A Carnival Birthday Fair Extravaganza

We celebrated Na'ulei's 2nd birthday on November 26, Thanksgiving Day. Na'u was actually due on November 22 which was Thanksgiving back in 2007. She came 4 days late which made her birthday this year land on turkey day.



We wanted to do something fun for everyone...especially the kids. Na'u had her very own Carnival Birthday Fair Extravaganza. It came equipped with...

...Na'ulei Dollars. The kids were given packs of $2,000 dollars to play any game they wished.

With money in one hand and...


...a sack in the other,...


...the kids were ready for the games.


The kids were having a blast because our "carnival employees", Uncle Anthony, Aunty Nickoma, Aunty Monica, Aunty Leila, and Uncle David were VERY enthusiastic. To make the carnival a bit more interesting for the "employees", we offered them a little insentive. The "employee" who had the most Na'u dollars at the end of the night would get a prize. They tried everything to lure the children in.









The birthday girl LOVED all of her "pitty" prizes.


The one with the most Na'u dollars came down to brother and sister, Uncle Anthony and Aunty Monica.

And the winner was...Uncle Anthony. He won a $25 gift card to Ruby Tuesday. Aunty Monica did a really good job and got a $5 gift card to Jamba Juice. Thank you to everyone else. The kids really did have a great time!

After the games, the kids had a go at this cute ice cream cone pinata.


"....Happy Birthday Na'ulei! Happy Birthday to you!"



We LOVE you soooo much!

Great Grandma Julia


Grandma & Grandpa Tuitele & cousin Sina


Mama & Papa Albino, Uncle Ohu & Uncle Kana


Uncle Kana sporting the party hats and crooked teeth.


As you can see, Iwi boy was NOT in ANY of these pictures because he was sleeping the ENTIRE time. He really is an angel!

A Daddy-Daughter Moment

Sunday, November 15, 2009
"We need a song...what shall we sing?"


Play a little tune.




...."pock-corn poppin on the apricot tee!"


I'm all ready for church.
"Like my pitty (pretty) dress?"


"...and my pitty hair?"

Pumpkins, Canoes, Cupcakes, & a Dough Boy

This year we went to our first pumpkin patch at Aloun Farms.

"Hmm. So much to choose from. Which pumpkin...which pumpkin?"


"I like THIS one!"


"Ah, a little help daddy, PLEASE!"


"What? Daddy already bought one from Sam's Club?! We're not getting my pumpkin? :("


Daddy's "cary" pumpkin he made on Halloween.

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This is the 2nd year that we went to the Haunted Lagoon at PCC. This was also our 2nd attempt on getting in this year. On our first attempt, we made it all the way to Laie only to be turned away (on the main road) because they were SOLD OUT and it was only 6:45pm. The line went all the way to McDonalds.


We returned the following week, (coming earlier this time), and was able to get tickets. Na'u went on the "cary" canoe ride and was a trooper (we didn't have babysitters). She didn't cry, but she did have a "kung-fu" grip holding onto my shoulder! Since she was so good, we took her to see the rest of the night show. She LOVED it!

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
We had LOTS to do that day. First things first...we had to finish the costumes. Na'u helped mommy put on the sprinkles because she was a...


...CUPCAKE with a cherry on top.


Can you guess what Iwi boy was?
The Pillsbury Dough Boy. We thought it was fitting :).

Our 2009 Halloween.
Mommy was a 50's housewife while daddy was...an army man (for the 4th year in a row).

We had a fun Halloween meeting up with our Kaneohe Tuitele ohana at Pearlridge and our Del Toro friends at their ward party. Na'u and Iwi got lots of "tanny"!
("Tanny" consumption will be monitored by mommy and daddy.)


And at the end of the night, one was "high" on candy...


...and the other was having sweet dreams.

It was a GREAT Halloween!!!

July 8...A Special Day

On July 8, 2009, we welcomed our baby boy Ka'oiwi into our family.

I was actually due on July 10th and my friend Jenny was due on the 11th. Throughout our entire pregnancy, we kept in touch updating each other on our status. It was nice to be pregnant with someone else at the same time but unfortunately, we were miles apart. We were here in Hawaii and she was back in Provo.

During one of those conversations Jenny mentioned, "Wouldn't it be cool if we gave birth on July 8. Then it would be 07-08-09." I thought that that would be very cool but didn't think that it would actually happen.

As we were nearing the end, Jenny noticed different things in her pregnancy which were pointing in the direction of labor...while I didn't. I was trying to be "in tune" with my body but nothing. I could only feel braxton hicks contractions, but those didn't count. I'd been feeling them for weeks. They weren't any stronger or more frequent than before so I never really paid attention to them.

On July 7th, I felt those braxton hicks a little stronger. They weren't sore but a bit more intense from what I had been experiencing. I tried to take a nap that afternoon but it was uncomfortable. I kept on waking up but didn't make anything of it. I never really experienced symptoms of labor the first time around with Na'u because she ended up being an emergency c-section. With Na'u, my water broke at home, but I never had any contractions. Because I never experienced anything, I didn't know what to expect. It would be my first labor.

Later that evening, we had family friends come over for FHE. During the whole time we had guests, I felt those contractions, but just brushed them off. After everyone went home, I got ready for bed but could not get comfortable. I started keeping track of the contractions around 10:00ish and they were about 7-10 mins apart. I didn't want to get my hopes up so I was waiting for it to go away...but they didn't. I called Cameron at work to let him in on the news. He finished around 11 and by 12:30am, the contractions were 3-5 mins apart. We were very excited and Cam wanted to get to the hospital already.

This was right before we left for the hospital. The tummy measurement was 49 1/2 inches.



We arrived at Kapiolani Hospital at 1:45am and you'd think that it wouldn't be crowded being so early in the morning. Lucky for us, we weren't alone. There were CHOKE other babies wanting to come out too. I was feeling great. The contractions were bearable so I walked all the way up to the birthing floor only to find myself waiting for a room to open up. We were stuck waiting in the lobby for 1 hour and 15 mins. I was getting so impatient. All 25+ triage rooms were full. We finally got into our room only to wait another 45 mins to be checked and hooked up to the monitors. The contractions were still coming 3-5 mins apart and we were soooo tired. Cameron and I both dozed off in between contractions.

They moved me into the labor room around 8am and soon after, our good friend Gabby dropped by for some moral support. Having her there helped to pass the time. The contractions were so uncomfortable especially since I had back labor because my little man was flipped upside down. My mom told me that I needed to focus on something to help me through each contraction. What better way to do that then to think of my Na'u.



I was missing her so much. Even though Na'u was far from me (on Moloka'i), she knew something was up. That entire day, she would point to my picture, saying "mommy", and never wanted to be put down. She had never acted like that before.

To further things along, the nurse broke my water at 10:45am. As soon as my water broke, my contractions came every 1-2 minutes and a lot more intense. I was so exhausted that I would fall asleep in between contractions. I still wasn't sure if I was going to get the epidural. I wanted to see how long I could hold out for. When I was at a 7, I was seriously considering it. Cam gave me the best pick me up talk that gave me the boost of confidence I needed. I endured through the rest of the dreadful contractions and started to push @ 1:40pm. My little man came @ 2:35pm. Almost and entire hour of pushing.



When the doctor placed him in my arms, I thought "oh....he's heavy."


'Oiwi was 8lbs 10.1 oz and 21 1/2 inches. He was A LOT bigger than what any of us, including my doctor, expected. He was such a good boy. He only cried for a sec. Before they took him to the nursery, I held him for a good hour. He was up the entire time, calm and attentive.



I had the best nurse ever. She encouraged me every step of the way.



On friday, my discharge day, my family came to the hospital bringing my Na'u. I missed her so much. From the moment she met her brother, she has been a great big sister.



The proud daddy and his boy.



Our little family. It's complete...for now :).

The Belly Bump

My due date was nearing and I really wanted to document my baby bump. I've seen pregnancy photos online with older siblings and have always wanted them for myself. We took professional pictures when I was pregnant with Na'ulei but the experience was sort of a disaster. We spent way to much money for those pictures and I didn't want to do that again. Since photoshop does wonders, I figure that we could save money and take the pictures ourselves.

I was due on Friday, July 10 and we had arranged for Na'u to go to Moloka'i the Monday before. Of course we were last minute to take pictures so there we were, the evening before Na'u left trying to take it. We set up our own background and went to it.

This is the best that we could come up with. I was not satisfied. I was determined to get some good shots before Na'u left so our only option was to try Monday morning right before taking Na'u to the airport.

We decided to go to Ala Moana beach to get the job done. After setting up and taking a few snaps, it started to rain.

What luck! I was about to throw in the towel. I was determined to get those pictures so when the rain stopped, we went back out and got some great shots.

I love them! -