It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas : )

Both Kyle and I love the Christmas season.  The fun time with family, the decorations and remembering the gift of our Savior.
Today I spent time with the boys mapping out the rest of the days to Christmas.  We wrote down one thing we could do everyday and stuck them in our advent calendar.  They included little things like, having a hot chocolate picnic in front of the fire place, making snowflakes, decorating our ginger bread house, dancing to Christmas music, making cookies for our neighbors and our yearly tradition of our gifts to the Savior FHE.  It seems like the days just fly by and before I know it Christmas is come and gone.  This is my effort to enjoy the season and create some good memories with the kids  : )

Here is a wreath I made this year.  

I love it so much I want to just leave it hanging on my door all year long!

 

 And snowflakes we did as one of the "Days-to-Christmas" activities.

Ikaika colored this cute gingerbread man to put on our tree : )
I love Christmas time !

She'll Be Coming Around the Corner . . .

Ka'imi started crawling on Thanksgiving day.  It is such a fun milestone.  For a couple days she still had to really think about what she was doing, but with enough motivation she'd move a good amount.
Today after church, I set her down in the middle of the living room and got the boys some lunch together.  Next thing I knew, I saw Ka'imi crawling toward us :  )  I told Kekoa how I remember so clearly the day he first "came around the corner."  It was in our first house in Provo.  The kitchen was completely out of sight from the living room - you really had to come around the corner to get there.  I remember the first time I saw Kekoa crawl around it to find me.  It was like entering a new world (for both of us I'm sure).
We are so excited for Ka'imi to develop in this new and exciting way!

By the way, my house is always perfectly clean like this . . . (wink, wink).

Happy Thanksgiving

"To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come . . ."

~ Abraham Lincoln

One of our new family traditions for the month of November is to create a long paper chain of things we are thankful for.  It was cute to see what the boys came up with as we added to it each night.  Sepa's favorite was to say "juice pops" and make us laugh because he knew we were suppose to add something new.

I love Thanksgiving.  I love family coming together, I love remembering all the blessings we have and I love yummy food.  We are not really the family that puts out fancy plates and displays the turkey on a platter before carving it - but we sure can make a delicious meal.  The food was amazing :) 

Sometime during the week before, Kyle and I had the conversation about how Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November - the end of the harvest and how important he felt it was that we never forget to be grateful.  As I helped to prepare the food and get the table ready, I thought about what a wonderful holiday it was - and I thought of all I have to be grateful for.  Though cliche, my heart was full. 

 

 

This was the only picture I took with the distraction of so much yummy food.

I took it because she had her Thanksgiving bib on- "My Family is Thankful for Me."

Yes, indeed, Imi Girl, yes indeed.

*** Exciting news: Ka'imi crawled for the first time today!!!

Proud Mama = Large Photo Post

Saturday the boys had their debut of performing their hoop dance.  A summer of lessons, hours working on their outfits and a couple of good bribes got them to perform for the first time at the UVU pow wow during the dinner break.  Kyle and I couldn't have been more proud of them.  They did such a great job.  We hope this is the beginning of a lifetime of performing with their hoops.  Enjoy the pictures.  These boys got talent.

 

My mom made sure she got here in time to watch her grandsons dance.  She left AZ at 3:00am!  That's love.  These pictures of her and Ka'imi are my favorite.  It makes me think of how Ka'imi will treasure them years from now when she is grown.

The Spirit of Halloween Lives On . . .

This year I convinced the boys to combine all their candy from Halloween into one big bucket.  It was a good amount in the end.  It has actually become quite the motivator since they are not allowed to have any until they earn it.  Ikaika will ask, "Mom, how can I earn a piece of candy?"  It has helped in getting simple things (like straigtening up or getting dressed) done.  And only for a brief moment did I feel guilty that thay have to earn their candy twice (trick-or-treating and then with me).  I think it is great that a few weeks later there are still many motivating rewards left to go.  I like the fact that all that candy can be put to good use and eaten in moderation : )

Nov 13th

Here is part of something I posted on my photography blog.  I wanted to share it here as well, so that I could remember my thoughts and feelings today.

This is a picture of a darling little boy named Mateo.  During his session I realized how much I truly love photography and especially newborn photography (not like I didn't know that already, but . . .)

So, today, November 13th, is the anniversary of when I lost my arm in a car accident 14 years ago.  It has affected my life in many ways, as anyone can imagine.  One of the more frustrating ways is in my photography.  You see, part of the art of newborn photography is posing babies.  A beautiful newborn picture looks effortless, natural, and peaceful.  As anyone who has ever done a newborn session knows (client or photographer), it is a good amount of work and talent to get some of these sleeping baby poses.  Now imagine doing it with one hand! (I am so thankful for the sweet parents who help me during the sessions).

So, during Mateo's session, I was struggling a bit and I honestly told myself, Michele, you need to quit.  You cannot do this with one hand.

But.  When I got to my computer and started editing I knew I could not.  I cannot describe the joy and satisfaction I get in capturing a newborn baby.  There is something inside me that is almost giddy at the sweetness of a posed baby with their tiny little fingers and toes.  I love it.  And so I have decided that along with being a wife and mother, this was what I was meant to do.  So, that means I just have to figure it out somehow and keep trying . . .

Ka'imi - 8 months

• has her belly off the floor, ready to crawl.

• her hair is long enough that she can now officially wear a clip in her hair (see cut pics below).

• still not digging baby food - it must be a texture thing because she loves to eat what I am eating.

• now makes her self laugh by doing things (like rubbing my face).

• such a good girl - I can get things done while she plays.

• refuses the pacifier but also loves to sleep with it.

• recognizes Daddy and gets very excited to see him.

Here is a picture I finally got of her "push-up":

Happy Fall :)

What would you say?

Tonight as part of Family Home Evening Kyle gave the lesson.  He talked a bit about the Savior coming back to this earth and asked the boys, "What would you say to Jesus if you saw him?"  Here were their responses:

Kekoa:  How was your day, away from the world?
Ikaika:  I missed you.
Sepa:  Sorry.