christmas and things...

december 23rd we went to a full local Christmas parade with our kids and kyle's parents... too funny and super fun. Tagen just really figured out what Santa looks like a few days before this and (still) is soooo excited whenever he sees a santa. Doesn't even matter if it's a live santa or a plastic one. At the parade was the first time he met a live Santa. Here's the dialogue and pics:

Santa "hi"
Santa's wife: "you're supposed to say Ho Ho HO Merry Christmas! not "hi"


Tagen: "uh, dabaduba vroom-vroom... da wib a santa" (translation: look I got a motorcycle with a santa riding on it!)


Santa: "oooOOOOooo... akward silence. want some candY?"


Tagen then trades his vroom-vroom for some candy... but soon after grabbed his motorcyle and started gnawing on the wrapper of his candy. So what if we couldn't get Tagen to sit on santa's lap. The way he was talking about santa allllll night you'd think he did.




We DID get a cute pic of Aveda sitting on Santa's lap.



and other cute pictures too... dec.24 was mommy's b-day and we had a super fun day going out to a coffee shop in the morning and then to the beach and then to dinner at our friend's for the night. Christmas day kyle's parents and brother came to our house for breakfast and presents in the morning and we had an awesome meal at their house that evening. enjoy the pictures!

laughter

I know I have mentioned before how Tagen seems to be the only one who can make Aveda laugh... I wish you could have been in their room tonight to see how hard she was cracking up as Tagen was just being his silly goofy self. She laughed so hard she spit up and then got the hic-ups. As always, it only egged Tagen on to make her laugh even harder. Too funny!



Tagen's best buddy Josiah came to visit for a week along with his mama Heather. We had such a good time going to beaches and exploring different parts of kauai. I haven't seen Tagen so happy and wild as he was this past week with Josiah than in this whole time of living here so far! He would ask for "Ida" (as he calls him) every time he'd wake up from a nap or in the morning. I was very proud of Tagen how well he shared his toys and food and sippy cups and binky (unless he had just woken up of course) with Josiah. But now he is gone and Tagen is going to perpetually think Ida is on an airplane because that's where he went when he had to leave and he just doesn't quite get it that after the airplane he went back to his house. Days later he sees an airplane and says, "Ida?" ah, the mind of an almost 2-year-old.



He's learned that if he does a "no-no" and after I make sure he understand what he did wrong he needs to say "yes mama" which he emphasizes as "yeeEEESsss mmmMMMMAAAaaaama" and usually says at least 2 or 3 times like this while sticking out his belly and making his eyes wide as can be. It takes all that is in me to keep from laughing. Every day he becomes more independent and more assertive about his opinions. (And for someone only 22 months old he certainly has a lot of them!) Every day I think that surely he must have reached the pinnacle of his oppositional behavior, but then he goes ahead to surprise us by taking his oppositional behavior to new heights.

isn't she cute?

how cute ShE??? she rolls over now. looooves brother tagen more than ever - he really seems to be one of the only ones who can really make her laugh. she just discovered we have a dog in the house and is fascinated by her. she is sooo strong - she holds onto our finger and it's virtually impossible to break her grip. she's been half way into the ocean waters of kauai twice now and really liked it. she takes 3 naps a day and i wish i could say she sleeps through the night but that's not true of little aveda quite yet. she is perfect just the way she is though!

life on the rock

So we actually made it to Kauai and are living in our new home. It is still surreal that we are really living here - kind of feels like we are on vacation or something. But no, this is our new reality. The last days before moving was nuts and there were many moments I was wondering if we were really going to be able to pack up or get rid of or clean everything we needed to. Grandma and Grandpa from Oregon came to help which was a lifesaver. For sure we couldn't have done it without all of their help! We stayed in a Super8 motel our last week there and the last night before we left I think we were the only ones there who weren't there with the intention of partying in Isla Vista for Halloween. Needless to say it was kinda loud there that last night. We are grateful for any and all of your prayers though because God's grace proved sufficient many times. We bought 4 plane tickets for mom, dad, grandma and grandpa planning on the babies sitting on our laps... not to excited about that but that's just how it was gonna be. We ended up getting hooked up with 9 or 10 seats we could move around between... basically having the back of the plane to ourselves which was such an awesome blessing!
Grandma in Kauai *aka:Tutu* basically stocked our house full of what we needed before we even arrived here... couches, beds, crib, etc etc etc... what a crazy blessing. Maybe that's why we feel like we are on vacation living in someone's vacation house. We've hardly had to do a thing to unpack/settle in. Our "magical mystery box" hasn't arrived yet though. That will for sure take some time to unpack and organize (it's a huge 1300 pound crate with kyle's screenpress and everything else we wanted to bring crammed in all the nooks and crannies of it.)
So anyways, we're here now. It rained the first few days we were here: refreshing. Then it was super hot and humid and now the winds have changed and there's this wonderful cool breeze blowing on me right now. Some differences from Santa Barbara: 5 baby geckos living in our house, 2 large toads living in our yard - one of which i almost stepped on yesterday, and ants. lots and lots of teeny ants. you can't leave food out for 5 minutes before they discover it. oh and did i mention the chickens and roosters? sheesh, roosters here start crowing between 3 and 4am. kyle says you get used to it where you don't notice any more. i still notice. Tagen looooves them though and calls roosters "ooshers" The sunsets are beautiful here which we see setting over the ocean through our living room window and the ocean is warm and perfect for babies. Kauai is a beautiful island we have moved our family to.

6DAYS&COUNTING

INCREDIBLE!
can't believe it, countdown to kauai. It's been pretty mayhem here in the Maligro Household.
i don't like moving from place to place. so much stuff/clutter to go through. i just want to burn
it all, except some things, and just start all over. ever had that feeling? we're in it. so that's it
for now. please pray for the Crazy Maligro Family. we need it! thank you. papa maligro

love binds

Upon reading a favorite blogger of mine: littlejourneymama... i read a post she recently wrote and couldn't have related more to what she was talking about. So, adjusting some to apply to our family, space and circumstances I have cut and pasted and rewritten some of the same...

I don't think you can ever know how having a new child will affect your family. How could you? The small person that is your child shines and darkens in ways that have never appeared to you before. Sometimes there is a spark of recognition, a piece of your childhood, the smile of your brother or the eyes of your husband. But this person is new; new to the world and to the small village that is your home.

With the birth of each of my children, I died a small death and awoke to new love. With Tagen, it was the death of my independent self, a self that spent hours reading and napping and creating this or that, a self that jumped in the car without checking lists, packing diaper bags, or shoving shoes on tiny feet. With Aveda, it was the death of having one baby, the concentrated affection, the passing back and forth of one child. This is what felt like a small death to me. It's what made me cry, during those first days as I missed Tagen while staying in the hospital.

But the awaking! The new love, the kind of love that you never have for anyone else, not even your spouse. Love for my husband is constant and HUGE in me, but how many times have I watched my children sleep and felt that clutch of pity, the fierce protection that brings tears to my eyes? I've never felt love like this before having these children. It has made me intensely vulnerable, easily shaken, and yet as solid as the hills.

I've also watched my children's hearts expand with love as our family has grown. They open and blossom in care for one another, and this is what forms them, in addition to the love they receive from us. Aveda has never known a life without a brother. Tagen has received Aveda with such joy. Yesterday was Aveda's very first laugh and Tagen is the one who made her do it... over and over and over again as he jumped and spazzed being his silly self. Aveda just couldn't get enough of him. At her tender age of nearly 11 weeks old she adores her older brother.

In all the craziness, the dullness, the frustration of parenting, LOVE BINDS. Love takes our family and makes us a small force in the world. In all the ways I've changed since my first son was born, the biggest is that I am more loved, and I have more love.

LEARNING LIFE THROUGH DEATH

It's like 6:55am. 6 days after the death of our beloved KETCHUP. see below for the story, it may be really loopy cause we were totally emo writing it. amazing what can happen just days after a death of a loved one. it's the hardest thing i think for us to go through, and i don't desire it for anyone. but the reality is that death happens. i was recently talking to one of my best friends about the whole scenario we just had gone through. he actually went through the same thing with his dog so he actually could relate to our situation which was really nice and a blessing. one of the things that was brought up was how death wasn't suppose to be. meaning, not suppose to happen. before the 'fall of man', death wasn't in the scene. well we all know what happened, eve and adam ate from the tree that God said don't. there were consequences. death. so since then we all have to deal with it. seems to me that there is a difference between some deaths then others. obviously depends if you were close the person, animal, etc or was just an aquantence. but it still is hard for someone to deal with. real hard! hardest ever!

after all that said: i wanted to shared something that i've learned through this whole experience. i know that some of you may be thinking, 'dude, kyle is whacked, it's just a dog!'. well, you have the right to say that eh. but for our little family, ketchup was like our first kid since kristy and i got married. you're not married to either one of us so you don't know. hehe.
anyway, through the death of ketchup i've been learning about LIFE. yeah, sorry, it's not sounding really deep. but what i've learned about this life on earth is that i can get really ungrateful or just let beautiful things slip by and so on. God has been really showing me a lot about that sort of things and i'm really grateful to relearn it again because LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. go watch the movie!

yes, there is more from the whole experience. but i'll share more later.

tons of love to you all!
kyle

Our beloved Ketchup....REST IN PEACE

Pictured here is our beloved dog Ketchup with Tagen. Today was one of the sadest days of The Maligro's ever!
We decided after a few days of Ketchup being sick, throwing up a ton, taking him to the vet and not getting better, taking him to the ER vet for 2 nights in a row spending atleast $1200. We don't know exactly how it all started, he could have chewed or eaten something bad or could have got a rat that may have been poisened. We just don't know. Ketchup ended up with pneumonia which is really serious and takes a bunch of time 24 hour medical assistance to get him better, could even take weeks for full health. we just don't know. so anyway, we had to make a choice whether to persist on him being in the hospital for who knows how long and how huge the bill or put him to sleep. soo sad!!!! sucked! kristy and I came to decide it was time to put him to sleep. we both were crying and even now are teary eyed or crying while writing this. it was one of the hardest things i've ever done, hold my dog who is like our first kid, who was really ill in my arms and talk to the vet, sign some papers and say we've decided to put him to sleep. worst ever!!!!!!! so we did. i placed him in someone elses arms and left the vet as fast as i could, losing it on the walk to the car. RIP Ketchup!!!!!!!!

Ketchup to us was a family member from the beginning. He has such a rare personality, we at times thought he was sorta human, obviusly he thought he was. He had at times a smirk on his face that looked like he was smiling a lot. He had his own personal dance move that we called "the shuffle", he would groan in bed if you moved him, and also snored loud. yes, he slept with us almost every night of his life, he loved a ball or anything like it, he was such a loving dog that always needed attention or give attention, he never understood if we left the house how come he couldn't go with us, he had to always check on us if we were in another room by touching his cold wet nose on our legs, he greeted tagen and aveda when they arrived home as his best friends, he loved people/strangers and would always jump on their laps even if they didn't want him too, he was a lover, he was also a barker which would drive us nuts a lot, and now our house is different place, we expect to hear him barking all the time and its not happening anymore/its like we live somewhere else now. one of the really sad things is that Ketchup was our other dog Mustard's husband and playmate and friend. Mustard is soo sad now, she doesn't know whats going on. tear tear. so now Mustard is our only dog going to hawaii. so sad, so strange.

So if you pray, please pray for us Maligro's cause its been one of the hardest days of our lives. Also, the hardest couple of months for us with figuring out moving and dealing with our Ketchup and scared out of our brains about Mustard getting sick and needing money for moving and all the stuff. It's really crazy and we're praying a ton to God for faith, hope, comfort, trusting and strength. We're trusting God knows whats up and He's never left us. Its just hard at times. Looking to grow through this all in Him.

That's it for now.
The Maligro's

hot dogs

Little did we know it would be such a process to get our two wiener dogs over to kauai with us. Pictured to the right is Ketchup jumping. Our dogs are wierd. There's no way around it. Especially Ketchup. He's like the opitomy of super-hyper-active-attention-defecit-separation-anxiety disorder. Mustard is the opposite. Anyways, we are planning on shipping them over in a couple weeks so that we can actually get some packing done and leave some doors open without them running off to who knows where. The paper work involved to get them into hawaii (see http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai_aqs_info.htm for the lovely details of it all) is ridiculous though and if we get it wrong then they have to go into quarantine for some crazy amount of time costing more $ than they are worth. Needless to say we're doing everything we can to make sure we've got it all right. Anyways, these dogs are in for an adventure of a lifetime as they are soon to experience the longest day of their lives. They'll be staying with Kyle's parents over there (who already have two wiener dogs) until we get there. haha! That'll be a nut house for a while.

TTM growing up

Tagen Train Maligro... you are 19 and 1/2 months old now and you've jumped full swing into toddlerhood. You now make known your own opinion with incredible passion although rather than using real words your thoughts are usually expressed by either a scream (because we got it wrong!) or an "uuuhn?" along with some hand motion to make it a little more clear what you are talking about. Thanks for that hand motion. We'd really struggle without it.
You love eating things with wrappers on them (like string cheese) but can't stand it when you get to the bottom and can't eat that last part in the wrapper. You are in the middle of transitioning from two naps a day to one and are VeRY attached to your TWO blankies and binkie. Yes mom got you an identical blankie should anything happen to your first one and you've now learned you have two of the same and need them both. You are totally obsessed with motorcycles, trucks, tractors, trains, airplanes and helecopters and have a different noise you make for each one.



The cutest thing ever is watching you dance. You looove to dance especially with your daddy and copy whatever he is doing. You also love hanging out with your buddy Josiah (whom you call him "Ida"). For months the two of you would love hanging out but just do your own thing while sitting next to each other. Now you guys are finally starting to act like normal friends as you have "conversations" usually about your dadas and some uh-ohs and a lot of head nods are involved. You also are learning to share but I can see that this is going to be a very long process. You say please now which is super cute as you pronounce it "peeeeze!". Having learned this is the "magic" word you do not at all understand why you can't have WHATEVER you want as long as you say peeeeze. Kind of hard not to laugh and give in when you're so stinking cute. You love your baby sister and call Aveda "baby". Often when you wake up in the mornings you call out to us trying to get us to come get you out of your crib: "mama? mama?.... dada? dada?!.... baby?" As if Aveda is going to come get you. Too funny. I love this about you. You are growing up and becoming more and more independent and yet parts of you are still such a little baby. We love you to pieces Tagen Train!

FIVE YEARS AGO FROM THIS DAY

This day five years ago something crazy was going to happen on national television, actually it's really wierd cause I was going to be on national television. "What are you talking about Kyle?", you say. Well, just so happens that a couple months prior I got a call from some chick saying her name and that she was from the "Jenny Jones" show and so on. I was on the other end saying, "Ok, whatever, you can stop messing around already, who is this really?" Come to find out that it was the real deal. Basically, long story short, I ended up in Chicago on the show to reunite with a buddy of mine who I was surfing with at the time and he got his leg bit off by a shark and I was there with him and tied a leash around his leg to make a tourniquet and supposedly the doctors said if I didn't do that he'd probably die. I can only say that God was in control of that situation and I wasn't, glory to Him! Anyway, that episode of us being on the "Jenny Jones" show was airing September 11, the same day the craziness happened here in the USA.

So basically, it doesn't even matter to me that the show didn't air that day. What really matters is that a lot of people died and a lot of people still hurt this day because of what happened on that September 11th.

Back then I didn't have a wife. Back then I didn't have kids. Now I do and it even hits me harder to even imagine if my wife or kids for family or friends for that matter were killed in that situation. So nuts! I can't even imagine the hardship the family and friends have to deal with.

So today, I remember all of them. God please be with those who hurt and have sorrow.
God is close to the broken hearted.

Love, Dad

Aveda V. at 6 weeks

It's hard to believe Aveda Violet Maligro is 6 weeks old already. Here's a picture of this cutie-patootie with her dada...



These past 6 weeks have been pretty interesting in the Maligro household. Some moments are so psycho hard that I want to give up and then others are spectacular. To fill you in on who little Miss Aveda is at this time here are some the things she's into...



AVM LiKeS:
- being bounced on this big blue exercise ball for the length of time it takes to break mommy's back doing this
- taking warm baths (Tagen has been helping pour water on her belly to wash her off and he is verrrry proud of this)
- conversations with her daddy
- being held upright much more than lying down
- going for walks in the stroller (aka the bus we call it because double strollers are so looong)
- mommy's milk (which Tagen refers to as "numy-numy-nu")
- lying on a blanket in the backyard
- looking at her big brother T

Free Derek Webb Album "Mockingbird" download Sept. 1!

PEOPLE! PEOPLE!! You need to if you haven't already go to this site asap! I made it easy for you, just click on the animated pic above. Why? Because, coming Sept 1st you'll be able to download a FREE ALBUM called "MOCKINGBIRD" by Derek Webb. I've heard a couple of songs and they are insane, meaning really good! It'll sure stir the soup and ruffle some feathers! I'm excited!!!! Yep, Derek is a Christian fella that writes songs about topics that a lot of Christians don't talk about or won't talk about. If you download tell me what you think and we can talk about the songs/lyrics! Much love, Dad

say cheese

We realized that our daughter's belly button is in the shape of a smile and so put two dots above it and you've got a happy face. Look close and you'll see...

This is how I feel this morning

Yes this picture says it all... this is how I felt at 1:30am when my baby girl was actually sleeping but we were abruptly woken as our stinking dog Ketchup barked his head off because a friend of ours who was sleeping on the couch rolled over or breathed or something. argh! And again, this is how I felt an hour later when Aveda did wake up to feed. oh and then that feeling came again about 4am when Aveda woke up again and I staggered out into the living room to change her diaper her and feed her in the dark. Still felt this way 15 minutes later when she wouldn't go back to sleep and then 15 minutes after that when the guys got up to go surfing for the day. Look at that picture again to see how I felt at 5am when still Aveda was awake... oh and at 5:50am when Tagen woke up screaming bloody murder for what reason I have no idea but as I was in his room I heard Aveda start crying which then made me start crying because I was so stinking TIRED! I think they both finally fell asleep again but I'm not quite sure because it was such a blur at this point. I do know that Tagen woke up for the day at 6:50am and Aveda was (and is) still sleeping as I write this at 8am. So all I can say at this point is Oh Lord a have a mercy today! because Kyle is going to be gone surfing at Point Mugu today until dark. Oh Lord have mercy. I love my babies dearly but sheeeesh I am tired. (look at the picture again)



Side note: Aveda had a doc. appointment yesterday and is over 10 pounds now! my little chunky monkey is growing quickly... oh annnnddddd we couldn't be more stoked because she now takes the binkie and this has made for a little less crying in this house. Thank the LORD!

How's this for a night?

So every night is a bit crazy in this household right now. Tagen sleeps through the night like a champ but the rest of us... not so much the same story. Some nights are hard, some are frustrating but last night was different than any we've had before. Aveda woke up around 3am and fed and then was crying pretty loud so I (mom) went out in the living room with her when suddenly there was this super loud crash right out front! So this guy was driving drunk and crashed into our neighbor's car across the street which made that car run into another parked car near it. The guy then jumps out of his car and starts running and our neighbor is running after him trying to catch him. He caught up to him to hear the guy tell him he didn't want to go to jail. Real bright huh? Leave your truck and run from the scene. Anyways, Kyle went outside by this time and then the cops showed up and I'm standing at the front door watching it all trying to get Aveda back to sleep. Here's the funny twist on it all. Kyle's been taking Tagen on bike rides around the neighborhood and took him on one just yesterday. As they were riding around he noticed that truck because of a sticker on the back of it. So kyle told the cops where the guy lived and because of kyle they were able to catch the guy! crazy huh? So then we all went back to bed and it's about 5am or so at this time. Just as we fell asleep the cop knocked on our door making Ketchup go crazy barking. The cop just wanted Kyle's info for cop stuff. So then back to bed again. Aveda woke up again about 6:30ish to feed and then Tagen was up by 7:30 ready to sieze the day. So that's why we're Maligro maniacs.

Tummy Time for Aveda

Ok, it's been like 3 weeks for our little Aveda girl arriving in to this world. It's been said by the doctors/nurses and others about how strong she is. She fully holds up her head already! Craziness for sure! Mr. Tagen aka blonde shows up on the scene. So wierd to see Tagens blonde hair and then Avedas brown hair. What is going on? Love, Dad

first time on a bike for Tagen

It came time for Tagen to have his first bike ride. I rigged up a little seat for the boy and off we went in our back yard, he was stoked! Especially, that he got to wear that helmet. *If you follow closely you'll see "ketchup" our dog biting Dads foot while we ride. Yes, we have a crazy family! Love, Dad

SMASH PIGGY FACE Tagen Video

Can you do that same face or what?

life in this house

Number of times I have been puked on in the past week: 3

Number of poopy diapers I have changed in a row today without ever taking baby off the changing table: 4

Number of times I have heard a little boy I know say baaaaallllll? today: 3,527 or maybe more

Number of minutes I have had to hold my pee because some little one in our family needed something ImMediAteLy!: 90

Number of kisses Aveda received from Tagen today: 10
.
.
.
That last one makes the first four worth it.

RED EYE MASTER

Ever felt like you're flying? I don't mean flying in an airplane way but in a way that feel like you're a total space case. That's me right now and it's only 9:30pm. I'm dieing here! haha! Reason being, I did a road trip to Morro Bay, sorta like 1.5 hour drive. Nice drive! Well, it was sorta strange cause I actually went back to a place I probably haven't been to in like 10yrs or so. The place? Toobs bodyboards. One of my oldschool sponsors, good guys! Anyway, I figured it was about time to get a new bodyboard. So it happened thankfully! I'm excited to try it out soon, hopefully this week. Anyway, I'm a "RED EYE MASTER" for not getting sleep cause Tagen woke up a few times in the night and then making the drive and then standing and talking all day, it was fun, but it was tiring. That's just how it works these days! So yeah, be careful for the "RED EYE MASTER" coming to your town. Dad

mom's perspective on labor

labor.... this word sums it up. sort of... except for those excrutiating birthing pains also known as contractions. oh and the "ring of fire" when she's actually coming down and out of the birth canal. it's hard work to say the least. This time I got an epidural though - thank the Lord for whoever invented those! i had as low of a dose as i could handle though still wanting to be able to push effectively. hm, little did i know it wouldn't take the pain off the pushing part of things! anyways, as painful as it was to deliver Aveda into this world she took about 1/4 or at least 1/3 of the time it took to get Tagen out - thank You Jesus or for everyone praying for me! i remember telling kyle in the middle of labor that we aren't having any more babies. Ever. and then holding our little baby, it just changes everything. It is so miraculous to carry this baby and feel her moving and kicking inside of my belly for so long and then pushing her out and now holding her in my arms. it's something of a phenomenon! and somehow along with the birth of this child my love, not only for our little newborn Aveda Violet, but also for my baby boy Tagen (who suddenly turned into a big toddler while we were gone at the hospital) and my love for my hubby Kyle has increased 10thousand-fold!!! A family is such a beautiful thing! and i think i would go through that labor thing again - just have to wait like 4 or 10 years to forget what it felt like.

New to the Maligro Family

LET'S JUST START WITH THIS ACTION:


Here's a little pic of the Maligro Family without the dogs. Yeah, we're one of those weird families that includes dogs as a part of the family, but, we're not so wierd that we get those stickers with all the family members and have it on the back window of a minivan. We're just not there yet! This picture is like the day after our newest daughter addtion, AVEDA VIOLET MALIGRO, born 7.25.06 @ 8:01am. She weighed 7lbs 9oz. Fully healthy and crazy dark hair! Notice the young boy, Tagen Train Maligro, he's basically a blondie! Maybe, Aveda is taking more Dad's side. We'll see as time flies! Mom did the best job ever in delivery! I (Dad) cannot fathom the birthing pains. So crazy! Thanks Eve for taking the apple off the Tree of Knowledge! Ok, that's it for now. Super tired! More to come! Dad