happy thirty-something birthday, rob!

Lookey who has a birthday today! It's Rob, it's Rob! Happy birthday, Rob!! My partner in crime and love of my life.

Up until I met Rob, August 4th was a day I tried not to think too much about, but it was kind of hard not to. Fourteen years ago today, my dad passed away. When I met Rob and we were in the "getting to know you" phase, naturally "when's your birthday?" came up. When he told me, I definitely had a giant moment of pause. August 4th. It took me a few minutes, but then I couldn't help but feel... happy. I really really really felt like it was something greater than a coincidence. Today is a celebration of LIFE - to celebrate the life my dad lived for 47 years, and most importantly, to celebrate the birth of the the most important man in this world to me, and to our children. So today is a good day for me.

Let me just tell you how in love I am with my husband. Watching him in his role as "dad," has really upped the swoon factor. He works so hard for our family so I can stay at home with Christian and Cora. He loves us more than life, and he would do anything for us. He loves the Lord, loves his family, and loves his friends. Rob, you are an amazing man and I am beyond blessed to be your wife and partner for life.

Cora's 2nd day. 

Yep. Christian had a little visit to the ER for eating an unidentified object. Sigh. Boys. Rob was the calm voice of reason, comfort, and sanity while I was at anxiety level extra high trying to figure WHAT he ate. He kept both Christian and I calm. 

Hanging five. 

Swoon. 

My surfer boys. 

Honeymoon in Belize. 

I am truly one lucky lady!  

Thank you for taking Cora in the mornings so I can get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Thank you for not balking at the cost of "going back to blonde." Thank you for telling me how beautiful I am when I criticize my wide hips, and reminding me that with those hips I brought two beautiful children into this world. You are amazing, and man, I sure am glad you were born. ;) 

We love you so much! Happy birthday! 

a birthday recap, of sorts

For my birthday I got a brand spankin' new camera - a Nikon D3300. It's basically the much much newer model of my previous Nikon D40. A lot of the functions are the same except with new features and much higher megapixels. It's pretty much the most basic DSLR Nikon makes, which is perfect for me. The camera is only part of the equation in achieving beautiful photos - it's in the lenses, the photographers skill/eye, technical knowledge, etc. If you have the skill/knowledge/experience, then it's the natural progression to buy "better" cameras/more lenses, but for me... it's just fun to play around with different settings and lenses, and I really have zero technical knowledge or skill. Hah.

This camera came with the standard 18-55mm lens, which I already had (came with my D40). I also already have a 55-200mm lens that I love and use mostly when Rob's surfing; it has great zoom! My favorite lens by far is my 50mm fixed lens. Another one of my most favorite gifts! This lens is great at creating that bokeh effect (blurred background) that a lot of people (including me) love. (Although not the only purpose of that particular lens.)

ANYWAY... yesterday, I got to play around with my new camera. I forgot the lens I wanted to use (of course), but I had so much fun yesterday afternoon celebrating my birthday with my two favorite boys! Last night we went out to dinner in Waikiki with one of our favorite families - the Liles (DON'T LEAVE!!), and had planned on seeing the Friday night fireworks afterward. Naturally, I brought my camera to take beautiful, whimsical photos of our boys playing on the beach with glowing faces lit by the ambiance of the fireworks. And just as naturally, the boys were wild and overtired (at least mine was) and we all went home after dinner instead. :)

It's been a while since we went to the skate park, so Christian was stoked. He rode his yellow bike for a while, but it was hard to pedal up the ramps, so he charged it on his Strider. He even did a few of the bigger ramps this time around! 

One of my favorites!

Another one of my favorites! ;)

This one too! Ok, I can't pick. I just love these boys.

Remnants of coco puff and scrapes on his face, bandaid on his chin (skateboard incident... of course), and determination. No fear, this one.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was truly the perfect day! 

35 weeks + visitors + cravings

I feel like we're at the beginning of a new chapter of this pregnancy. All of our guests have left, and this hale is closed for business. This is a chapter where I can get into my nesting groove, we can pull Christian's baby clothes down from the attic, wash all the baby clothes and cloth diapers, pack my hospital bag, pack Christian's suitcase for his overnight stay with Mimi and Papa, and I can really focus on not complaining my way through the next however many weeks.

If you can remember way far back in February, Rob's sister and the girls were in town! It was a busy week, filled with beach days and laughter and fun. Actually, SO much fun because I had to put in at least one call to my doctor about weird pains. (Turns out, the baby CAN push down on the cerclage, and it is very painful - trust me, but is also normal as long as no other "labor" or TMI symptoms are present.) Either way, Mimi and Papa so graciously added one more munchkin to the mix and let Christian sleep over for not one, but TWO nights in a row so I could rest at home while Rob was at work.

After the girls left, my mom flew in the very next day with her friend Rachel. Rachel stayed for about 10 days, and my mom a total of 3 weeks! I tried to take it easy, but it was still a pretty busy 3 weeks. And that's mostly because I have a really hard time sitting still or staying cooped up in the house. Mom and Rachel rented a car so they could do the tourist thing and get around island as they wanted. It was nice having my mom here, and Christian was certainly spoiled. At one point they went into Toys R Us, and let's just say, Christian thought it was Christmas. Mom was great with helping out and playing games with him while I mostly just laid in the bed in the afternoons. She gave him a bath every single night, which any parent knows is HUGE. And now going through my pictures, I always regret not taking enough photos of my mom and Christian together. Sigh. 

The day my mom left, one of Rob's college roommates (whom I originally met in Costa Rica years ago at another one of their roommate's wedding) stayed with us for 2 nights with his beautiful family! I had originally met his wife on one of their other trips out here a year or two ago. They have a sweet almost 2 year old AND the most precious, squishy 3 WEEK old. We BBQ'd, and did a little tailgating at the beach. I totally eyed the girl sitting next to us with jealousy chilling in her beach chair with wine BOTTLE in the cup holder. Doing it right.

So yeah, it has been a busy, busy month or so, and I am ready to just kick it until Baby Sister arrives. The guest room is slowly transforming into a semi-nursery, because like with Christian, this baby will also sleep next to me in a co-sleeper bassinet for the first few months or so. And like I mentioned before, I'll most likely move into the guest room for the first month or so. Since our most recent guests had a baby that needed a changing table, we busted that back out, along with our Arm's Reach Mini Co-Sleeper, so we're pretty much set. I plan on buying another cube storage to stick in there, and hanging up a few pictures with Jen's help (who else?) on Wednesday! Which means there's a trip to Target in my future. Duh. 

As for my most recent doctor's appointment, all is good. I have actually started to dilate (even with a cerclage in place) but I of all people know that it really means nothing. With Christian I was 3cm dilated by my 36 week appointment, and continued to dilate for the next month until I had him at almost 40 weeks. I get my cerclage taken out on April 1st, at 36 weeks + 3 days. Actually she said she would try to take my cerclage out. Say whaaa? "What do you mean, try?" I asked. She said it would depend on my pain threshold and if the cerclage had migrated at all.

And recommended taking some extra-strength Tylenol before the appointment. Hmmm... how about a shot of whiskey and a few Xanax? Oh? Not recommended while pregnant? I see.

Anyway, the doctor recommend Rob "stay local" for the month of April (due date is April 26th), which obviously makes complete sense. HOWEVER, I don't want him to burn up all his time off/family leave just to hear me complain about how uncomfortable I am. It is a tough situation trying to "plan" for baby's arrival with a husband's flying schedule. I remember stressing about this with Christian, especially when my doctor dropped the bomb that I was so dilated with a month left to go and Rob had a few more trips on his schedule. So, our compromise and idea of "staying local" are 2-day west coast trips as opposed to 3-day international trips, and he (basically) has the first week of April off. But not to worry! I have my backup birth partner all ready just in case Rob can't make it home. I'm hoping + praying + trusting that he will be here.

Current craving: Greek yogurt + bananas and strawberries + some kind of chia coconut granola + local honey. Can't stop. This is definitely the "healthiest" thing I've craved, so I'm going to run with it because "oh hey 40lbs" and I know I ain't carrying a 40 pound baby.

Have a wonderful week! 

happy aloha friday!!

Heyyyyyy!

First, I offer my sincerest condolences to those on the east coast getting owned by Winter. I remember living in Virginia begging for Spring, especially by now. But then I moved away from snow, and will never (God willing) go back. I do not enjoy cold weather, being cold, or snow. Although, I do think that Colorado and Alaska are two of the most beautiful states I've ever visited. For sure.

Moving on...

We have had a busy and very exciting week with Rob's sister and our nieces in town. Christian is beside himself in love with his cousins, and he has been having a blast. He even had his very first sleepover. Not sure why they call it a sleepover. Finally around 10pm, Warden Christen had to go in Christian's room and stand there until they all fell asleep. Of course, they were up before the sun chitter chattering away. Christian actually put himself down for a nap that next day, and I questioned everything I know about my son. But clearly, they had a blast.

Eventually Lilley moved into Christian's bed, and Violet ended up on the floor. Don't worry, she was moved back to the bed, where I'm sure Christian continued to kick her face and hog the bed for the rest of the night. 

I have admittedly skipped two beach days. (Not the day pictured above.) Unfortunately, I'm not supposed to get in the water, and I've been trying to take it as easy as possible. On Wednesday I also had a doctor's appointment, and afterward I decided to go home and nap instead of the beach. I swear I'm not antisocial. Just very tired.

Today there's a cold front moving in (ha ha ha sorry), so it's raining with a high of 75. So we're going to see Paddington. If it clears up, then maybe we'll (finally) go see the Friday night fireworks at the Hilton in Waikiki. I do know that tomorrow we're going to a luau!

Cold front in Hawaii; currently 70 degrees.

Yesterday my locks went back to brunette, so I'm having one of those days when you walk by the mirror and you're like, "who wha?? Oh." Ladies, you know what I'm talking about.

In other randomness, we made a little more progress in the house decorating area. We ordered a headboard for our bed! Still no pictures up on the wall yet, but we'll get there. I will say that I Raged Against Pier 1 after I tried to add something to my shopping cart and after they "saw" that I was in Hawaii, the price of said piece of furniture jumped up by $120. That is pure craziness, and NOPE. Also, since our stores actually have nothing we want in stock, I'm at the mercy of whether they'll ship to our house, or our local store. HA. HA. HA. One buffet we wanted clearly indicated it could be shipped to our zip code. GREAT! Add to Basket, please. Go to checkout... What? Can't be shipped to our zip code. OH. OK. Liars. So, I'm not happy with Pier 1, or their website, or furniture shopping in general in Hawaii. But I do like the headboard. However, it's not actually in our possession yet, so I'll believe that we're actually getting it when we do.

We also got a giant mirror for our dining area from our favorite "second hand store," Inter-island Hotel Furniture. Yep, all pieces of furniture from all the hotels that are remodeling/upgrading/etc. (Also, where we got our pineapple couch, tall rattan lamp, coffee table in pineapple room, and vintage Hawaiian hula girls print.)

Currently.

That's Christian watching a surf video on Rob's iPad, and narrating with hand motions all the tricks they're doing, and asking me how they do those tricks. Redirecting to Rob... 

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Aloha Friday! 

aloha to you, 2014!

Goodbye 2014!

Last year, I had so much fun writing a "year-in-review" post that I thought I would do it again. You're welcome. Hah. Overall, this year has been great. Of course there were some sad times, frustrating days, and tears, but the good times and blessings happily outweigh those sad moments. This has truly been the year that Christian has proven to us that he has NO FEAR. He bombs hills on his bike, "surfs," loves his skateboard, and doing practically anything that will give his mama a near heart attack.  This year we were lucky enough to travel quite a bit, including adding another Japan stamp on my passport.

January
What a great month!! We enjoyed sunny days at the beach (probably goes without saying), and time playing at the park. I ran two fun races with my favorite girls - the Neon 5k with Brandi and the Ugly Sweater Run with Jayme. I was able to go along on one of Rob's trips to Osaka, while Christian had a fun sleepover with Mimi & Papa. In Japan, we ate tons of good food (duh), visited the Osaka Aquarium, shopped, walked around taking in the sights, went to Starbucks (did you know that Japan as THE BEST Starbucks ever??) and did our best to stay warm. I was also lucky enough to sneak away to the Big Island with my beautiful friend Jayme for a much needed Girls' Weekend. We cashed in some hotel points, left the kids with our husbands, and proceeded to HAVE A BLAST.

February 

Let me tell you why February is always one of our MOST favorite months... because it's when the cousins come to visit! I get some girl time with Rob's sister, and Christian just adores his cousins, Lilley and Violet. This year we hiked Makapu'u to whale watch, went to the Bishop Museum to check out a Doraemon exhibit where there were Japanese tour groups taking tons of pictures of our children, and went to the beach a lot. We spent a day at Auntie Jayme's garden with Christian's best friends Joey & Isabel, which is always fun! Dirt and a golf cart, what more could a kid want? Christian finished up his music class, and thank goodness, because it was not the highlight of my week. Trying to get a 2-year old to sit in a circle and sing songs was not enjoyable (or easy) for us. We had some very cute Valentine's Day photos taken, and we also found out that we were pregnant. 

March

For the most part, March was pretty uneventful. Hawaii Kai had a really cool fair with lots of rides that Christian got to go on. Driving a yellow car is always more fun when you get to do it with Papa! We had the privilege of hearing Francis Chan speak at First Prez. WOW. What a passion for God! He was so inspiring! Christian got some playtime with his buddy Austin, and we had a mini Class of 1999 Varina High School reunion, here in Hawaii! We also found out that the baby I was carrying no longer had a heartbeat. We much later found out that our baby (a girl) had an extra 16th chromosome (Trisomy 16). 

April

April was a really fun month too! I spent my birthday morning surfing with the love of my life, the man who taught me to surf back when we lived in Florida. Fun fact: I still have my first surfboard (that I had to put on layaway), even though I've cycled through many others. Her name is Stella, and I'll never part with my beloved longboard. We checked out Oahu's Railway (formerly used for sugar cane transportation) and rode the train through Kapolei. We celebrated Easter praising our risen Savior, with our best friends, of course, and then had the most fantastic Easter Egg Hunt at a beautiful beach house in Lanikai. We also took a family trip over to the Big Island and stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. WHAT FUN! Rob and Christian had a blast on the many many water slides, while I sipped something fruity poolside. That resort really has it all - talking birds, dolphins, a train, boats, tons of pools, and I could go on. We even got to meet up with one of my most favorite flight attendant friends, Cherie, who's daughter happens to be a dolphin trainer at the resort. I got to see Bruno Mars with awesome company (Brandi and Jayme); he put on a fantastic show! Rob and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary by having a wonderful dinner at Morimoto's in Waikiki. 

May
May can be summed up with one word: Kaia. At the end of April, I started eating REALLY clean. I cut out all sugar, minus what was in fruit, processed anything, wheat, dairy, and basically only ate eggs, vegetables, and fruit. I started a 6-week program called Kaia. I was determined to lose the weight I had gained throughout 3 failed pregnancies, that I just couldn't shake. In the short, Kaia changed my life. I know that cutting out all that stuff sounds restricting, but I have never felt better in my life. Rob's cousin came for a visit as well, and we hiked Lanikai Pillboxes, and BBQ'd at the beach. He gave Christian a tennis racket and ball, that Christian loves!

June
June was filled with more Kaia, and a visit from one of my favorite Super Stews, Suzi. Suzi always keeps me laughing, and I'm pretty sure Christian fell in love with her. We moved Christian from his crib to a toddler bed, and lost about 30 hours of sleep in the process. But thank goodness for the Onaroo OK to Wake "alarm" clock, which helped us get back on track. We hiked, we ate shave ice, we went to the beach, pretty standard stuff. I also got to meet my favorite photographer in the WORLD, Clark Little, by random chance. It was fantastic. We had a fun day at the water park again this year, courtesy of the pilots' union. And we made the trip to Virginia for what was going to be a great 3 weeks traveling and visiting family.

July
We made it to Virginia and hung out for a few days with family (and Christian's other favorite cousins) before we headed to Aunt Amy's farm in West Virginia to celebrate the 4th of July with aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins. My mom even came too! We had so much fun! The last time we did a big family reunion of sorts like that was back in 2007, and a lot of babies have been born since then. Hah. After leaving the farm, we continued onto Pittsburgh to visit Rob's grandma, and lots more family. And after that, onto Michigan to visit Rob's childhood best friend, Dan, his amazing wife, Liz, and their two hilarious little boys, Sam and Max. I love that family! We had so much fun exploring Detroit with them and especially the little community where they live. When we finally made it back to Hawaii, we were stoked that one of my very good friends from middle/high school and her hubby were coming for a visit. We had fun playing cards, drinking mai tais, hiking, and hanging out with this awesome couple. We also took a quick day trip over to Maui to hang out with another fun couple, Mike and Melanie, and their son, Peyton. They happened to be vacationing there and invited us to crash their cabana. So we did. It was glorious.

August

Rob's birthday, Christian's birthday, and lots of celebrating! We saw Jack Johnson at the Waikiki Shell, I took an ukulele class with Jayme and Mimi through the church, and I was supposed to go to Stroller Strides instructor training in San Diego BUT because of the two hurricanes that were to hit the islands that weekend, I decided to stay home. We celebrated Christian's 3rd birthday like any family that lives in Hawaii would, with a bouncy house! Pretty sure the kids (and ahem, some grown-ups) had a blast bouncing away. Praise God for no broken bones, no fly away bouncy houses, and for another year of our lives being so blessed with our miracle boy!! We also got to celebrate the birthdays of Jayme and her daughter Isabel at Disney's Aulani Resort. Two words: AH-MAZING!! I got to checkout the Honolulu Night Market for the first time with Brandi, who happens to be a pro at navigating the Night Market. It was crowded, but lots of fun + good food!! Rob and I went on a catamaran cruise out of Waikiki to wish a fond farewell to a friend moving back to the mainland. We had a really really fun North Shore playdate with one amazing family that I'm sad we don't get to see more often, and we also found out that I was pregnant, again. 

September

For Rob's birthday present, I got him/us tickets to see a collaboration of bands at the Waikiki Shell. If you're not into the island/reggae scene, you probably haven't heard of any of the bands that performed, but they're some of our favorites! Rob took advantage of his layover in China and visited the Great Wall. Later in the month we, plus Brandi, boarded a plane to San Jose to visit Rob's sister's family AND see Katy Perry!! It was so much fun to hang with the Stryker family, and I know Brandi enjoyed her day of exploring San Francisco. And ALL us girls enjoyed Katy Perry. The kids had a blast at an amusement park, where Christian rode his very first roller coaster... a hundred times. And truth be told, it was being in San Jose that really motivated us to really really really think hard about buying a house, or at least seeing if we could afford one anywhere in Hawaii. We also snagged some pretty good seats to watch the Blue Angels. 

October

We officially started our house hunt, and went into escrow. Fortunately, we know a fabulous relator, who is obviously more than our realtor, but a very dear friend of the family. Our original annual trip to Aloun Farm with friends to pick pumpkins got rained out by yet ANOTHER hurricane, so we went to the smaller, although very fun, Waimanalo Country Farm instead. With my Stroller Strides instructor training rescheduled for October, I was all set to go to training, this time in Phoenix. Flight booked for Friday, hotel booked for the weekend, all of it! And then I got a call Thursday morning asking where I was. Whomp whomp. I don't know how I totally spaced on that and got the date wrong (SO unlike me), but I blame the raging sinus infection I'd been fighting for a month + pregnancy brain. Rob made a super rad yellow race car for Christian's Halloween costume, and he went trick-or-treating for the very first time. It was so much fun, even though our original plans to hang with another favorite family, the Liles, got snarled by the REDONKULOUS traffic on the way to their home. Gas dropped below $4/gallon for the first time I can remember. 

November

Lots of beach days, Tiny Tots, Mighty Moms, and trips to the park. As we got closer to closing on our new house, we started packing up our old place. I chopped a good few inches off my hair (typical preggo move), and really started seeing a growing tummy. At 16 weeks I found out I would need a cerclage to help prevent preterm labor. I also started weekly progesterone shots. The day I had my cerclage I was also scheduled (AGAIN) to go to Stroller Strides instructor training, even though I did not feel up for it, and wasn't even going to be living in the same area where I would have originally started teaching. As it turned out, I wouldn't be going this time either. Either it wasn't written in the stars, or God's plan, but it was not meant to be. In exciting news, we closed on our new house and Rob and his parents and many friends got to work to make it a beautiful space. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends, the Grzebiks, and we are thankful indeed for their wonderful family!! 

December

We officially moved clear across the island, a bit sad to say goodbye to our old place. We loved our landlord and their family, and the community and area, and we have so many memories of the past 2+ years there. But I love our new home, and the space we now have. I feel like it fits our growing family perfectly. Christian is content to playing inside, but we have done lots of exploring around our new town with trips to the library, new parks, and finally a trip to the beach. We're still unpacking and organzing, but we're getting there! We've put our new grill to good use too having our first BBQ with the Liles family! We decided this year to go more local and chop down our own Norfolk Island Pine at Oahu's one Christmas tree farm - Helemano Farms. And it was so fun to host a Christmas Eve dinner with the Liles, Grzebiks, and of course Mimi and Papa! You know who else is loving his new found freedom? Baxter! He's now an indoor/outdoor kitty, and he loves lounging on the lanai outside. We've also heard him defending his new territory a few times. Eek. 

But wow, 2014 has treated us well. Even though we lost another pregnancy which broke our hearts, we are so blessed with this baby growing inside of me now, that we all already love so much. This pregnancy hasn't come without it's minor complications, but I am so THANKFUL for my amazing new doctor. If it wasn't for my Kaia girl, Chandra, I would have never had the opportunity to see such an amazing doctor. (Another way Kaia changed my life!) Chandra has also done all of my ultrasounds, and she is just truly a blessing. This pregnancy has been like no other. I'm still trying to take it as easy as I can, which some days proves to be harder than others, but I take it day by day and with lots of prayer for this little one. Christian is excited to be a big brother and constantly says, "Baby sister will love me!" Christian is a healthy, active little boy that brings us so much joy every single day. He now stands up on a moving surfboard, and as of the other day, a movie skateboard! He's also learning how to ride a "real" bike without training wheels! He's so full of life, and has no fear, which as his mom, scares me to death some days! Rob has a job that he loves, and he is just an amazing dad and husband. We still can't get over that we're finally homeowners... in Hawaii. I truly feel blessed, and hope that I'll always remember to be thankful that all that we have. 

Cheers, 2014!