Newborn photos (and a whole lot more!)

Nichole at Haole Girl Photographry has worked her magic again, and we have our newborn photos of baby Jude. Of course we think Jude is just the most adorable little thing ever :)

 

I love these 2 of the girls with their new brother...

 

 Check out that giant yawn!

 A few weeks away from 5 years old, and it sure shows in these pictures!

 This picture of Juneau is just about perfect...It captures Juneau beautifully! This is one of my favorites of the wole session!

 And we can't forget our little sweetie 4 year old Nova!

 Big Sisters! Proud as can be!

 I love this one too! I love them all :)

 Family of Five :)

 Juneau has been really, really into her drawing and coloring lately. I keep finding her masterpieces around the house. I had to take a couple of pictures of tehm today.  This one is clearly a Lion!

 Today Becky took Juneau on a special adventure, with just the two of them.  She taught Juneau to use a snorkel in the pool this week in preparation for their big trip to Hanauma Bay.  Today they got up early and headeed out to the bay for their snorkel adventure.  Aside from having to take some frequent breaks due to getting very cold in the water from her lack of body fat, Juneau did great! She loved snorkeling, and when she got home she drew this picture of the fish she saw.  Her favore fish was a purple one, and at the bottom fo the picture you can sort of make out 2 people under the water (that is her and Aunt Becky)

 While the girls are at school Becky and I have been accomplishing a ton!!! We have been on the go constantly, and Baby Jude has been doing just great riding along in the Moby Wrap. 

 My favorite boys in the midst of a favorite Stickley-guy activity - a quick midday catnap :)

 One of the tthings that has been amazing for the girls about starting school, and being in separate classes, is that they totally appreciate their time together a million times more now.  I had debated putting them both in preschool this year, as Juneau is technically about a month too young to have started Kindergarten in Hawaii.  I thought it might be nice for them to be in the same grade. Juneau was so ready for Kindergarten, however, that it seemed wrong to keep her in preschool this year, so we put her in the kindergarten class.  Aft4er spending the school-day apart, when the girls get home they can't wait to play with each other! It's awesome!

Here you can see Juneau giving Nova a "horsey ride" around the living room!

 While Juneau and Aunt Becky had a special snorkeling adventure, Nova was thrilled to have an all-day "date" with her Daddy....

Here's Nova on her "first date" (and I'm sure Cris hopes it will be her only date for a few decades!)

 Cris took Nova to the beach where he had hidden a "treasure map" in the sand. Nova discovered the treasure map, and they set out on their adventure.  The map instructed them to kayak across the ocean to the "secret island" (Chinaman's Hat), then hike to the top of Chinaman's Hat and find the buried treasure.  Nova thought the whole thing was TOTALLY real, and had so much fun. They finished up their date with Nova's lunch request - pepperoni pizza!

 

This was also "aloha week" at school, which meant the girls got to wear Aloha Dresses instead of their uniforms. They loved the chance to get all dressed up in their cute dresses.

 Juneau truly looked like a little Hawaiian princess. She was so proud of her dress, and had a great day at school.

Finally, Juneau had a big night tonight. I went into the girls room for a little late night snuggle after cris had put them to bed. Juneau was still awake, and snuggled up and we were whispering about her day.  She told me she loved me "the most-est", but then said, "well, actually I love God and Jesus the most, then my family". We talked about that for a while, and I asked her if she knew Jesus could live in her heart.  She said that she did know that and had prayed for Jesus to be in her heart at church. I asked her if she wanted to pray for that again with me, and she was super excited to do so. Without any help at all she prayed that Jesus would live in her heart, and help her to make good choices.  I have spent the last 2 weeks feeling unbelievably grateful and thankful, and tonight was a completely unexpected and beautiful gift, just when I thought it couldn't get any better.