Happy Birthday Keaton Ray!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! I can't believe how much you have changed our life in 2 years! It's difficult to remember what my life was like without you. You are the most amazing gift from God, and I love you so much! I thank God for you everyday.

Here are some things that I love about you at 2 years old:

-You have never met a stranger, and love to make new friends.

-Your favorite things to do: coloring with crayons, reading books, and playing with your cars and trains

-You let me know that you are awake every morning by making animal sounds. When I come get you, you tell me, "Mama, effant in bed!" or "Mama, lion in bed!"

-You love to go to "chuch."

-Even though you are the 4th grandchild on both sides of the family, you made up your own name for Grandma and you wuv both of your "Brumbras!"

-Your bath is the highlight of your evening routine, and you love to run around "nakey" afterwords...

- When we ask you your name, you say, "Teaton Ray" or if you are being really silly, you will answer, "Bubba" or "George."

-You love your family and especially all of your cousins!

-One of your favorite things to do is browse the grocery store, and you are hands down, the loudest person in the store. "look mama! cereal!" "look mama, elmo balloon!" "look mama, mananas!"

-You are a slave to the beat, and can't help but dance anytime you hear music playing.

-You still cannot count to ten or say your ABC's all the way through, but you have known the colors of the rainbow and the names of every character on Sesame Street since 18 months old.

-You love your "hot oosty-lala" every morning when you get up and after every nap. You countdown with the microwave and then say "it's ready, Mama!" when you hear it beep.

-You still love to rock at night before bed and have me sing to you. Your favorite songs are "Jesus loves the little children" which you call, "world song" and also "The B-I-B-L-E" which you call "blah blah song"

My little bell pepper

This morning, I went for an ultrasound. We could have found out today, but have agreed to wait to find out the gender until delivery as we did with Keaton.

As many of you know, this pregnancy has been much more "complicated" than the last one. Besides the fact that we made a major life change and move over an ocean during my 1st trimester, I was diagnosed with a rare genetic blood clotting disorder that has bumped me into the "high-risk" pregnancy category. This has required me to be on a ton of expensive medication (including once a day self injections) as well as doctors monitoring mine and baby's health much more closely. Combined with the normal morning sickness (which for me tends to be 24/7 and last much longer than most women), it has been a rough 19 weeks so far. All that to say, I was so encouraged by my doctor visit this morning! It's amazing the calming effect of just seeing the baby and listening to that strong heartbeat. Also, I was able to meet with a specialist that really invested some time in helping me understand all of my "issues." This was the first time a doctor had done that for me since all of these increased risk factors have surfaced. Before today, I was ready to ward off any future kiddos, but I'm beginning to realize it might be worth it after all...

What a cutie - right?? Here's what we know about him/her so far:

-about the size of a bell pepper (5 1/2 inches long) and weighs 9 oz

-growing beautifully and measuring at exactly 18 weeks and 4 days

-looks to have all 10 fingers and toes and all the other essential body parts

-really loves anything spicy, but has a special preference for buffalo wing sauce

Happy Birthday to me!

On Sunday, I celebrated my 29th birthday, and I got one of the best presents ever - a home! We signed our lease on Friday and moved in on Saturday. Even though we are still roughing it out of suitcases and 2 camping chairs, it feels so nice to have a place to call home again. I don't have any good pics of the inside yet, but here's a peak at the view from our balcony.

Scott surprised me (actually not really, I asked for this and was hoping he remembered!) with the 3-disc special edition of New Moon. We've already watched it once, and now I'm watching it the 2nd time with commentary... hey, I'm still in my 20's, and I enjoy vampire movies!

We went out to eat at a local Italian restaurant called Zia's. I really enjoyed my complimentary tiramisu and as you can see, Keaton really enjoyed the bowl of sherbet that came with his meal.

Now, I just have 350 unbirthdays left until I'm 30! Yikes!

Not bad for our way home from Costco!

Since no blog is complete without a pic of KRAY - nothing like marshmallow peeps lounging in the suitcase!

Alex P. Keaton

I promise that we did not name him after Michael J. Fox's character on Family Ties, but tonight, I asked Keaton what he wanted for his birthday. He says without hesitation, "Money!"

Learning Curve

Some interesting facts I've learned about Hawaii in the last week:

1) There are no snakes here and it is illegal to bring snakes into the state, even as pets!

2) It's true! It is normal to eat SPAM here. Check out this pic from the McDonald's breakfast menu.

3) Caucasian people (or non-natives) are called Haoles ("howleys"). It's a derogatory/funny term, and is not uncommon to be called this to your face here.

4) There are no private beaches in Hawaii. In 2006, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that all beaches belong to the people. So even where mansions and beautiful beach homes line the coast, we can park ourselves on any piece of sand we like the best and no one can tell us to leave.

5) Hawaii prides itself on having the most deliciously filtered tap water in the USA.

6) It is illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving - this is hard to get used to!

7) Cost of living here is ridiculous! Examples of some prices we are dealing with here:

Milk - $4.50/gal

Bread - $3.50/loaf

Gas - $3.40/gal

8) Hawaii is the undisputed drowning capital of the world. This is mainly due to tourists' disrespect of the power of rip currents and strength of the surf while swimming and snorkeling.