He did it!

I had a selfish goal for Malachi that he would be able to write his name before he turned 3.  I knew he was capable of it, and I wanted to make sure I'm feeding his hunger to learn and do.  He has such a drive to know about things and learn things.  Most of the day is filled with "Mummy, what does 'dog' start with?" "it sounds like duh duh duh.....d!" (he's really into his letters and hes recognising them even more these days, especially by sound.).  So we started practicing a couple of months ago, every week we practiced  different letter, and everyday he wrote a page of them. And the practice paid off.

So here it is, his first name written completely on his own.  A week shy of his 3rd birthday.

The first picture is really dark so that you can see the letters.  They're a little shakey and there are some gaps (we're still working on getting the letters next to each other), but they're there!  The second picture is there to show how happy his face is about doing it.





Well done big boy!

Oh the places you will go....

My little climber boy, up on everything.  Malachi was always just content to be on the ground.  But the sky's the limit for little Vili.  He's even learnt that he can push things around to climb up to the places he wants to get stuff from.  Here are a couple of his perches I've caught on camera.

Elder Tafuna

Today Tui's little brother entered the MTC to serve his mission in California.  He's the last of the Elder Tafuna's for a while.  We're so sad we didn't get to see him before he went in - they stopped over in NZ for a whole day but couldn't get visitors visa's and so couldn't come out and see us!! So close and yet so far.

Mele travelled with him from Tonga to drop her baby off at the MTC.



And Sioana met them there.



We are so proud of you Siope, Malachi has already started telling everyone that Uncle S'ope is a missionary.  What a great example.

We love you. oxo

Malachi's turning 3

I can't believe it.

Almost 1

Vili's almost one.
Its insane.
Here are some of his almost-1 tricks.

He can point to parts of his body.

Ulu



kete



ngutu



elelo



He climbs like a vine. Nothing is sacred. He thinks he's invincible. The collection of bruises on his head suggests otherwise.







He has 2 teeth down the bottom and 1 up the top, which makes him look like a goof.



He chews on his thumb or finger, doesn't suck on it, just chews.All the time.




He likes lying down. He'll be in the middle of playing or chasing his brother and he'll just drop to the floor and lie there and talk to himself.



He doesn't just walk, he runs! Ok more like super power walks, but if I turn my back for a second, that kid is gone and down the driveway.



He loves bowls. There is one cupboard we don't have a lock for and he knows it and knows just what he wants in it.



He L-O-V-E loves books!



His vocab is increasing. He says -
Dada - daddy
muma - mummy
ma - malachi
nana - num nums, food or drink
dis - this
dat - that
bubba - baby
yes
and his favourite word
arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

He signs for osi (finished) and thank you. He blows kisses and gives 'uma's on demand, nice big open mouthed sloppy ones.

He takes these fantastic 3 hour naps in the day, but wakes 3-4 times in the night (we've discovered he has enlarged adnoids which makes him snore like crazy so during the night when he's in a deep sleep he snorts really bad and wakes himself up, giving himself a fright, makes him cry etc. We're waiting til he's a little older and bigger and then we'll take him to get his adnoids taken out.)

He's a little groove machine.  If he hears a beat, or his brother singing he'll stop mid-walking and do a jig.  Or if he's really excited he'll sit down so he can totally rock out.  It's awesome.

In general, he is the happiest little boy. He has these crazy big grins that he loves to share with the world. He's big enough and fast enough now that he can play hide and seek with his brother. It's awesome.



He's officially our big baby now. And one day soon he'll be a big boy instead. But for now I'm just enjoying those tubby cheeks and baldy head.

November 30

we will leave NZ soil and land 3 hours later in the friendly islands.
I.am.so.freakin.excited.
I loved Tonga the first time we were there and I cannot wait to go back.
And I'm super excited for Tui's family to see the boys.
Malachi can't stop talking about it.
He tells everyone who'll listen.

WE'RE GOING TO TONGA!!!!

Too Funny!

I generally try not to laugh during kids prayers; they're trying so hard and I don't wanna kill the spirit.
But tonight I just could not contain myself.
Tui was helping Malachi say the prayer in Tongan and part of it went like this:

Tui - "...mo mummy, mo viliami, mo au..."
Malachi - "...mo mummy, mo viliami, meow...."
Tui - "...mo au..."
Malachi - "..meow..."
Tui - "...MO AU!!!"
Malachi - "...MEOW!!"

Then....

Tui - "...tapuaki'i..."
Malachi - "...to cookie..."

By that point I was in tears and the prayer was over.

Man, that was just too funny.