It's Getting Real...

Last weekend I was blessed by the kindness of a group of gals I love to refer to as the FWC... (Fijian Wives Club). There are five of us ladies each from different cultural, ethnic, economic, educational backgrounds with one thing that binds us all together... we are each married to guys from that little corner of the world; Fiji. Monique, has partial Tongan roots and grew up in California; Lisa, is of Japanese/Hawaiian ancestry and grew up here in Hawaii; Monica has the latina Mexican roots covered; and Fetu is our token Samoan. Then there is me the blond girl from Alaska; together we have found common ground and formed valued friendships. I love these ladies and value their kindness and love. They all decided to host a baby shower for me and it was one of the most fun and relaxing days I have had in a long time. The shower was only supposed to last two hours; but we invaded Moniques for close to six hours laughing, eating amazingly delicious treats, playing games, decorating onesies for baby... all while the husbands watched the kids. I loved it!

Chocolate covered strawberries, Gormet Quiche, Fried Rice, Fresh Fruit, Cinamon Rolls... ahh getting hungry yet?

Monica and Fetu teamed up against Monique and I for the first game...

Lisa, Monica, Me, and Monique...
Lisa had to record the action... we actually did need an instant replay when the game got a little heated over who won the last challenge...
Sitting outside with our awesome new onesies for little man... "Boso"(Boy/Guy/Boss Man),"Stud Muffin", "Uro Levu"(Very Handsome/Hot/Adorable), and "Biu"

Thank you a million and one times ladies... it was FABULOUS! Now to get planning on Monique's shower this summer... :)

The Big 3-2...

Thirty-two is the magic number of the week. This week I am 32 weeks along (wow it has gone by so FAST) and yesterday I somehow turned 32 years old (That one has been even FASTER). After nine years of marriage Inoke is making leaps and bounds of improvements in the Birthday department. He not only remembered my big day, he catered to my every whim by asking what I would like for dinner and even MADE dinner. My request was Sourdough Mining Company Corn Fritters with Honey Butter and Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream... Well Sourdough is a wee bit far to go for dinner (It was one of our favorite restaurants in Alaska). So he busted out the recipe for corn fritters and got to work with his little helper Nadia. Since corn fritters and ice cream isn't exactly a complete meal, he even whipped up mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and petite fillet mignon wrapped in bacon. A girl could get used to this...

I had a stranger stop me on Monday and ask if I was having twins... uh THANKS.

Nadia is hopefully getting excited for her little brother to come... we are taking it one day at a time. :)

Corn fritters and honey butter!!!

Hello Again...

How is it possible that 2010 is gone? Seriously I think if I were to blink I might have missed it. Suffice it to say it would take far too long to update all the exciting moments of the last two months... so we are just going to make a fresh start and do better this year at keeping the blog updated.

We are busy these days. Busy preparing for our little guy to arrive in less than TWO MONTHS! WOW! Nadia is getting rather excited for her little brother. I am not convinced that she truly understands what changes are ahead once he arrives; but she sure loves to come and kiss and blow "flubbers" on my tummy for buba. She is quite the little mama these days and I am excited to see her interact with him.

She continues to bring joy and entertainment to our lives. I love her little sassy personality that is ever growing. For example last Saturday evening I put a roast in the crock pot so dinner would be ready after church on Sunday. Just before we went to church Inoke was commenting on how delicious the roast was smelling and how he was excited to come back and eat lunch... we went to church and came back. Immediately upon opening the door the aroma of fresh cooked roast waifed around the house... first thing Nadia did? She looked up at me and said in her very cute little voice... "Eww Mommy! Stinky!!!" while she waived her hand in front of her face. Uh, thanks little lady for the vote of confidence in my cooking skills.

Here is a little updated picture. We recently had to buy a new camera as Nadia the budding photographer that she is finally managed to kill the old one. I am still learning all the tricks and options. So be patient on photo updates for a bit.

Happy Halloween!

Ha. Well, I get an "A" for effort this year in the category of Halloween. Wednesday evening was our Ward Halloween Activity complete with a Trunk or Treat. I took off a little early from work because I was so excited to see Nadia in her Fairy Princess costume that I got for her... she however, had a mind of her own. Ahh the joys of a two year old. We struggled and argued and a few tears later on both her and her hormonal pregnant mommy's part we ended up with this:Yes, that is a onesie and tights... As long as she was happy. And let me tell you she was completely comfortable and thrilled with her outfit of choice... well I guess I just need to be happy too. When people asked me.."What is Nadia this year?" I just smiled and said, she is herself, her very opinionated and independent self. One day those qualities are going to be a compliment. :) I figured we would go round two on Saturday evening getting ready for Trick or Treating in the community. Well Saturday was a BUSY and LONG day for my little princess. She came up and "helped" mommy at the Gunstock 1/2 marathon & 5k... then helped clean out the car and went to the beach and so by the time we were showered and fixing her hair and getting dressed yet one more time for Halloween... we ended up with this:She knocked out cold at 5pm and didn't move a muscle until the next morning. Ahh my little princess... next year we will go Trick or Treating and let you pick your own costume out.

The big TWO!

Miss Nadia turned TWO last Friday! WOW! She is growing up so fast. I took advantage of the fact that she is still too young to know which day exactly is her birthday.... so we actually made the cake on Sunday.... but it all worked out in the end. Nadia is quite the little helper in the kitchen. She had a blast helping me make her butter cream frosting and playing with the fondant (this was my first attempt at fondant, by the way). Here are a couple pictures of our little family celebration...

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

This is the other reason I have been neglecting the blog of late... Nadia is going to be a BIG SISTER! And it's a BOY!!!! Good things do come to those that wait. To say we are excited would be putting it lightly... he is due to arrive around the first week of March; now the hard part agreeing on a name.

Blog? What Blog?

Guessing from the title of this post you can probably figure I have been slacking off on my blogging the last few months. We have been super busy, so it isn't that there is nothing to talk about; I will blame it on the lack of extra free time and the beautiful hot sunny summer that we have enjoyed this year. This summer was a summer of changes and growth. I was offered a new position at work which added new challenges and extra hours of responsibility in that area of life. Nadia grew leaps and bounds in communicating. She is quite the jabber box these days speaking part Samoan, Fijian, and English all in one sentence. When Inoke and I are both at work she goes to Aunty Fetu (whom Nadia lovingly calls MOM! just like Fetu's boys do) while there she loves playing with her little buddy Leo. I like to say they have a "love hate" relationship. "Go Leo" is often the first thing that comes out of her mouth when she wakes up in the morning, then as soon as she gets to Leo's house the "hate" part of the relationship often appears out of nowhere. As Nadia and Leo are still learning to SHARE with others and each other. They will play like angels for a few minutes then in an instant it will turn into a full on wrestling match over the toy of the minute. While there, Fetu speaks to her in Samoan. Lucky thing I still remember a little of my two years of Samoan Classes from college. Well at least enough to decipher the ramblings of a toddler.

I haven't quite figured out how Nadia decides which words she likes in which languages. Perhaps if it is easier to pronounce in one she opts for that language? There isn't a rhyme or reason to her words, she understands all three languages, but when it comes to speaking she randomly picks. Like the other night for example we were eating dinner and Nadia clapped her hands did the sign for "finish" then said "Uma! Kahyah tahye, PEESE!" while she rubbed her stomach with the sign for Please. So we have "Uma" Samoan for finish, Fijian is "Oti", then "Kana Tale" which is Fijian for more food, and she finished it all up with English "Please" with Sign Language added in there for good measure. Some days she says "Ai" instead of "Kana" some days she says "Inu" instead of "Gunu" I guess in her little mind it all makes sense. It is quite comical and very entertaining.

Besides that, Nadia spent a good deal of the summer in her pool. She has become quite the little fishy, blowing bubbles, and splashing around for hours at a time. We even took her to the water park a couple weeks ago. She LOVED that place. We will have to go back soon. When it is time to get out of the water you will often hear her screaming "NO! Go WAI!!!" She knows exactly what she wants I have to give her credit for that.

So that is what we have been up to lately. Here are a couple pictures of the summer events...

Swimming in the pool with Tata...

Working on the sun tan with Mommy...

Helping man the Pinata with Tata at Lia & Levu's Birthday Party...

Taking a couple swings of her own at the pinata...