Elizabeth's First Birthday Party

Last Saturday we celebrated Elizabeth's first birthday with a lunch gathering at her Great Grandma's house. Because we had a mid-day party she still got both her morning and afternoon nap. The timing worked perfectly! She was in great spirits the whole time and seemed to really enjoy herself.

Here she is all dolled-up in her cute seer-sucker birthday outfit. Thanks Grandma!

Her new tea set from Grandpoo and Grammy...it is the cutest little toy!

"I'm getting the hang of this unwrapping business!"

I've never seen a child (much less a one year old!) give so much attention to each individual gift that she received. She would examine, smile at, cuddle with, play with, try on, etc. each gift that she got. It was really cute! This doll and teddy bear set was from her Great Grandma.

She would hold up the clothing items and admire each piece. It was precious!

My cutie pie!

She liked her cards too and would point to all the pictures and "talk" about what she saw.

Her brothers gave her a stuffed kitty and she loved it. She held it close and rubbed it against her cheek to give it snuggles.

Daddy and the boys

Aden (on standby for gift opening assistance)

Jon Jon playing with Sissy's new phone

Grandpa and his scrunchy face birthday girl

Auntie Chrystal and little Kaimana

Kaimana is 17 months old and he and Elizabeth have fun toddling around together

Grandma was so sweet to offer to host the party last minute when rain ruined our plans for a beach party. In the end I was glad we had the party indoors...rain or no rain! There's something to be said for not having to contend with sandy food, sandy drinks, sandy children, sandy gifts, sandy EVERYTHING!

Sweet Carolyn

Chrystal, Auntie Debbee, Lucas, Uncle Dallas, and Auntie Sally

Carolyn with Grandpa Jesse (all the way from CA!)

My sweet mama and Grandma Moore

Grandma arranged to have a gal from her church make the cake. She did a great job! Not only did it look nice but it was yummy too! Chocolate with butter cream frosting...

The frosting was rich (of course, it was butter cream!) so right after I took this picture I scraped off all but a thin layer. I didn't want my baby to get a belly ache!

"I could get used to this!"

That was tasty!

Her First Walk

Last week we walked to one of our favorite picnic spots for lunch. Here's Elizabeth attempting to eat a turkey sandwich. I'm thinking I'll stick with pieces of bite-sized bread, turkey, and cheese next time.

Here she is sporting her new Nike tennis shoes. They're so little and so cute! The best part is that I got them EUC on eBay for a steal! Whoo Hoo! We actually brought the stoller for Elizabeth but on the way home she wanted to walk and the boys wanted to ride. (Please ignore the nose picker!) Anyway, she ended up walking pretty much the entire 3/4 mile by herself. She did not want to be carried and she did not want to be in the stroller. She did a great job! She walked at a steady pace and kept a forward motion the whole time. I was impressed!

And she's off!

She only stopped a couple of times to investigate things!

Ooh...a leaf!

Pantry Finds

One downside to storing the homeschool supplies in the pantry:

While searching for snacks, this little pantry raider finds things like spiral notebooks to eat!

Yes, literally, eat!

Another Sunday Afternoon at Kalihiwai

Taking it all in...

This is what she was looking at!

"Oh, hi Daddy!"

The three musketeers

It was cute...Elizabeth was actually helping dig the mote.

Sweet and Sandy!

Whoops! Well, better a side-of-the-face plant that a front-of-the-face plant!

My family having fun together on a Sunday afternoon = joy!

My two littles...such buds!

No playtime for this boy (regardless of location) is complete without some truck time!

"Hey, where did everybody go? And why am I still strapped to this chair?"

A well rounded meal...

BBQ chicken, corn, watermelon, and some cardboard from my brother's empty juice box!

Some Sunshine on My Windowsill

Back in April when my mom was here visiting, she planted a bunch of Zinnia and Marigold seeds along the frame of our vegetable garden. Thanks to her hard work I get to enjoy a vase full of flowers like this on a regular basis. And, I have plenty to share with others! They really do brighten up my kitchen! Thanks Mom!

Some Fresh Air

Today was one of those days...you know, the kind where it seems your patience is tested all day long. The day started off on a wonderful note when Jonathan woke up, stumbled out onto the couch, picked up the book that was laying beside him and started to "read" it. Apparently he was so engrossed in the book that he just couldn't bear to put it down when nature called and proceeded to pee in his pajamas and all over the sofa. We're talking a whole night's worth of pee. Now mind you this child has been 100% potty trained for over 6 months! He alerted me to this lovely fact, with book still in hand, by saying, "Mommy, I'm going pee pee on the couch." Not defiantly, just matter of fact-ly. Nice. Then during our homeschool time both boys really struggled to hold it together. Aden almost cried when I asked him to write his name on his paper because, "It's too hard, Mommy!" and Jonathan did cry when I wouldn't let him sharpen his brand new (and thus plenty sharp!) pink crayon. It was ridiculous! Fortunately (for them? for me? for everybody!?) Elizabeth woke up early from her nap which meant that our school time would have to be cut short. So I nursed her and then set to work at making and packing up our lunch so we could take it to the park for a picnic. While I was preparing our lunch Elizabeth was happily playing with a "toy" under the kitchen table. Little did I know she had swiped the box of Spanish rice off the table (that I had left out in preparation for tonight's dinner) and was eating a hole in the box. I didn't realize what she was up to until I heard rice and vermicelli shaking out onto the floor. I quickly seized the box, scooped up the baby, fished the cardboard out of her mouth and took her to her room to get her dressed for the day. While in the other room, the boys (who thought Sissy's deed was quite funny) retrieved the box and dumped the whole thing onto the floor. I came out to find rice scattered everywhere with two boys on their hands and knees giggling and pretending to eat "doggy food" off the floor. So, I "dealt with" the boys, cleaned up the rice, and loaded everyone into the car in pursuit of fresh air and a change of scenery. I'm so glad I did! It was good to get out and the kids really enjoyed playing, and swinging, and most of all, flying their kite.

It's so sweet how Jonathan is showing Elizabeth the kite!

She couldn't take her eyes off of it! And Jon Jon was just running and squealing and having a great time...

I love that you can see the kite's shadow!

And can you see the excitement on Jonathan's face?

Such fun, puffy, white clouds...

Our Octopus Kite!

Aden Boy (4 1/2 yrs)

Jonathan (3 years)

Elizabeth (11.5 months)