Aaaaaah. Catch up, again…

This post is like, 6 combined so to keep it all clear, I'm going to do mini headings. It should help keep all of us from getting too confused! :0)

Prayers for the Haban Family

2 weeks ago one of our friends faced a horrible tragedy, her husband passed away from Lupus. They got married the day after Clint and I did, only 5 years ago. I've known Jami since high school and we've both known Kameron since college. It's been a difficult thing to watch and read about on their blog and it was stirred the emotions we felt when we lost Clint's younger brother J.T. to a lightening strike 3 years ago. There has been an account established for Jami and their son, Kason, to help pay for medical bills, funeral expenses and hopefully give them something to start over with. Please visit their blog kamandjami.blogspot.com for more informaition and to donate - even if you don't know them. Anything will help them in this devestating time. Please keep them in your prayers, she is only 24 and their son is 2 1/2.

Happy 2 Months Keahi!!

Yes, Keahi is 2 months old already! Actually, 2 1/2! The time flies by in the form of naps, diaper changes, bottles, hugs, kisses, and smiles. Last week she had a 5 night stretch where she slept amazingly well, anywhere from 7 - 9 hours! Her naps were regular and so were her feeding times. Before that, I was getting so frustrated that she was only sleeping at the most 6 hours at night, but she was taking a 5-6 hour nap during the day. I remembered with Madison we had to regulate her metabolism before she would sleep through the night, so I tried it with Keahi. I woke her up from her long (heavenly) nap so that she wasn't going longer than 4 1/2 hours between feedings during the day, and within a few days she was sleeping all night! Ah! Blissful sleep! Of course, as anyone who has a baby knows, just when you think you have everything all figured out SOMETHING changes! She had her first round of shots last week and the Rotavirus one has REALLY thrown a kink in things. I'm hoping the effects will wear off in the next week or so, poor kid and poor Mommy! She weighs 14 pounds, 25 1/4 inches long and is WAY off the charts for both!! Our doctor said that she holds herself and is as alert as a 4 month-old baby! She is wearing 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes and laughs at everything. She loves her daddy the best and still brings such a sweet spirit into our home. We love her SO much and are SO grateful for the opportunity to be her family.

Our Hula Dancer

So, Madison has been doing this dance lately. She wraps necklaces around her wrists, then twists and wiggles and shakes and moves her whole body in a very... fluid(?) dance. I had NO idea what she was doing or WHERE ON EARTH she learned to dance like that, I figured it was maybe the cha-cha and she had learned it at dance class... well, I was wrong. The other night she was dancing and turned around and shook her tush. I laughed and asked her, "Did you just shake your booty at me?" "Yeah Mom! I shook my buns like Kiki!" She grinned so big and kept right on dancing. THEN it donned on me! She's been Hula dancing like Kiki and her family did at the luau a few weeks back! It's amazing to me that not only did she remember how they danced, but that they had things on their wrists too! So, Kiki and family, be proud. Madi is Hula dancing for Keahi!

Here's the video of Kiki shakin' her booty at the luau

here's the video of her cousin Tee Hula dancing

and here's Madison's version!

Our Visit with Kiki

2 weekends ago we visited Kiki and her family in their home. It was such a fun visit! Very relaxed and let me just say their house is AWESOME! Madi made herself right at home - found the swimming pool, stripped down and hopped in! (Modesty, child?) That's my girl! Later, Kiki's cousin Sarah introduced Madison to the joys of sliding down a staircase on a slippery blanket! She had a BLAST! We are really looking forward to having them visit us on our home turf!

Projects

I have this huge list of things I want to get finished, the first of which was get Keahi's crib set up and then put the girls' names above their beds in vinyl with "Daughter of God" over it. They turned out so cute! Another was refinish the hope chest and dresser in our room. They took a few days longer than I would have liked, but the breeze outside would NOT stop so I got stuck for a while. (It's one of those love/hate things! The breeze is SO nice, but SO inconvenient when you're painting!) I did finish them though and am SO happy with the end results!

the hope chest before

the hope chest after

the dresser before

the dresser after

All's Fair in... Daddy-Daughter Battles?
Clint attacked Madi after dance the other day. After the initial wrestling match, he decided he wanted to be Mulan and use Karate to defeat his prey. He advanced, Madi defended (and then ran screaming) and Keahi watched, VERY entertained! She laughed and grinned at every scream, "Hiya!" and tackle. I love my kids! (Yes, Clint is grouped in there too!) Later, Madi and Keahi had some sister time watching Veggie Tales while I worked on dinner. Gotta love the Bumbo (the chair Keahi is sitting in)!!

Photography

Last, (but not least for me!) I have always wanted to get into photography. My dream job is to have a studio in my home where I can make my own schedule, do what I love and still be a full-time Mom. It's always been one of those "someday that would be nice" kind of dreams, but I have a few friends who have started doing it and are having a blast with it. I've looked at their blogs, done some research and have decided to jump-start my dream! It will take a while to get there because I still need to save my pennies for the camera I want (plus all the other doohickies that come along with it!), but I figure that in the mean time I can learn more about being a photographer, exactly what I'll want/need to get started, doing edits, overlays and filters and all that jazz! I am SO excited and I'm sure that Clint is ready to throttle me for all my excitement but that's ok. I'm hoping that within the next 6 months I can have enough saved for my camera and maybe a few lenses to get me started. Any pics I post that have my little logo on them have been edited and I'm starting a new blog for it (aztouchedphotography.blogspot.com) that for now I'll post the new edits I'm learning and if anyone has any ideas or feedback I would love it! This is something I've wanted to do for years and I'm scared, nervous and absolutely thrilled to be starting (well, saving up to start!).
Wish me luck as I bring Touched Photography to life!