The Alexanders

Updated Pictures

2011-05-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some of his first smiles! So rewarding :)

I can actually set this baby down...(Edison would never stand for it) McKay loves his mat. Thank goodness!

But the problem is, when I set Mckay down, Edison clobbers him.

But how can I refuse him when he just wants to spend time with his brother?

McKay is surprisingly interactive for 2 months. He loves books...this one in particular, and always gives us some good kicks and a smile or two when we bring it out.

Edison has his ways of letting us know that we're not paying attention to him....like banging his truck into Dad's head. But Dad always makes sure to throw him up in the air a couple of times after Mckay story time.

McKay Bert Alexander

2011-03-27T10:23:00.001-07:00

Our second little one arrived two weeks early, March 10th at 5:30 am. McKay Bert Alexander was 6lbs 13 oz, and 20 inches long. He's a very calm and quiet baby (yay!) and we love him more every second. Edison is adjusting...but is very sweet with "Mac" as well. He loves to give him kisses, as we all do!

Edison Turns 2!

2011-03-27T09:46:00.001-07:00

Our little Edison turned 2 years old Feb.13. He's such a character, Nate and I love having this little guy in our lives. He picks up on the funniest things, and has an excellent memory. My prediction for his future years is that he's going to be just like his Dad when he was little. In other words, I'm in for a wild ride. Here are some of his latest and greatest pictures, and a recap of his special day. Skinny Jeans. He loves putting buckets, blankets, etc. on his head. Always makes for some great goose eggs on his forehead. We've nicknamed him "taps" as he loves to try on our shoes and go walking around on our hard wood floor. The neighbors always know when we're home. His birthday dinner of hot dogs, french fries and root beer...at his request of course. Monster truck birthday cake. Loved every bite. Even the wax candle.

The coolest part of his day was when the Baltimore fire department showed up at his house right when he woke up from his nap. (The department was making it's yearly rounds on our street checking everyone's fire detectors. Amazing time on their part... and we looked like the best parents in the world to Edison!)

America's Winter Playground

2010-12-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

Dec. 1st was our first snow. Very appropriate I thought. It was absolutely beautiful, and Edison adapted pretty well to it. He loves to throw snowballs, catch snowflakes on his tongue and mainly just eat it. We've had a couple of really nice snowy days which really makes things really feel like Christmas!

I love the big window in our front room that lets us gaze out at the snow all day long. Lovely.

Our little house so pretty in the snow!

Edison was so excited and moving so fast, I could hardly catch a picture of him!

This is coming in after the snow. I just has to put this one up because this is the face he makes when you tell him to say cheese. Such a funny kid.

Surprise!

2010-12-08T09:58:00.001-08:00

Well, we're moving again. After four months in Amherst, NY, we'll be moving to Baltimore Maryland. Life has it's little surprises, doesn't it? Nate got accepted to Johns Hopkins to do a Master in Real Estate, which we can't pass up. Besides, we got sick of the buffalo wings here, and can't wait to move on to blue shell crab.

We spent our Thanksgiving Holiday in Baltimore looking for housing, and fell in love with the city. It's a really fun, upbeat and clean city (well, the parts we saw) and we're excited to try it out. I'm just hoping we can stay there longer than 4 months!

All of Nate's classes will be in that that snazzy high rise behind him in the picture. It's right on the water too! He's pretty excited.

Do we look like "Baltimorians"? Is that even what they're called?

Halloween

2010-11-01T10:55:00.001-07:00

Holidays are so much more fun with little kids. Edison really grasped the "Halloween" concept and to my great pleasure was excited about every Halloween activity that we did.

I think I told Edison that we were going to eat the pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin, but I must not have told him that we had to bake them first.

His very first carmel apple. I thought for sure he'd just lick the carmel off, but he surprised me and ate all the way to the core!

Trying on Mom's Halloween costume, over and over and over again.

Here he is in his pumpkin glory! I was so happy that he kept his costume on the entire ward party!!! And yes, that is candy corn juice spilling from his mouth. The center piece on our table was gone in about five min.

Such a happy pumpkin.

He even whispered a "trick or treat" at every stop.

Mixing in with his natural surroundings.

Poor Nate had to light those pumpkins over and over and over again because you know who had too much fun blowing the candles out.

Fall Has Been Good to Us.

2010-11-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Fall has been absolutely 100% enjoyable. No complaints here. Although the weather has gotten frigid, we've had some wonderful sunny "sweater weather" days as well. I had to post some pictures of those Fall moments that made me the happiest.

This is one of our beautiful trees outside out front room window. When the sun hits the tree just right, our front room couch is the best place to snuggle up and read.

Even better, watching the squirrels from inside come by on our tree for some bird feeder treats! (There he is on the second branch up)

I know it's blurry, but this picture captures our street at the very beginning of fall. It was like having streets paved with gold. It only lasted for about two days till all the leaves fell off, but it certainly was fun to walk through.

This is Niagara Falls River at the beginning of the season. Very, very pretty.

And of course, lots of leaves to rake and lots of piles to jump in! Edison loved jumping in the leaves.

Pumpkin patch, after pumpkin patch. We couldn't get enough.

When you're dressed right, a rainy day walk in the leaves can be nice!

If it was too wet and rainy outside, it gave us an excuse to stay inside and make some delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!!!

Pumpkins

2010-10-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have officially helped Edison in becoming infatuated about pumpkins this Halloween season. I taught him songs, read him books, "It's the great pumpkin Charlie Brown" has even made it to his favorite movie list. When you ask him what he dreamt about the night before, he'll say "pumpkins." Mission accomplished. So, here is a little video of Edison singing one of my favorite pumpkin carols, "Mr. Jack-o-lantern."

Grape picking and Juice making.

2010-10-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Apparently there is a lot of fruit to be picked out here. I had a friend from the ward invite Edison and I to come out to a grape orchard to pick our own concord grapes with the goal to make our own grape juice. This was not an opportunity that I wanted to miss out on...me making my own grape juice? Of course!

It was about an hour and half to the orchard, and fall was just beginning to creep in. It made for a beautiful drive.

Edison loved that grapes were finally for once not on a high refrigerator shelf, but just at the very touch of his fingertips. He ate plenty off the vine, and I encouraged it.

The orchard.

These grapes tasted just like how grapes should taste. None of this store bought plastic bag grape taste, but the real thing. The grape flavor that every candy, or juice, or soda tries to imitate, except these were real, and they were good.

In the end my friend and I picked at total of 110lbs of grapes. Give me a toga, and a vine for my head and I'm legit! I ended up taking a share of 30lbs at the total tally of $7.50.

Wow. I never thought I'd learn to can, fruits, veggies, tuna, ANYTHING. But here I am in my little kitchen with my hand picked 30lbs of grapes making my very own grape juice concentrate. I felt like I could take on the world. I will say however, that it's a lot of work, and something that I probably won't feel like doing till next year when I get nostalgic for the experience. I could of made a whole entire Thanksgiving dinner by the time I got through the last of the grapes.

However, the joy and pride I felt when I placed these 12 jars of hand picked, concord grape juice jars in my basement was unexplainable. Hand me the wheat, give me the grinder and I'll make you some bread. I did it, and boy was it delicious in every way.

Apple Picking

2010-10-12T10:59:00.001-07:00

One of our first fall adventures was apple picking at Becker Farms. It was the classic apple picking experience and we couldn't have asked for more. Here are some pictures to highlight.

Here is Edison with his "stolen" apple that he took from the store while we were standing in line waiting to buy our apple picking bags. He promptly started to munch on it, and since there really was no use in giving back a half eaten apple and because there LITERALLY were apples scattered all along the floors, we figured he could just keep it. But doesn't he look guilty in this picture? We ended up eating the rest of it after his three or four bights.

And here is the apple orchard DRIPPING with apples. I had this adrenaline rush seeing all the apples everywhere... like the kind of rush you get at a buffet line when you feel like you need to try everything. I felt like I needed to grab all the apples I could.

Beautiful, delicious apples.

Edison was off like a shot, picking up all the half eaten apples on the ground and giving them a try. I think he had the same kind of adrenaline rush I had.

After our bags were stuffed with apples we stopped off at the pumpkin patch. Edison has been obsessed with pumpkins this fall (probably on my doing) and was thrilled to finally be in a real pumpkin patch.

He was also thrilled for the chance to sit on the big red tractor. He talks about it to this day.

Here are the fruits of our labor. We savored every one of those delicious apples. I made a fine apple crisp, and the rest we gobbled up whole. Natures candy.

Amherst, New York. Home.

2010-09-07T10:30:00.001-07:00

So here we are, home sweet home in Amherst New York. So far we really like it. We are floored by how much space we have in our little duplex, and amazed by the kindness we have received from our ward, neighbors etc. We are slowly putting our house together and making it a real home. We love the trees, the squirrels, the birds...it's all so different to us!

I wish I had a better picture of our little home, but this is the only one where I had Edison sitting still. It 's a great little 3 bedroom duplex, and I promise to get more pictures of it once we piece it together.

And of course Edison loves our backyard. The people before us put in the swing set and slide and even left this great little truck that Edison spends HOURS playing in. It's great for when I'm making dinner!

Here is Niagara Falls! About 20 min away from us on the New York side. Canada is just a walk away, and we plan to visit that soon.

Edison loved the "BIG water fall" as he called it. It really is a sight to see!

We found this great ice cream shop (love that the shop was a big ice cream cone) called "Perry's" with the most delicious ice cream. If you come to visit us, chances are we will take you here.

We live in a place where Buffalo's have wings.

This picture was taken on one of our "exploring" drives. All the houses are super classic Americana, which I love. I love even more that a lot of them put these fake candles in the windows! It creates this really nice, warm "home-y" look.

Our drive led us to more ice cream! We need to get our share of anything with the word "ice" in it before we start detesting the word. We found this great ice cream shop called "Uncle G's Ice Cream". To top it off there was even the Niagara Frontier Fiddle Band playing outside. It was too classic to pass up. I live for this kind of stuff.

We settled for the Fluffer Nutter ice cream Sundae. I have never had anything like this in my entire life. Marshmallow whip, peanut butter sauce, custard ice cream. Oh. my. goodness.

So, thus far we are having a great time (eating a lot of ice cream), and getting back to our American roots. We can't wait for all the adventures that await us! Stay tuned!

Leaving Hawaii and the Journey East

2010-09-07T09:51:00.001-07:00

Here is our very long post about our very long journey to Amherst, New York. For those of you who don't know, Nate is going get his masters in Economics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. It was a big and expensive decision, but it felt right so we went with it. Here are the pictures of the highlight of our move!

First, we had to soak up Hawaii before we left, so here are our pictures of our last time in Laie. *sniff*. It was such a good place to us!

Thank you Hawaii we love you!!!

Packing our stuff up to ship to New York....ugghhhh. What a mess. At least little Edison knew how to make fun out of it. This is the time I found him caked chocolate that he got off the counter. There were so, so many more incidents like this. I will end there.

ROAD TRIP.....

Here starts our road trip. 4, 10 hour driving days from San Diego to Amherst, New York. Thankfully Edison stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Alexander in Utah as to spare us the stress of driving with a 18 month old in the back seat of the car.

Pretty Park City

Wyoming

And then it all turned into this after that....

Lots of it...

And then, Ta Da! We made it to Buffalo to feast on our first real, authentic Buffalo Wings!!!! I have to mention as well that after we made it to New York, we flew back to Utah, went to Nate's sisters wedding, picked up Edison and flew back. I think I must of been too tired to take pictures, because I have none!! But more posts to come on settling in our new house :)

4th of July already Happened?

2010-07-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

"We already had the 4th of July?" Seriously, I had this thought just today. It was just last month that I was browsing a recipe book, and thought, "Oh, that will be good for Easter dinner". All ready had that one too!! Where has time gone?

I did manage however to take some pictures of this years 4th of July cupcakes to help me remember that, yes, it was celebrated, and we did have a great time.

Thanks to my great sister Amy I went a little crazy with my new frosting tips...and a little crazy with the icing. But what's a good cupcake with out a lot of frosting? This was a DELICIOUS butter cream frosting recipe that I found online if you want to look it up. I highly recommend it.

http://therepressedpastrychef.blogspot.com/2008/05/buttercream-icing.html

The catch of the day!

2010-06-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

We spent a lovely Saturday afternoon at the Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden for a ward primary activity. Nate and I couldn't get over how beautiful this place was! Heaven on earth! Quiet, tranquil, majestic all rolled into one. The highlight was fishing in the lake with a bamboo poll and watching little Edison's face light up when we pulled a big orange fish! Another sweet moment to add to our Hawaii Bank of Memories.

If you ever come to Oahu, come and visit this place! http://maps.google.com/maps/place?rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=botanical+garden+in+Kaneohe&fb=1&gl=us&hq=botanical+garden&hnear=Kaneohe,+HI&cid=6085936552712260703

The $6 dollar mango

2010-06-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, this isn't the most exciting of posts, but I have to tell someone that I paid $6 for a single piece of fruit. It just kind of seemed like a big deal when we purchased it. It was a huge Kona King mango, and we were kind of sucked into buying it by a sweet lady in China Town. But we justified it as an "investment" in our Hawaii Bank of Memories. Was biting into a thick piece of sweet juicy mango worth $6? You bet it was.

King Kamehameha Day Parade

2010-06-20T23:17:00.000-07:00

Living in the city gives us instant access to all the events downtown. This is the Kamehameha Day parade, commemorating King Kamehameha V. It's a holiday as well! Wahoo, gotta love Hawaii.

Here is the King Kamehameha Statue adorned in leis from the city.

Here is the king himself!

The lovely Princess of Kauai.

Ok, lets be honest. This post was really for this picture of the Kings Guards. Check them out! Huge! That's real Hawaiian blood there. We all stood in awe.

On the Mothers Day Menu...

2010-05-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

Look at this, a delicious spam and veggie omelet, orange marmalade toast with a beautifully arrayed plate of fruit, all served on the best cookie sheet we have. That is breakfast in bed.

Not to mention the cute servers that brought it in. I love this little guy. Without him I would not even be having breakfast in bed.

And check out dinner! Ribs, corn green beans and mashed potatoes. A very happy Mothers day to me. Compliments to my sweet and wonderful husband, Chef Nate.

Edison Broke the Bank

2010-05-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

No, he really did...the whole piggy bank cracked straight down the middle.
BUT...

...turns out there was $20.00 in change in that piggy bank. So, thanks to Edison we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Thank you Edison, and to all that loose change we saved up.

Happy 2 Year Anniversary!

2010-05-16T00:39:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Year Anniversary!

Fall 2007 -Our first kiss...

May 2010- 2nd year Anniversary

May 2009- Our 1st year anniversary

May 2010- Our 2nd year anniversary

And so many more to come....

Did I Mention We're Moving to Buffalo?

2010-05-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

So we'll be trading this.....

For this.....

Yep, come August we're leaving this gorgeous paradise and moving to Buffalo New York. Nate will be getting his Masters in Financial Economics. We are excited for the adventure, but very, very sad to leave. Edison and I are making sure to get in as many beach days as we possibly can. Ah! So sad!

Getting ready for Bed.

2010-04-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Edison loves to leave his shirt on his head when we're changing him. It's his "hat" as he calls it. After it's securely on his head he runs to the mirror to check in out and say "cool." What a trend setter Love him.

I Gotta go to work...

2010-04-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Edison, you working hard, or hardly working?

"A Bus!"

2010-04-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our apartment looks over a busy street, and Edison LOVES to point out all the buses as they drive by. So, Nate and I took him on his first bus ride, and he loved it!

Here we are anxiously waiting at the bus stop.

Edison's eyes got really big when the bus pulled up and opened the doors. He was aw struck the whole ride...and everybody loved it.

Our destination...the pet store. He was quite the happy camper.

Let's Look on the Bright Side of Things.

2010-04-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

1)It made for a cute picture, and gave me something to laugh about IN THE FUTURE.

2) I know I'm getting my money's worth out of the toilet paper (it took me 10 min to roll up.)

3) The Alexander Household now has "hand rolled" toilet paper. Whoa. Big time.

1) I don't even have to toss the salad.

1) He washes his own dishes!

1.Ohhh... that's what that brand new tube of lipstick that hasn't even been opened up looks like on.

Happy

2010-03-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

Daffodils and a red tea pot.Today, this made me happy.

St. Patricks Day Marshmallow Crakers

2010-03-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

This isn't something that involves frosting and green food dye...this is AUTHENTIC. No kidding, I found it in a book from our library, "A Pot O' Gold- A treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore and (of Course) Blarney". Oh my goodness, marshamllow and buttery crisp graham crackers.... who knew that the irish even knew what marshmallows were??!

"Cream crackers were invented in Ireland, but graham crackers or another plain, unsalty cracker will do."

Take:

1 graham cracker

1 Marshmallow

a blob of butter

1 almond

Put the marshmallow on top of each cracker. Put a small piece of butter on each marshmallow, topped by an almond. Place on a pan and put under a broiler until the marshmallow has melted over all.

The Big Apple

2010-03-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

Tried as I might I couldn't pull it away from him.

The final product. Nate made a good point that the apples in our house will look like this for the next 10-12 years. So very true.

Edison's First Haircut!

2010-03-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't have the guts to do it by myself, I waited for Grandma to come out to help me cut Edison's hair. We had to stand him up in front of the window to get him to hold somewhat still. He called out all the buses that drove by and we trimmed his hair. Grandma did a great job with the sides, but I have to say that I totally butchered the front. Oh well, boys hair grows fast.

Grandma Alexander's Visit

2010-03-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Grandma's Alexander's visit with us at the end of Feb. Edison even said "Gamma" the first day she was here. It was a fun time, and although we weren't able to muster up a full Tsunami when for her, we still managed to show her a good time.

We hiked Manoa Falls

They just so happened to be filming LOST up the trial as well...Grandma got a kick out of it, but for us it was "small kine"..(no big deal for the locals)

After the hike we took our muddy sneakers to the beach, picked up some Panda Express (love when Grandma comes!) and caught a nice sunset.

The Tsunami that did not Happen

2010-03-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

So, if any one is wondering and as many of you know the Tsunami that was supposed to hit Hawaii, Feb 27th never happened. One big flop. And I say flop because the overall consensus from everyone in the state was (as horrible as it sounds) disappointment. Everyone had plenty of warning, and the police enforcement did a wonderful job of getting tourists and Waikiki dwellers to higher ground. So, prepared and ready there we waited with cases of toilet paper and water that was frantically bought at 3:40am that morning. Hawaii news anchors did a superb job with live cameras and coverage from every angle on all the islands. It was almost like waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square on New Year's eve.

11:19am was target time for the first wave to hit.

10:30am, nothing yet, still as can be and "a beautiful beach day" as the news anchor reminds us.

11:00am, some action at the bay with tide being pulled in and pulled out somewhat rapidly...

11:10am, more tides, and everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for the big wave....

11:19am, more tide coming in and going out...

11:30, more tide, "is this going to happen?"...

12:00pm, ok, let's eat some lunch...

1:00pm, looks like it's going to all blow over, nothing happened??!!!!That's it???

2:00pm Tsunami warning officially called off. Freeways are opened as people try to salvage the rest of the "beautiful beach day"

And as my mother-in-law said it "Hawaii sure throws a pretty lame Tsunami party."

Don't get me wrong, we are so GRATEFUL that nothing happened. I'm especially thankful for the lesson I learned as a new mother to always have food storage ready...and that includes a surplus of diapers and milk.

It was a good, and much needed wake up call for us all...minus the action... and that's probably something we should be even more grateful about.

Three New Things To Do With Peanut Butter

2010-02-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

I found this great little article in one of the parent magazines I was reading with some new ideas for Peanut Butter. I loved them all and thought I should share!

1.Make a morning smoothie. In a blender, combine 1 1/2 bananas, 6 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 cup ice cubes and 3/4 cup whole milk; blend well. Makes 2 servings.
* I absolutely LOVED this. I'm talking just like those peanut butter shakes a Jamba Juice...delicious!
2. For peanut sauce to toss with rice noodles, whisk together 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, 3/4 cup warm water, 1/4 cup light-brown sugar, juice from 1 lime and 2 teaspoons soy sauce.
* may I suggest adding some sauteed chicken pieces and cut up green onion.
3. Combine 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup peanut butter and stir in saucepan until hot. Serve over pancakes
* BRILLIANT.
4. Or you could be like this lucky kid, and try a peanut butter facial. (And no, this is not Edison, thank goodness. If I was his mom, I'd give him some bread and tell him he was getting a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.)

Number 1!

2010-02-14T22:04:00.001-08:00

Happy 1st birthday to our big boy Edison!
(adorable crown provided by my incredibly talented, Martha Stewart sister-in-law Chelsea!)

The king of his castle...and making sure everyone knows that he's 1 year old.

Here he is the morning of, looking sharp and dapper in his new red overalls from Grandma Fisher! For all of the squiggles this kid has, he sure doesn't mind stopping to pose for pictures. Lucky me!

Ah yes, the famous stuffing of cake in the face. It was a hit! Edison did a superb job with the frosting.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-07T18:24:00.001-08:00

Yes indeed it was a white Christmas in South Jordan Utah.

Since we didn't really have any snow clothes for Edison, we had to substitute with a couple of things.

Nate and I took advantage of the free babysitters and stole away for a couple of dates. Very nice.

And of course, it was nice to know that Edison was at home safe and sound with Grandpa and Grandma (Edison bonded with Grandpa over story books and packets of graham crackers.)

Little did I know that Nate had Piano skills! He took the time to show Edison his stuff, and Edison showed his in return.

This picture is mainly for my Dad. I couldn't help but think about how jazzed he'd be to see geese in the snow. It's something we'd get $.25 for if we 'd spot it out on our family mountain drives.

Edison loved the two dogs that roamed the house, and even shouted "daw" whenever he saw one.

To celebrate New Years Eve, we ordered a 27" pizza. Going big for New Year.

Christmas in Honolulu

2009-12-17T13:47:00.001-08:00

Here are the pictures of Honolulu City Lights. I tried to put them in some kind of an order...starting from the beginning of our walk at our apartment to the Honolulu Hale. I love that my front yard is decked out with Christmas lights. Oh, and I also love the fact that we can go outside and take our Christmas lights stroll in shorts and flip flops.

Here is the beginnig of our walk to see the lights. These trees are in front of Nate's work building. Edison was in awe, and kept mouthing "wow" the entire time.

Here is Iolani Palace, or the Queens Palace all lit up in Red and Green Chinese lanterns. Kind of makes me think of the Haunted Mansion at Disney Land.

Tada! And here is the Honolulu Hale (this is where the Mayor works) all decked out for Christmas.

Inside, the Hale is filled with different themed Christmas trees and also where Santa comes out to visit dressed in an Aloha Shirt.

The only Snowmen in Hawaii.

Mele Kalikimaka!

This is what Christmas is all about

2009-12-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXXwtFWpAI8

copy and paste the link, it's well worth your time.

Christmas time is here!

2009-11-28T23:36:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Christmas Edison. It's going to be a happy month.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T22:50:00.001-08:00

Our Thanksgiving Day Festivites began at the beach. Nice,warm and sunny outside, why not?

Here is Edison on the hunt for his own Thanksgiving bird.

Some good friends of ours in the ward invited us over to their family Thanksgiving, and boy was it a BIG family thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving dinner began with Ahi Poke appetizers. Yummy.

And of course, there was all the traditional food as well...and lots of it too. We thouroughly enjoyed ourselves this Thanksgiving and were so blessed for the good friends that took us in as family on this Holiday.

Gone with the wind

2009-11-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

We took a little family hike to the Makapuu Lighthouse the other week to get out and stretch our city legs. It was a bit stormy that weekend, but we caught the tail end of the storm. Luckily we didn't get poured on, but it made for some really fun windy weather! Of course the view was spectacular, and reminded us just how totally amazing it is that we live here.

Up at the top!

Nate and Edison having some Father and son time. Teaching him the ways of the world I suppose.

The gorgeous, almost surreal view.

We took advantage of the wind, and let mother nature do most of the stroller pushing.

Halloween Highlights

2009-11-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

The Halloween Festivities began with a little pumpkin carving to which Edison made sure he got the most out of. This cute moment lasted for about 3 min...then I had to scrape pumpkin guts out of his mouth and hair. So very worth it.

This picture is a product of the sugar cookie extravaganza that took place in my humble kitchen. My friend Jessica and I frosted and sprinkled, dipped, and piped (and ate) to what seemed an endless supply of cookies.

And here is Edison in all of his Lion glory. I got the idea for the lion costume when he started growling at us. It just seemed too appropriate. He was a lion for about 5 min at a time :)

Here is Jessica's little boy Ezra who made the most adorable little cupid I've ever seen. This baby was born with angel wings.

And here are the boys together!!!

We went with Jessica, Liam and Ezra to Bishop Museums "Treat Street" to do our trick or treating. So much fun! The Museum had their life size dinosaurs on display which made it a fun evening. Luckily Edison didn't get eaten by this huge spider.

And of course, Nate had to come back late at night to pull Edison out of the pumpkin patch while he was waiting with Linus for the great pumpkin to arrive.

A Most Sincere Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

We visited the one and ONLY pumpkin patch on the island last weekend. It was a little drive out there, but we made the best of it. Everyone has to get pictures of their kids out in a pumpkin patch...that's just a standard.

Edison knows all about the nutritional value of pumpkins

He LOVED the hay ride, as you can hear.

For His Next Trick...

2009-10-19T18:49:00.001-07:00

Someone once told me to embrace their quirks. Here are some of our favorites.

Growling

Picking up any thing and everything with his feet. Ta da!

And lots of lots of mischief...you can barely see him in this picture, but he looks like he's up to no good...and he was.

Face Painting..and Ears, and Hair

2009-09-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

Edison Alexander- the master of carrot art.

Creating Autumn

2009-09-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

Since our palm trees don't necessarily change colors, and our balmy 80 degree weather doesn't cool down, I have to take matters into my own hands. This is how you create Autumn in Hawaii.

Peel some juicy, red apples.

Make an apple pie

Place some fake leaves in a vase on the table (you gotta do what you gotta do)

Check out some autumn themed books for the kids

Break out the Fall table cloth, light your Fall candle and enjoy that apple pie.

I forgot to Mention

2009-09-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, and one more thing I finally got a picture of- Edison's teeth! We had to take this picture when he was fast asleep so we could pull his lip down without him biting us.

When Nate and I saw this video, lets just say that it was all too familiar. I just wish I had this kids cute English accent.

A long over due update

2009-09-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

This little one keeps growing! Here are a few of the big highlights.

Edison Eats -The Premier!

He actually wasn't this happy after the first bite of green beans. He really gagged to tell the truth. But now he eats just about anything (literally anything...I even find him underneath the dinner table sucking on my toes.)

Edison Sits Up and Crawls- The Premier!

Does he not look totally mischievous in this second picture?

Edison Gets a Tattoo -The Premier! (the one and only)

He got this tattoo at a "One year" birthday party for my old Boss's twins. When a child turns one year out here it is quite the celebration. I'm talking sign in book at the front door, party favours, two individual cakes for the twins, prizes, full buffet line for guests, and an ice sculpture bigger than my wedding cake. Edison will be getting a cupcake when he turns one...and maybe a ball. We'll see.

Edison Behind Bars

Since the crawling started, I had to break out the "bars" to block the kitchen. He was not too happy about this one at all.

Bring back the A1

2009-08-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

So check this out, my friend from BYUH entered into this A1 Steak Sauce "Sing Your Beef Out" contest, and I have to say that I was pretty compelled to go buy the sauce afterwards. Works for me! It's hillarious.

Nate's break dancing days

2009-08-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Since I've known Nate, I've always known that his brothers did break dancing when they were kids. Then, all of the sudden I see these pictures of Nate posted on facebook flying through the air and swirling on the floor. Turns out that Nate was part of the crew, but never explained that bit to me (or maybe he did, but I just took it as a joke). The crew called themselves the" Zucchini Warriors." What a stud.

That's him on the right with the white jeans (white jeans? It's so hard for me to picture Nate owning a pair of white jeans).

Now, this picture made me laugh because the shirt that Nate is wearing (he's the third one in from the left) he still wears to this day... tucked in with dress pants as a matter of fact.

Et Taco

2009-08-04T00:55:00.000-07:00

Hey, at least Edison likes it. Maybe we should still consider getting a dog.

Mid Summers Night Gleam

2009-07-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

There is a beautiful Botanical garden just a couple of streets up from where we live and last week they held the annual "Mid Summers Night Gleam" festival. It's a really picturesque event, and full of creative family activities. I loved the watermelon stand with big slices of watermelon for only $.50, or the station where you could win a free plant if you threw the seed into a pot. There was entertainment as well, all the way from bag pipes to belly dancing! But my favorite is how every corner of the garden gets lit up with with white paper bag luminaries. So magical! It usually costs money to get into the gardens, but this time it was FREE. Even better. It was a picture perfect evening.

Jousting Knights in Shining armor

Belly Dancers... this was the most modest shot I got of them. It was a cultural experience.

This was the "Horror Shop" with weird things like baby alligators and a pig with one eye (not so magical).

Little Edison loved the ballons!

Not to mention his Dads watermelon

At the end of the night, with a sleeping baby and the glow of all the luminaries behind us.

I've joined the club

2009-07-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

So I did the Mom thing and cut my hair! I haven't had my hair this short since 7th grade. Yikes! I did it mainly because little Edison would always grab it and stuff it in his mouth...but not much has changed since I got it cut. Oh well, it's a nice change, and it makes me feel like more like an official Mom.

Just for Grandma

2009-07-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some videos that only the Grandma will appreciate....and maybe some others will too. He is an awfully cute baby.

What Happened on the 4th

2009-07-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July, but I'm sad to say that I didn't take very many pictures that made it look like we were celebrating the 4th of July. However, we did take advantage of the Holiday, and of course we ended it with Fireworks. Here are some pictures and videos of our day.

4th of July Cupcakes:

Ok, so I did get to do my Patriotic thing and decorate some 4th of July cupcakes. This is me in my element. I stuffed these cupcakes with Twinkie like filling which was a first for me, and they turned out pretty good. Decorating, by far is the most fun part for me. Some people read, some people garden...me, well I decorate cupcakes. I'm somewhat embarrassed to post these pictures on a blog because I've seen such AMAZING picture perfect cupcakes from other blogs, but like I said this is me! I'm happy to say too that I got to listen to my favorite 4th of July music on Pandora.com while decorating....Neil Diamonds "Coming to America." It was sheer inspiration.

Et's theme song:

For those of you who don't know where our little Edison got his nickname "Et", I will clear your confusion now. When I brought home the first ultra sound pictures of our little babe, Nate said he looked like an alien...kind of like "E.T.". From then on the nick name stuck. This is also why we had the hardest time calling him William (which is his real first name) and had to go with Edison (his middle name) because it sounded more like Et. Poor kid. And that's how it all began. Till this day we still use his nick name. SO, on with our 4th of July holiday...as I was in my element decorating cupcakes and listening to Pandora.com, I started to listen to the composer John Williams, and low and behold the E.T. theme song came on. Nate and I couldn't resist the urge to grab our little Et and dance around the room to his very own theme song. You'll notice by his face that he was quite confused...as I'm sure he will be when he's older and watching this as well.

Honolulu Zoo:

After cupcakes and theme songs we finally got out of the house and met some friends of ours at the Honolulu Zoo. I'm happy to announce that we are now proud owners of a $25 year long Zoo pass. Yes! This will make for some fun outings. Little Edison LOVED the spider Monkeys and couldn't keep his eyes off of them. He was also pretty enthralled by the Hippos which we got some cool video of. It's no San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park...but it serves it's purpose well.

Bon Dance

2009-07-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I love about Hawaii, are the multiple moments that I feel like I'm in a completely different world. Take for instance the Bon Dance, a Buddhist celebration that takes place at all the Buddhist temples here in the summer. The bottom line of the event is to raise money for the Buddhist temple, but the night is filled with good food, music and dancing. The unique thing about the Bon Dance is the tower that stands in the middle of the floor with Japanese lanterns strung across from all sides. On top of the tower blares Japanese music and sometimes live are Japanese musicians. Everyone is welcome to dance around the pillar....kind of like a Japanese line dancing party. As Nate put it, it's just like a scene from the infamous "Karate Kid." Totally different world.

Pictures for Fathers Day

2009-06-23T12:41:00.001-07:00

Little Edison and had a friend take these pictures at the beach for Fathers Day. Edison fell asleep half way through, but we managed to get some good ones. Happy Fathers Day Dad! We love you!

Nothing but Et

2009-06-03T15:14:00.001-07:00

Nate asked me the other day if I had updated out blog, and I told him I hadn't because all I have are pictures of little Edison! It may as well just be the Edison blog. But, Nate made a good point that Edison is our life right now, and probably the only thing worth posting. And what a good post this will be. Here he is!

Et in Boots

Et in a Speedo

Et in a Bathrobe

Et as the spit up terminator

Mothers Day

2009-05-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

I guess it was really Mothers Day where it hit me that I am actually a Mother of a tiny child. I'm still taking things as they come! It was a wonderful day, and I felt very blessed and special. I really do love being a Mother.

One of the highlights of my Mothers Day was my gift from little Edison (or Dad) Nate cut out a life size picture of little Et holding a bunch of daffodils, and wrote a sweet note on the back. This life size picture of Et will be used for many more celebrations down the road...

Our 1st year Anniversary

2009-05-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

Nate and I celebrated our first year Anniversary May 3rd. Time has FLOWN by. I honestly didn't think I'd have a kid that was almost three months old by this time. So much has happened! We celebrated this little occasion at "Cricket Field" a secluded place on the north shore of Laie. Nate introduced this spot to me when we were just barely starting to date. We rode our bikes out across this green field to a little spot full of trees where we sat and he read me poetry by Tagore. ( I thought him very cultured). From then on it became a place for us to retreat to and stare longingly into each others eyes. It did however hold it's fair share of "define the relationship" talks, and thoughts like "Isn't he going to kiss me?", and "I think I really love this person." It was wonderful to go back there as a family of three and find our same little spot almost as though time had never passed.

Nate and I at Cricket field when we were just dating

Our family of three!

Hawaiian Baby

2009-04-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Saturdays are our day to escape to the beach. Needless to say the trip entails a bit more than just grabbing the sunscreen and your towel....having little Edison with us is a whole other adventure. But the time in the sun is well worth it! Edison gave the water a chance last Saturday and let us get his feet wet for a bit. The rest of our time he spent with Mom under a tree lounging in the shade happily sucking away at his bottle. He loves living in Hawaii, and so do we!

Et in a box

2009-04-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

When it's the end of the day and little Edison has been crying for an hour straight, my sweet husband knows when to step in. His techniques for distracting our crying child are innovative and different..they also lead me to think that maybe Nate just needs a dog.

Easter Pictures (kind of)

2009-04-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

Since little Edison got all dressed up in a handsome Easter outfit, Mom wanted to take the opportunity to take some nice Easter pictures. Little Edison had his own ideas and threw a fit as soon as we got outside. Oh well, he still looked handsome balling his eyes out.

Ok, so he wasn't crying the whole time in his Easter outfit...he did have some good moments.

Two of the most handsome men I know :)

Celebrating 26...as a Mom

2009-04-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

Glasses on, hair not done, half ready for the day, blowing out candles with a crying baby...the video says it all. Needless to say it was a great day.

Smiling with eyes wide open!

2009-03-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here is little Edison smiling with his eyes wide open! I promise that the camera turns to the right angle when he flashes his gummy smile.

Little Edison is 1 month!

2009-03-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some updated picutures of our little one!

Little Et's favorite book

According to Dad, he and Et have some serious one on one conversations.

This is the picture where Et looks most like Grandpa Fisher

We were pleased to find that our little boy loves his baths!

Why we nicknamed our little baby "Et"

William Edison Alexander is Here!

2009-02-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

Ta da! The new edition to our family arrived Feb. 13th at 7 pounds 7 ounces, 22 inches long. It was Friday the 13th, with a full moon...what an entrance! Because the little guy started out with the nickname of Et ( Nate thought he looked like an alien in the ultra sound pictures...E.T.) we can't help but call him by his middle name, Edison. So there it is! Little Edison Alexander. Though there is little sleep, and tremendous amounts of diapers, we love having him with us and are excited to be the parents of such a handsome little boy.

Chinese New Year

2009-01-25T21:23:00.001-08:00

Nate and I live about two blocks away from China Town. We took full advantage of our location and joined in on the Chinese New Year festivites.

This building is one of Nate's favorites. He has plans one day to turn it into a authentic Chinese restaurant. He is pretty good with his top ramen...some of the best I've ever tasted.

Some authentic Chinese souvenirs.

The Chinese lion dancers are some of the funnest things to watch.

The tradition is to give the lion money for good luck. You feed the lion through their mouths. Some people look petrified when they do this...but the lions were making some good money!

The old men play card games...often you see hands exchanging money.

Date night without a babysitter

2009-01-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

The advice we seem to be getting from people these days is, "enjoy the freedom while it lasts. " In an effort to follow this, Nate and I are trying to take full advantage of this time we have in the world without diaper bags, the car seat, a crying baby, money for the babysitter etc, etc. Nate was so sweet and planned a little surprise date for me and took me on a dinner cruise! It was so fun and something to help fill the "freedom canteen."

Nesting

2009-01-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

I've started what they call "nesting." This little babe of mine can come any day now! We have so many friends and family that have been so generous with baby things, that this kid is going to be spoiled rotten! I'm serious when I say that nearly everyting in the baby corner was a gift...all the way down to the stash of diapers and wipes.

Nate did the fatherly task of putting together one of my new favorite things....a rocking chair that my good friends at work got for me. (This chair is going to be a life saver!) Nate found his new favorite spot in the house. Every time I come out of the room, there he is! Just wait till the baby comes.

He's also found good use for the Baby Bopper. I'm just glad he hasn't gotten too attached to the babys bottles...I can only imagine.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's almost February, but I'd feel too guilty not posting New Year Eve pictures. Nate and I spent the Holiday in San Diego with the Fisher Family. Because of all the grand kids, the night was filled with musical chairs, limbo, and ice cream. We even celebrated the new year at 9:00pm as not to mess with bed time. It was actually a nice change not having to hold my eyelids open, painfully staying awake till 12:00am. The evening was just right.

This picture must of been around 9pm...I already looked wasted. The hat on my tummy was Grandmas idea.

Our very own illegal firework show in the backyard.

Some peple make new year resolutions...Toby got a new grill. Nice.

The little kids loved making all the noise!

I tried to catch Isaac going cross eyed (which was his new favorite thing to do) put I couldn't get it...it's a cute picture anyway.

Disclaimer

2009-01-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I realize that nothing new has been posted on our blog since November, but let me at least give a disclaimer to my neglect in blog posting. Because Nate and I live in a huge apartment complex with lots of Internet users, we've been pretty lucky to pick up a solid Internet signal. Recently, they seem to have all moved out. Our Internet has been the pits, and only once in a blue moon works. So, that leaves me with rare posting times in Nate's office at work.
I will try to keep you all updated as I possibly can, especially when the little baby comes! It will be one month to the due date on Monday the 12th! Nate and I have already set up the crib, and a little bassinet by our bed (to which I've already stubbed my toe on twice...that's what we get with a small apartment) We are excited as excited can be. More to come!

Nate's Shirt: A Tribute

2008-11-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

The other day, as Nate and I were going through our blog, and we noticed an item of similarity in most of our posts: Nate's Shirt. Nate wears this shirt so often because, 1. It's comfortable, 2. It's cool ( as far as temp. otherwise arguable)3. It's a nice fit and 4. He just doesn't see the need to get any more shirts! Hence, there must needs be a tribute to The Shirt.

Above is one of the first dates that Nate took me on in Fall 2007. You have to make a good impression in the beginning of a relationship....therefore, the shirt.

Here we are on another date, still courting...still making the "impression".....the shirt. Must of worked, I look happy! (And I was!)

The right impression was made! Here he is when he took me home to Utah for his family Thanksgiving dinner. In this picture the Shirt serves the purpose of practicality and comfort.

And we move on to the Honeymoon! When eating out on the cruise The Shirt does an excellent job of being more formal than a t-shirt, but still says "casual comfortable."

The Shirt breathes nicely in the hot dessert of Mexico.

And finally...but not to be the last, at his law firm. The Shirt sends a message of power yet subtlety.

Too many Horror stories

2008-11-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I had this dream that we brought home our sweet little baby boy. He was so tiny and small, and Nate and I were so excited! When he started to get all fussy and squirmy, Nate tells me that he's probably hungry and I should feed him. I look down at the little boy and he gives me this full smile of white pearly teeth! "Ahh!! My newborn baby has teeth, and I have to breastfeed him???" I woke up shortly after that, and concluded that I've heard too many horror stories about breastfeeding, and it really can't be all that bad.......right???

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

Our First Family Picture!
Doesn't he look just like his Father?
My little pumpkin

Enjoying Hawaii

2008-11-02T21:32:00.000-08:00

Nate and I took a little excursion one Sunday and found ourselves on a beautiful cliff over looking the ocean. Another reminder to us of how lucky we are to be here.

Bean Soup

2008-11-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad just sent us a crockpot from the pile of wedding gifts left in San Diego. All I can say is that it's become our new favorite toy, and visions of crock pot meals dance in our heads at night. Nate comes to me one day with the comment "We should soak beans, doesn't that sound like fun?" Soaking beans? SURE! Add a new crock pot in that equation and you've got a party! And that's exactly what it turned out to be.

Nu'uanu Ward Halloween Party

2008-10-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Halloween wouldn't be complete without the ward halloween party! Besides the candy that we were able to snag from door to door in the cutural center, we feasted on spam masubi for dinner and listened to spooky tales of the "Night Marchers" (an old Hawaiian legend about King Kamehamehas marching soliders that everyone seems to either of encountered or believe in)

The Closest thing to Beer Mugs

2008-10-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

So we splurged on Friday night and got a "keg" of Root beer for our frozen pizza. Nate is a social root beer drinker, so this was a special occasion for him. As I came out to the kitchen table I saw two glass measuring cups poured to the top with root beer. According to Nate, the handle on the glass makes all the difference. At least we could measure how much we were drinking!(Nate drank 4 1/2 cups)

Brain storm for your pumpkin carving!

2008-10-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/pumpkin_sim.html
This website kept me occupied for probably longer than it should have! HAVE FUN!

Prop 8 YES

2008-10-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

I'm getting bigger!

2008-10-04T23:32:00.000-07:00

Upon request, I took a little baby bump picture. Here I am in my 20th week...also just coming home from work, so I look kind of thrashed and wind blown. But, I'm feeling great, and my little baby bump is kind of fun to carry around! The little guy (it's a boy for those of you who didn't know) is sure starting to kick, and has definitely increased my bathroom time at work. It's so fun though, and I'm enjoying this second trimester honeymoon phase of the pregnancy.

First Day of Fall Dinner

2008-10-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Obviously we don't get a whole lot of seasonal change living in Hawaii, and at times Nate and I crave that cold crisp autumn air, or even being able to wear socks in bed with out sweating up a storm. So, of course we're going to celebrate the first day of Fall! We felt it our duty to commemrate that yes, Fall can happen in the endless summer paradise! That night, Nate and I cooked up some turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and a little apple crisp with vanilla carmel swirl ice cream for dessert. Mom and I had a "fall candle lighting ceremony" over the phone to begin the festivities and make our house smell nice and "cinnamoney". Nate and I enjoyed our little fall feast next to the city lights...and made sure to keep our fan close by to cool off the night. Fall can be done in Hawaii!

Eating Candy Corn is just more fun this way

Our New place

2008-09-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

Since we've decided to plant our feet in Hawaiian sand for a little bit longer, we decided that our little studio just wasn't going to cut it. It's four walls served us well, but we starting to feel the cabin fever. So, with the help of Craigslist we found our sweet little one bedroom apartment on the 26th floor of a highrise in Downtown Honolulu. It's covered entirely with white carpet and has a wall to wall view of the city view. Best of all is the Kitchen that actually has counter space! Fist thing I did when moving in was bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. We've even filled up our empty space with a sofa bed couch (for all the visitors...hint,hint). We're quite comfortable, and even jumped the gun by buying a bassinet for the little one on the way!!!

Honey of all Moons Stop # 2 -Mazatlan!

2008-06-17T23:13:00.001-07:00

While in Mazatlan, Nate and I bought our first boat......hahahaha, that would be nice, wouldn't it? Luckily, because of Nate's excellent Spanish skills we made friends with the captain (Jesus) of the boat, and he let us each steer for a little bit. This was our second excursion. We took a boat out to a small island where Nate and I hiked, and Kayaked. Needless to say that our Kayaking skills needed a little work as we drifted from one side to another. It was a good lesson in communication for the newly weds...and Nate spent a good amount of time doing the paddling while I enjoyed the view.

Iglesia de la Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción de Mazatlán

Nate and I took a nice walk down to the heart of Mazatlan where we toured the inside of a beautiful cathedral. Afterwards, we walked around the city, ate some mangos with lime juice from a street vendor, had a nice coke in a glass bottle,and flew a kite with some of the neighborhood ninos. We're we locals...but with blonde hair and blue eyes.

The Honey of All Moons

2008-06-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

The day after we got married, Nate and I boarded our Ship for a seven day cruise to Mexico. Wahoo! Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta, where we took a bumpy excursion out to the country side in a nice yellow 4x4. This was raw Mexico!The trip ended at a tucked away beach where we were served a lunch of fresh tortillas, home made beans, guacamole, grilled meat and vegetables, fresh fruit, and a hard to come by virgin margarita. (Nate stared the bartender down until he gave in and made the non-alcoholic for us..heh heh). With full stomachs we ended our lunch in hammocks overlooking the ocean.

Pretty Flawless...

But wait! Our glorious day was not over! Right after we got back to our ship, Nate and I rushed out to the city and saw a real live bull fight. It was a lot to handle at first, and you're not sure whether to cheer on the bull or the matadore! Nate and I were both impressed with the moves those young matadores had...especially in such tight pants. Sheesh.

2008-06-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

And so we begin...