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!
