Heritage Week

Noa loves watching dances so for Heritage Week at BYU we took him to see luau since he was too young to go to the Living Legends show. His eyes were plastered to the stage and he would start cheering during the black outs as soon as he saw the dancers taking their places. I can't wait to get Noa dancing. I only hope when he's older he loves it as much as he does now. It can really open some doors for him.

Later that week Tau and I got to go see Living Legends. The show gets better and better every time I see it. I am so glad I got to be a part of it. If they didn't take a chance on me I would have never met my sweet husband or felt the joy of sharing my testimony with so many wonderful people around the world.

LL goes to China this year with my brother, Jake, as the president. I know they're going to open many doors there for the gospel to be shared. I am so excited for them. That was the hardest part for me in letting go of the group. Now I have to be a good missionary on my own. Good luck in China Jake. Our prayers will be with you and the group.

Sunday Photo: Lost & Found

About a month ago I convinced Tau to take us ice skating for Family Home Evening. I was really excited to see what Noa thought of the ice. Parking was packed so Tau dropped us off to find a spot and Noa and I went to get the tickets. As we were walking in I set Noa down to hand the tickets over and looked up for one second to answer a question. When I looked back down, Noa was gone. The arena was shoulder to shoulder packed with people. I ran in and started to look for him. 10 minutes (an eternity) and many tears later someone found him playing in a corner. He didn't even miss us and was having the time of his life.

We had described Noa over the speakers and so after we found him I felt like everyone knew I was the bad mom who lost my son. My eyes were swollen from crying and Tau was a nervous wreck so we never got to actually skate. We grabbed a bag of popcorn, snapped this picture to blog about, and went straight home and held Noa until he fell asleep.

After this experience Noa now has a "leash" backpack which I said I would never get for my kids and I never let him down even when he is screaming if I know I can't watch him. I was not only scared I had lost my son forever, but that my husband would never forgive me. Luckily I married my prince charming. He was jumping over stair cases and walls like a super hero to find Noa and afterwards he didn't scold me for losing him or anything. He just put his arms around me and comforted me. We also had great friends there who helped us run around looking for Noa. Thanks Candice and Dayton, that meant the world to us.

Hawaii 2010

At the beginning of February Tau had to go to Hawaii for work and I convinced him to let Noa and I tag along. We had a wonderful time there. It was nice to get out of the cold weather. The temperature was about 80 degrees everyday, but poor Tau had to work until it was dark so he never got to go enjoy the beach with us. I finally got him to stay with us the last day, but when we woke up it was stormy and rainy so the only water he got to touch was from the shower.

We stayed at Turtle Bay Estates the first few days and then went over to Turtle Bay Hotel for the rest of the week. This was the view from our patio.

They had nice pools and even a slide, but Noa wasn't very interested in getting in the water. After unsuccessfully trying to coax him into the kiddie pool, we headed back up to our hotel room. I guess Noa was tired of going up stairs or he just really wanted to enjoy the view because he sat down on the steps and wouldn't leave until I carried him the rest of the way up.

We flew in late on a Friday so we didn't do much that night, but Saturday we got to go to the swap meet and then our friends Cam and Lohi Tuitele invited us to go to Chinatown with their kiddies Na'u and Iwi. Chinatown was celebrating Chinese New Year so we were able to try some good food and watch the parade.

Cam bought the kids those snap fireworks and Tau spent the rest of the time trying to stop Noa from chucking them at some older ladies across the street. The cute little baby boy above is Iwi. There were a lot of dragons in the parade and if you held up a dollar they would come and eat it out of your hand. Noa wasn't too sure about them, but he did like the other people who came and handed out candy.

Tau and Lohi used Na'u and Noa's cute charm to see how much candy they could get. Every one was laughing so hard because we were collecting so much through them and we were the ones that got to eat it all. Mwahahaha. After awhile we forgot about it, but Noa didn't. He wanted some candy for his own so he held up his hands... who could resist, he collected more candy all by himself and so we let him eat those ones. So smart that one

After that we all headed back to Laie to watch Ha`, the Polynesian Cultural Center's new night show. It was great. Noa loved it and kept cheering and shouting Yay! These ladies next to him thought he was so cute that the rest of the show every time he cheered they would cheer with him and laugh.

Sunday we were headed to the temple for a fireside at the visitors center, but as we were walking through the parking lot, Noa puked all over Tau's white shirt and then 2 more times on the road. I made Tau wear my sweater home so he didn't have to drive around the temple shirtless. We think Noa had food poisoning because after that he was pretty happy. He had a fever until the next day, but no more puke.

Monday, Noa and I went to the Dole Plantation. He was happy just running around free so we didn't really pay to do anything. I love the stage he's in because he loves to explore. He went and stuck his head in the picture hole all by himself and then climbed on the bench and said cheese until I pulled out the camera and took his picture.

He was fascinated with the koi fish. Those things are nasty. I can't imagine what would happen if you fell in. They're like piranas. Some guy bought Noa fish food and after that he wouldn't leave until I dragged him away. He kept begging food off people so he could feed the fish and the birds. In the top left pic, Noa got tired of running around so he just sat in the middle of the path until he felt like moving. I thought that was pretty cute.

Dinner was usually really late at night because Tau was working so much. Noa had a hard time with the schedule. He was kinda crazy at the restaurants. He got into a bad habit there of throwing fits until we'd prop up the ipod for him and let him watch Baby Einstein so we could eat in peace. Maybe not the best way to deal with him, but the places we ate at were kinda nice and not kid friendly, so I caved.

The last two pics are at Haleiwa Joes. I don't think Noa wanted to be close to the fish sculptures. The dessert here was delicious. I forget what it was called, but it had a lot of chocolate. Yummo.

Lei Cummings at Tau's work hooked Noa and I up with tickets to walk around the PCC villages. Thanks Lei! We had an awesome time. Noa loved all of it and was such a good audience member that one guy even gave him a hat for his cheering. Noa wouldn't take it off

He liked it when they danced, but as you can see, wasn't too sure about getting close to the performers. I hope he will learn how to dance as he grows up. It opens so many doors, not to mention how fun it is too.

I imagined our visits to the beach would be me chasing Noa around and trying to get him to stay out of the deep end of the water, but it was totally different. He didn't want to have anything to do with it. I stood in the water calling him to come swim with me, but he just sat in the sand. He was content to just eat it and throw it around and thats what he did. He got a huge kick out of burying his legs and then asking "wer de go?" (Baby talk for Where'd they go?). He even made a friend for a while until he chucked sand in her eyes. The middle left picture is Noa at the pool. He wouldn't get in there either. I would sit in the pool and he would leave me, climb up on his chair and sip his water until I gave up. Silly boy.

Click here to see a clip of him enjoying the beach. Literally. My camera is broken so it blurs in and out. Sorry.

Noa and I also spent a lot of time around campus. It was so nice being able to walk around and play on the grass. Noa loved it. He was running all around. He kept picking up flowers and sniffing them and petting the grass liked he'd never seen grass before. I guess it has been a long time for him. I can't wait for spring in Utah.

One night there was a bday party at the bowling ally. I couldn't get Noa to leave the window so I just sat down and waited, we had nothing else to do. 10 minutes later a lady finally came out and asked Noa if he was lost. I was sitting far away so I had to run over to get him, yelling "he's mine, sorry", as she was taking him inside. She looked at me like I had lost him. Doh. I felt like such a bad mom and I didn't even do anything wrong.

Eating macadamia nut ice cream from Seasiders. He's so happy :)

Tau worked so hard and was worn out every night. He and Noa seemed to sleep a lot together. The bottom picture they didn't even get their shoes off. I just love my boys. They're so cute when they sleep :) It turned out to be a great week in Hawaii, filled with lots of fun and relaxing things to do. Thanks for bringing us with you Tau, it was the best Valentine's gift ever.

Turning Toddler

I think Noa's last haircut really solidified the fact that he's not a baby anymore. I thought I would be really sad, but this new stage has been an adventure and Tau and I are having a lot of fun watching Noa live life. Here are a few pictures of what he's been up to lately.

He has officially graduated to a toddler bed. At first we just put him in it at nap times and then when he stopped falling out of it and learned how to sleep the right way, we moved him to it at nights too. He used to stay in bed until I came and got him, but this morning he was knocking at his door saying "hi? ma?" over and over again. I couldn't help but laugh. I guess he's not afraid of falling out anymore.

Just before we went to Hawaii the whole family got sick. Noa just wanted to lay around all day, but not with me. He wanted to be on his own couch. He is very "do it myself" lately.

I got over my laziness and decided making cookies and memories with Noa for Valentines Day was worth the mess I'd have to clean up later. Now he wants to cook with me all the time. He has a little stool and stands on it or sits on the counter while I cook. He even helped me make mashed potatoes yesterday. The whole time saying "hot...hot" then he'd stick his hand in the potatoes, pop a fist full in his mouth, make a pained face, and tell me it was hot again. I guess they weren't too hot (thank goodness).

He likes to help us clean the house too. Tau always lets him throw all the clothes in the washer when they do the laundry together... that's right my hubby does all the laundry :) Thanks Tau. We struggle to sweep together and when the vacuum goes on, Noa comes running and wants to sit on the front while I push it around. He likes to help with the trash too, mostly he'll carry it to the patio and before you can shut the door he brings it back in again. I just let him carry them around until he gets distracted with something else.

He likes to watch evening sports with his daddy and cheers whenever a basket is made, but he also likes to watch American Idol with his mommy and claps and dances to the songs. If it's a song he really likes he'll even give them a "woo" as he waves his arms to the beat. Very funny. Sometimes the shows go late and I know we should have put him in bed already, especially when he lays on his hand (that's his sign for being tired), but it's just so nice when he sits still and cuddles with us.

We recently rearranged his room. He has his own basket ball hoop and a ball hanging from the ceiling that he likes to hit with his bat and whatever else he can swing. Sometimes when he wakes up from his nap I can hear him in there cheering himself on after making a basket or hitting a good ball. He's such a boy. I love it.

Well I guess this post was a bit wordier than I intended, but I just wanted to share all the fun things Noa's been up to lately. Hope you enjoyed.

President's Day

On President's Day my sister, Rachel, and her family invited Noa and I to go to Jumpin Jacks (poor Tau had to work).

We were so excited to get out of the house and to top it all off, Noa was free. Hooray! Good thing too because he was scared of all the bounce houses.

I was determined that he have fun so I sat in a bounce house with him. He wouldn't leave my side and eventually fell asleep. Oh well :)

It was a lot of fun spending time with family though, and I loved watching Noa play with his cousins. Thanks Rae and Ro for thinking of us.

Vegas Weekend

This weekend Tau and I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas and meet up with Tau's wonderful parents. The hotel took great care of us while we were there and for that I will always think of them first when I need a place to stay in Vegas. The best part was that it was away from the strip so it didn't feel so dirty, but it was a close enough drive that we could still see all the things we wanted to.

We were lucky to have Tau's cousin Fa and his wife Shannon hang out with us while we were out there too. They took us to see the new City Center on the strip. It was so nice. I don't know if it was because the building is brand new, or because engineers learned how to ventilate casinos better, but it didn't stink at all. The whole casino was a work of art. These pictures don't do it justice.

Remind you of the terminator, anyone?

Tau and his dad with the King. Elvis Cirque du Soleil is the casino's show.

Noa had fun eating all of Grandma and Grandpa's gelato.

Tau, Shannon, and Fa at the City Center

They had an awesome waterfall outside and a miniature water show (not as huge as Bellagio's, but it will still stop you if you're walking by).

Not a waste of kayaks. I think it's cool.

Exploring with Grandma. Yep, he's officially in his independent stage now. Help!

Grandma and Noa

Fa and Dad posing with Elvis.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for watching Noa. That night they stayed in with him so we could go see Avatar in 3D with Fa and Shannon. I was dragging my feet to go, but Wow!! That was a cool show. I wish I was 10 feet tall and had a cool pony tail.

Other stops included the outlet mall, Baja's Mexican Grill, Outback Steakhouse, and Garden Buffet ... yep, we pretty much just ate and ate and ate. I think I gained thirty pounds while I was out there, but it was a tasty 30 pounds so I guess I will just have to love the new appendages stuck to my hips and sculpted 6 pack as much as I loved the food :)

It was such a nice trip and we were so happy to be with family and just get away for a bit. Thanks again mom and dad, and Fa and Shannon for showing us a good time in Vegas.