Turtle Beach

Monica invited us to "Turtle Beach" this morning (Ko'olina's version), so Mom and I hurried the girls out of the house before 9am (which was a miracle) so we could be there before the parking was full. A few thing surprised me that day:

Mom drank an alcoholic drink before 10am (thanks to Brian Weida). Makaela got to hand feed a turtle and virtually swim on him (the girl has no fear and likes to "lean" on the turtle while it's swimming), and Mia (at this point in time) doesn't eat sand, which is a huge thing for me. I was a bit nervous letting her play in the sand, but she loved it.

And this was the most fabulous shot of the whole day (forget the turtles), Makaela's bum is adorable.

Swan Lake

I know, you are all getting tired of seeing Makaela bounce around and dance like a maniac, but I can't help it, I have to post it. We bought her the Barbie "Swan Lake" and she enamored with it. One day, when she is a prima ballerina, we will laugh at this (or, if she becomes a lacrosse or volleyball player, we will really laugh), but she is adorable nonetheless.

defense

I was very glad to take off work today because I got to attend Steph's doctoral defense. It was a good experience to see what I am in for when my turn comes. Mom came along with me so she could see as well. We both got a good dose of what I needed to prepare for. Steph was amazing however. There were some questions that were shot at her that I actually started sweating over, but she answered everything with grace and intelligence and she did so well. I hope I can handle the committee as well as she did. (I pray I can- I shall find out on Oct 11- say plenty of prayers for me...PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!) The best part was when Donna came down and said, "Congrat's Dr. Buelow" I really had a tough time fighting back the tears because we (steph, katie and myself) have been together for the past 4 years and literally 9 job positions and 6 babies (Makaela was born on a class day and they visited immediately after her birth and Mia was born with them both right there !) between us battling out this doctoral program and now the first of us has finally gotten through it. Again, I just pray that I can do the same.

More Birthday Fun

Makaela got a fun bday message today in her card. I needed to share to let Grandma Teri and Uncle Ryan how much Makaela appreciated her card (and how it plays over and over and over and over...) She loves showing it off to Mia and has now memorized the words

Too cool for shades

Lisa sent some fun new shades for Mia, so I had to take pictures of the two girls in them.

Makaela's Birthday Party

Yes, the party continues and this time, it was the real party. I had rented out the community center and also the largest Princess bouncy house I could find. This week had been quite stressful between trying to find time prepping for the party (baking cakes, making goody bags, cooking, making craft crowns and shopping, shopping, shopping) and continuing to work on my dissertation, but we pulled it all together. Makaela, Mia, my mom got an hour by ourselves in the bouncy house and totally enjoyed it.

When her friends arrived, it was bouncy time. Here are some pics of them hamming it up.

Look at this bunch- best friends :-)

Mia had fun with her friends too.

This cake is actually three cakes and Makaela found this design on a website over a month ago. She helped me decorate it that morning and showed everyone her cake when they arrived at the party (like literally walked them to the fridge). When it was time to sing to her, she was smug, but as soon as the knife came out to cut the cake, she freaked out. She didn't want her bootiful castle cake cut. She wanted us to just eat the cake with our forks.

After all was said and done, Makaela ended up sneaking up to the cake, looking around to see if anyone was watching and leaned in for a bite. She bit and then ran off but Uncle Brian saw the whole thing and I had to take a picture of the evidence. That kept us laughing for a while.

Makaela and Mia had coordinating outfits with their fun skirts and Abby showed up wearing one too!
We made lots of little people crowns. We were all jeweled up.
Even after the bouncy house was gone, the kids had a great time playing with the dads.

Makaela's School Birthday Party

Makaela's birthday is going all week long, so we organized a school birthday party. I couldn't take off, so Grandma took all the goodies in to school. We created a cooking activity for the kids. I cut up strawberries and bought some blueberries and yogurt and Grandma helped the kids make parfaits. Makaela was so excited to have Grandma there helping. What was funny, however, was that some of the kids were sneaking back on line for seconds and thirds and Grandma didn't realize it until it most of the food was gone. Those sneaky 4 year olds.

Makaela's Fun Birthday Surprise

Uncle Mike is the man. He and Cate bought Makaela a bike for her birthday and we have been anxiously awaiting for it to be delivered. Of course, Makaela didn't know it was a bike, but she did know it was going to be something special. I wish he and Cate could have been here to watch her open it, but since they couldn't we videoed it.

We took a family stroll after I finally got the bike put together and before we could go, we had to go over the rules of the road. Here she is proving to me how careful she is going to be about cars.

Four Amazing Years of Makaela

It's hard to believe she has only been in our lives for four years, but it seems like I can't remember a time without her, yet at the same point, I feel like it was just yesterday I was in Tripler giving birth to her. She has definitely changed Matt and my lives for the better. Even though she causes some grey hairs (and will continue to do so for the next 30 years), she adds laugher, reasoning and love to our lives.
Makaela at 4
Makaela at 3

Makaela at 2

Makaela at 1

Makaela at birth 9/11/07

Makaela 3 months before delivery

finding out about her...boy, was that a night!

Happy Birthday to our gorgeous girl!

Birthday Dance

Aunt Kathleen made Makaela a mix CD of all Makaela's favorite Disney songs. She is already loving it.

Mischievous Mia

I don't know what it is, but my girls love tents. Makaela started it and now Mia is following in her footsteps. This toddler tent used to be Makaela's favorite toy and now Mia has taken it over.

10 months of Mia!

Mia turned 10 months old today and once again, I will write that it is going by too fast. She is crawling all over the place, is standing on her own now, eating much more table food (and prefers to feed herself), and is learning to use her grunts and hand movements to indicate that she wants something. I am seeing small glimmers of her trying to use sign language, so that is a step in the right direction. She weighs 20 pounds now and has three teeth. I usually have no problem getting her to sit down for the month pictures, but now she is all about grabbing the sign and crumpling the paper for fun. What started out as a quick photo ended up a 30 minute photo shoot. If I had a nickle for every time I said, "Stay still kid", I'd...well, I'd still be broke, but you get the idea :-)

Peek a Boo

I just love her giggles.

Decorating Cookies

Aunt Donna and my mom always send these fun cookies that you can color with edible markers. I swear these women must wipe out the deli's stash of coloring cookies and then mail them out to Makaela one at a time. Makaela always looks forward to getting a "box" and then spends quite a bit of time "dekrating" her cookie.

Another Beach Day

This morning, Katie, Heidi, Monica and I decided to get the kids together at the pool. Poor Makenzie got a rash, so I picked up Brooke and off we went to the Martin house. When we got there, we found out the pool was closed, so we packed up all the kids and walked to the beach. It was a scene considering the kids outnumbered us 2:1. As soon as we got there we sat down for lunch and watched the interaction between Mia and Zack. I love their little language.

We swam and the kids played in the sand, but we knew nap time was approaching, so we got dressed and as Makaela said took a "family walk" home. They were much calmer on the walk back thanks to a few hours of swimming, sand castles and sun.

Dance Party

We decided to do a little dancing before bath time. Both girls really got into the swing of things. Loads of fun!