ALOHA

My brother Greg and his family just moved to Hawaii! We are so excited for them. After talking to them after their first night they are already in love. Who could blame them? I looked through some of our pictures from our last trip to Hawaii and feel it's the perfect place to live. After all, it does have...clear water: Fun luau's where you are suppose to eat a lot:

A temple

BEAUTIFUL places to snorkel Hikes that end like this!

The view on the hikes aren't so bad either.
Oh, and one of my boys favorites. Banyon trees...you can swing on them. I've never seen these here on the main land, but they are all over Hawaii.

We can't wait to visit you guys. Enjoy!!:)

5 Little Monkeys!

Today our little Makai is 4 weeks old! I can't believe he's growing so fast. I decided to get a few pictures of him today with his brothers as I have yet to get a group shot of our 5 little Monkey! Here is a picture of him looking at Tyler. He's just entered the stage when he's looking at faces. A sweet moment. Our first attempt at getting the party of 5!

Anyone want to donate to my food bill in the future?

Seventh Heaven

Saturday Kyle turned 7! When he woke up he said, "Is it my birthday or did I just sleep without dreaming?"(still not sure what that meant exactly.) When we told him it was indeed his birthday he then said, "Okay, now I just need to wait for Mammy and grampop to take me to breakfast!" My dad sent a BEFORE and AFTER picture from IHOP. I think they pretty much speak for themselves. He left pretty satisfied!

In the afternoon we had both our families over for a barbecue. Monty grilled some veggies, teriyaki burgers, and hot dogs. Monty went to the store the night before and got anything and everything you could think of putting on a burger or hot dog. The result--Delicious!!

Kyle received some really awesome gifts. He's been playing with pokemon cards, and drawing in all kinds of fun books since his party ended.

His Nana surprised him with a new bike. He loves it! I couldn't believe how fast he was riding it. He said it goes faster than Tyler's bike. It sure seemed like it to me.

One of the main reasons we had the party at our house was because Kyle really wanted to have a Wii Tournament. The boys took this very seriously. They made a sign up sheet and went around signing people up. (Notice...Tyler sitting on the jump house with the sign up sheet.)

Kyle was concerned people wouldn't know about the Wii Tournament, so he made a sign and staked it outside!

The tournament was fun. One day we'll have do do another one. The winners were...Kory for the kids and Austin for the grownups.

Thanks everyone for coming to support Kyle. He was so happy and truly felt your love. We love you Kyle! Looking forward to your 7th year! Can't believe how fast you're growing up. You truly are a wonderful boy. We love your 'LOVE' for life and spunky personality. You bring so much life to our home and so much laughter. Oh...one other thing. We did a quiz about Kyle and learned: Kyle is 4ft 2inches tall. His favorite animal is a turtle. He wants to be a ninja when he grows up. His favorite resturaunt is IHOP. He likes the San Diego Chargers. He's lost 6 teeth. He was born in Cheyenne, WY. And, if asked a question he'll answer it quickly.

Makai

Babies grow so fast, but thanks to my SIL Michelle we will always have our 'Mighty Makai' at two weeks. Truly priceless. (To see more you can visit her photo blog.) Thanks a million times over Michelle.

Milk...it does a body good!

I took Makai to his two week appointment today. He's not quite two weeks, but close enough. Anyway...the verdict is he's growing!! He is already 10lbs 6 oz and 21 inches long. I can't believe he's growing so fast!! He still seems so small. Trying to enjoy every second I can say that!

Enjoy the Moment

For Christmas my visiting teacher gave me a wooden sign which reads "Enjoy The Moment". I placed it in my kitchen above the sink knowing how much time I spend there I'd remember to read it everyday. It has really changed my outlook on life and was a perfect gift right before having a new baby. So, as I am trying to enjoy every moment I decided to share with you a few of my favorite moments from this past week.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is my mom's Challah bread. There is nothing like sitting down to a nice warm slice of this bread with melted butter on it. YUM. Add some hot chocolate and you've died and gone to heaven.Tyler is a great help when I need him to be. I love the way he looks at his brother. The other day I know he really wanted to be doing something else when I asked him to hold Makai. I thought he'd resent him, but when I took him back he just said, "Mom, I love having a new brother."I've been a little spoiled as Monty has been off and here to help. He's really stepped up to the plate and helps with the dishes, meals, and the other boys allowing me to get some rest. One afternoon I woke up before him and found him sleeping with Trey. I had to take a picture because I found it so cute that they were sleeping in the same position.Christmas morning Monty's parents both came over and watched the boys open their gifts. Monty's mom made a nice breakfast and his dad brought donuts, so we had plenty of food that morning. The boys had a wonderful Christmas. Trey always rides his brothers scooters, so Santa brought him his very own!(he's not too fond of it yet for some reason?)
Tyler has wanted a remote control car for years. This year he got his wish.

The biggest surprise of Christmas was a Wii Sport. It was even a surprise for Monty and I. We didn't plan on getting one for the boys, but Tyler asked for a Lego Indiana Jones 2 game for his PS2. After searching for it we learned they weren't going to make it for the PS2. The boys have been working to earn a Wii by getting honor roll and we were planning to buy one at the end of the school year. Christmas Eve we still hadn't found a good present for Kyle. I sent Monty out and he just decided to get the boys the Wii so we could get the game for Tyler and then we'd be done. Kyle was completely shocked when he opened his gift. His reaction was classic. He read Wii and then just kind of paused as if he didn't believe it. He looked up and said, "Is this a Wii? Did I get a Wii?" After that it was sheer excitment. We then explained that if they don't make Honor Roll this quarter we take it! It's been fun watching them play.
Kory got a Pokemon puzzle for Christmas and we had a fun time putting that together. As for his remote control plane...that's more of a dad toy. Too complicated!

Trey has been a little sick this week and needing some love. I think he may have been a little jealous of Makai, but never mean. He told me last night, "Mom, I want to keep him." Whenever Makai cries he said, "It gunna be okay Makai. Don't cry. It gunna be okay." I went into my room yesterday to find Trey touching Makai on his nose while he slept. He's come to accept and love Makai and even shared some toys with him yesterday. When I was taking some quick pictures of Makai yesterday Trey asked me to take some pictures of him. He even posed!

I love to watch babies do the simple things like yawn or smile in their sleep.

Monty having some wrestling time with the boys. They love to wrestle with dad.

Trey holding Makai. Priceless.

Monty holding Makai. He's already growing up. I'm so in love with this little man. It's so funny that I lived 30 years without him and now after just a few days I can't imagine my life without him. What a blessing.

Makai has arrived!!

I meant to get a better picture before Makai arrived, but it didn't happen so this one will have to do. This was taken Wednesday. Thursday I went into the hospital at about 2:30pm for an ultrasound to get an update on Makai's size. The estimate was he'd be about 9lbs 1oz and all looked good. I was having a few contractions so they asked if I just wanted to go over to labor and delivery, but I declined as they weren't consistent. Little did I know 12 hours later he'd be here safe and sound weighing almost exactly what they estimated he'd weigh.

I usually wait till my water brakes to go to the hospital, but this time things just seemed different, so I gave in about 11:00pm after I felt like things really weren't going to stop and the contractions were getting pretty close. Sure enough they confirmed I was in active labor and could get an epidural if I wanted. Since everything else was going different for this delivery I thought why not. Bring in the anaesthesiologist. Wow...HEAVEN! Talk about a wonder drug. When delivered correctly it sure made for a fun delivery! Makai arrived about 3:37am Friday December 18th.

It all seemed so surreal as I looked at him over on that table. He wasn't crying just kind of looking around taking in his new world.

We decided to come home the following day because the boys were not allowed at the hospital and they wanted to meet their new little brother. His first night home he was horrible!! I thought...'You tricked us...you're a terror!!' I think about 4:30am I told Monty..."How do we send him back." The sad thing is I think I really meant it at that point. Last night however he did much better. I'm back in love!:)

Monty and Makai just enjoying some time together.

Trey is as curious as can be with Makai. He adjusted very well. When he came in the door to meet him he said, "Mom, Makai came out! I gunna call him Tarzan." He actually calls him 'akai' or 'kakai'. He's done great adjusting to being an older brother.

The other boys have done well. When I woke up yesterday Tyler was on my bed just watching Makai sleep. He had a big smile on his face and told me, "Mom, I just love Makai." Kyle actually is the most uninterested in Makai. He still hasn't asked to hold him. Kory has asked a few times to hold Makai and loves to come over and just give him a kiss. I'm proud of all of them for adjusting so well to such a big change.