Tis the Season!!!

I can't even begin to express how excited Ray and I are for Christmas!! It's so fun knowing we're creating memories that will last a lifetime for Noelani just like our parents did for us!!

We took Noelani for her first pictures with Santa today and they turned out fabulous!! She didn't even shed a tear when she sat on his lap...I suppose that will come next year. I'm not sure if Ray and I had more fun than she did but either way we'll remember it forever!

We bought Noelani a Step & Play Piano for Christmas but I caved and we've given it to her early...this is the only year she won't know a difference between today and Christmas Day so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. She loves her piano and is so proud of herself when she pounds on it makes music!!


On Thursday we're heading down to Bend, OR to visit Ray's parents and surprise Papa for his Birthday which is on Saturday.

Speaking of Grandparents...Noelani and I have been counting the days down on the calendar and it's 1 week until Papa and Grandma come home for the holidays from Arizona!!! I'd say time has flown but it hasn't...we can't wait to see them!

We also just found out today that Grandma and Grandpa Rentas are coming up from Arizona in January so Noelani is looking forward to spending some time getting to know them. With all these Grandparents this little girl is undoubtedly the most loved little girl I've ever seen!! How lucky she is to have so many Grandparents that love her so much!!! Now we just need to get Uncle Kevin up here so she can meet him too!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have not had a very good week at home this past week. Noelani came down with a bad cold this past Saturday and was up most of the night for 3 + nights...then low and behold both Ray and I caught it...let the good times roll. I didn't think it could get worse but it sure did...it's not fun tending to a sick baby when you can't even tend to yourself. Oh the joys of being parents! Everyone kept telling me 'Wait until she gets sick and then you get sick'...I believe it all now.

Thankfully Noelani got some sleep on Wednesday evening so we were able to still head up North to Jamie's house to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. We were doubtful there for a few days but we made it and it was actually nice to get out of the house we'd been in lock down in since Saturday. Jamie cooked the full blown turkey dinner and Ray and I even got to enjoy eating it together (Noelani picked a great time for a nap!). The entire Phelps family was up for the big day as you can see in the picture below. It reminded me of the good ole days when we were 14 only this time around we all have kids!! I can't believe we've known each other now for 20 years now!!! In the picture below are Jim and Heather and Danel with her little girl Taylor and Jamie with her two boys Jack and Jordan and Tamie with her little girl Hannah and of course Noelani and I.

Noelani is on the upswing now but still has a lingering cough. We take her to the doctor on Tuesday for her 6 month check up...I can't believe it's been 6 months since we brought our angel home!

Pictures from the McCoskery's

Scott took some pictures of Noelani the last time we all got together and I just have to post some of them here for you all to see. She's so beautiful!!!!
It's great having a photographer in the family!!

Time flies when you're having fun...

We've been so busy the past few weeks I haven't had any time to post any updates until tonight. I don't have much new to report on aside from Noelani getting her first tooth!! It's not all the way through yet but when it does poke through I'll be sure to post some pictures. I can't believe she'll be 6 months in just a few short weeks. Time really does fly when you're having fun.

Spencer came to stay the night with us two weekends ago. We had a fun time. He loves his cousin Noe and was a big helper. I'm enjoying seeing Noelani's and his relationship develop.

As you can see in the picture below Noelani loves giving her BFF, Teia, hugs...


Noelani enjoyed her first Halloween even though she almost missed it. It was way past her bedtime so she only got to hit one house and then she hit the bed.


Papa and Grandma sent a care package to Noelani and inside was her first Green Bay Packers hat and an Army Basketball t-shirt. She absolutely loves wearing her hat.
Thank you Papa and Grandma!!!

Weekend Update

Tamera and the kids came over last Sunday and hung out while Scott ran errands. Here is a picture of the kids. Teia is getting bigger and Spencer has lost his front teeth. He's been making a fortune from the tooth fairy. :)
Ray's parents came into town on Friday. We went to El Toreador on Friday night for some Mexican food and then on Saturday night we met them for dinner at Red Lobster. Noelani enjoyed Red Lobster much more than El Toreador...All things considered she did really well for being up way past her bedtime. It was great to visit with them and for them to see how big Noelani is getting. I can't believe it's been since July since we last saw them. We are planning on going down to spend Thanksgiving at their house. I can't believe that will be in just a few short weeks!!

Below was a video we just took of Noe today. Ray was playing with Kea and Noelani thought it was the funniest thing ever. This is the first time she has laughed this hard and this long. So glad we have the camera and can videotape these special moments to share with everyone.

Not much else new to report on here. We can't wait for Halloween on Friday. The first of many special holidays! I also can't help but think that with Thanksgiving just around the corner that means my parents will be back in town soon!! Yay!!

Our Lil Pumpkin

So we were finally able to get a picture of Noelani in the pumpkin...here she is.

We plan on going to Bainbridge Island to trick or treat with Tamera and the kids. Ray and I can't wait to take Noelani out on her first Halloween.

The Pumpkin Patch

We took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island last weekend and took the kids to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time!

We dressed the girls in their costumes and Spencer wore his Anakin Skywalker costume.

Teia as you can see is a Ladybug (the cutest ladybug I ever saw) and Noelani was undoubtably the prettiest Monkey at the patch.

The best part about being a Mom and Dad are the holidays! It's fun to know we're creating memories that will last a lifetime for her. We decided dressing the kids up and taking them to the pumpkin patch will be our annual Halloween tradition.

Oh and as you can see below the pumpkin "Noelani" picked out weighed in at 57 lbs!! Ray carved the pumpkin today...not too bad for his first pumpkin. More Halloween pictures to follow. We're hoping to squeeze her into the pumpkin and take a few pictures...we'll see if that goes over or not. :)

Packers Come to Town

I managed to get us two tickets to the Packers/Seahawks game this past Sunday. I surprised Ray with them and don't think I've seen him smile that big since the day Noelani was born. :)
My Sister Teresa was kind enough to take Noelani for the afternoon so we could adventure out for our first outing together without her. Thank you Teresa for making that happen for us!! Noelani loves her Auntie and was happy to spend some time catching up with you. Thank you also for the pretzels...they were a perfect snack at the game. I am lucky to have such a thoughtful sister.
We dropped Noelani off with Tee at Noon and then headed to the game.

In support of my Man I donned a Packers jersey in hopes he wouldn't catch quite as much flack...WRONG!!! We were pretty much harrassed from the moment we stepped out of the truck in the parking lot. It was worth all the trouble as our Packers prevailed!!
We enjoyed our day out together! Seemed like even though she wasn't with us she was all we talked about.

Happy Birthday Tamera!!

We had the McCoskery family over to celebrate Tamera's Birthday. Ray made his famous Chicken Fettucine and it lived up to its legacy.

It's always fun to get the kids together.

I can't wait for the girls to get big enough to play together.

The Mighty Steamroller...

So we said we would post a video of her new move...the rollover. So here she is in all her glory. She hasn't mastered rolling back over but we're working on it.


As you can see in the video below she already has a basketball that we've been playing with. I think she'll be a power forward. :)

Four Months Already...

We cannot believe how fast the past 4 months have gone!! I took Noelani in for her 4 month well check up. She now weighs a whopping 17 lbs 12 oz...let's just round that up to 18. She's in the upper 97 %! She's also 25 3/4" in height which is in the 95%. That a girl...Breaking records already!!! There was a day this past week that Ray didn't have any jobs so he watched Noelani while I went into the office. The picture here is how they looked when I came home from work...I'm wondering who passed out first...Daddy or Daughter?? The big milestone happened this week. Noelani rolled over and I mean a full 180 degree flip from back to tummy. Video to follow shortly. Now all she wants to do is roll over and roll over. She's our little steamroller!! She also loves being tickled by Daddy!! As you can see in the video...
This past weekend we took a roadtrip up to Birch Bay to visit Tamie and Hannah and goto Jamie's Mary Kay party. I can't believe Hannah is just about walking!! Hannah will be 1 tomorrow. It was great to see Noelani and Hannah playing together. It was such a beautiful day we all took a walk down to the beach just a few blocks from Tamie's house.