J & K Saluone Family

Meet Marlin Mauai Saluone

2015-10-01T15:57:00.002-07:00

I know this is like 10+ months overdue, but I did actually give birth to a beautiful baby boy on November 21st (2014). He was sweet and perfect and still is - now with teeth! Here's a few pictures of our newest handsome little boy! And you may get a glimpse of his older brother who is still a good boy and is really sweet and gentle with his little brother - most of the time.

Home from the hospital

Marlin's first family photo - he's SO happy :)

With big brother

Practicing his modeling skills at 3 weeks old.

9 months old and showing off his pearly whites.

Family photo on Junior's first day of preschool (*upcoming post).

Showing us those baby blues.

I'll try posting more regularly. I just need to organize my photos first, they are saved and scattered all over the place. We're all doing well and really enjoying being a family of four.

Loves,

Karen

It's A ...

2014-09-11T16:39:00.002-07:00

This post is way overdue, but I thought I would let everyone know that Jonathan and I are having a...

In case you can't see it, we're having another boy! Jonathan is excited because he's getting what he wanted. I'm happy too, we're not done having kids so hopefully a girl is in our future. But for now at least we'll save money on clothes, bedding, etc. And the two boys can easily share the only other bedroom in our tiny house.

I'm almost 30 weeks now, November 22nd is fast approaching and I've got my list of things to do. We'll see if I can get to all of them.

Here are more ultrasound pictures if you're interested.

Loves,

Karen

One Year

2014-05-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

After a year since I last posted on this blog, I decided to finally post something. And it's going to be good, here's a start:

In case the message isn't clear enough, in November of this year Junior's status as an 'Only Child' will be expiring, as in he will have a little brother or sister!

That's right, I'm pregnant with child number 2 and we're very excited. I'm just starting to get over the sickness and fatigue of the first trimester, so things are looking up - those first 13 weeks are no fun. Baby is due around November 22nd, so I'm hoping I won't end up in the hospital on Thanksgiving Day. But now that I said it, that's probably what will happen.

I can't guarantee more regular posting on this blog, but I do have a ton of photos I'd like to share of our nearly 3 year old! He's grown so much and we have so much fun with him as he provides never-ending entertainment for us.

Loves,
Karen

Big Kid

2013-05-22T09:48:00.002-07:00

Junior is growing up so fast. He's such a big kid, and he knows he's a big kid. He loves playing in the cupboards at his grandmas' houses.

I had a video to add to this post, but it wouldn't load for some reason. So you just get a few cute pictures this time. I'm trying to get "caught up" so you can see more recent photos of Junior. He really is a big kid now.

Loves,

Karen

Junior & Grandpa

2013-05-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

Junior loves books, but he still doesn't have a very long attention span for them, especially if they are really wordy. He likes to get through each page fast. But this night Grandpa had him really excited about reading.

It was so cute, he would just giggle every time Grandpa tapped the page - he thought it was so funny. I didn't even get to video the best part of it either.

Loves,

Karen

Happy Mother's Day

2013-05-13T12:43:00.002-07:00

I meant to post this yesterday, but in all my Mother's Day laziness I forgot. Hope you had a good Mother's Day!

I saw this video and it made me cry. I sent it to my mom and mother-in-law right away. But I thought I would post it here for all my friends and relatives who are also mothers, or who have mothers, or who are married to a mother. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Loves,

Karen

Piano Recital

2013-05-09T13:41:00.001-07:00

During Christmas when all the cousins were around we had an impromptu Piano Recital. Some children played music they made up, others played music they had learned from a book and practiced a lot. I swear I recorded this recital, but I couldn't find the recording on my phone - maybe it's on my real camera, I'll have to check. But I did get some photos of one of the littlest players. He really enjoyed showing off his skills on the 4-key mini piano, and he loved the applause he got.

Junior is grown up enough now that he can climb onto the piano bench by himself and really "play" the piano. He loves it, actually. He loves music of any kind so I think there's going to be some kind of music in his future. I wouldn't be surprised either, he gets it from both sides.

Loves,

Karen

Junior's Tongue

2013-05-08T12:21:00.003-07:00

Here are more cute phone pictures of Junior.

I apologize in advance, I just can't help thinking my kid is cute when he sticks his tongue out! I'm sure I'll hate that when he grows up, but for now it's just cute. And I think I barely avoided filming a sneeze.

Loves,

Karen

Junior & Gracie

2013-05-07T12:49:00.002-07:00

When Randy and Kim came to visit for Christmas Gracie and Junior had so much fun playing together. I just love these pictures!

And this video is darling. Junior sure loves his sound effects.

I am so happy that they are so close in age and can be such good cousin friends. We miss seeing Gracie all the time, but it's so fun when they visit.

Loves,

Karen

Look What I Can Do

2013-05-02T15:27:00.001-07:00

Our little Junior is such a ham! This is what happens when he sees himself in the camera on my phone:

The tongue almost always makes an appearance.

Then the bellybutton comes out.

Then he's just a cute little guy.

Later when he knew we were taking photos and videos of him, he did this...

And this...

And, finally, this cute little video. I love his facial expression near the end - SO cute!

I think it's funny how he's so influenced by technology like I never was growing up. He knows all about my phone, tablet, computer, and any electronic device in our house. He's going to be really good at it when he grows up! I just love him!!!

Loves,

Karen

One December Day

2013-04-11T15:46:00.002-07:00

I found these pictures from a day in December, I thought they were cute. When we were forced to let Junior play in the kitchen (because he could crawl under, or tear down, the gate) he loved playing in the kitchen drawers. His favorite drawer was the one with all my measuring cups and baking utensils. Not long after these photos were taken we installed child locks on all the drawers. He wasn't very happy about that.

I'm pretty sure that's a candy thermometer in his hand, and I'm pretty sure he broke it.

This video may not seem exciting, but I thought he was so cute playing with the measuring cups and thinking about sharing them with the dogs. Then you get the cute wave goodbye at the end.

Every day with this kid is a new adventure. I love him so much! Hope you have happy moments like this one.

Loves,
Karen

Halloween 2012

2013-03-28T15:48:00.001-07:00

When Halloween actually came around we were ready. We tried to get better pictures of our little cowboy and I think they worked out okay, well, one of them did.

Excellent timing!

I look horrible in these pictures, but my little guy looks so cute!

Obviously he couldn't stop taking his hat off. We had to go to extreme arm-holding-down measures to get the cutest photos.

Allison's kids stopped by, well, the trick-or-treating aged ones.

Then Savannah came over with her kids to do a little trick-or-treating. So I took Junior out and he loved it. He walked the whole way and loved being with his cousins. He wasn't that into the whole asking for candy bit, but he loved walking up to people's doors and seeing all the decorations.

It was a very fun night. Can't wait until next Halloween!

Loves,

Karen

Saluone Family Halloween Party

2013-03-19T07:08:00.002-07:00

The (mostly) annual Saluone Family Halloween Party was a hit this year. It was so fun to have a little toddler to dress up. But have you ever tried to get a good photo of a 14 month old in their full Halloween costume? For me it was impossible, as evidenced by the many blurry photos of my little guy.

He was having so much fun running around while we set up all the games and tables that he did not want to hold still for one second. Here are some shots of before the party.

I was too busy running the games and playing with the kids to get any photos of the actual party, but I did get some time at the end to film the hilarious donut eating contest.

For non-Saluone family members who read this blog you probably won't care about watching all these videos. I posted them all mainly so our family members could enjoy watching their kids make fools/pigs of themselves.

Hope you had a fun Halloween (five months ago) and I'll keep trying to catch up and post more current photos in the future.

Loves,

Karen

Just My Size

2013-02-28T11:47:00.001-07:00

A while back we found this little camping chair at Sam's Club. When I opened it up at the store so Junior could test it out he fit perfectly. And when I made him get out of it so I could fold it up and put it in the cart he cried. So we bought it and brought it home and he loves it! You can see from the pictures below that that's true.

We can't leave it out all the time because he likes to move it around the room and stand on it so he can reach things he's not supposed to be touching. But he still likes his little chair - just his size.

Loves,

Karen

Farewell 2012

2012-12-31T13:10:00.003-07:00

For my last post of this year I thought I would actually post something current. Here's our Christmas picture this year. I think it turned out quite well for being a very impromptu, auto capture photo. We had a great Christmas and a great year. I hope 2013 is just as good - or even better!

We wish you all a wonderful 2013!

Loves,

Karen, J, and Junior

Dancing King

2012-12-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Our little Junior is a dancing fool! He loves music and when the mood is right he will shake his hips and move to the groove. Here are a few videos showcasing his rhythmic talents. I like the last one best :)

I can't wait to see what this kid's going to do next! He is so funny and cute, he's just the best!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday. The annual Saluone Family Christmas photo will be posted soon!

Loves,

Karen

This Kid is Too Smart!

2012-12-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

I know you all are probably getting sick of seeing my kid, but I'm not! He's growing so fast. This is a video of just how smart he's getting. Okay, this video is from the end of September so it shows how smart he was three months ago. I hope you like it as much as I do.

This was the first day he learned to do this and he actually didn't continue doing it until about two weeks ago when he would repeatedly do it whenever one of us was in the kitchen and he wanted to join us. So, we have now moved the gate to an area where there isn't a 6 inch gap beneath it. But I'm sure he'll quickly learn how to get around it in another way. That's the joy of parenthood, I guess. Isn't it wonderful?!

Loves,

Karen

One Year Pictures

2012-12-13T14:58:00.001-07:00

I totally forgot to post Junior's One Year photos when I posted about his birthday. I think he is so cute and awesome and the girl at Kiddy Kandids was so good at getting him to smile.

I don't have to tell you that I think my kid is the cutest, do I? I just can't get enough of the kid and his silly antics, he's the best!

Loves,

Karen

Playing in the Toy Box

2012-12-10T17:51:00.002-07:00

Not long after Junior could walk he learned to climb. When he figured out he could climb in and sit in the toy box he was so happy. He still does this sometimes. Now he's not usually content to sit in the box, but stand on the edges of it so he can reach stuff on the tv table.

I hope you enjoy a little over indulgence of videos.

I can't believe how fast this kid grows. He's so fun!

Loves,

Karen

My Little Construction Worker

2012-12-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

In the summer our nephew, Cornelius Junior, did his Eagle Scout project which involved installing trees and fire hydrants at the local animal shelter for the dogs to "enjoy". Jonathan helped with the installation of everything and Junior and I went to visit them one night. Junior loved seeing daddy using the mini-ex so we let him sit inside it for a minute. He loved it, so many buttons and levers!

I can just tell he's going to follow in his daddy's footsteps and be very mechanically inclined. He's so fun!

Loves,

Karen

Helping Dad

2012-11-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Jonathan agreed to indulge me and buy some desk furniture from IKEA. That meant that he had to put together the drawers. Junior just loved helping his Daddy and I couldn't resist taking a couple of shots of them "working" together.

I don't know what I would do without these two boys in my life. They are so wonderful and bring me such happiness.

Loves,

Karen

Water Table

2012-11-28T11:30:00.002-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you did too. I'll post pictures of that eventually (you know me). Anyway, I'm still trying to catch up from the summer so here are a few photos of one day when it was nice and sunny and Junior was bored. I decided to set up his water table in the front yard and let him play while Daddy worked on building our new fence.

He was very entertained by this little toy. I think it was a good buy.

And I was able to get a couple pictures of our fence being built before my camera died. This year we did the east side of our property. Jonathan did get the whole thing done, except for the gate which may have to wait until spring. At least the dogs can't get out anymore!

Here are some videos of Junior playing in the water.

I know I'm biased, but I think he's such a cute boy!!!

Loves,

Karen

Junior's Birthday Video

2012-11-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post this with the last post. It's a video from when we went to the Zoo. The Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake has a new part with seals and sea lions. You can watch them swim right by you, it's pretty cool. I think this was one of the things that he actually did see and take notice of.

Loves,

Karen

Junior's Actual Birthday

2012-11-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I mentioned that we had Junior's birthday party before his birthday. Well, on his actual birthday his daddy was able to get off work early and we decided to make Junior's first trip to the zoo.

It was a beautiful day and he didn't sleep nearly long enough on the way up to Salt Lake, but he was still a pretty good kid.

We tried our best to get him to look at the actual animals, but sometimes he was more interested in the fences, the birds flying above us, or the insects crawling on the ground.

We learned that he's a bit larger than an infant gorilla.

Taking photos inside didn't yield the best results.

And he was very squirmy.

But isn't he the cutest kid you ever saw? I think so :)

He did like the elephants when they moved enough that he could tell they were alive.

The rhinos were harder for him to see, they blended in well.

He was sleepy, but of course he didn't take another nap, even though these next few picrures make you think he might have.

After the zoo we went to eat at a barbecue place in Salt Lake. It was really good, we all enjoyed it. I can't remember the name of the place now, I'll have to ask Jonathan what it was.

After dinner we went to the Westlake High School football game to see Terence Junior and Sampson play. Junior was really tired by this time, but he was pretty happy to just run around on the grass.

For Junior's birthday I made these two banners. One out of fabric for us to use for years to come.

And one with photos from Junior's first year. Sorry my pictures aren't closer up. Maybe I'll take some better ones in the future.

Here's a video we got from the zoo.

It was a long and fun day. I'm glad we have such a trooper of a boy, he does pretty well on long drives and to just go with us anywhere. We love him SO much!

Loves,

Karen

Junior's Birthday Party

2012-11-12T13:35:00.001-07:00

Our Junior is now 1 year old! Well, technically he's 14 months and 19 days old now, but we'll just pretend that this is a current post - like all my posts :)

Anyway, Junior had his one year birthday party on August 18th because my parents were due to leave the country on August 21st and we wanted them there for his special day - even if it was a little early.

We had a party at our Stake Center Pavilion.

Junior was just learning how to walk and was crawling more than walking at this point.

We were so happy to have all our family at the party.

I'm a big goofball!

We had set up some pools for the kids to play in and I bought a huge bag of all kinds of squirt guns for the older kids.

It didn't take long for the adults (mostly Jonathan) to get in on the squirt gun action.

The little kids loved playing in the inflatable water table I bought for Junior. He and his cousins all loved it!

Mostly the adults just chatted while all the kids played.

Here's the group of older kids trying to strategize against Jonathan.

I think shortly after this photo Jonathan got pushed into the pool.

Here's Kaisa's awesome afro!

So of course he had to retaliate!

Junior loved playing in the water, but bad mommy forgot to bring him a towel and some warm dry clothes :(

His aunt was generously donated one of hers.

Then it was time for the birthday cake! Of course we also forgot candles, but he doesn't know how to blow them out anyway so I wasn't worried. We sang to him and let him go to town on his smash cake.

He didn't quite know how to attack it at first, so he just played with it in his fingers.

He eventually got the hang of it and liked it, but I think he still wanted to just play with his friends.

Then it was time for presents. He really loved everything he got.

Here are videos of him eating his cake. Enjoy!

Most of these photos are courtesy of my awesome friend, Sarah. I probably would only have 4 photos if it weren't for her. We are just so happy to have such a fun little boy who continually lights up our lives. We hope for many more happy birthdays!

Loves,

Karen