Closing out 2010

This is what I want to remember about celebrating New Years Eve:

• As opposed to last year (we had over 30 people at our house), this year it was just Kyle, I and the kids.
• This has been one of the coldest days in a while and all I wanted to do was sit in front of the fireplace.
• We had a picnic lunch in the living room in the afternoon and yummy BBQ chicken nachos for dinner.
• We did a fun little dance in our living room before the kids went to bed.  We had a blast and Ka'imi was the most excited I have ever seen her in her life. 
• We all camped out in the living room to sleep.
• In remembering all that happened this past year, we realize what a great year it has been.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Letter

This year, I was a little lazy and never got around to doing our family Christmas letter (it was enough work getting cards sent out).  After I read up on so many dear friends, I immediately regretted not doing one.  It has always been more for family history's sake, so I wrote anyway.  Here it is :)

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                            

Here’s the recap of the year for the Reyes family.  Enjoy!

Kyle – is looking forward to the day that he can come home and not worry about his dissertation.  He finished his coursework, qualifying exams, and proposal with graduation on the horizon.  He continued work with President Holland at UVU and is having a number of great experiences as well as late nights.  In one day, he was released from a bishopric only to be called to the next one.  Finally, he was delighted to have fun with his growing family.  The boys are still excited to welcome him home and his new princess has him wrapped around her finger. 

Michele - loves her boys to no end and almost cries when she thinks about finally having a baby girl join our family. She’s enjoyed creating things from princess to superhero for her little ones.   This year she fulfilled a dream she’s had since 7^th grade to cut her hair super short.  Her thoughts on short hair?  She’s decided to check that off the bucket list and grow it back out. Her photography business continues and Kyle and her twin brother Uwe finished a room in the basement for her studio (Michele is grateful to no end!).  She traveled to Canada in September to be mentored by one of her favorite newborn photographers.

Kekoa (6) - started kindergarten this year.  He insists on riding the bus to and from school (Michele does not mind – less work than packing up all the kids for a 3 minute ride). He loves drawing and all the boys show great talent in it.  It is no surprise with extremely talented artists for grandfathers on both sides. Along with drawing, Kekoa loves to dance.  Both the boys began learning the Native American Hoop dance this summer and debuted their performance at a Pow Wow in November.  We were so proud of them for being so brave.

Ikaika (4) loves to learn and do things with mom and dad.  He still has a soft spot in his heart for his Grandma Delphine (they mist be kindred spirits).  He is a great helper to mommy and is wonderful at doing “chores” to help with cleaning.  He is officially our first child to completely unload the dishwasher.  He loves his siblings and can always get Ka’imi to smile and giggle at him.

Iosepa (2) – continues to charm his way out of things.  He fills the role of third boy well, getting in on the fun and wrestling his brothers.  Has a real love for music and learning songs.  His favorite to sing is “I Got Joy” from Joy School.  Anytime music comes on he can’t help but move along to the beat.  He and the other boys have tons of fun dancing in the living room.

Ka’imi (9 mo) – Ka’imihaleakua Hozhoni joined our family in March.  She has been a wonderful, easy-going baby.  She spent a week in the hospital when she was 2 months old for an eye infection, but otherwise has been healthy and developing well.  She is currently very mobile crawling everywhere.  She truly is the princess of the family and everyone loves her beyond description.

We completed a year in our home in Cedar Hills and are adjusting to the distance between home and everything else (work, church, stores, etc).  We still attend the Native American Ward and love the ward-family we’ve developed there.  It has been a wonderful, blessed year – we are so grateful for all we have, especially our growing family! Hope all is well with each of you.  For more info on our family visit our blog: reyesohana.blogspot.com

Most Sincerely,

Kyle, Michele, Kekoa, Ikaika, Iosepa, and Ka’imi

 

From the Reyes Family ~

Santa's Little Helper

Ka'imi got the memo from Santa that he is trying to cut back on the cookies this year.  She was happy to help him out . . .

Christmas Eve

This year we decided to do the big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.  We had a delicious turkey dinner and afterward made cookies for Santa.  We then read Luke 2 and a children's book called, "Who was Born on This Special Day?"  It wasn't until after then that I finally pulled out the camera and took some pictures.  It was cute to see the boys and Ka'imi in their new pj's.  Here are my darlings :  )

Then off to bed to wait for Santa :  )

P.S. Here are a couple pics of Christmas crafts we did today:

 

My Children Charm Me . . .

Some favorite memories from today that I want to remember years from now:


Sepa - the second thing he said to me this morning as he was sitting on his barstool for breakfast - "Mommy, I love you." (Never happens - usually he's grumpy).
Another cute thing he did was later in the day.  While in the bathroom, he covered his face with his hands and said, "Mirror, you can't see me."

Ka'imi - during lunch while she was in her high chair, we had a staring contest.  The best part was our faces were only about 12 inches away from each other and we giggled back and forth the whole time.  It was darling.

Kekoa - all on his own, he cut out a white beard from a piece of paper and turned himself into Santa Claus.

Ikaika - after I got Ka'imi dressed for the day, he saw her and said, "Ohhh, she is really cute.  I'm not kidding!"

It is so nice to have these moments - it balances their stubborn, whiny behavior.
I love my kids.

 Here is the cute outfit that Ikaika loved so much.

Today, on the drive home from church . . .

Kekoa: Mom! We have good news!
Me: What Kekoa?
Kekeoa: The Savior is going to return to earth again someday . . . soon!
Me: That is great news.

I wish his post could convey the genuine excitement and joy Kekoa had as he gave me that great news.  He brought it up again as we were eating lunch and said he couldn't wait to see the Savior.  Makes me wonder if it'll happen in his lifetime.

Ka'imi - 9 months

Ka'imi at 9 months:

• a full crawler :)
• loves to smile as she discovers new things.
• sleeping better with usually only getting up once at night to nurse.
• loves to pull herself up to a standing position against things.
• passed up baby food, but loves to share food with mommy.
• starting to develop her language with the sounds "na" and "ma."
• down to 2 naps a day
• loves to bounce and use her knees
• a very hands-on girl - she loves touching my skin when she is nursing

Kyle's Christmas Village

Ever since I was a little boy in Los Angeles, I was envious of the families that had small Christmas villages in their homes.  I knew that when I grew older, I would have a village of my own.  When Michele and I got married, I bought a few houses on sale at JoAnne fabrics.  When Kekoa was two, he bent every tree in the village which eerily looked like a scene from an old Japanese Godzilla movie. Each year, I have added to my collection with my addiction growing each time.  Most of the time, I have it displayed on different book shelves but this year, Michele bought me the piece I have been waiting to buy for seven years—a train.  I added a few mountains and other pieces to go along with this Lionel Lines train (with working smoke stack, front light, and whistle).  Each morning, I smile as I come down the stairs, turn on the village and let my boys run the train a few times before I go to work.  I fear that my village will eventually take more and more space each year but then again, I'm just a big kid. 

Reyes Christmas Village 2010

 Sepa loves the moving ice-skaters

The boys play with the farm animals the most

This is a shot of the City Center

Lionel trains are the best quality trains

The boys LOVE making the train steam and whistle

(Take note of the kissing couple on the left)

Anyone willing to add to our village is free to do so.  I would love to add new things each year.  If you're in the neighborhood, feel free to bring your kids by to see it.  (Kyle)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas : )

Both Kyle and I love the Christmas season.  The fun time with family, the decorations and remembering the gift of our Savior.
Today I spent time with the boys mapping out the rest of the days to Christmas.  We wrote down one thing we could do everyday and stuck them in our advent calendar.  They included little things like, having a hot chocolate picnic in front of the fire place, making snowflakes, decorating our ginger bread house, dancing to Christmas music, making cookies for our neighbors and our yearly tradition of our gifts to the Savior FHE.  It seems like the days just fly by and before I know it Christmas is come and gone.  This is my effort to enjoy the season and create some good memories with the kids  : )

Here is a wreath I made this year.  

I love it so much I want to just leave it hanging on my door all year long!

 

 And snowflakes we did as one of the "Days-to-Christmas" activities.

Ikaika colored this cute gingerbread man to put on our tree : )
I love Christmas time !

She'll Be Coming Around the Corner . . .

Ka'imi started crawling on Thanksgiving day.  It is such a fun milestone.  For a couple days she still had to really think about what she was doing, but with enough motivation she'd move a good amount.
Today after church, I set her down in the middle of the living room and got the boys some lunch together.  Next thing I knew, I saw Ka'imi crawling toward us :  )  I told Kekoa how I remember so clearly the day he first "came around the corner."  It was in our first house in Provo.  The kitchen was completely out of sight from the living room - you really had to come around the corner to get there.  I remember the first time I saw Kekoa crawl around it to find me.  It was like entering a new world (for both of us I'm sure).
We are so excited for Ka'imi to develop in this new and exciting way!

By the way, my house is always perfectly clean like this . . . (wink, wink).

Happy Thanksgiving

"To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come . . ."

~ Abraham Lincoln

One of our new family traditions for the month of November is to create a long paper chain of things we are thankful for.  It was cute to see what the boys came up with as we added to it each night.  Sepa's favorite was to say "juice pops" and make us laugh because he knew we were suppose to add something new.

I love Thanksgiving.  I love family coming together, I love remembering all the blessings we have and I love yummy food.  We are not really the family that puts out fancy plates and displays the turkey on a platter before carving it - but we sure can make a delicious meal.  The food was amazing :) 

Sometime during the week before, Kyle and I had the conversation about how Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November - the end of the harvest and how important he felt it was that we never forget to be grateful.  As I helped to prepare the food and get the table ready, I thought about what a wonderful holiday it was - and I thought of all I have to be grateful for.  Though cliche, my heart was full. 

 

 

This was the only picture I took with the distraction of so much yummy food.

I took it because she had her Thanksgiving bib on- "My Family is Thankful for Me."

Yes, indeed, Imi Girl, yes indeed.

*** Exciting news: Ka'imi crawled for the first time today!!!

Proud Mama = Large Photo Post

Saturday the boys had their debut of performing their hoop dance.  A summer of lessons, hours working on their outfits and a couple of good bribes got them to perform for the first time at the UVU pow wow during the dinner break.  Kyle and I couldn't have been more proud of them.  They did such a great job.  We hope this is the beginning of a lifetime of performing with their hoops.  Enjoy the pictures.  These boys got talent.

 

My mom made sure she got here in time to watch her grandsons dance.  She left AZ at 3:00am!  That's love.  These pictures of her and Ka'imi are my favorite.  It makes me think of how Ka'imi will treasure them years from now when she is grown.

The Spirit of Halloween Lives On . . .

This year I convinced the boys to combine all their candy from Halloween into one big bucket.  It was a good amount in the end.  It has actually become quite the motivator since they are not allowed to have any until they earn it.  Ikaika will ask, "Mom, how can I earn a piece of candy?"  It has helped in getting simple things (like straigtening up or getting dressed) done.  And only for a brief moment did I feel guilty that thay have to earn their candy twice (trick-or-treating and then with me).  I think it is great that a few weeks later there are still many motivating rewards left to go.  I like the fact that all that candy can be put to good use and eaten in moderation : )

Nov 13th

Here is part of something I posted on my photography blog.  I wanted to share it here as well, so that I could remember my thoughts and feelings today.

This is a picture of a darling little boy named Mateo.  During his session I realized how much I truly love photography and especially newborn photography (not like I didn't know that already, but . . .)

So, today, November 13th, is the anniversary of when I lost my arm in a car accident 14 years ago.  It has affected my life in many ways, as anyone can imagine.  One of the more frustrating ways is in my photography.  You see, part of the art of newborn photography is posing babies.  A beautiful newborn picture looks effortless, natural, and peaceful.  As anyone who has ever done a newborn session knows (client or photographer), it is a good amount of work and talent to get some of these sleeping baby poses.  Now imagine doing it with one hand! (I am so thankful for the sweet parents who help me during the sessions).

So, during Mateo's session, I was struggling a bit and I honestly told myself, Michele, you need to quit.  You cannot do this with one hand.

But.  When I got to my computer and started editing I knew I could not.  I cannot describe the joy and satisfaction I get in capturing a newborn baby.  There is something inside me that is almost giddy at the sweetness of a posed baby with their tiny little fingers and toes.  I love it.  And so I have decided that along with being a wife and mother, this was what I was meant to do.  So, that means I just have to figure it out somehow and keep trying . . .