Ooh Baby Love!

I am in LOVE!! 

My friend Nash gave birth to her baby boy today and he is adorable as can be!!!  Just looking at his pictures makes me long to hold him and rock him to sleep, just like I use to do with BabyChleo (his older sister)

There is something so beautiful and delightful in holding a newborn baby.  They're so small and innocent, and all you want to do is snuggle them in close to love and protect them.  I love the touch of their baby soft skin, and the smell of their infant deliciousness!!  

It's been so long since I've held a baby, in fact, I think the last baby I held was BabyChleo, about two years ago.  

In case some may be confused with thinking I want a baby, right now, you couldn't be farther from the truth. Yes, I love babies............but I also love sleep.  :)

For now, I have no problem loving and cuddling and rocking all of my friends babies to sleep...especially when I get the nickname, "Tia/Auntie Ehu". I LOVE being an Aunt! 

Food, friends & family.

Man, I have a lot of stuff to blog about...

We'll start with the happy stuff first....

*Yesterday, my friend Geena hooked me up for tickets to "Taste of Downtown".  It's where 40-50 restaurants open up to let you taste a sample of their foods.   Several months ago, Geena hooked me up with tix to "Taste of Hillcrest" and we were able to go to 28 out of the 50.  We were SO stuffed! Last night, we went to about 15 out of the 45 restaurants.  It was all so delicious! I enjoyed some of the ethnic food, the best.  From last night, Indian & Mexican were my faves!! Such a FUN night!
Plus, I was SO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good to see Levi! I had been missing him all week!!  I just feel like half of my heart is missing when he's not with me.  I'm excited to see him tonight and tomorrow! :)

*I've been missing my friend Mr. Red and I'm glad to know he's alive.  He's been on my mind lately, because I've been thinking about how I need to worry less about EVERYTHING.  It's something Mr. Red and I have talked about A LOT.  I tend to over-worry and over-think about so much sometimes...ok, a lot of the times.  I've done a lot better after a talk I had with Mr. Red earlier this year, and I think I just went back to my ol' habits.  It's hard to just let go and relax, sometimes.  But it's something I definitely need to work on and will do...  I think it's because I worry about something turning out less than stellar.  Or I worry how I'll be judged by it.  I should haven't to worry so much, especially around those that love me.  It's something I plan on working on, starting now.

Uncle Topui Otuafi

*On Monday, my Uncle Topui passed away.  I haven't seen him since I got back from my mission about 8.5 years ago, at Uncle Eddie's funeral.  Thinking about him made me miss my Uncle Eddie and Auntie Moana.  I miss them so much.  Then it made me remember my Uncle Walter who passed away 4 years ago.  I miss all of them so much.  They weren't from my Dad's immediate family, but they were all cousins from his homeland of Tonga. Some of the closest Tongan relatives I knew, on my Dad's side.

I miss my Uncle Eddie's sweet, melodious voice.  He use to be in a Polynesian band with my Uncle Topui and Uncle Nani, who also recently passed, a month ago. I miss his hearty laugh and his big smile.  I even miss the scent of his aftershave that use to linger on my face, after he hugged and kissed me.  He loved Auntiy Moana and it was obvious in the way he treated her with such love and tenderness.

Uncle Eddie & Koti

I miss my Auntie Moana, because she passed away so suddenly and without warning.  I miss her cheery countenance and warm smile.  I loved the way she use to dote on me because she only had sons, so I felt like the daughter she never had.  She was so loving and kind, so beautiful--inside and out.  A great match for Uncle Eddie.  I always loved having them over for Sunday dinners, with the boys.  I can't believe it's been 11 years since she passed away. I remember the way she was so excited for my mission.  I miss her dearly.

Auntie Moana

I miss my Uncle Walter, and I know that out of all his cousins, my Dad misses him the most.  Uncle Walter was probably my Dad's best friend.  He was at EVERY luau and family party we ever had.  He was by my Dad's side whenever they would bury food in the umu (pit).  I miss Uncle Walter's to'okutu (coconut bread)!  I always looked forward to seeing him at church, because he was always so happy to see me and ask about Dad.  I think when Uncle Walter passed away, a lil bit of Dad's spirit died with him.   I know he misses his cousin so much. We all do.  

Uncle Walter & Dad

I know that as much as I miss my uncles & aunt, I will see them again. I know that there's a gospel plan set forth by our Heavenly Father that allows families to be together forever.  I know that to be true, with all of my heart.

"You mean "Awesome Auntie of the Year" award!"

I had some free time, as I hung out alone in my sister's kitchen.

I decided to make my niece a Bento box for lunch tomorrow (Friday).

That was my first attempt, and I don't think it's that shabby.  I know I wish I had lunches like that, as a kid.  When she came home from school, she was surprised and said it cheered her up. I'm so glad!

Later, she asked me to help her make her birthday party invites.

Between you and me, I was pleased as punch to help her with those! I LOVE doing stuff like that!

For spur of the moment, I think they turned out quite lovely.  Plus, all those wedding, bridal showers and baby shower invites finally paid off, as I was thinking of ideas for her birthday invites.

I had a fun evening with her.

She has a heart of gold.

She said the prayer over dinner and asked for such sweet blessings to be bestowed upon me and thanked Heavenly Father that I could join them tonight. 

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE and enjoy being an aunt, to my nephews and niece?

I LOVE it SO much!

I hope they know how much I love each of them! They bless my life, immensely!

My cup runneth over!

Auntie Mame = Tia Ehu

When I was a kid, I remember watching Auntie Mame with my Mom.  It was an old movie about an eccentric aunt who took in her nephew, after her brother's unexpected death.   

For some reason, this movie always stuck with me. I guess I liked it because she was such a free spirit, and I was already an aunt at the time I watched this (I was 10).  I always wanted to grow up to be fun & exciting like Auntie Mame!  

I've loved being an aunt.  It's been such a pleasure.  But I guess I'm going through some withdraws because 2 of my nephews are adults [21 & 19 y/o] and the other two kids are growing up so quickly! So now I've started to "adopt" my friends' kids....

I LOVE my friends & cousins children, as if they're my own nephews & nieces.  Lately, I've been so fond of my friend Nash's lil girl.  Oh I love her to pieces!! I can't get enough of her! And I LOOOOOOVE the fact that Nash refers to me as, "Tia Ehu" ('Tia' is 'Aunt' in Spanish).  I have other friends who refer to me as 'Auntie Ehu' when they're speaking to their kids--I LOVE IT!! In Hawaii, it's a sign of respect & a term of endearment to refer to men & women as, "uncle" & "auntie".  I know that when I have children someday, my closest friends will be my children's "aunties" & "uncles".  I can't wait for the day...