Our awesome Valentine's Day! (and a little bit of potty talk)

Our very first Valentine's Day on Kauai was a great one!

The night before, when Joe, Jalen and Hallie were sleeping, I set up all their gifts I got them on the kitchen table. 

I made it look all pretty, and Valentine's dayish. 

They each got a bar of homemade soap, and then each got another small gift from me. 

I got Joe these really cool letters made out of horseshoe's..they read J (heart) C.

Jalen got a new hat from a local surf shop, and some Fruity Pepples cereal. He has been wanting it for a long time, and since we do not typically buy sugary cereal, I figured I would treat him. 

He finished the box in less than a week, so I think he was loving it!

And Hallie Rose got an electric toothbrush that has Barbie on it. She loves to play with mine, so I thought I would encourage teeth brushing by getting her one of her own. 

The next morning, when Hallie and I woke up, Joe had decorated the kitchen counter top with pink and red roses(my favorite), red tulips for Hallie, and my phone was sitting there with a post it that read "press play".

When I opened up my phone and pressed play, "Love Song" by Adele played. 

Hallie and I danced to the beautiful tune, while basking in the love surrounding us.

We then went about our day as planned, which consisted of toddler class at the library, playing at the park, and tending to my other domestic duties. 

I dressed her in a cute t-shirt with hearts on it, and let her pick out her diaper that day. 

She chose red. 

She also insisted on wearing her pink Ugg boots, so she looked very cute to say the least.

Later that day, we picked Jalen up from the bus stop, and waited for Dad to come home from work. 

He came home early, and was prepared to cook us all a yummy Valentine's meal. 

Fish from Hanalei Dolphin, brown rice, and salad. 

I also made an ice cream cake, which we enjoyed after our dinner.

It was a great day, filled with love. 

A few days after V-day, Hallie started something new....

She is going potty in the toilet!

We still put a diaper on her, but she can pretty much go pee "on command". 

She thinks its pretty cool to sit up on the toilet, so we have been having her go often. 

We cheer and praise her each time she goes. 

She runs around naked alot, so I think that has helped in her realizing whats going on "down there". 

I cant believe my little baby is going potty in the toilet already!

Everyone says "they grow up so fast", which is SO true!

I also can't believe my first baby is going to be 13 in a couple of weeks. 

We got him something really cool, but I wont say yet what it is. 

He is flying to Ohau with the Island School Olympaids team on March 3rd(his b-day) to compete against other schools in the state of Hawaii.

I am such a proud Mommy and wife. 

I am blessed beyond belief, and feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful little family unit. 

I love them more than anyone or anything in the entire world. 

They are my life, my love, my heart, and happiness. 

January 2012

Poor little Hallie Rosebud:(

She is not feeling herself the past few days.

Her last big molar is getting ready to pop through, and so I'm thinking this is what has caused the runny nose and slight cough.

She is sleeping more than normal during the day, but not near as well at night.

We finally got her off the night bottles, which has helped us all get more sleep.

It only took a night or two of her waking up, wanting it, fussing and falling back to sleep.

She now sleeps from about 9 or 10pm until around 6 am. It is so nice.

She has been saying more words lately.

She likes to pretend like she is talking on the phone, and will just jibber jabber. It is the cutest thing ever!

She can say "mama, mommy, daddy, bye, up", and tries to repeat things we tell her to.

She can point to every body part we ask of her, including her chin, elbow, knees, back(tries), eyebrows, and cheeks.

Her favorite food right now is quinoa, blueberries, and shredded non-dairy cheese.

She also is loving nuts (almonds, macademia, and walnuts). I crush them up and she gobbles them right up.

She loves the green Naked(brand) juice sold in stores.

We go on a morning walk almost every morning, and she likes to see the horses.

Joe started his job this week at Century 21 Real Estate, and is loving it!

He is already getting to go look at houses, and even got to be a part of a contract write up on his first day.

I am so happy for him, and I just know he is going to do great things in his line of work.

Jalen is doing good also. He still likes school a lot, and is striving to get all A's this trimester.

We told him if he succeeded in doing so, his reward would be that he gets to miss school for a day and go do anything he wants, within reason.

He recently competed in the Science Olympiads for his school. They came in 2nd place, and will go to Ohau for the state competition on his 13th birthday, March 3rd.

We are still loving life here, and have pretty much decided we do not want to leave.

It is my goal to be here part of the year, and be back in Kansas for part of the year.

We will probably continue to rent out our house on Slater, and keep the 80th street house for us.

My awesome brother Zach, who lives there now, will continue to live there while in Chiropractic school, and that way we have a place to call home when we return to Kansas.

I will be going back to Kansas more often than Joe, since he will be working.

I would like to spend at least a couple weeks, if not a month at a time there.

It is very important to Joe and I that our little family of 4 is happy where we are living, and enjoying life to the fullest. We feel we have that here in Hawaii.

There is so much to see and do and are a lot of "like minded" people here, which is a bonus and feels great!

It is also just as important to us that we keep in close contact with our family back in Kansas, and that our kids are raised around their Grandparents and cousins.

So, in an ideal world, we will be able to have both.

1st stroller ride, but still gonna wear this little girl

Babywearing is a term used when a caregiver, Mom or Dad or whomever, carries a baby or child in a sling/backpack/carrier of some sort which is attached to the caretakers body.

This practice is used by many who believe that their child is happier, cries less and it actually makes things easier for the caretaker to get things done with the child strapped in.

From day 1 of meeting little Sugar Bear, I put her on my chest.

We then wrapped her in a sling to carry her throughout the house, on outings, to help her fall asleep or whenever she needed to feel love and secure.

Babywearing has worked wonders for us! It really does keep you connected to your child in a way like no other.

The research shows that babies who are held often:

cry less
are more calm and content
sleep more peacefully
nurse better, gain weight better
enjoy better digestion(from being upright)
develop better(from the stimulation of human touch)

Weather it is to go on a walk, or doing household chores, the sling is the best place for my baby girl.

Up until now.....Its time to try the stroller......


The reason we finally decided to invest in a stroller was, I wanted to be able to exercise in the mornings when Joe is not home to watch her.

We felt like Hallie was old enough to understand the concept of us pushing her around, and also felt her brain was developed enough for the ride, so we purchased a jogging stroller from a garage sale for only $25!

The first time we put her in it, her Daddy took her for a ride around the yard.

He showed her the beautiful flowers, trees, and fruits on our property.

After their ride, he got Hallie out, and she kept signing "more"..

She loved it!

We now go on walks just about everyday.

She lasts about 30 minutes, until she starts pulling on the straps and wanting out.

Sometimes we take the Ergo baby carrier with us on our walks, and when she gets sick of the stroller, I put her in the sling and push an empty stroller.

I'm sure the cars driving by think I'm crazy, but that's totally fine by me.

Merry Christmas 2011!!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

My family and I enjoyed our low key, laid back, Hawaiian Christmas.

I am so proud of Jalen for his performance as the narrator in the Christmas program at church.

He spoke so well, and got many compliments afterwards.

Santa was there to greet the kiddos, which Hallie was not a fan of.

She gave one look up at him, and started crying.

The outfit she has on was extra special. It was picked out by her Daddy, and was mine when I was a little girl.

Christmas Eve morning, we went and had a great brunch at the St Regis Hotel here in Princeville.

It was fun to feel like we were out of town.

We got to sit outside, with a beautiful view of the mountains and the blue ocean.

Little birdies were chirping all around us, and the service was phenomenal.

About half way into our breakfast, Jalen noticed 2 famous guys sitting right next to us.

It was 2 of the Jonas Brothers, a pop band.

I snapped a pic, and they were off...

We enjoyed the buffet, which was filled with fresh Hawaiian fruits, breads, muffins, rice, potatoes, an omelet station, pancake/waffle station, bacon, sausage, and much more!

After the wonderful brunch, we went home and put little Sugar Bear down for a nap.

While she slept, I had to go run and pick up the big present I got for Jalen and Joe.

I headed into the town of Hanalei, where we do most of our shopping and hanging out.

I couldn't believe how busy it was!

There were people everywhere, laughing, conversing, dancing, and just having a good ol' time!

After I picked up the rather large gift, I called Jalen to see if he wanted me to come pick him up so he could come down to Hanalei to hang out.

He did, so I went and got him.

We sat outside, and listened to the Hawaiian band playing, and did a little shopping.

Joe text when Hallie woke up, and they headed down to meet up with us.

Later that evening, we enjoyed a spread of appetizers, and chocolate fondue for dessert.

We let Jalen open 1 gift, as that is a tradition, and he NEVER forgets..

He opened the gift from Kelly, Jamie, Kayla, and Arlie.

It was a dog tag necklace, he liked it a lot.

After setting out milk and cookies for Santa, and water for the reindeer (hehe--Jalens idea), we sent Jalen to bed, and put Hallie Rose down as well.

Joe and I hung out for a while, then we were off to bed.

The next morning, we got a text from Jalen, asking if we were up, and if he could come out of his room.

He, of course, was anxious to see what "Santa" had brought him, and wanted to open the rest of his presents.

He got a surf board, ukulele, 3 prong spear fishing pole, new knife, and more..

Hallie wasn't so into it this year.

She wanted to just play around as we all opened gifts.

She got her very first baby doll, a stuffed doggie purse which we named "Rosie", and a few other little items.

Joe had the kids make me a jewelry box, which I absolutely LOVE!

Jalen made it all himself, glued, sanded and painted it.

Then he had both the kids put their hand prints on the inside.

To go along with the jewelry box, he got me a beautiful pair of earrings. They have a little plumeria flower hanging from them, and are white gold.

I got him and Jalen a mini motorcycle, which is a fixer upper, so it will be a project for them to work on together, as well as have fun riding it up and down our street.

I also got Joe a Go Pro camera, and a pair of reef flip-flops.

I would say we all did pretty well this year:)

After the gift opening, I made cinnamon rolls.

We ate them up, and played around the house.

The Christmas music was on, the sun was shining, and we were thoroughly enjoying our first Christmas in Hawaii, as a family of 4..

Later that evening, we were supposed to have a fish dinner with mashed potatoes and cheesy corn bake.

We decided we were too full, and wanted to wait until the next night to do our dinner.

We headed down to Hanalei Bay beach to hang out and make a fire.

There were a lot of people at the beach, all happy and cheerful.

We wrapped up our night around 8, and headed home to relax and go to bed.

We all feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be living in Hawaii, spend Christmas here as a family, and bond like never before.

We pinch ourselves everyday, and thank God for all the wonderful blessings he has given to our family.

busy busy..

Man, I feel like its so hard for me to find the time(alone) to sit down and blog.

I don't like to do it when Hallie is awake, as it is much harder to get done.

I have been so busy lately.

First and fore most, taking care of Hallie Rosebud.

We are on the go a lot, either taking walks/runs in the morning, going to the Mothersongs classes at Princeville Community Center(they sing songs and play with instruments), or to playdates of which are in abundance on the island. Not to mention the every day stuff like going to the grocery store, feeding her, changing her, laundry, cleaning, taking baths, ya get my drift....

Joe has been in a class Monday-Friday, preparing to take the test to become a licensed real estate agent.

So, he is gone from 6:40 am till around 6:30 pm.

I have been working on a Christmas gift to all of our friends and family back home in Kansas, which has been a pretty lengthy process.

Then, I am working on the letter "G", that I volunteered (happily) to make for a little girls "alphabet" room.

I am verrrry limited on supplies, because Wal-mart is the only place we have that sells any "crafty" stuff, and its an hour away!

I made it work with crayola paints, and dirt from outside...didn't even have glue. I just used brown pain, then sprinkled dirt on it while it was wet.

I am a little concerned (well ok, alot) that it is not going to look like this when it arrives, going from Hawaii to Canada.

I am trying to think of different ways to package it, but as of now, have not come up with anything I'm completely sure about.

My "G" stands for GARDEN...

Last night was a long one.

Jalen had his first ever choir concert at Island School.

Hallie and I went down towards Lihue a little early, so that we could make a pit stop at Wal-mart, since they are right by each other.

His concert started at 7, but the kids had to be there at 5:30.

Totally not convenient for the parents who live on the North Shore.

I stopped before I left the north shore and got us burritos from a place called Fredrico's for dinner.

Beans, cheese, rice, and avocado.

Joe met Hallie and I at Wal-mart after his class, and we drove to the school together.

We backed up to some grass, opened up the back of the Xterra and ate our food, while running around after little Sugar Bear.

She would come in for a bite, then run off, and one of us would have to chase after her.

Turned out Jalen couldnt come outside, so he did not get to eat until after the concert.

His teacher is kind of "obcessive" about his choir.

Its his baby, so everything had to be perfect.

He sent numerous e-mails out to the parents prior to the concert, reiterating what the dress code was, proper procedures, times, no food or drink,  etc..

They sang a lot of cool Christmas songs, some with a Hawaiian twist.

Jalen got the part of the "bell ringer" in one of the songs.

He did it perfect.

Hallie was not very interested, and so we had to keep walking out of the auditorium with her.

I actually left at one point and tried to get her to fall asleep by driving around, when that didnt work I tried the Ergo baby carrier.

She wasnt having it..so I went back in.

The concert was over, and we handed Jalen his lei.

It is customary over here to give the kids a lei after a performance, or graduation, or any special occassion.

Jalen was a little shy about it, so he would only put it on outside for me to snap a pic.

I am so proud of him!

He did a great job.

He is a very talented and unique boy.

She finally fell asleep on the way home, but not before a good cry..

Stomach bug in the new house..

It seems a stomach bug has invaded our home this week.

Jalen got home from a robotics competition on Ohau, where he got to go with some kids from school, and teachers as well.

They got to fly over, stay in a hotel, and even rented a party bus to chauffeur them around in.

It was his first time away from us, other than summer camp.

He got to eat pizza, watch robots compete, meet new friends, and stay up late.

That being said, he came home exhausted!

They left on a Thursday morning, having to be at the airport at 5:50am! (don't forget, its an hour away)

They got back to Kauai Saturday night at 10:30pm, which brought him home by around 11:30pm.

He went straight to bed, but woke up around 1 am and was vomiting all over.

He felt better afterwards, but slept all day the next day (Sunday)..

Then, by Monday he was fine and went to school.

Joe started real estate school this week.

It is a class which preps him to take the state exam to become a licensed real estate agent.

The days are long, and there is a lot of information being thrown his way at a very fast pace.

Monday, after lunch, he didn't feel so good.

He struggled to get through the next few hours, then came home and laid on the couch.

Later that evening, he was in the bathroom, you guessed it, puking!

He did not sleep well that night, but knew he had to get up and go back to his class if he was going to stay committed and succeed.

I'm so proud of him.

He had to drag himself there, and finish out the day, feeling pretty crappy.

Later that evening (Tuesday), he was better.

Then, after eating a banana, out of the blue, I started feeling a little sick to my stomach.

I told myself "just go to sleep, and it will wear off, and you will wake up fine"..

Not how it happened.

I woke up around 2 am, actually Hallie woke me up wanting her milky, and I could feel it coming on.

I told Joe he was going to have to watch Hallie, and I headed for the toilet.

The next morning, I knew I was done getting sick, but the body aches were horrible.

We decided it would be best for Jalen to stay home from school and help me take care of Hallie.

I have to say, he completely amazed me, and I could not have made it through the day without him.

At around 7:30am, Hallie and I woke up, and I needed Jalen right then and there.

He came and got Hallie, and took her to his room.

They played for a while, then he checked in on me.

I explained what to do with her, so he put her in the high chair, gave her some mango, cereal, and her milky.

I could hear him talking so sweetly to her, and explaining things to her so diligently.

Later that morning, he took her on a walk in our new jogging stroller (which she likes a lot, but only for about 30-45 min)..side note: A few days ago was Hallie's first time in a stroller of any kind, because we have always carried her in a sling.

As the day progressed I felt a little better, so I was able to take Hallie and give Jalen a break.

Her and I laid in the bed together, read books, snuggled, and laid on the hammock.

Eventually she fell asleep. And so did I..

So, after 3 of us getting sick, we thought it was over.

Our hope is that since I still pump breast milk for Hallie, that her immune system is so strong, and that the antibodies my body produced to fight off the bug, she would receive, and be ok.

Time is yet to tell..

So, last night we all went to bed with the hopes that Mom would feel better in the morning, and Jalen would be able to go back to school.

Well, at around 3 am, Jalen came in and woke his Dad up and said he was sick again.

He threw up numerous times throughout the night and even into the morning.

He couldn't keep anything down, not even water, but handled it like a champ.

At one point he weighed himself, and had lost a few pounds.

He joked, "now I know why those super models make themselves throw up, because it makes you lose weight"..hehe

After sleeping all day, sipping on chicken noodle soup, and having his Mom take care of him, he is better this evening.

I am better, Joe is great, and Hallie is sleeping soundly.

I guess we should of got our flu shot....haha NOT!!

I would take a 24 hour bug any day-- over the freaky flu shot!!!



Other than the sickness, we have moved into our new home.

We LOVE it!

It sits on 1 acre, has many fruit trees, such as lilikoi, lemon, banana, orange, guava, and much more.

The street is quiet, and up top over looking Hanalei Bay.

From the end of our long driveway, you can see the ocean.

Mountains surround us.

Our lanai out back is huge, with a hammock sitting right outside the master bedroom sliding glass doors.

The view is amazing, it's so peaceful, and we could not be more pleased with our living situation.

Hallie loves to play in the garage and driveway.

We even had a play date the other day with a little girl maned Graciella.

We blew up the pool, they played in the water, and on her little trikes.

Jalen has his own room, and bathroom which he likes a lot.

The house is up to date, and totally our style.

We feel blessed to be living here, and are excited to spend the next 6-8 months here.

Sleeping GIant

Joe, Hallie and I did our very first, and definitely not last, hike here on Kauai!

The night before, Joe out of the blue said "lets go hiking tomorrow"!

I of course, agreed.

We pulled out The Guide to Kauai Handbook, and started reading up on all the different trails.

It gave lots of tips such as stay on the trail, don't go off the beaten path.

Never hike alone.

Don't be shy on how much water you bring.

Do not eat any berries that you are completely sure of what they are.

Bring compact foods, such as granola bars for energy.

The trails were rated from easy, moderate, and hard.

They also told which ones were "family friendly", and which ones had fruit trees to pick from.

We chose a moderate hike, family friendly, that was 2 miles there, which of course meant 2 miles back.

With a baby in tow, that sure seemed like a long hike to me, but I was up for the challenge.

Joe assured me that we could turn around at any time, and that we were not committed to anything if we didn't like it.

So, we started getting our bag all packed up!

Since we read don't be shy on the water you take,  we filled up 2 big water bottles, packed some snacks, and milk for Hallie.

After a big breakfast to energize us, the next morning we were off!

We had to drive about 20-30 minutes just to get to the trail, but let me tell you, it was so worth it!

The mountain is called Sleeping Giant, because from afar it looks like a giant sleeping on its back.

We got to the trail head, packed Hallie up in the Ergo baby carrier, put the backpack on and headed up the hill.

It had been raining up north that day so we chose a hike more on the east side and got very lucky that the trail was not muddy.

It was pretty much the perfect consistency, a little moist for traction, but not too much at all.

I led the way with Hallie on my back because Joe tends to take off like a rocket ship, or should I say speed *RACER* , and I cant keep up.

Your only as fast as the slowest person, they say.

As I climbed the mountain side, I was amazed at all the vegetation that surrounded us.

It was so lush, green and beautiful!

Every so often we would come to a clearing, where we could see out over the island and ocean.

It was absolutely breath taking!

The trail was very well established, so we had no troubles knowing where to go next.

Some of it was pretty easy, and then there would be these big lava boulders along with small ones we had to climb up and maneuver.

My heart was definitely pounding at times, and the sweat was starting to seep out of my pores.

My back was the hottest of all because little Hallie Rose was right up against me.

She was loving it the whole time!

We would stop every so often and get a drink of water, and let her feel the green leaves or flowers which she loved to pick and hold onto.

Once we reached the 1 mile marker, I decided it was time to switch roles.

Joe took Hallie and I took the backpack which was filled with our water, snacks, diapers, and milk.

He said Hallie felt lighter than the pack, and I said the backpack felt lighter, so it worked out nicely.

A little after the 1 mile marker, we came across a couple with two kids on their backs.

They were from Canada,  names were Jamie and Samantha.

Their kids were 4 years old (Harrison), and 9 months (Taylor).

They had obviously done this before, as the back packs they had their kids in were awesome!

So comfy for the child and the adult carrying.

Lots of room for storage, and even a little umbrella thing above the child in case of rain.

We spoke with them for a while and ended up hiking the rest of the way up with them.

At the top, there was a clearing with 2 picnic tables, and 2 lookouts.

We all just sat around, the kids played, ate food, and re hydrated.

After about 30-45 minutes of rest, we decided we would head back down.

It was getting to be about time for Hallie to take a nap, so we figured we would get going.

Good-byes were said, and we were headed downhill.

Joe carried Hallie on the front this time, for safety reasons.

I felt if he were to slip, he would most likely hit his butt, and possibly smash Hallie.

As we headed down, we had time to chat about life, us, our kids, and other things.

It was a great bonding experience for us.

Oh, and let me tell you, downhill wasn't that much easier physically than uphill.

My thighs were burning and I was definitely sweating!

By the time we reached the bottom, Hallie was fast asleep curled up next to her Daddy's chest, all tuckered out from her very first hiking experience.

Joe and I drank a lot of water, then headed out.

We realized we were starving, after all, we had just hiked 4 miles!!

So, we stopped at a local health food store called Papayas.

We both made huge salads at their sweet salad bar, and for dessert shared a piece of cheesecake.

It was such a fun day, and we both cannot wait to go on another hike!

Unfortunately, Jalen has no interest in hiking at this point in his life.

He would rather be surfing, body boarding, or swimming in the ocean or pool.

We are loving Kauai and all that it has to offer.

Our family is able to bond in ways we never thought possible.

We are learning new things about each other everyday, and getting to experience things together that we never dreamed of!

We are blessed and thank God everyday for those blessings.