Excuse Me

I don't remember saying it was OK to start pulling yourself up little miss.

Olivia has decided she wants to grow up. Sometime last week it's like she realized that sitting still, and letting me hold her was overrated. She is constantly pushing and stretching and twisting to get places and grab things. It's pretty funny since she can't actually do any of that on her own yet. I'm her "legs" so I bend over and hold her arms or belly and help her do whatever silly thing she's wanting to do with her body. It's just a phase and this too will pass :). In the search for finding something cool to explore she often turns to me and leans in for a hug. She's still my baby.

*pictures taken last week on a walk we took together. Doesn't get better than this.

New Favorite

Just stumbled upon this poem and LOVE it:

Little Drops of Water

Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean,

And the beauteous land.

Little deeds of kindness,

Little words of love,

Make our earth an Eden,

Like the heaven above.

And the little moments,

Humble though they be,

Make the mighty ages,

Of eternity.

Mrs. J. A. Carney (1845)

*Can't get the spaces in the poem to stay and it's driving me crazy, but you get it.

The Tsunami this time around

Last Thursday we got the kids to sleep early. We cleaned the kitchen, swept, and were on our way to the couch to detox. Micah and I were tired. Tired of the same old routine, both getting over sore throats and colds, and just plain drained from the day. This is when a little birdie (you know who you are) tipped us off that there was a Tsunami watch.

I think the first thing I felt was annoyed. I know, shame on me. Believe me, after seeing the footage of Japan I felt horrible and immediately repented. We turned on the news and searched the Internet hoping to find something that would let us get back to our unwinding, but instead we found ourselves worried and planning our next move.

Last year about this same time there was an earthquake in Chile and we were sent through a Tsunami Warning/evacuation situation, but this had a totally different feel. It was late at night, for starters. I hope to NEVER have to wake up my children to get them to safety again. It was very surreal. I felt all my protective Motherly instincts, as well as overwhelming love, fear of the unknown, great responsibility, and such closeness to these little helpless and trusting souls. Like I said before, seeing the footage from Japan definitely shook us. We knew that we were blessed with the opportunity to get to high grounds, and so many others didn't.

We let the kids sleep while we packed our meager supplies. Our plan was to get to Central Oahu where roads wouldn't be washed out, there would be no panic and lots of supplies (if it came to that). We wanted to find a quiet and dark place to park and convert our Honda Pilot into a tent. If there was any question before, it's been answered.... all 5 Smiths, even the huge one, can fit and sleep in our car at the same time. The kids were AMAZING! Seriously, all sweetness. I think they actually enjoyed the adventure. They were smiling sweetly the entire time. They loved sleeping so snugly with Mom and Dad. Olivia slept soundly in her car seat, even through the loud siren that went off a couple more times through the night.

We all woke up around 6 15 and as we started to stretch out Olivia did too and tooted. We all started cracking up, and it was solidified... we are a family. I was touched by how helpful, trusting, and excited the kids were about the whole adventure. I was blown away (once again) by Micah's natural talent for hard work without complaining and even with love and making the experience a great family memory. It went smoothly, thanks to him.

We are so immensely grateful we were able to drive home in the morning and sleep in our bed that night. Thousands of people in Japan wont be able to do that for who knows how long.

We learned a lot that night. Micah and I did our same nightly routine tonight, and are very tired, but there was something different as I plopped down on the couch at the end of our day. It's too bad it takes things like this to give me perspective.

Done and Done

16 games later, the basketball season is (finally) over. It was an awesome experience. Taj may have gone to most of the games and practices solely for the snacks after, but he did it. He loves, LOVES, his "trophy shirt" he got for completing the season and is proud. He definitely improved from the beginning to the end. We'll enjoy the break from organized sports, but Taj already wants to know what color his team shirt will be next year.

Until then, Beach Day is back! It was never really gone, but Saturdays wont be quite as busy. Taj kind of stole this board and started catching waves all on his own, which was a first. Stealing and boogie boarding alone. It's so fun to see your kids love doing something they feel like they discovered on their own. You can't force fun.

Olivia played until she couldn't play anymore. She gave herself her first nap at the beach (which gave me more time to surf -woohoo).

This Little Girl

It's hard for me to remember that Eden is only three. Maybe it's because of how confident she is in who she is already. She knows what she likes, and that's the way it is.

Maybe it's the way she taddles because she knows what's right and what's wrong. Maybe it's the little language she's created: she shortens everything like, "can I have some cheese peets" instead of pizza, or instead of "thank you and your welcome", it's "thank", and "welk." You get the idea. It's very catchy.

Maybe it's the way she says prayers lately, thanking Heavenly Father specifically for Olivia first, then everyone else and chairs and things like that. Maybe it's her new joke that goes: "I have really bad news Mom." By this point she's cracking up. I act all concerned here and she says "I love you!" Where does she come up with this stuff?

Maybe it's how proud she is of being in gymnastics class and in Primary with the big kids. She's a great little student and follows instructions. Unfortunately, she has her Mommy's body type... gymnastics might not work out long term, but we'll see :) She loves it. As for the Taj... he loves it too.

Shenanigans, I tell you.

Thanks (or I guess I should say "thank") for asking me to go with you to your gym class today. I loved it, and I love you.

7 Months Came and Went

This little miss is still growing. I haven't found a way to freeze time with her yet. Olivia is a love. I'm a slow learner, but she's made being a Mom of three pretty manageable. Here are a few things about Olivia lately:

*She is happy. She smiles and laughs at pretty much anything we do, which makes us want to play with her more and more. We can't get enough of this girl. We've been playing some Peek a boo, some blanket parachutes, singing and dancing for her, tickles, and she loves it all.

* She just got her two bottom teeth, but she won't let you see them. She sucks on her bottom lip a lot, so that makes the teeth even harder to spot.

* She's in the 95% for height, so if those hold any water she could end up taller than Micah.

* She loves food. Nursing is good, but real food is GREAT. She has loved everything I've offered, even the green beans, and spinach and carrots. She's at the point with food where she wants some of whatever I'm eating and makes you feel terribly rude for not sharing.

* She's sitting really well.

* She isn't crawling, but can reach well :) Once she learned to roll over from her tummy she wont stay on her tummy very long. She might take after Taj and Eden and not crawl at all.

* She says "Mmmmmum." Ok, she makes a sound that sounds like "Mmmmmuum". I love it.

I'm loving getting to know this little person. She is smart, sweet, and I'm completely grateful she's mine.

When you're a kid...

When you're a kid your job is to play. Taj and Eden are pretty good at their jobs.

Taj is just like his mom, he loves to skate. I was cracking up at how tough he thought he was on these pink skates.

The girls are continually playing some form of house or princess house and love dressing up.

They recently discovered "Candy Lady", or Lee as I know her. She and her husband of 65 years come to Hawaii for 2 months every year and the kids sniff her out. This is my first time seeing the kids with full sized candy bars and my guess is that I'll see it a lot in the next 2 months.

Sunday Snapshots

Guess who remembered she has a camera?

Laundering

Sometimes trying to get the laundry done with the kids around can be fun.

* Taj parachuting with the clean sheets and Livi eating her toes in a pile of pillows. Eden played too.

If....

While looking for a cruiser on craigslist I came across this 1946 beauty. Of coarse if I had $1000 lying around I'd take it! I got to thinking about all the things I say "if" about. "If I had more time...". "If I had more money...". "If my kids weren't so little...". "If" is a horrible word. It's a dangerous game to play. "If" has become my big excuse for not doing what I want and need to do. It takes me down a road where I don't think about all the amazing things I have right in front of me and the beauty of this time of life.

In an effort to stop using the "if" excuse I've started getting up before the kids are awake and running. It has been glorious. I get to start the day with peace and quiet and watch the sun rise while I run. So far I've been able to shower and get dressed (such a luxury) without distractions after the run. I've been in a better mood and feel like I've accomplished a few things on my daily wish list and have more time for the kids and family stuff. It may seem like a small thing, but it's made such a difference in the way the rest of my/our day goes.

While I'd still love this bike, I have many things far greater.

Love you for trying

I am constantly impressed with some of the photography I find on my friends blogs. I'm not talking about the friends that actually do it for a living, but the rest of you out there doing some really great picture taking. I imagine most of the pictures taken are with babies in arms, or that some other important and distracting thing is happening since most of us are Moms.

I asked my sister in law, Mariko to take some pictures of us since we don't really have any. If any of you are familiar with her blog(s) you know she takes some really great pictures. Not that I would chose a posed picture, or a "perfect" picture, but these were about as good as it got in that shoot. Thanks Mariko. Don't take our inability to take a good picture together personally.

Perspective

Our little love is 6 months today. I don't know what I expected to feel or how I thought things would be when Olivia turned 6 months old, but I find myself overwhelmed with good feelings- gratitude, comfort, joy, peace, love. All because of Olivia. I haven't gone into details about some of the experiences we've had with her. They are very personal and someone taught me that they aren't all mine to share. They aren't a secret either. Micah and I knew we were supposed to have another baby. We couldn't ignore it. Knowing Olivia was meant to come to our family has given me comfort. I feel complete joy with her. With every smile, giggle, squeal, roll, sloppy kiss, and hug I feel gratitude that she was given to us. While I cherish my experiences watching Taj and Eden go from baby to toddler to the 3 and 5 year olds they are today, I don't remember being able to be calm and just enjoy each stage with them. I was probably too tired. Now I know how quickly it goes. Taj calls her our "littlest Livi-love." Eden calls for her every night for a hug before bed. There is so much love all thanks to Olivia. It's been a wonderful 6 months. I feel like the luckiest Mom in the world.

*picture taken today at Ho'omaluhia. More on that to come...

Another Super Saturday

Thanks Aunt Lavern, Aunt Alissa, and Javier!