BABY KINA - honey, she's home!

The past two weeks since Kina came home have been busy and FUN. It is so nice to have her here with us. She truly brings a special spirit into our home. Everyone seems more reverent, gentle and sweet with her around - maybe because she is so tiny and perfect. She has been adjusting well to the real world. I remember the first day it seemed really weird that I could just hold her and she wasn't connected to any wires and cords. We are slowly getting used to being the parents of 2 kids and I have newfound appreciation for all the moms in my life.

Kalofae - can you tell Wayne was up all night in this picture? Everyones been saying it and it's absolutely true - we definitely have our hands full! Thankfully, we have a lot of help around. My mom has been an absolute lifesaver - running errands, washing dishes, folding laundry or just watching the girls so I can take a nap. I'm so grateful for her. Our families have been wonderful - everyone has been so willing and ready to help in any way - even if its just coming over and keeping me company or taking Malia for a few hours so she can play outside. I don't know what I'd do without them. Thank you family!

Malia has been super. I was so scared after hearing so many horror stories of snubbed 1st children, but Malia has been her usual happy self since Kina came home. She is very gentle with Kina. She likes to pat her head and hold onto her little hand. Now and then she'll point at her eye and get too close that she touches it - she does that with me too, though, so I think it's an eye thing and not a baby thing. She has yet to show any signs of frustration or dislike of the baby - I hope this continues:) Today she even had Kina on her lap while she was eating. Malia is a good big sister.

Isn't she cute? When people ask me what she looks like I tell them to picture Wayne, but tiny and female. lol. She is such a good baby. She really only cries when she is hungry or wet and when she sleeps she sleeps soundly. She is on her own eating schedule now - the doctors call it "ad-lib", which means she can eat as much as she wants when she wants. She's already had one check up with her pediatrician and a follow up with her pediatric surgeon. Both say she is doing great. She has already gained about a pound since coming home and is improving more every day.

We are so happy she's home.

Happy Belated Birthday Malia!!

I knew I was gonna be hearing about this later. "You didn't love me as much as the others - I never had a 1st birthday party" or "I flunked that test because I never had a party when I turned 1." lol. I'm ashamed to say it, but with all the excitement and chaos that has been going on in our home since Baby Kina was born and home, we haven't had the time or sanity to plan a party for Malia. Malia turned 1 on August 25 and she finally got to blow out her candle on September 25. My mom felt bad for our neglected child so she dropped off a birthday cake from Provo Bakery and Wayne and I sang "happy birthday" and let her dig in. It made me feel less guilty and Malia loved it.

It was so funny - she started by just grabbing a little bit of frosting and slowly putting it in her mouth, but once she tasted it and figured what it was she simply put her head into the cake and started chewing. Later, she used her hands to eat again, but this time it was in double time. I think she was afraid we would take it away so she was stuffing in as much cake as fast as she could. Hilarious.

***

I seriously can't believe our little baby is one already. I remember her birth like it was yesterday. A year never seemed that long to me, but I seriously cannot picture our life without her. After a very rocky first few months with a bad case of colic (I was like THIS close to calling it quits), she has grown into a fun, happy, sweet, sympathetic, caring and playful little girl. She loves other kids, going on walks, exploring new places, reading books, dogs and the noises they make, opening cupboards and taking things out, food and music. She doesn't like changing her diaper, getting dressed, being tired, green vegetables, strangers, clearing out her nose and brushing her teeth. She is starting to talk and can say (when I say "say" I mean she can imitate a similar sound when prompted) apple, hi, dada, please, uh-oh and thankyou. . . oh, and she can also bark like a dog and growl like a lion. Other than that, she babbles a lot. She has a fun sense of humor and likes to play peek-a-boo and run away from daddy. Her favorite foods are peaches, bananas, pasta, chicken soup, eggs, sweet potato and anything mommy and daddy are eating. She is seriously a joy to be around and I miss her presence when she is away. Her first year of life she's had several ear infections, thrush, some bad colds, bruises here and there (from falls here and there), all her immunizations and the stomach flu. I think she was born beautiful, but she seems to grow cuter and cuter everyday. (do I sound like a mother or what? lol) Her hair is getting slightly longer and can now hold small clips. It looks very cute, but even when I brush and mousse it, it always seems to end up messy again in a few hours. It falls straight in the front and has a little party with her curls going on in the back. She has 8 teeth and loves to laugh. She is literally the light of our home and we love her dearly.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALIA!!

Feuding at Family Home Evening

This week, our bi-monthly FHE was held at the Kalimafoni's home. Two new couples have joined our group - Bernard and Crystal Afutiti and Tevita and Tema Hola - we love them already.



Vika gave a wonderful lesson about leadership. We had a discussion about leaders we respected and the qualities they possessed. The Kalimafoni's went all out with the refreshments - there was macadamia nuts, manapua, candy, and hot cocoa and bread. It was ALL delicious. But the highlight of the evening was definitely the activity by the Hafokas. Line prepared a little game of Family Feud and it for reals turned into a FAMILY FEUD. Lol.


Even though the other team was super competitive and tried to cheat, (do YOU think "mint chocolate chip" is the same as "chocolate chip". . .yeah, me neither) my team worked together and came out victorious in the end.

I learned that Washington DC is NOT one of the United States biggest cities and William is one of the most commonly used boy's names. Go figure.

Vika, Candice, Crystal, Tema, Line and me

It was a night full of laughter and fun. We love FHE!

BYU FOOTBALL - vs. Wyoming

Since I had the girls, I wasn't able to make it to Saturday's game against Wyoming, but I did watch it on TV. Again, BYU was amazing. Michael and Wayne both got some good playing time and the final score was 44-0 BYU. Go Cougs!

This picture was in the Daily Herald of Michael (on the left) doing the haka with the team. Ho! You can practically HEAR the Ka Mate! Lookin' choice, bro!

BABY KINA - what's in a name?

Amanekina Veisinia Latu

Many people have asked what Kina's name means. This is the story. . .

In the late 1980's Wayne's dad was starting a lumber company. In order to minimize his expenditures he tried to eliminate the middleman and receive the lumber directly from the ship that brought it from the islands and sell it from there. He was told by the people at the docks this would be impossible. He didn't know what to do. One day he was at the docks as the boat and shipment were coming in and he tried again to talk to the men. He knew he didn't have much time left and they had to make their decision quickly to let him take the lumber. Amazingly, after they deliberated alone they decided to let him do it. He was overjoyed. On his ride home he just thought over and over about his successful day and the business this decision would allow him to start. The name "Amanekina" came to him then - it means "hopeful dreams" or "a hope for good things". Wayne's little sister, Kina, was born a short time later and they gave her that name. Our Kina was named after her.

Veisinia is Wayne's Grandmother on his father's sides name. It's also Nia, Waynes little sisters, name. It means "Virgina" in Tongan.

I love these names. I think they are very fitting for Kina and very beautiful together.

BABY KINA - homecoming!!

Sunday was an exciting day. Kina came home!! Wayne and I drove up together to pick her up. There were many things we had to do before we could take her home. We passed off our Infant CPR, reviewed her eating schedule and care instructions, talked to the surgeons and doctors, made follow up appointments with the pediatric surgeons, met with the lactations specialists, OT/PT people, dietitians, nurse practitioner, and social worker. You've heard that it takes a village to raise a child?. . .they take it literally here at Primary's. :) It was so nice to meet with so many people who care so much about Kina. I felt slightly nervous about all the instructions they gave me about caring for Kina - just scared I would forget something somewhere - but I took notes to make sure I would remember. Wayne had brought some BYU stuff up for all the nurses that had given him such a hard time - he passed it out to everyone and they all loved it. Finally, after everything was signed off and taken care of, we said our goodbyes. It was the hardest saying goodbye to Nancy - she's been such a wonderful nurse and such a blessing to us and Kina.


It was kinda surreal - leaving Kina's home for the first month of her life - Primary Children's Hospital, fourth floor, NICU, room #1, bed #1. It's funny - I think I'm going to miss this place. Not miss having Kina in here, but just miss the people and the place, I guess.

Nancy walked us out. It was Kina's first time outside. I don't think she was very impressed - she slept right through it.


Loading up the car and heading HOME!! Can you tell Wayne was happy?

Welcome HOME, KINA!!

BYU FOOTBALL - Wayne's TOUCHDOWN!!

On Saturday, BYU slaughtered UCLA 59-0. Needless to say, it was an awesome game and our team played great!! In the 3rd quarter, Wayne got in and rushed for a touchdown!! It was so exciting! Wayne's sisters go crazy when he just gets in the game. . .you can imagine the scene when he actually scored. They went absolutely wild. lol. They all jumped up and screamed and ran up and down the row giving everybody high fives and then screamed some more. They jumped up so fast their newly refilled soda was spilled all over the people in front of them and the floor around them. Luckily, the people were just as excited as they were about the score and didn't press charges. lol. It was a great game! Go Cougs!!

Wayne breaking a tackle and heading into the end zone.

I found this quote on Brittany Faigas blog. Thought it was pretty funny.
"My favorite part of the whole game was when Wayne Latu took the ball off tackle and into the end zone and then proceeded to try and give the UCLA’s corner five. The best part of the whole thing was that Wayne wasn’t doing it to be mean or taunt, he is just a way nice guy that was probably just so excited to be in the end zone... It was priceless. "-Deep Shades of Blue

Needless to say, all us Latu's (like all Cougar fans that day)were pretty stoked about the game.

We bleed blue!!

BABY KINA - LAST week in the hospital

Yup, you read that right - KINA IS COMING HOME TOMORROW!! We are so excited/ecstatic/overjoyed!!! She had a great week and has progressed enough that the doctors (though surprised at her quick healing and progress) have said she can come home on Sunday. The average gastroschisis baby has to stay in the hospital for 3 months. Kina has been there for 3 1/2 weeks. All the nurses call her their miracle baby. The past week at a glance. . .

SUNDAY
Wayne and I went up after church and Wayne got to hold and feed her for the first time!!!

She was eating just less than an ounce (30 cc) and she gobbled it up fast. Because the gastroschisis, they are very careful what she eats. They started her feedings at just 1 cc and raised it by 1 cc at each feeding every 3 hours, just to make sure her small tummy could handle the volume. She showed us she could handle it by pooping later. "Yeah for poop!" (as Tina says. lol)

Our friends, Jeff and Melissa Dickson came up for a visit. They got to hold her and we all got to sit and visit by her bedside for a bit (though there is a rule that only 2 people can be there at a time, the nurses bent the rules a little for us :) It was so nice to have them there.

One of the nurses, Dee, took it upon herself to make Kina some clothes she thought Wayne would like. Wayne told her it would look real nice on our dog:)

MONDAY
On Monday, I got to bathe her! I started with a hair wash. Don't you just love a good hair wash? Though it's been a while since I've had a good salon style hair wash, I tried to remember what I liked about it and do it on her little head. I used the little sponge with bristles and massaged her scalp with warm water and baby soap. It worked. She's just like her mommy - she LOVES a good hair wash.

The sponge bath didn't go over as well. She screamed the whole time.

We weighed her after her bath. They weigh her in grams and then convert to pounds. She was 5 lbs. 7 oz. We were very pleased.

After she was all washed and lotioned up and smelling absolutely BABY (there is no smell that compares), she cozied up in her jammies and was happy again.

Once she was clean and clothed she could eat. She takes after me in more ways than one, I guess - she has a great appetite!!


The OT/PT therapists checked her out and gave me the report. Her muscle tone, reflexes and alertness are all good. She also got her hearing checked - it's perfect. Woohoo!

TUESDAY
Car seat day! Before the doctors allow her to go home she has to show she can handle the car seat for at least an hour (the time it takes to travel to our house). We put her in and she took it like a champ!

(No, that is not an oversized carseat. She is just a very tiny baby) :)

Malia and my mom came up with me and Malia had fun in the Forever Young Zone. She got to participate in music time - I don't think I'm being bias or anything, but the way she shook her little bells and tamborine. . . I really think she may be gifted. lol


We made a little baby Kina doll for her to play with. It has a hospital gown, a bandage on it's tummy and a name bracelet on it's wrist. Malia played doctor - she had a hair cap and a stethoscope. First, she liked it. . .

Then she didn't. . .

*Sigh* My dream that she would someday become a successful doctor just faded a bit.

Melba came by from work and got to hold Kina and spend some time there. (pics coming soon) It was a good day at the hospital.