He's Six!!!!

 Taj turned 6 last Thursday! It has sent me into a sentimental spiral. I can't resist an opportunity to share one of the babies "in tummy" stories, or retell something silly they did as a newborn.
Taj requested breakfast in bed. I had to laugh because I have no idea what made him think of requesting that. He knew what he wanted though, and Eden knew she wanted in on it too. She crawled in next to him and waited for her own bowl. I have to point out Eden's amazing morning hair. Wow. Also, the matching pj's. Do they have to keep getting older?

 A little about Taj lately: He's in a boys Gymnastics class that he loves. It works him out hard... like I've never seen him with a red face like this before.
He's obsessed (I use this word in the best way possible )with Lego's and star wars.
He's best friends with Kihei Akina. They talk Lego talk for hours (if we let them) and are found with ninja masks made out of t-shirts almost daily.
He loves his sisters. He gives Eden big hugs and is one of the only one that Livi initiates kisses with. He has a great laugh, and a great heart.
He's reading everyday for school, and loves "Captain Underpants". He's not too old to cuddle Mom and Dad yet... thank goodness.
He loves being home. I was thinking it had something to do with being tired from school, but really he just loves being home. He told us this several times last weekend. Oh, how things will change in the coming years. I need to enjoy having him around while it lasts.

 My camera's become a moody camera. For no explicable reason it will refuse to focus or take pictures. And then a little while later it will be fine. Maybe I need to take it off the auto setting or something. Anyway, my camera didn't capture the cupcakes I took to Taj's class. It didn't capture the pizza we made for Taj's birthday dinner. Taj had thought about it, and having pizza every Friday night wasn't enough. This is the only picture of the ice cream sandwich cake (another Taj request), and we missed when Uncle Jake held Taj upside down to blow out his candles. It was a really fun family birthday party.... can't wait for the friends party!!!

I have to throw in here how fun Eden was in helping get everything ready for Taj's birthday. She never had a selfish moment, but instead loved picking out presents for him and making the cupcakes and getting the house ready for the party. She is such a sweetheart.
I know I've been extra tender hearted lately, but I just hope I tell them how amazing they are enough. I hope I am spending more time of the day laughing and complimenting them than being annoyed and yelling. I've been given such precious gifts. What a great 6 years.

Small Things

I don't know what makes a moment stand out more than another. It's often something we see ten times a day. Whatever it is, I'm grateful for those small moments that make you stop and remember how blessed we are and how amazing the little people we get to share our lives with are.

Waimea Bay

Just a few pictures....

It was another perfect day in paradise. On days like today you have to get in the water. I told Eden it felt like a snorkeling day. She said she thought it felt like a goggling day. Whatever it was, it was fun. I was super impressed with the kids (Micah included) climbing and jumping all over the rock. We saw a huge sea turtle eating. It was right under us, only a few feet away when we realized it wasn't just a rock. Upon seeing it Eden yelled, "I love this!" and almost flipped herself out of the floaty looking for more. When Taj realized it was a huge turtle he yelled excitedly that we had to swim away and get to shore. He really got out of there. With a smile on his face, of coarse. Livi went from sand monster at the beach to snugly baby at the beach. She's all smiles both ways. I can't believe this is our life.

Another Perfect Saturday

 Start a day with glassy V Land, follow it with some Aoki's and some Sharks Cove and we've got a perfect Saturday.

Livi approves of Aoki's. She was very polite and would just put her mouth
near the shaved ice and wave her hands. She's the sweetest little love.

Love the goggles. She is on the verge of swimming. She can, but is still getting the confidence. She's finding a lot of pride in learning new things like swimming with goggles, caring for her little sister, and reading. She is a very excited student. I'm so proud of her and am loving this time of life with her.



Taj loves to snorkel. He told us he wants to snorkel everyday. I love to see my little guy find joy in something so natural and beautiful. He's getting so grown up. It's fun to find new ways to play together.

the Long Weekend

Micah and I have decided we need to grow up. In some ways at least. One way we've discovered is to ease up on the excitement of having a day off of school. Friday was "Statehood Day" here so there was no school. Thursday night we walked up on a fire knife show at Turtle bay. See if you can see the fire on the knife. Yikes. I don't think I could be talked into letting Taj even try this, and yet there was the 10 year old that won 3rd place in the World Junior Fire knife Competition last year.

We really miss Taj while he's at school. so when he's home we're all smiles. Taj and Eden hug and laugh. After church Taj grabbed Eden in a big hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek and said "I missed you Eden." This is definitely a new thing, and very sweet.

 The sunset was breathtaking. What a way to start a long weekend!

Even with food on her face, she is a beauty. 

Put the volume on mute- nobody needs to hear a proud mom on camera.That being said, Go Taj!

"Just The Girls"

and a little Daddy.

We're still trying to get used to Taj being gone everyday. It's been an interesting transition so far. One surprise has been Eden's response. I thought that of coarse she would miss Taj. They've been together nonstop since she came along almost 4 years ago. I didn't expect her to be as thrown off as she is though. Without Taj to entertain her, she doesn't know what to do with herself. Going into this I've made a new routine for us: taj to school, girls go on a walk to the beach or pool or horses or somewhere fun. Then home for Livi's morning nap and Eden does her "home school", then lunch, then free play before nap. When she wakes up Taj is home and we're all back to good. So far she has loved the time with "just the girls" and LOVES school time. It was way overdue. She's been playing with Olivia a ton, which is great except Eden gets excited and really strong so it always ends with Livi getting hurt. Eden also gets to think about what she wants to do a lot more, which results in her asking me for things constantly and getting sidetracked by her new ideas. She gets bossy and throws fits and is trying to figure out how to act right, apparently. It's exhausting. I'm loving this one on one time with her. We needed it, but it's going to take some getting used to. I'm so done by the time nap time comes around. I guess we're all learning more about Eden as Eden and not as Eden and Taj. It's healthy, but tricky. I'm looking forward to the girl we end up with in a few weeks when the transition is worked out.

Always Time for Fun

Maybe this should be part 2 of starting school. When Taj is home we feel like we're supposed to make the time really special for some reason. It'll wear off soon enough, but for now we're loving every second.

Eden is giving Livi her first taste of Melona. Yum! That's what sisters are for.

Taj picked the biggest ice cream in the store. I've never seen him sit still and watch the waves like he did that day with the ice cream.

Micah's getting up on a wave he somehow caught. He's way too big for little Turtle bay. Oh, and he has his hand with 10 stiches in it duck taped up. You can kind of see how he's getting up one handed. The other kid in the picture is my nephew, Devon. He's 16 and just moved here. He's been so fun to have around. Hands down the nices 16 year old boy I've ever met.

Taj has been amazing. He was sad that first day, but didn't fight going back. In fact, we didn't bring it up so it was fun to see how he reacted to people that asked him about it. He even told a couple people that it was fun. I've had to wake him up every morning, which no parent wants to do. He's tried to play the hide under his covers game and say he doesn't want to go to school, but I think it was more of an experiment to see how I'd react than him really not wanting to go. He's been totally helpful getting ready and going to the car, which means he's excited. That makes me excited. I'm so proud of him transitioning so well.

First Day of School

On Tuesday we took this excited boy to his first day of Kindergarten. He was super helpful and pretty much ran to the car. The whole family drove him, but I got to take him in and meet his teacher and see his class. It took all of a few seconds for him to walk away from me and sit with the kids. Mrs. Meha was as sweet as could be. I left feeling really excited for him.
The car ride home was super quiet. Well, compared to what I'm used to. Eden was helpful at keeping us busy and distracting us. We went to the pool and did some school work for her. Had lunch and before I knew it, it was time to get Taj.
Eden had to come with me and see the class. She says his teacher looks like a boy. There were other anxious first time parents waiting for pick up, which comforted me. I picked up a tired boy. And a cuddly boy. He didn't want to talk about his day much. His teacher said he got sad at lunch, and when I asked him about it he broke down and cried and just hugged us. Sweet guy.
It was heart breaking, but also reassuring to me of what a strong bond we have. Maybe too strong? I'm happy to be missed, all though I hate to think of Taj being sad and lonely and I can't really do anything about it but wait until he gets to come home. That and send little notes on his napkin in his lunch.
More details of his first day keep sneaking out. Slowly. I've learned that he got to play on a small playground, do puzzle, had to make friends with the girl, he was the only kid with a home lunch, he wrote as many numbers as he could, and his teacher was nice. That about sums it up. I'm nervous about Monday when he goes back. I'm nervous he wont want to go, or that it will be just as lonely. I know it's time for him to go, but I'm nervous. I want him to love school and feel loved there, but I guess that's not the way the world works all the time. It's a transition, I know. It's going to be a little harder than I thought, and not just for him. It's really hard for me to let him go through the transition. It's a reminder of how important it is to let him know how loved he is every second he's with me, then hopefully whatever happens the rest of the time will be easier to get through. It was the just the first day, after all.

Sandy Toes, Hands and Mouth

Taj says : "This was my favorite day."

Eden says : while body surfing with Micah's help "Again! I'll never stop doing this!"

Olivia says : "gi gi kha." Or something like that. She was laughing and smiling the whole time.