she follows him everywhere and plays with whatever he is playing with. It will be a great opportunity for me to have some alone time with her before the baby though. Second children and those thereafter don't get that individual attention that the firstborn gets. Okay, I'm rambling about preschool...I'm obviously having some pre-separation anxiety.
On a more festive note, we went and took pictures with Santa the other day. Dayton was excited and actually sat on Santa's knee and talked to him! He asked him for a red robot. (I have no idea where that came from) Saige had different plans. She refused to sit on Santa's knee and was instantly in tears screaming. Fortunately Santa was not offended. So, once again (3 years in a row now) I am in the picture! Saige accepted the candy cane from Santa and instantly stopped crying...she then politely told him "bye bye". Sorry, no scanner to share the terrible picture!

Much To Be Thankful For

I LOVE eating turkey, but I don't particularly like all the work that is involved in making a full Thanksgiving meal. Especially when I have a husband that sweetly reminded me on many occasions how much he dislikes turkey, a 3 year old that is going through a "my don't like that anymore" stage and a 16 month old that doesn't really know what a turkey is or how to manage eating it with only a couple molars. Despite all that, I cooked at 13.65lb turkey, a sweet potato dish, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and apple crumble made from scratch. Yummy. Being Martha Stewart is a lot of work. I think as a family, we realized this year how hard it is being away from loved ones during those times when family gathers together. We love it here, how can one not with such beautiful weather every day and a beach at our doorstep, but we miss you all! I am thankful to have such wonderful family, extended family and friends as well as a loving husband and precious children; whose unconditional love I will always treasure. I love my husband. I love my kids. I love my dogs. I love my life. And we are thankful to be blessed with another miracle in the making.

Christmas At The Beach

For those of you wondering, yes we are all still alive here in Hawaii! I've been incredibly busy with the kids and various yearly doctors appointments as well as more preschool tours and interviews. Which means, I've not had time to get my camera out and take pictures. Which means, I've had no pictures to update on my blog. Sounds like a good excuse doesn't it? Finally, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the beach to get some Christmas pictures. Prior to that, I invested in a tripod; a necessary piece of equipment for family pictures! Of course, we couldn't do any of that until AFTER lunch at McDonalds. Our little 3 year old has been craving it! Somehow we all managed to keep our white shirts clean for the pictures! Dayton wasn't too impressed to be wearing jeans. He looked at them and said, "no, those are yours mom." Then I put them on him and he said, "mom, off please they're too big." I think he thought they were shorts that were too long for him. Even Scott complained that I was making him wear jeans in the heat of the day, but that is not unusual. (Scott complaining that is) Saige was the only one that didn't complain..bless her sweet little soul. Once at the beach, Dayton refused to sit on the sand because he didn't want sand in his pants and he didn't want to sit on Daddy either, just Mommy. *Sigh* The fun begins. Come on everyone, I just want a good family picture. Can we all stop crying and start smiling? Do you know how hard it is to keep two liitle ones sitting still AND looking at the camera AND smiling? Nevermind the fact that I only had 10 seconds to get myself into the picture and my hair out of my eyes from the wind. 20 pictures later we finally got a decent one and then I let the kids play in the sand while I took a few snapshots. Belly's full of grease, clothes full of sand and mommy satisfied.

Surprise Gifties From Grandpa and MomMom

I've finally managed to get these pictures posted of the kids opening/wearing some cute little surprises from Grandpa and MomMom. Dayton of course was most interested in the books (even though they weren't for him) and Saige loved her hat and the little stuffed toys that "talked". She loves imitating the baby tiger roar and the little dolly laugh. It's cute. I'm not quite sure why Dayton insisted on poking at his belly button for the picture, as it would have been a cute picture of the two of them otherwise. Saige also likes her book and can read a little bit of it, but she prefers the page that has a little baby eating cookies. Every time you hand her the book she opens up to that page and says "dookies, yummy" and then pretends to eat them! So thank you and big hugs from both Dayton and Saige. We love and miss you all!

A Hawaiian Halloween

Halloween in Hawaii is a little different....first off, it's hard to find costumes that accommodate the hot climate!...the neighborhoods are all built on ridges (volcanic mountain chains I guess is what they are) so it makes traditional neighborhood trick or treating a little bit difficult if not impossible...and most people are out during the daylight hours! We never had any trick or treaters come to our house last year...or this year. Now I know why. Who wants to hike up hills just for a tootsie roll!? So local shopping strips and malls open their doors and hand out treats. It's actually kind of easy and efficient (and safe) - you just walk into the store and someone is standing there all dressed up handing out candy. Some stores just have a big bowl or box of candy and it is a "help yourself" policy! Very strange but super easy for parents with little ones! Dayton was super quiet and had the iron grip on his pumpkin filled with candy. In each store, he would yell, "twick or treat." (If you recall, my child is one of those rare children that has never eaten a piece of candy) He kept staring into it! He saw a couple robots and buzz lightyears and said hello to them; otherwise, he was all about business. He was so funny...all day he kept saying "where is Halloween?". When Daddy got home from work he was immediately asking, "can we go to Halloween?" Saige was excited to trick or treat too, but she refused to get out of the wagon! She just held out her little wand and pumpkin and people thought she was so cute they would come over and put candy in it for her! After we got home we had a quick dinner and Dayton got to pick out one piece of candy. He chose sweet tarts...and enjoyed every single one! Not surprisingly, he was pretty hyper before bed! In fact, this morning after breakfast he asked if he could have more candy. Being the nice parent that I am, I said "no". And just to be fair to my children...Saige cannot have any until she is 3!
My two little trick or treaters. Thomas and Fairy Saige!Sir Thomas himself.
Fairy Saige waving her magic wand and saying "ta-da."
Our mode of transportation.

A Chance To Sit and Enjoy The View

This is me enjoying our newly completed lanai. It had been closed up for months with the doors covered in paper while the stonework was finished. Well, actually, this is me enjoying a nice mug of ice cream. Peace, quiet, a beautiful view. One child climbing on my shoulders, one climbing on my lap...both saying "bite please", one dog at my feet. What could be more blissful than this? A spa day? A romantic dinner? A mug of ice cream to myself? Nah...I wouldn't have it any other way. I do get out 3 spoons now when I have my mug of ice cream though! The only thing that might have made the moment more enjoyable was chocolate ice cream instead of orange sherbet!

Our Pumpin Hatch Trip....

Despite the rain, it was a successful weekend to the pumpkin patch! I have a bunch of photos to post, but I'm having a hard time transitioning to the MAC computer so my posts for the next little while may be a little disjointed. I will try and add captions to the photos to help out...Dayton was SOOOOO excited to go to the "pumpin hatch" he kept asking over and over when we were going. When we first got there he said "wow cool, look at all the pumpins!" He immediately started running towards them and picked up almost every single one he saw. It was quite funny. Saige enjoyed tripping in the mud, putting her hands in rotten watermelons and trying to pick up big pumpkins. There were pony's to see, some cheezy kids rides, fresh fruit and veggies for sale and lots and lots of dirt....
Dayton at the house getting ready for the "Pumpin Hatch" by wearing his "Hawoween shirt."Saige loving being up on Daddy's shoulders!
Daddy & Dayton taking this picking the perfect pumpkin quite seriously.
Saige running in the mud and quite obviously enjoying herself.
This is Saige attempting to pick up a large pumpkin.
This is Dayton's 100th pumpkin to pick up and say "how about this one?"
Dayton carrying "the" pumpkin.

Getting Ready For Halloween

Finally, I can start celebrating holidays with Dayton...in previous years he was pretty terrified by most Halloween stuff, but this year (now that he is a big boy) he is excited to dress up and go to Halloween parties (we'll see if it actually happens). He points out all the scary stuff in the stores and says, "look at all the scary Hawoween things." If you ask him what he is dressing up as, he says, "my don't know." He's never had a piece of candy either, so I'm opening up a whole new can of worms by introducing this Halloween stuff! We've been doing crafts lately to help him understand a bit better and we decorated the house a little bit. We don't have hardly any Halloween decorations, but we'll accumulate some each year. Tomorrow I am taking both Dayton and Saige to a Halloween party. Saige will be dressed up and Dayton at this point, won't be.....his costume should have been here by Tuesday at the latest and it is now Thursday, so it doesn't look good! Then, this weekend Mommy and Daddy are taking the kids to the pumpkin patch! That should be an adventure...I didn't know the island even had one! I've heard it is very hot and dusty! It's quite a drive, so I hope it is all worthwhile...
Dayton proudly holding up his "shapes" ghost.
Dayton's version of what a pumpkin looks like! Personally I like the "cat" mouth.

Saige's New Skills

Saige has developed some signs of potty training readiness...she often comes to me carrying a diaper and package of wipes. Now she typically doesn't have a dirty diaper, but soon after bringing me those things I can usually smell something. I guess she is starting to recognize the "need" to go. Actually, she just came to me the other day and pointed at her diaper and say "poopoo"...and yes she had one! I was so impressed. However, I'm not so impressed that she is constantly taking her diaper off..take the picture below for instance...she is so proud and showing off her diaper removal skill and if you look hard enough or click on the picture to make it larger you will see her skill of peeing on the floor! And yes, she is saying "cheese" while she pees on my floor! On the flip side, Saige's other new skill is practicing her paparazzi pose and smile. She might not be wearing Chanel sunglasses but they do have cool snakes on them.

Our Attempt At A Family Picture

I've decided that I need to do a better job of getting family pictures or pictures of me with the kids for that mattter. I am always the one taking the pictures and it is easy to get into the habit of hogging the camera...not that Scott "likes" taking pictures, but I figure it is probably important that the kids grow up with "some" pictures taken with Mommy. So here is our painful attempt to get a family snapshot. The most impressive thing is that we are all looking at the camera and yes we are all saying "CHEESE".