Looks who's scooting around!!!

Caisen has been so ready to crawl! He can scoot and roll everywhere, but recently he's been trying to get on all fours! YIKES! We'll have to get a gate soon. Here he is in action!

My FREE flat iron!

Only the women reading this will appreciate this blog.
The night before I left to visit my best friend in Washington and to visit my family in Hawaii, my flat iron broke! UGH! That is one thing I can't go a day without...seriously. When my flat iron before that one broke I went and got a new one that same day! So anyway, when I got to Hawaii, the very next day my mom and I went hunting for one. I ended up buying a $200 flat iron. It's an FHI and is supposedly used by Angelina Jolie's personal hair stylist.

It was made by CHI Flat Irons and then they went their own ways...so it's an awesome and reliable brand. I also bought the Susan Komen edition of this flat iron because it was pink...and it was at no extra cost. The flat iron is truly a ceramic flat iron...not just ceramic plated, and it heats up a lot quicker. It has a 5 second reheat so that it doesn't take as long straightening your hair...especially when you have to go back over it several times. It also has a temperature gage...which is GREAT because it gets hotter than most flat irons. Anyway, after I bought it, with a no return policy on it because it's an appliance...my brother told me that he got me a FREE Paul Mitchell flat iron. My brother owns a TV show here in Hawaii and one of his sponsors is a hair salon...who happens to be owned by my high school classmate. I knew that she was a sponsor of his show so I asked him to ask her if she could get me a good price on a good flat iron and she told him she'd sell a Paul Mitchell flat iron for $150 which is worth $200. Well, I ended up getting the FHI one, and a few nights later she emailed him and said that she knew 2 different Ikaika's so she said that if he was the one who was asking for a flat iron then she'd give it to him for free. WOW! When he told me he got it for free I was ecstatic! He went to go pick up the free one today and I'm going to try it and see which one I like better. I am so excited! I can't wait!!! This flat iron is just as good as the FHI one, if not better!

All I have to say is that it's all about WHO you know:)

Weekend Highlights!

1. On Saturday I went to my Uncle's mom's 90th birthday party and I was able to see my cousins! For the longest time I didn't know that I had cousins on my mom's side...until my grandfather passed away. It wasn't until I turned 18 that I met them...and they're all my age, they all don't party or any of that, and they all LOVE to surf! I'm still shocked to this day that I have such cool cousins!
2. I also went on a daddy-daughter date to the Chicago Concert. I was the youngest one there, but I had a blast with my dad. I shocked myself with all the songs I knew by them. They are true musicians, it was AWESOME!!!
3. On Sunday I went to my sister-in-law's mom's boyfriends 85th birthday party. It was at a Chinese Restaurant and they had a dragon dance! In Chinese culture the performance is to wish you a year of prosperity and good luck! It was soo cool for Caisen to see the dragon dance! And he didn't get scared or cry! What a big boy!

4. That night I went to my aunty's for dinner and was able to see all my "sisters" that I never had growing up. We had so much fun that night!
5. Yesterday I was able to finally make it to the beach!!! I had so much fun with my cousins and we made it an all day affair! I was also able to finally surf again! I had so much fun! It was like riding a bicycle...I ate it the first wave and then the rest were so fun to ride! Today my back and arms are killing me from all the paddling, and I have a lot of bruises on my stomach. Anyway, I also was able to get Caisen in the sand and dip his feet in the water. He did not like it at all!!! Here are some pics of us on the beach!

Pictures from my house!

Here are pictures of the view of Pearl Harbor from my house...and a couple of pictures of our back yard. Today is a beautiful day!!!

Washington and Hawaii!

It's about time that I post.

My trip so far has been wonderful! I flew into Seattle for an evening and stayed with my best friend, her hubby and her son. I had a blast that night with her, just like old times. I've known her for forever and I can't even remember when we first met. From day 1 we've gotten along so well and always understood each other. She's pretty much my twin and the sister that I never had growing up. I love her!

She has a son who's 2 months older than Caisen and he's super duper cute! Here's a picture of them in the bath.



I made it to Hawaii after a 4 hour delay. Caisen was such a trooper. He didn't cry the whole time we were traveling. It's funny because as I boarded the plane everyone looked at us and was probably thinking "oh gosh, this baby is going to cry the whole time"...and none of them offered help as I put my back pack over head or anything...everyone just stared. BUT, when the flight was over, everyone was eager to tell me how great he did flying and they even got my back pack down for me as well. It's pretty frustrating to me as a mother that people are conditional "helpers". And it's a nice reminder to me to be extra conscious of other mothers.
Anyway, as soon as I got off the plane I felt the humidity swarm me. (This is probably the only thing that I don't miss about home.) But the weather was beautiful and sunny!

Here is a picture of Caisen smiling away on the plane.



So I've been with my family pretty much everyday. It's been so fun with my niece and nephews! They are so crazy! Here is a picture at my parents house of Caisen giving his old man smile, as his daddy would put it, and here are some pics of my niece and nephews.










I was also able to go out to dinner with a friend and her 2 daughters. I had so much fun with her. She's been an older sister to me and it's fun to finally be at the same stages in life.

I haven't been to the beach yet...can you believe it?! As soon I get there I'll definitely have more pictures to post!

Family Pictures!

Yesterday was the perfect day to take some family pictures. It was a little chilly but the lighting and time of day was perfect. I love the way they turned out. I can't wait to get these printed and framed for my parents and grandparents.

Weekend highlights!

1. I got this cute picture of my 2 boys!

2. I went shopping with Sara!
3. I bought the cutest bedding for my niece...and I can't wait to redo her bedroom when I go home.
4. Stephen and Steven Smalt started building our retaining wall! YAY! And I got to hang out with Joelle and Heleyna.
5. Caisen was perfect at church and was happy as ever when we got home! Stephen made him laugh and I love it when he laughs!
6. I am getting together with my brothers and family tonight for dinner!
7. 3 more days till I get to see my best friend and 4 days till I get to see my family in Hawaii!
8. I got to be with my most favorite people, Stephen and Caisen, this whole weekend!

NBC Party Baby!

Alright, just for the record...THE OFFICE is back on this Thursday! FINALLY! And My Name is Earl is also back on too. Last week was it's first new episode since the writers strike.

I love NBC! And I'm so excited for the office! We're having a party at our house this Thurs. at 7:30pm so bring a small dish and be ready for a night full of laughs!

Kameapale o KeAkuamanaloa

Today I was thinking about how special Caisen's middle name is. For those of you who don't know much about me, I am part hawaiian. It is a tradition for hawaiians to name give their children hawaiian names. Every hawaiian name has a meaning and parents choose the meaning that they want for their children. It is believed that parents should be very careful when picking a hawaiian name and meaning because people end up living up to their name...and I guess you wouldn't want to name your kid "king of the jungle" or something like that.

When I was pregnant, Stephen was reading in the Book of Mormon one evening and woke me up to tell me that he wanted our son's name to mean "Defender of the Almighty". He was reading somewhere in the book of Mosiah when he felt inspired to name Caisen that. Later I called my mom to contact my uncle to translate the meaning into a name. When my mom called me back she told me what my uncle told her. He said that when he translates names he always reads the hawaiian Book of Mormon and prays about it. There are several ways that you can translate a meaning so when he was translating "Defender of the Almighty" he had a few different names. He prayed about Caisen's translation which is Kameapale o KeAkuamanaloa and then felt inspired that it was right for him. He explained that Kameapale means "I am the defender", making it a noun, where as meapale just means "to defend", the verb. He said that KeAkua is the God, and that's why the A in Akua has to be uppercase. He also said that manaloa makes KeAkua, Our God. In the hawaiian culture there are several God, one for fire, one for water, etc. But for Caisen's name he included the manaloa at the end refering to Our God, not the Gods of water, fire, etc. He also said that while he was reading the hawaiian Book of Mormon he was able to translate the meaning from a verse in 2 Nephi and one in Mosiah, the book that Stephen had been reading at the time he felt inspired to have the meaning "Defender of the Almighty" for Caisen. I am so grateful that Stephen has embraced my culture with open arms and has even been able to name Caisen. I love that. Also, when Stephen was blessing Caisen he prayed that he would be able to live up to his name...and I am so grateful that Caisen has such a beautiful name to carry with him throughout his earthly life and a name that he can live up to.

As a mother, if there is anything that I want for Caisen (or any of my "future" children) it would be for him to understand how much his parents, his Heavenly Father and his family love him. I know that if I can teach him that (along with manners and respect) then he will excel in anything he does in his life. I know that his education and learning about the world will be his experiences here and that as long as he can respect others and surroundings then he will learn all the correct principles that he will need to succeed. I want him to be confident in himself and know that when he faces trials and adversity that he can chose the right because he wants to, not because I want him to, or because he has to.

I am so grateful that I have a husband who I can share the weight of responsibilites as a parent to teach our children the correct principles. And I am so grateful that I have him to also witness all the joys that our children are and will be to us. Isn't life much more fun when you have someone to share it with? I am so grateful for him and his companionship.

Happy boy!

So a friend of mine recently told me that she thinks Caisen cries a lot...and while that may have been true when he was a newborn, that has changed. Caisen is such a happy boy. It is so easy to make him smile and laugh. He loves to play, snuggle, and scoot around the house so that he can grab anything and everything that fits in his mouth. I love to see him roll over and over and over until he's on the other side of the living room. It's too cute!

Here are pictures of his happy self!

Just waking up!

Smiling away in his crib!

I found my feet!