Questions from a four-year old mind.

"Mom, this year for my birthday I want a unicorn Pinata and a flute" says the girl with curly hair.

"Mom, are dolphins nice to people? Are they friends with turtles?" says the boy with the big brown eyes.

"Mom, does the wind help or hurt fire? What about your mouth-wind (breath)?" says boy.

"Mom, do dinosaurs have big bones?" says boy.

"Mom, I never want to get married because I don't want to leave you" says little girl.

"Mom, why do sharks eat people?"-boy

"Mom, what do turtles eat" -boy

And many, many more....

The last days of "Four"

These are the last days of being four. We started this journey when he came home at four pounds. Now he is four years and in a few days, five.  He finished preschool, he finished Kindergarten Camp, he rides bikes around the neighborhood and tonight he is having his first sleep-over at Moses Brown's house. Even though Moses is 1.5 years older and bigger, they seemed to have carved out a nice friendship given Lyon's headstrong personality and "directing" personality. Speaking of that personality, Lyon's personality is emerging as a leader. He always wants to be first, to be in front, to be the speaker, to tell everyone what to do. The other night he told me he wanted to be the boss of the neighbors. I said no, they have parents. He said he wants to be the boss of the parents too. I said not possible.

The first day of Kindergarten camp went well. There were no tears. Only questions: "what are we doing here" -going to camp. "Who is that lady" -your teacher. "well whats for lunch and what time are you picking me up?" Once he had all the facts he went with it and had a good time. His teacher is Ms. Dizon. You wouldn't know it by her name, but she is a beautiful, skinny tall blonde. Lyon referred to her as the tall, bony lady when he couldn't remember her name.

Katelyn.

Lyon's first crush is a Filipino girl named Katelyn. Katelyn is the alpha-female, boss-chick at the preschool. She has an older sister so she's waaaay mature. Lyon told me that he went up to her and whispered in her ear "Your my girlfriend" and so now she is. Kiri told her neighbor friend "Brianne, my brother is getting married soon. Her name is Katelyn" all so matter-of-factly. Sometimes I wonder if we have only been raising kids for four years, only?

Blockers

poor Lyon had a stuffy nose last night and was getting really frustrated to the point of tears at not being able to breath. At one point he pointed all the blame on Kiri with "SEE KIRI!! you put your butt in my face and now I have the blockers in my nose!!" huh?!

Dentist Time

Here she is at the Dentist. She did super!

Not Well

Lyon: "Mom, I don't feel well"
Kiri: "Well maybe he has a beaver"

Beaver, fever...same thing.

New Zealand 2012

I am sitting here listening to Bon Iver and reflecting on our trip. So many memories that put a smile on my face. So many moments spent connecting with friends and family. Moments of silence as we traveled across New Zealand; the farms, rolling green hills, sheep, forests, cold oceans, roadside cafes, the moments looking in the backseat and seeing two sleeping children. I remember a year after we got married we took a trip home. It was just the two of us and our newly-wed excitement. After a few days with the family in Wellington, we got into our rental car and waived our teary goodbyes to the family in the driveway. As we drove off, I looked at Ariki and said, "one day there is going to be two little babies in that backseat driving away with us" and we both laughed. Our vision of a blessing comes to pass as a real blessing. Indeed.

This is life. This is real. We could spend endless hours pursuing more money or material things. Or we could spend endless hours living life, each day, each moment counts. If there's something that is on your bucket-list, do it. Plain and simple. Just do it.

First Dance Class

After our trip to New Zealand (which I will post about later) Kiri got the dance bug. She loves her traditional dances of Tahiti and Hawaii! Today I took her to her first dance class. She was the youngest in the class and the little girls were really sweet to her. She really liked it!