Masen's Blessing Day

On Sunday March 29th Masen was blessed. He was so fussy that morning, he almost missed his own blessing! Chris took Corynn and Dallin to church early to grab a seat and ask some friends to stand in the circle with him, while I tried to nurse Masen and get him calmed down. We walked into Sacrament meeting about 10 mins. late, and was just taking Masen out of his carrier when Chris had to grab him and take him up to the stand. Whew! What a morning! I just can't resist a hat!

Dallin's 8th Birthday, and Baptism

Dallin's 8th birthday turned into a three day celebration, with lots of fun, fun, fun. On Saturday we started out the day with opening presents. From Grandma he got some skateboarding toys, and from Mom and Dad he got 2 Wii games, scriptures with a case, a baptism scrapbook and activity book, some white shirts, ties and a CTR tie tack with a sword and shield on it. Next, we headed down to Waikiki to eat lunch at Benihana's. He actually chose Panda Express for his birthday meal (he LOVES Orange Chicken), but Grandma and I were able to talk him into somewhere a little more fun :)After lunch we headed home to get ready for Dallin's baptism. He was baptized along with another little boy in our ward named Liam. What a special day for these two boys. They looked so cute all dressed in white. We are so proud of Dallin's decision to be baptized. He is such a good boy and always tries to Choose The Right. We hope he can continue to progress and grow in rightousness. He has such a simple and sweet testimony. Here is a picture of Dad and Dallin as we are getting ready to leave for the church.

After Dallin was baptized many of the ward members gave him leis. This is such a fun Hawaiian tradition. All of his leis were filled with candy. Lucky boy!
Since we had cake and punch at the baptism, nobody really wanted birthday cake when we got home that night. We decided to save it for the next day, (Sunday) and we invited the Atkinson family from our ward over to help us celebrate.
On Monday Dallin chose to go to the water park down the hill from our house, and he invited his friend Alema. Dad took these two boys, and the three of them had a blast! They came home hungry, happy, and a little sunburned.

It was a fun filled 3 days.

Happy 10th Birthday, Corynn

This is the birthday that never ends! Since Corynn's birthday was on Sunday this year, we started out the celebration on Saturday. It is tradition in our family to let the birthday person pick out where they would like to go to dinner (or in this case, lunch). Every year Corynn chooses Red Lobster, because it is the ONE time a year Chris and I will take her (we are not seafood fans). This year she really wanted Lobster. Where does she get this from?!?After our yummy lunch, we took a walk on Waikiki Beach. It was such a beautiful day, and it was made even more special because Grandma Lambert was able to celebrate Corynn's birthday with us.
On Sunday, we celebrated more with cake and presents. We have a strict rule of no friends on Sunday, but we let Corynn's best friend Mya come over to help us celebrate. Mya gave Corynn a Sea Monkey kit (we'll see how they turn out), Grandma gave Corynn (what else?) a Webkinz, and she got some clothes and a learn to type program from Mom and Dad. Her main present she will get at the Sea Life Park.
On Monday we all headed to the east side of the island to go to the Sea Life Park. Ever since Corynn learned we were moving to Hawaii, she has been wishing to go swimming with dolphins. She finally got her wish for her 10th birthday. The park was pretty, although a little on the small side. We saw turtles, fish, seals, and of course dolphins. Check out these video clips. The first one is of Corynn and Chris hitching a ride with the dolphins. The second one is Chris and Corynn giving the dolphins kisses. The resolution is low to make it easier and faster to view on blogger.

I think Corynn had the best day EVER!!!

Grandma To The Rescue

Today Chris' mom flew into town to help out with baby Masen, and entertain Corynn and Dallin for their 2 weeks of Spring Break. I told her I feel like she is Mary Poppins, flying in on her magic umbrella to make everything fun and happy. I am truly grateful for her coming to help out. I married into a great family!

Here is a picture of Grandma being attacked by all of Corynn's Webkinz!

Masen is 1 Week Old

It's hard to beleive that Masen is already a week old! Here is a short video of Masen at 1 week. He is so big, and has so much hair, it's hard to believe he is only a week old.

The first week is always the hardest, so I'm glad we are past that hump.

Baby Masen Arrives

On Saturday, March 7, 2009, Masen finally decided to make his debut. Friday night at 10:30 my water broke, so we raced to the hospital, with contractions only 2-3 mins. apart. We made it there by 11:30, after dropping off Corynn and Dallin at some friends house. They were quick to get me an epidural because the contractions were so close, but once in place, my contractions slowed down. It was OK with me though, because Chris and I were able to get a few hours of rest (not really sleep:) At about 6:30 a.m. they checked me, and lo and behold there was his little head (have I mentioned how much I LOVE epidurals?). He was born pretty quick, and there were a few tense moments afterwards. He was a little tangled in his cord, and not breathing because of all the amniotic fluid in his mouth and throat. My Dr. had to hurry and cut the cord to get him over to the station to get him breathing. Even though Chris didn't get to cut the cord, I was relieved to hear his first cry. When they gave him to me, my first thought was how much he looked like Corynn when she was born, and my second thought was how quiet and subdued he was like when Dallin was born.

Masen, just a few minutes old, being measured and weighed. He weighed 8 lbs. 15.8 oz (we call him a 9 pounder), and 21 inches long. He was born at 6:37 a.m. Mom meeting Masen for the first time.Lynn, calling Grandmas and Grandpas to share the good news.
After they moved me to my recovery room, Chris went home to pick up the kids,take a quick nap, shower, and then came back to visit for the evening. Corynn and Dallin are so in love with their new baby brother.

Happy 35th, Chris

Today was Chris' 35th birthday. I hadn't slept well the night before (so neither did he), so we decided to sleep in and skip church. The kids were baffled, because this was the first time since moving to Hawaii that we didn't go to church. The kids and I made him breakfast in bed, then we let dad have a nice relaxing morning. By the afternoon I was ready for a change of pace, so we brought him out his one present. Binoculars! Chris has been doing a little hiking lately, and we would love to go whale watching, so we got him some binoculars. He is the hardest guy to buy for! I think the kids were more excited about his present than he was.

After opening his present I wanted to go on a drive around the island to use this fun new toy. We ended up going out to lunch at a mexican restaurant on the North Shore (we had to keep reminding kids that this was the exception and not the rule, as far as Sundays go). It was really good...probably the best we have on the island yet (which really isn't saying a whole lot). Here is a picture of the birthday boy and the kiddos. Dallin had put the empty tortilla bowl on dad's head.

The kids had a lot of fun using the binoculars. I think they got car sick from trying to use them in the car.

It is days like this that I LOVE living in Hawaii. It was about 78 degrees and sunny, but really windy. The ocean was beautiful with white caps far out to sea, and big waves crashing. I kept thinking about when we lived in Cleveland, OH and March 1st was always SO cold. I remember holding my breath inbetween the car and house so I wouldn't breath in the cold air that hurt my lungs.

I was thinking about posting 35 things I love about Chris, but really it all boils down to just this; he is a great man, father and husband, and we love him.