Evergreens in the Book of Mormon

Today we drove to Orem to meet Kyle for dinner.  I was determined to keep the boys awake so they wouldn't be up all night after a little evening nap.  So, I asked them questions the whole 20 minutes to UVU and gave them a Starburst treat for their answers.  The first thing I asked them was to tell me any scripture story they could think of.  Sepa said, "Ummm . . . remember the guy, that ate the fruit on the Christmas tree?"  It was cute as could be.  Scripture study is working even if the details aren't quite right yet : )  But not bad for a three-year old  : )

forts and stairs

One of the boys most favorite things to do is build a fort.  Sometimes it drives me nuts with the mess it creates, sometimes I use it as an excuse to vacuum under my couch cushions (since that is the number one building material for their forts), and sometimes I use my brain and get in the fort with them.  Today, I pulled Ka'imi in and we had a blast giggling together watching Ka'imi squeal at the feel of the blanket over her head.  We stayed in there until we couldn't take it any longer and needed fresh air.   Here are a couple pics I took before I went in for the fun.

And here are some pictures I finally took of Ka'imi by the stairs.  We have to block it off everyday to protect her from falling.  She does really good going up with a spotter - it is one of her favorite things to do right now.

Below: I love this picture with all her roundness.  Those cheeks?  That is exactly what mine looked like when I was her age. 

Total cuteness in the everyday.

Chill

It is interesting to see the differences between my children, even between the boys.  One unique thing about Ikaika is his attention span.  Today, he wrapped this tin treasure chest with plain paper and then spent almost 45 minutes coloring it yellow (you can also see he wrote his name).  I've noticed that Ikaika is very good at taking his time to complete something.  He is in no hurry to speed through life and I like that about him. My Kaiks :)

PS. I am so behind in posts, but will get caught up soon . . .

My Knight in Shining Armor

I always let the boys decide the theme of their birthday.  Sepa wanted a Knight theme.  We are just doing a family party, but I still created this to remember years from now my darling Sepa at 3 years old : )

What I did today . . .

Cleaned my computer area (a big feat, for sure) and created these posters for the boys room. 
I feel pretty good . . .

Ka'imi - 10 months

Ka'imi at 10 months:

• very, very mobile crawling everywhere
• heads straight for the stairs any chance she gets  She is very good at climbing up them, but really has no clue about coming down and the fact that gravity can do a real number on her if mom' s not right by her side.
• loves her brothers (she loves to see them in the morning), but their screams and cries upset her.
• has her two top teeth broken through her gumline (just barely).
• still getting up once a night (I am crossing my fingers that in the next month she'll sleep all night long).
• loves patting things
• still wants to explore the world by putting everything in her mouth
• says mama and dada

 I love it when she makes this cute face by making an "o" shape with her lips.  So sweet :)

Baby Baby

Side note: My sister pointed out to me that my blog may be favoring a cute little girl named Ka'imi.  I know - it's just so hard to not post about her cuteness.  But I am going to try and do better and remember my cute boys as well.
So here's one for Sepa.

This past summer I bought this American Baby Doll at a yard sale.  The silly thing is like $50 and I bought it for $8.  It is really cute with outfits with shoes and stuff.  Anyway, it was down in my photo studio (right now I use it to show parents how I was them to hold their babies in a pose).  We were down there today for some pictures and Sepa found it.  He took care of it for almost the rest of the day.  It was so cute.  He was very protective of it when the boys would come around.  I love it - he's going to be a good Daddy when he grows up.

Closing out 2010

This is what I want to remember about celebrating New Years Eve:

• As opposed to last year (we had over 30 people at our house), this year it was just Kyle, I and the kids.
• This has been one of the coldest days in a while and all I wanted to do was sit in front of the fireplace.
• We had a picnic lunch in the living room in the afternoon and yummy BBQ chicken nachos for dinner.
• We did a fun little dance in our living room before the kids went to bed.  We had a blast and Ka'imi was the most excited I have ever seen her in her life. 
• We all camped out in the living room to sleep.
• In remembering all that happened this past year, we realize what a great year it has been.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Letter

This year, I was a little lazy and never got around to doing our family Christmas letter (it was enough work getting cards sent out).  After I read up on so many dear friends, I immediately regretted not doing one.  It has always been more for family history's sake, so I wrote anyway.  Here it is :)

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                            

Here’s the recap of the year for the Reyes family.  Enjoy!

Kyle – is looking forward to the day that he can come home and not worry about his dissertation.  He finished his coursework, qualifying exams, and proposal with graduation on the horizon.  He continued work with President Holland at UVU and is having a number of great experiences as well as late nights.  In one day, he was released from a bishopric only to be called to the next one.  Finally, he was delighted to have fun with his growing family.  The boys are still excited to welcome him home and his new princess has him wrapped around her finger. 

Michele - loves her boys to no end and almost cries when she thinks about finally having a baby girl join our family. She’s enjoyed creating things from princess to superhero for her little ones.   This year she fulfilled a dream she’s had since 7^th grade to cut her hair super short.  Her thoughts on short hair?  She’s decided to check that off the bucket list and grow it back out. Her photography business continues and Kyle and her twin brother Uwe finished a room in the basement for her studio (Michele is grateful to no end!).  She traveled to Canada in September to be mentored by one of her favorite newborn photographers.

Kekoa (6) - started kindergarten this year.  He insists on riding the bus to and from school (Michele does not mind – less work than packing up all the kids for a 3 minute ride). He loves drawing and all the boys show great talent in it.  It is no surprise with extremely talented artists for grandfathers on both sides. Along with drawing, Kekoa loves to dance.  Both the boys began learning the Native American Hoop dance this summer and debuted their performance at a Pow Wow in November.  We were so proud of them for being so brave.

Ikaika (4) loves to learn and do things with mom and dad.  He still has a soft spot in his heart for his Grandma Delphine (they mist be kindred spirits).  He is a great helper to mommy and is wonderful at doing “chores” to help with cleaning.  He is officially our first child to completely unload the dishwasher.  He loves his siblings and can always get Ka’imi to smile and giggle at him.

Iosepa (2) – continues to charm his way out of things.  He fills the role of third boy well, getting in on the fun and wrestling his brothers.  Has a real love for music and learning songs.  His favorite to sing is “I Got Joy” from Joy School.  Anytime music comes on he can’t help but move along to the beat.  He and the other boys have tons of fun dancing in the living room.

Ka’imi (9 mo) – Ka’imihaleakua Hozhoni joined our family in March.  She has been a wonderful, easy-going baby.  She spent a week in the hospital when she was 2 months old for an eye infection, but otherwise has been healthy and developing well.  She is currently very mobile crawling everywhere.  She truly is the princess of the family and everyone loves her beyond description.

We completed a year in our home in Cedar Hills and are adjusting to the distance between home and everything else (work, church, stores, etc).  We still attend the Native American Ward and love the ward-family we’ve developed there.  It has been a wonderful, blessed year – we are so grateful for all we have, especially our growing family! Hope all is well with each of you.  For more info on our family visit our blog: reyesohana.blogspot.com

Most Sincerely,

Kyle, Michele, Kekoa, Ikaika, Iosepa, and Ka’imi