My Sisters

HA'O GIRLZ

Uni-brows and Mustaches

Starting with Me at 12 o clock... Me, Cesi, Titi, Jenna, and Kalu.

Cesi is pregnant!! Star around the baby! Congrats Cesi and Jared!

One of the biggest blessings I've received since marrying Joe are my sister in laws. They are the bomb and such great women. They are some of my very best friends and I feel so lucky that I can confide in them,
laugh with them,
have a REAL conversation with them,
shop with them,
trust them with my children,
take silly photos with them,
and respect them for their individuality and greatness.
I love you girls! Thanks for being you!

Thanksgiving Is All About the Family!!

The Bread Breakers: Jordy, Jarom, and Jared prepping the stuffing while watching football of course!

The Babysitters: jarom&eli, jesse&trenten, joe&kienna

The BreadMakers: Cesi, Jarom, and Kalu. Sweetbread rolls were the bomb this year!

Potato Girls: Titi and I were in charge of making the sweet potato casserole and garlic mash potatoes.

The Finished Product: Thank you to everyone for helping make thanksgiving the bomb!! Everything was homemade and yummy! Happy Thanksgiving!

Kienna's Special Visitor

Chicken Nuggets Dinner Date

Oh oh... Is that Eli throwing up the tongan crip sign?? (just kiddin titi... hehe)

Who needs toys for Christmas?? Happiness comes from the simple things!

Yesterday was awesome. Titi and her daughter Eli came to spend Thanksgiving with us! I got to see a new side of Kienna that I must say I was proud of. I hope Eli can visit more often because she helps bring out some positives in Kienna.
Some of the positives were...
-Sharing her toys (Kienna has been cautious and "small kine grits" when it comes to sharing, but she doesn't hesitate to share with Eli.)
-Eating all of her dinner (Dinner meaning Costco's microwave chicken nuggets!)
-Excited to have a playmate that is pretty much the same height. Everyone else is usually way to tall except for her newborn brother.

I'm so glad Titi is here. She is awesome... very bright and beautiful. I love having her and Eli with us for the week.

I'm SOOOOOO grateful!!

Kienna giving a big UUUUUMMMMA to Kingston

Best Friends

These are the 2 little people that have changed my life for the better!

Thanksgiving will be here in 3 days and besides the excitement for the traditional HA'O Thanksgiving Meal and Black Friday Sales, I'm feeling so much gratitude for everything Heavenly Father has blessed me with.

I'm GRATEFUL FOR...
-a very patient husband who doesn't judge me or try to change me, who loves me for me even tho I purposely fall short sometimes because of stubbornness and pride.

-Kienna Mika for forgiving me and being patient as I experienced motherhood for the first time.

-Kingston for his kind, quiet, and loving personality that can even be felt even though he is only one month old.

-my parents who truly are the bomb to me and give their best in everything they do. I love them so much. They never seem to fall short of anything in my eyes.

-for special friends that are constantly showing me love and support no matter how busy and hectic life can get. thank you for making time for me:)

-for Tali who is getting married soon giving us a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with all of our friends. Looking forward to some bonding time girls!

-for my sister in law Jenna and mother in law Heidi who help me take care of my kids.

-for the gospel, the prophet, the priesthood, the hymns that bless my life.

-for all of you bloggers that leave comments! thanks for showing me that you care! mary, harm, mikilani willing, angela... thanks for always commenting!

-for Joe's job which provide us with...
a car, shelter, food, water, health insurance, car insurance, trips to Oahu to see my family, date nights, and occasional shopping excursions:) Although date nights and shopping excursions are becoming more and more rare and less expensive, I'm still very grateful.

Hope all of you have a wonderful thanksgiving this week! While you eat it all up, remember to have an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE and help others to be uplifted by the spirit of giving and sharing. Love ya!!

Daddy - Daughter Dates

Lately, I've been finding it hard to divide my attention between the 2 babies. That is why I love it when Joe comes home from work. Kienna loves to play with her daddy. The 2 of them have become closer since Kingston's arrival. Every time he walks up the stairs as he is coming home from work, she waits for him at the door and yells...PAPA!! The two of them have become best buddies.


She is so smart and loves to say the following words...(a few of them may need my help translating.)

Papa = Joe
Mum = Me
Boo = Brother
Ka = Car
Kaaa = Cry (very similar to car)
No = No (this one is by far her most used and favorite word)
Ba = Ball
Wow wow = Bath Time (Closer to how we say it in Hawaiian... auau. For those of you wondering if I speak Hawaiian the answer is no.)
Kaka = Cracker
Kakau = Eat
Cack = Quack, Quack
Book = Book
Kinten = Kingston (I was actually quite impressed with this one)

BOO!! Happy Halloween!

Kienna with her friend from church, Elena Dinkel.

I'm so gonna dress up next Halloween... or atleast wear makeup!

Me and Kingston... the little DINOSAUR. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you all... I chopped my hair off!

This year's Halloween was quite fun. We were in Keaukaha for the weekend because Kingston would be blessed in Hilo the next day. Kienna's cousin LANA let her borrow her Halloween costume from last year. So Kienna was Tinkerbell. (She doesn't even know who Tinkerbell is but that's okay... it's not about who you know, it's about saving money right??) We bought her a crown and a wand to go with her costume.
Kingston was only 3 weeks old but we managed to find him a costume too! I went to the mall on Halloween day and Macy's was selling costumes for $4.00!! So Kingston was a dinosaur this year.

It is so much fun having 2 kids. Yes it is hectic and busy but I love having 2. I am constantly switching off between the 2 and I always doing more than one thing at a time. Reading to Kienna, while breastfeeding Kingston. Changing a diaper while telling the other one "don't touch". Playing outside with Kienna while trying to burp Kingston. Sometimes I just laugh at myself because i look pretty tired out and ridiculous by the end of the day.

The 2 kids get along great so far. Kienna is a kind, concerned, and loving sister. She calls her brother... "Boo". When he cries she says, "Oh Boo..."
She is started to talk and babble alot more. She is always entertaining our home.

Our goal next Halloween is for me and joe to dress up too!! We will have to plan ahead this time and not try to look for Halloween costumes at Walmart on the day of Halloween. (That is what we did the past 2 years.) Enjoy the pics!

Kingston Nako'oko'o Kaha'ilonoponomauehomaikala'akea Ha'o

Kienna's first time meeting her new baby brother. She is such a loving BIG SISTER.

October 7th 11:15 am... 7 lbs. 1 oz... 19 1/2" long

Father and Son... He is calm like his daddy...

Right after his shower!

Our little baby boy Kingston is here at home with us! He makes a week old today! He was born on October 7th at Hilo Hospital at 11:15 am. I went into the hospital that morning at 7am and I was already 7cm dilated. A few hours later, Kingston was born! Labor was pretty fast and WAY EASIER than the first time! It was a completely different experience this time around. Better nurses, less pain, short labor, and faster healing. It is amazing how each birthing experience is different.
He is such a calm and relaxed little guy. He hardly ever cries except when he is hungry. He never cries for a long time. Kienna loves him too. Her favorite thing to do is pet his head and give him a kiss everytime she sees him. She loves her brother but at the same time is adjusting to sharing the attention that used to belong to her.
Joe has been super dad and I'm seriously amazed as to how much he can do now. He has been a husband for 2 1/2 years and a father for 14 months. He is great and keeps getting better! Wish I could say the same for myself :) He had 2 weeks off from work so I have been spoiled with a tag team partner to tackle on diaper changes, bathing the kids, preparing meals, and giving them attention. It is wonderful to have him home. He goes back to work on Monday and I will seriously miss my #1 helper.
It has been a week now, and I love being a family of 4. It feels just right!!
PS: For those of you wondering what his long Hawaiian name means... Here it goes...

Ka’aha`ilonoponomauehomaikala`akea

The Righteous Messenger That Brings Forth Sacred Light

This messenger is of a royal nature, for he is constant and perpetual in his righteousness and goodness. This messenger brings with him eternal light and truth from above, so bright that it is deemed sacred to all. It is felt that this child will be true to the faith and always have the eyes of understanding open to truth. He will be stalwart in learning and keeping principles of righteousness and bring them to others who will learn from him and follow his example.