A Mother FULL of Gratitude

This isn't being written ON Mothers Day,

but it doesn't mean my gratitude is any less,

because I truly have soo much to be thankful for! Most of all, these 4 amazing children, that my

Heavenly Father has blessed ME with.

Although there are many a days that I feel

stressed and overwhelmed, not just at everyday

life, but also at the responsiblity to be their

mother, their teacher, their example and so much more!

And although I constantly fall short of perfection

and have a tremedous lack of patience, I am

humbled that I was given this amazing opportunity!!

All week my kids have been extra excited and

secretive with all that they were doing for me,

to make ME feel SPECIAL.

And they surely did!!
I enjoyed a traditional

Breakfast in Bed.

Here is Ame's beautiful art work, which she

made at school, along with many homemade

card. She is an expert card maker, that is for sure!

And so sincere and sensitive. I love that about her!!

And Kaipo amazes me at his abilities

and how enthusiastic he is about becoming

a READER and a WRITER.
(the card in green says...

I am always going to love you)

Ash also made me some special cards,

and Nalu, well he just had to smile his

BIG SMILE and that is all I needed!

Not bad for a

set the timer, late for church,

family picture.

I had to get a close-up of the

BEAUTIFUL, UNIQUE lei

Quinn got me this year.

Another tradition that I LOVE.

I am always excited each year

to see what he is going to get me.

This year was definitely a favorite!

And the biggest gift of all was getting

all this green in our yard.

Quinn worked sooo hard this week

in his little spare time to get the yard all ready,

so they could lay the sod Friday Night.

Despite the sod being REALLY late and

all of our help (13 guys from our ward showed up...isn't

that awesome) having to wait, it got done.

Thank you honey for making the time, so now we

can finally enjoy our yard!

(Now its on to the flowerbeds)

Grass has never made me soo excited!!

Too see this sight out my window as the rain

pours down, is wonderful!

And this is one of the few times I will say

BRING ON THE RAIN

I feel so loved, so appreciated and so special
AND so grateful to be a MOTHER!

6 months

Nalu turned 6 months old a few days ago,

and also had a check-up.

Here is what we found out:

weight- 17.7 lbs. (65%)

height-27.7 in. (90%)

Some things about Nalu at this age:

*he now has 2 bottom teeth

*he continues to put everything in his

mouth & is learning how to move things

from one hand to the other

*he is a good independent sleeper,but still

wakes up once in the night for a feeding

*he is lovin' baby cereal and when mom

introduces it, I am sure will LOVE other

baby food as well

*he likes to hold his bottle

*he is a great pooper & has

at least one diaper explosion a day

(usually at the most inconvenient time-

just after a bath, when ready to head out the door,

or away from home like @ church)

*he HATES to have anything on his head-

a hood, beenie, etc. I am hoping he outgrows

that and will be OK with hats this summer??

*he is now aware when mom leaves the room

& usually doesn't like that so much

*he loves to interact with others and has

the BIGGEST, brightest smile

The best of all...

He has learned to laugh & squeal with excitement

We LOVE you sweet Nalu and couldn't ask for a sweeter, easier baby. We can't believe you have only been apart of our family for 6 months, but WOW how quickly those 6 months have gone! We want you to stay our little baby forever, but know that isn't going to happen. We are soo excited for all that you will be learning to do, even in the next 6 months.

in addition

One funny side note I forgot to add when I was writing about

the excitment of joining the Spanish Program.

A few days ago Kaipo was with me at Walmart,

and while I was busy looking for things,

Kaipo noticed a hispanic man walk by

and instantly he thought to use the limited spanish

he already has and greeted the man with an

HOLA!

Kaipo is such friendly little guy, and so observant & inquisitive

of others around him. In a few months, when he is learning a lot

more spanish words he is going to be talking to anyone

and everyone, in multiple languages!!

This is going to be fun and entertaining to say the least!

A VERY special lady

This morning we payed a special visit before

school to A VERY SPECIAL LADY...Grandma.

It was her birthday and we wanted her

day to start out GREAT, so we showed up with her favorite...

Eistein Bagels and homemade birthday cards. She was soo surprised when we rang the door bell

and she answered to find US at her doorstep!

And later this evening us adults got to go with

GRANDMA for dinner of her choice at Maddox.
We had such a fun time talking, laughing & eating.

I am so glad we got to celebrate YOU today

Mom because YOU are such a special person

in all of our lives.

You are an incredible example of

beauty, selflessness,

unconditional love,

sacrifice and sincerity!

I love you mom and hope you had

a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Spanish anyone???

We just found out that Ame and Kaipo get to join the Spanish Immersion Program at their school next year. Kaipo will join as a Kindergartner (the ideal time to start) and Ame will join as a 2nd grader, since their is now an opening. We tried to get her in the program at the beginning of the year when we enrolled her in her new school, but there were no openings. I am excited for the challenge it will give Ame, as she gets to "catch-up" with the other 2nd graders, and I think it is even more exciting that Ame and Kaipo get to start at the same time. It will be so fun to see them LEARN TO SPEAK spanish together. Good thing they have a dad who is pretty fluent and can help them out a ton! I am excited to freshen up what I once knew, and learn with them too!

Fieldtrips

This has been a busy week for mom, with 2 fieldtrips.

But I was so glad I got to go with Ame on hers.

Yesterday, all the first graders went to a farm.

Of course because of CRAZY Utah weather

it was FREEZING Cold, but we had a great time,

despite being frozen the whole time!
We got to see lots of interesting things.
From the process and tools of Cow Milking

to this poor sheep getting a shave

(they say its just like getting a haircut for us

and didn't hurt the little guy, but I still felt bad for him)

the llama

wildly LOUD turkeys

cute little "kids"

and after the Dairy 3-A-Day presentation

they got a sample...string cheese

I am so thankful for these fun opportunities

to spend time with my kids, even

though at times it is hectic and crazy to

GET THERE.

*********************

This morning Kaipo had a fieldtrip

to our local Nursery.

Luckily we just did a quick tour outside and spent

the rest of the time in the greenhouse inside

(the reason for the foggy picture),

because it was another snowy COLD day!

Kaipo was soo inquisitive and full of

questions & coments

the benefits of being the little brother

of a preschooler...you get to go on lots

of fieldtrips too!

And Nalu got to tag along too, and

of course he was a good little boy and

enjoyed the sights (and sounds) as well!

I'm not touching...just looking?!

PROMISE

what's that falling on my head?

Very Interesting

I didn't pick this off the plant?!

Yes, I am cute!!

partners in crime...

the whole gang

ALthough it is A LOT of work sometimes for me and the boys

to go on Kaipo's monthly fieldtrips, we have had

lots of fun! And I love to see Kaipo interacting with his

friends and just being KAIPO.

He is quite a character!!

BUSY Saturdays

The last few saturdays have been EXTRA BUSY,

especially when I am going SOLO

(Quinn didn't teach all winter, but now come

springtime he teaches again saturdays from 9-2).

Kaipo started up soccer again.

I am very proud & amazed at how much

he has matured and changed in a few short months.

He is much more aggressive and has a

much greater interest in actually playing now.

Maybe too much at times. We had to talk about

not pushing the other kids out of the way so HE can get to the ball,

but I am excited he has become more competitive.

He is soo determined now to SCORE!!

So we are hoping for many more goals this season!

He's warming up & stretching b4 the game.

And taking a much needed water break.

Ash cheering his brother on,

in the bright sun!

Ash & Nalu are quite the troopers,

tagging along everywhere in the double stroller...

not that they have much of a choice :)

Ame has also had competitions

the last 2 saturdays, which makes

the day even more of a juggle.

I had to add these pics of Ame with her

friends dancing and having fun after the competition

was over, and they were just waiting

for the Awards Ceremony to begin.

Nothing like the action shots!

I can totally see her as a teenager

gettin' down with her friends,

at stake dances and school dances

(just like her mom).
Oh she's growing up soo fast!!

UNexpected

Yesterday Kekoa and I were talking and

playing with Nalu, when Koa said something

like "You know Nalu has a tooth, right?"

Um, no?!! What a lame mom am I???

So I took and peek and sure enough...

(I tried and tried to get a picture of it,

but was not very successful).

After doing some researching about the

other kids and when they got their

first tooth, I realized why I was

so shocked that Nalu already had one.

Unfortunately I never documented

when Ame got her first tooth (weird I know),

but Kaipo wasn't until 10 months

and Ash was at 7 1/2 mo.

So I was not even expecting one of those

little things to pop through already.

Now that I know it explains some

slight changes in his behavior, but for

the most Nalu he has taken this first

one like a champ!!
And here's just some other shots
just because he so darn cute!!

Extended Family

Last week Great Grandma Asplund, my Uncle Jim (my dad's brother) and my Aunt Debbie came for a quick visit. So my parents had some of us over for dinner and to provide a little entertainment, of which all the grandkids do plenty of. Grandma made a fabulous dinner (of course) and yummy ice cream dessert. Ame shared a bit of her talent, and then the boys had to try to share theirs.












We had such a pleasant time hangin' out, catching up and just chatting. I just get such a kick out of our CANADIAN relatives. They are so fun to be around. I am soo looking forward to our trip to Canada in the Fall.








Little Tay Tay was so taken by great-grandma, and I think the feeling was mutual!

5 months and growing...

My precious boy is growing up way too fast!

He continues to make me smile

and just brings each one of us so much joy!

He got to try out something new this week...was thoroughly entertainedhappy

and even excited!!

I just can't get enough of his sweetness!!

His smile is just soo contagious. No matter how

grumpy or upset I may be, all it takes is a

look in my direction and he melts me!

*We LOVE you Nalu*