Proud to be an American

Aki became a citizen of the United States of America yesterday. He joined 195 other candidates living in Utah representing 62 countries in taking the "Oath of Allegiance."

The ceremony proceedings were inspiring; my favorite part was listening to a handful of individuals express what this day meant to them. People left their home countries to escape oppression and poverty to come to America, land of freedom and opportunity. Fortunately, Aki's reasons for coming to the U.S. and becoming a citizen didn't have a lot to do with oppression (unless you call marriage oppression...and if you do, keep your comments to yourself!).

Regardless, he recognizes that this country allows for great opportunities, which he is grateful for. The road to citizenship seemed long (and expensive), but we finally made it! Congrats, Aki, I'm proud of you!

A huge thanks to Symonie (and Nina) for joining us, for taking pictures, and for celebrating with us at Cafe Rio. We were glad to have you there!

It's a good thing he's tall!

Happy July

photo via gettyimages

The truth is I'm not so happy right now. As to why, I'll give you three clues: 1) red kool-aid powder, 2) beige carpet, 3) child-attempted clean-up. Sigh.

My big boy has found himself grounded, so he pouts, giving me the evil eye at every glance. Add to him the snotty-nosed teething infant and the sick-to-her-stomach toddler, and you've got yourself a downright happy little family.

But enough of that. Moving on, a few of my favorite things, or:

The Happiness that July Brings

Double De-Light | Two (2!) holidays...fireworks, swimming, parades, summer barbecues.

Baby Love | Three new cousins here in Tooele: Cousin Emily just gave birth to twin girls, Maizey and Maryn. Cousin Marcus and wife are expecting their first baby, a girl, later this month.

Grams & Gramps | My in-laws have finished their 3-year mission in Papua New Guinea and are making their way to Utah soon. My kids will get to hang out with them for a few weeks before they return home to Tonga...what a great opportunity!

Home Again | My soldier brother, Brigham, finishes his 15-month stint in Iraq this month. Thank heavens. I'm crossing my fingers for no delays, for safe travel, and for a sweet reunion.

Citizen Aki | My husband will soon be proud to be an American. That's right...come the 15th of this month, he'll be making it official.

Is this going to be a great month or what?!

Summer Fun

School is out, and we are loving it. The hot weather hasn't quite arrived, which I've actually enjoyed. I love summer rainstorms and mild weather.

I haven't been great about using my camera with all our doings, but I do try. I figure the doing is more important than the documenting.

Aki's awesome cousin, Crystal, and her family came to SLC for a visit and we were so fortunate to have a little of their time. Her kids are precious and we can't wait to see the newest one arriving this summer.
Ame is so delighted to have her second-cousin, Tylie Pratt, living in Tooele. Everyone in our neighborhood her age is a boy, so she loves having a girl to play with. Dress up (complete with makeup) is a favorite, along with taking care of Tevi, bathing their dolls, and sidewalk chalk.
Ame and Makai's first cousins, Nina and Satchel, also live not too far away in Bountiful, so we made a couple trips up that way to celebrate Symonie's birthday and let the kids have fun. The lil punkins played in the water, then at the playground. (The DVD player in our new van makes trips to Bountiful all the easier and doable.)
And last, but not least, we have been enjoying Makai's t-ball games twice a week. Several friends and his second-cousin Tate, are on his team. He's quite the little athlete and is getting better and better. He had a great time hitting in the batting cages, and loves to cheer on his teammates.

10 months

Our little guy is now 10 months old. He is so busy, always crawling and cruising the furniture. He loves to cheer for himself, clapping and cracking up. He's got 8 chompers that he uses to sample everything that might be edible. He pulls up to standing and stands for a few seconds on his own before he plops down.

We really need to childproof...this kid can have the kitchen cupboards, the bookshelves, and any drawers cleared out in no time. He communicates by "calling" (yelling) to us, and we respond in the same way. We'll have "conversations" like this for several minutes, and he loves it. And I love him—more than I can describe.He is on a definite schedule, and he's so good to follow it. He goes down for naps and bedtime quite easily, which is a wonderful thing to me. I've been working with him on basic sign language, but so far all he does is laugh at me. Hopefully it will pay off in the next year.He uses great attention to carefully prod and poke our eyes, nose, and mouth; he shakes his head back and forth when we tell him "no" (his way of talking back, I suppose?). He is so much fun, and I wish he could stay this way forever. Love you, Tevita!

Girls' weekend

I trekked up to Idaho Falls/Rexburg this weekend, joining my grandma Mimi and two aunts, along with some cousins. We went to my cousin Annie's wedding. It was such fun for me, and I enjoyed spending time with my grandma, of course. We even shared a room. :) Congratulations to Annie and Brandon...may their life together be long and happy!

P.S. Aki, thanks so much for staying with the kids so I could go. I could squeeze you.

A Babe in Baltimore

It's Tevi here. I just got back from vacation…I took my first trip by plane. Mama took me to Baltimore for a weekend visit. We went to see Dada, who was there training for work.

We didn't do a whole lot (thanks to me!), but enjoyed the relaxation and each other's company. The first day Mama was busy working/editing (read: earning her ticket), so I just explored the hotel lobby. Nice decor.

Here are some pictures of the trip. Oh by the way, I mention food quite often here, because that's how we Udalls remember things.

I loved seeing all the different people at the airport. While we waited at the gate, I loved to crawl around and try out all the zippers on people's luggage.

I didn't sleep on the flight, just to see how much my mom loved me, but I crashed as soon as we got in the rental car.

Reunited with Dada once again. Boy, was he glad to see me! We walked around Inner Harbor and saw some big ships and submarines. I tried to grab some ducks and seagulls, but they got away. I wanted to eat Dada's sushi, but instead I shared noodles and watermelon with Mama.

Here I am doing "so big!" while looking at the Capitol. You can see the Washington monument there in the background. Let's see, that day we ate Afghan food for lunch (fantastic, by the way), and an ice cream sandwich as we walked around D.C. I flirted with pretty much everyone who looked my way.

Some crazy college guys offered to take the picture so Mama could be in it too. Thanks, dudes.

After seeing the White House and a whole bunch of people in tuxedos and fancy dresses, we drove to the Washington Temple and walked around. I threw up in the car on the way there, so spent the rest of the evening wearing nothing but a diaper. I loved it.

We had a late night dinner in Bethesda, MD, at this charming outdoor restaurant—food from El Salvador. Mama and Dada said the food was sooooo good, and from the way my chicken bones tasted, I believe 'em. I laughed every time the waiter called me "muchacho" and tried to cover me up with a blanket.

On Mother's Day we went to church, where I was sure to give Mama lots of slobbery kisses, then had a nap in the hotel. Dada took us on a lovely car ride along the Susquehanna River to a little town called Havre de Grace where we ate a special Mother's Day dinner at a waterfront restaurant. Daddy got crab cakes and mom got steak. I had my usual: sweet potatoes and rice cereal. Then we took a stroll on the boardwalk.

Here I am back at the pad. I loved this bed, but when the parents were around, I slept in a little crib that Al, the front desk guy, brought up.

Well, that's it! Thanks for letting me tell you about my trip. Who knows, maybe I'll come see YOU next time! :)

P.S. Mama says a big THANK YOU to those who helped take care of my brother and sister, making our trip possible.

Sunset

I love this photo. I walked into my bedroom to see all three lil punkins staring out the window at the birds in the backyard. Just after finishing a jumping marathon (in minimal clothing, it appears).This was the same occasion, only 5 minutes later once the sun had gone down...amazing how lighting (or lack thereof) can change a photo! I love seeing my boys' profiles, sweet and innocent.

Tevi at 9 months

S T A T S
23 pounds • 28.7 inches

two bottom teeth: March 4
started crawling: March 31
two top teeth: April 20
waved bye-bye: April 30
pulled up to standing: May 4

• plays pat-a-cake, so big!, and this little piggy
• still won't hold his own bottle
• favorite teether is a chicken bone
• loves sweet potato, applesauce, and Twizzlers
• would live in the bathtub or outside if we'd let him
• has discovered the wonder that is a spinning pot lid

Under the knife

If any of you have spent more than 2 minutes near Tevita, you know he's a heavy breather. :) He snores and snorts...but sadly, the snort is no more (though he is still my piglet!).

Tevi had a minor surgery on Friday—adnoidectomy—and after a hitch with the anesthesia that gave me a small heart attack, everything went well.

So I haven't done ANYthing yesterday and today but hold a cranky baby, but I still enjoy him. And when he heals, he will definitely enjoy breathing, eating, and sleeping with more ease. These pics are just for his scrapbook. (What's with the hospital gown from 1960?)

for the grandparents