Adventures in Mommyland!

I Heart Faces - Sun Flare

2011-03-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

This week the I Heart Faces photo contest is about sun flare. I just happen to take a photo of my son playing in the sun several weeks ago that I think is perfect for this challenge. A lucky break for me being an amateur photographer with a point and shoot and no editing programs or equipment to help.

It doesn't show his face but I hope that's alright for this particular challenge.

Click below to see more entries!

People's Choice - Best Face of February

2011-03-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

This week on I Heart Faces the photo challenge is people's choice. This means Amy and Angie get a week off and we all get to vote for our favorites.

I haven't participated in awhile due to many major changes in my life but I'm back now and I hope you all enjoy this photo as much as I do!

This photo is of Etsuko. She is the daughter of a good friend of mine. Here she is all bundled up, sleeping in her Mommy's arms as we walked along the beach. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous, warm day. A rare occurence on the Oregon coast in February.

So head on over to Iheartfaces.com to vote for your favorites!

Liepold Farm

2010-10-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

Keoni and I went to Liepold's Farm today to play and pick out a pumpkin.

He ran through the Castle.

He attempted to ride the tricycles.

Looked at the geese, pigs, miniature horses and other animals with his friend Sophie.

Then when I wouldn't let him crawl under the metal red fence to his right the fits began. This is the first one. He almost would have gotten away from me if wasn't for my friend, Nikki, who just grabbed his butt and yanked him back under the gate. I'm not sure if there was an animal in that particular corral or not, but I didn't want to find out.

He really loved the pumpkins for the most part. He did get kind of tired of trying not to trip over them.

But his smile was huge when he went through them.

Here is the beginning of his second fit. We went back to the animals and he wanted under the fence again. Here he is about to throw himself back but has to give the animals one more look before the fit.

Fit # 2.

Here he is having the last fit I was going to put up with. He was knocking over garbage cans and I tried to non-chalantly stand them back up, but no, Keoni was not going to have it. The struggle resulted in me carrying him back to the truck to have the rest of the fit, which lasted all the way home. Oh man, what a day!

Granted, we did have a good time in between the fits. I unfortunately didn't get to pick out a pumpkin. I think I might have Bryan watch him for a bit and I'll go back and get one.

Happy Autumn!

Keoni at large.

2010-09-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

My cute little baby boy at 6 months old, hanging out with his handsome Daddy.

Here he is 19 short months later, my monster baby! Ignore the shine under his nose, he has a slight cold.

He is growing so fast and tall!

Keoni turns TWO!!

2010-08-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

Keoni turned 2 this past month!

He waited patiently while Grandpa got the candles lit.

I showed him how to blow out his candles.

Grandma helped him eat his cake and ice cream.

There you have it! He's 2 now!

We went to visit the Banks, Auntie Iris' family for Keoni's birthday. My Dad brought his telescope so we all got a chance to look at the atmosphere without the bright lights of the city. We had a great time. Keoni ran around barefoot all day. He adventured around and he got to open presents and eat yummy cake as you can see. He was such a good boy and we had a good time visiting family. I can't believe my baby bear is 2!

Some of the past year at the Children's Museum.

2010-08-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Last year about this time my Mom got us a membership to the Children's Museum. It has tons of different sections for kids to explore and pretend in. Here are some of the photos I took over the year. It amazes me how much he has grown! We had such a great time! Thanks Mom!

August 2009 - 1 yr old

He is still crawling at this point.

This part of the water area was the only spot he could reach the water. He didn't fit into the aprons they provide so the kids won't let's say get AS wet as they could. Even when he did fit into the apron he still got himself totally soaked. We always go to the water last so I can wait until home to change him. The other small photo my friend Missy took of Keoni and I in the dig pit. He loves the dig pit, with all the trucks, buckets and shovels and the "dirt" made out of recycled plastic.

Keoni loved the drums then and he still loves them now.

This next visit is just the very next month, September.

Here he is with his friend Elizabeth.

Below are in January 2010. Keoni is 17 months old.

These photos are of our most recent visit, just a few days ago. He is 23 months and the most active I have ever seen here, stacking blocks, shopping, digging, playing with trains, drumming, and of course can't leave without playing in the water!

Looking forward to more fun times at the Childrens's Museum this year!

Keoni got a haircut like a big boy!

2010-06-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Before

Today I took Keoni to get his haircut by someone other than me. A professional. I was not sure how it was going to go but it ended up going really well. I went to a friend of my brothers and she was great, calm and easy going. A perfect fit for my squirmy, somewhat cooperative toddler. I've gotten him used to a squirt bottle and he's used to me combing his hair, so I felt all that was left for me to do was to arm myself with a snack, a bottle of juice and a good attitude.

The apron didn't last but a few seconds. I didn't think it would. I hate that thing around my neck too. I brought an extra shirt that could catch hair and I could take off after.

Right away he needed some distraction, he was pretty squirmy at first.

He was such a good boy. Patient, curious, a little put off on occasion but overall it was a great success!

He watched in the mirror the whole time.

After

(he's playing in the back of the truck while I try to find my keys)

Look at my cute boy!

I heart faces ~ pets

2010-06-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

This week photos of pets are being entered into IHF's weekly contest.

Here is a photo I took of my beautiful, rambuctious, curious, sweet Daisy girl, lounging on a sunny day at the Oregon coast. I miss her too much. She is not with us anymore due to unfortunate circumstances but I do know she lived the best life any dog ever could have.

We miss you sweet Daisy.

You can check out more entries at

Pictures of Willy's 50th and Campbells galore! (part 2)

2010-06-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

It was so great to hang out with all my Dad's family! What a great way to spend a Saturday!

Here's my Uncle Mike with my Mom and Keoni.

Chattin' up a storm and a whole lot of stories!

Then Uncle Willy arrived. . . SURPRISE!!

Christine, Willy's wife, got everyone of the brother's and their Aunt Dorothy together for a photo op.

Love this photo.

This one too.

Bryan's band, Deep Cover was there.

My Keoni bear was there, doing stretches I guess.

Dancing was was being done and fun was being had by all!

This is my cousin Kimby, Willy's youngest, and me.

My brother, Kaliki and our Uncle Kevin.

What a day. I have so many photos I just posted a few here and there ones. I'm looking forward to seeing them all again. I hope sooner than later.

I Heart Faces weekly contest ~ Celebrating Teens

2010-06-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

On I Heart Faces the theme for photo submissions this week is "Celebrating Teens". You don't have to be a teen to enter but you do need to have a teen (age 13-19) in your photo.

The photo I chose is one I took just this weekend. I don't have many photos of teens but now that I am paying much more attention to how a photo comes out here is one I like.

The subject is Cameron he is 14 and a great kid! He is the son of my cousin Amy, so that makes him my second cousin? Here we are at a family reunion of sorts and I was trying to get him to do that Charlie Chaplin kind of thing. The one where you jump and kick your heels together. I tried to demonstrate as well as I could in a skirt. It didn't quite work out but in the meantime he gave me a quick thumbs up and I caught that.

You can see more entries at http://www.iheartfaces.com/.

Holy moly the Campbells were here!

2010-06-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

My life has been pretty crazy lately and it just got crazier! Who would ever think that in a million years that 7 out of my Dad's family of 8 siblings would get together for their youngest brother's 50th birthday! What a hootenanny! That is a word, I just looked it up. It happened, I was there, and I loved it more than I ever thought I would. Most of these people I hadn't seen in over 20 years and some of the brothers hadn't seen one another in over 30 years. Unfortunately, Duncan the oldest was not able to make it. Still, what a great time was had by all!

Here they are from oldest to youngest which is not so young as he is now 50! !

Photos top to bottom are: Michael, Mike - Donald , Donnie - Peter, Pete - Kevin - Scot - Mary - William, Willy.

More on the Campbells and Willy's 50th Birthday in next post!

I Heart Faces ~ Babies

2010-06-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

My entry to IHF weekly photo challenge.

Still a beginner photographer I'd like to share one of my favorites. This is a photo of my son at 13 months. To me this is just another little milestone of my baby, he's drinking out of a straw.

Check out other entries at

Silver Falls State Park - Part one

2010-06-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

We went camping last weekend. Keoni was in heaven! I on the other hand became exhausted quickly. Camping isn't quite the same with a 22 month-old boy with a need to run and a mind of his own!

He wasted no time running right through the mud puddles. I was so thankful they dried up by the next day!

He kept running even after it got dark. He slowed for a moment to sit with Bryan by the fire. Only for a moment though. He didn't care there was only firelight. He just ran around the circle of people and chairs that surrounded the fire like a wall to protect him! Thank goodness!

Bryan and I the next morning. Keoni was still sleeping and I would've been but that child of mine wanted the entire air mattress to himself! I got a chance to relax by the fire, eat some breakfast, and take some pictures of the nature around us.

Here's my baby bear just a few minutes after waking up.

I like this picture. This little creek of sorts was a highlight for a bunch of children. Keoni was definitely one of them. He so badly wanted to touch the water. I did when he wasn't looking. The water was clear and cold!

We went hiking around two of the beautiful waterfalls there. It was so refreshing! I love water! Keoni thought the waterfalls were hilarious. He kept chuckling and laughing as the falls first came into view.

Having a great time! We couldn't have asked for nicer weather that day!

~ The Family ~

I heart face weekly contest ~ play

2010-06-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here's my entry this week for I Heart Faces theme play.

We went to Silver Falls this weekend to camp and had a wonderful time. The sun came out Saturday morning and stayed all day! I will do another post later with more photos but for now I'd like to enter this photo for IHF.

To see other entries go to http://www.iheartfaces.com/.

Ugh, what a week!

2010-06-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

Or a couple a weeks for that matter! We have been pretty busy around here at the 'ol Burrow household. Schedule is totally insane! Above all though my little Keoni bear caught a pretty significant cold last Saturday and has been pretty miserable until yesterday when he got his appetite back and easily runs up and down the hallway again. . .until tonight! He bonked his head tonight by falling off the side of a recliner and I don't know if he just got a simple bonk which is always happening no big deal or if he really hurt himself! His nose bled! Long story short, called advice nurse and got a call back from the doc saying keep an eye on him because of his somewhat out of it behavior for the first 20 minutes after the bonk. After the first 20 he was up and at it! Dancing to Dora and playing with his toys. He is such a strange and wonderful little boy!

Here's some pictures from the week of sickiness!

Here he crawled under a pillow and just looked pitiful. My poor baby.

This picture is a good one. He is happy and warm and playing in the tub, even if he can't breathe out of his nose.

He sure does love bubbles!

He drew for a bit, but mainly just put the crayons in and out of the box.

He also danced and I think I'll add that video to this post later. For now I have to go wake him up to make sure he is still alright. Not a joy to wake him but the Doc said and of course I want to make sure my little guy is all good. Goodnight.

Barefoot week on I Heart Faces.

2010-05-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

This week on I Heart Faces Photography it's a non-competition week. Amy and Angie founders of IHF have asked photographers to devote this weeks photos to Soles4Souls, a Nashville based charity that collects new and gently used shoes to give to people in need, free of charge! All over the world! Soles4Souls has given away over 7 million pairs of shoes since 2005. That's currently a pair every 9 seconds! If you'd like to learn more go to http://www.soles4souls.org/ . =)

Here a few of my feet photos.

These lovely feet are my son's and mine. This photo was taken this month on the coast of Oregon. The sand was toasty warm compared to the wind!

This was taken the same day as above. My friend and her daughter stopped and I took a quick shot. She said "Why are you taking pictures of my feet?!" I said, " Why not? "

I wasn't really into taking photos like I am now when I took this pic in July of 08. I was 36 weeks pregnant and my feet felt it! Look at those ankles! By saying I wasn't really into taking photos like I am now just means I think about the photo more before just shooting a million photos. Now I shoot a million photos but I try different things to make a photo pop! I learn more everyday. Another reason to love I Heart Faces Photography!

Here's my little guy a few months ago. Gosh he just GROWS right before my very eyes. Here he is having a snack of toes. He was crazy teething that week!

I heart faces weekly contest ~ yellow.

2010-05-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! I found this photography site http://www.iheartfaces.com/ and I am in love with it! It encourages photographers of all skill levels to enter their photos in contests. It's exactly what I've been looking for to help me improve on my beginner, amateur skills. I really love taking pictures and seeing other photographers unique and inspiring photos too! I have been browsing over the site for a month or so and now am ready to take the plunge and enter the weekly photo challenge.

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is yellow. Here is my entry. This photo is of my son, Keoni, he is 7 months in this photo.

I'm looking forward to getting better and more creative with every contest! So come check out the other entries at http://www.iheartfaces.com/ !

Off to Great Grandma's house.

2010-05-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I started to think about Keoni and my Grandma. I thought Keoni is learning so much right now and just growing into such a boy and my Grandma is missing it! Even faster than I could ever have imagined he is turning into this little boy with attitude and spunk. I thought of this and my Grandma and how I really wanted her to see what I get to see everyday. I get to see his crazy and moving faster than life little feet run down our hallway, I'd like to say pitter-patter but there is no pitter-patter about him! How he copy's us when he hears us laughing and to hear him laugh! It is the sweetest sound. Melts my heart everytime. She'll get to see him get excited when he meets his cousins and to see that he loves animals, even though he's not so sure about them at first, thank goodness for that!

As soon as I told my Mom I wanted Keoni to visit Grandma we came up with a date and a month or so later we were all off to Grandma's house. All but Bryan unfortunately. He had to stay home and work. We really wished he could of made it. I missed him and I'm sure he missed jamming with Uncle David. That's my musician man for ya!

Keoni playing in the perfect spot, in the middle of the walkway of the front door. :)

Keoni and his cousin Kekoa enjoying a juice box. Keoni thinks he's saying "Ahhhh" like how refreshing, but it comes out more like a monster trying to scare someone, like "Awrrg."

We listened to Auntie Laura talk of what's new as Keoni played for at least 45 min. right there next to her. He took out and put back these markers over and over. In the box, out of the box, one by one. I was so impressed that he stayed occupied on one thing that long! That's a whole lot of focus for a 21 month old!

He was done with the markers and needed some Grandma time.

Kaliki and Grandma chit chattin' at the kitchen table. Many laughs have been had at that table! Lots of little ones have hit there heads on that table, not realizing they were just a little too tall to walk under it, including Kaliki who's 6'5 now. Then there's all the great food that has been served on that table. I love that table. ;)

Keoni cornered the cat! He really does love animals.

We spent one afternoon outside. So much warmer in Nevada. Keoni ran all over! Played with his Grandpa blowing bubbles and teased me by running right up to the road (very, very little traffic if any on that road) and then stopping and turning around in circles as if saying, I'm not touching it. . .already a smarty pants!

In this photo: Mom, Lucas, Grandma, and Kaliki

Keoni and me.

Samantha, my cousin holding Kekoa. Kekoa loved the bubbles too!

Mmmm, nothing better than a popsicle in the desert.

We had a really great time visitng all the family in Nevada. It was such a relaxing and quick little vacation from the usual. I do wish we could have visited my daughter from another mother but we just couldn't quite fit that in with her being in a different city in Nv. Next time for sure Kayla!

A beautiful weekend.

2010-05-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here are my favorite photos of the weekend.

(yes, he does have a diaper on )

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did taking them.

Another Fender fan!

2010-04-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Guess what Keoni's favorite toy was yesterday? His Dad's hat, Fender hat, WHITE I might add.

He ran around the house wearing the hat and pushing one of his toys around. He wants to be just like his Daddy. =)

Look at that great smile! I love it! Look at all those teeth!

The video below is 3 or so minutes long but I couldn't help it. He either just learned to put the tools of his Handy Manny toolbox in their spots or I just noticed he knows where they all go. It's cute that he likes to turn it on and then try to put them in when it's moving.

He is so observant! He is so curious and really good at not getting frustrated when he can't quite figure something out. Most days at least. Lol. I love watching him discover new things. He's so amazing!

Oh! and don't pay attention to that goofy jumper he has on, I got it at a garage sale and it looks like it's going to Goodwill. . .

Finally an Easter Egg Hunt!

2010-04-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

On the final day of Easter weekend was Easter! Kaliki and I hid eggs enough for one little boy to find if he looked just a little bit. We hid eggs and a few extra treats all over the living room of my parents house. We weren't sure if he would get the hang of looking for eggs. Well, boy did he! He loved it and now I can't wait until next year!

He found one in a shoe.

This is just the beginning of the hunt. Notice my enthusiasm. Yay!

Behind the picture.

He didn't want no yellow peeps in his basket! So I picked them up after he threw them on the floor! Silly boy!

His egg collection, he painted most of these eggs.

Aw yes! Chocolate. Grandma and Grandpa got him a chocolate covered marshmallow egg. Looks like he loved it. He also got some bubbles and a push toy. He has a lot of fun with that toy, especially when his Daddy is trying to take a nap! Haha!

Oh yeah, chocolatey goodness!

He says bubbles now, well it sounds more like he's saying bubs, but I know what he means.

AND of course it wouldn't be a baby boy event without him destroying something.

So the eggs got it!

There you have it! Our Easter weekend!

Keoni's 1st time dying eggs for Easter!

2010-04-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

Keoni seemed to have a good time dying eggs. I think it was more interesting than anything. Grandpa Extremo and Keoni were pretty serious about it all.

Got a lot done real quick!

Aunt Mary and Grandma in the background dying the few Keoni didn't get his hands on. =)

Kaliki and Lucas, join in on the fun!

Auntie Iris dyed an egg too.

Cutie pie Keoni's dyed egg and hand.

The works of art. . .

and fun was had by all!

Easter continues. . .family comes to visit.

2010-04-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

My Mom's sisters and one brother came to visit.

Auntie Laura was the first to arrive. Bryan went and picked her up. She stayed with us and we had a lovely time. :) She came with many gifts from Hawaii. The muu-muu I am wearing is my gift. I love it. She gave Keoni a children's book telling all about what aloha means.

We got pedicures done by Kaliki in honor of my birthday the previous weekend.

Uncle Ernie came next. They both had been in Hawaii on business and vacation. They came through Portland on their way home.

On Saturday after the Easter Bunny sighting and once Auntie Iris and her daughter Megan arrived we went to eat at where else? a Hawaiian restaurant. Great food but I can't remember the name. . .darn it. It was the first time I had been there.

More Easter to come!

The start to a wonderful Easter weekend.

2010-04-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

I decided this year if it wasn't raining like a monsoon out we would brave the remaining elements and take Keoni to an Easter egg hunt. So as I looked out Saturday morning it seemed as though a break in the rain was what was in the forecast. We got dressed real fast and off we went! Easter bunny here we come!

When we got there it was crowded. We parked far away and walked through the long parking lot just to realize it may not be raining but it is still wet, windy and freezing! Still we trudged on and ran into a few friends who after the Easter bunny came said " We're outta here, it's too cold to wait a half an hour for the hunt to start." Bryan said, " Finally a voice of reason!" So we left, but we did get to see the Easter bunny arrive in a helicopter all pimp style.

Enduring the wind.

Couldn't keep him from running around!

Trying to stay warm.

Here comes the Easter bunny!

He ran up to the crowd . . .

and we left. Next year, I'll dress warmer and be prepared to wait, because when we did an Easter hunt for him at the Grandparents (a post on that to come) he had a blast! or maybe we'll just do it at the Grandparents again. We'll see!

Keoni has a fit. . . on video.

2010-03-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

Keoni having a fit. He moved all those waters and he just can't seem to get the last one.

I went to a birthday party by myself.

2010-03-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have been looking forward to going to our friend Andy's Birthday party for over a month now (or so it seems). One reason why was Bryan AND Keoni were invited. Other kids would be there too and Keoni would just have a blast!

Unfortunately, Keoni got a cold on Wednesday and was not better by Saturday. Same with Bryan. He was sick with a yuck of a cough too. I was feeling great and still wanted to go so Bryan even though not feeling so well said he'd watch Keoni. YAY! I mean thanks, my honey bunches of oats! So off I went and had a great time but still thought of my guys back at home. . .

Here are some of my fave pics from the party. If you want to see more there are more on my Facebook page, Robin Campbell Burrow.

Snark and Birthday man Andrew!

Zeke helping Elizabeth get leaves out of her hair. What a great guy!

Lily Joy.

Elizabeth Rose. ( look at that scrunched nose :) so cute )

A pretty flower to follow 2 pretty girls.

Thanks for the great food and the great time Andy and Barb!

The Keoni days of February.

2010-02-25T09:43:00.001-08:00

Keoni's got the best seat in the house! He dumped all his toys out and climbed inside. He's watching Diego and Dora, he loves that show.

He picked these two chairs to stash his toys. I saw him putting them back there. Tools and a truck. Such a little boy!

Here he's cuttin' a rug!

He just began to have interest in this talking car Grandma and Grandpa gave to him for Xmas.

I would have to say this push toy is his favorite toy right now. He runs all over the house with it. It sounds like little bells. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle. My favorite part about it is I got it for a dollar at a resale store!
My least favorite part is Keoni also likes to use it as a hammer or a ram. He loves ramming it into the sliding glass door.

Tootin' his Thomas whistle.

Here he is at the park, chasing squirrels. He was fascinated by them. They obviously were used to people because they let Keoni get pretty close. After they realized this kid doesn't have any food they ran away. Keoni started going to trees to look for squirrels. No luck. Onto the swings!

Ahh the SWINGS! Loves them, you can tell by his totally goofy grin!

Bryan was seeding and watering the lawn when we got home. I put Keoni up by his Daddy but Daddy didn't think to stop Keoni from going into the sprinkler! I was unable to get to him in time.

A very wet boy didn't want to go inside and change. Too cold outside to be in wet clothes though so . . .

Things I love about Keoni.

2010-02-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

The things that I love about Keoni are -

How he may fall down a hudred times in one day and he always gets back up.

He holds up his hands if they are dirty so I can wipe them off.

He uses a spoon to eat.

How he tries to step over the water when we're in the pool. Even if it's up to his armpits.

His goofy smile.

He laughs all the time.

He has discovered trucks and tools and he loves them.

He dances and sings.

He gives Bryan kisses when Bryan is taking a nap on the couch.

He is very independent and likes to try new things like going down big kid slides!

Oh! there's alot cause I love that little boy tons!

But here's just a few I wanted to share with you.

Baby's First Puddles.

2010-02-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

It was such a beautiful day out we just had to get out and go to the park! We had a great time. . . especially Keoni!

It started off a typical park visit, Keoni LOVES the swings he doesn't want to get out half the time.

Then onto the slide and other play stuff.

Then he started running, he was having a blast and suddenly we realized he had found a puddle and was loving it.

Daddy tried to keep him out of it with no luck.

So we gave in and voila! Keoni's first time playing in puddles and more! You'll see in the video at the end of this post and in the next post. Enjoy!

Baby's First Mud.

2010-02-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

Naturally if one is splashing in puddles one must move onto MUD!

The aftermath. . .

We had to strip him in order not to get mud in the car.

"Woe is me I have to leave,

but I had fun, I love MUD!"

I cut Keoni's hair.

2010-01-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

and it looks like it.

I cut his hair a few days ago. His bangs were crooked and each side above his ears compared to one another were different lengths. I thought it looked pretty lop-sided and it was still a little too long so I decided to cut a little more. . .well, I thought it was lop-sided then. . . I should have left it alone. Luckily he's so cute that no one will probably notice, right? Here's the pics, I'm still not sure if I'll post the side view, I'm still thinking about it.

A few before pics, his hair was getting pretty shaggy.

After - I evened out the bangs, believe me this is better.

I think the back looks good, maybe a little short.

So you can't laugh now, only a little maybe. Here's his "good" side. Not too bad right?

Here's his not so good side. . .

My poor baby, all he's trying to do is grow a head of hair!

Disco Baby!

2010-01-18T23:12:00.000-08:00

Here's my dancing baby. Having some fun with his Daddy!

First week part 2

2010-01-18T22:46:00.001-08:00

So onto sharing a few more moments of Keoni' first week of 2010. . .

He tried to drink milk from a cup.

Somewhat successfully.

He hung out with Dad in the band room.

He lounged around teething on a pillow in his new Mickey Mouse pj's grandma got him.

He played in our backyard on a somewhat warm day.

He's all over the place. Except for near the fence where our neighbor's puppy sits and just watches us. Keoni stays away from him, I don't know why. He sees the puppy and says, "doo" , everything is "Doo".

He sweeps the back porch.

Then of course what would a week be without a watching a few toons with Mickey Mouse?

Keoni's first week of 2010. Part 1

2010-01-14T12:25:00.001-08:00

We took a good 'ol trip to the Children's Museum compliments of Grandma and Grandpa's birthday present of a one year membership. Yay!

Clifford the big red dog was the theme for this season.

He used the ambulance's radio as a telephone, same thing really, right?

The dig pit is always a success with Keoni.

The fishes are fun to watch too.

And as always we go to the water park last. We go home all wet everytime. The aprons don't quite cut it for this water lover.

I got a treat.

2010-01-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

It may seem strange to some but I take a shower with Keoni. It's the only way I am going to get clean unless of course I manage my nighttime time better but I don't so here's the story of my treat.

Bryan had Monday off so I asked him to watch Keoni while I took a shower, alone. I didn't realize what a treat this was until I saw Keoni's toys lying all alone in a line at the back of the bath. The rest of the shower I rejoiced in how nice a shower alone really is.

Thanks hun for watching baby boy. :)

Doooood.

2010-01-02T08:53:00.000-08:00

Here's my baby ~ calling me a dude, very clearly. . .

Unexpected Snow!

2009-12-30T11:18:00.001-08:00

Yesterday it snowed but Keoni was napping when it really started to fall and then by the time he woke up it was dark. So we stayed inside but the next morning I bundled up Kona the nightbeast and we went to the backyard to play.

I am being such a picturaholic these past few days! I love taking pictures. I erase half of the ones I take too!

When he first went out he wanted nothing to do with the snow.

He mowed the patio. This is the first time he's played with this toy since he started walking. :)

He tried to shake his shoes off! Holy moley that's a whole 'nother story.

He played with his outside exersaucer. All on the porch.

Until suddenly he was ready to brave the snow. I didn't want him to get too wet too fast so I carried him to his play garden.

He tried to brush the snow off of it.

He played outside for about 20 minutes and he was done! He got whiney and his little hands were turning red! Next time gloves for sure! I hope he puts them on. I already tried once this season with no luck.

For pics of the snow last year. Look under label snow 2008.

Finally inside out of the cold and into warm jammies!

Dad and Keoni put together a toybox.

2009-12-29T22:01:00.001-08:00

Keoni got a "toybox" from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas. Keoni decided he should help Dad put it together.

He started off with taking out all the pieces. Of course he had to sit on them first.

He continued to take out pieces while Dad looked over the directions. Because Ikea's directional pictures are so easy to interpret. . . not for me. They usually confuse me more!

Enough work for now. Time for a snack break.

Back to work.

Gotta help Dad support the pieces.

I didn't get pictures of Keoni putting his hand in glue and him tasting it. He also tried to "write" on the wood with a screwdriver. Oh goodness. Before they could finish it was Keoni's bedtime.

Here is the finished toybox and I love it! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa! :)

Our Merry Christmas!

2009-12-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

Our morning started at 8am as it usually does. We leisurely got dressed and then hurried over to my parents house. Everyone was waiting for us and ready to open presents! This was the year of bonus presents as my parents began to tell us a month or two ago. This year was full of bonuses. Bryan, Keoni and I moved into a new house, Keoni's first birthday luau was so much fun with all the family and friends that were able to make it, and all the traveling we were able to do to visit with family during fun and sad times.

What a way to start off a beautiful Christmas day than a pic with my brother, Kaliki!

Keoni got a bunch of books from Uncle Kaliki and Lucas.

Dad got a telescope from Mom and Kaliki.

Lucas opening presents from Auntie Laura and our Grandma.

Dad and Mary.

"What? Bonus present for moi?"

Kaliki had a heck of a time unwrapping his bonus present. Dad wrapped it and to make sure Kaliki wouldn't guess what it was he used packing tape and attached an old phone and a toy of Keoni's that has bells on it to the outside of the presents box. My Dad continues to amaze us.

I had to start him off but Keoni did like opening presents.

He loved this candy cane that Grandpa gave him. By the end of the candy cane his face and hands were covered in sticky redness. Grandpa!!

Time to play!

Grandpa and Keoni had to take a break after dinner. We were all so full. Dinner was so good!

Bryan and I.

Christmas Eve family came over to our house for dinner. We let Keoni open his bonus gift. It was a laugh and learn playhouse. He loves it! It has so much to do and listen too.

Christmas time rocks!

Kayla was over for that evening. We let her open her presents then.

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas card in the making.

2009-12-18T21:30:00.001-08:00

It's Keoni's second Christmas and he is just too cute not to put on our Xmas Card. . .

Here he is having a fit before we even got started.

Not bad . . .

Pretty cute.

SLIDE BREAK!!

Oh heck, I'm outta here!

Just pick one already!

The WINNER! Merry Christmas!

Keoni ~ The walker in pictures.

2009-12-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

Now that Keoni walks he also picks up various stuff and takes them into other rooms and leaves them there. Good luck on finding both of your shoes together or the recyclables still in the kitchen. Nope this kid is a mover and a mess maker!

Here he is only a couple days walking. You can tell because his arms are raised for balance. Today, 10 days later he doesn't raise his arms as much.

Here he is with an ornament off the Christmas tree. He actually returned it to the tree! Yay!

This milk jug on the other hand ended up in his room.

Here he is with his Daddy's shoe.

Then with a blanket of his. He is really beginning to like blankets. He likes to cuddle with them and play hide-n-seek.

Oh my little walker!

He's a walkin'!

2009-12-12T19:48:00.000-08:00

Keoni started to walk on Tuesday of this past week. It is unbelievably cute! He holds his hands up like he's a little Frankenstein. 16 months old. I'm relieved, not that I was worried but I thought kids started to walk around 12 or 13 months typically. Oh well, he's walking now and he LOVES it.

I downloaded the wrong video. I thought i'd leave it anyway. Oh, and I can't find what I did want to download. . .

Thanksgiving at Grandma Alma's.

2009-12-01T22:02:00.001-08:00

On our way . . . baby boy drumming his little heart out in the back seat.

This is actually our last day. Can't forget to take pictures with Grandma!

Keoni and Daddy having a blast on the neighbor's trampoline.

Who cut the turkey?

Richard and Alan.

Delicious!

All of us watching in anticipation of the tastiness about to come our way.

Keoni got along so well with his cousin Callie. He even tried to give her a big 'ol smooch but she was having no part of that! It was so funny. He was going in for the kiss and she put her hand up on his shoulder and held him back and just looked at us like "help!"

Keoni and Angie.

Keoni was eating clam dip in this picture. Yes, I fed my child shellfish. He LOVED it, more than the chip it was on.

The wonderfully constructed make-shift gate that Grandma Alma and Aunt Janet rigged to slow this crazy baby from taking the stairs by storm.

Megan and Keoni last year at Thanksgiving. Look at that cutie sleeping boy.

Megan and Keoni at Thanksgiving this year! They both have grown SO much! I can't believe it!

The day before Thanksgiving Bryan, me, Keoni, Uncle Mike, and Megan went to the Treehouse. It's a childrens's museum that has 2 floors of exhibits, toys and games to experiment and play with. We all had a great time!

Gotta love the drums!
Keoni's thinking, "Who's this guy?"

The fish tank was beautiful. I love looking at fish.

On our last day we went to visit Ed's gravesite. Alma had picked out a beautiful headstone.

Peace, Love, and Joy to One and All!

Keoni's 15th Month Checkup.

2009-11-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

This pic is from his 12 month check-up.

Monday the 9th was Keoni's 15th month checkup.

Keoni has grown a 1-1/2" to be a whoppin' tall boy of 33 1/4 ".

He has gained 3 1/2lbs. to make him 24 1/2 lbs. He does seem a lot heavier lately!

He has grown so much since his 1 year check-up. It's so amazing. He is now in the 50%tile for weight. He was always in the 25%. He is and has been the past 2 check-ups in the 95% for height.

He got 3 shots which are always not fun for him. He did pretty well this time considerng I stopped breastfeeding at 13 months and I could just hand him his bottle as soon as he became upset, that helped a lot. He just needed some immediate comfort from a good old fashioned "ba". He got a round of the chickenpox vaccine and I think it made for a very grumpy and tired and not feeling so good little boy this week. He is extremely clingy, actuallty it could be he's working hard at trying to walk, because he is also waking at 6am. Oh lordy-be!

He continues to make steps using furniture and pushing boxes and misc. toys around.

The words he says consistently are ma, dad, juice, bye and ba, which I guess isn't a word but it means bottle. We've heard him say grandpa, grandma, I luv you, dog, and shoe. He also whispers and growls.

He loves Mickey Mouse Playhouse and smiles and laughs at the cartoon.

He loves to drum, I mean LOVES to drum. He will also sing and dance when he hears a good tune.

He climbs so much! He can now get on all furniture and he tries to get up on the dining room table. He does if I don't get there in time!

I can't believe the moments and fun in store for us. Lol. Everyone around says he's such a happy boy! He has so much energy! and what a flirt! I think he may take after his Dad . . . : ) ya, think?

I feel like the luckiest Mommy in the world because of him.

Our Backyard.

2009-11-06T22:07:00.001-08:00

Keoni seemed to be getting a little stir crazy today and I saw a little blue sky outside and took advantage of it. I put some sweats and a hoodie on him and he was out of there. He loved being outside, suprisingly he even enjoyed the grass. He usually stays off of it.

After he played on the porch for a bit he started making his way down the steps.

Keoni style - backwards.

Almost there.

Oh yeah, he's got it. He's a climber all right.

Loved the swing too.

I mean LOVED the swing.

He sat on the steps for a few moments and then decided to clean off the leaves . . . one by one.

He used a big leaf to sweep them off.

Then he climbed up his slide.

I was starting to feel a little chilly so I figured he probably was cold too and so I took us inside.

I don't think he cared one bit that it was cold. When I took him inside he was SO mad. He cried and kicked and threw such a fit!

Here he's trying to open the door mid fit.

He did calm after a few good minutes of having a fit, he decided to look at a book.

Thank goodness!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T12:27:00.001-08:00

We spent early Halloween evening at the mall. Keoni's first trick or treat included. . .

Helicopter flying

Being pulled in a wagon by Daddy.

Trying to take Grandpa's red nose off.

Attempting to eat through a 3 musketeers candy bar wrapper.

Many suckers, this one is orange. . .

this one's green. Grandpa kept saying he was dropping them and needed a new one. I'm not so sure. The next one I saw him with was purple.

CANDY TIME!!!

Monkey Keoni, Grandpa Extremo and Mommy with a bride of Frankenstein wig.

Monkey boy heading for the playyard.

Now this is fun!

He got hot from playing, so off his costume went.

Bottle break before heading home.

This was a pic of costume that almost was. He was going to be a dino-monkey-boy.

He's a monster!

2009-10-25T21:30:00.003-07:00

My baby boy seems to grow faster and faster everyday.

My parents watched him overnight last night and when Bryan and I went to pick him up he seemed as though he had grown a foot! Everyday goes by just a little too fast. Before you know it he's going to be asking me if he can drive the truck!

Thank you to Mom and Dad for loving him all you do ~ I'm realizing you do know how important it is to get a break from your children even though they are the cutest most adorable thing on earth. I can't thank you enough for all your love and support.

This is Keoni at at almost 5 months. My parents got him a baby einstein activity center for Christmas. He loved it! Here he can barely hold himself up straight.

Probably around 10 months Keoni got tired of the Einstein and it just sat there untouched. He had learned to crawl and there was much more to explore. Until just recently. See below.

That little boy took it upon himself to crawl up onto it and put himself inside. It was all new again. He loves the keyboard now and that was the one thing he hadn't really gotten into playing with before. It was hilarious. He is big for it but he thinks it's great. He bounces and just smiles so big. He seems to be so proud about climbing up into it by himself.

On some days he'll just walk around the outside of it. It's really helpful in letting him learn how to walk. He'll be playing with a toy and not realize he's not holding on, just standing there all by himself like a big boy. But as soon as he realizes he's standing, he plops down or grabs on again.

From this

to this!

My monster baby!

Rain, Rain, it's here to stay!

2009-10-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

The rain is here and Keoni stood at the window and watched it pour!

Bryan decided he and Keoni needed to experience the insane downpour first hand.

That was one crazy rain!

All wet.

That was fun.

Liepold Farm

2009-10-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Liepold Farm with our playgroup. We had a lot of fun but it's going to take a bit to get used to how cold it is out now. Keoni's little nose ran the whole time. He had a great time though. He is such a little boy, just taking charge and going for it! Climbing and crawling over and through hay and dirt and other kids.

This is the pumpkin I picked out before we headed home. Keoni is actually trying to push it out of his chair. He wanted nothing to do with it.

Keoni and some of his playgroup on the merry-go-round. This was his favorite thing to do. He loved it and next year I'm sure he'll be able to hold onto a horse himself. In the meantime he just held onto the center pole.

Keoni on the tricycle racecourse.

Dancing on the merry-go-round.

In the land of pumpkins. Keoni didn't really like hanging out with pumpkins. He just looked around and then looked at me like can we go back to the horses?

Mommy and Keoni scarecrow.

Peyton, Keoni, and Sophie looking at the cows and mini horses. Keoni was so curious.

In the blowup castle. Look at his hair! It was so statikee or staticy? You know what I mean. It's too cute.

Keoni's second favorite. It's a sandbox of kernel corn. He loves to dig and bury stuff.

HAPPY OCTOBER!!

Reno. . . here we come!

2009-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo we're going to Reno today!

So here's a few pics of our trip to Reno. They are all out of order because I can't figure out how to move pictures easily. It's annoying me right now so here they are in an out of whack order. . .

Also I never did get a picture of Aunty Laura, Uncle Ernie, or Grandma, who were the ones we were visitng. Go figure. I think my Mom got some pics of them.

This is Mom waiting in the van reading a magazine while we waited for the accident that happened ahead of us to clear. We waited a little over an hour for it to get cleaned up.

This is Dad showing Keoni how amazing the rock was, he kept saying, "It's so light! "
Isn't Keoni so cute in his sunglasses?

Continuing our break in the van . . .

This was our last day. We went to Circus Circus. We had a great time winning toys and watching the mini circus shows.

Here's Dad and Keoni fishing. They won a lobster, stuffed toy lobster that is.

Here's Keoni with his Grandma and Grandpa. I think Grandma was looking at the lights and Grandpa and Keoni were watching the show.

This was the best game for Keoni to play. He hit a button and a hand reached out and tipped over ducks. After a few games he was more excited by the tickets that came out of the front. Grandpa kept the quarters coming!

Dad and Captain Jack? Captain Ron? Something to do with a rum or some alcohol. I can't remember.

Keoni so excited we have guests in our hotel room.

Our guests, Uncle David and his family came to visit for a bit. It was really nice seeing them. They had just come from a Salmon Festival in Tahoe.

Grandma and Keoni posing at the fountain on the Mezzanine between Eldorado and the Silver Legacy.

The G's and Keoni on the Midway at Circus Circus.

and last but not least, Grandma and Keoni taking the elevator up. Keoni found the elevators fascinating and strange. As soon as we would get in one he would start looking all over, his head would go left, right, up and down. He just couldn't figure why we were hanging out in this box.

That was bits and pieces of our trip.
Overall, we had a good time and as always it was good to visit with family.

Family visits from Nevada.

2009-09-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

Grandma, Aunty Laura and Uncle Ernie came up to visit this past weekend. We all met at Aunty Iris' house. They were just here for Keoni's Birthday luau so it was a nice suprise to see them again so soon.

Uncle Ernie and Grandma

Lucas on an ATV. So much fun!

Grandma in the sun.

The sun was so fabulous!

pictured from l to r, Aunty Laura, Keoni, Mom ( Audrey ), Grandma, Kaliki and Lucas.

Kaliki and me.

The family.

Aunty Laura and Grandma

and of course Keoni and his Grandma.

Happy Ocotber!

Last week of September.

2009-09-30T22:07:00.001-07:00

Give me that camera, Mom.
Still haven't figured out how to open this . . . yet.

Let me out!

I like rice.

Alot.
Especially with some milk.

KING KONG BABY LIVES!!!

Oh no, he's a sweet boy.

Playing at the park.
Climbing up all by himself.

Sleeping on the way home from Park.

Keoni at Dodge Park.

2009-09-22T11:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was another meetup for the mommy and kids group. Unfortunately no one showed up but me and Keoni. It was kind of strange and I wasn't familiar with the place at all. Still Keoni and I got out and found a little kid friendly spot along the river. At first the sand seemed to be too rough for him and he wasn't liking it, but then suddenly he was crawling all over and having a great time. He crawled on rocks and over sticks and found the water too be a little too cold but endured that as well for a few minutes. He loved the mud though. I think that was the best part for him.

Drawing in the sand.

He dug his toes in the mud almost immediately.

He is getting to be such a big boy!

and yet there are more pics. . .

Look at those cute fat little thighs! You don't say that everyday.

It was a beautiful spot and such nice weather.

Just splashing around.

We had a great time and I am sad to see Summer ending.

A playdate at our house!

2009-09-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

Today I invited the stay at home mommies group I belong to over for a playdate.

Well, it rained hard this morning so we stayed in and the kids played with all the wonderful toys Keoni has including all the fantastic toys he got for his birthday. It was a good time and it was so funny to see 6 mommies and 7 kids all in my living room, just playing, having fun, talking and laughing and then there was a few screams from Keoni towards one of the little girls in the group. I have no idea why. It's a love/hate thing I think. They both scream at eachother but when her Mom or I say give hugs, they hug, nicely. I tell Keoni give her a kiss and he does, but then it could be just a few moments later from across the room they will catch one anothers eye and SCREAM!! Lordy I don't know what to do because Keoni doesn't only just scream he b-lines it over to her and grabs onto her clothes and tries to pull her to the floor! What a little bully. Ugh. This better be a phase.

Overall though I think everyone had a great time and I want to do it again soon.

The pics are a bit blury but you can get the idea of how many people were hanging out in my living room.

On a side note I'd like to share one of the joys of motherhood - finding food stuck to strange places. Keoni was finished eating his bagel and cream cheese and instead of putting it down on his high chair table he chose to throw it and woila! it amazingly bounced from the floor and stuck to the leg of my chair. What skill! As you can see there's a bit of carrots splashed on the carpet as well. . .

Finally he sleeps.

2009-09-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today Keoni and I are going to Teruko's house for her sons birthday. At 1:45 Keoni seemed to be showing all the tell tell signs of a good time for a nap. So we layed down as we usually do, Keoni with his luke warm bottle of good 'ol whole milk and me hoping it'll be enough to soothe him to sleep. But nope he drank it all and proceeded to crawl all over the bed and bang the head board against the wall and try to pull stuff off both Bryan and my nightstand and then pull my paint sample off the wall. For over an hour so I gave up, I gave him a bath and then took him downstairs to play. Well we have an hour before we leave and guess who just fell asleep. I guess we'll just have to be a little late.

I love you my little monster.

Keoni and the blue chair.

2009-09-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

My Mom bought this chair for my nephew Samuel when he lived here but when he moved the chair stayed and we brought it to our house. Keoni has never really ever had any interest in it until a day or two ago. It was really cute. He wanted to get out of it but at the same time he didn't. He sits in it everyday at least once since for just a bit to watch some tv. These pics are of the first day of his discovery.

A tasty toe snack was in order.

"I wish I could see the tv from here."

" I'll have to try something else . . ."

" I'll stand!"

" Nah more fun to play than watch tv."

Of course I took too many pics of him in the chair. . . like 28 or so I ended up with. I think I took more like 50 but I erased some, yes I did. I'm running out of computer space!

Keoni and Elizabeth go to the Park.

2009-08-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today Keoni and I went to visit with Elizabeth and Barb. We walked to the park and had lots of fun!

Let me out! Keoni bangs on the door as Elizabeth waits patiently to go.

I have a feeling the slide is going to be one of Keoni's favorite toys to go on. It'll be mine too, cause it'll wear him out!

"As Mom knows, a park is only as good as it's bark. This is pretty nice bark."

"Mmm. . . banana."

We agree, this place is fantastic.

Swings are great too.

Thanks for a great visit! Barabara and Elizabeth.

And I couldn't help but add these -

Keoni loves to check out the vaccuum. He doesn't like the noise at first, he usually scurries away to watch me from across the room, but then by the time I am almost done he is right under me trying to figure out what the point of this large noisy thing is. He chases it around and pulls on the cord. I've ran his little fingers over once. . . maybe twice without distracting his curiousity. He is such a boy!

This thing is great!!

Our 3rd Anniversary.

2009-08-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

Our Wedding Day ~ August 19, 2006.

I love you, my honey bunches of oats!

Keoni's Birthday Luau

2009-08-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

So the same thing happened as the last time I posted a slide show, I couldn't figure out how to write along with the slideshow in the same post without messing it all up!

Anyways, the below post is a few of the many pics that were taken at Keoni's First Birthday Luau Party!

We had such a great time and he was such a good boy through the whole thing. I thank everyone who wished Keoni a happy first birthday. It was an all around great celebration of my baby boy's first year of life!

He loved his cake, of course. It was a little cold though because I had picked it up the day before and had stored it in the fridge. I think he would have been way more messy (even though he ended up being pretty messy with the piece I gave him) if I hadn't put it in the fridge.

Thank you everyone, it couldn't have been such a great party without you! All the presents are greatly appreciated and Keoni loves them all. He goes from one to another all day long.

I also want to give a special mahalo to my Mom. Much love to you, without you it wouldn't have been such a wonderful time for both Keoni and me. We love and appreciate you so much!

2009-08-13T22:43:00.001-07:00

Almost 1.

2009-08-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast a year can go by when having the most magnificient honor of watching a little boy grow. Where did the year go? I got pictures!! Lots! as Bryan probably would say maybe a 1000 or so too many. Never! This is my baby! I could never have too many of him.

I could have never imagined how fast one year could go by, I can't stop saying it because I just can't believe it! Saturday we will be having a big Luau birthday to celebrate. Even though he won't remember, friends and family will gather to celebrate him and how sweet and wonderful a boy he is. I'll get pictures, lol. ( as I write this I just turned around to check on him, he has emptied the whole container of baby wipes and is tearing them apart one by one, oh how sweet motherhood is )

Keoni's First Year in Pictures ~

Alright, I got through into his seventh month. Of course there is more but I've got to go to sleep! I may have missed a month here or there too. I labeled the pics by weeks and then by the holiday so I got confused!
Of course there's all the pics I put along the side too, to document his first year. . .

Happy Birthday to my baby boy!

Baby boy and the bark.

2009-07-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

I just have to share a few more pics of Iowa. While my Mom took Marcia' to register at the hospital my Dad, Samuel, Keoni and I walked to a nearby park. We all had a good time.

Samuel pointed out the beautiful flowers as we walked to the Park.

This is actually on the way back. Someone was "tired".

The sand box. This is the first time Keoni played in sand, not dirt but sand. Samuel buried his Legos and left it up to Grandpa to find them.

Not as much fun as bark as you will see coming up but still pretty cool.

"Wow, this stuff is amazing!"

"Who could have come up with such great stuff!"

"Can we take some home?"

To my suprise, we did. When I changed his diaper at home I got a little scared because I felt some hard pieces of I don't know what in his pants. Luckily it was only the bark he had been sitting in that had got up his pant legs.

Samuel smiling for the camera. (Grandpa's at that point)

Peek a boo!

Swing are always a favorite of Keoni's.

Happy travels to all who do!!

2009-07-26T20:54:00.001-07:00

Our visit to Iowa. (above)

2009-07-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

Well I am trying out the slideshow feature. I put a slideshow under this post but it never stopped loading. So I reloaded it and it made a new post. I am not going to mess it up by trying to write on it. So above are the pics of our trip to Iowa , just a few out of the 527 pictures I took while visitng my brother's family. I know, I know, I'm a pictakinaholic! It could be worse.

In the pictures are Maile, my brother, his wife, Marcia', my nephew Samuel, Marcia's Mom Myrthes and then my parents and of course me and Keoni. Bryan had to stay home to work and then also during that time took a few days to fly to Utah and visit his mom with Kayla.

We had a great time visiting and it is always so sweet and such a joyous time when welcoming a brand new baby into this world. He is so beautiful and so precious. Welcome Francis!

I cut his hair, well trimmed it.

2009-07-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time I trimmed Keoni's hair. He was getting a bunch of long whispy hair along the sides and back of his head and his mohawk in the front was beginning to get in his eyes. People ask me if I cut his hair into a mohawk on purpose. I say nope, it's all natural and even though I think it's cute I wouldn't go to that much trouble for a mohawk. It was enough just trying to cut the little here and there whispy hairs without cutting his fingers off.

We visited my brothers family in Iowa for 11 days to be there for the birth of a new nephew. Pictures to come. . .

Family Reunion in Nevada

2009-07-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Top row: Aunty Iris, Aunty Judy, Uncle David, my Mom Audrey
Bottom row: Aunty Laura, my Grandma, Uncle Ernie

Over the 4th of July weekend my parents, Bryan, Keoni and I drove down to Nevada to attend the Hicks-Williams family reunion. My Grandma is a Williams and a lot of family lives around where she lives. It was a lot of fun to see relatives that I had never met before. It was also wonderful to be able to see relatives I only see now and then. It was a lot of work getting it all together but with all of our family we got it done. It was a Friday and Saturday affair, with music, swimming, dancing, talking and lots of food!

Uncle David and Bryan jammed with local musicians.

Megan and her Mom, Aunty Iris.

My cousin Joseph with his wife, Sheila and their son Graeson.

My mom and of course, Keoni!

Grandma, Karen and Jeannie. I hadn't seen Jeannie and Karen in years. . . and years!

Grandma, Aunty Laura, Keoni and me gathering right before a little celebration of my cousin Sidney's birthday.

Daddy and Keoni enjoying the pool! It was so nice to get to go swimming in the hot weather.

Gordon showed us all quite a beautiful display of how our ancestors used to dance.

His sister also showed us a woman's dance. She brought tears to my eyes.

Bryan and my Dad, Scot tuning up for a jam session.

Sidney and Sam, two of my Uncle David's kids

Mr. and Mrs. Goofball

There was so much more family than I could name or take pictures of but I thought I would share just a glimpse of our weekend. Happy 4th of July!!

Keoni recycles for a moment.

2009-06-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hmm. Keoni thinks as he makes his rounds through the kitchen.

What can I get into today? Right now, this instant, I know!! the recycling box. I'll just throw these papers all around until I find something I'm not suppose to have.

"Why did yout take the recycling box from me Dad?"

"Oh, I am soooo sad. What am I to do? "

I know onto my next mess!

Father's Day

2009-06-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today is Father's Day and we had a great time at a bbq honoring all the Daddy's in our lives. We met a lot of new people and I think it was a bit much for Keoni at times. He is a trooper though. He fell asleep in Teruko's arms and I was told how handsome and what a good kid he is. I couldn't agree more. Keoni and I ate porkchops, fruit, some salad and a veggie dish that was delicious! Bryan and I had made it from a cookbook I just bought. There was also cake. Thank goodness that little boy didn't see me eating it, it was all chocolate and I really didn't want him to have any. Bryan played guitar outside and stayed close to the bbq'ing meat of course.

That's my husband and Daddy to my beautiful baby boy. Our lives are better for him being in them.

There's Teruko and her Dad.

Baby boy sleeping. I put makeup on for Father's Day. Cheap aren't I? lol.

Teruko, Maiya, the host of the party and Teruko's sister and Keoni.

This is all the Dads that were there but not all of the Dad's in our hearts.

My Dad wasn't able to make the bbq because he was working but I still called him and wished him a happy Dad's Day.

Happy Father's Day!!

Teeth and mohawks

2009-06-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Keoni is now ten months old and has 4 teeth on top and 2 and a half on the bottom. I want to take a good pic of them but these are what I got. I also threw in a few mohawk pics. Sunscreen does wonders as a hairgel. . .

I know pics look a bit awkward but he still loves me. . .

Mohawk baby. . .his hair, all natural.

Mmmm. . . .

2009-06-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Bryan made blueberry, banana, peach yogurt smoothies the other day and Keoni LOVED it. They were really good.

Keoni did his I love this stuff dance.

He couldn't get enough.

and Dad couldn't spoon it out fast enough . . . so a big fit was had.

Bryan couldn't help but laugh.

Heck with the spoon! Give me that!

The orange part of his face is chicken and vegetables. What an array of color. I think tomorrow we're going to make another one.

It's official, he's a crawler.

2009-06-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

Oh yes! My baby boy is a crawler and a good one. The baby gate will be going up very soon. He loves to pull on every cord, drawer, shelf, chair, you name it he's crawling to it and either opening it, pulling on it to get himself to standing or yanking it out of it's place. In a way it's a nice treat that he occupies himself for a bit but then there is the cleanup or the now having to say " No, stop that. Come here. " We are in for some good times!!

This is the first spot I found him in shortly after both Keoni and I realized he can crawl and at a pretty good pace. He was pulling on the cords for the tv and dvd.

He discovered the dvd's and cd's shortly after the cords. . . those are everywhere, everyday.

He got to the diaper bag. Unloading it of all it's contents is a daily ritual, unless I remember to put it up.

His favorite drawer to open of course is in the kitchen where he is underfoot. What a suprise it will be when he suddenly finds it baby locked!

I'm not exactly sure how he got under it. I think he closed it and then pulled on it and he was sitting closer than before

Another day, same drawer.

Leaving the scene of the crime. He yanked and yanked on that dresser trying to get behind it so he could mess with the tv cords. He settled with opening a drawer and rifling through it.

Next to him here is a remote. Bryan bought him his own remote from Goodwill today. He likes it and I am glad!

I'm not doing nothing. . .maybe.

2009-05-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

" You think I did what? I'm insulted."

" I'm just reading. "

" Maybe. . ."

Now that he is about to crawl I find him in all kinds of places. Mostly behind or between furniture. Right now he gets on his hands and knees and rocks forward and back. He has put one knee forward on occasion. That's mostly when he's trying to get to the dvd player. He gets around backwards. He pushes himself backwards with his hands while lying on his stomach. He is quick! I never saw someone go so fast while going backwards. I can't imagine how quick he'll be when he starts going forward.

Bbq at Aunty T's

2009-05-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Memorial day weekend was a beautiful weekend. The weather here is just wonderful. The house is getting a little hot but the basement is nice and cool and we are doing good. So we have decided what better way to spend our beginning Summer days than going garage sale crazy! They are everywhere! Keoni isn't so happy with getting in and out of his carseat but as long as I have a few snacks and a cold sippy cup of apple juice/water he does pretty good.

That sunday Teruko invited us to her house for a little bbq fun. Keoni loved the hammock swing she had in her backyard. He also loves squealing at her dogs, Mabel and Georgie. We sometimes stop by to let Keoni have some doggy time. We are thinking we will get a dog when Keoni turns 3 or 4. A dog would be an exciting present for his birthday at that time. I'm thinking I should at least wait until Keoni is potty trained.

So here's the pics. Enjoy!

Georgie is just small enough for Keoni to get excited at and not be scared.

Here's Keoni doing his Mom I want some food dance.

An afternoon at the park.

2009-05-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday was such a lovely day Bryan and I decided to walk to the park with Keoni. It had infant swings and a lot of other kids running around. Keoni loves to watch other kids. I can see in his little eyes and his constantly moving legs that he can't wait to be mobile. I am going to have my hands full I just know it.

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

Weeee!

Grass is so nice to play with.

Aw Mom do we have to go?

As my Dad has said 9 in and 9 out.

2009-05-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Which means Keoni was in my tum 9 (actually 10) months and he's been out of my tum for 9 months.

His first bath at home, 2.5 weeks old.

He's always loved the water, just like his mommy.

With his Daddy holding him, 1.5 weeks old.

With his Grandpa on an ATV.

With his Great Grandma 3 weeks old.

With his Great Grandma 8 months old.

Holey moley how time flies. . .

Keoni goes camping.

2009-05-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

WE'RE CAMPING!!!!

Last weekend we went camping. There was Keoni, me and Bryan, Kayla, her brother Kylie and a good friend of mine, Teruko with her son Adan and another friends daughter, Sophie. We all got there on Friday afternoon and the weather was beautiful. I decided this was the time to take pictures. The weather was not going to hold out for the weekend. Hey! We're in Oregon! So I took pics whenever I got a chance and Keoni was absolutely loving it when we first arrived. You can tell by his huge grin. He did really well and loved hanging out with Teruko's two cutie-pie dogs, Mabel and George.

So as we all expected we woke to heavy rain in the middle of the night and it continued into the morning. I think Keoni and I were the only ones that stayed warm that night. When we all woke the next day it was so wet and I was not enduring this well with Keoni. He was fine for the most part but I didn't want to risk getting him sick. Bryan made a fire and we hung out for a bit. The kids started to venture off in all directions. I went back into the tent for a nice morning nap with Keoni. Around noon it started getting nice but I had already made the executive mommy decision that we would not stay another night and we should go home. Suprisingly most of us thought that would be best. So we enjoyed the sun, the campfire and Bryan playing guitar for awhile and then as soon as it became cold, blustery, and rainy again we said, "adios" to the yuck and headed back to town. Everything soaked to the bone! Bryan and Teruko just threw it all in wherever it would fit and decided to sort it out later.

We all ended up at our house and a slumber party was the only way to make up for the missed night of camping. It was great. We made burgers and rented movies. The parents passing out after the first movie. Kids. . .where do they get their energy?

Have a great Summer!!!

Keoni waves and sleeps in his crib.

2009-05-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

My little man turned 9 months yesterday and he is such a great little guy! He had his check up yesterday and he now weighs 18.5lbs and is 29 inches long. Healthy and happy! (except for at bedtime, a whole other story)

He now says Mom and Dad, on occasion he says hi and he definitely knows bye-bye! He waves his little hand and says bye-bye! It is the sweetest thing I ever saw. He now has 3 upper teeth with a fourth coming in on his right. He also has two on the bottom. He loves to eat! He is definitely his Daddy's (and Mommy's for that matter) kid. Loves beef, cheese, squash, bananas and a whole lot more. He is still working on crawling but loves to pull himself up to a standing position. He is a big flirt, making all the girls of any age goo and ga at him. His little sweet smile and big green, hazely eyes.

Now for the craziness. Keoni has slept in our bed since he was born but I felt it was time for him to sleep in his crib. I tried to have him in his crib at 3 months but it broke my heart, I couldn't do it. So tonight is the 4th night and he went to sleep within minutes. Thank goodness! It doesn't always go that way. The first night he cried for hours but this is something I think will be good for all of us in the long run. My mom said it's hard for them to be in their own bed wether 9 months or 2 years. That helped with my feeling of guilt and terribleness. He was teething last night and woke up every two hours. I didn't lose much sleep when he was born because he slept with us but I am making up for it now!

A few pics to share. . .

2009-04-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

February and March -

Posing with Grandpa is fun.
This shoe taste so good I can't stop chewing even while sleeping!Don't tell mom I'm watching tv.

Look at those teeth! His top ones are coming in too.

Playing in his crib he likes. . . sleeping in his crib is still a no go!

Happy April to all!

An unexpected but good visit to L.A.

2009-04-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Grandma, Auntie Laura, and Auntie Harriet at our wedding in 2006.

This month my Mom's Auntie Harriet which makes her my Auntie Harriet passed away. I made plans quickly to travel with Keoni to LA, Ca. to be at her funeral. My parents were going to be traveling down there to attend an artshow my Dad would be in so we decided to go together. We drove in my Dad's van and Keoni did pretty well on the trip considering it was a long one.

While we were there it was wonderful to see family even though it would have been better under different circumstances. Here's a few pics from the trip.

Keoni with Grandpa taking a break on our way down to L.A.

Keoni at the hotel with his new monkey from Grandpa and his new outfit and shoes from Grandma. Grandparents are the best presents a mommy and a baby could ever have!

Keoni hanging with Grandma.

Keoni and I with Christine, our cousin.

Me and my grandma.

This is only the second time Keoni has sat in grass. It's not cold in LA like it is in Oregon! At first he wasn't too sure about it but then he began to rip out of the ground. That's my baby boy!

The family - enjoying conversation and a wonderful meal after the service.

Great Grandma and Keoni. I think I have a better shot than this one but Keoni needs my attention and I gotta go!

oh shoot! one more. . .Keoni meets Grayson, my cousin Joseph and his wife Sheila's baby boy. They were soooo cute together.

My baby boy is growing up so fast!

2009-03-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

It's a bit blurry but here's a pic of his new teeth!Rockstar baby coming soon to a venue near you!

We just can't give him enough kisses! ( well, I can't )

Here he is at an indoor playground testing out the rocking horse.

and then of course there's playtime with Daddy!

and so much more to post. . . later.

While I have a moment.

2009-03-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

We did it!

We have sold our house and are in our new one! We are finding all the quirks of the new house and working on getting them straightened out a little at a time. Bryan and I are still recovering from all the chaos from the past two months or so. One of the perks of city life is high-speed internet! Woo-hoo! Now I can work on my blog more efficiently. . .well, once things slow down a bit more. Another perk is we now live maybe 15 minutes from my parents who love to see their grandson.

In the time of the craziness Keoni nows sits up by himself and has two front bottom teeth. He still screams and we now call him terydactal baby because he has such a loud screech. Bryan says it's more like an predisposition to becoming a rockstar. I have a whole month of pics on my camera I need to unload, so I'll be posting some pics soon.

Moving, laundry, and Captain Bumbo!

2009-02-03T14:16:00.000-08:00

And the list goes on and on. Our life is so hectic right now we really have no brains left. Unfortunately decisions and life still goes on. We are in the process of closing on the old house, closing on a new house and packing and moving and living and watching this little boy grow all at the same time!

He is growing bigger everyday. He is beginning to use his voice a lot, he screams! Screams! Not in turmoil or because he is hurt, I guess he just likes being loud. Let's hope this is a "stage". He has also started on solid foods. He loves squash and bananas. He recently tried peas and he made the most awful face and spit them out and down his chin they went. Besides that he really is the best boy I could have ever wished for.

I can touch my toes!

I can eat my toes!

Captain Bumbo to the rescue!

I as Mommy like to say Captain "Dumbo". This hat is actually a chair that helps Keoni sit up until he can learn to sit upright on his own, it's a called a Bumbo. It's really helpful.

Helping Mom with the laundry, lots to do!

By the way. . . I cut my hair off. So much less hair to get out of the tight grasp of one little boy.

Farewell Dad and Grandpa.

2009-01-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well it has been quite a year so far.

Bryan's father past away on January 7th and we went to Utah to say our goodbyes. His funeral was on Saturday the 10th and it was a beautiful service. Even though I didn't know him long I enjoyed our visits and getting to know his sly humor, his love for good bbq and gracious hospitality, I always felt welcomed. I am grateful that he and Keoni got to meet and that he knew Keoni's middle name was after him. Ed was calling Keoni "Edard" before the end of our Thanksgiving visit. Ed also told me that Greg, Bryan's nephew, his middle name is also Edward and that when Greg was little and Ed would call Greg Edard, Greg would say " My name is not Edard! It's Greg! " You could tell Ed got a kick out of that. I'm glad I got to meet Ed and that he brought such a wonderful man into this world, yes I'm talking about Bryan! : )

Thansgiving 2008

Megan after his burial.

The Craziest Christmas Ever and Keoni's First!

2008-12-31T10:56:00.000-08:00

We started off Tuesday morning, off to Grandma's, to Fallon, Nevada. After getting through the ruccus ( took 3 hrs to get 50 miles out of the city ) of Portland weather and roads we were on our way! Doing good but still deciding to stop in Weed, Ca. to stay for the night. After arriving Xmas eve afternoon safe and somewhat sound we got comfortable and visited with family.

A quick visit with Grandma while Grandpa checked us into our hotel.

Finally! We made it and now to visit with Great Grandma in her very warm and cozy home!

"Grandma, we open presents now or the eyebrow comes off! Just kidding..."

"Yay! It's Christmas morning! Present time! Wow, what's this? I love it!"

Time for games with Samantha, Grandpa, and Auntie Laura.

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!

The lip.

2008-12-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

It is snowing again here, alot, just a quick update from snow command center #2.

Anyways, I have a quick little pic to show you.

THE LIP.

You never know when something Bryan does will upset Keoni. Sometimes it's Bryan's booming voice, his cough, or may be he wiggles him just a little too much. Well, when baby boy is getting just a little too much input from the Dadster what we call "the lip" occurs. Even though it is a warning of possible more upset it is so CUTE! He is my sweetie babe! With a built in pre-alarm.

The weather outside is frightful . . .but so beautiful!

2008-12-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

It's SNOWING!! Yay!

No fire to keep us warm, just the space heater. Still it is so beautiful and magical outside.

It is so sweet to see the neighborhood dogs running through the tall snow. Makes me miss my Daisy dog.

Here she is last Winter -

Our snow adventures started on Wednesday when we ventured to Portland to see the Grandparents. Getting down off our hill was pretty exciting. A little sliding here and there, Bryan asked "Ever take a truck skiing?" He thought it was funny. I on the other hand did not. Just as we got to the bottom a Sheriff was closing off the road. So onto Pdx we went, our truck in 4lo and the freeway really not too bad. We spent the night at Grandma's .

On Thursday Keoni, me and Grandpa and Uncle Kaliki got to hang out in the snow for a bit. Dad had stuff to do so I bundled up Keoni and out into the backyard we went. Grandpa taped us and got a few shots of Uncle Kaliki making the start of a snowman. Little did we know more snow was on it's way. Uncle Kaliki had made some tasty treats so we were set! We spent the night again and decided to brave the roads towards home Friday morning. It wasn't bad. We made it home safe and sound, even our hill wasn't hard to get up. Thanks to 4 wheel drive.

Tasty treats!

Back in from the snow at Grandma's

Saturday morning we woke up to a whole lotta snow! We went to try to get our oil changed and tires rotated in prep for our journey to Nevada but the shops were closed. So we bought a few essentials and headed back home. The scenery just beautiful. The snow getting higher and higher. By Sunday morning we had to have at least 1.5 feet of snow at our house.

Here's a photo of out our kitchen window ( I can't figure out how to rotate it now that it's posted, anybody know how?) , then there's the cherry tree out in our front yard, a huge icicle hanging off the shop, and I also wanted to show how much the snow has accumulated on the picnic table, then our neighbors around the bend made some canoeing snowmen, and the final shot is of across our yard to the neighbors. A wonderful Winter Wonderland!

Merry Christmas

and have a

Happy New Year!

Baby boy got a xmas present . . . early! Yay!

2008-12-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Campbell along with the help of my Aunt Mary, my Dad's sister, got baby boy a wonderful and fun Xmas present. He loves it! I love it! It is a Baby Einstein musical motion activity jumper, woa, that's a mouthfull.

It has 4 activity centers. One side has a sun and a spot to hang links, one is a piano, one has a mirror with a frog and beads going over it and the last one has several balls with different spinning colorful things to occupy baby while I take a break! Then on top of that it has many places to hang toys. It's fantastic and he loves it.

Thank you Grandma, Grandpa and Mary!

"This thing is cool."

"Hello, Mr. Sun!"

"How are you today?"

"Hmm, what do we have over here?"

"Look! it's me!"

A new discovery!

2008-12-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

Keoni I believe has always known he had a tongue, but lately he can't get enough of it! He now loves to chew ( gum ) on everything. He is always sticking out his tongue to lick or suck on anything he can get his little hands on. He also likes to hold onto his feet and he almost has the hang of rolling over onto his belly. He is growing up so fast. My little man!

Keoni's 4th Month Check-up

2008-12-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

Today Bryan and I took Keoni to his 4 month check-up.

Today was the second time he has received some immunizations in his little baby boy life. He doesn't like getting shots, as soon as the shot is injected in his upper thigh his whole little head gets bright apple red and he begins to cry. He has to endure 3 shots and 1 vial full of an oral immunization. He gets through it alright. I gave him some tylenol before they injected the shot and nurse him after for comfort. He has mostly been asleep since receiving the shots which the pediatrician said is to be expected. He is such a little trooper. He actually didn't cry long and only made a few sounds seeming to me to be saying " Why mom, why me? ". I tell him it'll be alright and that sometimes we have to do things that we don't like to do but that we have do to them anyways, that it's all over and that he is a strong and good boy.

Between his napping he is back to giggling and smiling so I know he's fine and doing good.

Here are his new stats - he grew 2.75", gained 3.5lbs and his head circumference grew 2cm. This all since his 2 month checkup. The doc says he moves and reacts like a 6 month old.

He's my cutie!

Off to Grandma's house (in Utah) we go!

2008-12-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

We traveled to Bryan's parents house in Utah for Thanksgiving this year.

Bryan's sister Janet and her family were there visiting also. Thanksgiving was wonderfully tasty and the weather was just right.

The best part was seeing how much Keoni enjoyed hanging out with Janet's daughter Megan, they got along great. Megan kept Keoni laughing and entertained for as long as his baby attention span could hold out. He even fell asleep in her arms once. He got a chance to fall asleep in Grandma's arms and Aunt Janet's arms too. It was a nice break for me with relatives all around to love and hold him. He was such a good boy with all the commotion of meeting new relatives and traveling the the 11 hour drive.

Kayla also came along with us this year and as we usually do when we visit Utah we got her her xmas present early, she was excited, well as excited as a teenager can be. A great relaxing time was had by all and we look forward to next year.

"Official" Three Month Photos

2008-11-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here he is. . . the star of the show. . . baby boy Keoni Edward!

We went to Picture People again and they came out fantastic.

I spent too much money but my baby boy is worth it!

Alright so this post is under construction! I cannot get any more pics to post to this post! I try and try but . . . argh! I will keep trying because I really want to share these absolutely adorable pictures!

Halloween has come & gone and now he's 3 months old!

2008-11-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

Keoni is 3 months old. It's amazing how fast time flies when you have a new little one to love. He is getting so big and loves to babble and coo. He has a lot of stories to tell. He has also begun to laugh. He laughs mostly when I talk loud or growl like a dog. He has begun to enjoy his tummy time, it took him awhile but now he holds his head up and looks around just fine. I purchased a doorway jumper and he is getting to know that toy also. He chews on his hand a lot. I think his teeth will be coming in soon. What a sweetie, no matter what mood I'm in I can look at him and know everything is alright.

Around Halloween we borrowed a Tootsie Roll costume from a good friend Shelly and received a tiger costume from Auntie Marcia'. He was so adorable. On Halloween Bryan and I were too sick to go anywhere festive so I went to the store bought some Hershey's chocolate, Robitussin, Halls cough drops and we stayed in. Of course that didn't stop me from taking a bunch of pictures of him in his costumes!