Summer 2009

It has been months since I've been able to get to this.. so a lot has happened! Carter is now 15 months old (as of yesterday) :) and walking all over the place. He's getting so big! He just got a new big boy bed a couple weeks ago and has been out of the crib for approximately 2 weeks now. Ikaika thinks we're subconciously preparing for baby #2 already by emptying the crib.. me, on the other hand.. I'm not so sure!
I cannot WAIT until we go to Hawaii! I miss my other family :).. Only 3 more months and we'll be there! We're busy planning our vowel renewal.. so far we have a location (The Royal Hawaiian) and date/time.. November 14 at 8:30 am.. early yes, I know.. but that was Ikaika's decision!Gotta run and put Carter down for a nap! Love & miss you all!

The New Year

First of all, I'd like to say I hope your new year is a prosperous one!

It's been too long since I've posted on here! I'm going to make that one of my New Years resolutions to keep you all updated on how we're doing at least once a month. We're adjusting really well to our new home. New Bern is a very charming place and the people here are unbelievably nice! My cheeks hurt from smiling at people I pass all day long. Ikaika is liking his new job. He'll have to post on here more about it. :) I am loving my new job. For those who don't know, I've taken a job as a nurse in the emergency department at Craven Regional Medical Center. I have had nothing but fun since I've started & met nothing short of amazing people! The hospital staff are all very friendly and know each other by name. It's a totally different feel from Charlotte where people didn't even smile at you in the hall. Here, they stop you to meet you and see how you are. Ok, enough about work!
Carter is getting so big now! He's crawling everywhere and starting to pull up. He's becoming a real handful! But, he's getting to be so much fun! He'll be 9 months old tomorrow.. I can't believe he's going to be 1 soon! Time really does go by fast. We're planning on having a Luau for his first birthday and EVERYONE is invited. It's here at our house in New Bern & we have plenty of room for you all to stay. :) For those of you who can't come.. we'll be streaming it online on Skype. If you have a webcam, you can set up an account on there for free and chat with us through videos anytime.
We're really enjoying our new life here in New Bern & wish you all were here! We miss you TERRIBLY and will see you all soon! Our next big purchase is our tickets to come to Hawaii to visit! :) I can't wait! Love you!

It's Been too Long!

It's beginning to feel like Christmas! I'm in the Christmas mood now! :)

It's been awhile since I've been on here to update everyone! Well, since Halloween, we went to the Marine Corps Ball on November 15th. It was really nice. Ikaika got to have a good night out with his work friends before he had to leave & we got one last parents night out. :)

We've been back & forth between New Bern and Gastonia a lot lately finding a house, packing up our things, going back for Ikaika's last day at work. and FINALLY moving in for good (well at least until Christmas, then we make the 6 hour drive once more.. ). We absolutely LOVE our new house. It's plenty big enough for us and guests (& room to grow ;) ). It is 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, with a bonus room over the garage that could be a 4th bedroom. I can't wait to get all of these moving boxes unpacked and this place cleaned from top to bottom. I can't stand a messy house! :) But, that's part of moving I guess.

Ikaika & I went out & bought a Christmas tree yesterday. It is my very first live one! I've always had a fake tree growing up, so any tips on how to keep this tree alive would be GREATLY appreciated. :) We had a good time last night decorating it once I stopped itching. I have to say, it's absolutely beautiful! Carter LOVES it. He is fascinated by lights. Speaking of Carter, we bought a small fake tree for him. It's only 3 feet tall, but it's perfect for him. We decorated it in bright colors just for him. It's really starting to feel like Christmas. It's almost perfect except the family tradition of going to my grandparents on Christmas morning is no longer possible & now it seems like the family is all going their separate ways. && we can't be with Ikaika's family this year either.. but I have hope that we'll make the best out of it & enjoy what we do have this year.

We miss you & love you all so very much! Wish you were all here! Merry Christmas! More to come very soon.. :)

Carter's 1st Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!

I'm sure you all got Carter's Halloween picture in the mail.. he just LOVES his costume! He got to do a little trick-or-treating at his Aunt MiMi's house.. He got babyfood, juice, & tooth & gum cleaner for Halloween.. The lady across the street sent him over a goodie bag of toys and clothes. How sweet :).. unfortunately, Carter slept right through Halloween night. He missed all of the trick-or-treaters including his cousins. We had plans of dressing him up and letting him help hand out candy.. but he had his own plans! Here are some pictures!

Carter's Halloween Picture

Trick-or-treating at Aunt MiMi's

Aunt MiMi & Carter

Carter's new trick

Well, Carter's a toe sucker now.. he started putting them in his mouth this morning! So gross! But cute at the same time! I was able to get a couple good pictures of him! Ikaika says between his hands and his feet he'll always have something in his mouth now! :)

Ikaika's Gone :(

Well, Ikaika left for Georgia at 5:00 this morning. He's going to be there until Wednesday late afternoon. So, that means 2 nights by myself with Carter! Pray he's a good boy for mommy! & Pray that Ikaika is safe! He went down there to train someone, so hopefully he'll get them trained by Wednesday and won't have to stay any longer. I have to hand it to single parents, especially of little ones. I don't know how they do it! It's so difficult doing it alone. The last time Ikaika left, I don't think I slept but a total of 9 hours that whole week! Thankfully this time, my friend Caroline is staying one night to help me out & of course I'll get some help from Mom before she leaves for work in the morning. :) I don't know what I'm going to do without her!! I'm definitely not ready to leave her. I don't see how Ikaika does it, being away from family for 6 years now. BUT, we're trying to get Hawaii!! That is definitely our 1st choice. Hopefully next time :) Well, I need to run and do some laundry while carter is taking a nap, or I won't get it done! LOVE you!

Yay for Carter!

Carter's a big boy now! He can roll over onto his back! He just rolls and rolls everywhere! He's also holding his bottle better and better everyday now. We bought him a big boy sippy cup today & he is EXTREMELY excited about it. He's so used to putting things into his mouth and nothing coming out of them. It was so funny. He pulled it to his mouth and got a drink and then smiled so big! :) He's adorable! Everyday it seems like he's learning something new.
On another note, we found out we are definitely moving to Cherry Point, North Carolina. It's about 5 1/2 hours more towards the coast than where we live now. There was a question whether or not we would possibly go to Camp Lejune, but it's officially Cherry Point now. Now, the house hunting begins! Only a month and a half before we leave! So, time to start packing & looking for a house to rent. From what we here base housing has a 2-4 month wait, so we're keeping our options open! Pray that we find somewhere! :) Love you all & miss you all tons!