Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Betsy turned 2!

Our Betsy girl turned 2 years old last month!  And let's just say that the whole 2 year old package has arrived.  Oh joy!  Aside from her new independent life and sassy attitude, this little lady has added so much fun to our family.  

Her brother adores her so much.  They usually can't go more than 3 hours at a time without seeing each other.  They embrace one another with long hugs whenever they reunite; after her long naps, or when he comes home from preschool.  It's so adorable.

Dad and Betsy have a special relationship.  I think that his gentle voice soothes her.  She loves to climb up in his lap and put her head on his chest, while they talk about their days with each other.  Dad still thinks that Betsy might be his surfer girl!  Her eyes light up when he gets his board out or talks about surfing.  She can also swim in the ocean for hours without getting blue lips like her brother.  

I'm still the one that puts Betsy girl down for bed at night, while Christian puts T-man down.  We read a few books together, then we turn the lights out and I sing to her while I cradle her in my arms like a baby.  That left thumb automatically goes in her mouth, and her right fingers reach for my upper arm to start pinching.  Apparently my arm fat soothes her.  Whatever works!  I know that she's kind of getting big for the cradle position but I love it and want to hold her like that as long as I can! 

Her birthday fell on a Saturday, so we thought we would gather a few friends at a park for some cupcakes.  Well...a homemade piñata, Cafe Rio dinner menu, and 50 people later, it was time to party!  Why does that always happen when I plan a party?  It actually turned out great, just a little stressful putting it together.  But I had a lot of help from great friends.  

Betsy started her birthday morning with the usual dance party with balloons and presents.  Happiest girl ever:

Her party was held up at the Tantalus picnic area.  This is one of the ridges at the top of Manoa Valley.   It's so beautiful up there!  
Her invitation: 

The piñata.  I highly recommend buying a piñata instead of making one!  Unless you have a team of people helping you with the fringes.  It was kind of torture for me to see this thing get destroyed!

Pin the heart nose on the care bear game.  Dad was in charge of drawing the care bear and he did a great job!  He ran out of pink ink and somehow the bear got a beard.  Check out how close Betsy's heart got!  
The bearded care bear:  

I don't think softball is in the cards for Betsy.  This is how she was swinging her bat!  So funny.

The gang:

Happy Birthday sweet Betsy girl!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Valley of the Temples

When Tristan had his cast on he became very frustrated with many things.  He was forced to use his one good hand and his toes to play with the legos.  He couldn't jump into a pool or the ocean on hot, hot days.  He couldn't carry things with his two hands.  He got very angry at times, which resulted in horrible, horrible tantrums!  

We decided to bring the sticker chart back to promote good behavior; we were desperate for some sort of leverage while he was throwing his fits.  I asked Tristan where he would like to go when he earned his 20 stickers.  He said, "the Valley of the Temples".  Ummm...ok.  He's never been there but he has heard of it.   He was excited and very motivated!

It took two challenging weeks to earn all 20 stickers but he did it!  We invited a few friends and we were off!

Talia and Betsy girl:

When I told Talia to put her arm around Betsy she put her hand on her belly:

This is what Tristan was so excited about!  Ring the bell 3 times for good luck.

We fed the koi fish, visited with a black swan, and walked the pretty grounds.  






It turned out to be a really fun field trip.  
Thanks, Tristan, for working so hard and being a good boy!