We have a baby!

... no longer a sea monkey!! Mommy went to the doctor yesterday, and after a little coaxing (and unfortunately not ultra sound photo to share), got to see our little baby and hear the heart beat! I could not believe how much you could see. It actually looked just like a little baby, and boy was it moving around! Kicking like crazy and moving it's arms. Still could not see any "family jewels (or the lack there of)" but that should happen at my next ultra sound in two weeks.
Being able to see a real life little baby on the monitor really made this whole thing even more real to me. It was the most amazing thing to see the baby and think, "Wow, that is MINE, and it is inside of ME!" What a miracle. I am SO grateful and blessed to be able to go through a pregnancy at least once in my life. I have also been feeling the baby kicking a lot this week. That is such a comfort and really helps me to begin to feel really bonded to this little person. Looking for to updating you all in a few weeks with the sex! Can't wait!

Girls will be girls...

Typical girls! Hanging out at the beach on the towel, under the umbrella, eating! I love seeing the difference between girls and boys when you watch different kids interact. This is Malia's best girl friend, Kahili. They are the same age and are going to be heart breakers don't you think!? Our little beach bunnies.

and boys will be boys...

Gabe is taking "low riding" to a new level. The board shorts fit him fine dry... another story when they got wet. His whole bottom was popping out of his pants. Since he is only 3, we just laughed about it.

We had a fun beach day with friends Karla with a "k" and Jenelle and their kids. The boys are all the same age so it was SO fun to watch them play and get all sandy and just have pure child enjoyment playing in the shore break.
This is Gabe's friend Kai, such a cute little guy. He and Gabe are currently taking swim lessons together and are both loving it and doing so well. We will have two good swimmer boys soon... I can just feel it! (p.s.- Notice the Gabe booty in the back ground)

Gabe's Chore chart

Some of you requested a photo of the "responsibility chart" that I use with Gabe. No joke, this thing rocks. He still gets excited to put up his stars, pick out his reward, and switch up his chores every now and again. I think the variety keeps him into it. And that makes me happy! This little kid makes his bed, sorts his laundry, folds his shirts and pants, and puts away his clothes and toys. He also has gotten a lot better at sharing with his sister, knowing that he might just earn a star for doing so.
Things I love about this chart:
1. Durability
2. Flexibility, you can use the pre=made velcro ideas, or they have some blank ones you can fill out yourself.
3. You can even place a photo of the goal they are working toward.
4. You post how many stars they need to earn to get the reward, your choice.

Here is the link if you are interested in buying one. :

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=534909

My beginner belly

Per Betsy's request... Some photos of the growing baby bump...

A Couple more portraits of Gabe and Malia

A few more photos

Here are some more portraits from the kids portrait session. These are Malia's one year portraits, thought I would share how cute this girl is! Her little personality really shows in the first photo... at least I think it does.