Our First NIU Basketball Game

Today was Faculty and Staff Appreciation day at the NIU Men's basketball game against Bowling Green. All faculty and staff of NIU got free tickets, so we went. We met up and sat with Todd and Mel Gilson (Todd's a new professor in our department too), Vicky Books and her family (Vicky's an instructor in our department), and Travis, Amy, and Morgan. It was nice making it out to an NIU sporting event (which you can never go wrong with Cisco), even though NIU lost. Kaila had fun, she watched the game, the band, the cheerleaders, the dances, everything. She clapped and clapped when others were. It was a fun two hours with everyone.

The Convocation Center, home of the Huskies. Really nice place.
The Family:

Travis, Amy, and Morgan (with Ellie in the back)
Kaila with Todd and Mel:
The game. Of course, Cisco examined the shoes first thing. BGSU had on orange NIKE Hyperdunks and white/orange Powermax TB's, which surprised him, since their football team is Adidas. On the other hand, NIU was.....well.....wearing Adidas.
The Halftime Show: a dance group of all ages. Maybe Morgan and Kaila will be down there dancing one day.

Babysitting Morgan

Kaui had the opportunity to babysit Little Morgan for a few hours. Not only did Kaila have a friend to play with, but so did Sadie! Sadie wanted to lay and sit next to Morgan, and she even wanted Morgan to pet her.

Morgan having fun in Kaila's old jumper:

Sadie showing off her big sister skills:

Kaila being motherly, as Morgan sat on her lap:

Kaila's 1st Birthday!!!

On January 13th, Kaila had her 1st birthday. It is hard to believe that one year ago on that day, God blessed us with Kaila-Louise Keanelaokalanihiwa Reyes. The first six months just flew by, with the last six months seeming as if we've had her for five years already. It has been amazing watching her develop in front of our eyes, and we can't wait to see what else she has in store for us in the coming years.

Looking back one year ago.....

Ah, the good ol' Colt Brennan onesie....Cisco wishes that still fit her.

......and now, one year later......

Early in the morning, "Today's my birthday!!"

Giving Sister a morning kiss...

"Today's my birthday Daddy...."Picture with Mommy, before they headed out to Toddler Gym Class...

Waking up from her afternoon nap to a bunch of balloons on the floor...

The table was set for her birthday dinner with the Flewellings...

Ready for her birthday meal...
Posing with Morgan...
Singing "Happy Birthday!"



Ready to dig in...

.....but I have to bow and kiss the cake first....




Yummy cake...


After dinner and cake, time to open presents (thank you Flewellings for my phone!)...
THANK YOU FOR ALL MY GIFTS!! (Sadie thought the Pluto from the Sanborns was for her....note how she's eyeing it)

It was a fun day for all of us. From getting her dressed, to decorating and getting the food prepared, it was a lot of fun. It's as if Kaila knew it was her special day. She had extra energy and was a little extra silly. For dinner, Kaui made chicken long rice, one of the best dishes she makes and a fruit salad with Pineapple & mango. We were so grateful that our good friends, Travis, Amy, and Morgan Flewelling came over to celebrate with us.

Looking Back on our Trip to Idaho

Playing with Brenna and God-sister Sadie (Newlan)...

Reuniting with the Best Western Gang...

Playing in the snow for the first time...

Saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, thinking we were headed to Hawai'i (only to say hello to them the next day)...
Cisco, putting his CSI: Miami skills to use, as he attempted to read Megan's college acceptance letters (this one was from University of Oregon, aka. "Nike U.," so of course Cisco had some interest).

Kaila staring at her Grandpa's picture. She would actually talk to it as if he was really there.
Celebrating Cisco's 28th Birthday (the night before we headed back to Illinois)...
Spending time with Aunty Tinae at Sea-Tac Airport (we were there for 8 hours, so we had a little time to kill).