A Little Bit Country

I've never really been a fan of country music, but lately it has been growing on me a lot. Taiyo likes it, and so we've been listening to the local country station lately, and I must say I'll openly admit that I like it now. I'm still not into the old style real twangy kind, but the modern poppish country is nice. It's catchy and the themes of the songs are often a whole lot better than what you hear on other types of popular music these days. I mean, it's so refreshing to once in a while hear a guy singing a love song to his wife, rather than to the stripper or bartender at the local club. I guess my conversion is official now that I'm listening to it while I'm home alone with Soni and Taiyo's at work!

Playtime

I finally thought I'd put up some videos of Soni. Here's one of him playing tonight and us being silly just to try to get him to smile, haha :) {Please excuse the poor quality; it's from a web cam...}

It's beginning to feel...

a lot like Christmas! (or at least a little bit)

And I like it!

Happy Halloween

Here's our jack-o-lantern! Taiyo's second one ever. It took us almost 4 hours to make! But we thought it turned out pretty cool.

Hawaiian Superman

Happy Halloween!

We haven't even carved pumpkins yet, but we're going to today as soon as Everett gets here after his scouts activity. But this morning I found a tiny little lava lava in my mom's closet, and I started playing dress up with Soni.
I don't even know where it came from but it's cute! Soni has a lion costume for tonight but this morning I put the lava lava on him and made a little superman logo to put on his chest, and he was so happy! lol

I'll post pics of the pumpkins later!

Ko E Ta'u 'Uluaki

Today was our one year anniversary! :) It has gone by so fast!

Since it's Sunday Taiyo and I went out to see a movie together yesterday, after a Texas Roadhouse dinner with my family. We saw the Time Traveler's Wife, and of course it made me cry because I cry sooo easily (I have even choked back tears several times watching things like 'America's Got Talent' and 'I Survived a Japanese Gameshow'. I'm not kidding.) But we enjoyed it and it was nice to have a night out with just the two of us. Thanks Mom and Dad and Erin for watching Soni for us! While we were on our way home I was so anxious to get there and scoop up my little baby in my arms and kiss him all over because we're not used to being away from him for so long!

We decided to start a little tradition for our anniversaries. Each year we'll each write a letter to each other about our favorite happenings of the year and our love for each other. Then in years to come we can look back and remember how our marriage has progressed and some of the things we've gone through together. We wrote the first ones today. Maybe if I get crafty someday I'll find a clever way to scrapbook them or store them somehow.

I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for my wonderful husband. I love him so much and am grateful for the sacrifices he has made for us. I know I am far from the perfect wife and I still have a lot of growing room, but our life together has been great so far and I am looking forward to the rest of it. I love you Taiyo!

Baby Blessing

Soni was blessed yesterday in the Mesa 67th (Tongan) ward! My grandma made him a tiny white tupenu to wear and it was soooo cute! After church Grandma and Misi's family came over for lunch. Everything turned out great and it was a great day. I'm so grateful for the gospel and for the priesthood. I'm excited for Soni to grow and to teach him all about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how to be a good person. Before we know it, we'll be writing about his baptism!

The Yearbooked Palefaus

I've seen a lot of "Yearbook Yourself" photos going around lately (www.yearbookyourself.com) so I decided to make some of us.
Here is my handsome hunk of a husband:

Myself:


Our sweet little Taisoni:


And our family all together:

Just a little fun maumau taimi. *LOL*

The Hickey

The other night right before bed Taiyo and I noticed a mark on the side of Soni's forearm. It didn't look quite like a normal bruise or quite like a burn, and neither of us recalled Soni crying at all that day (not a pain cry anyway), so we were puzzled about what it could be. Finally we figured out what it was... it was a hickey. When Soni gets hungry he loves to suck on his hands and arms, and he must have sucked on his little arm so hard that it left a big hickey! It's mostly gone now but I thought it was quite funny when we realized what it was. We know he's destined to be a heartbreaker but his first hickey at 3 weeks old?! haha...

Our little family

He's here! Our little Taisoni Reid Palefau was born July 3 (I know I'm a bit late posting...), 8lb 4oz, 20.75" long.


He was born with long black hair and looks just like his dad. :D He's three weeks old tomorrow, and we love him more and more each day. He's soooo sweet, and he has been super strong since day 1. Actually, I've known how strong he is for months but now everyone else can see it too! haha... It's so fun to see him getting more and more attentive to things around him, and just the past couple of days he has been smiling in his sleep. We can't wait to hear him coo and laugh and play with us!

Another Quick Update

Just an update on my "condition" (I have a Japanese friend who always asks when he sees me, "How's your condition?" referring to the pregnancy and I just think it's funny, lol). It's hard to believe it's still growing bigger and bigger! Only 4 more weeks til the due date! (Oh and please excuse the mismatched clothes, this was late at night when I was about to go to bed! haha)

Robot Wars

This past Friday was the school's closing social for Spring 2009. For the first three hours there were four giant blow-up things for people to play on, and then a dance afterward. Since I was not allowed to participate in any of the blow up toy activities due to my "condition" I was the camera girl and took some pictures of Taiyo and some of the other guys battling against each other.

Taiyo and Hema going at it in an Air Bot war...




Unfortunately they broke the thing and the workers had to deflate it, fix it, and then put it back up.


Taiyo "velcroing" himself to the wall.


Racing through the Iron Man obstacle course



The boys did this one sooo many times trying to beat each other's scores. They had to run forward with a bungee cord strapped to their back, and see how far they could reach. Taiyo was proud of himself for getting the best score of the night :)


And finally one with me in it to prove I was there

Memorial Day Feast

My plan was to get quite a few things done over the weekend for school, particularly yesterday since we didn't have any big plans for Memorial day, but it didn't end up as productive as I had hoped. Yesterday our neighbors Paula and Lose called and then Taiyo said to me, "Do you want to go to Hauula and see how to cook a pig? Paula is going to cook one at their uncle's house." So I just thought Yeah, sounds fun! And off we went. Little did I know that we were actually going for a two-pig get-together feed, with some friends of Lose's uncle's that were here visiting from Canada. So anyway we ended up staying there for the rest of the day, late enough that we just went straight to bed when we got home. But it was quite fun to see the boys preparing the pigs, from freshly dead to pulled apart on the table in front of us. I helped prepare some of the other food inside with the aunt. And all the food was really good!! Some cousins even came by and put on a show for us with 4 boys under the age of 15 doing fire knife dances (they're Jr. champions~ so good!!) and a couple little girls dancing Tahitian. It was adorable. Here are some pictures.




Notice the tourist neighbors watching from the porch next door, hehe...



Taiyo roasting one of the kidneys before they put the pigs up.... eww.



I even got a couple turns, haha. Although total I spent maybe 5 minutes doing it. Paula and Taiyo sat there and turned the pigs for almost 2 and 1/2 hours.



Mmm, finally, looks about cooked and crispy!


The feed:


The entertainment:

I love chocolate milk.

Not the thick, strong kind you get pre-made in the cartons, but just regular milk with some Nesquik powder mixed in... Mmm... This weekend we stopped by Taiyo's uncle's house to visit because we hadn't seen them in a while, and we ended up coming home with a bunch of food, including a big bottle of Nesquik powder! They are always soooo giving... I was especially grateful for the chocolate milk though, lol. Yum~

Who Sped Up The Clock?!?

Not only is it spring already, but the spring term is even half over! The school's semesters/terms recently got a little shorter so that they could fit 3 terms in between the two semesters, instead of just 2. As a result, the terms are only 6 weeks, and extremely fast paced. Weeks are going by in the blink of an eye. I really can't believe it.

I've even fallen behind on belly picture taking, so this one is 5 weeks since my last (nearly 10 since the last one I posted on here!). >.< There's a pretty big difference since then! But I am grateful that the pregnancy has continued to go very well, with no major complications. I feel good and the baby is definitely getting strong! They say the last part of pregnancy is the hardest-- the part that makes you willing to go through childbirth. Luckily for me though with the spring classes going on I think the next 4 weeks will completely fly by, I'll be a college graduate, and we'll be in Arizona before I know it. Then I will be able to relax, free of school and work, and it's only a short matter of time before baby comes!

I am grateful for so many things in my life. My husband, our son on the way, our health, the Gospel plan and our knowledge of it, education, my family... I could go on.

Today in particular I am grateful for my mother, and I am about to finally be able to start to understand more clearly everything she has gone through for me.

Happy Mother's Day!

To my mother, and all mothers past, present, and to-be.

Nepituno

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This semester will be my last cultural night at BYU-Hawaii. I have gone to watch the cultural night performances every year, but this will be my first time dancing in one! I'm glad that Taiyo and I are dancing in my last cultlural night together for the Tongan club. This is the song we're dancing to. The performance is this weekend. If anyone gets it on camera I'll post the video here!

My birthday

I turned 22 today and Taiyo and Ashley threw me a surprise little party at our house. :D I went with Taiyo to his rugby game earlier in the day, and then after we came back Taiyo took me to PCC and we walked around together and watched the Samoan village show, and when we came back home, there were all these people in my house to surprise me! They had prepared food and Ashley baked a pretty (and yummy!) cake. Thanks guys!

A Bit of a Real Belly Now

Ok so now that my belly actually looks like a little pregnant lady belly, it's a little more interesting to see. He is quite active these days and moves around all the time. And his kicks are starting to get a little stronger now so that sometimes it makes me flinch when he kicks in certain spots. I actually think it's really cool when I feel him just moving around against the outside of my belly, rather than distinctive kicks or punches.
I just got the shirt at Ross the other day. It has a little stork on the front, hehe...

I love my husband

[[ EDIT: I saw a "Dedication to my Husband" type post on my cousin Casey's blog several months ago and thought it was cute, and I just decided since I recently posted this entry simply saying that I love Taiyo, I should add to it and say a little more. So After the picture of him is the little survey I stole from Casey's wall. :) ]]

I just feel like shouting from a mountain top right now how much I love Taiyo. But, I've tried to climb to the top of the mountains here in Hawaii before and I didn't make it. :( So blogger will have to be my mountain for now. I love Taiyo!

This is him on V-day. He's so cute. :D



~What is his name:
Taiyo Kaliopasi Palefau

~How long have you been married:
6 months!

~How long did you date:
From the time we started dating to the time we got married was 7 months.

~Who eats more sweets:
Definitely me. Especially now. I crave sweets all the time. Taiyo's more of a milk and bread for a snack kind of guy.

~Whose parents do you see most:
Well, we went to Arizona for a couple days before we got married to meet my family, and then they came to Hawaii for one week for the wedding... Taiyo's parents came to Hawaii for the wedding too and stayed for a couple months with an uncle nearby, so we probably saw them more frequently, but I'd say it comes out to about equal so far. (Although as of this coming June we'll see my family MUCH more.) Hopefully we'll be able to go visit all his family in Tonga soon.

~Who said I love you first:
Taiyo did. Very soon after we started dating. And although I wasn't usually one to feel that way or throw that phrase around so fast, I reciprocated honestly.

~Who is taller:
Taiyo :D I've always been above average height for a girl, nearly 5'9", but Taiyo is a good 6'0". Sometimes it seems like he is even taller than that when I stand next to him. Our kids will probably be tall too!

~Who is smarter:
Haha well it depends on what you're talking about. I think we compliment each other well in our different areas of knowlendge. Since we grew up in completely different worlds, we know different types of things and I love when he teaches me about something I didn't know. When it comes to math, we both enjoy it, but I'm good at algebra and statistics, while Taiyo is a calculus genius, so we have all the grounds covered there.

~Who does the laundry:
It's technically my duty, but Taiyo often offers to walk with me to the laundry room and help carry the clothes and detergent, especially now that I'm not supposed to lift really heavy things too often. When the clothes are done I'm usually the one to put them away, although Taiyo helps sometimes too.

~Who does the dishes?
If I can motivate myself to do them right away, I will. If not, they sit for a little while and then whichever one of us finds time to do them between classes and things will do it. I can't wait until I'm done with school and don't have so many different things going on at once, so I can focus on just being a good wife and mom!

~Who pays the bills?
The money we bring in is half and half, but I'm the one who pays the bills when they come.

~His guilty pleasure:
Maybe his love for Dixie Chicks and David Archuletta! He can listen the song "Crush" over and over and over...

~Who sleep on the right side of the bed:
He does, for no particular reason. That's just how it turned out. Actually I think when we first got married I asked him which side he wanted to sleep on and he pointed to the left side, but for some reason we ended up sleeping the other way that night and ever since then...

~Who has more friends:
Probably Taiyo. He's so good with people skills and being friendly, whereas I'm super shy around people I don't know or don't know very well. He's especially good at making friends with all the Japanese people he meets. For some reason they just love him and he loves to make them laugh, lol.

~Who cooks dinner:
Oh gosh... I wish I was a good cook but I'm horrible! lol... I'm really trying though. I keep trying new things to try to find things that I can make that Taiyo likes. Taiyo has taught me how to cook some of the Tongan foods he likes, so I do that once in a while too.

~Who is more stubborn:
I wouldn't call Taiyo stubborn but between the two of us he might be just a little more than me. I just hate confrontation so I always try to avoid it.

~Who kissed who first:
Taiyo kissed me first. The same night he told me he loved me he kissed me. Then he said, "do you want this love to last forever?" It was so soon I wasn't expecting that kind of thing, but I immediately started thinking about what it would be like to really spend our lives together. And it all progressed from there. :)

~Who asked who out first:
I guess you could say it was me, although I didn't really ask him out, I just kind of crashed a little get-together (which I LATER found out was supposed to be a double date trying to hook Taiyo up with another girl, lol...) I saw him sitting with some people outside the dorms one Sunday night so I stopped to talk to them, mostly so I could talk to T. They told me they were going to walk to the temple VC and watch the Joseph Smith movie. One of the girls asked if I wanted to come along (the one who was trying to get set up with T), and I gladly said yes. He ended up sitting with me during the movie and we flirted a lot that night, and by the end of the night he had his arm around me and we were listening to General Conference talks about Eternal Marriage on his friends IPod! lol.

~Who proposed:
There wasn't really a single proposal since he asked me so early in our dating "do you want this love to last forever?" That's what got us talking about marriage and we agreed that we did want it to last forever. He called my dad a few weeks later to ask for permission to marry me. Then we planned a trip to Arizona to meet my family and just before we left, he took me to a jewelry shop and had me pick out a ring. While we were at the airport in Honolulu he officially said "will you marry me?" and I started wearing the ring and I guess that's when it became "official".

~Who has more siblings:
Taiyo! He's the 7th of 10. I'm the oldest of 3.

~What is your favorite thing about him:
He makes me smile and laugh every day. I love it when he says or does something sweet out of the blue, or suddenly starts dancing at home or in the car, in his own unique dancing style with his super cute smile to make me laugh. He's always doing all the little things every day that remind me how much he loves me and make me feel that falling in love feeling so strongly over and over again.

Belly Timeline Thus Far

I keep getting requests for more belly shots. Probably because I haven't posted many since I don't feel like there's much to see yet! But it is starting to come out now here is my belly so far. The last one is only 5 days ago, but I think it looks bigger in person! From here on out though the belly shots will start getting a little more interesting to see, haha...


PS~ Happy Valentines Day!!

It's a BOY!

We had our ultrasound appointment this morning with Dr. Lyons in Kahuku. I was really excited about it. All went well and he printed out 6 pictures for us (2 of the gender-identifying limb, lol). Baby was really active during the ultrasound and kept moving all over the place. One second we would be looking at his side, like he was in a crawling position on his hands and knees, and the next second he was showing us the bottoms of his feet, and then the next second we were looking straight on at his bum with his legs spread out like he was mooning us, lol. Maybe he was just trying to show us that we was a boy. And an acrobatic one at that. Future rugby player maybe??

We saw that it was a boy quite early in the ultrasound, and a big smile came over Taiyo's face. He has been cute about it today too. Right after the ultrasound I called my mom to tell her, and before I was done Taiyo had already posted that it was a boy on his facebook account. And when we were studying together later in the day he started singing, "I have a son~ I have a son~" with a big grin. :D

After taking all the measurements too and seeing how much he had grown already, the due date was changed to June 20 (from the 29th). He must be anxious to come out and meet us!

2 more days!

48 hours from now we'll be sitting at the doctor's office waiting for our ultrasound! :D

Rugby Star

Taiyo plays rugby with some local boys (some BYUH, some just community) and their season started a couple weeks ago. They play a game every Saturday at different locations around the island. This is the star of the team (hehe). The bandage on his face is because at last week's game he got tackled and someone stepped on his face with their cleats. It's mostly healed now but the bandage still looks cool, haha.

They have won both of their games so far. Here are a few pictures of the team.






This one is Taiyo scoring the last try (rugby term for "touchdown") of the game!