.....These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

One of my favorite songs of the Christmas season is the one that Julie Andrews sings.....Favorite things. Well , yesterday was my 30th birthday and I have not been looking fore ward to it. I hate saying that I am now out of my 20's. So I decided to list some of my favorite things or memories from the last 30 years so that I can remind myself that I am grateful to be alive and loved. ( these are in no particular order)

--My husband, Anthony
--Sydney
--Haylie
--Tuione
--Rollerblading
--Being a Dental Assistant
--Driving to Nova Scotia, singing John Denver songs all the way.
--Playing softball
--Going swimming every Monday night for FHE with my dad
--Ice skating at Midnapor lake
--Snorkeling in the Bahamas
--Playing pranks on the boys in my ward in college
--Going to the temple with my family
--Falling of a cliff on a 4-wheeler....and surviving
--High school ( choir,sports, friends!)
--Hand stitching a quilt
--Sledding as a child and now with my kids
--Going to Hawaii with my sister
--My brother taking care of me when I re tore the tendons in my ankle
--Having my mother with me at YW camp
--Scrap booking with friends
--Giving my mittens to a homeless man ( giving service period!)
--Being Primary President
--Playing Rook with my family
--Taking my little sister on a jet ski cuz I was the only one she trusted
--Seeing my children happy on Christmas day
--Watching my husband play football
--Shopping with Sonya ( as much as it drives her crazy to shop with me)
--Surviving a Pulmonary Embolism
--All of the friend I have met through these 30 years!

These are 30 of my most favorite things, and I know that I will have many more to come.

Surprise!

I have always heard stories from other moms about finding surprises in their child's diaper. I have heard of people finding money or rocks, or even little pieces from toys that their kids had swallowed and then pooped out. I was always relieved to know that they can poop out those types of things.
Well I have always been very happy that my children just never swallowed anything that was not supposed to be swallowed........that is until now. My son, Tui, is a very curious little boy, as all boys are I'm sure. He has been very good at not putting things in his mouth, or at least understanding the word"NO" and obeying me. He even plays with the girls Polly pockets and never has put those tiny little shoes in his mouth. So I have not been too worried about him wandering the house now that he can walk. Silly me!!!
The other day My son was holing one of his sister's Halloween suckers in his hand and was using it like a hammer. Not 5 minutes later when I saw him, he did not have the sucker with him anymore. I didn't think anything of it until the next day. He was grunting and obviously doing a big "poopie". When I went to change him, what I found surprised me. Instead of a poopie in his diaper I found a plastic wrapper.......whole! He had swallowed the wrapper from the sucker. How in the heck do you swallow something like that.
Well that is not the end of the surprises ( and no the picture is not of my son......although I would like to see an x-ray of Tui's stomach to see what else he has swallowed.) . A couple of days later, as I was changing a poopie diaper, I was nearly blinded by the immense sparkle and shine that was coming from my son's poopie. It was the shiniest poopie I had ever seen. The poopie was riddled with little pieces of tin foil. He must have eaten one of those Halloween chocolates that are wrapped in foil.
I thought that I was a good mother and kept an eye on my kids........I guess not because I never saw him eat those things. I wonder what will be next.

Who is the teacher?

As a parent I am responsible for teaching my children right from wrong. Every day I see the many challenges and decisions that my children will have to face as they go to school and meet new friends. I see the struggles my daughter has as she tries to weigh in her mind and heart how to respond to situations at school and among her friends.

Have I taught her well enough? The situations she faces today are far simpler than the ones she will face as a teenager, and the choices are simpler as well. Or are they? The choices our children make today can only strengthen or weaken them for the future. The "process" in which our children make choices are, or should be, the same way they should make choices as a teenager. So what makes choices so hard for teenagers?

Story time; Just before Halloween, at a local Walmart, my children and I were enjoying an evening shopping for Halloween goodies. We were in an isle with all the gruesome masks and adult costumes( which happened to be all mixed in with kids costumes-----Big NO-NO). We were not alone in that isle. There happened to be another family there, an older family, one with teenagers. My children , who were playing with all of the ugly masks, decided to have fun with there older children. They would put on a mask and turn around and say boo, or trick or treat. The teenagers didn't seem to be too bothered by it and would act all scared. One of them was particularly playful with my kids and as Haylie said boo, the older girl took the Heavenly Father's name in vain.

I, who am supposed to be the teacher, said nothing.....who am I to tell a complete stranger how act or what to say? It was not more than a mere second before Haylie piped up and said very strongly...." you can't say that! That is Heavenly Fathers name." I could have been blushing, I do not know because I was focused on the poor girl my daughter had just lectured, who was definitely blushing. The girl quickly corrected herself and said..." oh, sorry.....I mean Oh my goodness". Haylie gave her a big grin and then continued playing with the masks.

Not 2 minutes later, in that same isle, my other daughter Sydney, came across something rather disturbing. Mixed in with all of the children's costumes were some very inappropriate adult costumes. Some of barely there dresses and others of men dressed as women. Sydney pointed to one in particular that a teenage boy was looking at. It was of a very obese man dressed in a bikini.....a string bikini. The teenage boy was asking his mom to get that one for him......and she was actually considering it. Sydney hesitated for a moment but then asked me why the boy wanted that costume. He obviously heard us ( since my daughter has no clue what a whisper is), and replied that it was funny. She replied back ," it isn't funny...it's gross! And it isn't modest".

Again I could feel my face turning red, but it was the boy's mother's face that was most red I think. She told her son that he had better pick something else. End of story.

So..... who taught who? Did my children teach the strangers in the store? Did my children teach me not to be scared to stand up for what is right? Did I teach them to be that brave? Will they always be that brave?

I am eternally grateful for the truths that my parents taught me and for the knowledge they had because of the restoration of the Gospel, through Joseph Smith. I am eternally grateful for the love of a Heavenly Father who would send us someone to teach us and ultimately pay for our sins that we might live again. I am always in awe of the love I feel from my Savior as I watch my children grow and answer their questions about the Gospel. I know that I am teaching truths to them and I know that they will be able to rely on their testimonies of those truths to give them strength . This is my testimony and I bear it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I have A Son?

You would think that after having two girls that I would be content to dress them up all girly and leave my son to be a boy. I thought that I was doing pretty good at dressing him in blue and giving him boys toys to play with. But as it turns out, my own brother ( who happens to be my only brother among 3 sisters) warned me that the inevitable would happen, and it has.

Tui loves to play with the girls toys. You name it......polly pockets, baby dolls, pink wigs, or pretty hats. He loves to play with his sisters and their toys.

I find some comfort in knowing that it will only be a couple of years before my husband, Anthony, has Tui running football drills. That will toughen him up! For now I will have fun with my girly boy.

Pumpkin Farm

I love all the seasons. I love different things about each season. My favorite thing about Autumn time is the chill in the air. It is not quite cold enough for a winter coat or hot cocoa, but just cold enough to put on a pair of warm comfy socks and cuddle up with someone. My cuddle buddies are my kids. We love to go outside and play in the leaves and then cuddle each other until we are warm.
This year we went out to Heartland Farms to go pick a pumpkin and play in their pumpkin land. The kids had so much fun playing in an inflatable dragon. The kids go in one end and come out the other( which is quite bulbous and round......it looks like the dragon is pooping out kids!). Then we went on a very bumpy wagon ride around the farm which was decorated all fun.
I was not sure if I should take the kids through the haunted house. It was in the little kids section of the farm, so I thought it would probably not be too scary. Tuione was fine. He didn't even make a peep. But when "creatures" and " zombies" started popping out of walls, my big brave girls( who had been begging to go in), freaked out. Haylie and Sydney both grabbed each of my legs every time the hydraulics would make a " thing" move. My favorite ( or I should say least favorite, since I am terrified of them ) was the giant tarantula that drops from the ceiling. It nearly touched my head.....yick!

As the sun started setting and the chill got chillier ( if that is even a word) we got some last minute pictures in the pumpkin patch and some caramel covered apples. What a perfect end to a perfect Autumn day.

From the Mind of A 4 Year Old.....

As I was walking my Daughter out of mom school this morning, she asked me why our car didn't have travel hangers on it. I didn't know what she was trying to ask me. She pointed to our friend's car and said " like those ones on that car.....you know.....travel hangers".

She was pointing to the carrier rack on top of the van. If I were 4 would I even know what to call them. I am just amazed that she knew what they were for.

A little later on she was playing around with her pants ( in the crotch area). I asked her if she had to go to the bathroom. She said no. She then told me that she was having a " wedgie party", and that the beans in her body were having a "wedgie party" with her bum. All I could think of was " what the heck are beans doing in your pants?!" Haylie then said " you know mom, the beans that are in me.....one is happy and one is sad. They sometimes make me go to the hospital and sometimes they just have wedgie parties." Haylie has had some kidney problems and I had forgotten that I drew a picture of here kidneys and told her that they looked like kidney beans.

I am still curious as to how they can give her a wedgie, but Heaven forbid I should question the mind of a $ year old.

Little pieces of Heaven!

Why I can not stay mad.......

I was sitting at home today, going through the pictures on my digital camera. ( which have been piling up to the point that it is going to cost me an arm and a leg to develop them)
As I was looking through them a thought came to me...........I am always saying that Heavenly Father must make kids so cute so we do not stay mad at them, but I have changed that thought.

Now I think that Heavenly Father gave us a little bit of heaven so that we could remember that even though they can drive us wild, they are divine! I am raising a child of God and that means that all the things they do are natural and are supposed to happen. All kids end up, at one point or another, eating out of the garbage can or using an entire roll of toilet paper to give their dolls a comfortable place to sleep. I think that Our loving Heavenly Father knew that we would do those things and that our children would do them as well. So why do I get mad? Is the waste of a roll of toilet paper going to break the bank?

I love to take pictures of my kids, or any body's kids, because for a brief moment I forget that whatever they have just done has made me mad. And for a brief moment I catch a glimpse of Heaven in their eyes. I love you Sydney, Haylie, and Tuione! And I thank my Heavenly Father for sending them!

Teething, Tantrums, and Timeouts

I am a bit frustrated that I have not been able to blog lately. Oh, I have had time. It is just that by the time the kids are in bed and I have MY time to sit and write, all I can think about is everything that has gone wrong that day. Then all of my creative juices stop and I can't think of a thing to say. Or I start thinking about upcoming events that threaten to drive me to the mental ward! So in an attempt to relieve some of the stress of my day, I am going to vent!

Teething........I believe that teething is not restricted to infants. Tui, my ever so happy baby boy, is getting 3 teeth in at the same time, which makes him ever so UNhappy. I can see them about ready to break through, and after a day of non stop ( I am NOT exaggerating) crying and fussiness mixed with diarrhea ( due to teething), I am very tempted to take a nail file and let him chew on it in hopes it will wear the remaining skin away.
My daughter Sydney, who is usually a huge help to me, is also teething. She has 2 more loose teeth and 4 that are in the process of growing in. You would think that a 6 year old would not be affected by this process, but she has been almost as fussy as Tui ( minus the diarrhea). At least Haylie is not ready to loose any teeth yet! ( not that it makes any difference)

Haylie, who just turned 4, is always a concern for me due to health issues. I know that at times she does not feel good and so I chalk up her grumpiness to that. Today went way beyond not feeling good! I have always been somewhat proud or pleased that my kids have never been the type of kids to have temper tantrums in the store. Well that record has now been shot to bits! Haylie cried for the entire visit to Lowes, which was cut short due to the tantrum. I can still hear the high pitched whine in my head. So it is off home to have a timeout. ( which by the way did not help one bit).

Only after their baths and a good night story did the fussiness stop. As I put Haylie into bed she put her arms around me and asked if I was still mad at her. As I looked at her with her thumb in her mouth and her other hand holding a golden curl, I could not tell her I was still mad. I kissed her good night and tucked her in and now I am here asking myself......" was my day really all that bad?"

YES it was....but now it is over and I get to start all over again tomorrow. How lucky are we to be Mothers!

Tagged

In my previous tag, " About Us", I had ended with tagging Stacy and Niki. Well If I was a good friend, I would have realized that Stacy has already done the one " About Us". So I am going to Tag Niki and Collette. Have fun!

Bumchuckle!

A friend reminded me of yet another favorite funny word I used as a kid. This is one I will have to use more often I think. In fact I can think of a bunch more that really ought to have their own category. This is the fart replacement word category. These words describe the kind of noise made when " gas" was passed. You may use your imagination to determine what noises those are. I will not gross you out with details.

There was of course flurp, and then the hilarious bumchuckle, and then toot, squeaker, tubatoot, honker, and any others we could imagine.

Funny words

Growing up, my parents were very strict on what words were allowed in our house, or out of our mouths for that matter. Never mind curse words, those were obvious. But words like shut-up and stupid and fart were just as bad as curse words. In fact, I remember telling my sister ti shut-up once. I remember it well, so I must have been about 9 or 10 years old. Or maybe I remember it well because of the punishment I received. Lets just say I was coughing up bubbles all day. ( mind you, back then there wasn't " antibacterial" soap. You feed a kid soap now a days and you get a visit from social services).
So lesson learned! We, the children in the family, decided we would make up words to replace the ones we were not allowed to say. For example, shut-up now became up-shut. Flurp was now the word we used for fart ( you can thank my dad for that one. I think he had more fun making up words than we did). Words that Napoleon Dynamite would use, are words that we used. Dang, flippin, holy crap ( that one even caused my mom to cringe), and others were always being used in place of others. One of my favorites was twerp. My mom absolutely hated it when we would call each other idiots, so she said that twerp was an appropriate substitute for that word.
Well 20 years later I am still using those words. You can tell by listening to my children. This evening while we were sitting in the living room, as a family, getting ready to read a book, my daughter Haylie ( 4 years old) started a conversation with my husband. I did not catch the whole conversation, but my husband was telling her something that was light hearted. I think he was teasing her. All of a sudden she says, in a total teenager way, " Daddy, you are such a TWERP"!
I do not recall her ever saying that word before, but it sounded like she had been saying it forever. I think that my parents were smart to teach us to use better language, but at the same time, it all still means the same thing.
How funny words.....and kids are!

Tagged?

I am clueless, as many would agree. I am slowly but surely learning the ins and outs of this blogging thing. I have finally got a minute to sit and do this and hopefully give you some more insight into the lives of Anthony and Krista.

About Us:

What is his name?: Anthony Tuione Nai
How long have you been together?:10 years as of October.
How long did you date?: Two years
How old is he?:32 years old and still a hunk!
Who said I love you first?: He says that I did, he has a better memory than I do.
Who is taller?: Anthony
Who sings better?:Anthony
Who is smarter?: Anthony has a better memory so he retains info better, but I am brilliant!
Whose temper is worse?: I think that my temper is worse, but my patience lasts longer than his.
Who does the laundry?: Funny story...Anthony and I made a deal when we were first married that he would do the laundry and I would cook. For the first 3 years of our marriage, he stuck to the agreement, but as soon as we had a washer and dryer of our own, suddenly the laundry has become evermore increasingly MY job.
Who does the dishes?: One guess....who ever cooks.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?: Me, until I have created too big of a dent and then I make him switch sides.
Who pays the bills?: Well Anthony makes the money to pay them, and then I give the money all away.
Who mows the lawn?: Usually Anthony, sometimes me and someday our kids will. Yippe!
Who cooks dinner?: whoever does the dishes and the laundry=(
Who drives when you are together? Anthony likes to, but it is my van.
Who is more stubborn?: Anthony
Who is the first to admit they are wrong?: That is not me cuz I am never wrong!
Whose parents do you see the most?:Anthony's mom about 2 times a year, my parents about once a year.
Who kissed who first?: Does on the cheek count, if so then it was me who kissed Anthony first.
Who asked out who?: Anthony asked me out to the homecoming dance. He was so nervous, it was so cute!
Who proposed?: Anthony did, but I told him too.
Who is more sensitive?: I am....I'm a flippin ball of emotions!
Who has more friends?: Me....Anthony is anti-social ( no just kiddin, he is just a grump.....no he is just picky......oh I don't know what it is.....maybe he is just shy)
Who has more sibling?: Anthony ( 6) , I have 3.
Who wears the pants?: So me! Although one day Anthony wore my jeans to work one day ( that was good news for him that he could fit in them. Really bad news for me. In my defense though, they were 2 sizes to big for me in the first place)

I tag Stacy and Niki

Mom School Field Trip

As I had said previously in my blog called " oreos", September was a crazy month. On top of everything else I had to do in September, I also had a turn to teach Mom School for a group of 3 and 4 year olds. We had our first field trip to the Hawkeye Arburetum and botanical gardens. We enjoyed a morning full of perfect weather and beautiful flowers. We did a color hunt where the kids had to look around and find things that were colors of the rainbow. They did pretty good, but they were more interested in the giant sandbox, where they found burried dinosaur bones. Then it was time for the treat, and since it was Haylies birthday, we had chocolate cupcakes. YUMMY and MESSY! I can't wait for our next field trip.

Celebrate Good Times, Come-On.

Here are the pictures from Haylie's birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese. She is so happy that her friends could come and play with her. And she is thankful for her gifts! Oh yea, and thanks to Stacy for educating me on how to do the slideshow! It is awesome, I love it!

Oreos

Who ever said that things happen in threes? And does that mean good things or bad things?

It is my experience that good things never happen in threes, and if they do, we don't notice them because we are focusing on the bad things that should stop at three, but never do.

Well September has been one of those months were "things", good or bad have not stopped at three. First we had a stressful hospital visit ( see previous blog " the weight of the world), and then come the birthdays. First Tuione turned one( see previous blog). It was wonderful and sad. I love my babies! Why do they have to grow up?

Then we had Anthony's Birthday. He turned 32 years old. Still as handsome as ever! Love you babe! He happened to be out of town at an away football game. He plays linebacker and left tackle for the Cedar Valley Vikings. GO VIKINGS! He also played football for BYU( back in the good ol' days). I love that he can still play football, but I notice that, the not so young Anthony, has a harder time recovering from injuries. Poor old man! Anyhow since he was out of town, I of course was alone in my parenting responsibilities. I love my husband, and I love my kids, but I can't wait until football is over and I can have some help on the weekends! We celebrated Anthony's Birthday on Sunday, just enjoying some cake and ice cream with the kids and a nice quiet evening after they were all in bed.

Then comes Haylie's birthday. Our little baby doll turned 4 years old. It is sometimes hard to believe she is 4 now, mainly because the little stinker is always sucking her thumb. But she is not built like Sydney or Tui, who look older than they are. They are tall and have big heads ( that just means they are little geniuses). Haylie is my little fragile one. More slender and quiet, but quick as a whip. She just is always going to be my little girl.
We celebrated her birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese with some of her little friends. They had so much fun playing the games and winning tickets. Haylie even got a big hug from Chucky him self. As expected all the others rushed in to hug Chucky too and in the confusion, Haylie's cupcake got knocked out of her hand, and then the drama. Life had ended and she was going to let everyone know it! No worries though, mommy came prepared with lots more cupcakes!

Well that is 4 "things" . Three good things and one bad. That doesn't make for such a bad month. Oh but wait, September was full of much more. I am Primary President in our ward. I love my calling and I love the children I teach. I can not imagine and I never want another calling, but this month, I would have considered it. Thank goodness for my life savers Connie, who is my first counselor and Erika, who is my new second counselor. We had a primary activity on the same day as my son's birthday. Not only was that a double booking, but so was the park. I had reserved the park a month in advance and when I showed up at the park to set things up, I was greeted by about 100 people running a marathon. The beginning and end were at the park I had reserved. I kept my cool and worked it all out. I would like to say that I kicked them out in a stressed out rage, but I didn't. They were very co-operative and cleaned up and got out of our way as soon as they could. Whew! The activity turned out well, not as many children attended as I had hopped for, but it was good non the less. Erika was a tremendous help preparing and carrying out the activity, But by the end of that day I was pooped!
So the activity was done. I can breath.......oh wait.....here it comes......the Primary sacrament meeting presentation. Hummmm. Where do I start. Again thanks to my first counselor, the program got typed out and ready to assign parts. I think that every night, for the past two weeks, I have been on the phone trying to contact parents of these primary children to remind them to help the children with their parts. I didn't think that talking on the phone could be so exhausting! Plus this month in primary, it is my turn to teach sharing time. Any one who has taught sharing time knows how tiring that can be.

All of these things do not seem to be too hard to deal with, and they really are not. But combine it with the everyday things, like getting Sydney off to school, cleaning house, dealing with a crabby 4 year old and a teething baby, and anything else that happens to pop up, it can seem like the month will never end. But it is almost over, and so I am sitting here complaining to all of you while eating a whole bunch of Halloween oreos. Thank goodness for OREOS!

p.s. More pics to come. I am trying to figure out how to do a slide show. I am a bit retarded when it comes to this stuff!

OH BOY!

Change is sometimes scary!

Our son, Tui, is one year old and keeps me busy( as it is with everyone who has kids) This is nothing new. He is being a stinker when it comes to walking. My girls were both walking at 10 months old. Tui can walk, but he is refusing to. He will walk for about two steps ( holding onto our finger) and then swings his legs out in front of him or just squats and screams in stubborn refusal!

Well the little tyke has found something else to do to invite change into our lives. Instead of walking and causing mommies to constantly watch and wonder " what are they into now?", he has chosen to start climbing. He loves to climb into a chair, any chair, big or small, and then clap for himself. Oh but wait, it does not end there. Instead of just sitting there, all proud of himself, he turns around and stands up and DANCES on the chair. How special ( oh, right!).

Change is sometimes scary, especially when you have a son!

The Weight of the World

I am not new to making difficult decisions. I have made plenty in my life. Where to go to school, who to marry ( cuz you know I had a dozen guys wanting a piece of this =). At the time you wonder if this is the biggest decision you will ever make. You think about how your decisions will change your life, and where the path you choose will take you.

The knowledge that we have of Heavenly Fathers plan gives us reassurance and peace of mind when it comes to the big picture and eternal outcome of things. But what about the here and now things. What about the things we make decisions on that do not necessarily pertain to our eternal status or consequences. Sometimes I feel so alone in making my decisions, and I know in a way I am. We have all been given the ability to choose. And we have been taught the difference between right and wrong. So when it comes down to making a choice where there is no right or wrong, only unknown consequences, how do you make a choice. We pray, but ultimately we are asked to have faith and take a leap. In the past as I have used this method of choice making, I find that I do not get the answer to my prayers until it becomes clear that I have made the wrong choice.

So here is my dilemma. The choice I have to make does not affect me only( as most choices do). It more directly affects a little girl with blonde curly hair and a thumb in her mouth. She is my life's roller coaster. At points in my day she is a joy to be around and hold on my lap, and then out of the blue she is a whirlwind of fury. Despite the typical 3 year old behavior, I find myself more protective and loving towards her than my other children. Not that I am playing favorites. There is good reason for my behavior. Haylie, the little girl of whom I have spoken, had Bladder surgery when she was 2 years old. Just Minor surgery, no cutting or healing time needed. Now that she is nearly 4 years old, she is having more kidney trouble. As we consulted with the specialist, we were given 3 choices.

I myself having the same kidney problems( darn genetics!), and Haylie's past history with kidney infections, leads me to believe that this is not just going to go away with antibiotics and time, which is what the first option was.

The second option is to repeat the same surgery that she had done before. After her last surgery, the problem ( called reflux) was 98% fixed. Now 2 years later, the reflux is back. Not only is it back, it is worse now than when she initially had it. She is having fevers of 104.5 and hallucinations. She has had to have so many i.v's and catheters, and hospital visits, that even an adult would be sick of it. She bears it well. She does what the doctors and nurses tell her to do and she only cries when they have to poke her multiple times to get an i.v. in. Since this surgery only has a 70% chance of success, and because it didn't work the first time, I am doubtful it will work now.

Which leads me to option # 3. Invasive surgery to re-attach her ureters ( the tubes running from your kidneys to your bladder) in a stronger part of the bladder. This surgery has a 98% success rate. So what is the down side. INVASIVE........cutting my little girl open. I had this same surgery when I was eight years old. I have the scars. I had to deal with tubes coming out of my tummy. I had to deal with the pain. I had to deal with the scar stretching, almost ripping open, every time I got pregnant. I do not want to put my own daughter through that. I know that this is the only option that will eliminate more hospital visits and less tests. So do I do it? How did my own parents come to that decision? I never blamed them. I don't think I ever really thought that they had any part in the decision to operate. Will Haylie blame me, or wonder why I let this happen to her? Are the consequences worth the outcome?

With all the other responsibilities I have in my life, all of which are very important to me, my children and their lives are most important and thought provoking. I can not come to an easy conclusion. I know which choice is best for her in the long run. Will I have the emotional strength to support her through that. I can only pray and know that my Heavenly Father and my Savior love me and love my daughter. Whatever the outcome, I know that we are an eternal family and that we will all learn and grow from this.

One Year Old Already

Tuione, ( 2-e-o-nay) , for those of you who have a difficult time pronouncing his name ( that is just about everyone), is now one year old. Time goes by too fast! We had a fun evening full of cake and ice cream, and I mean full! Tui stuffed his face so full of cake he could barely swallow it. Birthday cake is serious business. Then came the ice cream, too slippery to get a hold of, it just ended up being licked off the fingers of the birthday boy ( by himself of course).

Is it just me or is it somehow ingrained in the dna of boys to like trucks? We gave Tui a new dump truck for his birthday and immediately he was attached to it. Maybe he liked it so much because all the toys in our house so far are girl toys. Regardless, I am happy he likes it. And Mommy likes it too......it has no buttons or anything to make noise, perfect for taking to church.

Happy birthday Tui. We love you very much!

This is our story from the beginning.

Once upon a time there was a girl and a boy and they really liked each other. Therefore, they got married. The two of them lived in Pennsylvania for a while when their little family of two turned into a little family of three. The most adorable little girl was born and they named her Sydney.

As time went on, the boy, who had become a man, progressed in his job and was promoted. The little family moved to Indiana, where they then had another little precious girl. They named her Haylie. As before, the man was promoted and the family moved yet again. This time to Waterloo, Iowa, where they currently reside. It seems that is has become tradition that the couple has a baby in each city they live in, so they did. Tuione was born into the not so little family.

One year later;

It is now a year from the day our son was born. Sydney is in the first grade, and loving it. She is quite inquisitive and a quick learner. She loves to read and sing and she can make her brother laugh like no one else. Haylie is not in preschool, due to her birthday missing the cut off for preschool by two weeks. She is however attending a " Momschool" which some other moms and I teach twice a week. She has made new friends ( one of which is a boy she is claiming to be her future husband), and is eager to learn. She is very abstract in her art, quite colorful, but no boundaries or rules. Lets hope the rest of her life does not follow suit. As for Tui, as wee like to call him, he is not quite walking unassisted yet, but is strong and takes after his daddy. He has the most contagious laugh and is a joy to be around.