Cuteness!

Just thought I'd share a cute picture of my baby girl!

And, believe it or not, this is my 200th post since starting my blog just over two years ago. What a joy it has been to document all the fun and cute (and sometimes naughty) things my kiddos have done these past two years. Here's to the next 200 posts!

Our Bike Ridin' Boy!

Well, Aden ditched his training wheels for good and is now a member of the "big boy" bike club! He is having so much fun with his two-wheeler and spends much of his outdoor play time riding his bike. We're so proud of him!

Their Thursday Morning Highlight

Sometime between 5:15 and 6:45 AM every Thursday morning this crazy, loud garbage truck comes rumbling through the neighborhood. Its coming is the highlight of the boys' day and they are out on the front porch to greet it every Thursday no matter how early it shows up. This week it came late...I was already dressed AND coherent enough to grab the camera! =) However, it was so late that Aden missed it! He was already at preschool when it finally arrived and was quite disappointed when I said we had to leave even though the "stinky garbage truck" had not yet come. Jonathan, though, came home (from dropping off Aden) and waited and waited with such a spirit of anticipation it was precious. When it finally did come Jonathan was in "big machine" heaven!

Just in Case

Yesterday was another rainy day so to help burn off some energy I put on some fun music and we danced. Well, Aden and I danced while Jonathan played with his cars and trucks and Elizabeth crawled around beneath us. As we danced my mind became flooded with memories of me dancing with Aden in our house on Wellhaven Street. I would hold him in my arms as we danced and we would sing and giggle together. Sweet, sweet memories of time with my precious boy! So yesterday we danced, holding hands mostly, I would spin him and he would giggle and I was reminded of the "story" I heard (that TOTALLY stuck with me!) of the man who, one day, realized that he no longer held his son (because the boy had gotten older...perhaps younger siblings filled the father's arms) and who was saddened that he didn't cherish "the last time" he got to hold the boy. Of course he didn't think to cherish the moment because, who knew that it would be the last time? As I watched Aden bouncing and wiggling in front of me I thought, "Surely I have time. I'll hold him many more times before it's the last time!" We danced some more (by this time I was holding Elizabeth on my hip while we danced) and then all of a sudden Aden stopped, put his little arms around my waist, looked at me with his big blue eyes, and said in his sweet little voice, "Mommy, I want to be holded!" I'm telling you, I have never set the baby down so quickly! I picked him up and held him and held him and held him, all the while his little arms were wrapped around my neck and his sweet head was resting tenderly on my chest, and I cherished every moment of it...just in case.

In the Span of a Week...

she has gone from being a very unsteady sitter upper...couldn't be left unattended!

To a very proficient sitter upper...she'll sit and play all day!

To a girl who thinks, "That looks interesting...I bet I could get over there!"

To a crawling girl!

To a "getting into mischief" girl!

To a "pulling up on everything" girl!

To a "so proud of herself" girl!

Seriously, it is like a switch was flipped! She's crazy! I guess wanting to keep up with her brothers is powerful motivation! On Saturday I told Daniel that she was starting to try to pull up on things and that we needed to lower her crib mattress. (It was still on the top-most/infant setting!) He lowered it on Sunday and this is how I found her after her nap on Monday! She was SO smiley and giddy and totally proud of herself. It was very cute!

And by the way...she is my earliest crawler and puller upper by at least a month! And she got her first teeth two months sooner than her brothers too! She means business, this girl!

At one point today she crawled over to me and pulled up on my pant legs and started fussing...I looked at the clock and realized that it was time to nurse her. It was neat to see her communicate in that way. And then when Daniel came home from work today he got down on his knees and said, "Hi Elizabeth!" She flashed him a sweet smile and crawled right over to him and gave him a little snuggle. It was precious!

A Day in the Life of a Baby Girl

with two older brothers...

Bob the Builder Legos

Monster Trucks

and Matchbox Cars!

We might need to get this girl a sister!

Grandpoo, Grammy, and Mimi's Visit: Day 1, Monday

At the end of February my dad & Carla, and my grandmother, Mimi, came to visit. They were here for a week and we were busy, busy, busy! We did all kinds of fun things and enjoyed our time together. We hadn't seen Mimi since October of 2007 (when Jonathan was a newborn) and our last visit with my dad and Carla was last June when we vacationed with them in Oceanside. The boys were really excited to see "Grandpoo and Grammy" again and were also excited to introduce their baby sister, Elizabeth, to them. Because I had so many pictures of their visit I decided to break their trip up so that each day has it's own post.

My dad meeting Elizabeth for the first time!

Carla meeting Elizabeth for the first time!

My sweet Mimi holding her very first great-granddaughter! After SIX great-grandsons, she finally got a girl!

Carla looked so nice in her lei! I bet Jonathan was thinking, "It 'smatches' her shirt!"

My dad with the monkey boys!

My dad was always such a good wagon puller and swing pusher when I was little and it was fun to see that he hadn't lost his touch. My boys loved their "Grandpoo's" attention!

Here's Jonathan showing off his motorcycle toy and his motorcycle shirt.

And here's Aden showing off his monster truck toy and his monster truck shirt.

And here's Sissy just being cute!

Both these "ladies" have some serious dimples! They were so cute side-by-side!

Such a ham, but oh-so-cute! I seriously cannot get enough of him!

Some Norfolk Pines...quite common on the island. Sort of like a tropical Christmas tree! =)

A couple of Nene Geese...the Hawaii State bird. They nest on and around the Kilauea Lighthouse grounds.

A view of the ocean from the lighthouse.

My dad and Carla standing in front of the Kilauea Lighthouse. The Lighthouse was built in 1913!

Carla and Mimi with Anini in the background.

It was such a beautiful, clear day. The weeks leading up to their trip had been cool, cloudy, and rainy. The day they arrived the clouds parted and we had a beautiful week, weather-wise...sunny, warm, and clear. The day they left the clouds rolled back in and we have continued to have cooler days and lots of rain since. What a blessing to have nice weather for their visit!

I love this woman! How neat to see her here ALL THE WAY from Florida! And how special to see her interact with and love on my kids! Many thanks to Dad and Carla for making her visit possible!

We had fun watching for whales!

After the lighthouse we came back to our house for lunch. Here's Elizabeth lighting up the room with her playful smile, cute dimples, and contagious laughter.

Daniel had to work during the day but was able to join us for dinner at Bubba's Burgers that evening. Burgers, fries, onion rings, and root beer...Yum!