Baby Update!

Well, there is still no baby yet! I went to the Doctor last week, I was dilated to a "Good 3"(as he put it), and he says my cervix is pretty soft too. He stripped my membrane, in hope to help induce labor naturally. That was Wednesday of last week and still nothing. My blood pressure has been going up for the past few weeks, and my Doctor is concerned about that... so we set a date to be induced. I will be going in this Tuesday at midnight, which means I'll be delivering at 38 weeks. I have been waiting all week for this little guy to come in hopes that my water will break or I start contracting regularly. The last thing I really want is to be induced... I think it's more because I don't know what to expect, and I only have the experiences shared to me by friends and family. So today and tomorrow will officially be the last couple of days being pregnant! Good bye, big belly, big butt, heartburn, pain in my ribs and back! Hello, Beautiful Baby Boy that I have been waiting 91/2 months to meet!

Also some good news, we officially found a name for our little man. We have had the hardest time finding a name for our baby. Kyle came up with all these crazy names that I can't stand... like Bear, Bruin, Danger, Ruckus... and those are just a few! (with names like that our Son would end up in jail, or people would be for sure expecting a naughty child). Then there was me who came up with names that were too common, or not strong enough for his first son! (Whatever!) I swear, I was sure our child would arrive and still have no name at the rate we were going. But I will have to give Daddy all the credit. He came into me one night , I was asleep, and he woke me up and said... "What do you think of the name Taika?"... of course, half asleep I rolled over and said I'll have to sleep on it. It took a few days to be sure but we loved it. And most important we both agreed! So officially... Taika Tangiora Blood!

Well, we will keep everyone posted on how this next week goes. I can't wait to meet our little Taika!

BABY SHOWER

I had my Baby Shower on the 29th of August, it was a nice little gathering of family and close friends, it was perfect. We had some yummy food, and fun games. Many thanks to Mom, Chanele and Dixie for all the help in preparing for it. We provided lunch, some yummy chicken salad sandwiches, chips and dip, fruit, and some awesome chocolate cream cheese pie that I made... it was super yummy! Games were provided by Mom, Chanele, Azia, and Auntie Jenni. We played the belly measuring game, I measured 10 toilet paper squares, baby bingo, name the baby animals, and a matching games where you had to match the candy with the baby terms. It was fun! I got a ton of baby boy clothes, handmade burp cloths, quilts and blankets, which was exactly what I needed. I'm so grateful for all the friends and family who came to celebrate with me the arrival of our second child, even when it's not traditional to have multiple baby showers after your first child. It's just fun to get together and enjoy each others company, eat some good food, and play some fun games.

Simone and her cousin Colton keeping each other entertained.

Baby Shower favors. I made the tags, they turned out super cute. They were bags filled with Peanut M&M's. MMmmm...


...another picture.

Chanele and I made a diaper cake the night before... it was a last minute thing, and it turned out way cute. Also had a few pictures of the baby ultrasounds out for display.

Mommy and Simone. I think she was a little jealous that the party wasn't for her :(....

Friends and family mingling.....

... and eating some yummy food.

Opening the gifts, this is a Afghan made by my mother-in-law... absolutely love it!

More cute clothes.

Like I said before, I was so thankful to everyone who came to support me, we had so much fun, and I feel so blessed to have such awesome family ad friends!!! Thanks!!!

FAMILY VACATION

This last week we went on a little family vacation. It has been a really long time since our family has gone up to visit my Dad's grave site. So we all crammed into a minivan and head up to Utah and Idaho for a little vacation. Thanks Mom for letting us all tag along, Chanele and her boys came up as well. We had such a blast. We went up to Utah Monday night. This was my idea, but not one of my brightest, I will admit! My thoughts were that if we went up at night the kids would fall asleep and traveling would be easy. YEAH RIGHT!! Never again will I attempt that. Simone was so uncomfortable and fussed on and off the whole way. Thankfully we made it to Uncle Jerry's and Auntie Ang's safely. This was the first time I had seen their new home, and it was beautiful. Their kitchen and living room windows over looked the lake. It is amazing!

Kyle taking the kids for a ride on the long boards.

I was cringing everything he did... praying he wouldn't crash.

We couldn't keep Símone off it after that, she loved the ride!

Tuesday morning, after a good nights rest we headed straight up to Idaho. Mom rented a little cottage, in McCammon, ID, where Lava Hot Springs is. So we stopped there first to check in, and then made our way up to Shelley, ID, where Dad is buried. It was so nice to sit and think of Dad. And also see some of our other families grave sites. The kids loved it too. They ran wild and free. After a few hours of visiting we headed back to Lava Hot Springs. And took a late night swim. We went to the Hot Pools, which were HOT! They were well over 100 degrees. Of course with little kids we didn't stay long. The next day we swam at the Summer Pool there, which had slides and platform diving. We all loved the pool, and had so much fun. Kyle was the only one who enjoyed the slides and diving though. At nap time we took the kids back to the cottage, and Kyle took the tube ride down the river. We were all going to go, but were told that it can get kind of rough. Thankfully I didn't cause when I picked Kyle up at the bottom of the river he had fallen out of his raft and scraped his back on the rocks. But it didn't stop him from going again.

Mom and Dad's headstone! One of the nicest ones there!

The back with our names.

Grandma, Grandpa and the Grand kids.

Attempt at a family picture... that's as good as it gets!

Good morning sleepy heads. The grand kids, at the cottage.

Símone, all ready for a day at the pool.

The Family

Attempt at a self portrait, and snacking at the pool.

Kyle, heading down the river... this was his second time around.

Later that evening we headed back to Utah, and spent the rest of the week with Uncle Jerry and Auntie Ang's family. Thursday we spent the day at Utah Hogle Zoo. Friday we just relaxed from all our adventures. Spent sometime at the park and went to a fundraiser dinner for the local high school that a few of our cousins will be attending this year. Then Saturday we assisted my cousin Nathan at his eagle project. They painted the USA on the black top of their elementary school. We were so glad that we could be there to participate in his project. Sunday we headed home...

Daddy, Símone and the oldest elephant in North America.

Another family picture at Hogle Zoo.

The lake down from Uncle Jerry and Auntie Ang's house. Símone wanted to get in. We didn't stay long cause we were getting attacked by swarms of mosquitoes.

A day at the Park for Símone and Kaiden.

Tayvion, Deighton, and Ammon getting pushed by Kyle.

The Kiddos.

It was such a nice trip the weather was great, nice and cool. They even had a couple of rainstorms which was a nice change, and we are so grateful to Uncle Jerry and Auntie Ang for allowing us to stay in their home.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLTON!

We just wanted to wish our nephew Colton a Happy 1st Birthday. Thanks Sherrelle and RJ for the good food and fun time. We just can't believe how fast they grow!

We enjoyed our time celebrating it with all our family. Símone had a blast too. She had her first horseback ride on Fling, thanks Grandpa. She did really well! She didn't freak out at all. She makes the cutest little cowgirl! Check out the picture of her first horse ride, and more!

Our little Cowgirl!

Her practice attempt before the real deal!

More Cuteness!

And some more!

And there she goes. I am a proud Mommy.

The end!!

We couldn't get her to smile. I think she was just watching Fling the whole time. Making sure he didn't do anything crazy.

Her second time around... with Daddy this time.

Relaxing with Grandpa, after all the birthday celebration.

PIONEER DAYS

It's been a while seen I've blogged, so I have quite a bit to catch up on. July 25th and 26th we celebrated Pioneer Days with our Stake. It's kind of a big deal. On Friday night they have a dinner. Then on Saturday, they have a talent show, game booths for the kids, food booths, then a huge fireworks display. They do this every year, and it's always a huge success. As a family we didn't make it to the Friday night dinner, but we went to the Saturday evening event. It was a ton of fun especially since Símone was old enough to know what was going on. She had a blast. It was HOT... but the food was good, the kids had fun on the water slides, and Símone loved the fireworks. We were front and center, and she didn't freak out one bit! Enjoy the picture of our evening celebrating our wonderful pioneer ancestors.

Here we sent Símone down the water slide... It was so HOT and thought the babies would love the cool down. So Grandma, took her up half way and pushed her down. She freaked out, but it was funny!

What's a carnival with out your face painted. She was a good girl and sat as still as a 1 year old can.

The finished product!

The Family waiting for the firework show!

PICTURES OF OUR BABIES

Just a little update on my pregnancy... I'm 26 weeks, and I had an ultrasound the other day so we got to see pictures of our baby boy. He looks healthy and is growing on track. He weighed in at about 1lb 14oz and about 13 inches long. We even got to see some 3D ultrasounds of him and he is such a cutie! Here's the ultrasounds of our little Heart Breaker!

Also, this weekend Grandma took the grandkids to get photos done at Kiddie Kandids. Símone was such a good sport, and she had such the little character. She is grow into this beautiful little lady, it's amazing to me at how much children grow and learn. We are truly blessed to have such a beautiful family that is continuing to grow. This truly is the greatest joy here on earth.

This picture makes me wonder what is going on in that pretty little head of hers.

The grandkids! They got their matching aloha outfits from Chanele. They are so adorable!

Miss Gorgeous!


Need I say more!

FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATIONS

This weekend we celebrated the 4th of July together with my family, Auntie Lorraine and her daughters, Auntie Jenni and her kids as well as good friends of ours Vivian and Lence Teleaga and their family. Kyle had to work at the temple in the morning so we stayed in town for all the fun. Thanks to the Teleaga's we had a place to swim and eat some "ONO" food!!! We had a feast, and I'm still feeling the damage! Mom made her yummy Shoyu Chicken, rice, mac salad... And The Teleaga's made some amazing Taro, Palusami, and Samoan Long Rice... Like I said, I'm still feeling the damage!

We started our celebrations around 10am, went swimming then had lunch. By this time, the kids were pooped so we went home for naps. And when everyone regained their strength, we went at it again, this time Kyle was off, so he could join in the fun. We ate dinner, then swam some more... when dark came we pulled out the fireworks for the kids and had a little show. It was super fun, relaxing and filling!

Símone taking a break for the pool!

YUM!!! That's all I can say...

Mikeila getting her hair did, by Chanele! Ouch!


Elijah and Alvin



Alexandra and her best friends "Red Vines". She had like a million of those the whole day!





Grandma and Tayvion


Daddy and Simone enjoying the water!



Símone being little Dora the Explorer.

Her very own ice cream cone... And she ate it pretty well all by herself.

Sparklers, Fun!