5 months

Our little guy turned 5 months on Sunday. He has two bottom teeth and although doesn't crawl he can get around with all his rolls and squirming around.
This is sweetness in it's truest form!

video updates

A short clip of our beach time. You get to hear baby babble.



The goggles were a gift and they were a little disappointed the water was so stirred up that the couldn't see.

Christmas pictures

A few pictures from the day. Having Camera issues, no longer zooms and was in the wrong setting so many came out blurry. Somehow the girl escaped most of these shots. We had a rainy day but did get to the beach. Poor dad wasn't planning on getting wet yet it started pouring down once we got there so he got quite soggy too. It did stop and we played in the water and saw the sun. Waves are up and beautiful but that makes the water not so pretty to look at. Had a wonderful time, so many blessings this year.

Complete

The song we will be working on in January

Mom thoughts

I've been reading this book now and again. It hasn't totally grabbed my attention yet it has some questions that do really make you think. So last night I grabbed the book and jumped in a hot bath for some relaxing time and I came across a question that I thought I had to share. The name of the book is Mom Overboard: 12 Lifesavers for Moms Who'd Rather Swim Then Sink. Anyway on to the thought to ponder, from page 48 of the book
Consider and respond to this thought: You are the mother that God assigned to your children. Your unique Divine Assignment is part of the reason they were given to you. If you don't know or don't apply your Assignment to your mothering, you are robbing your children of something significant God has in their divine curriculum."
So what made me go A-ha was there it is again. We have these children because God knew James & I would be the best parents for these kids and likewise these children would be the best for us to grow with. They weren't just randomly assigned to us. He will give us all we need to care for these souls. Now about the Divine assignment, this chapter talked alot about the fact we are each called for a certain task or calling in life and how and why we need to figure out what it is. The next chapter is suppose to get more in detail about that.
I had more thought on these but I must admit I have a 3 year old singing(screaming) into a microphone "Blessed be the name of the Lord" Oh my one of those parenting moments that makes my head pound yet the thank you thank you at the end is kinda cute. Thank you for making him cute Lord!

Slings and things

I got a Moby wrap this week and have been trying to figure it out. It is so very soft and baby loves it but I haven't quite gotten the science of putting it on. It is a ton of fabric! A friend recommended it to me as the baby is quite heavy and thought this might be more comforting for my back as opposed to the ring sling which I do love too.


Look where I found this character as we were putting groceries away;)

Snapshots from the week

Look, it's Bruce Wayne! I was informed if he was wearing the t-shirt with a button up shirt he was Bruce Wayne but......

If he had a cape on he was Batman! (oh and she's batgirl I believe)


This one always cracks me up with his feats of flexibility. Loves to suck on this thumb but hey, the toe is just as good! Even better is both!! His first tooth has broken through. Bottom tooth just above the surface.

Our resident creature boy with a friends bird.

Give Thanks

#2 with some of the keiki hula from today.


Me and some of my hula gals.


#2 and I had a fun week dancing for the Lord. So thankful we've been able to participate in this!

Here is a short clip of the keiki from today. As usual this is the practice run; the girls kept right on going even with music glitches!




*gotta post as is, kiddos are ready to go!

Hiking milestone

of sorts. #4, the 3 year old, walked at least 3/4 of the trail in Aiea Heights That's pretty good considering we haven't been hiking in quite awhile and I'm not sure how much he has really walked like that. He cracks me up-he's a talker. James is always commenting on how much #2 talks....she'll use 20 words when she could've used 5. But #4, well he's quite the story teller. Told us all about the dinosaurs and elephants along the path......at one point said we were on a cockroach hunt. He does this at home too.
Mom: Did you pick up your floor?
#4: Yes, but the elephant jumped on my bed and now my blankets are on the ground again.
Very vivid imagination he has.


This was during a quick snack break during the hike. I finally remembered to change the setting on the camera which greatly helped with the brightness factor. Of course this was after I had snapped a picture or two and they were done with pictures-lol!

BTW I cut the boys hair Monday and I keep thinking #4 is #3 now. The hair cut makes them look so much more alike! Add in the fact that #4 wears many of the clothes #3 used to wear and is it any wonder I call them the wrong names?!

One of #5 from this week. He rolls all ways now and talks loudly;) He was snuggled against daddy in the ergo carrier on the hike. Totally content snoozing away.

Did you know Dad's can multi-task too?

It's a little known fact. For example I was working on cleaning the stove top today and baby got fussy.

So dad picked up baby

and continued playing.

Baby is perfectly content, if you can't tell take a closer look.


Such silliness at our house!

Told the kids that we were going to look for dinosaurs today. They told me we shouldn't leave the house without shovels!
Alas the dinos we were looking for had already been discovered.

As we approached these outside the little one started walking slower and slower. He had to be carried inside as he was not too keen on the moving and loud dinosaurs.


He was much happier with the bones that he could 'discover'

cookie baking season

We had our first 'cookie marathon' last Saturday. Made two batches of sugar cookies and one batch of chocolate chunk cookies. Yum Yum!!


Yes, the only icing on hand was pink. The pumpkins and leaves tasted good no matter what color they were!



Another swim lesson day. #4's first day. I am such a nervous wreck on swim lesson days...I know these are highly qualified ladies teaching our kids...but the water is so deep and I'm so far away....must release the control issues.....
So everyone survived another day of lessons ;) Today was a Safety day in which they went over rules and skills in which they could help someone in the water even if the lifeguard wasn't around.
Yes, the pictures are from a distance. I need to stay back, so I don't become that parent.

#4 jumped off the diving board twice. I was glad to see a bit of caution in the boy. He is a busy, adventurous boy in general!

#2 pulling someone in.

Treasure

Yesterday #4 was determined to find treasure. He brought his shovel and sand bucket ready to go on a great dig. After digging for awhile and not finding anything treasure worthy he decided to bury his own treasure to find. Found a couple leaves he liked, buried, then dug them up and with great excitement in his voice shouted "I found treasure!" If only everyone could be so happy with the little things in life.

A couple links to share from the week.

The Happy Housewife had a great take on when Dad's homeschool;)

Mrs. G over at Pioneer Woman's place had some great advice. I've not read any of the books she recommended but I'm behind her 100% on the care and keep of the kids!

heard today

On the way to swim lessons .....

from #2: #5 is cooing and smiling, looking up at the sky Mom. I bet he is singing praises to God!


So sweet!

Some of our week

We had a long game of kick ball last week. I love that the kids are getting old enough for these kinds of games! We switched up teams every ending. #4 played on his 'mountain' for most of the times. But after awhile he started jumping in and kicking the ball then randomly run the bases.



This guy slept in the shade until just the right time for me to enjoy a break from all the running!


I challenged the big boy to create something from a paper bag(thanks to an idea from mom) He added other bags and became robot man.


This was slightly funny to me when it happened. You know you're the 5th child when.....elephants are stomping around you and you can still get a good sleep!

We made these paint bags today(fyi I don't recommend Glad storage bags for this project-not quite strong enough)
#3 enjoyed writing this way!

#4 enjoyed 'writing' too!

We kicked #1 outside to work on his math. As you can see he's rather happy about it!

#2 concentrating hard on her english


I woke him up, oops!

#5 on his first float at the pool. Despite the face he really enjoyed it!

Gems of the day

#2 said "today is the day between happiness" meaning we did something fun yesterday(pumpkins) and tomorrow she's looking forward to swim lessons:)


We were at our pool today and one of our neighbors came to swim. This is someone we hadn't met before and I'm guessing hasn't met many(any?) homeschoolers. She had this comment after joining us at the pool for awhile. 'Your kids are very talkative for being home schooled.' I must have smirked or laughed or something, I can't say anything when someone makes such a silly comment as that.....Actually I'm sure I did say that yes my children aren't shy, they will talk to anyone. A bit later she says "I guess that is a misconception about homeschoolers." I did agree with her there:)

pumpkins, oh my!

If you you are a friend on facebook then you'll get to see a few pictures of the kids at the pumpkin patch(we were with a group and everyone had name tags) But if not this picture above is the end result. Pumpkin anyone?


Last night I had that strange sensation you get when you think you've forgotten someone. I was out by myself and had noone with me but felt I should look in the back just in case someone(child) was there. I've had that happen too when they are all in the car but someones being extra quiet. Roll call please, must make sure everyone is accounted for. So far I haven't left anyone behind but it's best to be cautious(no I'm not paranoid!)

I found much irony in a recent science experiment. We've been studying Ancient Egypt. The topic of mummies and how they were preserved was brought up. So we were using bread to see how fast mold would grow(you following?) We had one piece of toast, one piece of bread with antiseptic and one regular piece of bread all in there own bags. FYI in this weather bread grows mold fast, we usually keep it in the fridge so it will last. It took FOREVER for that silly old piece of bread to grow mold, if fact we accidentally grew mold in our regular bread that didn't get put in the fridge over the weekend before that one piece grew mold!

on the web

A couple sites I wanted to pass on today

Let's Explore-a fun site with lots of preschool age ideas

To Love, Honor and Vacuum-talking about respect, kids and parenting

Swim time

It's been a busy week, but what week isn't!? I think the humidity and no wind has made it seem longer. Having sick kids too. Today was the first day of swim lessons, we enrolled the older 3 in but #2 didn't swim today as she's been sick since Wednesday night and decided she didn't feel up to it. Of course once we arrived she was upset she didn't bring her suit because she felt better! She watched intently and I'm sure will practice at our pool this week. #1 took to it like a duck in water. (Our kids know the basics of swimming but have never had formal lessons so I put them in the beginner class until the instructor says otherwise) #3 cried once we arrived and he realized he didn't have his floaties. I have been unsuccessful with getting him in the water without the floats. Then he decides to get in the water only to find out the hard way that the shallow water is deeper than our pool at home. Poor kid! But he had a great instructor who put him on her back and went about her business teaching the other kids and slow and steady got #3 swimming around too! Wish I had some pictures but I was too busy making sure #4 didn't fall in. He would lay close to the edge and watch what the other kids were doing. I did find out I can enroll him in too, so next month all 4 will be in the class. They had two teachers today, one worked with the 2 younger ones and the other had 4 older ones.

Calvary Church Family Camp 2009

These are of things from Saturday afternoon.

My big wall climber.


#3 caught some pictures of the boys/men playing football.



Having a Popsicle to cool off.


A bit of kickball with different rules. First ending after someone caught the ball everyone else had to run in line behind them. The kicker got a point for every base he ran before the line formed. Second ending they not only had to get in line after the ball was caught buy also had to pass it under the legs. I missed the third ending:)



We had such a great time-was too busy to take many pictures! We love our church family! So many memories and sharing from the heart.

Last night #3 came upstairs all 'spiked up' Apparently #2 was his stylist:) I happen to love it when they spike their hair. What hair product would help it stay like this during the day? He asked me to turn the fan off because it was making his hair fall down. I like the big man's hair all spiky too, it's kinda cute and adventuresome. For some reason he's not all over that style;)



This was where I found the older two when I was calling them in for lunch one day. They were actually much higher up, when they came in I told them they needed to find a tree that wasn't so near the sidewalk for my comfort;)



Our little guy is growing so much! He has been smiling and laughing so much in the last week or so! Tuesday night I came home from practice and James said he rolled over. I was hoping it was just a fluke but yesterday he did it several times too!
Here is a really short video of his giggles, battery ran out as I was filming.

Birthday Girl

From yesterday


Some kids might be disappointed to receive a pack of gum for their birthday. But not mine, it's a treat around here and she's having fun blowing the bubbles....I'm trying my best to ignore the gum smacking......

Happy 8 years!

She picked out a fun-fetti cake with Strawberry Icing and Black Raspberry Chocolate Ice Cream-lots of pink!

Today she had a pool date with a friend-I forgot to take pictures! It was a crazy kind of day and I was just enjoying talking to another adult, LOL! Yesterday, #2's bible study teacher brought cupcakes to class because #2 had been sad the week before that her dad was going to be gone for her birthday. She has such a thoughtful teacher, trying to help cheer her up! Daddy's home now, I think....he kinda crashed once he got home...we'll let you know once the jet lag is gone.

Sunday Service

We were asked to dance at a service on the beach today. I danced one song with the group (Hula no ke Akua, Dancing for Him). Was a different experience with people on all sides of you in varying degrees of dress;) I just had 2 of the kids with me so the video isn't post worthy as #2 was holding #5 during part of it and so there are pictures of sand and feet, lol! He was sleeping during the run through but she was busy playing then and didn't tape for me. Oh well, maybe next time.
We danced The Prayer, a beautiful song which I can't find in a quick search by itself so here is another group dancing a different dance than we do but it is still beautiful and the song is the same.

A couple of boys

#3 at the pool last week

This is what #5 thought of the pool. Actually he screamed when I dipped his feet in(the water was cool) but we seem to always go during nap time so he's never awake enough to enjoy(or try to)

Little Bean

The little one had a check up today. Figured I'd let you know the details before I forget to share. He is 7 weeks and weighs 16 pounds and is 26 inches long. His head has grown another inch too and is 16 1/2 'round. Nice and plump....love his thighs and arms! He moves himself enough to move around the blanket and has been running into the entertainment center. Boy is he unhappy when his head runs into the bottom of that! *Note to self* move blanket into the middle of the the floor. Although that presents it's own problems in the name of big brothers/sister who aren't always paying attention....one of the hazards of being the youngest I suppose.
This post really should have a picture, maybe the camera and the computer will meet soon, lol.

Lifehouse

They grow so fast

I just had to share my shock. My baby girl is now wearing adult sized shoes! Before I know it she's going to want to borrow mine!

Standing tall

Friday afternoon we took the kids to the beach. It's been awhile, nice to get there again. There were amazing feats done.

and lots of 'throwing kids around'

Little bit and me sat and watched(well, tried too, the sun was bright!) He stayed snuggled under the blankets aka sun blockers for most of the time.

Then he tried laying on the beach for awhile......as you can see he decided to roll off the blanket and check the sand out;) If the surface isn't extremely flat it isn't hard for his weight to roll him over:)

Maybe next time he'll try the water out.

Esther

It's so nice to start getting back in the swing of things. Had our first day in our new bible study, so many new faces! Had a lot of families PCS(move) over the summer. But a lot more moved here too, I think the attendance was 113 women and 137 children last week! The study I am in is on the book of Esther. It's a Beth Moore study that can be found here, esther/It's tough being a woman. I believe you can download the videos if you can't get a group study together. The kids are all studying Old Testament Heroes in DiscipleLand

#3 drew a hand print today and it had things like his height, weight, age, hair and eye color on it. For his hair color he was telling me he had to color it yellow because there wasn't a blonde crayon;)

I started back to hula yesterday. We are learning Can you Only Imagine. Love that song.

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