Summer, Here We Come

It's hard to believe that summer is already here!  Esme finished kindergarten last week and Chan is moving out of the 3 year class at Keikiland this week.  The past year has obviously just flown by for all of us!  We're looking forward to more beach and swimming time since the babies are finally more manageable.  And thankfully they don't go crazy and try and eat the sand!  Eve has her moments but that's just Eve.  She's a funny one ;)

The girls have discovered this car that we've had since Esme was this age.  And of course they both want to get into it at the same time.  Twin life!  We need to bust out the old red wagon since there's at least 2 seats in that one.  Ha ha!

We went on a family camping trip to the Hapuna beach cabins recently.  Thanks to all of our family cause we couldn't have done it without them!  Esme and Chan were so incredibly excited to go camping and we're so glad we did it.  

Chan's definitely more of a sand kid.  He loved all the digging.  And the night time trip to the beach to catch sand crabs!

We all slept in one cabin and amazingly we slept all night!  The babies each had their own pack-n-play and we all slept on the built in cots/benches.

Chan's growing his hair out and he says he wants it to be like Uncle Sterling's.  Uh oh!  So we at least have fun with it in the bath at night.  

Esme performed a Bruno Mars medley for her Hoike at the end of the school year.  This was her first real performance in front of people and she was definitely a little shy.  There were all 150 kindergarten students on the floor of the Civic Auditorium and the bleachers were full of parents!

Our kindy graduate!

Poppy thought it would be fun to try and fit inside the bottom of her new water table. 

Our little Evita!  

Hiking in Bird Park on Memorial Day.  The kids had fun exploring nature and the babies kept trying to touch all the trees and leaves from the Ergo.

Baby jeggings are so cute and of course they're even cuter in pairs!

We love our one and only Chan-Man!

Why do babies love remotes so much?  Poppy stole it and hid behind the ottoman.

We finally got our cupboards locked up but some of them are still accessible to the babes.  

Watching the neighborhood action.  A daily activity.

Smoothies for breakfast.  An all time favorite for all the kids.  

Chan turned 4 years old!  He had a blast celebrating his birthday with Uncle Josh who also shares his birthday.  Aunty Amy also has the same birthday but she was in Texas this year.  Chan wanted a Ninja Turtle birthday but was happy with all the other toys and gifts he got.  He loves anything trucks, turtles, cars, legos, dinosaurs, etc.  He's a real boy for sure!

Happy Mother's Day!  I'm not sure where Chan escaped to but he didn't make this picture.  I had to borrow Nana to help me hold the babies.  Ha ha!

Waiting to fill the baby pool!

Siblings

The past year since the twins were born has been a challenge for all of us in our own way.  Chan had his fair share of struggles as he figured out his place in this family.  But as we round the corner to turning 4 he's just turning into this really cool kid.  His maturity level just took a huge jump along with his height recently.  This past weekend I had to quickly swap out all his 3 year clothes and make way for all the 4 year stuff we had stored away.  And him and Esme have been getting along so well, more often than not.  It's fun to watch them form their sibling relationship :)

One morning before school I caught them in the tv room reading together.  

They both like to help mommy in the kitchen.  

This was one of my faves.  Usually the kids come in our room when they wake up in the morning but this morning was different.  Apparently Chan had a bad dream and so he just went into Mimi's room instead since he saw her light on.  When I got there they were both reading books together in her bed. 

This was another good one.  I had to get fasting labs one morning so the big kids came with me.  When we walked into the waiting room Esme picked a seat and then said "here Chan, you can sit on my lap."

And the twins are forming their own sibling relationship :)  This was their first Easter this past year since they were born just the day after Easter last year.  

Easter egg hunt with the cousins and friends in Volcano.  There were probably a couple hundred eggs in the forest and they had a blast finding them all.  

I just love this shot of Eve.  She's "helping" with the dishes.  

This was the last day he wore 3 year clothes.  Ha ha!

We were so lucky to have Allen's sister Ting (the kids call her Goo-Goo) and cousin Kai visit for their spring break.  It was their first time to see us since we moved and also their first time visiting since the babes were born.  They came just a few weeks after Allen's parents visited too so we've had lots of Shih family fun lately :)  Here the kids are showing off the lovely cows in the pasture by our house.  This is a highlight of any of our morning or afternoon walks around the neighborhood.  

Coloring eggs together.  

This is the best selfie we could get when we went on a day trip to the Volcano National Park. 

Moving On

The babes had their 12 month well child check up after their birthday and they're coming right along on their growth curves.  At 19.3# and 28" long, Poppy was 50% for weight and 10% for height.  Her head was a whopping 75% though!  And Eve was 19.5# and 29.25" long, which put her at 50% weight and 50% height.  Her head was also 50% so she was right in the middle.  They've always managed to stay very similar in their stats this past year.

12 months of twin pics

Lilikoi cakes for the girls

Stripped down before attacking their cakes.

The Lindsey Clan

Cousins

Face painting kept the kids busy

Chan said he wants the same party without all the baby stuff. 

Poppy loved wearing her frosting and Eve loved smashing her cake.  

Happy Birthday Poppy & Eve!

We are officially entering the birthday season in our family!  Seems like every weekend there's another cousin or family member having a birthday :)  Yesterday though was a big day in our house cause Poppy and Eve turned one!  It's amazing that we've come this far and we're still mostly in one piece.  Ha ha!  It was a weeknight so we just had a little cupcake celebration to commemorate the day and then we'll have their party this coming weekend.  Poppy rounded out her first year by mastering her little waddle and can now cruise across the room while speaking her first and only words - wow and oh.  As for Eve, she has no desire to walk but loves to say new words all the time and on the eve of their first birthday she said "Poppy!"  Honestly I think that was better than even hearing all my kids say mama for the first time.  They are so cute together!  They're really interacting and playing with each other and can even make each other giggle :)  I love that!

The candle was a little dangerous but we managed to finish singing without either babe getting their hands on them. 

They were hesitant at first but later managed to mash up their orange dreamsicle cupcake.

Poppy kept saying her first word "wow"

Celebrating at daycare 

Eve is too cool for school. 

Having fun with the ribbon on their presents. 

Eating paper is fun!

Celebrating cousin Makena's birthday at the Sheraton last weekend. Poppy and Nana playing with the plumerias. 

Oh Evie!

Family photo opp!  It's too much work to get us all to look apparently ;)

Happy Birthday Esme

She's six years old!  When did that happen???  Esme had a great birthday with all her cousins and family.  When I asked her the next day what she liked about her birthday she replied, "getting to eat Cheetos."  Ha ha!  Oh Esme-bean!

Esme is the girliest girl ever!  She loves pink, purple, gold and anything that shimmers.  She likes long skirts, dangley earrings, and high heels (which she admires from afar ;)  She's got a sense of fashion that's all her own and I can't really convince her otherwise once she's dressed.  Where did this girl come from?  Ha!  She's the best big sister every and loves all her younger siblings.  Her and Chan have their moments but for the most part they love each other just the same.  Esme is the biggest helper when it comes to the babes.  She does her best to help us take care of them and really wants to be included.  She's thriving in school and so fascinated with reading, writing and math.  It's a whole new world for her.  She's a social butterfly and says hi and bye to everyone when we pick her up from school.  Esme continues in gymnastics twice a week and so far hasn't expressed an interest in any other sports or activities.  And that's our Esme!

Cousin pic, just missing the babies.  

Birthday morning at home.  

And after school.

Yummy carrot cake with Trolls characters on it. 

Enjoying the make up set she got from Aunty B.

The kids LOVE to sing happy birthday to each other!

Happy Chinese New Year

We went to a Chinese New Year celebration at the Life Care Center below our house a few weekends ago.  Chan let us know that he was born in the year of the "spine-a-saurus" and not the snake like we were telling him.  He was pretty bummed when the lady was reading the qualities of all the different animal years and she didn't mention the spine-a-saurus.  Ha ha!

We love how fast time is flying these days cause we love how much fun we're having with the little girls as they grow bigger and bigger!  Poppy is starting to cruise and is attempting the walker.  The girls is ready to walk!  Eve on the other hand absolutely refuses and falls to her feet and whimpers whenever we try to help her along.  She's happy to just sit or pull up but that's it.  Walking's not her thing yet but talking is.  She talks all the time and continues with new words like "uh oh" and "hi" sporadically.  Poppy is content and quiet.  No words, not even babble for her yet.  It's funny how much they differ in some ways.  The countdown is currently on - they turn 1 in just 6 weeks!!!

Before that happens though, Esme is turning 6 this week!  Talk about time flying.  Sheesh!  She requested to celebrate her birthday at family dinner so this week we'll have it on her birthday which is Wednesday instead of the normal Thursday night.  She wants hot dogs, Cheetos, raw veggies (that's been her preference lately as compared to cooked), and carrot cake with a Troll theme.  All seems doable for a weeknight!  Those pics will come later...

Brushing buddies!

We usually only double nurse before bed when they can lie down.  When they do it this way they always bonk heads.  Ha ha!

The babes.

Napping at the yacht club in their little pen. 

One of Evie's many facial expressions.  She loves doing this!

Our two little monkeys who were actually born in the year of the monkey!

Chan and his baby doll that he asked for Christmas.  

The kids love hanging out in the backyard nowadays.  Not bad, 3 out of 4 of them are looking at the camera, and 2 of those 3 are smiling :)

Chan, wearing his "bleeders" aka knee and elbow pads.

Our 3 girls, big and small. 

They follow each other everywhere.  

Happy Valentine's Day!!!