.kaiya loves mum-mums.

Kaiya discovered her new favorite snack...Baby Mum-Mums!  They're these Japanese Rice Rusk crackers.    They're these surfboard shaped crackers, that are baked and pretty much melt in your mouth.  Kaiya loves them...as does Caleb.  Luckily for Caleb, they come two to a package.  I think Kaiya loves them because she can grab it and eat it all by herself like a big girl.  When you open the package, she comes crawling over to you and grabs it right away...she's crazy for them!!

From the package, it says..."Rice rusks have been party of a baby's diet in the Orient for over a century.  Today, they are the traditional 'first snack' for babies because of their great taste and fine ingredients."  I don't know about taste...it's pretty bland, but what do I know, maybe babies like that.

And on another note, since Kaiya has been crawling for a couple of weeks now (with her belly off of the ground), she's getting into EVERYTHING!  She seems to love going by the TV and knocking over as many DVD's as she can.  There's no escaping this one Kaiya....caught ya!

.funny face tuesday: 11may10.

OK, funny face tuesday is back.  i think i'll change it to funny tuesdays and put up pictures of funny things kaiya and her cousins do.  anyway, here is kaiya and her cousins....

.mommy's first mother's day.

Mommy got to celebrate her 1st Mother's Day this year.  We had a great day.  Daddy took over Kaiya duties for the morning, so mommy could sleep in.  Although he had to go to work later that day, we all went to Red Salt to enjoy a nice breakfast there.  Mommy and daddy both had the Eggs Benedict, which was very good.  And while we thought we were waiting for the check, the Chef was apparently preparing seconds for us...and sent out their Souffle Pancakes.  We were both stuffed, but managed to take a few bites...and it was delicious as well!  All the while we enjoyed a beautiful view of the south shore and the Koa Kea swimming pool.  It was a great way to start out mother's day 2010.

Later in the afternoon, while daddy was hard at work...mommy and Kaiya did a little shopping and headed over to Grandma Barbara and Papa Harry's for dinner.  We ate some left over ribs that daddy made the night before for potluck at Great-Grandma Lina's.  We usually have potlucks on Sundays, but since daddy had the day off on Saturday, everyone decided we would celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday.  Daddy smoked some ribs, and made a homemade lychee BBQ sauce.  Soooo good!!!

It was a nice and relaxing day and mommy couldn't have asked for a better first mother's day!!  Hope all the other mom's enjoyed their day's as well!

.kaiya loves balloons.

Kaytin turned 5 a couple of weeks ago, and for her birthday we got her a balloon.  Well, Kaiya got to sit in the backseat with it on the way home and loved it!  So we decided to get her her own balloon from Kmart since we had to stop there and pick up some baby food (mommy forgot to bring the homemade stuff).

.kaiya's ponytail.

Little Miss Kaiya's hair keeps getting longer and longer.  And we LOVE her hair color, it's not dark dark brown like mommy's.  It's more like daddy's and a medium/light brown.  It's so funny cause she has about 10 strands that are really long...and it goes past her neck!  But like I said...it's literally like 10 strands.  haha.  I don't know why we haven't cut it yet.

It's been getting hotter and hotter as summer nears, and Kaiya sweats pretty easily.  So mommy decided to try and put her hair in a ponytail.  She managed to get a few strands into one...and how cute does she look?!?  I can't wait until it gets a little longer so we can put it in cute ponytails all the time.  For now, she rocks the side sweep with a cute mini clip.  (Of course, it's just as cute!)

.kaiya's new thing.

Since Kaiya has started crawling like a maniac, her new thing is trying to climb stairs!!!  What?!?  She's constantly trying to climb the three stairs from the living room to the kitchen...and just the other day I caught her trying to climb the stairs going out of the room.  Look at her...she knows she got caught too.  What I didn't catch was her smile after I caught her.  I can't help but smile, though, she's getting so big... and look at her chunky legs.  

I caught her again the following day!!

Another new thing that Kaiya does is sit up.  She's good at it, too, now.  So every morning we wake up, Kaiya's sitting up (or trying to crawl over to mommy to get something, whether it be the remote or a phone).  Again, we can't help but smile when we wake up and she's sitting there smiling at us.

This was taken right after her bath, but this is the position she's in when she wakes us up...at 6am!

Speaking of bath, mommy had a little fun with Kaiya's hair that continues to get longer and longer.

.salt pond.

We finally got a chance to take Kaiya to the beach!  We were a little worried how she would react to the water because a few months ago, we tried to put her in the kiddie pool with Kaytin and Caleb and she SCREAMED.  We thought it was because the water was too cold, but now we're not too sure.  Maybe she just wasn't ready at the time.  However, this trip to the beach she LOVED!!!  She loved being there, she loved the sand, she loved the water, she loved the sun, she loved everything.

However, before we were able to go to the beach, Kaiya had to go into Dr. Carolan's office to get her H1N1 booster shot.  Aaaahhh shots!!!  Amazingly, she didn't cry one peep!  I think she was in shock because Aunty Flo came right in and gave her the shot..no warning or anything.  Kaiya looked a little shocked and didn't quite know how to react so we clapped and tried to make her laugh and that seemed to do the trick.  I highly doubt that will work again, though.  We also got a chance to weigh her and she came in at 17lbs. 11oz.  So she's right on track and gaining about 1lb. a month.  Which is good, because in those first couple of months she was gaining about 1lb. or more a week!  Could you imagine?  Now, we just hope she's growing taller too.

When we got back from the Dr.'s office, we all got ready to head to the beach.  Boy does it take longer when you have a baby!  It's not just put on a bathing suit, grab some towels and sunscreen and go.  We had to gather swim diapers, towels, put sunscreen and bathing suit on Kaiya. pack a cooler with water and snacks, bring Kaiya's lunch and snacks, pack hats, an umbrella, chairs and mats...the list goes on and on.  But in the end it's all worth it when Kaiya's laughing and splashing in the water and on the sand!

Here's her first look at the ocean!

After mommy and daddy ate lunch, daddy brought Kaiya to get a feel for the salt water.  She didn't scream so that was a good sign!

So daddy decided to take Kaiya in the water for a swim.  She loved the salt water, or the taste of it at least.  She kept trying to lick it off of her face and hands!  The salt water helped drain her nose, though, since she had a little cold the week before.

When we got out of the water, she couldn't help but play with more water (eventhough it was in a bottle).  And how cute is her bikini?!?

When we were in New Mexico, we picked up a big straw hat for Kaiya to wear when she was in the sun.  She looks so ridiculously cute in it don't you think?  I know, you can't even see her face!

She got sleepy after a couple of hours, so we blocked the sun with one of the chairs and she fell asleep to the sound of the waves.

And while Kaiya was napping, a monk seal came onto the beach right in front of us.  You're supposed to keep a certain distance from them since they are endangered, so we would've had to move it came closer.  But after this picture he swam back into the water, I think because there were so many people around that spot.  He swam a little bit further and found a spot on the beach to roll around in the sand...and the lifeguard came and put warning tape in order for people to keep the right amount of distance.

We can't wait to get Kaiya back to the beach...the weather just needs to start cooperating more!  But I'm sure there will be future posts about other trips to the beach with Little Miss Kaiya.

.let's play catch up.

Ok, since I'm WAAAAYYY behind on the blog, I decided I would write one that would do a catch-up for the last half of April.  

January 2, 2010:  So this picture is a few months old...but it was Kaiya's first time at a wedding.  We went to Aunty Denise and Uncle Enoka Karratti's wedding back on January 2nd at Kilohana.  It was beautiful and mommy got a chance to catch up with a lot of OSU friends since her and Aunty Denise both went there after high school.  We had a great time, ate good food and are so happy for the Karratti's.  Hopefully they'll hurry up and give Kaiya a little playmate soon.  :)

April 20, 2010: Kaiya's legs continue to get stronger every day.  She's now able to stand while holding onto things, but she doesn't actually pull herself up yet.  But she's all about making her legs straight whenever she gets the chance!

She also LOVES to look at the cute baby in the mirror.  I read that babies don't recognize that it's their reflection in mirrors until they're about 2 or so...but Kaiya gets really excited whenever she we put her in front of a mirror.  She must be thinking...that baby is sooooo cute.  hahaha!  So whenever mommy is getting ready and doing her makeup or hair, all she has to do is put Kaiya in front of the mirror and she'll just sit there and play and be entertained the entire time.  So awesome!

April 23, 2010:  It's been over four months since we first pierced Kaiya's ears and daddy has been itching to change them.  So he put in her birthstone earrings that she got from Kaytin and Caleb for Christmas.  I believe they're sapphires.  I love her earrings and I'm so glad that we pierced them...I just hope that they don't end up being crooked as she continues to grow.  

We went to the place where we pierced her ears to see what other kinds of earrings there were for future reference...we looked at the piercing earrings since they have a backing that covers the entire end of the post so it doesn't poke Kaiya when she's sleeping.  On the way out, we spotted some mini jade bracelets, so Kaiya walked out with a little one and she looked so cute in it...it also hides her wrist fold.  :)

Here she is crawling all over the place...she crawls with her belly off of the ground now!

April 24, 2010:  KIUC, where Grandma Barbara works, was participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.  It's a charity walk where people walk throughout the night, and there's a special luminaria lighting to remember those affected with cancer.  It's really touching because the first lap is done by all of the survivors and those currently fighting cancer.  The second lap, the caregivers join in.  Mommy tears up every time!  Daddy was off, too, so we went as a family...joining Grandma Barbara and Papa Harry, and Aunty Dawn, Uncle Wes, Kaytin and Caleb.  Kaiya kicked it in her BOB stroller and we all did a few laps and checked out the other booths.  KIUC provided dinner also.  It was such a fun night and I can't wait until Kaiya gets older so we can teach her the importance of these types of events!  

April 26, 2010:  Mommy and daddy have been taking Kaiya, Foxxy and Lennox out on walks a few mornings out of the week.  It's good exercise, nice to be outside, and all of us enjoy walking together.  Sometimes, Aunty Dawn, Caleb and Koge join us too.  It's been kind of rainy lately, so whenever it's nice we take advantage of it.  It still hasn't seem to calmed down the dogs, though, like The Dog Whisperer says it should.  (Maybe it's because it's not a set schedule, though).  However, they are better walking on the leash than they were when we lived in Vegas.  The route we walk has a bunch of barking dogs, sometimes it affects them sometimes it doesn't.  But they never want to charge them or anyone that crosses our path.  Whew!!!  Daddy walks Foxxy, since she's so heavy and strong, and Lennox walks alongside Kaiya while mommy pushes her in the stroller.  

Anyway, one morning after our walk, mommy, daddy and Aunty Dawn sat down in the kitchen to eat some breakfast.  And we noticed that Kaiya was a little sleepy.  She usually naps during the walk, but for some reason this time she didn't.  The next thing we knew, we looked over at her in her highchair and she was fast asleep.  Luckily, the highchair seat has a recline so we let her nap in there for a few minutes while we all finished up our post-walk snacks.  

So that sums up pretty much the end of April.  I've been slacking on taking pictures of outings and what not.  But now that I'm catching up on posts I'll be sure to take more photos and post regularly again.  We hope everyone who reads this is doing well and enjoying the blog!

.kokee.

The Taba's and a few other friends rented out Camp Sloggett in Kokee for the weekend.  Although daddy had to work, we all went up for a couple of hours to visit them.  It was daddy and Kaiya's first time to Kokee.  Boy was it cold.  But, not as cold as New Mexico.  It took us a while to find the campsite, which consists of a bunkhouse, a couple single cabins, a kitchen, and a outdoor eating area.  There's also a firepit and a huge yard.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures at the cabin, but I took some of the view on the way back down.  And one of the little girl passed out in her carseat.

Can you see Niihau in the distance?

So on the way back home, we stopped by the original JoJo's so that mommy could have some shave ice.  Yummmm!  The last time she had JoJo's shave ice was when we found out that Kaiya was going to be a girl.  So over a year ago!  Eventhough it was a little cold outside, it was delicioso!!!

We also stopped by this place in Hanapepe that advertises fresh eggs and produce, along with tacos.  We've been wanting to try it for a while and see what kind of produce there was.  The tacos were ehhhh.  Nothing that makes us want to go running back and get more.  And although it wasn't that big of a selection, there were some good fresh veggies and herbs available.  And mommy found out there was something called a Cream Apple.  It was soft and squishy...now that I think about it we should have bought it so I could have tried it.  But I did take a picture of it.

.seven months old.

Geez, like the old saying goes...time flies when you're having fun.  Seven months already!!  Didn't we just find out we were expecting?  Didn't I just give birth?  Wasn't Kaiya just a little newborn baby?  Kaiya is growing up so fast and we are definitely loving and cherishing every minute of it!  I'm working on Kaiya's 1st Year photo album (actually, I only have maybe 4 pages done, including the cover...haha)...but I'm so glad that we have all these pictures to be able to look back on year's from now.

So without anymore delay, here are Kaiya's 7 month photos!

By the way, we borrowed the cute flower clip from Aunty Dawn.  We thought it would make the pictures that much cuter.  I think Kaiya knew she looked super cute with the pin on.  Don't you just want to eat her up!