December is here, the holidays are upon us and Christmas cards are in the mail! As always, it's hard to believe another year is coming to an end but we're so excited because WE SURVIVED ANOTHER ONE!!! As most of you know, the arrival of the twins last year really rocked our boat but someone, just somehow, we're finding our groove in all this craziness and life is good :)
Our big girl Esme will be 7 in February and she has taken on the roll of big sister to 3 little ones as best as we could ask for. She's a huge help when it comes to the twins but with Chan it's a little questionable. Ha ha! Of course it's all to be expected. She's doing well in 1st grade at Waiakea Elementary and also does gymnastics, swimming and Cloverbuds (pre-4H club) outside of school. She's been hesitant to branch out into other activities but we're thinking of tennis or piano next year sometime. She's an extremely social girl and loves her friends and anything girly. She's got her own sense of style and I can't say much once she sets her mind on something. We still call her Mimi which has been her nickname since she was a toddler. It's also easier for the twins to say instead of Esme.
All dressed up for an art work shop at Hawaii Community College.
2017-2018 school picture. She keeps losing teeth!
Esme still wants to be one of the littles sometimes and squeeze in the cart with them.
Here she is helping us out in the morning by feeding Poppy her oatmeal.
Chan is 4 1/2 and in his last year of preschool at Keikiland which is where Esme went and where the twins are already on the waitlist for when they turn 3. The girls call him Chan-ee and he has lots of love for them. He's a real lovable kid and does well at being the only little boy in the family. We saw a huge increase in maturity when he turned 4 which was a nice change from the previous year and in some way we're still figuring him out. We've learned he gets really flustered, especially when it comes to new things, crowds, and chaos. Yes, it's been an interesting past few years with him ;) He's very eager to learn and he's always wanting to do Esme's homework with her so in order to cut down on some of that fighting we enrolled him in Kumon so he has work of his own to do. He's only been going since the summer and we've already seen tons of progress in his reading and math skills. Chan started soccer this year and was shy to start. We thought it would help if Allen was the coach but now we're not so sure. But now we're on to t-ball and so far he seems to be more receptive to that sport. We'll see. It's all just the beginning.
2017-2017 preschool picture.
Chan's helpful to a certain extent and then we have to remember that he's only 4 when he gets distracted and abandons the babes in the wagon ;)
He has a lot of goofy faces and loves to make them for us.
Apparently he likes to climb trees.
Poppy (and Eve) just turned 20 months at the end of November. We call her Pops or Peanut usually. Both girls are still at the same sitter close to our house and are doing great there. Poppy is very sweet, cuddly and cute. She's been slower to talk but finally coming around in the past few months. She ALWAYS wants to do what the big people are doing and is adamant once she sets her mind to something. Her and Chan will get into power struggles over things cause she just won't back down. She loves clothes and shoes and anything fancy or sparkly. She seems to take after Mimi, and I still have no idea where they get it from.
It's so easy (and rewarding) to get Poppy to laugh.
She loves to draw, color, paint, etc.
The only way to get her in the car in the morning is to let her wear Mimi's shoes first.
And then once in the car she wants my glasses.
Oh boy, decorating the tree was interesting this year!
Eve is our curly haired little cutie who we sometimes call Evie or Eve-ers. She's goofy and has a sense of humor all her own but she can also be very serious. She's always been way ahead for language development and wants to know more and more words. Poppy takes advantage of her a lot cause Eve doesn't usually fight back. But boy, does she get frustrated when that happens! She stiffens her whole body and just squeels! And Poppy looks at her like "what's wrong with her?" It's really cute to see the girls interact and do things together though. When they wake up in the morning they peer over the crib railings to see if the other one is up in her bed. And then they just talk and toss their blankets to each other until we come and get them. They're both great eaters and love playing outside. For being such tiny infants they've caught up on the growth charts and are about average for their age.
Eve and Poppy wanted to help sooooooo bad!
One of Eve's serious faces after getting her eyes dilated at the eye doctors.
Of all the places to sit, she chose right on top of the rock pile.
Eve thought it might be fun to decorate herself instead of her art at daycare.
And Allen and I are still the same, just busier. We've learned to multitask and do even more than we used to (which seemed impossible at one point). We're both still with the same jobs that have been great for this crazy family life that we have. His parents are actually in the process of moving to the Big Island and we're so excited to have them closer. Our travelling adventures have been sporadic over the past few years so we don't get to see as many people as we like but anyone is always welcome in our island home (if you're brave enough to visit ;) Come and see us!
It's rare to get a photo of all of us anymore. Our Christmas card photo is from Ko Olina on Oahu this past summer. Oh well!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
