Swimming and Dress-ups

Last week, after a MUCH needed relief from the heat, my mom and I took the kids swimming. I am soo glad my kids love the water and are just like little fish. I just wish we had more opportunity to actually swim. Ame is taking swim lessons this week and next. It is a two week class, that is every day for 30 minutes. She is learning some great skills to enhance what she already knows. Kaipo and I are going to do a mommy and me class on saturdays starting next week. That will be a fun time for the two of us.

A couple of months ago I found some dress ups online for Kaipo. It came with some masks and capes for bateman, robin and superman, for a great deal. It was much needed after always seeing him in Ame's dress ups!

Kaipo doesn't always quite get the right pieces of the costume together, but at least there is nothing pink this time!

Ame always HAS to pose!

American Idol????????

So a few months ago my neighbor and I had the idea for our 2 CTR's (Ame and Jackson) to sing for their dad's on Father's Day. But because of the primary singing we couldn't fit into the father's day program, so we decided the week after would be OK. So Ame and her neighbor buddie, Jackson, sang "Where Love Is" in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. We practiced all week and they actually learned it quickly and sounded quite well. We went over to practice in front of the microphone on Saturday and we thought maybe it wasn't a good idea anymore. Jackson is kind of like Kaipo, full of energy and has a hard time being calm and still(I guess you could say). All the kids wanted to do is play with the mic & touch it with their lips and you know how that sounds. Plus our piano player didn't get into town until 12:30 am on Sunday morning so we didn't even know if she would make it, let alone get to practice together. But it all worked out-they practiced just b4 sacrament meeting and despite having to try & sit through most of the meeting reverently (and we have sac. mtg. last) because they sang in between the speakers, they did an AWESOME job!
Also, I tried to keep it a surpise from quinn. There were a few oop's that weekend and he kind of figured out something was going on, especially when we were walking into church Sunday and someone says (having seen the program already) I hear you have a performer in the family today. QUinn thought what? Did Brittany sign me up for something I don't know about?
We were very proud of Ame!! She was soo brave! She may not be ready for "American Idol", but I hope she continues to appreciate and share her beautiful talents.
Grandma and Grandpa Asplund also got to come and see her perform. Ame was of course very excited to invite them and they didn't need any arm twisting to make it either.


We told them to pose and this is what we got. You can see Kaipo with Azlin, doing what he always does, torment her!!!!!!!

What a dad........

The kids definitely LOVE their daddy! They are always soo excited when he comes home and are always begging for his attention. He has such a unique and special bond with each of our children. They pretty much know they can get anything they want from daddy. He is definitely the softy between the two of us. Thank you honey for all you do to provide for us and love us unconditionally (even when we drive you crazy)!

Fun Times with Family & Friends

Last week we went to Cherry Hill, as you may heard from Jamie. Ame had a blast with all of her buddies and Kaipo had so much fun being crazy with Cooper. This place is just perfect for the age group of kids that we have.
We only wish we had more opportunity to get together with our wonderful friends!

What a contrast-boys vs. girls........

In my family it is pretty much all boys. Ame can definitely hold her own though. But, Lucky for her she is getting a girl cousin soon, we can't wait for little Kaiya to join our family.

Then when we got together with Jamie and Lindy it was the complete opposite-GIRL overload. Kaipo didn't seem to mind though.

Treehouse Museum

If you have already visited my moms blog (she is much quicker at posting than I am), you know we went to the Museum with the kids and had a blast. We could have spent all day there, if it weren't for the kids being hungry and crying babies. There is just so much for the kids to explore and do. They were in heaven!

New Adventure

Well we started a new dance class today. Ame is still taking Hula but seemed to have lost interest in tumbling. Personally I think it was the instructor, I wasn't that fond of her either.
She is now taking a combo-jazz/ballet class. After going to our neighbors recital, she definitely decided that was what she was interested in. Hopefully she develops some more skill than the minimal ones she has come up with on her own. Either way I know she will have a lot of fun!

randomness.......

So of course I downloaded pics off my camera again and found some random things to share.

Ame was invited to a birthday party for her hula teachers kids over the weekend, and we had ALL planned to go, then mommy got sick-first a BAD cold and then the next day I got hit hard with the flu (the day QUinn was leaving for work training in Memphis for a week). Thank goodness my mom lives close. YOu are a LIFE SAVER, literally!! I can't tell you how much that helped me mom. Just hope YOU don't get sick.

Ame and Kaipo having fun in mommies BIG bath. I don't let them get in mine very often, I'm not sure why. Maybe I just don't feel like taking all my decorative stuff, scrubs, etc. down from around the tub or maybe I don't want the mess ALL the time in my bathroom. But I was feeling NICE one evening.
Last week I went to visit my old school and friends that I taught with. I've been wanting to do it all year and finally made it down there on a day other than the weekend. I was going down for a graduation party and decided that it was a perfect time, since it was 6th grade celebration day, to go see old friends. When we were pulling up Ame reminded me that no one would know it was me because of my dark hair, until they saw my face she said. So observant she is! The teacher on the left had been in the dunking tank and was embarrassed to take a picture ( I got to do that last year too) and the teacher on the right is pregnant. She has been trying for a long time so it was fun to talk to her about that. When I headed inside to say hi my old principal gave me a BIG hug. It was funny! And reminded me when I am ready to come back to teaching to come see her. But I think that is a little too far from my home now!

Memorial Day

Well I wish I had pics to go with this one, but unfortunately my fun was cut short, before I could get any.
Our holiday started with Quinn enjoying an early round of golf, then all of us checking out some sales, but we didn't find anything worth buying (unfortunately).
Then, we had originally invited Quinn's family up for a BBQ, but things changed and no one ended up being able to come so we had tons of meat and asked our neighbors in our caldesac if they wanted to BBQ instead. So we grilled and chilled, while the kids ran around, rode bikes and played (a typical night in our caldesac). Just after finishing round one of our meal, Kaipo decides to throw up all over the driveway. I was a little embarrassed & quickly brought him home, gave him a bath and Quinn stayed outside with the other 2 kids . So before I could get any pictures of our fun neighborhood BBQ I was home tending to a sick little boy. Not quite the ending I would have preferred to my holiday, but what is a mother to do????? Hope he didn't get the other kids in the neighborhood sick too....

All Smiles

A few weeks ago, Ash started giving real smiles.
He prefers to give them mostly to mom, and even Ame,
but will also give them to others occasionally. I had a hard time
capturing any "still" shots of him smiling, but here are a few OK ones.
I will definitely keep trying!!

Blessing Day

Well, we had Ash's special day on Sunday, which also happened to be mother's day. I wanted to do it on this day because my Grandma Asplund and Uncle Jim just happened to be here then. The day was of course hectic and busy, but it all turned out very nice.

We tried getting some family pics taken before church. Our sister in law, who I would say is professional, took tons of pics so hopefully she got a much better one then we did.

Grandma Frankie was an angel. She made fry bread, so we could have yummy Navajo Tacos. Then after everyone left, she stayed and cleaned my WHOLE kitchen! She is such a sweetheart.

Ame HAD to have this princess dress. She did look adorable.

Kaipo trying to get away from picture taking.

I felt so lucky to share not only mother's day, but also Ash's blessing day with so many people I love and admire.
Unfortunately, I didn't get enough pics with EVERYONE. We had all of Quinn's family and some of mine. It was truly a special day. Quinn gave the most beautifully, elegant blessing. Followed by a precious song, that him and his dad sang. For those of you who have not heard Quinn sing, he truly has a hidden talent that he needs to share more often.

This was such a Day. The Lord has truly blessed me beyond anything I deserve. I feel like the luckiest Mother, Wife and Daughter!

comparison

So here are the 2 boys in the same blessing outfit, on the same blanket. Kaipo (right) is about 3 months old and Ash (left) is 7 weeks, so he doesn't fill out the clothes as well. I would say there is a definite resemblence, wouldn't you? I will have to do some more picture comparison and post some more.

Ash just started grinning a couple of days ago. It is soo much fun.

Dentist

The kids and I (mom came along to help-thanks soooo much mom, I could have never done it without YOU) took a trip to the dentist a few weeks ago. Ame went first and did really well. They counted and cleaned her teeth. She was such a BIG girl. Then Kaipo took his turn in the chair. This was his first time so we made it simple. The hygenist was AWESOME and SOO good with the kids, explaining all the tools and letting them try each one out before she put it in their mouth.

Kaipo wasn't quite sure about them doing the brushing, but he let them anyway cuz he knew afterwards he would get a new toothbrush AND choose a prize with his token.

Ame thought the lights were a little too bright so they gave her some crazy glasses to wear.

Catch up......

I downloaded pics from my camera today and realized I have A LOT of catching up to do.

Here is a picture of Kaipo with our neighbors little girl, Azlin, who he loves to maul and torment! She is a real girly girl and is very petite AND definitely likes her own space, which Kaipo loves to dominate and take over. You can just see the mischief in that cute little smile!!
Here is a picture of me with my neighbor friends (left: Tara, right back: Cami, right front: Jamie-she is the neighbor right next to me with the 2 year old girl above and a boy Ame's age and she also has a baby 6 weeks older than Ash). This was our first girls night out. It was Cami's birthday and we went to this really fun Japanese Cuisine for dinner and had some good laughs. They are all such fun neighbors. We all just hang out in our caldisac (sp?) in the evenings and let the kids run wild. We couldn't have asked for a better neighborhood.

Special Birthdays

This is a time of Birthdays for some people that are dear to me. Yesterday was my mom's bday. We got to spend some time with her on her special day. She came over to our house (which is ALWAYS something my kids look forward to) & we made her dinner and yummy dessert. They even stayed and had family home evening with us. My sister and I are treating my mom to a massage @ a Spa for her Bday present. Hope it is relaxing and enjoyable for her. She definitely deserves some pamering! (It sure sounds great to me) She is one loved mom and grandma....we are sooo lucky to have you in our lives!!! I lOVE YOU MOM

It is my dear friend Jamie's birthday today. I am soo grateful for our friendship (even though we don't live close to each other anymore) and the wonderful memories we have to cherish. There have been some crazy, interesting, fun and a few times we may just wish to forget (haha) . Jamie, Thanks for being such a great friend all these years! Love ya

Tomorrow is my little brothers Bday. Aaron is a one of a kind person. He is one of the most unique and interesting people I know. Unfortunately we have not gotten to spend as much time together over the years, as I would have liked. But I sure love you Aaron and am soo proud & grateful to have you as my brother!

(unfortunately I don't have any recent pics of Jme and Aaron on our laptop and our scanner isn't unpacked and hooked up yet)

Our Precious Boy

I don't do this very often (let Kaipo actually hold the baby), but I wanted to get a picture of my boys. Kaipo is SLOWLY learning how to treat his little brother. I got this shot in between the baby's head flopping and falling over and Kaipo laughing and wiggling all around.

I realized in the busyness of the move and all that has been going on, I haven't done a very good job of getting many snapshots of Ashkiilani's first weeks of life. Here are a couple. The one on the right is how he had to sleep with his biliblanket light all the time. Luckily he has gotten better and gets to live somewhat of a normal life now.

As I unpack pics of Ame and Kaipo I have noticed how much Ash looks soo much like both of them. We are seeing more blue in his eyes these days. I know there is still more time before that becomes permanent, but I would like him to have a bit of a different look and have something distinctly from his mom.

Home sweet Home......FINALLY!

Well we have officially been in our house a few weeks now. This picture is actually posted for 2 reasons. One, to show the finished "outside" product. I thought about taking some inside pics but every time I do it isn't clean enough to snap a picture and plus it would take a lot of pics to get the full affect of what it really looks like. So for anyone interested in seeing it, you'll just have to come visit! We still have several things to do to make it feel more like home-#1 is get window coverings for ALL our windows (not a fun expense), build a mailbox, start our yard, just to name a few. Plus, every day I try and do some decorating, and picture hanging. One step at a time, or it just feels sooooo overwhelming.
The other reason I am posting this pic is to show the snow we got, and this was before we really got hit. Tuesday was about 70 degrees and yesterday was in the 30's. What a shocker!! That has been half of my problem with unpacking. The weather keeps changing and so I don't know what to unpack or put away, clothes wise, for any of us. Typical Utah in the beautiful Springtime!

Wasn't all smooth sailing

On Wednesday, the day we were suppose to be discharged the Dr. came in and said that our baby's bilirubin count was really high and he needed to be put under bili lights for awhile and see if he improves. Unfortunately after more tests, he was not improving and he was showing signs of inflammation in his system, so he was headed to the NICU. For any parent who has had a child sent there ( ours wasn't half as serious as most, but it was still scary for us), knows the scary feeling that comes over you when you hear this kind of news . After many tears and prayers we moved forward with a positive attitude. Thank goodness we have such a strong boy who is a fighter. His bilirubin count continued each day to go down and the possible signs of infection went away. He was in the NICU 3 LONG days and then got to go home.
I was lucky enough after being officially discharged, to board in my same recovery room at NO cost, so I could nurse Ash and be there 24/7 for him. What a wonderful option this hospital provides. We were soo grateful for the amazing loving care our little guy received and for how well informed the Dr's and nurses kept us through this whole ordeal.
He is actually still considered "at risk" and we were sent home with a bili blanket, which he has to lay on all the time and it just provides a small amount of phototherapy for him. He had blood work done today and his count has gone up again, into the intermediate range. So we have to go tomorrow and draw blood again, in hopes that it hasn't continued to go up, otherwise we may be headed back to the hospital. We sure hope not! The hard part about all this is he seems fine. He eats well and shows no sign of illness. We will keep an update going on our little guy.
My parents have been soo much help throughout this past week. Watching the kids whenever we needed them to, bringing me treats to the hospital, dinner, and just being so understanding and supportive. I am soo grateful they moved here just in time. I was especially grateful they could be there for the delivery, as well as my sister. That really meant soo much to me, to share this special experience with them.

So much in just one week.......

WOW, this has been one amazlingly long week, full of soo much excitement and emotion!
First of all, thanks Karli for getting a jump start on the BIG news for me. Finally, five days after the big day, I have a few moments (I should be going to bed though) to share the events of the week. Just to update a few details from karli's blog-our little guy, who has a name now, is
Ashkiilani Katsumi Hanamaikai. His first name is actually a combination navajo/hawaiian name which means heavenly boy. We really wanted to give him a navajo name since he is actually more that than hawaiian and no one in the family has taken on a navajo name. We will probably call him Ash for short. His middle name is one of Quinn's. We stewed over the name thing FOREVER but finally after 3 days in the hospital, it was official. A few other details, he was born @ 4:43pm, weighing 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 1/2 in. long.














Ame is such a proud BIG sister. Ash actually looks a lot like Ame did as an infant. She is always watching him, loves to hold him & feed him a bottle whenever she can. She is such a good helper with him. We are soo happy to have this new addition to our family. Even kaipo seems excited to have baby Ash around. He is slowly learning to be gentle and calm around the baby.

One ready mommy......

For any onlookers who are interested, but mostly for my future reference, this is me @ 38 weeks, ready for our little boy to come. Although some days I think it is easier to have him right where he is, I am also very ready for him to join our family. I am pretty much as ready as I could ever be, in every way possible. We will keep everyone updated on his arrival (hopefully really soon!!)

Fun @ the park

Saturday evening we took the kids and a picnic, with my parents, to the park. I can't believe the beautiful weather streak we have had. It has been wonderful! But I hear it is sadly coming to an end soon. Ame so desperately wanted to fly a kite, unfortunately there was no wind and the kite we got was a pretty sad one. So if she could keep it together for very long, she pretty much just ran holding the kite in the air. Not quite kite flying. Hopefully we will have better luck next time!