A special visit from Chelcie

My sister Chelcie came to visit us last month for almost a whole week!  She stayed at our house and got to see first hand how we deal with our insomniac child; fighting bed time and both kids rising with the sun.  The on and off rains in Manoa.  Climbing the never ending stairs to our front door about 3 or 4 times a day.  I sure hope that she had a good time and will want to come back and visit us again one day!  :)  Chels helped me out so much while she was here.  I wish I could convince her to move in with us.  I'm sure she would love that.  Sometimes I daydream about there being two of me.  While I'm feeding Betsy, the other me is preparing dinner in the kitchen.  Or someone is playing and entertaining Tristan while I take a shower and get ready for the day.  That was Chelcie!  She was my other half and jump right in when things needed to get done.  Seriously, she is so awesome.  We loved having her here.  

So we did hit up the beach a few times while she was here.  The weather was beautiful!  I only took my camera out while we were at Gas Chambers on the north shore.  We made a whole day out of it out on the NS.  After the beach, we went to the Haunted Lagoon canoe ride at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  Terrified Tristan, but was really really well done.

So at Gas Chambers, while Christian was doing this...

We hung out on the beach and soaked in some sun.  Tristan LOVES his Aunt Chelcie.  I think he has a crush on her because he kept telling me how "pretty" Chelcie was.  

I'm sorry, but these goggle pictures are ridiculously cute.  

We love you too Chelcie!  Please come back again and visit.

Betsy is 6 months old!

I need to recognize my baby girls half birthday!  She turned 6 months old yesterday and is growing like a weed.  A very round weed.  She is a ball full of cuddles and love.  Probably the happiest baby in the world.  She loves being entertained by her big brother, greeted by her daddy when he comes home from work with kisses, and snuggling with her momma.  She's our little sweetheart and we all just adore her.

She's still my little thumb sucker.

She puts herself to sleep at night.

Not sleeping thru the night.  :(

She does this whale slap with her legs when she wakes up at night.  So loud.

Obsessed with bubble baths.  

Coos pretty loud.

100% sitting up without support.

Gets a kick out of watching her brother.  He's always making her laugh.

Her hair is thickening.  A dark auburn color.  Love it.   

These pictures make me laugh!  It just shows how different their bodies are and how fast she's growing.  You better be nice Tristan because she might be able to hurt you soon!  

Picture stolen from Auntie Courtney.  She is the best little snuggle bug!  I wish that everyone could get a chance to hold her like this because it's the best feeling in the world and you would probably melt.  

Happy half Birthday sweet Betsy Boo.  

Catching up

Nothing really crazy happened this past month, just life.  I've kind of been a zombie lately so I don't really even remember what goes on in our days, but I know that they are non-stop and that I usually don't get to sit down and rest until maybe 8:30 - 9:00 at night when all kids have finally sizzled down, (or right now as I blog :).  I say I've been a zombie because, yes, Betsy has broken her 'sleep through the night' cycle.  You never know what's really wrong; teething, gassy, growing, hot, cold...whatever.  There have been some nights where she has woken up every 30 minutes.  I'm not even joking.  She starts hollering for me and I need to rush to her before she wakes up our little prince, whose sleep is very precious to us.  He wakes up a couple of times between all of that.  It's been a lot of fun.   

These little ones have totally consumed me.  They need my attention from when they wake up, until they fall asleep at night.  Oh, and all through the night.  Am I whining?  I don't mean to be.  I've also become a little obsessed with these gremlins.  They really bring so much joy into my life and we have so much fun spending time together.  They are always making me laugh.  My little sweethearts.  

Betsy hits her 5 month mark tomorrow!  It's unreal how fast she's growing.  She seriously could pass Tristan up someday.  Last month both of the kids had their dr. check ups.  Betsy weighed in at 17 lbs.!  And Tristan at 24 lbs. :)  They are now both wearing the same diaper size, which makes it easier for us.  Betsy is pretty much sitting up by herself now, with a couple of tip overs here and there.  She has discovered her voice and it is surprisingly low!  It's so cute because she loves to sing really loud to herself, just to hear that voice of hers.  She loves having her face, head and knees softly tickled.  But don't touch her feet!  She will kick your hand away.  She loves to giggle really loud when you tickle under her neck or her chest. Such a sweet girl.  

Tristan is our little ham.  He is talking in full sentences now and can hold real conversations with us.  It's so much fun.  Some cute things he says; 

"I'm so happy mommy"

"Daddy, is that an Arkotec shirt?  Awwww, it's so cute!"

"I'm just being funny"

"I'm so excited!"

When I ask, "Tristan, you need to eat your food", he says, "No thanks...I'm fine".

Whenever he sees his sister, he says in a high, almost crying voice, "ohhhhhhh Betsy, ohhh my sister.  She's so cute".

He can do the robot on demand and he thinks he's a super hero most days.  He's going to potty train soon!  I'm pretty terrified for that.  

Last weekend we went to Gas Chambers on the north shore.  It's been awhile since we've been back there.  I love that beach because we almost have it all to ourselves.  The surf was really big that day which created these fun tide pools on the beach.  Dad got to go out surfing while we played in the ponds.  Tristan is getting a lot more brave in the water.  His new thing is going all the way under and opening his eyes to look for rocks and fish.  

How refreshing does this water look?!

My sister, Chelcie will be in town at the end of this week!  We are so so excited!  And then the kids and I are off to CA for a visit and to debut baby B!

Beach Day at Chuns

We had another great beach day last Saturday at Chuns and took some fun pictures.  Betsy is now able to wear some of her adorable bathing suits.  I swear, I'm having so much fun with this girl thing.  They are like little dolls to dress up!  

Betsy is all geared up and ready to go!

While wearing his "super hero" wetsuit, Tristan focuses on getting his shaka just right.

 I can't handle all the cuteness.

Today was a big day for this little one...

She took her first dip in the ocean.  And I really mean 'dip', we only put her in up to her ankles.  But she didn't even flinch.  I think she liked it.  :)

The boys took the board out.  I feel so much better now that Tristan can wear his super hero wetsuit out there.  They go pretty far out and it always makes me nervous.  

Unfortunately I got tied up with Betsy and couldn't take any pictures of them riding the waves together.  I need to get some soon because it's really cute and we are so proud of Tristan for being so brave.

The Thomson family came and joined us!

Dads are the best.  They are always good at entertaining the kids and they don't mind getting dirty.  

While digging their hole, Zach came across this little guy...

And battled it out with him.  

Tristan became tough and started throwing sand at the crab.

And told him to go back where he belonged.  It was all kind of sad for the crab.

By the end of the beach day, diapers came off and things got really messy.

oh Bessy

For some reason, we started calling her lil' Bessy.  Maybe because Tristan calls her that?  I don't know but it's become habit now.  Still trying to figure out who she looks like.  And it looks like her eyes might stay blue.  It's hard to believe that we have two blue eyed babies!    

Christian's pouty lip?

She definitely has my hands.  I love it.

This girl smiles like this all day long!  So happy.  She giggles now too.
Christian's sunshine eyes?  :)

Where are you going Tristan?

"I'm going to the Great Valley, Mommy".

He waits patiently for the next bus to arrive.  Later I checked his lunch box to see what he packed for his long journey; one puzzle piece.  I told him that next time he should maybe pack lots of water and some snacks, and maybe wear some shoes.  Little does he know, he's already living in the Great (Manoa) Valley.  He's closer than he thinks!  

the huggies house

Last year, my talented husband decided he wanted to make Tristan a playhouse out of the Huggies diaper box.  He didn't really want to put much effort into it, just make it simple.  Cut a hole or two for windows and maybe make it into two stories.  Something Tristan can use for his Little People.  Well, if you know Christian, you know that he's a perfectionist and would never settle for less when it comes to building models.  This was his favorite thing to do back in architecture school.  His simple project blew up, and he just couldn't stop.  Tristan LOVES this house.  We actually have to keep it up high and need to monitor him when he plays with it.  One time I left him alone with it for awhile and when I came in the room I found the front of the second level all chewed up!  I cried a little bit.  That's how much he loves it, he wants to eat it.  Christian quickly repaired the damage. So there are a few wears and tears on it from rough play, but not bad for spending under $5 on the whole project!  He did a great job on it.      

Turns out Tristan prefers to use his cars inside the playhouse.  He loves pushing them down the ramp and squeezing them down the chimney.