Cante's 1st Birthday!

I cannot believe Cante is already a year old. It has been such a blessing having her in our lives. It is crazy how fast time flies. Cante has grown so much. It has been fun to watch her grow and progress. This time last year, she couldn't even focus on anything. All she did was eat and sleep. Today she is walking, exploring, laughing, talking, following directions,and eating on her own. I can't even imagine where or what she will be like next year! Being a parent has been hard at times but overall it has been really rewarding. It has been fun forming a relationship with her and getting to know her personality. Cante is very independent; she likes to explore and do things on her own. She is determined and knows how to get what she wants. At the same time, she is very sweet and loving. She is pretty much always happy and excited to meet or play with others. She loves to dance and laugh. Last, she sure knows how to put a smile on her mom and dad's face!

We celebrated Cante's first birthday 5 days early because both of our parents were in town for the week. We had her birthday party at Community Park in Orem. It is a beautiful park right behind Mountain View High School. The party didn't start until 5 but we spent all day preparing for it. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, soy chicken, steak, salad, fruit, potato salad, cake, cookies, chips, and soda. The food was delicious! We had more than enough for everyone. We had plenty of people too: my parents, Heather, Michael, Marlin's parents, Maioha, Hoera, the Hafokas, Youngbulls, Willetos, Loys, Iremias, Amber and her kids, Becky, Braydon and Virginia, Aunty Maioha, Sione, Courtey, Raw, Tea, Aunt Diane, and Alice! We had a great turn out:) The decorations looked nice too. The only problem was Cante! I don't know what it was...but all of a sudden she got extremely fussy! She started crying and screaming and would not stop.  I tried to feed her and put her to sleep; my dad even took her for a ride to see if she would go to sleep but she wouldn't. Finally after about 45 minutes I sent my dad to get some baby tylenol. About 30 minutes later, after some of the people had left, Cante was happy again...lol. Poor thing. She was just not herself. She never acts like that. I don't know if it was her stomach from the swing or if it was her teeth or if she was just overwhelmed by all the people. I felt bad that she was having such a hard time during her first birthday party. However, I was glad that she was happy again by the end of the night. Thank goodness for tylenol :)

 

 

Michael's Farewell

We had Michaels Farewell on June 16th. It was actually Cante's birthday but we didn't even have time to celebrate. We were running around like crazy people all day long. We started the day off by going to a baby shower for Derek Watson's wife. Then after that we just started preparing for the party. My mom was stressed out because she didn't know how many people were going to be there. She was worried we wouldn't have enough food. But we ended up having plenty. We made meatballs and funeral potatoes. Then we cut up tons of fruit and vegetables, then my mom asked 8 people to bring salads. We also had lots of chips and a big cake from Costco. We set up 3 big tables in the backyard and by the end of the night they were all filled up. There was a great turnout. My mom was really pleased with how everything worked out. We counted about 60 people who were there.
On Sunday, Michael spoke in church and my mom and Heather sang. They all did a great job. Michael's talk was soo good. Everyone said he spoke like a returned missionary! He used humor, scriptures, personal stories, and analogies. He spoke to the audience rather than reading from a piece of paper. He switched things up and kept everyone engaged. We were all really proud of him. He had to speak on the things that dad did to help him prepare for a mission. It was a great topic for father's day.

 

MTC Drop-off

It is official! We have a missionary out in the field. We all had a great morning together. Michael and my dad woke up at 6:30 to study. Afterwards, they got to skype with Heather and Antioni. My mom woke up at 7:30 so she could spend as much time as possible with Michael. Marlin, Cante, and I didn't wake up until 10. We all got ready and then got to skype with Eric and Erin before we left. I know Michael appreciated seeing them. Afterwards, we all went and ate at Chuck-a-rama. During lunch, Michael said he was getting pretty nervous about going in. We tried to comfort him by telling him that everyone else was going to be nervous too and that he would be a great missionary. When we got done eating, we got in the car and drove over to the MTC. We drove around a little bit because we were there a little early. Then we drove to a parking lot and all got out to give hugs and say good-bye. When we pulled up to the MTC, there were a lot of missionaries waiting on the curb to greet the newbees. We pulled up and there was a really nice Missionary who welcomed Michael and asked where he was going. I was video-taping the whole thing. My mom and dad got his luggage out for him and gave him one last hug good-bye. It was really sad to see him walk away, knowing that we wouldn't see him for two whole years. When we drove off, my mom sobbed for about 2 minutes and then she was okay. Marlin and I cried too. My dad kept reminding us that he was in good hands.

I'm really proud of Michael for making the decision to go on a mission. I know that there is no better place for him to be. I never really understood what a sacrifice it is to go on a mission until my experience with Michael. Not only is it a sacrifice for the missionary, but for his/her family too. We are really going to miss Michael but I am so excited for the experiences that he will have as a missionary. I look forward to recieving letters from him and sending him letters as well.

Cante Skuya - 14 months

Well, my little sweetheart was something else yesterday morning! She was throwing fits left and right! She has been sick this week with a runny nose, fever, raspy voice, and cough. Last night, we finally took her to the doctor and found out that on top of being sick, she is getting 4 molers and 4 canines! That explains A LOT! After the trip to the doctor she was fine :). Probably because her papa was in town! He came up to go through Grandpas things and pick up a scooter and 3 wheeler! After he came back, Becky, Rachel, and Brittany stopped by and visited for a little bit.

Later, I gave Cante a bath and she ran away without letting me put her clothes on. I didn't feel like fighting it, so I gave her a bottle and put her to sleep. Well, in the middle of the night, I woke up and she was lying in bed naked! LoL. I don't know what happened to her diaper..luckily she didn't wet the bed.

Today is Sunday and she has been great :). She has been giving hugs and kisses galore! I love it when she does that! After church she took a nap and ate some lunch. I cooked dinner and read her a few books. One of the books I read to her is about activities you can do at the park. One of the pages had a little boy rolling down a hill..so what did I teach her how to do? Roll across the room of course! She loved it :) After dinner, I took and nap and Marlin took Cante outside to play. When he came in he said..."That little girl knows how to move. I turned around for a minute and when I looked back Cante was down the road." LOL. Its true...her legs know how to get her where she wants to be!

Tomorrow I go back to school! I'm excited to go back but not looking forward to leaving Cante. I think it is going to be really hard for the both of us. She is going to be confused when she wakes up in the morning and I'm not there. I'm sure we will adjust.
We have had a great summer together. I love spending my days with her.

Here are a few "tricks" Cante learned this summer:

•  Doing hand motions to the itsy bitsy spider and head shoulders knees and toes.
• Throwing her diaper away after we change it.
• Folding her arms
• Smelling her feet and scrunching her nose "Stinky!"
• Oinking like a pig (scrunching her nose and breathing in)
• Putting her arms up to signal that she wants to be picked up.
• Getting into her high chair all on her own
• Getting into her bouncer all on her own!
• Using the comb or brush to "do" which actually means mess up her hair
• Shaking her head no
• Cuddling the baby doll and wrapping her in a blanket
• Shaking her finger no
• Jumping up and down (she doesn't actually get off the floor)
• Pointing to her head, belly button, earings, mouth, eyes, and ears.
• Running