26 Years Young

Happy Birthday to meeeee!!!

Two years ago I received the best present ever!  And lucky me... I get to have him every year for the rest of my liiiiiiife!  FANTASTIC! (you have to say it like nacho libre)

In Japan it is Sept. 19.  Today in Hawaii it's the 18th.  2 years ago, in front of starbucks at the shibuya crossing in Tokyo I met my sweetheart!  It's my birthday again and since I met him my birthdays have transformed into a day of gratitude and LOVE.  I find myself celebrating the birth of our lives together.  I feel so lucky and so blessed to have him in my life.  Yessy!

24

Oh my Timmy... you make my dreams come true. you ooh ooh ooh (that song by Hall & Oates)

25

The birthdays keep getting better and better Aaaaaand... mo' bettah!!!

26

Wow!!! I look huge!  Oh well.  It is what it is, and I am what I am (for now... I can start exercising again soon!)  Happy in my little family surrounded by my family!  And I love being a wife and mother!  And I've always loved being an Aunty.  

My nephews got to position the candles wherever they wanted to.  I love them so much.  Crazy coconut heads!

My dad had to leave for a church meeting.  So I ended up playing my own birthday music.  BUT it was the best birthday song in a long time.  All the coconut heads sang to me.

Rissa made the best yummy cupcakes.  Oprah's Favorite!  Not sure what they're called.

Surrounded by my favorite crazy boys.  My rock head and coconut heads. 

I had such a good day even though our lunch plans at Cholo's had to be moved to our car so I could feed our son.  Our waitress told me to just feed him in the restaurant and that she breastfed her daughter till she was 4!  But I'm a "tard" still using the breastfeeding sling, I have to stick my head under there with Nainoa. Lol.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes and thank you Hun for making the best beef stew for dinner!  It was so nice to finally be back at home for my birthday.  Can't wait to teach Nainoa the birthday medley!  All the monkeys in the zoo oooh eeeeh eeh aaaah aaaah!

Little Sweetie Pie Pie

So many things to say and not enough words to describe them.  If I were a writer I might be able to capture 50% of what we feel and have gone through this past beautiful month.  BUT I'm just Tif, and therefore I will probably only be able to relay 5%.  You might get another 25% from looking at the pictures I'll post but there is no way and there are no words to say how beautiful our lives are now that our son is here.  This new and beautiful love we are exploring that is constantly growing every day...  It amazes and humbles me.  What a precious little gift we have and how lucky we are to share the rest of our lives with him!

Nainoa is exactly 4 weeks old today.  ONLY 4 weeks! Yikes!  Sometimes I feel like he should be older. I'm not saying that I want him to be older.   I'm with him all the time and waking up for feedings in the middle of the night.  The days and nights have blurred together!  Lately he has been staying awake a lot longer after feeding.  He'll lie in bed next to me and I'll turn on some music, and he'll just sit there looking around listening to it.  He LOVES Jack Johnson.  The song from curious george is our new family anthem. Lol we also listen to the Beach Boys, Hall & Oats, and the Hawaiian music on channel 24.

Breastfeeding has gotten better, but we still have our down days.  I have to try to keep my spirits up, even when I'm in pain.  I find it makes the feeding better for both of us!  I think we've gotten really good at feeding on the right side, but the left side latch needs some work.  I might go and see a lactation consultant.  I'm also really lucky that I have such good support!  My mom and sisters, my beautiful friend SANOE, and last but not least my sweetheart!  The position that works best for us is the football hold.  Tim demonstrating his football hold.  Don't ask me why he wanted to pose on one leg. Hahaha!

We've been going for walks in the early evening with our BOB stroller.  Thanks again to uncle Al for GIFING it to us. (Giving + Gifting = Gifing in fob language it is so)  We also got a Wallabies onsie in the mail last week from Meme!  Nainoa wore it while we watched the wallabies play Italy in their opening match at the world cup.  Tim says Nainoa's favorite player is Digby Ioane... "Because he's samoan."  

Nainoa has been getting stronger.  He started breaking out of his swaddles.  One night I woke up to him crying.  He had broken out and was cold!  Poor sweetie.  I wrapped him back up and he went straight to sleep.  He's been sleeping so well!  This morning after a 2am feeding.  I was so tired.  I put him down and he went straight to bed.  I didn't have to rock him or walk him around.  He's so nice yeah!  Last week I tried swaddling him with his arms out!  Yeah... it wasn't the best idea, he kept surprising and waking himself up, but it was cute!

If you're wondering why Tim's shirt is always off in our pictures it's because we are enjoying our skin-to-skin contact with baby.  It's supposed to help with imprinting, bonding, and a ton of other things.  He knows us so well!  The other night Tim gave him to Papa and uh oh! He didn't like it!  He only wanted his dad. Usually we let him stay in his diaper all day, but sometimes I'll put clothes on him for fun.  Not because I think he my little dress up dolly.  I do it because I think I'm going to take him out for a walk, and then something happens or I change my mind.  So it's like I dressed him up for fun.

My sweet angel face!

I think my son is going to think his name is "Handsome Boy." Lol.  Whenever we see him, my mom, sister and I, we always say, "Hello handsome boy!"  You know... in that really high pitch voice that people like to talk to babies in.

For Meme!

We had a family photo shoot with Ashlee Decaires last week Saturday.  It was so much fun.  Of course, being the geek that I am, I put all the photos she gave us into a little slide show.  This slide show is especially for Nainoa's Meme (Nainoa's grandma in Australia).  Just a little something to help hold her over until she can be here to hold him in her arms!  We are counting down the days till you are with us!

Family Photos

Last Saturday we were so lucky to be able to sit for some family pictures with the beautiful and talented Ashlee Decaires.  We had a lot of fun and the pictures of Nainoa turned out so beautiful!  Here's a link to her page and the pictures she posted from the photoshoot.

http://ashleedcphotography.blogspot.com/2011/09/nainoa.html

Nainoa is now 3 weeks old!  This past week he weighed in at 7 lbs 7.5 oz!  Then two days later he weighed in again at 7lbs 11 oz.  Breastfeeding is getting better, but it's still a challenge and sometimes it feels like we (nainoa and I) are fighting with each other to get him to latch on!  I have to block his hitting and pinching of my sore and tender nipples. lol.

These are probably my FAVOURITE!  (I spelt it with a U because that's how Timmy spells it) ah! love my boys!

 

Le Nevez Ohana

  Nainoa has been exploring his voice and making a lot of really cute noises.  I actually saw him making a conscious effort to reproduce a noise he made that both Tim and I repeated back to him.  It was like a sweet little sigh.  He's so cute and we love him so much.  Can't get enough of him!  It's so fun to see him waking up.  He makes the funniest faces and looks like a little ninja when he stretches out.

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day in Australia, my first one! It was really hot so we spent most of the day inside, Tif and Nainoa actually had a really good rest. After they both fell asleep in the afternoon i ducked off for a surf out at Goat Island. It was small but still a great way to cool off from the heat. Today we went into Haleiwa and Tif bought me a watch for Father's Day, so I can come in from the surf on time haha. Nainoa is doing great and changing all the time, he is growing and starting to interact with me which is fun. He even has been trying to talk to me lately!


To: Dad
Love: Nainoa & Mom

Don't Mess With Me!

Don't Mess with me!  My dad makes this face too!  Don't mess with him either!

It's been a long day at the office!

Now it's time to relax!

What was that noise!?  Daddy farted and tried to blame it on me!

teehee hee... J/k it was me!

Mommy loves me! Oh yessy!

Nainoa Week 2

Nainoa has a little gecko friend.  I've always noticed with my sister's kids anytime there were babies in the house there would be one or two geckos watching over them.  So when I saw this baby gecko on the wall I decided he's a friend.  AND he's probably eating all the stupid little ants in our room.  I think we will give him a name soon.  Nainoa's friend.

Stretching out!

Sweet smiles!

Cousin Kamani came over again and got to hold Nainoa.  Whenever he talks to the baby he does it in a reaaaally high pitched voice.  It's so cute!

Aug. 27 

Happy birthday papa!!!

Going through a growth spurt and wanting to eat A LOT.  Breastfeeding was starting to get easier, but with a growth spurt things have gotten a little bit more complicated.  We get over one hurdle only to have jump another.  But it's okay!  He has gained a whole pound since last week!  He is now 7.5 lbs!  I'm so sleepy so I think that's all for now!  I'm going to try to throw his pictures together into a slideshow if I have time.  I probably won't have time.  

And now I'm going to pick up a book and read myself to sleep.  Goodnight Neverlaaaaaand!

I need to sleep while my son sleeps!