Bangs!!

Every once in awhile do you ever get the urge to do something crazy? I do. At least once a year I think ... man everyone looks so cute with bangs. I know they are annoying, but maybe when I cut them this time they will be better and I will look as good as everyone else. Tau always makes sure to remind me before I go to the salon not to come home crying to him afterward, and so I bring my tears to you oh great blog who won't tell me "I told you so"... Why!!? I do love them, but man, bangs are so high maintenance, especially when you have wavy hair. Now I remember why I grew them out in 7th grade. Oh well, when I actually take the time to do them it is pretty fun to get out of the house and feel sexy. Change is good, but thank goodness hair grows back.

Thanksgiving

I have to say this year we had one of the most enjoyable Thanksgivings I can ever remember. Our family had a mini reunion to set the marker stone on my grandparents grave. My Uncle Kelton did a beautiful job making the headstone and we were able to listen to everyone share funny memories and valuable lessons learned from Grandma and Grandpa Uda. It was also nice to get to know our cousin Falon a little better and see all our other family from out of town.


Becca did a great job putting together a talent show and even my hubby Tau got in on the action. The video of us dancing is on Youtube under Uda girl group dance (sorry Tau) if you haven't already seen it or want to see it.

I think Noa's favorite part was hanging out with his little cousins Brooklyn and Brinley. I am proud to say he's got his daddy's genes. He's definitely going to break 5'10. Whoopie!

I couldn't decide on a picture. They were all so cute.

Naomi got a bunch of us to sign up for the Orem City Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Kevin, Taber, and Becca placed, and Naomi came soon after. I ran with Noa and gave it my best. We didn't make the best time and I almost gave up, but thanks to Kevin yelling for me at the finish line I pushed my way to the end. Thank you Hanks family for getting my blood moving through my limbs.

Other fun memories were waking up at 5 a.m. on black Friday with my crazy sister Becca and Kevin to shop at Walmart ...

the many sister dates, Twilight ...

Late nights with the adults to play Settlers and Pounce (thanks mom and dad for listening out for Noa), Taking up an entire row and a half at church (ah the good ol' days)...


the Tepanyaki date (thanks Becca and Taber) and all the other delicious desserts and food (yummo).

What a great Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

For Halloween we dressed Noa up as a pumpkin and thought it would be fun to have a photo shoot with him sitting in a pumpkin patch. He was having fun with it until I thought it would be cute if we made him a little rounder. Boy was he mad when I shoved a stuffed tiger under his shirt, but it was worth it. Look how cute he looks plump...


I was so excited for Halloween this year because I finally had an excuse to go trick-or-treating again. Sadly no one would believe me that my little toothless one ate candy. Oh well, maybe next year he'll be big enough to score mommy a free bag of sweets. Yesss.

Don't ask what Tau and I were, we don't really know. Just wanted candy

Family Fun

We were excited to have Tau's family come out for Noa's baby blessing. His mom, dad, and sister Anita came with her two kids: Mai and Kaleio. It was fun to have guests stay at our house for the first time although I'm afraid I wasn't the very best hostess (at the time I was still trying to figure out how to get anything done with a new baby).

Tau's mom cooked a different recipe with me every night so I can start feeding my family properly (no more mac'n'cheese and cereal for dinner). I learned how to make some mean pork chops and beef stew. Yummo. We went shopping at Costco for the ingredients. Here you can see all three kids konked out at the same time. It was so cute ... and convenient.

On one of the days we took all the kids to Hee Haw's pumpkin patch. It was fun watching them run around and explore. I can't wait until Noa gets a little bit bigger so he can enjoy that stuff too. Here are some of the pictures from our outing.


Mai and Kaleio were very nice to their new cousin. Especially Mai who even tried to teach him patty cake.

Noa's Baby Blessing

Noa got blessed October 10th 2008 at grandma & grandpa Uda's house in Pleasant Grove. Here is a picture of him in the outfit grandma got for him. Thanks to everyone who came from out of town--grandma and grandpa Ioane, Auntie Anita, and Uncle Ray and Auntie Lauren. It was truly a special day.
Thanks to Grandma Uda, who cooked delicious chili and for letting us use her home. Noa enjoyed his day too. He got passed around the whole time until he finally passed out. Here are some pictures Munro took for us after the blessing. Thanks Ro.

Growing Up

First Day Home (He was so small)

We can't believe how fast our little guy is growing up. It seems like we just brought him home yesterday, but he's already doubled in weight and grown 5 inches. Before he's to cool to kiss his mommy in public and snuggle with his dad, Tau and I thought we'd get our cuddles in while we can. We are loving parenthood. Here are just some of the little adventures we've had so far.


Surprisingly, the hospital trusted us to take such a fragile little thing home with us without an instruction manual. Luckily my mom came and stayed with us the first week. She made delicious meals, cleaned up the house, and made sure we didn't kill the baby. We were very glad to have her with us. Thanks mom.

Many people have commented that Noa is our little Samoan. We love his golden tan too, but it's not natural, secretly Tau and I have been sticking him in his very own mini tanning bed to ensure his darkness...

... lol. Noa had a hard time eating at first and so it was very hard to get rid of his jaundice. He had to be strapped down in a bili bed for four weeks where we weren't allowed to take him out except for feedings and diaper changes. I was so scared he would think that this was how life was ... no one ever holding him ... always strapped down in a hard cold bed. Maybe that's why he didn't get better for so long. Tau and I kept sneaking him out to cuddle him.

Speaking of difficulty eating...


Nursing sucked the first ... nope, nursing just sucks. I got mastitis so bad that it turned into an abscess. I had a surgery to drain it and was put on a buttload of antibiotics. Its been almost three months and I am done with the I.V. thankfully, but I am still taking oral meds for another month. Other than that I guess nursing isn't that bad.

Playdate

Since Noa was born he's had a lot of visitors, but one of his favorites has been his cousin Brooklyn. She seems to like him too as long as he knows who's boss. I don't think he'll forget it anytime soon ... at least until he gets bigger than her.

Bonding with Daddy

Tau has been a most excellent father and husband in this new chapter of our lives. I call him my Mr. Incredible and it's not hard to see why. He has many super powers which he uses only for good like always getting Noa to fall asleep.

Unfortunately, sometimes his magic power gets the better of him before it reaches Noa.

Unlike regular superheroes who wear stretchy pants and capes, Tau's disguise is simple. Here is a picture of him cleaning up the disaster site after saving me from a nuclear explosion that got all over my shirt. Just another reason why he is Mr. Incredible.

He is also very good at feelin anotha brotha's pain. Here is a peaceful picture of Noa before he went in to get his "man" surgery.

Tau was there every second of recovery making sure Noa got whatever his little heart desired.

When he's not busy saving the world Tau likes to spend time bonding with his son as a regular ol' Joe, but I think Noa already knows about his dad's secret identity.

Here they are at the park after a volleyball game.

Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Bee?

Today I asked my sister Becca for advise on how I can play with Noa. Mostly he just sleeps and eats all day and I was afraid he wasn't getting enough stimulation. She gave me a bunch of ideas like sitting in front of the mirror with him and making different faces. We practiced our happy face, mad face, and our sad face. He got a big kick out of watching himself. Next we tried the second activity Becca suggested. She said make your finger like a bee and buzz it around letting it land on Noa every once in awhile. I don't think Noa knew what to think about the buzzing bee and he let me know with some of the faces we had practiced earlier. Some might consider what I did torture, it's hard to explain, but it was the funniest thing I've ever seen so I had to keep doing it. I'll let you see for yourself.

For my wife

I promised Sarah I would write something. But I'm just gonna give the people what they want---pics and videos of Noa. He's a beautiful boy who has blessed our lives. My wife is great with him and an amazing companion.

So check out "da goods." This is for all the friends and fam afar......

Noa's concerned look--his auntie Liz must be holding him...jokes


Chillaxin

His curios look--and yes that is my hairy arm in the background.

Just a bunch of pics:


Gangsta lean


Mad doggin...


What's taking you so long look


Dude where's my car...jokes


No, I'm not always happy


Yes, this is very comfy