March 1 is Ava's birthday and she wanted all of us to go to Wet n Wild, but we found out that our guest passes weren't going to be usable until April. I didn't want to go all the way there with the baby anyway, so Ava was a good sport and went with Plan B. Going with Plan B is a hard thing for Ava, but she is getting better at this as she's growing up and is now a 12 year old (!)
We went to Kahana Bay, which she calls Holiday Beach, since we go here on many of the holidays. Her birthday was the perfect occasion to go, and it was such a beautiful calm beach day! There was a group practicing and training with their canoe, that you can see in the background of this picture.
After the beach we were going to get Ava's favorite thing for lunch- Subway- but the Subway didn't have bread this day because their oven broke. So my parents got her a shave ice. Another Plan B!
At 12 years old, Ava is sometimes super sweet and helpful, and sometimes super difficult. She has matured so much this year and does her school work all on her own and cares about getting good grades. She practices the piano on her own, almost all the time without complaining. She loves having her own bedroom and her private space downstairs. She gets very mad if Audrey or Coen go in her bedroom, or leave a mess in her bathroom. The things that challenge her the most are her temper and her siblings.
She loves to laugh and often tries to steal my phone to watch reels on instagram, and she laughs her head off. She loves her friends and is happy at school, except for math class. She has an amazing memory and loves to chat with everyone. People often tell me, "Ava is so smart!"
She has been so helpful to me since having Kai, and is always willing to run upstairs to get a change of clothes for him, or get his binky across the room, etc. She absolutely adores Kai and wrote me a card the other day that says, "Thank you for having Kai. He has made our family so much better."
We are grateful for our Ava who stretches us as parents and keeps us humble :) She is very forgiving as we navigate how to be parents. I am proud of her for who she is becoming- a hardworking and loving girl!
We got Kai ready for his baby blessing pictures (we took some pictures the day before). I gelled his hair into a little mohawk!
Or family of six! I feel so lucky.
We invited some friends to attend the blessing- this is our group! After we took the picture we realized that Audrey had run off to Primary, ha.
Little angel boy.
Tuesday was my birthday which was happy because I love devotional days. I was excited that I knew who the speaker was- Morgan Jones Pearson. I follow her in instagram and she's inspirational!
Here's my date before dinner:
For my parent's Christmas present we had told them we'd take them to Waimea Falls and a pizza dinner after. I bailed and didn't take baby Kai on the hike because I was worried about how windy it was outside (which gives him a tummy ache when he inhales the wind).
Ava was very worried about swimming at Waimea Falls because she has a thing against life jackets, but she finally did it!
While the group was at Waimea, I went to BYU to hear the Bucketlist couple speak to the entrepreneur students. They were so personable and it was really cool to hear their story.
These brothers love each other so much. It makes me so happy to see this bond.
Brent took my dad to Pearl Harbor & the aviation museum:
My parents left to go to Maui the next morning. Ava's picture day at school- I took her pictures beforehand.
My beautiful 12 year old! All the time I think about something that happened when Ava was about 2 and we lived in Texas. A random lady at the grocery store came up to me to tell me how much Ava looks like me. She said, "She looks exactly like you, only prettier!" It made me laugh so much, and still does. But who wouldn't want their daughter to be more beautiful?
Only when it came time for the real thing and Ava came home, all of her friends stayed in their hiding places in her room and didn't jump out to say surprise. Eventually Ava noticed them hiding and yelled "hello!" and I think scared them! She was so happy though! Look at this laugh:
Sweet friends:
They watched Father of the Bride Part 2 which was one of my favorite movies growing up.
The kids loved selling cookies and coconuts on the corner. They made some good money over a few times of doing this!
Dentist appointments- no cavities this time!
Me and my little guy:
Kai on the quilt that Brent's aunt Lois made for him (notice the ocean theme!)
Kai got his 2 month shots and was very fussy for an afternoon.
Audrey came running in the house from playing outside and yelled, "Mom!! Come here! I learned how to ride a bike!" I got my sandals on and walked down a few houses to where she was playing with a neighbor's bike, and sure enough, she had learned how to ride a bike without any adult around. That's my Audrey for you! Miss independent.
The kids created a farm with their stuffed animals. Kai was the Boss of the farm and got this Mickey hat and bow tie for his costume.
We went to the beach with our neighbors. Kahan Bay was brown this day though, boo!
The kids baked cookies with Ian and made a video of themselves doing it. They called themselves Kitchen Kidz.
Kai's cute little outfit from someone in our ward.
Kai's face is so funny in this picture- like he's fully aware and not approving of his hat.
We went to a friend's birthday party gathering at the beach. Audrey was too naughty that morning so she sadly had to stay behind, with Brent in his office. Coen and his friends went to a stream at the beach and had fun with the clay. They all came back with painted faces. Coen named his clay ball Mr. Bartholomew
I had to take a picture of Kai in the outfit that Cher gave him. Can you see his dimple?
So sleepy in the morning with my little guy. He sleeps in this little lounger bed next to me for the second half of the night (until he ends up on my chest like below). And for the first half of the night Kai sleeps in his rock n play downstairs next to Brent, who sleeps on the couch. This way we each get half a night of good rest.
Kai crying at Ava's song- this frowny face is the cutest and funniest thing to me and Ava, but when I sent it to the grandmas, they just wanted to hug him.
Coen had a special St. Patrick's Day Primary Activity Day:
A video of our new bike rider:
A video of our street:
Ava and Coen showing Kai his new toys from a friend:
Talking Kai:
Coen had had his last game with his team.
We invited the Cluffs and Sister Gray over for dinner and had a nice night. Coen got them to play Wits & Wagers with us.
My cutie baby:
St. Patricks Day was the start of Spring break. The kids had hot chocolate for breakfast and got to use their new special mugs. They change colors when they get hot. Everyone was wearing green, except Ava wore black with a green scrunchie to be sneaky.
We went to the play on campus. It was Aida which I had never seen before. The kids were excited to have front row seats (it's free and open seating). We all enjoyed it so much that everyone went back one or two more times that week. One evening Coen walked over with his friend- just these elementary kids walking through town and enjoying the play all on their own. Nowhere else would I feel safe to let my 3rd grader do that!
We went into town one day of Spring Break to get out of the house and use some Chick Fil A coupons we had. Check out how green it is driving down the windward side of the island!
At the mall we discovered a Cat Cafe, where you can pay by the hour to go pet the cats.
This beach is good for boogie boarding and Ava got some good waves.
Friday night was a stake dance for adults. All week there were activities for each auxiliary leading up to stake conference. We left the older three kids home and took Kai with us. We had people very willing to hold him so Brent and I could dance.
Just a video of Kai being cute. It feels like he got so much happier these last couple of weeks. I think he finally gained weight and was feeling good!
We got home from the adult session of stake conference and Kai was so happy to see Ava.Stake conference was held at the CAC (basketball arena) on campus. Coen participated in the Primary choir and had practiced for a couple months beforehand. They sounded beautiful.
Starting to get the first giggles at a week shy of 3 months.
But Audrey asked Brent, and he went on a walk with her, and he figured out she was talking about the big beautiful yellow house on our old street. He knocked on the door and found the mom is someone he knows from BYUH. The mom said her boy had told her that Audrey was going to be coming!
A few days later, Audrey showed me that they had done a heart craft at school, and that her boyfriend had cut his in half and given her half of his heart.
I got a video of Kai rolling over for the first time!
Brent went on a hike with a coworker to Ka'ena Point, which is the western most part of Oahu. They went on Prince Kuhio Day, a Hawaiian holiday. There were still some albatrosses, but we hear if you go earlier in the year, there are hundreds because they're nesting. 
Albatross!
Beautiful sunset that night:
While Brent and the older two were at Costco, I was home with Audrey and Kai. Here's a video where I show that Audrey is very efficient and takes things into her own hands. I went to the bathroom and Kai started crying, so Audrey ran to the fridge and got a bottle and propped it in his mouth with the blanket. All in about 1 minute while I was in the bathroom.
On Saturday we went to campus and had a picnic, and then took the kids swimming at the BYUH pool.
Sweet Kai loves this bouncer so much. He loves staring at the animals on it.
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