Nani Venuse

This song is very dear to me.

It's so romantic, especially once you understand the poetry of it all.

My father sang it to my Mother when he proposed to her.

I wish I had been able to dance it for my husband at our reception, however,

I will always enjoy listening to this mele, whether by the Kahauanu Lake Trio or below by Na Palapalai

One day I'll teach Mahie...(and her sisters)...this song, along with other hula that are special to me!

Enjoy <3

You are beautiful, O Venus
Resting proudly on high
A gleaming light above
Before the face of the clouds

An expectant thought comes
Causing a stir within
When you told me
That my loved one approaches

Companion with whom I hold hands
On bright moonlight nights
Where waves gently wash ashore
To whisper softly to the sands

Together with love, always
In the rains and the winds
Bound securely together
With deep affection in the heart

This ends my song
Of the beauty of Venus
Gleaming high above
Before the face of the clouds

sweet little spirit

Our sweet sweet Mahie has fed herself to 10 pounds, at a time (according to our Doctor) when newborns are usually losing weight & then making their way back to their birth weight. NOT OUR HEARTY EATER! She is literally suckin mama DRY, haha. Seriously, "BOTH sides" plus a bottle waiting on the side. We're glad she doesn't have a preference between breastfeeding or formula, she'll down them both, which makes us not have to worry about bottle feeding when it comes time to go back to work & school. I hear some babies just won't take bottles.

It's so funny that whenever we seem to take random pictures of her, she's always wearing this blue outfit. (Yes we have a whole bunch of OTHER clothes for her haha) I call her my little blueberry. I love holding her face close to mine, and breathing in that newborn baby scent. Plus her chubby cheeks are sooo hard to resist kisses. Her hair gets so curly after a bath. She loves it when her Grandma Telaya comes over and bathes her, she really enjoys the warm water and pampering.

Back at her 1st Doctor's appointment...she was so content until they stripped her down & she basically froze from the a.c., poor thing. She's got some very strong kicks & I THINK she may have been trying to knock our Dr. Shlachter with her powerful legs, haha. He gave her a tiny volleyball as a gift! (Future volleyball player, hmm?)

Here are my brothers Eric, Isaac and Ike's girlfriend Kiana. They love stopping by to see her & get frustrated that she sleeps a lot. Hmmm...maybe they should be here when she screams to be fed at 2 a.m. and then wants to be held until 4 a.m! Just sayin....haha

My Mom & sister being silly, playing with Mahie's balloons...haha, look at my Dad's face in the back, totally not feeling their sense of humor.

We love you Mahie, you make us very, VERY tired...but we love you nonetheless. Tomorrow you'll be 4 Weeks old! Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing us with such a sweet little spirit.

3rd Week Parents

It's the start of our third week as parents, and our days have been filled with feedings, naps, diaper changes, snuggling and asking each other a million of questions about any noise or movement baby Mahie does :) 

She is a very funny little girl. She LOVES to eat and has already gained a pound, haha. Our Tahitian neighbors also gave birth the same weekend as us, but Mahie already looks about a month ahead in comparison to their little one. We think it's probably because she has so much hair already. She is also very strong, quite the kicker with her arms flying everywhere. Her tiny hands are already clasping all over us when we hold her. We can tell she gets fed up with her inability to actually move, but she'll try anyways and does a great job in wiggling around. Sometimes we'll ask her, "Hey where are you off to little girl?"

Although I know she loves me more when it comes to feeding, I can already tell she is a Daddy's Girl:

She'll fall straight to sleep cuddling next to him in bed

She lays/sits so content in his arms and won't fuss

She'll calm down when he talks/sings to her

She didn't go to sleep til 4am this morning and her Daddy carried her the entire time

lastly, he is the best diaper changer ever!

Happy Mother's Day

I thought maybe that all the emotional hormones would stop as soon as Mahie popped out, but was i WRONG! Im so glad that James is patient and makes me happy/smile as soon as he senses a frown approaching. ALSO, how amazing he is for whispering Happy FIRST Mother's Day around 6a.m. as he calmed baby down for me to feed her. Since we both are struggling with the AROUND THE CLOCK newborn feeding schedule, my very first Mother's Day was nap, eat, nap, drink tons of water, nap, feed Mahie & more feedings. I give Mother's so much credit. It's totally different once you become a parent.

James and I often think about our own Mothers who also started their little families here in TVA, except they had more kids by our age & limited funds. We are just AMAZED! Such wonderful examples we hope to learn from to teach our children. Hardworking, Faithful, Loving, & the BEST Chefs in the world!

WE LOVE YOU: 

Telaya Marie Yazzie Kaahanui 

&  

Failuga Stevenson Aspinall

MAY 7th

Māhie Kauipuaonalani Fonofili Aspinall

Born April 30th at 10:50 a.m.

8lbs, 11oz, 21inches

 

It's funny how I just so happened to post her arrival (finally!) today, which WAS her actual due date. However, both James and I are very happy we've had her with us in our arms for a week! Crazy!

 We haven't had anything else on our minds these past few days other than her. It's definitely a new reality now, and we honestly give anyone who's a mother HUGE CREDIT! Especially first time parents. You go from one day being "You & I" to all about "Her". And I think we slowly are getting the hang of things.

Due to some pregnancy complications, our Doctor and Specialists at Castle Hospital advised us to be induced. We were at our 39 Week appointment, so baby was already fully developed, plus the weekend was approaching so we thought "why not?" All that excitement was cut short when our Doctor BEGAN to make me dilate, blah I hated it, but it got me to 4cm. That was about 10a.m. However, the Birth Center was already full of deliveries that Friday, so we were told to 'hang out' nearby until a room opened up. (I thought, hello you should've checked BEFORE dilating me) Well after being traumatized for those couple of minutes, I wanted to be as far away from the hospital.

 

James and I watched Fast Five at Windward Mall. They still hadn't called after, so we hung out with my brother Isaac outside of his shop Sindication. STILL no call, so we ate. We did some walk laps around the mall, thinking it would help me dilate more. We both were very tired. Then around 5pm, the Hospital finally called and said for us to check in at 7:30pm. I was so grumpy (LOL) because I couldve been at home sleeping. Anyways we knew it wouldve been a waste to drive back to Laie, so we walked around some more, grabbed James some snacks, met up with my parents at Boarders, and then decided to sleep the last hour in the Hospital parking lot. James knocked out quickly, and although I was dead tired, the nerves started to kick in so I walked around the parking lot haha. 

My last tummy shot.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the night staff and nurses. They made us feel VERY welcomed and even special. Our room was huge, almost like a hotel, almost.

I've never had so many needles stuck in me and blood withdrawn. Since I was considered a 'high risk' pregnancy, the nurses and doctors had to constantly monitor and run tests on me throughout the night. Honestly, I was miserable, especially since they had to keep increasing the 'PIT' to bring on my contractions. Although they hurt like a YOU KNOW WHAT, my nurses and Doctor were surprised I was handling them so well with out painkillers this far along. I said they just reminded me of ma'i cramps, but then I realized that I had experienced extreme cramps through out high school, so maybe this was why I was able to endure.

My Family stopped by. At first they waited in the lobby, then moved to sleeping in their cars, then slowly some of them went back to Laie, LOL.

Poor James, just as tired as I was. As soon as he would drift off, I'd wake him up to comfort me during a contraction. Well then before you knew it, the room was filled with nurses, our doctor, and equipment and bright lights. James on one side, my Mom on the other....and the most natural sudden urge to PUSH. Nothing can explain the feeling of labor. I knew I must have been experiencing the worst pain of the labor process, but I felt nothing painful. Especially with the encouragement from James. I felt very strong and even relief with each push, and finally she was here!

The first thing I heard was, "look at her hair!" 

Her first name is the Hawaiian word for: delightful, pleasant

 

Māhie, your daddy and I are trying our best to take care of you, although we are 100% zombies now. You have definitely closed the Newlywed Chapter in our life, and welcomed a whole new page of

the blessings, struggles, love and faith that we as Parents will experience.

It's your first time being a baby, and our first time being a Mommy & Daddy, so let's work together.