Big Smiles

I don't know if I've ever seen Kane smile this big or this much! Not even when Makili was throwing freezing cold water all over him did he stop smiling. This is sort of a dejavu as well, since I have picture from Makili last summer, the same age as Kane, happy as a clam at this water table. Such cuteness!

DeJaVu Again

We've been getting our summer beach time in. Until yesterday when my mom arrived and the rain hasn't stopped since. Seriously we went to the beach four days straight last week and enjoyed every bit of it. As you can see the kids don't mind either! I seriously could have brought a book and sat there checking on them every now and again, they were so entertained. That is the beauty of the beach.

I have this exact picture from 1 year ago, but I could only find a print I had made, not the digital version. It's pretty cool to see the exact same ocean puddle with the same four sand-diggers one year older. That's continuity. Pretty soon there'll be five munchkins in the water!

Mr. Independence

I went into the living room to vacuum a rug the other day while Makili was reading his tractor book. When I finished I came into the kitchen to find this. He had moved the stool, climbed on top, opened the silverware drawer, pulled out a butter knife (thank goodness it wasn't a sharp knife!) and began cutting pieces of watermelon for himself.

We did it!

Lauren and I brought three kids to the beach yesterday. We did it! We got all the gear and toys and infant sun protection (though we decided an umbrella wouldn't be a bad idea). Kaia, at five weeks, wasn't terribly cooperative, but it was good enough for close to an hour and a half. We're trying to work up to four kids. Though once we came home, we found that Makili and Kayden were just as happy to play naked in the sprinkler and Lauren and I could comfortably sit in the shade of the umbrella on the patio. (Have I mentioned that I love that patio.) Makili got a major boo-boo on his toe and eventually spent some time crying in my lap, which was when I tried to snap these photos of Lauren and her girls... I did, for the record, censor out the pictures of Makili trying to wash his penis in the sprinkler, which was pretty damn funny. He didn't let go of it for long.

Red Letter Day!

Makili peed on the potty today!

Wagon Ride with Kane.

Helping Out

Makili is BIG into helping out lately. Yesterday I had to make a sign advertising the tomato plants that we are selling out in our vegetable stand. The second I broke those paints out, Makili was all over it. He tried to "help" me, but that didn't work out too well, so I had to get him his own canvas, which he loved, though he still wanted to "help" me! We even had limited paint on the chair and table! I think I've got a budding artist. Or maybe I'm just hoping.

Pretty things I get to look at...

My flower garden makes me happy but not like these little faces, these eyes, these cheeks, these lips.




I cut Makili's hair yesterday and it looks totally ridiculous. Damn it. When will I learn. Looking back at these picture from a few days ago makes me sad for those blond locks that blew away in the wind yesterday when I snipped them, like dandelion seeds blowing billowy and soft.

Lucky Mama

I'm a pretty lucky mama to wake up to this cutie every day...

My guys.

Like Lipstick

Ode to the Dandelion

When I was a kid I remember my mom using this crazy tool that was a long metal shaft with a little fork at the end to yank dandelions and their roots from our lawn. I remember knowing that dandelions in your lawn were no good.


That is not the case here, and I have to say, I don't really see what the fuss was all about. They are bursting right now, carpeting the earth like stars in the sky. They are magnificent and beautiful. We even ate some dandelion greens out of the yard (you're supposed to eat them before they bloom) when we needed some lettuce the other day. And they tasted Good.This is Makili telling me these are "all flowers" one of his new favorite concepts. He'll point to a bunch of balls and whirl his hands around saying "all balls." This was actually the first time I ever saw him do this, but he does it all the time now. He is such a talker - sometimes it drives me nuts!
Makili loved that I was laying down taking pictures of the dandelions. He came over and tried to smell them, but ended up spitting on them a little bit, with his covered his face in yellow pollen. It was pretty funny.


Glorious. And I'm so glad I don't have to spend my time plucking them out of the earth with that tool. It seems like it'd be a bit futile around here anyway!

Multi-tasking

Legs

Here is Legs, our friendly resident snake.  Makili LOVES finding Legs.  The day when we found Legs in the rocks right by where we were working in the garden, Makili sat there talking to him non-stop until we had to leave.  "Hi Snake!  Hi Snake! Hi Snake!  I love you Snake!!!"  Legs was okay with it as long as Makili kept his distance.  It was terribly cute.

And here is my guy finally earning his keep.

YES!

Raph has two interview scheduled in the next two weeks! Cross your fingers for us!

A few recents.

He was happy as a clam and then got mad at me for taking his picture and started giving me dirty looks.  He's at that age...

Makili and I have been eating every meal on the patio, which means cuteness and a whole lot less wiping food off the floor.  Those are the times a dog would come in handy.
Watching Dad leave on the motorcycle...
I just liked these pictures...