The Happiest Place on Earth

This summer, we were able to take our first family trip to the Happiest place on Earth...Disneyland.  We spent 2 days at Disneyland and we had a BLAST!!!!  The kids loved every minute of it and were such troopers.  Of course, there was a big of complaining in the long lines and the hot weather, but as soon as we hit the ride they forgot all about those things.  Taimane is our little thrill seeker and LOVED the roller coasters.  Tanoa surprised us, and rode all the rides he could (which were all the ones that had a 40" height limit).  They both loved Splash Mountain, definitely one of their favorite rides.  Other favorites included thunder mountain, pirates of the caribbean, star tours, buzz light year, astro rocket, and for Taimane, Space Mountain.  With baby #3 in the belly, I had to sit out for some of the bigger rides, but I definitely had my share of rides and enjoyed it.  Daddy was a trooper and took the kids on everything they wanted to ride.  Even though we had strollers for both the kids, Tanoa spent a lot of time on Daddy's neck while waiting in lines.  We were so excited to spend our 2nd day at the park with the Naeata, Tailele, and Makaafi cousins.  It was so nice being there all together!!  We loved Disneyland and definitely could have used 1 more day there.  Oh well, guess we'll just have to head back soon to get our fix.  The best part about it was being with each other.  I love my family and I will forever treasure the memories of our first trip to Disneyland!!!!

My Kiddos

My kiddos are getting big and I've been horrible at updating this blog. But here's an attempt to start. Taimane is 3 1/2 years old and Tanoa is 11 months. I am so in love with these 2 kiddos! What blessings and joy they have brought to my life!

Welcome Tanoa!

I know I still have a lot of catching up to do, but I just wanted to let everyone know that our baby boy finally arrived. Tanoa Fina'i was born on May 19, 2009. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 9 0zs. ( a lot smaller than his big sister) and 21 inches long. His delivery was a lot easier for me and actually happened pretty quickly. I did most of my laboring at home and didn't go to the hospital until my contractions were consistently occurring every 2 -3 minutes. I got to the hospital at 7:09 p.m. and Tanoa arrived at 8:04 p.m. There was no time for any drugs and I went all natural with this one. It was a good experience for me. I guess regardless of how hard or painful your birthing experience is, the end result is well worth it. We are so glad to have Tanoa as a part of our family and look forward to a lifetime of love and memories with our newest little angel!

Trying to Catch Up: March '09

Okay, so I've really slacked on this whole blogging thing, but I'll try to do some quick catch ups. I'll start with March '09. Let's see, March was a great month! Vili and I both celebrated our birthdays this month and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at our favorite restaurant, Buzz's Wharf...yummy! I also got to have a great night out with the girls starting with dinner at the Dunes and then finishing off with dessert at Cold Stone. It was such a fun night! Thank you ladies!

Our puple themed night out for my bday.
Back L to R: Mary, Jess, Imi, Rosie, Elyce

Front L to R: Me, Lala, Shaela, Jayde

My sis Lala, me, and my sis in law Rosie.

The other highlight for the month was that we had our ward temple trip to the Kona Temple. Every year we spend our spring break in Kona for our temple trip. It is always a wonderful experience, but this year was especially great as we were able to witness the sealing of our good friends, the Tuaoa family. Vili and I took turns going to the temple so that the other could stay out and watch Taimane. I was able to do several sessions and loved it. Of course, we also spent a lot of family time at the pool and the beach. Taimane would wake up and the first thing she would say was "I'm ready to go swimming in the pool mom." It was a blast!!

Mane w/ her floater in the pool.

She loved swimming w/ big cousin Daisy.

Daddy and Mane enjoying the pool.

Most nights she couldn't even stay up for dinner : )

Since spring break was 2 weeks this year, we decided to fly to Oahu from Kona to spend our 2nd week there. We loved being back in Laie and spending time with Vili's family. Taimane had a blast with all her cousins, aunties, uncles, and grandma. We spent most of our time on Oahu with the family, but we also enjoyed shopping at the new Target, meeting up with the Kons for lunch, and then doing touristy things like going to PCC. We always love going back to Laie to see family and friends. We can't wait 'til our next trip.

Mane hanging out w/ cousins Leiah and Tajah.

Taimane posing at PCC.

Family photo at PCC.

Taimane and her cousins making silly faces.

Just the girls: Leiah, Mane, Julia, and Tajah.

She's Growing Up!

Since it's been a while since I posted, I thought I'd give a little update on our little girl. Taimane will be 28 months in a few days and has become quite a big girl. In fact, she is literally a "big" girl. She has consistently been in the mid 90th percentiles for height, weight, and head circumference for all of her well baby checks. At her 2 year old check, she was 35 lbs. and 35.5 inches. That was a few months ago, I'm sure she's grown even more by now.

Besides her stature, she is really becoming a big girl in her attitude and personality. She is very independent and insists on doing everything by herself. This even includes pouring her own juice and cutting her own food. Yes, this can create quite a mess for mommy. She also loves taking care of her younger cousin Sidon. Even though he's one and walks around, she wants to carry him everywhere, feed him, and so on. I guess she's just preparing for her baby brother to come around.

The biggest sign that she's growing up, is that she is now potty trained. It took us quite a while, and we definitely felt that she would never get it, but yes, she's finally potty trained. She loves wearing big girl pants and being just like her big cousins. While we have been through our share of accidents, even at public places including the mall, grocery store, and church, Taimane has learned how to have control and to let us know in time to get her to the toilet. Getting her potty trained was a big deal in our house and really feels like a huge accomplishment!

Taimane is a playful, energetic, and loving little girl. She loves to be girly girl and dress up in her princess clothes, but she can also be quite a tom boy playing tackle football with her cousins and her daddy. She loves hula and going to mommy's hula practices to dance along on the side. She also enjoys going to watch daddy play football and especially enjoys when he takes her fishing or crabbing. Some of her favorite things to do now are painting, riding her scooter or her bike, playing dress up, golfing, playing house and mommy with her cousins, playing with her cousins, and watching Curious George or the Disney Channel. Here's some picture Taimane doing some of her favorite things.

Taimane riding her scooter.

All dressed up and looking pretty.

Hanging out with her cousins Lilinoe and Kauhi.

As Taimane continues to grow, we are so excited to see her progress and develop new skills. She has brought so much joy to Vili and I, and it seems so unreal that she has grown up so quickly. While she will always be our "little baby girl" we are excited to see her mature and grow into a wonderful daughter of our Heavenly Father. We are so grateful for her and the blessings and joy that she has brought to our life and couldn't have asked for a better daughter. We know that Heavenly Father has blessed her tremendously and we are so grateful for that. We love her sooo much and are so grateful that she chose us to be her mom and dad! We love you Taimane!

Mommies Night Out

On Monday, Jan. 12, we had our first mommies night out of 2009, and it was a blast! Our mommies nights started about a year ago and came about as a result of having our husbands playing football every Thursday nights and then again on Saturdays to participate in the Maui county flag football league. We, the wives, decided that we deserved a night out and although it wouldn't be every week, we'd try to do it once a month. Last year, our mommies nights out were super fun and helped us all to form really good friendships. We've been able to celebrate birthdays, pregnancies, school and just about everything together. We've also been able to help and support one another as we've faced trials throughout the year. Our mommies night out has allowed us to be free of the kids and the husbands for a few hours and enjoy being in the company of good friends. These nights are always filled with laughter, fun, and wonderful memories.

This past Monday was no different. Elyce hosted it and it was themed as our "Spa Night." Kawai gave facials, Lahela did foot massages, Rosie did pedicures, and Jayde did the nails. Keeping in tune with our "Spa" theme, Elyce and I decided that we should try and keep it healthy so we had a menu that consisted of chicken and grape croissaints, chicken caesar salad, fruits and dips, and delicious fruit smoothies. The food was delicious and the ladies were all relaxed and beautified. The nails came out awesome, so thank you Jayde! And, of course stories and laughter filled Elyce's house. It was definitely a fun night! We were however, missing Miss Shaela and she was definitely in our thoughts. Don't worry girl, Elyce said we'll do it all again when you and baby get back to Maui. I'm sure all the ladies would be down for that.

So ladies, I look forward to our next mommies night out. Being that at least half of us are stay at home moms, we thrive for these nights and are anxious for the few hours away from the kids. So, whatever it may be that we plan for our next night, I'm sure it will be great because we'll be in the company of good friends. Thanks again ladies, I can't wait 'til our next night out!

My Year to Blog

As a new year begins, I, like many other people have set some goals for this new year. One being that I would start my own blog. In this way, I can keep family and friends near and far up to date with the Fina'i family happenings. It can also serve as a journaling tool and hopefully my children will be able to treasure this in the years to come. So, I thank Pua for the MANY words of encouragement to hurry and start blogging. Hopefully, I will soon get the hang of this and the blogging will be kept current.

Besides starting our blog, we have also set some family goals as well. First, that we make it to sacrament meeting in time for sacrament. This was really hard for us last year since sacrament started at eight in the morning. Fortunately, we now start at one in the afternoon. This goal seems much more attainable now. Second, that we pray and read our scriptures daily as a family. This can be difficult with a little toddler, but we're getting better at it. Third, that we hold our weekly family home evening. Now that Taimane is older and knows some primary hymns, FHE is quite fun. We just can't have a lesson that's longer than 3 minutes!

2008 was a wonderful year for us and we are so grateful for all that we were and continue to be blessed with. We look forward to another amazing year and pray that our Heavenly Father will continue to bless our little family. We love watching our daughter grow and learn every day and are so grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted her to us. We are excited to be welcoming a son this May and are anxious for his arrival. 2009 will bring lots of changes, yet we welcome this with joy and love!