Early November

Ryan on a bike ride up behind Sunset Hills in early November.

There was a surf competition going on that day - see the tiny surfer catching a wave?Celebrating Mom's birthday. She requested a red velvet cake - I tried the making frosting roses again and it looked much better this time, but I only did it on the top of the cake.

It was a party! Dancing and all. Elijah fell asleep by the end.

I finally got Cora to wear the tutus I made her for her birthday. Here she is wearing both at once. She had a little friend over for a playdate and while she was here they each wore one. (that's how I convinced Cora to try it on)

Cora loves her bike that she got for her birthday, but getting her to pedal has been harder than we thought it would be. Here we are practicing.
With her "boy friend" Kalani. (Those are Cora's words, not mine. But all she means by it is that he is her friend who is a boy)

Ryan biking up behind Sunset again.

Halloween

Here are our pics from Halloween night. Ryan went trick or treating with the kids in the stroller and I stayed home to pass out candy.

With Alvin, Marcus, Jordan, Jason and TroyJordan

Cora and Troy

At home with her spoils. Cora had a few candies that night - the one she was most excited about was the fruit snacks. After that night we confiscated the rest of her candies for potty treats.

End of October

Well it's almost the end of January so I figured it's time to update the blog. These pics were taken before Halloween - just playing in the tent, on makeshift drums in the kitchen, and in the crib after a shower.

Trunk or Treat

Here are some pics of the Trunk-or-Treat activity we had at the church. Cora was a princess, Elijah wore a Superman costume Heidi made for Marcus and that all of her boys have worn, and Ryan at the last minute discovered a crayon costume in Cora's closet (size:3T-4T) that he decided to wear.

With cute Nikki, Betsy's girl.

Cora's good friend Kalani was Santa - so cute!

Heidi and Troy

Ko'olina and Mom leaving

One afternoon when Ryan got off early we decided to take our moms to Ko'olina, to play in the lagoons at the resort. The water was beautiful - blue, clear and calm. Ryan and my mom got to snorkel a little bit too.

Cora was insisting she wasn't cold when she got out of the water, silly girl.

Playing in the sand

Just hanging out at home with Debbie Gramma.

This is just before we took Mom to the airport, overlooking the temple. The sun was a little bright for me and Mom but Elijah was smiling so cute!

We were so sad to see Mom go home! Cora just cried and cried at the airport when she realized she was leaving, saying " I want to stay with Grandma!" The two weeks she was here just flew by. It was fun to have our first visitor in our new house though. Cora loved sharing a room with Grandma. We love you Mom, thanks for coming all the way to Hawaii to visit us! We're looking forward to another visit soon, hopefully with Dad and Grandma Wei too!

This is just a random pic of Cora the next day, playing with all her dolls and animals.

Mom's visit and Cora's birthday

This picture was actually taken the day before Mom arrived - just the kids hanging out in the bike trailer getting ready to go for a ride with Daddy and Grandma Madelyn on the bike path.

We were so excited to have my mom come visit for two weeks! We decided to go the the PCC on Cora's birthday.Cora put on her own show during the canoe pageant.

Mom bought her a little lei that's supposed to be worn on her head but she preferred it around her neck. We were all surprised she chose the blue one, since she usually has no eyes for any other color but pink.We ate at the newly renovated Gateway Buffet and the waitresses brought Cora some cupcakes with a candle and sang "Happy Birthday"We opened presents when we got home. Cora was so excited and wound up from our long day and being with all her cousins and grandmas. She loved her new bike!On Sunday we had a dinner with the family to celebrate. We had kalua pig in the crock pot, with pink dyed rice, watermelon, and salad. I made a 4 layer cake, from a mix, with homemade butter cream frosting. I was attempting to re-create the Rose Cake from I am Baker. It didn't quite turn out the same (I ran out of frosting, even though I made a ton) but it was fun anyways and Cora was excited. I made some garlands to decorate the house - see them on the ceiling? I just punched out pink, purple, white and gray circles from paint chips and sewed them together.The cake was... pink! Cora is such a joy to us. These past three years have passed so quickly. Cora went from being a sweet and mellow little baby to a spunky, loving little girl. She has such a strong personality. She is very stubborn and particular, but also is very polite (always says please and thank you) and loving. She loves all her family and friends. She is a great big sister - a little bossy but she just adores Elijah and we love the cute way she talks to him. She is so smart - she is learning new things all the time. She pays attention to everything that goes on around her - sometimes more than we would like. ;) She loves books, her dolls, playing ring around the rosie and "hide and sick", going to auntie's and grandma's houses, and still loves her blankie and sucking her thumb. We are so blessed to have her.