Good Ol' Swing

We bought this swing when Aden was 6 months old and it has been a part of our family ever since. 

For 6+ years it has been a fixture in our yard and the highlight of many an outdoor playtime. 

We put Leah in it for the first time yesterday (and took pictures, of course) so I thought it would be fun to compare shots of all four kiddos swinging in the swing.

Aden (6 months)

 Jonathan (8 months)

 Elizabeth (7 months)

 Leah (5 months)

And one close up just because she's so cute! =)

So Many Pictures...

So Little Time...

I have hundreds of pictures from this summer, thousands probably...but these few will have to do for tonight. I'd like to post pictures of our trip to California and I'd like to post pictures of Jonathan's 5th birthday but those big, long posts will have to wait. Here are a few from the past couple of weeks:

Leah...our very own in-home humidity gauge! (see curls)

 This picture was taken in California...the dry air turned her springy curls into gentle waves.

 My first attempt at french braiding Lizzie's hair. It looked cute!

 Um...the look on her face and her shaka (hang loose) hand sign don't quite jive.

 Aden lost his 5th tooth a few weeks ago. He is now sporting a big two-teeth gap in the front!

What Captain America and Spiderman do in their down time.

 Oh, and they make a mean dishwashing team too!

  

 The kids were thrilled when we let them go for a "midnight" (8:00pm) swim. Something about playing outside when it is dark is very exciting to them.

 Lizzie was so sweet to share her "pwincess doll" with Leah.

 The other morning Aden came in to tell me that Leah was awake and he said, "I put all her toys and animals in there with her so she could have a party!" What a sweet brother! Oh and Leah is definitely at the "grab at everything and pull it to her mouth stage." She loves all of her rattles and crinkly toys and she is rolling like crazy so her playtime is definitely getting more exciting for her. Based on what I'm seeing now, (she's starting to think about sitting up and when she's on her tummy she likes to try to get her knees up under her) I think she will be an early crawler like Lizzie was. I'm guessing I've got about 6 weeks left before my "must have a baby proof home" world collides with my "I have 5 and 6 year olds who play with (and somehow scatter all over the house) teeny tiny Lego parts" world. It will be interesting.

 Some sister lovin'

 The birthday boy

Aden Boy "surfing" on the slip-n-slide

That's it for now...I'll be back soon!

My Lizzie Girl

The Babers (at 4 months)

What a love! 

Happy Happy Birthday...

to my sweet Dad! 

Carla took this picture of my dad and his mom (my Mimi!) last week when they were in Michigan for my cousin's wedding. I love it because my dad seems so happy! Thanks for capturing this moment Carla!

Happy Birthday Dad! 

I miss you so much and I can't wait to see you next month! 

I love you!

6 Weeks Already

Leah is 6 weeks old and she is doing really well. She sleeps like a champ (6-8 hour stretches at night), is a wonderful nurser (and only wants to eat every 3-4 hours!), and has an incredibly calm disposition. She has been the perfect addition to our little family and we are so thankful for her.

Some tidbits:
- As you can see she has lots of hair. It is light brown with hints of blond and hints of auburn in it. It is wavy and it is so fun. =)

- Her eye color remains a mystery as they appear to be different colors in different lighting or with different clothing, etc. As you know, Aden has blue eyes, Jonathan has green eyes, and Lizzie has brown eyes, so naturally we're all real curious as to what color this little one's eyes will be.

- She is a spitter-upper like Aden was. Not as bad as Aden but real close. I go through several burp cloths each day.

- She has recently taken a liking to her pacifier. She wasn't interested in it for the first month or so but now she is a huge fan!

- She sleeps in her crib in her little nursery every night but she seems to nap best during the day in her swing or bouncy seat.

-She is a quiet baby. Like I mentioned before she has a calm disposition and we hardly ever hear a peep (in the form of crying) out of her.

-She has started making real soft cooing noises when she wants to "talk" to us. It is precious.

Happy 6 weeks sweet baby girl!

Memorial Day

Kalihiwai = Sweet family time & the making of memories

Here are some pictures of yet another holiday spent at our favorite spot...

I love this picture...even if my daughter looks like she belongs to Cousin It!

Building a bridge with Daddy

Happy Lukey Boy

Lucas loves a good water fight! Here he is filling up his buckets.

Lizzie is so brave we really have to keep an eye on her!

Splash!

Pay back!

 

 

 Taking the boards out

 Fun in the sun...finally! It was grey and cloudy for most of the morning but we decided to hit the beach anyway. Thankfully it cleared up and we had sunny skies for the last hour or so of our time there.

 Lizzie catching a ride with Grandpa

Sweet Aden Boy

 Pretty Keo Girl

 Lizzie takes the boogie board out, stands on it and tells us that she is on her little stand up paddle board.

 

  Just chillin'

Jonathan kicked and kicked and kicked his way around the river. He must have been out there for an hour!

 Keo says, "You kick, I'll paddle." =)

That bundle that Carolyn is holding is little Leah! I forgot a sun hat for her so we had to keep her covered with blankets and burp cloths! Note to self: keep a sun hat in the diaper bag!

This and That

 Leah (1 month)

 

Not a happy camper!

Aden playing a duet with his piano teacher...pausing his performance to smile for the camera.

 Aden playing a duet with his piano teacher...after his mother told him to carry on and ignore the camera! =)

This girl is a puzzle maniac and she is always so proud of her work.

 Cutie pie

 The boys spend hours (literally!) playing basketball every day. 

 The serious (sort of ) shot...

...and the silly one! 

 Jonathan helped mow the lawn on Saturday. 

He did a great job but petered out about half way through. 

Aden finished it up for him...thank goodness for big brothers! =)

I'm always glad to see the gloves and safety goggles!

 Go Jonathan Go!

 Of course Lizzie wanted to help too! She calls this her "baby mow lawner."

The boys love to help Daddy with yard work. 

Here's Aden "waking" the lawn. (Yes, we're still working on his "r's".)

 The backyard all nice and trimmed and tidy. Good job boys!

The biggest brother with the littlest sister

 He loves to give her kisses and he loves all things "numbers" so I often hear him say things like, "Mommy, I just gave Leah 37 kisses!"

He's so proud of her!

 Leah (5 weeks)

 About 3 weeks ago we found an orphaned kitten under our house. He was tiny, weak (starving), and wild. After feeding him every day and trying to coax him with sweet voices he is finally coming out to eat (initially we had to leave the food under the house for him to eat it) and he's letting us get a little closer to him. He's still really skittish and will bolt at the slightest hint of movement but I think we are making progress.

The precious face that I spend my days admiring. 

And yes, it appears that she is very-much-so a pacifier baby. The way she fusses for it when it falls out of her mouth is what Daniel says proves that even a 5 week old can have an idol of their heart! ;) 

We are so pleased that she likes a pacifier. With the boys we were able to throw away their pacifiers around 2.5 years and "be done with it". With Lizzie and her thumb we are anticipating a challenge ahead of us. We can't exactly get rid of her thumb!