Little Hema is nearly 28 months old and he has never had a haircut. His hair has such tight curls that you might not guess how long it really is. It has started to hang down in the back and look really untidy.

Today I decided that he needed to lose about 8 inches or so off of the top back part of his hair. I got brave and started cutting before I lost my nerve. I think that the haircut I did would even make Jess & Mar proud! Even Little Hema seemed happy with the end result!!

This is our birth announcement for sweet Vela. We truly cannot imagine life without her!

Go Utes!!

Well, it was a sad day for the Ute loving Katoa family! We got dressed in our Utah gear and headed up to Iggy's to watch the game. It was a great game and right before the 4th quarter we left to drive down to Lakeshore. Of course all of the action took place during the drive! It was a close game but Hema's beloved Utes were defeated in the end! We sure had a fun time as a family and little Hema was still cheering "GO UTES!!" I don't think he even knew they lost! Daddy Hema is already hoping for a better result next year!

Happy, Happy Hema!!

Hema is basically obsessed with tractors! If he sees anything that resembles one he wants to "ride on Grandpa's tractor." Today we went down to the farm to help stack bricks from the old house that was knocked down last week and Hema got to ride around with Grandpa on the tractor. He was having so much fun and cried when it was time to come home.

Thanksgiving Day!

We had such a great Thanksgiving! We slept over at the Hawkins farm on Wednesday night. Little Hema loves the farm and wishes he could sleep there every night. We got up and helped cook and set up for the meal. Mom made the most delicious turkey, stuffing and gravy! Brandi's rolls were soooooo good! Jake & Tyra and Josh & Laura made appetizers so tasty we almost didn't save room for the meal! Marilee made an amazing salad! Hema & I made awesome mashed potatoes! The food was awesome! Then when we were totally stuffed...........dessert! Some of the highlights were Jason's apple pie, Tyra's awesome pumpkin roll, Marilee's pumpkin cheesecake and mom's apricot Bavarian tart! Yummy! We cleaned up, visited and played Yahtzee! Thanks Mom & Dad Hawkins for hosting us!
After we finished at the Hawkins, we rushed up to the Katoas. There was tons of yummy food waiting there too! It is fun to get the Tongan version of Thanksgiving and we had a roasted pig on the menu. My Oreo Chocolate swirl Cheesecake was a hit! Vela was passed around all day and hugged and kissed very minute by both families and Little Hema ran himself into the ground playing with all of his cousins. We are so GRATEFUL for our families! What a blessing to be so close to so many and to get to spend every holiday with both families! We hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday too! (By the way, being busy with all of the preparation for the day, we forgot to charge our camera. Our memory card was full and our battery died about 5 minutes into the festivities so you will have to use your imaginations to envision the rest!)

So Sweet!

We haven't posted for almost 2 weeks! Life get busy. We took this picture last week for our Christmas card - we actually took a bunch, but then decided to go with the awesome pictures Katie from Peek a Boo took of our family. So I thought I would show you our 2 cuties. I love being a mom! It is the best!

Vela is 1 month old!

Our little Vela Amelia Katoa is one month old today! We love her so much! She is such a sweet baby. Little Hema loves her so much and is such a great brother. We are so blessed and cannot imagine life without this little girl! We are so very grateful for adoption and for the amazing birth parents that have blessed our family! Isn't she beautiful?!?!?!

Vela 4 Weeks Old!

Sweet Vela was 4 weeks old on Friday. She is changing so much every day. This is a picture of her getting ready to take her bath. She is looking so grown up already. She is much more alert now and just starting to smile at us occasionally. We can't imagine life without her!!

Football Fun!!

Little Hema is basically obsessed with football. He even sleeps with his football at night. The first thing he wants to do when he wakes up is play football with his dad and it goes on all day until right before bed. He loves to go outside and tackle his dad. Daddy Hema is pleased with the obsession and always a willing tackle dummy.

Sleepy Little Angel

Sweet baby Vela is doing such a great job sleeping. Last night she slept 2 4 hour blocks! Yes, that was 8 hours with just a 20 minute feed and burp break! Vela and mommy both woke up VERY happy this morning!

The Video of Hunter!

Hunter Hawkins goes Hip Hop!!!!

Our niece Hunter had a dance performance at UVU (formerly UVSC). She did such a great job and had so much fun. She is the one with the long blond ponytails in the middle front row. I am seriously glad she got her dance moves from Brandi and not Jason!!! Grandma Nan, Grandpa and Grandma Hawkins, Jason, Brandi, Halle, Josh, Laura, Hema, Becky, Little Hema and Vela were all there to cheer her on. Great job Hunter!!!

After the dance, Willy the wolverine came up for photos. Little Hema was so freaked out by him and asked us 200+ times on the drive home if the "orine" was nice and if he was coming to our house! He was pretty freaky! YIKES!!!!

Family Shower

A Visit From JEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

My sister Jen came to visit this weekend from California! It was so wonderful to see her and for her to get to spend time with Little Hema and Vela! While she was in town my sisters had a baby shower brunch for us. It was so fun to get together with lots of my cousins and aunts. We certainly don't get together enough! Everyone was so sweet in welcoming Vela to the family! I am seriously praying for the Pixtons to move back to Utah soon! We love and miss them so much!!

Little Monkey

Little Hema absolutely loves to go to the park. He loves to swing and slide and climb anything he can! He is such a little monkey. We love him so much!