.because you can never have too many kids art books.

Blog Tour: Teach Yourself Visually Crafting With Kids & Giveaway!

The Crafty Crow...another absolutely fabulous blog on my google reader...just posted this giveaway for a signed copy of a new book by Jennifer Casa called Teach Yourself Visually Crafting with Kids.  Looks like a great book with all sorts of fun for the kids (and adults).  And I figured since Borders is closing on Kauai (yes, we will soon only have a small mom & pop bookstore in Hanapepe and the trusty library to choose from), this would be great if I won...as if I actually win anything.  :)

So go on over to The Crafty Crow and check it out.

.talk story.

We decided to take Kaiya to the Hanapepe Farmer's Market to see if they had any produce we could use to make her baby food.  However, when we got there, the market wasn't open yet.  So we went into a bookstore called "Talk Story," which mommy has been wanting to go to for a while.  It's an amazing book shop, they have vintage books, new books, used books, a huge children's section (for such a small store), a bunch of cookbooks, and basically it's a great find in Hanapepe.  Daddy found two cookbooks and mommy found Kaiya a bunch of Berenstein Bear's books, which both her and daddy loved when they were little.  Plus, we got a kama'aina discount.  So we only paid $25, for books worth about $100!  The owners, who were very nice, said that they buy books back for credit, and they take requests.  Why not support the local business...eventhough we love Border's also.  But they said that they buy about 300 books/week, so their stock is always changing.  I'm sure we'll be back!

And back to the original reason we went to Hanapepe, the Farmer's Market.  Well, there weren't any "yellow" vegetables.  We were planning to make sweet potatoes for her first food, but they only had the purple variety.  Luckily, Eleele Big Save carried the yellow variety.  So we're on our way to pureeing Kaiya's first taste of sweet potatoes.  Let's hope she likes it...cause she's kind of over the whole bland rice cereal deal.

.bookworm.

To feed Kaiya's passion for books, I enrolled in the Children's Book of the Month Club.  I couldn't pass it up, for about $12, we got 9 books (shipped for FREE to HI)!  So for $12, Kaiya got....The Giving Tree, The Runaway Bunny, Oh The Places You'll Go!, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Belly Button Book!, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Chicka Chicka 1 2 3, Knuffle Bunny Too, and All of Baby Nose to Toes.  She loves to try and eat the books cause she's on a try and eat everything in sight frenzy!  Just the other day I looked in her mouth and her tooth broke through her gums!!  Sharp little sucker!  And the one next to it is starting to break through too.  Can't wait to see how the whole teeth and feeding thing goes for mommy.

Here's the start of Kaiya's book collection...hopefully she'll be able to save all of these books and pass them down to her children one day. 

Kaiya's bookplates (there's four different ones)

Checking out "If You Give a Pig a Pancake"

Kaiya after getting caught munching her book

And this is one of her favorite books from Aunty Aleathia in Las Vegas.  It's a soft-sided zipper book that contains little sea creatures that are velcro'd on.  She loves the anago (salt water eel) and tako (octopus).  She might love it because they're easier to "eat" than those hard books.  Can you see the determination on her little face!

.mommy got a library card.

We decided to take Kaiya on a trip to the Hanapepe Library.  First, we detoured through Hanapepe town because we saw the Farmer's Market was going on.  There was a lot of good produce, so we picked up some fresh lettuce, tomatoes, basil and cilantro.  Daddy later turned those ingredients into a delish vinaigrette and salad...to go along with the beef curry that he made for everyone.

Back to the original thought of this post, we took Kaiya on her first trip to the library.  She has really taken an interest in books, she loves to look at the pictures and loves to hear us read to her.  So mommy signed up to get a library card.  Then we read to her some books which she loved.  I think we'll be making trips to the library quite often, especially when she gets a little older.

.kaiya's valentine's weekend.

since daddy had to work all weekend, he decided to treat mommy to a valentine's lunch on his day off, which was on friday.  we didn't go anywhere fancy, but it was good nonetheless.  kaiya ate lunch prior to mommy and daddy's lunch, so while they were eating, little miss kaiya was happy happy happy. check her out in her bumbleride...wearing her "love" cirque du soleil onesie that grandma barbara and papa harry got for her in las vegas when they went to watch the "love" over the summer.

kaiya also got a couple early valentine's gifts.  two puppies (one from grandma barbara and papa harry, and the other all the way from new mexico from grandma barb) ...

and two books from mommy and daddy ("i love you through and through..." and "love you forever")...

kaiya kept the love theme going on saturday and sported a cute 'love me' onesie.

she also decided to play a little hide and seek from mommy.

on sunday, she didn't feel too good...probably because mommy decided to eat chili w/beans a few days earlier.  note to mommy: kaiya HATES beans!!  but...she still sported a cute happy valentine's day shirt with some jeans that mommy picked up at ooh, baby recycled in hanamaulu.

that was pretty much the extent of kaiya's first valentine's day weekend.  not very eventful...but really, there is no need for a designated day to express love.  that should probably be done on a daily, or at least regular, basis!  to many more days of expressing love....