So Good!!

Life has been so good to us lately. I keep thinking to myself, I don't want to miss or forget a THING about what is going on in our life at this time and I figured it was time for me to sit down and take a minute to document some of the blessings that we have enjoyed.  Alofa and I celebrated 4 years of marriage in August. What a blessing it is to be married to a kind, generous, hardworking man who loves his wife and kids more than words can express. There are very few things that bring joy to my heart than seeing Alofa be a daddy to our boys. He plays with them, teaches them, laughs with them and loves them and helps me with them everyday.  He is a great daddy!!! He recently got a new job with Guy Nielson Co. It is such an AMAZING job for him and our family. He works 7-3:30 everyday Monday through Friday and comes home everyday raving about how much he loves his job. It brings much joy to my heart to see him so happy :)

Toa just got his first hair cut. I finally convinced Alofa that it was time as Siaosi would grab handfuls of hair and pull as hard as he could when it was longer. I just took him to a near by salon and let them cut it. I was a little worried that he would be scared but it didn't phase him at all. When she first started cutting his hair, I started to tremble a little bit and I thought I was going to start crying right on the spot.  I let out a little nervous laugh and regained composure.  I didn't think it would bother me to get his first hair cut, but it did. I think it was the beginning of a realization that he is growing up, which is a great thing as well as sad thing all at once for me.  I now look at him as a bigger, more grown up Toa. 

Toa turned 3 years old on October 1st.  We decided to go ahead and do his birthday party at Outer Limits.  It was a huge success. Toa had so much fun!! We let them play, eat pizza, chicken and cake and ice cream.

 

Toa cracks me up. He is such a strong and independent little bugger.  Just today at church I found him telling a little girl "no no" when she went to touch the papers hanging on the bulletin board. He gets a little bossy at times, poor Siaosi.  He is talking so good and is starting to be able to have full on conversations where we KNOW what he is trying to say now. He Has such an imagination and half of the stuff he comes up with I have no idea where it comes from. He is obsessed with money. He always wants to have coins to carry around and when we went to get his hair cut he gave the lady all of the money he had, 2 quarters. She thought it was adorable, and to be honest, I did too.  The other day he brought me a pair of his pants and a shirt telling me he needed to get dressed so that I could take him to WalMart to get a scooter. Today in church, as Toa sat next to me, he leaned over and said as we were talking about the crab in his book, "I'm gonna pinch you, I'm gonna pinch you, I'm gonna pinch you on the BUTT!!" and then pinched my tush!! Hahahahahaha! I am sure the people behind us in church today got a kick out of us! He is learning his shapes and colors right now as well as counting and his ABCs. He is getting pretty good. Sometimes I forget that he is only just barely 3 because he can act so grown up at times. I love him

Siaosi is still a little tiger. He is so sweet and tender at times and then in an instant can turn into a feisty little tiger. He loves his momma and I can not get enough of his cuddles.  Today in church, I showed him a picture of a cow and the next thing I know he is "mooing" in sacrament meeting as loud as he could. I couldn't help but smile. When he saw the picture of the dinosaur he growled at it then shrieked as loud as he could and wrapped his arms around my neck.  He is now in this phase where he will say "ouch" when ever he gets hurt and starts rubbing it with his hand. If he hits me, all I have to do is say ouch and he will instantly come up to me and start rubbing where he hit me with his hand. He is growing up so fast. Last weekend he wasn't feeling well and when he woke up with a fever I realized that he isn't a baby any more as I tried to rock him back to sleep. It's hard to explain. There is a joy that comes from watching your babies grow up and learn new things. But along with that joy comes a little bit of heart ache that they are growing up too fast.  It motivates me to want to be a better momma to them. Be more present, be more mindful of the current moment and what is going on in the here and now so that I don't miss a thing. 

 



 I love all three of these boys more than I could ever express. My heart is overflowing with love and joy as I think about how good life has been for us. We have been blessed and we ever humbled and thankful for all that we have.



 

It has been a while since I last posted. I am sooo far behind!! I wanted to give a quick snap shot of what our family looks like right now before I try to go back and try to catch up on everything that I have miss thus far. 

Toa is almost 3... only about 3 more months as 2 year old. I must confess, he has had some nasty temper tantrums, but overall he has been such a good boy! We love him so much and laugh on a daily basis on the new words and phrases that he comes up with ALL of the time. He tends to be independent and always wanting to help mommy by telling baby brother what to do, pretending he is going to work and always saying he is going to "fix it" whenever something goes wrong or is broken.  He LOVES his daddy!! He prefers daddy over mommy ALL of the time. At times I get kind of sad that he ALWAYS wants his daddy but then I see the connection that the two of them have and it warms my heart!! He keeps me on my toes. He LOVES to go into the spare bedroom, shut the door and LOCK it!! It gave me a few panic attacks at first but Alofa taught me how to pick the lock and I can get in there when I want so it's all good now.  Toa is such a good eater! He loves meat, rice, noodles, Oreos and pretty much anything we put in front of him.  He always puts his finger over his lips and says, "shhhhh, be quite" whenever he is doing anything that takes concentration... it cracks me up!! He is very polite. He ALWAYS has to have the window rolled down when we go through a drive thru and tells the workers "thank you" over and over till they say "you are welcome" He says "excuse me" when he bumps into people or burps. I think it is pretty adorable and am so grateful that he is such a thankful and polite little man. He loves to watch Ninja Legos cartoons and will try to mimic the moves they do on the show... I feel bad for Siaosi because he gets the brunt of it, poor baby brother!! Toa is still fascinated and obsessed with his blankets. He always has been a blanket boy, it has gotten more important to him to have his blankies all of time now. Toa is such a funny joy to our family, such a great big brother and we adore him!!

Siaosi just turned 18 months old and is such a little spit fire! He has no fear, jumping off dressers, couches, stairs... you name it and he has probably crawled to the top of it and jumped off.  He scares the crap out of his momma! He loves to give cuddles and kisses! When he gives a kiss he makes a "mmmwaah!" sound that I adore more than words.  He is lately fascinated with brooms and mops. He will grab the broom or mop and drag it all around the house, out the doggie door and all around the yard.  Makes me smile!! He is a picky eater and will take a bite of something, take it out of his mouth, look at it and decide whether or not he is going to eat it or throw it on the ground... frustrates me when he does that. When he is done eating he will throw the food left on his plate on the floor. Oggie loves that part. I, however, do not. He talks very little at this point, I think it is because he has an older brother who loves to do all of the talking for him. He follows directions so well and does exactly what I ask him to do, I hope that never changes!! ;) Siaosi is such a ray of sunshine in our lives and is always tying to copy, follow and mimic EVERYTHING his older brother does. He thinks Toa is HILARIOUS!!

Alofa and I have been greatly blessed. We have two handsome boys who we love more than anything. I am still working at MK Place and recently got my LCPC.

Alofa is still working at Pro Rental and loves it on most days.

Life is good. We are humbled and amazed at all of the blessings that we enjoy!
I am going to try to find time to recap on all that has happened this past year!

Toa Thomas Laulu ~2 years old

I can not believe that when I wake up in the morning, my sweet little Toa will be 2 years old.  It seems like it was yesterday that I was seeing him, kissing him and cuddling him for the first time. Time flies way too fast.  I am in love with my little rambunctious Toa. He keeps me on my toes! He loves dirt, balls, cars and LOVES to run!! His favorite words are "holy cow" and "ye haw" In fact he runs around the house saying them all day :) He says "hi" and "bye" while waving to EVERYONE he comes in contact with. He really is such a social butterfly!! He is my little sponge, soaking up EVERYTHING he hears and sees. At times I find myself looking at him in amazement at all that he can say and do. He loves to tease. He will take something of mine, most of the time my phone, and take off with it. I have learned not to chase him because if I do he will just throw it behind the couch and laugh his little bum off at me as I am trying to get it back. I love him. He is a daddy's boy, that is for sure. All day, everyday he asks me, "where daddy" if daddy isn't home. When I tell him daddy is at work, he repeats over and over, "daddy work"  He loves to get in the fridge. I don't love that so much, especially when he throws eggs everywhere and laughs while he is doing it. For the most part he loves his little brother. He gets a little rough with him at times but always comes back to give him a hug and say "sorry" He is still so good at going to bed, in fact he loves it. He always has. I am so thankful for that. He has his favorite blankie and if he can't have it when he wants it, he throws a FIT!! He is good at that, throwing fits. Bless his sweet heart!! He still has to have his binki. I have tried everything to take it away from him with no sucess.  I might just have to let him have it until he gets tired of it... or until he goes to school ;) He loves to eat. If he is hungry, he will come up to me and say "bite" until I give him something to eat.  He loves to take baths and splash around. Alofa and I thank our Heavenly Father everyday for the opportunity to raise Toa and to teach him on a daily basis! Our lives have been so full of love, joy and laughter since he came into our lives!! Happy birthday sweet Toa!! Hope that you know how much you are loved!! 

3 Year Anniversary

Three years and 2 handsome boys later, we STILL love each other like crazy!! How grateful I am for a sweet husband who treats me like a queen and loves our family so much! He is such a wonderful daddy and LOVES spending time with our sweet sons!  I remember how excited and happy I was to make Alofa my eternal companion three years ago.  I had envisioned the perfect life with him, what our kids would look like and how happy we would be! Little did I know that reality would be a million times better than I had ever envisioned. Alofa still makes me laugh every day, he still does the dishes every day, he still holds my hand at night when we sleep and I love him even more now than the day we were sealed forever! My heart overflows with love, gratitude and joy when I think about how lucky I am to have Alofa as my sweet husband!!

Siaosi Fuaofe Laulu *6months

I can NOT believe that my sweet Siaosi is already 6 months old!! Time flies when you are super busy with two, sweet little boys!! I love watching my little ones grow up! I love watching their personality start to shine through as they learn new things on a daily basis and are better able to express themselves.  Siaosi has been such a joy to our family! He is such a sweet cuddler and I must admit, I LOVE cuddling this little boy!! He will often times give me open mouth, slobbery kisses on the cheek and I cherish every single one!! He drools ALL of the time and has just mastered sitting up on his own! He LOVES his brother, Toa, SO much and is always watching every move he makes with a longing in his eyes to be able to run and move just like him. Toa can just look at Siaosi and it makes him laugh! I love the relationship that they two of them have, it is very special!! Siaosi is very expressive with his face. He has the sweetest personality and is sooo tender! He is a momma's boy (I LOVE IT) and will get really upset if I leave the room. He is starting to get a little better with that and not getting so worked up. He is just such a fun baby!! 

Grandpa Thomas E. Howerton

What a hard yet cherished post.  I have been thinking for over a week as to what I wanted to say in order to honor my sweet Grandpa Howerton and yet the tears still flow and my heart aches as am reminded how much I love him and miss him.  I decided to pull out my missionary journals and reflect on what I wrote about my grandparents as I was on my mission.  What a tender experience it was to read the words that I wrote.

May 11, 2003

"I got to call my mom, my grandparents and my dad today. It was good to talk to them but the news that I  got about my grandpa made my heart sink.  I know that Heavenly Father is in control. I hope that Heavenly Father will permit my grandpa to stay here until I get home. I know that this sounds selfish but I pray that Heavenly Father will allow my grandpa to stay here until I get married and have babies, so that they will know just how wonderful he is.  I tried to be happy and let them know that I am doing well here in Georgia, but I couldn't, I just cried and cried on the phone.  I love my sweet grandpa so much and would do anything for him. I even made sure that I didn't go over the 20 minute limit that my mission president gave us so that maybe the blessings that would come from being obedient will fall on grandpa.  I told my grandpa that I would pray for him.  He said, "I know that if someone like you prays for me, I will be alright. It is a very special thing to have you pray for me." I don't know why he has so much faith in me. He stared crying when it came time to hang up. I guess it's hard for him that I am here too."

May 9th, 2004

"I got to call home today.  I talked to my grandparents, Tina, dad, Joseph, Savana and Randy. It was good to talk to them. My grandpa and dad said they have been waiting all week to talk to me. It was so cute!! My grandparents say they can't wait for me to come home and my grandpa even said that he wanted the 1st hug.  He then told me that he loves me as much as a person can love another person. That was very special for me to hear that from him. I am happy that everything is going well at home!" 

Some of the things that I wrote in those journal entries I remembered, for example, I remember praying to Heavenly Father to allow my grandpa to stay until he could meet my eternal companion and babies.  I remember it clear as day.  I am so thankful that prayer was heard.  My grandpa has always been a very special and important person in my life. He has loved me unconditionally and always made sure that I knew that. It may sound funny, but I can still feel his love today and I hope that feeling never goes away. I learned so much from him and I am a better person for it.  I know that he is in paradise now, happy and looking down on us this very minute. I hope I can always live my life in such a way that would be pleasing to him. This world is a better place because of

Thomas E. Howerton

4/23/1938 - 7/15/2012



4th of July 2012

This year for the 4th of July, we got up early and made a pancake, sausage and egg breakfast and them got ready to go to the parade. SO MUCH FUN!!! Holidays get more fun every year as our kids get a little bit more excited for the festivities!

I love how Siaosi is adoringly looking at his brother!!

Alofa getting Toa all buckled in for the walk to the parade!!

Waiting to start the walk to the park :)

Toa running around the park as we waited for the parade to start

Alofa wanted to make sure Toa didn't miss a thing so he put him on his shoulders and kept him there through out the whole parade. Toa felt pretty special and was able to see everything!

Alofa with Toa on his shoulders

Siaosi fell asleep and slept for most of the parade.  Such as sweet little boy!

Sweet sleeping baby Si!

Toa loved the motorcycles the most! He would clap as they rode by and when there was music he would start dancing on Alofa's shoulders. He loved the parade!! It was so fun to see him get so excited and point at everything as they passed by!

Toa clapping!!

Like father, like son!! :)

My mom with Siaosi and Alofa

After the parade, we came home and took a nap :) later we had my mom, Aunt Carrie, Tanya, Alex, Savana and Cam over for a bbq. It was a ton of fun and the food was great. 

Toa and Cam in the pool

Siaosi just chilling in the shade :)

Cam and Toa loving the watermelon

Alex, Alofa and Siaosi

Siaosi's 4th of July meal ;)

Siaosi's first time trying watermelon :)

He didn't like it so much!! Hahahahahahaha!! Another one of his silly faces!!

Playing in the dirt!! Boys will be boys!!

Bless this dirty little boy's heart ;)

Hoping they wash some of the dirt off before they get in the bath tub.

While I was in the bath room bathing the boys, Alofa came running into the house and said that my mom was having a seizure. It was so scary!! The ambulance came and took her to the E.R. to make sure she was ok.  She was there for a while and then was released.  When I came home, Toa was sleeping. I was disappointed because I wanted to watch Toa watch the fireworks so being the mean mom that I am, I went and woke him up!! I know!! NEVER wake a sleeping baby, but I did any ways!! At first I couldn't get him to open his eyes. I handed him to Uncle Ryan and he was trying to sleep on his shoulder.  I am not sure how Toa saw it, but he must of seen a firework off in the distance and sat right up, pointing to where the fireworks came from!! He was wide awake then!! It was sooo funny! I thought he would LOVE the fireworks, but I was WAY WRONG!!

Uncle Ryan, Aunty Jamie and Toa

Momma and Toa waiting for Daddy to start lighting the fireworks

At first Toa was ok with watching the fireworks from behind the fence. 

Watching the fireworks from behind the fence

So I took him outside of the  fence and this is what his reaction was!! He was sooo scared and wanted nothing to do with them!! He watched for a while but I ended up taking him back in the house and putting him back to bed. He fell right asleep :)

So afraid of the fireworks!!

After Toa went to sleep, Alofa, Ryan, Jamie, Savana, Trevin and Cam finished watching the rest of the fireworks. Then I went right to bed... SO, SO, SO tired!! Overall it was a great 4th of July!! We are so thankful for this country, those who keep this country free and all the blessings that we enjoy!!