Early morning pleasures

Recently I have been debating what the better option might be for my 1st grader who thoroughly loves his sleep.
Options: 1. Let him sleep in as absolutely long as possible and then wake him up and "hurry" (read previous post) him through his morning routine. OR 2. Wake him up early even if it means the same time my alarm is knocking to remind me another day has come, and even if it is before the sun.

I just know how much Marcus loves his sleep that I want to give him that extra time everyday. However, yesterday when I did that, we rushed to get him out the door. And no one wants to be rushed.

Today on this cool, crisp morning when my alarm began to gently chirp at me, I had already been awake. The breeze had me bundled up (with Lohena apparently) and the sun kissed my cheeks. I quietly and gently went to wake my peaceful child and coaxed him out of his bed. He disagreed but eventually joined me downstairs for breakfast.

Marcus and I ate our granola with fresh peaches, per his request, and we debated over what kind of healthy snacks he would take for lunch. While we ate our breakfast, just he and I, I read to him two of his recent library picks, When Dinosaur's Go Visiting and There once was an old monkey who swallowed a frog. In the short extra 15 minutes Marcus and I had to share it was our special one-on-one time. No interruptions, just me and him, doing something he likes and laughing and discussing why that silly monkey would swallow a frog.

After he left for school with the carpool, I came back into the quite house and had an overwhelming warm feeling of love. Because Marcus and I are so similar, I mean we could be twins, it's a little more difficult for us to get along at times. Nevertheless, that does not mean that I don't enjoy him or love him with all my heart, I most certainly do. But getting these little moments and making the best of them, allowed me to reflect on how important it is for me to nurture and love unconditionally. To enjoy every minute, giggle, tear and meltdown. I want it all, and I wouldn't change it for the world!

I hope I always remember and take joy in life's simple pleasures.

Kindergarten Graduate

I think I need to back up a little bit.
Earlier this summer Marcus graduated from Kindergarten at Mauka Lani.
He loved his class and his teacher. It was an awesome experience.
He has learned so much and he just LOVES to learn.
I was very proud of Marcus this school year and for how much he has grown.
He has really come out of his shell.

Good job Marcus! Mommy & Daddy LOVE YOU!!

February Mash-up

It seems as if February, the month of "love" doesn't really get all the attention that it deserves in our house hold. I blame it on the fact that my birthday is just a few days before, so unfortunately it always gets clumped together for me. But a celebration regardless is still a celebration! yay!

So yes, on the 10th I turned 28! 

(ahhhhhhhh)

so far I feel exactly the same. 

phew...

we celebrated with dinner and hot tubing! 

I also got this cheesy card from Cameron which I absolutely adore and tickets to James Taylor in April. Can't wait to make a little weekend out of it.

But seriously, if our hearts could talk, I'd bet they'd go on and on about how perfect they are for each other.

Anyway, we are so alike, his original plan was to take me to Disneyland for 5 days! JUST US!!!! But, when he asked the "babysitter", there was no way she could handle the kids and Layla (who only drinks breast milk) for that long. I'm glad, and it wouldn't have been the right time, BUT major brownie points for trying! 

 I Love you Cameron!!!!

Valentines came and I had the bright idea of making cookies for Marcus' and Lohena's class. Man, this took me forever. Literally hours....never again. Next year i will not try to be cute I will resort to those little box cards and I will tape a fruit snack to it!!!! Oh, yes I will.

I "mustache" you a question. Will you be my Valentine? 

They were super cute though huh?!? 

Dang you pinterest!

 My Valentine's "attack". 

I LOVE this. I have this hanging in our room and you can write whatever you want on it. The other morning I woke up to this. Hahaha...Love you...fatty! 

100 Days of School

A few weeks ago Marcus celebrated his 100th day of school. Everyone had to complete a project having to do with 100 days. Tank you interest, his project was a huge hit!

4 points

We started Soccer again and I just have to share this little story.
Marcus' team won 4-0 on saturday morning.
Marcus was the only one who scored.
I don't know when and how it happened, but we have ourselves a little beast.
And the best part is Cameron and I just laughed, I mean some were dog lucky shots,
and the coach was going to make hims switch teams.

Good job son!
And to think he did it all for an Icee.

One Dollar

Upstairs in my room there is a plastic bin on my dresser filled with money. Coins found from around the house, dollars earned from chores, and all being saved for Disneyland. I would never know if there was any money taken from it, and in fact, there has been some money missing.

The other day Marcus, who just loves his teacher made her a beautiful card. It was filled with "letters" stickers and love. A modern-day love note really. That day he gave it to his teacher and apparently she loved it. After school when I came to pick him up I overheard him talking to his teacher about what she could do with her money. He said, "you can buy some goodies or whatever you want."

I asked Mrs. Nobriga, if she got her note and what was in it. She told me she loved it and that he had put a nickle in it. I thought it was so cute and thoughtful.

The next day, he made her another note. I told him that he didn't need to make her a note everyday even though she loves them and he promised it would be the last one. The next week Mrs. Nobriga asked me if I had gotten the dollar. What dollar? Did Marcus find a dollar at school? She said, no and said that her last note had a dollar in it. He wanted her to come to Disneyland with us and so he gave her a dollar from our Disneyland fund.

It really is sweet and he was extremely embarrassed. Apparently he gave her the dollar and when she gave it back, he snuck it back into the jar in my room. We went the whole weekend without talking about it. She giving it back must have been such a terrible feeling for him. Did he think she didn't love him back? Is that why he put the dollar away without telling me?

This whole thing had me a  little worried that Marcus was associating LOVE with money. Yes, Marcus is a words of affirmation kind of kid so obviously he loves his teacher, but it was still unsettling. What was I showing as love to my child? This experience was cute but also eye-opening. It gave me a chance to reflect on what Love Language I speak to others. If you haven't had the chance to read the 5 Love Languages, by Gary Chapman, it is a must-read. It will change your perspective on love.

Anyway, later that night he and I had a heart-to-heart. When I brought it up he started to cry. He was really embarrassed and I just wanted to make sure he understood that showing love didn't have to mean giving money to others. Together we brainstormed different ways to show love, like, teaching someone how to swim or finding their dog. :)

Marcus,

you are so thoughtful and kind. You are already associating and understanding love and relationships. I wish I could keep you innocent forever and never let you get hurt or grow up. I hope I show you love in all the ways that you need it. In all the ways that touches your heart and speaks your love language. Keep being who you are!

I Love you,
Mom

Nana Rosa

Marcus, Nana & Lohena

Children's Discovery Center 10.2.2012

My mother-in-law Rosa flew in from Seattle for two weeks to help us out while everyone was sick. She has helped nurse us back to health, cook, clean, and babysit. Thank you for letting me sleep in every day. Not only are the kids a little bit more spoiled but so am I. Thank you for all that you did for us even though you had to sleep on the bottom bunk!

My dear Marcus was so sad to see Nana leave, he cried tonight in his bed. I expected something like this. He did this the last two times she came and left. It just broke my heart. When Marcus was born we lived with Nana for a year and together they formed such a strong bond. We will see you soon! 

Love and miss you already! xoxo

U5 AYSO

This year Marcus participated in his very first AYSO Soccer Season. Cameron and I were so excited and like always, Marcus was super hesitant. It's one of those, I really want to try but instead of telling you that, instead I am going to cry and laugh and say I don't want to do it and make you drag me out on to the field and then constantly ask after, "did I do a good job?"

It really is darling but oh so frustrating. But, that's our Marcus.

Needless to say, after 6 weeks he was an aggressive soccer machine, I hardly recognized him. He went from, "I can't take the ball away from other kids" to "Did you see me score?"

We really are proud of him and once he found out he was going to receive a medal, it was like, "when is soccer?" He was totally focused on getting that medal. 

Cameron, thank you for making time every Saturday morning to participate with Marcus! AYSO did a really cool thing this year, no weekly practice. Just a girls and boys session every Saturday. Practice, followed by half hour of scrimmage and they even provided all the snacks. The only thing, a parent has to participate. I know he loved that special time, and me being 9 months pregnant in the hot sun, I really, really appreciated it! So thank you! Many, many more Saturday's to go...

Marcus good job! Keep growing and learning buddy, and maybe you will play basketball, baseball or volleyball (ya! Left handed pitcher or setter?? Yes please) Proud mommy!!

Happy 5th!

Happy 5th Birthday Marcus!

I cannot believe that Marcus is 5 years old today. Where has the time gone? 

Dear Marcus,

Thank you for being an awesome son and an even better older brother. You have such a sweet spirit and require so much love and patience. Mommy and daddy try to do our best when you get so shy and refuse to try new things. And we get so proud when you finally try something new and your face lights up with delight and accomplishment. I hope I do my best when you have a burning desire to learn and ask a million questions. I now know which planet and city every super hero is from and all about your likes and interests.

I hope that we show it enough and say it often that we LOVE you! I know it's not easy to be the oldest but you handle it well. Please continue to grow physically, emotionally and spiritually. Continue to fill this home with laughter and love. Remember the Lord always, and keep singing those primary songs!

I love you always and forever,

Mom xoxo

Marcus' First Day of SCHOOL!

11.16.11

Marcus-Makakilo Baptist

Today was Marcus' first day of Pre-School. Yes, it is a little late in the school year, but nevertheless, he is officially a student. He attends 5 days a week 7:30-11:30, a perfect transition, except the waking up early part; we are ALL struggling with that one.

Well, what happened was by the time I decided to really look into the whole school situation for him, I was screwed. I had literally missed every cut-off possible for Marcus or financial aid. I cannot even begin to tell you how infuriating the public school system is here in Hawaii and how expensive the Private School situation is either, but I don't want to ruin a perfectly good post for my big-boy, on that crap.

So, back to the the topic at hand. I finally got on the wait list for Makakilo Baptist and an opening came up. We thought long and hard and enrolled Marcus, that's why he is starting so late. Anyway the fist day was a complete success! He LOVED it.

There were no tears shed by my big boy. I'm not gonna lie I cried and so did Hena-boy, but I couldn't tell if it was for Marcus or because he didn't get to stay at school. DON'T worry fellow moms, I held it together until I turned the corner. phew. I guess all the hesitation I was experiencing this week when making a decision to send him, might have actually been from me. hmmm...no one ever said letting them grow up was going to be easy.

Anyway, he stayed, he listened, he played, he said the Pledge of Allegiance, he held the flag and before I knew it, me and Hena came to pick him up. Hena ran to him and gave him a huge hug and said "bruddah I missed you"! I guess "special" one-on-one time was a little boring for Hena boy today. Anyway, he is excited to return and I cannot believe that my baby is in school.

Tonight, regretfully I was a little hard on him. I felt horrible. He really is such a good kid, poor thing being the oldest. Marcus I do want you to know that mommy and daddy love you so much and are so grateful to have an obedient son like you. I hope that you will never forget how happy we are to have you in our eternal family and how proud we already are of you! I love you!

Marcus 9.10.2007

This is Marcus.

My fun-loving, creative, extremely stubborn and shy 4-year old.

It's funny.

I've been trying to upload these photos of him to mark his 4 year old shots, all-day now. Only now I have been able to sit down and blog. Ironically, here I am trying to be sweet and sentimental of where-oh-where-has-the-time-gone, kind-of post all the while

Marcus is screaming in a full-blown tantrum in his room.

I cannot help but giggle to myself.

I'm sure my neighbors at this very moment think I am beating my child senseless. If only they knew he was doing it to himself.

This kid is a funny one to explain.

My mom says he and I are the same.

I guess this is payback.

Beside the occasional temper tantrum Marcus really is a good kid.

He listens and picks up quickly. He is a great big-brother, he loves to learn.

He draws until the pen run out of ink and sings "It's a Small World" every single day.

He wants to please others and is so scared to try anything new. He keeps me on my toes and reminds me of why it is such an amazing pleasure to be his mother.

Marcus, I love you and hope that you have a life filled with love, adventures and wisdom.

Thank you Alana Yates, my not-so-baby sister for the wonderful photos.

He was such a little poser.

Alana Yates Photo+Design

www.alanayates.com

808-258-2781

Watercolors

I bought the boys their first set of watercolor paints and they just went to town.
I think I have a few artists!

Marcus

I love you Nana!!

Pineapple Express

For Marcus' last field trip for his pre-school group we went to the Dole Plantation. We got to ride the Pineapple Express, a 2o minute train ride that tours the pineapple fields and grounds. We were able to see all kinds of pineapple, sample some fresh cut pineapple, and even had some pineapple sorbet. yum! If you get a chance, take a ride on the Pineapple Express!

Click on photo to enlarge.

Waikiki Aquarium

The Waikiki Aquarium is a great attraction for families and children in the Honolulu/Waikiki area. It is small and quaint but to the point. Although, the young ones dictate the tour and the speed of the tour we were out of there in just an hour. It is the perfect amonut of time to view the exhibits, hold a hermit crab in your palm and eat a snack lunch. There is not snack bar, but there is a large, grass field where the kids can burn off some extra energy or have a picnic. All-in-all the price was right and the time was priceless.

Located in Waikiki, Children under4 are free, admission is $6 with kama`aina ID!

Click photo to enlarge

Marcus

Love them!

Soccer time

We spend our Saturday's running around in the sun and cheering on Jordyn and Teighler! Good job girls on a fantastic season!

The boys

Click photo to enlarge

Sun is shining...

We've been so busy lately, but a good kind of busy!
Fun in the sun!