With so much extended family living thousands and thousands of miles away, YouTube has proven to be a very convenient means of sharing videos and clips of Arielle and Alaka'i with our family that lives far away. I've actually had my channel for awhile but never uploaded anything until Arielle was born. It's fun to share videos with family so they can see how the kids act, what they sound like and the mannerisms each child has. It's really also a great way for family members to feel a sense of closeness like they know our kids even though they don't get to see them often. I wish there was a YouTube and a Skype or Facetime when I was little!! I would have loved the convenience of that technology to talk to my grandma.

This video is just clips of Arielle and Alaka'i and although she may think she's the boss, we all know that's her daddy's job title. God first, family next. I am so thankful for the blessings I have.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! 




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Ear infections and teething, oh how I hate thee! I forgot how truly terrible it was to watch the baby you love and protect go through the pain inflicted with teething. Arielle is cutting teeth here, so far only one is starting to break through although many are following. It feels gritty like sand paper buried in gum tissue and oh, the poor little darling, she is in pain. She's a tough little trooper though, still smiles and laughs and is actually quite a well behaved little 7 month old (she turns 7 months old tomorrow, yikes!). She's more fussy than normal and naps have become shorter yet she keeps on pushing, keeps on trying to crawl and wants to constantly cuddle her mama and dada. I love the cuddles even though I hate seeing her suffer through the teething process.

To add insult to injury, she's also got a double ear infection that came with a runny nose. She's been yanking at her ears and even her hair (sometimes ripping a handful of her wispy hair out).  After a day or so of her doing this, I thought that I'd take her to the pediatrician. Better to be safe than sorry!  I'm so glad I did because he gave me the antibiotics for her double ear infection and although her ears are still bothering her, she's feeling better since we went.

It's been 13 years since my Alaka'i was this age and I forgot how much pain the little ones go through when they teethe and have ear infections. Sadly Arielle is her mother and father's daughter and both my husband and I were prone to ear infections growing up. I can't believe that she's old enough to get teeth already!! Wasn't it just yesterday that I gave birth to her, held her in my arms and swore to protect her and love her until the end of time?  It seems like time is flying by at such a fast pace that milestones are happening sooner than they feel like they should be.  She's already wearing 12 months in her clothing. What's next? Walking? Yikes!!! Slow down, precious baby!! Mama wants to savor these moments just a little longer.

I know those of you who saw my post yesterday or follow me on Instagram or Twitter, have probably already seen photos of my baby girl Arielle Grace Ke'ohilani. These are the first photos of her that I haven't shared with anyone yet and they're probably the most precious photos I have of her because it shows those precious moments of her birth, some of which I didn't even get to fully witness because I was under anesthesia and on the operating table.  This is our birth story.

On Monday October 6th, I had a doctor appointment (4 days prior to my due date). I was big pregnant and we knew it was going to be another big baby for me. After all, my son Alaka'i was 10 lbs 4.8 oz at birth and they say the 2nd baby would be bigger so we were expecting 9 lbs or more. The doctor who actually performed my ultrasound told me that she was in position and ready to come but I was not in labor. They decided that I should be admitted to the hospital that day to be induced because she was locked in position and I was thinning and my body was getting ready to bring Arielle into the world. Well, we checked in Monday afternoon and they gave me all of the medication and I pushed and labored all night long. I woke up the next morning and was still in labor but not progressing the way that we had hoped. I was in labor for 3 days with Alaka'i so I wasn't all that surprised.


Towards the afternoon after still being on labor inducement medication, I started to really dilate and was at 9 cm but then it stayed at 9 cm for over 3 hours. The doctors kept checking me and I didn't dilate more and the resident doctor said that I was in major stress and so was the baby and that he wanted to call my main OB and have her come down and give me a C-section. Wait, what??? A C-Section? NO!!! That was not the delivery plan I had made. I had delivered a healthy 10+lb baby boy before, I could give birth to my daughter naturally. I didn't want to have surgery!!!  Needless to say that both he and my OB expressed the need for me to have a C-Section as baby Arielle's heart rate was dropping and she was showing signs of distress.  I sobbed, I worried, I panicked and my son Alaka'i was there by my side with my husband Andrew and my mom. We've never had a C-Section in our family, I've read horror stories about them.  Heck, one of my favorite YouTube mamas had died after a C-Section due to "complications of labor". I was freaking out, like really, desperately afraid.  My son cried with worry for me and the doctors told me it was time and I agreed. They whisked me away, prepped me and my husband came in and they started to cut me open. I will spare you the nasty details and photos as they are less important than the fact that a precious little girl, my precious little girl was about to be brought into the world.

The anesthesiologist had to give me a more potent pain medication because I could feel as my doctor cut into my flesh so there was a period of time where my eyes were closed, I could hear what was going on, but I was off in an imaginary world full of colors and randomness. It was wild. I heard my name being called and it was my husband Andrew saying that our baby was being born. Then he walked away and the anesthesiologist told me to look to my right and I could see her. In my haze, I turned my head and saw the nurses and doctors checking my screaming little pink darling baby.


I closed my eyes. I opened them and my husband was there with this fluffy, soft, pink, precious baby girl and tears in his eyes. She was so beautiful, so perfect. She was my little girl. Oh she looks like me and her daddy. Oh my precious baby. Arielle Grace Ke'ohilani came into this world on October 7th, 2014 at 9:42 pm weighing 11 lbs 5.7 ounces and 23.75 inches long. She was a big, healthy, pink, beautiful, loud little baby girl. I was instantly in love and have been with her since that day. Though she's changed significantly in her looks as these last nearly 7 months have passed, she is the most beautiful little darling in the world (I swear, I'm not biased or anything) Thank you Jesus for this beautiful girl, this healthy little baby girl and our little family that Andrew and I had that was growing. Gone were the days of being alone. Gone were the days of crying holding my baby boy feeling like a failure, feeling so alone. Gone were the days raising and parenting my little boy with no partner to help me, to teach him. Now we were a family. Alaka'i and I were not a lone pair anymore. We were a family with Andrew and now with Arielle.


"What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;" Arielle Grace Ke'ohilani, my little girl. Arielle meaning Lion of God (Hebrew), Grace for God's grace (when Jesus died on the cross) and Ke'ohilani (Hawaiian meaning "heavenly harvest/harvest of heaven").  Like her brother, her name was carefully chosen and the meaning of her name in my life goes deeper than any words on a page can express.  She's such a precious little darling and I love her so!

We are a big family of Star Wars geeks, my husband more so than the rest of us. Let's just say, we own all the Star Wars films, have Star Wars comics, geek out on Star Wars merch, Andrew wore Darth Vader cuff links at our wedding and he got our son Alaka'i a pretty legit light saber, with sounds and everything, for Christmas (which you see Arielle holding in the photo). In honor of "May the Fourth Be With You" which is known as Star Wars Day and a reference to the phrase the Jedi use "May the Force Be With You, I decided to geek out and take a fun picture of Arielle as a little Leia-esque baby Jedi. I photoshopped a smoky black background to cover the carpet she was laying on to give it a little more drama. I also photoshopped Princess Amidala buns on Arielle's head for fun because, why not?

It's Monday, I am exhausted. Who's a fan of Monday's anyway? I hope you and all your Jedi, Ewok, Wookie (or whatever Star Wars race you prefer) families have a wonderful, or at least a silly Monday.

If any of you are interested in the light saber we got Alaka'i, this is where we got it: http://www.ultrasabers.com/ 

May the Fourth Be With You All!!

I have fallen off the face of the earth. The last 7 months has been consumed with precious time cuddling my little baby girl and soaking in all the moments and memories and with my day job that I've been able to convert to doing at home, I had so little time to devote to my website or photography.  Now I finally feel like I've achieved some sort of balance, am able to more efficiently juggle the balls of my life, and can confidently dive back into the ocean of the blogosphere which I so dearly missed.

I sat at my computer last night and perused all of the folders of photographs I've taken in the last year or more and couldn't figure out where to start so I decided to take a leap back in time to January 5, 2014 and the staycation honeymoon my husband Andrew and I went on. It was a literal dream. Come with me.... Let's hear the ocean waves roll in and hit the sandy shores while the cool tradewind breeze caresses our faces. Let's go. This post is photo heavy, but so worth it. If you want to see our hotel room or the beautiful oceans, sunrise and sunset of the North Shore, keep reading!

Here's a taste of what lies beyond the "Read More" button.