Merry Christmas

The Medici Family would like to wish all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas and Blessed 2011!!

Pray for our friend, Wade

Will you take a second and pray for our dear friend Anne and her adorable son Wade?

Richmond 1/2 Marathon

Run Fast Daddy! Keoni ran the Richmond 1/2 marathon last weekend. His goal was to run the 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours, and boy did he reach that goal. Keoni ran 13.1 miles in 1:52:23. Malia and I were able to cheer him on at the 2 mile marker and the finish line. We are very proud of our daddy!! Good Job Keoni!!


Oh, and look what Malia found in the parking lot- the Christmas Deer decorations! Maybe we will take Malia to the grand lighting this year!!

Malia is ONE!

The big day has come and gone, and I'm still trying to wrap myself around the fact that my little daughter is now one. It seems like just yesterday I was planning how I would tell Keoni we were pregnant.

First and foremost, I was an emotional basket case the entire weekend, or should I say the entire two weeks leading up to her birthday. I must have cried at least 5 times on her actual birthday. But any-who...

Malia had a small birthday snack at daycare on Friday with her daycare buddies. Grandma made a fabulous batch of blueberry 'cupcakes' :) To no surprise, Malia ate the muffin and shared a few bites with her partner in crime, 'uncle' romeo... the family golden retriever. The kids sang Happy Birthday to Malia (and I cried).

Friday night was rather rough for me. Keoni and I reminisced about our life as a couple before we expanded. We talked about our trip to Ukrop's for ginger ale and more Robitussin. I was miserably sick the week before Malia was born. This could be the reason she was 9 days early... she was tired of being bounced around every time I coughed up a lung. Then came Saturday, November 6th.

The morning of Malia's birthday, Keoni went for a 10 mile run. He was training for the Richmond 1/2 marathon and wanted to be up and out rather early. Malia woke up around her normal time and I rushed in singing Happy Birthday (and I cried). I couldn't believe that this day had finally arrived. Malia had no idea why I was crying and she just leaned in and kissed my cheek (the tears did not stop). Daddy made a scrumptious batch of pumpkin pancakes for the birthday girl- only after I told him I used all the eggs for the cookie bar :) We also took Malia to have her professional one year pictures taken at Sears... and such a diva she was. I don't know what I ate, but she sure did have a sour face for a majority of her picture. Fortunately, we did get a couple good ones of her cheesing. We then spent the remainder of the afternoon baking, wrapping gifts and spending time with the family.Quick trip on the bunny trail- Keoni and I went to Hallmark, Walmart, CVS and Target and only found one, yes ONE, happy 1st birthday daughter card... I mean seriously... each store had at least 5 happy 1st birthday granddaughter cards, but no daughter cards...very frustrating!

Grandma and Granddad had everyone over for the traditional Wilson birthday party. We had chicken alfredo, salad, bread, peas and Malia loved every minute of her dinner. Following dinner, we had birthday cake! I realize that I'm not the best cake decorator in the world, but I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with her cake. We all chimed in and sang Happy Birthday (and I cried).


Then came the presents, and they just continued to come in left and right. Malia was spoiled by all her aunties and uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. Mommy and daddy got her practical things like a winter jacket. Malia's 'Big' Mammaw and 'Big' Pappaw gave Malia a Mickey Mouse wagon that has a keyboard, lights, horn, music, the works, this toy does not have an OFF switch, but I will admit, it's pretty cute watching Malia dance to the music. Grandma and Granddad had a theme for their gift. Ever since the day Malia was born, Granddad promised Malia a pony, and what did she get for her first birthday? Yep, a pony... a pony stuffed animal, pony blanket, pink cowgirl hat, cowgirl vest, and a rocking pony. And would you believe it, Malia is TERRIFIED of the rocking pony. She won't go near the thing. You can pinch the ears and he makes pony noises and she screams... someday... someday...That night, I rocked Malia to sleep and balled like a baby. I was surprised she could even sleep, for fear that I would drown her with my tears.




Sunday was the BIG Cookie Monster party! I had a blast planning this party, and I can't wait to plan more as she gets older. The focal point of the party was the cookie bar ( I'm hoping someone took a picture, because I didn't). We had 5 variety of home made, made from scratch cookies. I was tickled at how well the cookie bar turned out. We even served milk- you can't eat cookies without a nice cold cup of milk. I couldn't have been more excited for how everything looked. I hope everyone had a great time, because I sure did enjoy planning it!






And finally, I thought I would share a picture of Malia as a newborn and on her 1st birthday....




Happy 1st Birthday Malia! We love you very much!

Election Day!

It's Election Day!! Don't forget to vote! Keoni and I believe it is extremely important to teach Malia the importance of voting. So many of our family members fought and continue to fight for that freedom, the freedom of choice... GO VOTE!

Pumpkin Patch

I love my little pumpkin face!

uhhh stupid blogspot... please help!

I'm getting so frustrated with blogspot! I have a great preview page of how I want my post to look like when published, and as soon as I hit 'publish post' everything is thrown into disarray... can anyone help or suggest another free blogging site?

Slacker... again...

This is getting bad... this is now the second month that I've not routinely updated the cyberworld with something interesting/relevant... Why have I been slacking; I don't really know. I've been telling myself it's because we have been so busy that I haven't had time to actually sit down and write about everything that has been going on, but let's be serious, it's because I have an 11 month old who consumes my everything!

Here is a picture of the three of us departing from Richmond to Chicago. Malia was a champ on all of our flights. She really enjoyed ripping out pages from the Skymall magazine... sorry United!

Gig Harbor/Seattle, WASHINGTON

So, in the past month, we have gone cross country! The end of September, Keoni, Malia and I travelled to the West Coast. My brother Jack and his wife Julie moved out to Gig Harbor, WA in April. Gig Harbor is a beautiful place to live, and Jack and Julie did a great job showing us around town. Everything is in walking distance from their town home. There is a great little coffee shop just a block down where they make the best pumpkin cream cheese muffin. Across the street was a organic grocery store with at least 10 different apple varieties. Keoni actually found one of our favorites at the grocery store yesterday!

We spent some time in the big city doing the typical tourist attractions- Space Needle, Pike's Place Market, First Starbucks. And of all things, we were able to see a good friend and groomsman from our wedding Tony! The pictures below don't give Tony much credibility, but Malia did warm up to our Mountaineer buddy!

We also were able to have Jack show us around Fort Lewis. This is one of the bases that we have on our list of possible locations, so it was really helpful to see the surrounding communities to help us determine if we could see ourselves living surrounding area.

Below are just a few pictures of our trip to Washington:

Beautiful picture of Gig Harbor. Jack and Julie live about 10 minutes from the Harbor. Could you imagine waking up to this view every morning?

Pike Place Market. The Market officially opened in 1907 and is one of the oldest operated public farmers' markets in the country. Here you can get fish, flowers, veggies, baked goods, artwork, jewelry, etc. We had a fabulous lunch at Jack's Fish Spot

Here is a picture of one of the fish stands. I was shocked at the 'show' these men put on when someone orders from their stand.

This picture is really disgusting, but crazy at the same time. Right under the alley under the big Public Market sign is this wall of gum. It is LITERALLY covered in gum of all shapes, sizes and presumably, flavors.

The First Starbucks! Malia, Julie and I are waiting in line for our drinks in the first starbucks. I was surprised how small the coffee shop was in comparison to all the other millions of stores across the country. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I did get a vanilla bean frappuccino!

Malia and our dear friend Tony! I promise as the lunch hour progressed, Malia became more delightful and less scared of Tony.

Oh the Space Needle... call me cheap, but we did not want to spend $17 a person to go to the top of the needle. They did have an awesome gift shop though. Malia got a cute pink shirt with a silhouette of the needle made out of crayons.

Check back for the next post on the second half of our trip to Oregon!

SLACKER

This is horrible... it's been over a month since I posted absolutely ANYTHING! Things have been a little crazy that past few weeks.

Keoni is officially done with school and studying for the bar! He has been relaxing the past few weeks. Malia is really loving the extra time she gets with her daddy during the day. Just last week the two of them went to the Children's Museum. I try not to get jealous of all the fun activities since I'm still working, and realize that my time is right around the corner!

Shortly after the bar, we MOVED! We moved back to my hometown and we are literally 1 mile from my parents. It has allowed us to spend more time together than in the car. My commute to work is now 15 minutes! Being closer to my parents will also be beneficial when Keoni is in the Army.

Malia is getting into all sorts of trouble. Her 9 month check up was last month and she is starting to grow taller! Our little chunker is almost 18 lbs. Malia is crawling all over the place. She loves it when you chase her down the hallway. She is also pulling up on everything. Keoni and I agree that she will be walking by her birthday (which is in 2 months, holy mokes)! We also have a little technology worm who wants to constantly play with daddy's ipod touch or mommy's cell phone, and don't you dare take them away while she is playing with them... you might see her head spin. I think we are going to have to get unlimited texting when she eventually gets a phone :)

I am really behind on posting pictures as well. Keoni has been transferring most of the pictures onto our external hard drive, and it takes me a while to find them. I promise to post pictures of Malia's first summer!

I will leave you with one little picture of our chunkie monkey- Grandma Medici LOVED Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We happened to be in Richmond on Broad street and decided to stop in for a little treat. I know Grandma Medici was smiling down on us as Malia had her first bite of doughnut!

Thanks for contitunting to read about our little family!

Crossing the finish line and Thoughtless Thursday!

We've MADE it!! Keoni is done with school and done with studying for the bar! He took the bar yesterday and arrived safely home from Roanoke.We are so thankful for all the loving words of encouragement. Malia and I couldn't be more excited to have Keoni around again. We are planning on taking a 3 day weekend to the beach. This will be Malia's first trip to the ocean. Hopefully we have wonderful weather.

Here are some pictures for our "Thoughtless Thursday"

Thoughtless Thursday

Every Wednesday, a sorority sister of mine titles her blog post, Wordless Wednesday, and just shares picture of her adorable little daughter. I have decided instead of Wordless Wednesday, to do Thoughtless Thursday...enjoy!

All gums

We were at the pool today ( I need to blog about Malia's first time at the pool) and met a neighbor who's daughter was born 4 days before Malia. The mother I were chatting it up about having daughters who were 8 1/2 months old. Then, out of no where, she said that Malia didn't look like she was 8 months old. It kinda bothered me, but I let it go... Often times I find myself not wanting Malia to grow up, and then comments like that drive me crazy. I just laughed and said it was because Malia was short and still doesn't have ANY teeth.

This past week has been a crazy one. Sunday Malia wasn't nursing well, and I was worried that she was trying to ween herself off the boob. I did HOURS of reading (felt like I was studying for the bar) and came up with two conclusions: 1- Malia is trying to become more independent and weening herself off, or 2- she is teething... Throughout the course of the week, she was eating better and is now back to her normal nursing self. She even slept 11 hours last night. So what was the cause of this abnormal nursing moment, no idea, but here is a picture of my precious toothless 8 1/2 month old who I adore!

Leather and Crystal... 3rd Wedding Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to the most amazing husband and father! We celebrated with a wonderful dinner followed by studying for the bar... 3 more weeks!

I love you Keoni!!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Keoni celebrated his first Father's Day last weekend! Keoni has been such a blessing in my life, and I have adored every minute watching him and Malia together. Not a day goes by that he doesn't make her feel loved, needed and cared for. I knew during our pregnancy that Keoni would be an exceptional father, but he has blown my expectations. I wish you could see her face light up when daddy gets her out of the crib each morning. I wish you could see the enjoyment she has when daddy takes her to check the mail. It's simple the small things in life, that make life worth living. Keoni, thank you for being the father I've always dreamed of you to be for our daughter. Malia is truly blessed, and so am I. Keoni and I have both been extremely fortunate to have such great role models as father's.

So Happy Father's Day, to all dads, both new and old!!

Happy Father's Day Daddy, I love you!

love,

Malia

...bring May flowers

The month of May left just as quickly as it arrived. So much has gone on in the past month, that I feel horrible for not blogging! Here are a few BIG events that happened in the Medici family over the past 31 days...

Keoni graduated from LAW SCHOOL on May 8th. I have waited 3 years to see my husband walk across the stage to receive his degree. Keoni has worked so hard the past three years studying, writing briefs, studying, spading, studying, publishing articles, studying, etc. did I mentioned studying? Saturday was a very emotional day, and I couldn't have been more proud of my husband. While the past three years have not always been easy, especially since they coincide with the first three years of marriage, I wouldn't have wanted to live it any other way! Keoni, we are so proud of all you have accomplished!

The same weekend Keoni graduated from law school was also Mother's Day weekend! Keoni and I were in totally agreement that while I was pregnant with 'baby bear' last mother's day, it wasn't my first mother's day. This year, was my first official mother's day celebration. It started early on Sunday morning with breakfast in bed... both for myself and Malia. That morning at church, we dedicated Malia to the Lord. It was important for us to dedicate Malia and not baptise, because we feel baptism is a choice she needs to make. We dedicated her in front of the entire church congregation and promised to teach and disciple her in the Lord. Following the dedicated, we went back to my parents for a cookout. We still had Keoni's family and some of mine in for Keoni's graduation. I felt honored to spend mother's day with my mom and grandmother! Malia and Keoni surprised me with an adorable picture frame collage and poem, as well as a BEAUTIFUL pendant with Malia's birthstone... I was definitely spoiled.

I also took off an entire week from work following Keoni's graduation. I wanted to be able to spend some down time just the three of us doing whatever we felt like doing. It was important for me to spend time with Keoni before it came time to study for the bar.

The weekend following my week off from work, Keoni and I spent some time way at The Homestead. My family has been going their for years, and this was Keoni's first time. Little Malia had her first sleepover with Grandma, Granddad and Auntie Malia. I'm pleased to say that I only called 3 times!

Keoni and I had a wonderful time together at The Homestead. This was our way of reconnecting and refocusing who we are as a couple. Keoni scheduled us a very nice afternoon at the spa followed by a fabulous dinner in the ballroom with dancing. Keoni and I agreed that we MUST take dance lessons before we go back, and we are going back, just not sure when.

In between all of the events, Malia has not only started eating rice cereal, but she is also eating solids... she is now eating: carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, prunes and bananas. Luckily, she has not had an allergic reaction to the foods and doesn't seem to mind eating the veggies.

I promise to write more in the coming months!! Thanks for reading!