Another Snow day

Excuse my lateness this was from a week ago but I only have time today to post. We had the biggest snow ever since we moved here. I had the opportunity to enjoy it with the boys since Mike still has to stay in the sidelines. We had so much fun. Even if we're looking forward for Spring we won't mind one more big snow.



Mommy with the kiddos


one, two, three.. Go!


This is so much fun, we didn't have this in the Philippines :)!


MJ and I were making snow angels, then Mike reminded us that a few feet away is where our neighbor's big dog dumps humongous poop.. ewww!


I tried to make a snowman only to disappoint my boys :(. Sorry kiddos, we don't make those where I come from.


Daddy and Naia our photographers


Here are some Naia pictures:

watching her brothers play in the backyard



pig tails.

Mike's foot

Three weeks ago after the surgery

The doctor said that playing Guitar Hero would make him heal faster


since daddy's been home, Naia enjoys taking short naps with him


She is now 5 mos old. She is starting to crawl and tries to sit on her own. She knows what she wants and makes sure that she's heard.


Since Mike's surgery Nyle has been helping me a lot. His favorite chore is sweeping the floor. He calls it his JOB.


MJ can tie his own shoes now. I don't know but for some reason this milestone made me all teary-eyed. I realize that he is growing up fast, no longer our little MJ.


No snow, so the boys found out that going down the hill on their trike is just as fun.

Look at that face!


MJ hates it when Nyle tries to race him and blocks his way when it's his turn to go down the hill


Just another picture of our baby. She loves her bumbo chair.

Mike went back to school last Tuesday. He has to walk with his "robot" shoes on plus his crutches. I have a list of things to do already when he returns back to normal. Here it goes:1)sleep 2)chill 3)sleep some more 4)really chill.....

Ohana Updates

Finally we got some "real"snow! Mike and the boys had tons of fun sledding in our backyard.








That night it rained so the next day the snow turned to ice. This is what Mike did first thing that morning.





then the boys went sledding on our icy backyard. Nyle has the face to prove how much fun he had.


He can't wait to go sledding again. He talks about it everyday.


As for our baby Naia, she rolls over now and loves doing it. In her 4th month check-up she weighed almost 15 lbs and 25" long.


Here are some pictures I took of the kids.
Feet> MJ's, Naia's and Nyle's





more stuff>
-Mike and I watched Twilight. I had to beg him to watch it with me. No surprise, I screamed and giggled like a Tweener. This entertained Mike more than the movie. He just thought that it's quite funny how LDS-ish was the vampire family.

-Mike will undergo a foot surgery this week. Basically the doctors are going to reset his left foot, scrape some bones and then put a screw. Mom Suzi will be here to help us for a few days. So don't be surprise if you see him on crutches, he will be using them for a few weeks.

I know my blog is all over the place but I'm doing this in top speed since Naia only takes short naps. I just wanted to include one of MJ's drawing this week. It's not his best but I just thought it was funny.
This is his drawing of the Hales. For those who doesn't know them. Shelly is not bald, she has long beautiful hair. Tyler and Logan don't wear lipsticks. I love how he tried to spell the words and their names too.

After the Holidays....

Welcome 2009!

I rediscovered my LOVE for Abba songs. That explains MY playlist. Mike got me "Mama Mia" on blu-ray and Abba's Greatest Hits for Christmas. I remember those Abba long-playing albums that we used to have when I was a little girl and how I loved to sing along and dance to their tunes.


This is 4 year old Naika. I'm dancing here with my uncle, Tatay Junior. Judging on our moves I would say it's "Super Trouper" blasting in the background from our old stereo.


Mike turned 34. Yay!!! and this is Mike 30 years ago


Isn't he sooooo cute?!


Mama went back home to the Philippines soooo... I'm back to doing laundry, the dishes and everything, FUN!! But hey check this out:


MJ is one great helper. He vacuums the floor and helps me with the laundry too. Note to Abby, Haley and all of MJ's girlfriends: I'm molding him to be a great husband someday, just like his dad ;)!


Here are some recent pix..






Sorry no pix of our Tino Boy because he is always on the move.

The Addington's Christmas Letter

Aloha and Mabuhay Family and Friends:

Mele Kalikimaka 圣诞节快乐 Maayong Pasko Merry Christmas!

As part of (Operation) Kokua 2008...we chose to send out our family Christmas letter via our blogspot. "The 3R's reduce-reuse-recycle" ~Jack Johnson :).

Greetings to all from cloudy cold windy Maryland. This is our second Christmas here and the past year has been full of blessings.


-Naia Matina Ka'iulani



Naia is now three months sweet and cute. She gets longer and fatter by the week. Our little girl loves to coo, smile, and make bubbles...she especially loves her daddy. However, Naia does recognize mommy as THE most important person PERIOD.
MMmm hmmm cooo coooo whah mmm coo bubble bubble ~Naia


-Nyle Santino Kahalewai



Nyle Nyle Nyle...I could easily describe him with many various soundbites. Little Santino is not so little anymore, in fact, Nyle weighs about the same as MJ. Nyle eats like a champ and is VERY comfortable with his potty training. Nyle started soccer clinic this year and got to spend more time with mommy as MJ went to school. Nyle loves to read, ride his bike, sing , dance, and wrestle. Nyle is naturally funny and still loves to cuddle. Nyle likes to bear hug MJ and sometimes tries to sneak one on Naia. HULK SMASH! Kung-Fu Panda! Frosty da Doughman ~Nyle


-MJ Briggs Nahiolea



MJ has done most of the growing in the house (save Mike's belly). Although MJ said goodbye to some dear [girl]friends over the summer...he quickly recovered and has excelled in Kindergarten. MJ is quite social, sensitive, responsible, fun, smart, and a GREAT big brother. MJ started to swim this year in the pool. MJ also loves to: ride bike, read books, draw, mess around in the garage (with Dad's tools), and boss Nyle around. NYLE No!!!! ~MJ



-Naika and Michael



Naika was blessed to have her mother here for the past few months. Nana Erma was so helpful and fun to have around. Without the extra helping hands, Mike would have suffered even more in grad school. Naika and Naia are doing well...Naika is happy to report she is returning to "normal." We recently relocated on base and can now entertain our friends without sitting on them. Oh...Mike and Naika couldn't send out as many gifts this year because >>YES...we finally crossed into mini-van world.

This past year we enjoyed family vacations to Pennsylvania, New York State, New York City, Washington DC, and Laurel MD. Naika continues to serve the children in the church primary. MJ will be starting CTR6 and Nyle will be a Sunbeam. Mike continues to work and attend grad school at NDIC-College Park, Maryland.


On a truly personal note: Our Testimony

-We would like to express our gratitude for your friendship and love. We believe that (especially) this time of the year should be centered on Jesus Christ. We hope to refocus our lives and goals on the most important: Family, Relationships, and The Savior. We believe in his divinity, calling, and redeeming love.

-The blessings we have recieved are truly countless. Topping the list of most notable are: *Peace and happiness in our home. *Love, communication, and trust between each other. *Beautiful sweet healthly children that fill our home with joy and laughter (and some tears).

-We hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season.


Mele Kalikimaka kakou e Ha'oli Makahiki Hou!

ohana updates

So I've been slacking on my blog updates for good reasons though. Aside from the busy life of momhood we also relocated to a new house on base. Since we requested the move, we had to do it ourselves. We're grateful to some of our good friends who lent some muscles in moving our bigger furniture. Thank you Sam, Beau and Brian!!! Mike and I tackled everything else while Nana watched the kiddos. Though we miss our big backyard in the old house, we love all the space we have now. I don't have to share my kitchen with Mike's bike. We also got to celebrate Thanksgiving in our new home with some friends. Thanksgiving food is not really my forte, so thank you Food network for all your great recipes. We have our Christmas tree and lights put up. We're looking forward to celebrating Christmas with Nana before she goes home. Here are some recent pictures of the kids:




Naia turned 2 mos. At her 2nd month check up she weighed 12 lbs and she was at 23 inches long. She took the shots like a champ though she had a little fever that night.



She gives me at least 4 even 6 hours of sleep. We're amazed! Now daddy said if all baby girls are as sweet and easy as her we should have more!




The first flurries of the season. Nyle was very excited to go out and play. He thought that he could go sledding already in our backyard. Too bad it only lasted for half an hour.




Our asthma boy. So it's that time of year again for Nyle. He gets it really bad during Fall. The Doctor said that the steroids will make him hyper active, like he's not hyper enough already.




MJ doing the "hay" jump at Sunrise corn maze




Sometimes he misses the school bus because he spends a lot of time playing with his baby sister.

MJ voted for Obama

A conversation with MJ ...

MJ: Mom, did you vote for Obama?
Mom: Why do you ask, babe?
MJ: Welllll... because I voted for Obama (proudly declaring it)
[telling me about their "mock" election in school today]
Mom: Why did you vote for him?
MJ: because I saw him on TV (the 30 min infomercial really worked) and I like that he wears a black suit and tie like daddy and the elders.
Mom: John McCain wears suit too.
MJ:(totally ignoring what I just said)why does John McCain look silly?