Aubrey's 6 Month Pictures

Our neighbor Crystal took Aubrey's 6 month pictures last week and I am so pleased with how they turned out! She is very talented. If you are my 'friend' on Facebook, you've already seen some of these, but I thought I'd share anyway! Please visit her website at www.snapshotsbycrystal.com.

One Year in Hawaii

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of our arrival in Hawaii! It's kind of crazy to think that we've already been here for a year. On the other hand, so much has happened in that year (we've lived in 2 houses and added 1 member to our family), that it almost seems longer than that!! When we first moved here, I complained ALOT!!! My biggest complaint.....the absence of some of my favorite restaurants. There is no Olive Garden, J. Alexander's, Jason's Deli, Chick-fil-A, Raising Canes, Zaxby's....I could go on and on. Edmond thinks it is very funny that my biggest complaint has always been about the food! Anyway, on this 1 year anniversary, I wanted to mention some of my FAVORITE things about living here!

1. the WEATHER! The weather is so wonderful here. There have been very few days in which we were not able to go outside for awhile. And that is very important with a 2-year-old son! I love being able to wear shorts ever day of the year and flip flops too, of course!! Here is a picture of us on New Year's Eve (aka Edmond's birthday). It was a beautiful warm day...can't say I've had that at any other time in my life!

2. living so close to the BEACH! We are literally within walking distance of several beaches on base. And if we get in the car, we are only 5-10 minutes away from 2 other beaches right out of the back gate. I LOVE the beach and this has been a blast for us. We don't get to go as often as we'd like, but we do enjoy it!

3. the fact that nothing is too far away! Even though I do have to drive about 30 minutes to get to Target, you can get to most parts of the island in 30-45 minutes. It's nice to be so close to so many things to do....which leads me to number 4!

4. there is SO much to do here! Here are some pictures of just a few of our favorites.

This is Hanauma Bay...a GREAT place for snorkeling (I hear...I haven't done the snorkeling but have been to the bay).

Waimea Valley Falls...this is a hike and then at the end there is a waterfall in which you can swim (this isn't a good picture and I think in the rainy season, there is more of a waterfall).

Mokapu Lighthouse Trail....we didn't make it all the way up this time, but we did a few weeks ago and saw some whales...it was so cool!

the Pearl Harbor Memorial

This is a hike Edmond did shortly after we arrived. I think it's called Mt. Olomano. It is WAY too tough for me. I don't plan on trying this one!

the Honolulu Zoo...one of our favorite things to do...we have an annual family pass and have definitely taken advantage of that!

And of course the beach. I haven't done any kayaking yet, but Edmond has and loves it. This is at one of the beaches right out of the back gate of the base.

5. And possibly my most favorite thing about living here is the scenery! You may laugh at me, but I didn't realize that Hawaii was covered by mountains! Obviously I knew there were tons of beaches, but had no idea about all of the mountains. It's so easy to look outside and marvel at this beauty my Lord has created.

This was the view we woke up to on our first morning in Hawaii...it was just breathtaking!

And this is the view from one of our favorite restaurants in Kaneohe...Haliewa Joe's. The food is great and the overall 'feel' of the restaurant is just awesome. I think we have taken ALL of our visitors there!

Although my complaint about the lack of good food is legitimate, I have to add that the most important thing we miss while being here is our family. It is so hard being so far away. The ONLY thing that makes it "do-able" is the fact that we know our being here is from the Lord. I hope that He will do big things through us over the next 2-4 years we will be here.

Halfway to a Year!

Aubrey turned 6 months old yesterday and I really can't believe it! The past 6 months have flown by! Since Edmond won't be here for her actual 1st birthday, we decided to do a little 6 month old party! And of course big brother needed a gift too. Here are a few pictures from the celebration.

No...we didn't let her eat it...big brother took care of that!

This is possibly the one 'toy' we didn't get Riley at this age. I thought it was something that could grow with her. Riley will probably think it is his!

He was so proud of his new truck! In case you were wondering...the oatmeal container in the background is now Riley's 'drum'. I let him do some finger painting the other day and we used that to decorate the 'drum'. This idea was Edmond's...I was so proud of him.

Aubrey, at 6 months of age, you are:

- still having 1 feeding during the night (usually 4-5 am)

- sleeping from 7:30 pm to at least 7:00 am....that makes mama happy!

- wearing size 2 diapers and size 6 months or 6-9 month clothes

- almost always end up sleeping on your tummy

- finally spitting up a little less often

- LOVING your rice cereal

- giving people a hard time when they try to give you a bottle (except for mommy)

- watching and laughing at your brother ALL the time

- putting everything in your mouth

- rolling over from back to stomach and stomach to back any time you are put on the floor

- starting to sit up on your own (for short amounts of time)

- scooting around a little, but not close to crawling yet

- sitting up in your baby bathtub for your baths.....I try to get you to lay back, but you want none of that!

- really laughing and 'talking' to us....we just love it!!

Five (and 1/2) Months

I forgot to bring Aubrey's onesie stickers with us to Georgia and as a result, missed getting a 5 month picture. So...this 5 1/2 month picture/post will have to do!

Aubrey, at 5 months, you:

-are eating rice cereal once a day and LOVE it...you really can't get enough!

-have been on 2 plane trips

-have found your feet and love to play with them

-laugh all the time...usually at your brother

-are still waking up once a night (usually around 5 am) for a feeding

-now stand in your exer-saucer and really like it most of the time

-are starting to sit up with some assistance

-have been riding in your strollers without the car seat...yipee!

-have now met all of your aunts, uncles and cousins

-like to clasp your hands together and 'fret'

-also like to put the bottoms of your feet together when strolling or hanging out(unlike your brother who STILL crosses his ankles)

-always try to kick off socks or shoes when I put them on you

-still LOVE to take baths

-you've outgrown the sling in your baby tub and now take baths in just the tub

-are wearing size 3-6 month or 6 month clothes

-weigh approximately __ pounds (I need to figure this out and then I'll add it)

We love you so much and feel like these first several months with you have just flown by!

White Christmas

We just returned from our 2 week trip to Georgia and it was absolutely wonderful. We had such a great time visiting with family and friends. We even had our first white Christmas. It was beautiful. And of course Riley LOVED playing in the snow. We had to carry him kicking and screaming when it was time to go in! Here are just a few pictures from our trip.

This picture was taken the Sunday before Christmas...Aubrey and her precious smocked Christmas dress that was a hand-me-down from my niece Karleigh. I think the story is that the size wasn't right for Karleigh to wear over Christmas so she never actually wore it. We were glad to put it to use!

We weren't going to do presents while in Georgia, but realized shortly after we got there, that Riley was REALLY into presents this year. So...we decided to do a few.

I think this picture is so funny! The look on her face is just priceless!

Here is Riley in the snow shortly after it had begun falling. He was mesmerized. By the end of the day, there was a total of 4-6 inches. It was so cool!

And here is the Long Family! A family friend, Juanita, came out and took some candid shots throughout the day. She also took this great family photo that we will always treasure!

Since we were busy traveling over Christmas, Santa came to visit us today, while he was on vacation in Hawaii! We had LOTS of fun. The highlight of the day for Riley seemed to be getting to eat the rest of Santa's cookies. And for Aubrey...she liked the sound of crinkling the wrapping paper! They were easily amused!

Here is Riley opening his first gift. He was so excited and didn't have a CLUE what it was!!

Aubrey sat in her new car seat from Mimi & Potts while we went through her stocking.

We decided to start our own family tradition this year. At least while we are in Hawaii, we are going to go to the beach on Christmas day. We loaded the kids up in the stroller and walked to one of the beaches here on base (Ft. Hase Beach). Aubrey is such a big girl now and we don't have to use her car seat anymore!

The boys played in the sand and water!!

Today was also Edmond's 30th birthday!! Woo hoo! I guess he won't ever catch up to me, but at least now we are in the same decade!!

Happy Birthday Husband!

Turtle Bay Times Two

At almost 12:00 tonight, we will be getting on a plane and heading to Georgia to spend the holidays with Edmond's family (my parents are driving up for a few days too)! We are super excited, but just a tad nervous about the flight...we are praying for 2 sleepy kids! I wanted to post a few pictures so that when I get back, I can move on to Christmas pics.

Over the Thanksgiving holidays, my mom stayed with the kids a few nights so that Edmond and I could have some "us" time. It was wonderful and much needed. We went to the Turtle Bay Resort here on the island. Here are a few pictures!

This is the "Lost" banyon tree. Apparently this place was frequently used for filming "Lost". As you see in the earlier pictures, there was also filming going on at the time we were there. I asked the security guy what they were filming and he said it was a commercial. Ed says they wouldn't have told me if had been something big. I was hoping for Hawaii 5-0, but who knows!!

This is a picture of a sea turtle we found swimming in the bay. I spotted it and got so excited. We took about 50 pictures of this poor turtle!

This was the view from our room...just spectacular!

Here we are on the first night at dinner.

And on the second night! It was so great being able to take our time eating and having adult conversation while we ate.

Then, this past weekend, we made trip #2 to Turtle Bay. This was for a "Dining Out" for Ed's squadron. Each year, the Marine Corps has a ball, but their squadron was away for training during the time of the ball. So, this was something they did instead. We decided to bring the kids with us and we really had a good time. Riley spent at least 4 straight hours in the pool Saturday morning!!! Here are a few pics of this trip.

Aubrey found her feet while we were there (while I was changing her diaper none the less)!! She is so funny these days!

I had found this little swimming get-up for Riley and thought it might work...NOT!!! But it was too cute to not take a picture!

Riley and Daddy spent most of their time in the pool.

And this isn't the best picture, but you get the idea!!

The next time I'll be on here I'll have some fun Christmas pictures! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

4 Months Old and More Fun Stuff

Aubrey turned 4 months old while we were in Louisiana (the middle two weeks in November). She also started rolling over just a week before she turned 4 months. And she kept rolling and rolling and rolling! Poor Edmond missed one of her firsts already. I did capture it on camera (my mom's) so that he could see. I actually don't have that picture with me to post here, but I do have one of her 4 month pics.

Aubrey, at 4 months you:

- are laughing at just about everything...especially your brother and dad!

- roll over from your back to stomach

- still have your daddy's blue eyes

- coo and "scream" alot

- have started sitting in your exer-saucer

- LOVE attention...from whomever is around

- spent your first 2 nights away from mommy (Mimi kept you so that Daddy and I could have some "us" time before he deploys)

- are still exclusively breast-feeding although we started rice cereal last night

-weigh 13 pounds (50th percentile)

-are not near as happy when riding in the car as you used to be....so sad!

-like to lay on your back and kick, especially when someone is sitting near you

-loved spending time with your cousins and grandparents in Louisiana

-don't take the best naps, but do sleep really well at night

-flew on an airplane for the first time...did ok, but not great!!!

( I may have to add more later)

And here she is at 4 months...such a sweetie pie!

While we were home, we had lots of good hang out time with my niece and nephews. Here is an early Christmas picture we took of all of them. I think my mom is using it on her Christmas card. They really did pretty good for our photo session!!

Karleigh is holding Aubrey...she was such a big help!!! Clark is hugging Riley and Brody is standing in the back. He was the least happy about the whole deal, but perked up a little towards the end!! I just love them so much!!

We also were able to visit my cousin Dan, his wife Stacy and their daughter Nadezda. They recently adopted her from Russia and she is absolutely adorable. She is a few months older than Riley, but they played really well together. Here is my cousin with all the kids!!

One night my mom and I were talking and when we looked up, this is what we saw....

Ha!!! We laughed so hard and as you can see, I was taking a picture with my phone (to send to Edmond) while mom took one with her camera. He has seen both is mommy and daddy with "goggles" (that's what he calls glasses) and knows what to do with them I guess!!

And last, but not least, here are a few pics from Halloween. I completely forgot to post these earlier and some friends (Roos!!) have asked about their costumes...so here they are!

Just a few minutes before this picture, she was screaming her head off!!! Poor thing...she didn't like getting all dressed up!! Hopefully that changes one day!

And here is Riley sitting on a fire truck. He was a little hot so we de-robed him a bit! He had a good time at a party on base with Edmond's squadron and at a harvest festival at our church. We only went trick-or-treating at our friends the Schroth's house. They have a dog and Riley LOVES to play with her. We also handed out our few bags of candy in just about an hour...base trick-or-treating is CRAZY!! I will be more prepared next year.

Sorry for all the randomness in this post. I will get back on track and post more frequently...I promise!!