2012 Wrap Up

Obviously I am a failure at blogging. The first trimester was flipping rough, so I wasn't able to show you pictures of Ekemona for his birthday, Halloween, or Christmas. We weren't able to travel for Thanksgiving, so we stayed here in Orange County, and my friends, Amrah and Donavon, invited us to her family's dinner, which was so good and delicious, only I didn't take any photos. Again, I fail at life!!! So please enjoy these pictures from many moons ago!

We did our 3rd annual photo booth picture

{it feels like we did this so much more than that because we did this a few times while we dated}

Ekemona turned 2 years old in October. I was still really sick at this point, so it was just us three who celebrated ... and of course we had an ice cream cake!

Right before he exhaled to blow out his candle! Love that boy!!

He was a monster for Halloween. Again, still sick from morning sickness, hence why there are no pictures of me or Gian. 

Amrah and Donavon had us over for a Christmas dinner. Look how cute her table is, she even had cranberries in the ice cubes! Eke watched Brave the whole time and loved it!

The mall we took Ekemona to replaced all their animals on the carousel with reindeers. He loves doing this! 

...And the classic upset 2y/o on Santa's lap. I have to say I love this picture!! Sorry little nugget! It's only a once a year thing.

We went to Idaho for Christmas. My sister, Brittany, and I did some grocery shopping. Being high risk and traveling takes a toll on your body. This was hilarious yet embarrassing all at the same time... but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do!!! 

Christmas Dinner! One of the best meals ever. It is our tradition to have a standing rib roast, mashed potatoes, homemade {my grandma's famous} rolls, strawberry salad, green bean casserole, Martinelli's, and poppers with our animal ornaments. Poppers are an English tradition that pop out a paper crown, joke, and prize. It's one of the best parts of the whole dinner. Then for dessert we had our famous red velvet cake. If you haven't had our recipe then you have never enjoyed red velvet cake. It's the way the cake was designed to taste, all the others are just counterfeited... and I am not just saying that!! It's legit!! 

Eke in his Christmas best. Loved this outfit!! 

Ps This was the best picture I could get. Sorry for him itching/picking his nose.

Our niece Ella and Gian!

Hunter seems to have picked up on his Uncle Gian's photogenic skills ahhahaha. Sorry Brittany!

The boys got their own table. What studs!!

Lily got to eat with us! Lucky lady!

Even Ella got to join us too. She loves her dad, Mike.

This is me trying to tell Gian to make a "normal" face. Here you go world... the most normal smile you will see from Gian!

Our little growing family! Ekemona doesn't look thrilled here, but I promise you he is. He is just a little man trapped in a toddler body. My dad, Tatu, makes this same exact pose. Eke also loooooooooved having his crown. Since the day he was born we have always wondered where he gets his royal stance from. He is always so proper and holds his head like a king.

McCall, Ryan, and their two boys. So cute! I love that they were all in plaid!

Our Christmas eve Pajamies. "Bear Cheeks!!!"

Christmas Eve... we had the kids leave out gingerbread cookies, egg nog for Santa, and celery for his reindeer. 

They also got to throw out magic oats that they made wishes with. The reindeer come and eat up the oats. Yes, that is a real reindeer hoof. Don't ask unless you like to hunt!!

My mom always has the best Christmas trees!! She is so good at decorating! 

Ekemona opening his gifts on Christmas morning.

Dad showing Eke how to work his new nerf gun!!

Brittany, Mike, and their kids opening gifts.

Me and my sweet little haolepino!! 

Santa brought Brittany's kids this HUGE teddy bear. The bear was a hit... and you can see how Eke is instantly attracted to the bear since he looks like Max's {his little white bear} dad/mom.

I just loved these pajamies on him!!! I couldn't get enough!

My mom, Koko, helping the boys with their gifts.

We had a wonderful snow storm that dropped the most flaky snow ever. You could blow it away if it just sat in your hand, and every centimeter sparkled in the sun. It was amazing.

There is something about little kids in snow gear that makes them so fluffy and cute!

This is a panoramic shot of my parents house in Idaho. It's the only house on the street, so we get to have tons of space to play with everything, everywhere. Mike and Gian took the kids sledding, pulling them with a four wheeler. My mom decorated the house for christmas... she has such a good eye. Everyone in town was talking about how perfect her lights were. They were pretty awesome! {PS See the yellow and blue? That was for our Jewish side!!! ;)}

Somehow this crazy HUGE yet creepy cob web was spun on the balcony. We have no idea when, but when the fog came in one night, it crystalized and made this creepy web look whimsical!! We told the kids that Spiderman came to check in on them. They LOVED it!! It seriously was out of a movie!

Ekemona discovered a dry erase marker and decided to draw all over Koko's walls, himself, and diaper. These pictures don't even do it justice. I couldn't even capture it all in one shot. Rubbing alcohol was the key to getting it off. PHEEEEEEWWW!! I will say how much I love his curiosity and imagination. ... but I can only say that because it came off so easy ahhaha.

When we came back home to Orange County, I thought we had made it through Christmas without having any accidents from Ekemona. If you look to the far right, he somehow managed to behead one of the kings. Then after, he felt horrible and ran the head to me saying "sorry" and then I came in and, as a peace offering, he had given hats to the donkey and cow... ahhaha. That boy!!! 

I Belong With You, You Belong With Me, You're My Sweetheart

Ever since I was a child, I always thought that twins were a spectacular phenomenon. I always wondered and was fascinated about their relationship and closeness to each other and why they come into this world together? Who am I kidding... I still get choked up, for example, when I watch TLC's Brittany and Abby, the show about the conjoined twins, or when I see newborn baby twins together!

A little history for you, when I was 15 months old my mother went into labor with fraternal twin girls, but unfortunately the twins did not make it through the labor. My mom named them Holly and Noel because they were expected to arrive around Christmas time. I remember not understanding why they died and my mom never was really given an answer herself. She had these two beautiful porcelain dolls dressed in white blessing gowns that represented Holly and Noel, and she kept them in a very safe remote place where they would never experience damage. When I asked, my mom she would always let us see them and play with them gently. When I was in the first grade, I became best friends with a girl name Kylie, she has an identical twin named Morgan and as we became the best of friends, I showed Kylie these dolls and told her the story of the two little sisters I had. Kylie and Morgan moved away to Chicago when we were in the third grade, but even through time and distance we have been able to sustain a great relationship and I miss them so much since they are nearly 1,500 miles away!

As I became a mother, my sensitivity for twins only intensified. When I called Kylie and Morgan to share with them the news of having twins, I felt my bond with them strengthen even more. When I see twins {especially newborns} I just stare and gaze at their amazement at them as if they were celebrities. I begin to ponder the same thoughts that I have always had; they had to be here at the same time at the same place hitting every milestone together and in some cases they even share the exact same DNA. The meaning of twins and the impact they have made, in my life, haunt me with wonder and curiosity and I have recently been able to come up with an answer for myself of why I am sensitive to this rarity.

In our faith we believe that there was life before this earth called the pre-existence. There we lived as spiritual beings where we knew our heavenly parents {who created us} and we CHOSE to come to this earth. When I think of the family unit and the friends that we have, I can't help but think about how we are spiritually intertwined with one another and how we thrive to have those relationships, especially with our siblings. I once read a quote that said, "God knew I loved you too much so he made you my sister." That always stuck to me, and my beliefs about the preexistence made it seem that much more true - that we don't choose who our siblings are, and if we allow it then they can become some of our best friends. When I think of twins I like to believe that in the pre-existence they loved one another too much to be sent down separately - that they wanted to always have a buddy to be around, someone to hit every milestone with, someone who they could connect to on every single level - that their mission here on earth is much greater and more important with their sibling right by their side.

Now I am not saying every twin and sibling is this way, but why else are we astonished at the fact that two spirits came to this earth at the same time? For me, it rings true to the doctrine of our church, that there was life before this one, and that we had bonds and relationships that couldn't go completely unforgotten, and that we exist not in spite of ourselves, but as constant companions for those we love, to be there for them, as a support system that is unconditional. To me, twins are a constant reminder of that fact.

When we first found out we were pregnant I fell in love with music by Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers and many more. When we still thought and weren't aware of the fact we were having twins I thought, "This baby is going to love music!!! I don't know why music has raised such emotions in me." Every single time I would hear The Lumineers "Ho Hey" I can't make it through the song without crying. To this day the lyrics "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart" makes me bawl like a baby. The thoughts that strike such piercing emotions are not only that these twins are my sweethearts and I feel like they belong in our family, but they belong with each other, to traverse this life with one another by their sides. To me it's the most beautiful thought! I hope they will be the best of friends and will have a bond greater than what I already felt they have. What a blessing to experience parenthood, and what a blessing to feel the love within the family unit! This is what life is all about!!

Twins 101/ Pregnancy Update

 Man, blogging to me has never felt like such a chore until these last few months. I am usually way passed exhausted to allow myself to type on my computer and let my brain spill out all my thoughts. One day... {maybe not for another year or so} I might have more energy to spend on the computer or to journal out my thoughts.

But... I wanted to give an update about the pregnancy and what we have been going through. 

In a lot of ways time has moved so fast. I am 24 weeks/6 months pregnant. I am thrilled, yet scared shiz-less about being close to the finish line. For the first time I would just like to stay this pregnant forever! I like having the babies in my tummy knowing they are sleeping and eating well without a whole lot of restless/sleepless nights, but then again, I am already uncomfortable! My doctor told me I am measuring about 29 weeks which makes me feel less crazy for all the discomfort I have. It's nice to hear a confirmation of, "It's not just you, its reality!" 

So around 16 weeks I was sent to a high risk specialist to determine what kind of twins we were expecting. Depending on the kind of twins, you can be considered high risk. If they are identical twins you are at risk of them having Twin-to-Twin Transfusion, which means, since there is only one placenta, one twin can hog the nutrients and fluid leaving the other twin fighting for their life. Apparently this is more common in female identical twins. This can be a very serious condition causing one twin to die before full term which means the other twin would be born too early to live. With all the modern and western medicine, they are able to catch these things and can even perform a laser treatment during pregnancy, if needed, to help distribute the nutrients more evenly. 

Depending on when the egg split, you can have three different types of identical twin pregnancies - (1) the egg splits but appears to have two placentas {but even after birth they can't determine if it is two placentas or one since they begin to fuse} (2) one placenta and two sacks, or (3) one placenta and one sack {a sack is really more like a thin membrane that separates the two babies but they can still touch one another, unlike fraternal twins who have a thicker wall because of the two placentas}. I am carrying twins who have one placenta, two sacks, and this is how we know they are identical. This is a good and bad thing. It is good because it means their cords will not get tangled and cause other complications, but it is bad because it means they share the same fluid which means one can have more or less, in which case if it becomes too severe they have a laser process that can help resolve the problem. The most ideal scenario is to have twins in two placentas, like fraternal twins or identical twins that appear to be fraternal through ultra sounds {in these cases they would have to do a DNA test to determine the kind of twin}. See picture below to help give you a better understanding of what I am saying.

Our twins are the ones in the middle. The doctor suspects that our egg split around day 3-5 after fertilization and then attached to the uterine wall. The image on the far left means the egg splits around day 1-2 after fertilization and the image on the far right means the egg split 5-7 days after fertilization. Our doctor also mentioned that any time the egg splits after day 7 is when you would have conjoined twins.   

Once a week, I get an ultra sound where they measure the fluids of each twin. So far these ladies are doing so great. They have a great amount of fluid and they are the same weight. The doctor said every week we go without seeing any changes in their fluid or growth the better the chances of not having Twin-to-Twin Transfusion!!! This was music to my ears! While I am getting ultra sounds, they also check the length of my cervix to make sure I don't have to go on bed rest and every three weeks they check the measurements of the growth of the twins. It is fun to see them on the big ultrasound screen so often! They have the most beautiful noses I have ever seen... their noses look just like their big brother's nose. Sometimes we even get the pleasure of having the 3D ultrasound because their little bodies make it hard to see what it is the doctor is looking for.

The other night, when I was about 21 weeks, I woke up with contractions. My doctor believes they were most likely Braxton Hicks which is totally fine with me!! As long as it isn't actual labor signs!! He expects the twins will come around 35-36 weeks. Twins are considered full term at 36 weeks, but I just want them to be healthy and if they want to extend their stay, I am ok with that!! No need to make them come too early if there aren't any complications. 

Another crazy thing that I learned is, when having twins, they have you deliver {at least here in California} in the OR even if you are planing to have a vaginal birth because complications can arise really fast and they don't want to waste anytime. This makes me sad in a small way. The people I have always planned on having in the delivery room are my husband and my mom!!! These two people are the reason I am even having a child and I want so badly to have their support and excitement in the room, but when you deliver in the OR you only get one person and Gian obviously will be the one there... but my OB is pretty freaking awesome and he has had two sets of twins so he understands and I think he might make an exception for my mom!! I THINK!

The hardest thing for me about this pregnancy is not knowing what the outcome will be. There are so many scenarios. Will I have to have a C-section? Will they come early and how early? Will they be born healthy? So many concerns run through my mind and for the first time I feel completely out of control and useless. I know that is something I have to learn and be okay with because this is just how life is. With Ekemona I knew everything would be okay and he would be healthy, I knew he would come vaginally and not through a C-section... it was just that comfort I always felt in my heart and gut. This time, even though I feel it in my heart that the twins will be okay and healthy I still have my gut exploring every possible scenario and every possible outcome and that's where I try to keep "fixing" the problem. I am learning that life is just life, you can't fix or control 100% of your outcomes, which is how I have always based my decision making and planning. I believe so much in personal responsibility that I feel like if I don't do something right it will be my fault.  

All in all things are going really well and really smooth. I don't have the same physical abilities as I did when I was pregnant with Eke. I have to take things about 2x slower and simple tasks become exhausting chores. Some days I can't even stand longer then ten minutes, but if that is what it takes to stay healthy then I will listen to my body every single time! 

Now for some "belly time" hahahahah.

11 weeks

15 weeks

17 weeks

23.5 weeks

PS All my clothes are fitting weird and this is me trying to hold my maternity shirt from the strange fit. I don't know why my clothes are fitting weird. I think my belly just has a different shape to it or something.

Dashing Through the Snow

This year we will be able to dash through the snow... of IDAHO!!! I am so happy to be able to be with my family for the holidays! 

We wanted to wish you all a very merry holiday!! We hope it is filled with love, joy, peace, health and happiness!!

On a side note, this year we decided to do a non-traditional family photo. Mostly because I was so horribly sick the first 3.5 months of my pregnancy, I wasn't sure I would be able to pull us together to capture anything glamorous, but I am very pleased with how it turned out. My friend Drea created this beaut. Feel free to visit her blog. She even has a webcomic... she rocks!

Merry Christmas. May it be the happiest season of all!!!

...and the Genders are....

If you follow me on Instagram, then you have seen this picture with the caption saying, "Pssst, I know the genders and I am not telling yet."

I know I am a horrible person. I was just so excited and we wanted to make sure our family knew first. So without further adieu.... Just highlight the blank space below to have the gender revealed and if they are identical or fraternal.

IDENTICAL

GIRLS!!!!

I couldn't let you just skim the post for the answer.... That would make me too nice!!! Ahhaha Well we are pretty excited!! I can't wait to meet these little babies!!

Now I must link to my friend Janssen's blog which I stole this idea from. Plus her blog is just really cute!! Even her sister Merrick has a great blog too! They are just cute girls I tell ya!!!

The Reason I Blog

Well here I am again.... after a long absence. I unfold from the dark hole of the internet to try and claim a purpose of writing.

The truth is... I originally started this blog because I thought that is what every Mormon newlywed did, and I know that you can print out your blog into books. I dreamt that one day I would do this and have them archived and manifest as a form of my journaling with fun pictures and captions. Then as time moved on, we had a child and Gian was/is in school and I became a stay-at-home mother. So I thought, why not get paid for what I am already doing... why not work towards getting a lot of readers to the point where I will have sponsors... then I can make money while I am at home and support my husband through school. It seemed like a great idea. I became inspired and I felt like my blog had a purpose. I wanted to focus on my learning disability and my sense of humor, but once I wrote all the things I felt inspired to, the desire to become a "famous blogger" diminished. Then I discovered, "Ohhh, I wrote what I was supposed to!!" and from that time on I decided to take a different direction, but still clung to the "traditions" I had on the blog. 

Over the last several months I have not had the desire to do anything blog related. I didn't want to write, I didn't think about writing, I didn't look at peoples blogs anymore. Blogging in whole became so time consuming that I literally shut my computer and let it collect dust. I use my phone as the source to the great big World Wide Web. I will add in that for the last three months my morning sickness took hold of my life, and left me even more uninspired. It is a rare occasion when I open my computer for a whole lot of things these days. My phone limits my ability to waste endless amount of time and it feels nice to have those natural restraints.  

So now what?!? I plan to write with one purpose and one purpose only... and that is what drove me to a blog in the first place; to one day print out a book that my children, and grandchildren, and my great grandchildren can read around the coffee table to learn about the family they came from. If this blog seems endless, boring and pointless to you... then that's okay!!! I have given up the purpose of blogging for money and will now focus on what makes me truly happy... creative writing! If I don't come around your blog anymore it is because my of interest in blogs really has become extinct and I will rely mostly on Instagram and Facebook to deliver me the awesome news in your life. 

Viral Friday: "Hey, I Just Met ...Gangnam Style...on the 405-rex"...

I don't remember the last time we had Viral Friday, so I'll do a summer recap for us...since summer is long gone...

First, I would like to thank Carly Rae Jepsen for "Call Me Maybe." It gave inspiration to tons of people to make lots of memes about your lyrics, and also inspired tons of dudes to pass out business cards, with your lyrics on it, to random bettys that would, later on that night, tell us through social media how they got hit on that day. Awesome. I called it at the beginning of the summer...Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe"...theme song of Summer 2012.



Don't deny that every time you heard this song on the radio this summer that you got pumped up a little bit. Seriously though. I did. I love that she is like 38...well, I think she's actually somewhere around 28...and sings a song that 16-year-olds sing.

There a good chance you've already seen this video...or a parody of it. This exploded sometime over the second half of the summer. Gotta love k-pop.



So, Psy ain't no Jay Park...but this is freaking awesome. Seriously...a horsey dance? Yeah... There are just too many great things about this video to discuss.

Let's preface this next video by mentioning how we currently live in Southern California. If you've lived here, or at least driven around, you know how ridiculous driving gets. There are a ton of freeways and it really is like an art-form knowing how to navigate your way around. Even with the plethora of freeways, it's almost beautiful how they all interconnect and how it just flows...so nicely...well...when there isn't traffic. Everybody knows a particular way from point A to point B, everybody knows how crazy traffic gets during certain hours of the day, and everybody has a "special" spot to park wherever they go. So a couple weeks ago we had family in town for an event. My sister-in-law/McKinley's sister, Brittany, was listening to her husband/my brother-in-law, get/discuss directions from the LA County Fair to Mike's parents' house. The following SNL skit pretty accurately illustrates the conversation she heard...which is how a lot of conversations are down here.



Hilarious. I love how everything is centered around driving and traffic. I like to believe that they were all laughing so hard b/c they know themselves how true it all is. Ridiculous.

This next video is just great. Toy Story short. Classic.


Partysaurus Rex on Disney Video

Party-saurus Rex! I love the LMFAO-Party Rock-esque music. I think my favorite lines were, "Squeak to me!"...and, "WHAT UP FISHES!!!!" Haha...Peace out...

Happy Viral Friday...

Gender Poll Update

Just realized I had to change the entire poll of the gender prediction. If you voted, please vote again, and if you want to, take a go at it!! It's anonymous so I will never know who you are or what you vote for.

If you are curious about how the last poll ended, these were the final results as of 10/10/12 at 4:52pm:

Girl: 13 votes {81%}

Boy: 2 votes {13%}

No Freaking Idea: 1 vote {6%}

There's Not Just 1, but 2... TWINS!!!

What do you call twins who live together? WOMB-MATES bahahahahahhaah!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!! You read that right!! We are having twins!!! It has been hands down the greatest shock/surprise of my life!! It also explains why I have been so horribly sick this time around!

So the reason this was such a great shock was because at my first ultra sound, three weeks ago when I was 7.5 weeks along, I specifically asked the doctor, "If we were having twins when would we find out?" because I had the slightest hunch and was just curious when people find out anyways. Plus Gian's whole family kept saying, "We hope it's twins!!! Then I saw on the ultra sound and there was only one and the doctor confirmed by saying, "No, your not having twins. We would know by now if you were having twins and there is just one baby and one heart beat." So I felt silly and closed the book of possibly having twins AT ALL!!

Please notice the date of this ultrasound... Why yes, it was 

on our 3rd year wedding anniversary!! 

Then yesterday at my doctors appointment I looked up at the screen. I could clearly see two separate gummy bears and I blurted out a loud, "ARE THOSE TWO???" before the doctor could even say anything! Then he replies, "Yep, you're having twins!" At that point I yelled, screamed then cried, then went into shock ahhaha. It was amazing, and I am so glad I noticed before the doctor even said anything!

These two were hilarious {if you look at the picture below, I numbered them to help explain this story}. Baby #2 was just hanging out doing it's own thing, while Baby #1 was straight up doing somersaults and kicking it's sibling in the face. Then after a while, Baby #2 decided to take it's little gummy bear hands and flare itself in motion to get Baby #1 to stop! Hahaha It was so cute!

Look at Baby #2 legs!!! Have you ever seen anything cuter?

Now to express my greatest fears.... WILL I BE ABLE TO TELL THEM APART AS NEWBORNS? And if they are the same gender will I know each of their names? Plus our car is only a four seater.... WE NEED A NEW CAR, and now a NEW STROLLER!! And more clothes... and another crib... or two cribs if we keep Eke in his!! Do they take turns in the swing or do we buy another one? How will I ever sleep?? Will my back break??? CAN I HANDLE THIS??

So I decided that these fears are all relevant... AND LEGIT!!! We have 7 months to figure it all out!  So there is no need to be all worked up about it! We at least have half of everything so that is a good start! I just want to enjoy this time. It is so exciting and wonderful and fun, especially while they are still tucked away nice and warm in my tummy!

Coming May 2013

I took 4 just in case...no joke. 

We are thrilled to share this wonderful and happy news with all of you!!

So I want to ask you, what do you think we are having? I am absolutely stumped!! I will not give you any clues so you can make your decision without any bias input ahhaah. To the right, there is a poll you can take and cast your vote of blue or pink!

I have been soooooooooooo nauseous! I have been sick since the day of my missed period. So I would be utterly grateful if this whole nausea thing went away at 12 weeks or as soon as possible! I do not enjoy tossing my cookies as often as I have! However, I will tell you the only thing I enjoy about the nausea is the fact that it means my hCG levels are high and normal and that I am actually pregnant and not just going insane hahaha.

Here is a little funny story. So back in February and in March I had two false positive pregnancy test. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?! How does that happen? Well I will tell you... it is uncommon, but it isn't all that rare. I fell into that .01% twice in a row with two different tests bought at two different locations, but through blood tests, my doctor was able to confirm that I was never pregnant and it was a fluke due to the tests. Dr. O even chuckled at the thought it happened twice in a row!! It was a bizarre experience!! A roller coster!! Especially because in February we hadn't even had a wink of a thought about trying again. Then in March, we decided to kind of try because that meant the baby would have to come around Christmas time ,so it would have been good timing. Obviously we didn't conceive that month.... but someone in the universe wanted me to believe we did for about 5 days. So knowing we didn't want to have a baby in the middle of his first year, we kind of decided to wait. Then we moved and literally never had the chance to try again since we were apart for 2 months. We kind of said we would see what happens in August and I always felt like this next baby would want to come in May... and that is exactly what ended up happening. These little spirits that come to this earth definitely have their own plans... and with what happened in February and March, I'm hoping this little one isn't a prankster!! Hahaha

Well there you have it!! We are expecting baby Haolepino #2 in the beginning of May!!! So that makes me about 9 weeks pregnant today. We also had our first ultra sound which happened to be on our 3 year anniversary!! So that was exciting and romantic hahahaha seriously though, it was neat to feel that kind of love and joy again on such a special day!