Monday, May 26, 2014

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii!

Friday was the official May Day celebration at Keaton's school. May Day (Lei Day) is a huge deal here in Hawaii. Lei Day is a celebration of Hawaiian culture, or the aloha spirit. It technically happens on May 1st, but its normal for the celebrations to last throughout the month of May. Keaton's school practiced for weeks and weeks, and it was such a treat to see the day to come together.  
I got to go early and help Keaton and his classmates get their costumes ready. Keaton was the only one that refused to get his face painted with a nose and whiskers because he was "embarrassed!" Oh well, he still looked pretty cute.
Keaton's class waiting for their turn to perform.
It's customary during a May Day celebration for schools to elect a Lei Day court of Kings and Queens to represent the different islands. Each island has its own symbol that is composed of a color and a flower. Maui is pink, O'ahu is yellow, Moloka'i is green, Lana'i is orange, Kaho'olawe is gray, Kaua'i is purple, and Ni'ihau is white. Our good friend Avery Hewitt was the princess that represented the island of Hawai'i (red). She's in the red dress taking her place at court.
Here come the Kindergarteners!
My handsome lion!
They did a perfectly choreographed dance to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
Keaton and all the Kinders did such a good job. I actually cried - it was so cute. (I'm just a little bit pregnant)
Mark was not so impressed with the whole event. You can usually judge how bored he is based on how many times he says, "But Mom, I'm STILL HUNGRY!"
My good friend Barbara with Maddie and Will
Our sweet friend Chloe Hewitt. Her class did "The Sports Dance." Precious!
Princess Avery with her Hawaiian Prince.
The fifth graders did a traditional May Pole Dance. It was really impressive!
Keaton with his best buddy, Makana. I hope they are in the same class next year!
Chloe was very proud of her Princess sister!
I had so many reservations at the beginning of this school year in putting Keaton at this school. Trusting God with your child is not easy! It was amazing to see God's hand working in our family and Keaton's life through his teacher, his friends, and the relationships we made with other families at Ben Parker Elementary.  I can't believe there are only 3 days left of Kindergarten. I'm so proud of this big boy.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

In other news...

We are very excited to announce that we are expecting #3 in early November! 

The boys have surprised me with their reactions to the news. Don't let the above picture fool you. Keaton is much more excited to be wearing sunglasses than about a new sibling. Over the last few weeks, his attitude on the subject has changed from indifference to moderate disapproval to outright opposition. He's told me that he's going to stay at a friend's house when the baby is born, so he doesn't have to hear him/her crying. Just this morning, it was, "Babies are cute, but they're pretty lazy. You can't even play with them and they just want to mess up your toys." He still has not told any of his friends and shushes me when I bring it up in public.   My gut is that this boy knows deep down that he's already got competition for cuteness factor in our family. I think he sees this new baby as just another division of our attention towards him. :-( Thankfully we still have a few months... praying that his heart will change by the time he/she arrives.

Mark, on the other hand (who usually goes off his brother's every cue) loves announcing to anyone and everyone that "mommy has a baby in her belly." He's become acutely aware of babies around us, and likes to point them out to me and talk about at how cute and funny they are.  Mark got to go with us to the 12 week ultrasound, and he got a huge kick out of seeing the baby "wave" to us and have hiccups. He loves to kiss my belly and say "hi" to baby. He's convinced it is a "sista" even though I've tried to tell him that might not necessarily be so.

So, this is the reason I've been such a poor blogger lately. Let me premise the upcoming rant with the fact that I know I'm blessed. I'm so thankful for this baby, especially having experienced miscarriage in the fall. I know that carrying a child is something that some women would give everything to do. I know all this, and I thank God every day for this privilege.

But, this scene from "What to Expect When You're Expecting" pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole experience right now...

Pregnancy is not easy for me. I feel the absolute curse of Eve when I'm pregnant. I don't recognize myself physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, or any other way. The joys of my normal life -  cooking, eating, shopping, exercising, caring for my family (not to mention the occasional glass of wine) - all are lost in an abyss of nausea and malaise. There is general revulsion for food interrupted by uncontrollable cravings which usually leave me unsatisfied. And it never goes away. There are bad days and worse days - no good. I felt this way with both of the boys (Keaton for 19 weeks, Mark for all 40), so I shouldn't be surprised by this experience, right? But, it's taken me 3 1/2 years to forget what a huge pain in the neck (and hips, and back, and feet...) making a human is. Thanks so much to all of you for your prayers, for meals, for helping out with my boys so I could get extra rest. I truly am so thankful! The 2nd trimester is here (finally)... only 2 more to go. 


Little one... I love you already. I can't wait to meet you and welcome you to our little family. In the meantime,  I've given you everything you want. Tuna fish for breakfast, sour cream by the pound, mac salad, mayonnaise sandwiches, sushi... now take it easy on your mama, please!

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Keaton's birthday week!

Keaton's birthday started last Saturday at his Ninjago pool party!
Our Ninjago Cupcake tower!
I was very proud of my "sushi"

 




With his school buddies, Cody and Makana
Keaton's actual birthday was Wednesday, so he was super excited to wake up and open MORE presents from family!
Thanks Grammie!
Legos definitely stole the show this year in the gift department. We are swimming in them, stepping on them, sprinkling them on our salads...
If it looks dark outside, that's because it was.  All gifts opened Anderson style...by 5:45am.
As is our tradition, we always head to Chuck E. Cheese's with the Heath family when birthdays fall on weekdays. "Where a kid can be a kid, (and parents can spend lots of money on tokens and cheap pizza.")

Mark has come a long way! He used to be terrified of Chuck E. This time, he ran up and gave him hug every time he saw him. Then he would run and find me and say. "I hugged Chuck E. Cheese AGAIN!!"

Believe it or not, I tried this picture of Lucas and Keaton 5 different times, and this was the best one. Scary.

Smile for Chuck E.!
  Overall, a fabulous week celebrating Keaton!