Our newest cousins

What a joy it was to adopt Tanielu and bring him home to our family four years ago! Recently we have had the blessing of getting to know two of his birth cousins, Leah and Nikki. These beautiful girls were adopted by a family in Idaho. We only found out last summer that they were all related. We finally met them in person at Christmas time. We also got to go to lunch with them last Monday. What a neat family! We feel like we were gifted with a new set of relatives. Tanielu adores the girls. He thinks they are beautiful and immediately fell in love with them. I have really enjoyed talking with Kathy, their Mom, about the challenges and rewards of raising a spirited Samoan child. It is amazing how many of their qualites are similar. They have never ending appetites and are very emotional just like Tanielu. They are also strong-willed, dynamic, and have a ton of energy too. We are thankful we have been blessed with these new cousins!

Summer Haircuts

Rod decided to give the boys buzz cuts over the weekend. Personally, I prefer little boys with hair. However, Rod really wanted to buzz their hair and it will be nice and cool for the summer. Especially for Tani. He is always a sweaty mess with his dark black hair. Somewhere there is a picture just like these with Rod and his Dad. I wish I had a digital copy to post here.

What do you think of my little punks?

Just like their Daddy.

Hey! What about me?

Owen is 3 Wow!

Owen turned 3 on April 21. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. He is such a wonderful little boy and the joy and light of my life. When things get tough with his older brother and sister I just sit back and enjoy Owen. There isn't another like him! He is my fastidious, careful, organized (possibly a bit OCD) boy. Owen is the one who goes around the house closing drawers and putting the lids on the laundry hampers. He likes his PJs buttoned to the top. I don't worry about him being a nerd though. He is just too cool! He was born with attitude and coolness built in. He makes the greatest tough guy faces, especially when he is feeling shy. He covers his shyness with grumpyness. He is very tough and not the least bit afraid to go head to head with Tani. He loves pickles and pink milk for breakfast. He will eat all the ginger off of Rod's sushi plates. He orders the salad bar when we go out to eat. And above all else he loves the color orange. "O-unge" as he says it. When I asked him what kind of birthday he would like I thought he might request "Diego" or trucks or something along those lines. No. He wanted an "o-unge" party. He was very specific. We had to have "o-unge" hats, balloons, cake, "I-keam" and "o-ange sprite". So that is what we did. He was very pleased with the entire event. I loved watching him. I am so thankful I was chosen to be his Mom and that he chose to come to our home! Happy birthday to my special boy!