Sesame Place

We just got back from our mini-vacation to Pennsylvania. We arrived Friday afternoon, spent all day Saturday at Sesame Place, and then returned home Sunday. We feel so blessed that everything went well. The drive went smoothly, we highly recommend Route 1; no tolls...no traffic. We were also pleasantly surprised with tax-free shopping for shoes and clothing . Our day at Sesame Place was so much fun! The boys totally enjoyed it and so did Mike. As for me, I had fun taking pictures and lounging poolside. I have to admit that I was kinda' star struck to see the Sesame characters. MJ's favorite is Cookie Monster and Nyle's is Super Grover. It was a beautiful 75 degrees all day. The water was a lil' cold but the boys didn't mind it at all. Watching Mike go up those long stairs to go down the water slides made me grateful to be pregnant and exempt from doing those rides. We look forward to going back next year with Naia in tow. Big thanks to the Hero Salute Program for our free day passes!




family picture with Ernie and Bert



in the neighborhood


going down the Slimey's Chutes

big smile after going down the Sky Splash

Nyle's favorite ride

relaxing by the Teeny Tiny Tidal Wave

With Nyle's favorite character, Super Grover

We got there an hour before the park opened because we thought there will be a long line for the Hero Salute Passes. We were actually one of the very first ones to get in the park

at Ernie's Waterworks

going down Sesame Streak, Nyle was too small to do this ride

This was MJ's favorite ride

Our Tino Boy

Time flies by so fast, we can't believe our Tino boy has turned 3. Nyle Santino Kahalewai, we call him Tino or Na-yel as MJ would say it, is our little sunshine. Full of life and energy. He is our entertainer, he loves to sing and dance, make us laugh and he likes to immitate people or characters on TV. At the same time he is our future Ultimate Fighting Challenge Champ, he loves to wrestle. If he takes off his shirt in front of you it means he is ready for a fight. He though is nice enough to give a warning , he says first,"wanna fight, wanna piece of me?". His warrior spirit is something he got from his dad while his quirkiness is from mommy :). Despite all the toughness, he is actually one sweet boy. He loves saying hi to everybody. He always remember to use his pleases and thank yous. He loves to talk to his baby sister in the belly and is a big fan of his big brother, MJ. We love our Tino boy and we're so grateful to have him in our family. Happy 3rd birthday, anak!

May 2nd had always been a special day to my family. It's my Papa Nonic's birthday. Some of you may wonder why the picture is so ancient( circa 1975 btw). My Papa died due to kidney illness almost 31 years ago, a month before I was born. Christened, Jose Nazarito Nonilon Frasco Quinones(what a name!), he was known to family and friends as Nonic or Nic. He was born in 1943, he would have been officially a senior citizen today. Papa will always have a special place in our hearts.

April pictures

Outside our home at the start of Spring. My flowers started to bloom and nice breeze was blowing our Hawaii Flag. We love Spring weather!
Gramma Suzi came to visit for a few days. Just in time to see MJ's first game of the season.
MJ in action. This is from his first game . Mike and I are totally enjoying being soccer Mom and Dad. So it's not Halloween but our little Nyle is into pretending that he is a super hero. Somedays he is Superman, somedays Batman and somedays he is Mr. Incredible. Mommy and the boys. I love being their Mom. Sometimes I wish that they don't love me so much because they're all over me all the time :). So I'm almost 20 weeks pregnant. My belly looks like I'm 28 weeks though. I'm feeling great and just excited that I'm cooking again. Yep, for those who don't know, that's how I relax, I cook or bake in my kitchen.
I wish I have a picture of Mike from his softball game. He is playing in a league right now. He plays with the Brigham Bombers team along with some of his good friends . So now that I'm back to my normal activities or energy, he gets to do sports and he resumed schooling for his MPA. We're looking forward to a growing belly, preparing for baby girl and enjoying the rest of Spring time.

Naia in the belly

So this is the result of my OB ultrasound this morning:

It's a girl! As the technician said, 90% sure that it's a girl. The 3 lines that the arrow points to indicates that we're having a girl. Mike and I do know how it looks like in the ultrasound if you're having a boy:).

This is Naia's first profile pic. FYI the thing sticking out from the belly is the umbilical cord.

Naika's feelings and thoughts: Great! When can I start shopping for girl stuff!

Mike's thoughts and feelings: mix emotions. wow, I finally have a baby girl!... but what if the ultrasound is not accurate . When baby comes out it's gonna be a boy :(. Can I name the baby Bruce Lee :)?

MJ said: Yeah! Now like Abby, Tessa and Michael Herndon I will have a baby sister too.

Nyle said: Baby?

March Madness

We're finally experiencing some nice Spring weather. March was a little crazy for Mike. Aside from taking care of his sick pregnant wife, he was preparing for his promotion test. Add to that ofcourse he was doing "mommy" duties like cooking, cleaning , taking care of the laundry which by the way he has been doing since end of January when I started getting sick. He did a great job and we're very proud of our daddy! MJ started his second season for soccer. He is the youngest and the smallest in his team. We admire his determination to listen , learn and act. He does everything his coach tells him to do. We can't wait for the games to begin. In school he is doing great. He was student of the month. He loves doing school work . He respects his teachers and plays really well with his classmates. At home he is a great helper. Especially when both Mike and I were sick. Mike had the flu really bad in February. MJ stepped it up. Nyle can't wait to do soccer. He wont be old enough to join the soccer clinic until Fall. He loves and admires his big brother . He wants to do everything that MJ does . He loves to wrestle with his dad. The moment Nyle sees daddy coming in the door, he lifts his shirt up and asks, " wanna fight?". Since Spring started That means bad allergy time for Nyle. We had to make a trip to the doctor. 3 days of steroids and constant Ventolin puffs helped him feel a lot better. Potty training??!! We're trying. It was hard for me to be consistent when I was very sick. Mike tried to let him sit in the potty the other day. He was cooperating by trying his best to squeeze something out, only shi-shi came out. After a minute of waiting Nyle declared, "dad, it's not working!". So hopefully we'll have some success soon, he turns 3 in May. As for me, I'm feeling much better. I still throw up from time to time. I'm finally craving for food. So far it it has been boiled eggs, avocados and Califonia rolls. My next pre-natal appointment will be 2 weeks from now. The baby is doing great and we're starting to feel movements now. Hopefully we'll find out our baby's gender by the end of this month. MJ is so sure that he is having a baby sister. Nyle points to his belly and says that he has a baby too because he has a big belly like mommy. Whatever Heavenly Father blessed us with we're grateful that we're having another addition in our family. So until next blog!