Splish Splash Let's Take A Bath

The day my baby girls umbilical cord fell off was bittersweet. The symbol that reminded me of her time being inside of me and all to myself. But, no doubt about it, I would rather have her here in my arms than in my stomach ever again.

On the other hand, I have been so excited to give Nylah her first bath. I've realized that there are going to be so many first in her life, and many of those experiences I get to enjoy with her and thats such a cool feeling. Going through life again through my daughters eyes and I'm ready to take it all in. 

Nylah's first bath was a success. She didn't know what to do at first and looked around with those big blue eyes. After a couple seconds though she relaxed and enjoyed the water. I have heard that bathing your baby calms them down. This will definitely be my technique*

first week

My baby girl is one week old today. 

To celebrate, my parents Ouma & Oupa came along with us on a wonderful pic-nick. 

This was also Nylah's first time at the beach. 

Fade into you

My role model has finally arrived today. The person that I admire most = my mother.

She has always been there for me and I finally understand that a mothers love feels like. 

I'm going to take in all I can while she is visiting us here in Hawaii. 

The final countdown...

What a crazy week! We have had all the types of emotions you could possibly think of these last couple of days. The worst part was not knowing what was going to happen. After waiting to hear from the Doctor all week we found out that they are going to induce me on Monday morning. So, we are going to be parents to a precious girl next week. How incredible! My 9 months are coming to an end and I don't think I'm quite ready yet, now that I know its going to happen so soon.

 All I want to do is hold her,  snuggle with her, and tell her how much I love her. 

I will tell her "how sorry I am that my body wasn't able to take care of you inside of me anymore, but you coming earlier means that this journey can start now and that you can reach your full potential with me being by your side and that I will always be here for you taking care of you!" Clark and I are going to enjoy these next couple of days together getting ready for her arrival and I'm so excited to have some of our family come out to visit. 

There's going to be a lot going on in the nest couple of days and I just wanted to thank everyone that has given up some of their time by either sending a special something all the way to hawaii, or just being apart of our lives and thinking about us. We really are blessed to have you in our life! 

Our love has grown.

A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to get some Maternity pictures taken by Christal Bridge Photography. I cannot say enough good things about this girl and how happy I am with the way they turned out. Not only is she extremely talented, but I'm lucky to have her as a friend! 

(Be sure to check out her blog for more pictures from the shoot).

Christal, we love you. Thank you for capturing this special time in our life in such a beautiful way.

Touch of magic.

Date night at Aulani Disney Resort in Hawaii. We drove to the other side of the Island this weekend and enjoyed some new scenery. This place is amazing. Disney build another magical water park surrounded by beautiful detailed architecture. If you visit us we will take you there!
We enjoyed our night in a heated pool while a movie was playing on the big screen beside us. We don't have a bath tub so this was a very big deal for me.
The evening was enchanted with performers and hawaiian folk stories around this big fire pit. Little Miss will be here before we know it, so we are trying to take in every moment of spontaneity we can get. 

She Will Fill Our Lives With Sunshine, And Our Hearts With Love

34 weeks = size of a cantaloupe

Thursday has been a day of great antisipation. Our Doctor has been worried about the growth and size of little Miss, so we had to schedule a Ultrasound at the hospital. I didn't mind since we got to see her cute little face again. I feel like she was just as excited to see us, because her puffy lips were moving lots as if she was saying "hey mommy, hey daddy, i'm ready to have some fun with you guys!" 

The biggest relief is that she is doing great. Her test went terrific and she is right on target in size and already face down. 

Driving home with happy, healthy baby and knowing my parents will be here in a couple of weeks made for a gnarly day topped off with a stunning rainbow that followed us home. 

Heart and Soul

 

Getting ready for our baby has been tons of fun and I really wanted to document how much this little girl already means to us by creating a baby memory book. I decided to make my own and the picture above is a drawing I reproduced from a poster I just loved. This project will be a continuation and I'm so excited to make it more personal for her to enjoy later in life. 

Madelyn Karley, our beautiful niece was born a week ago. She is just so cute and even though we have not been able to see + hold her yet in person, I wanted to show her off to all of you. Her mommy Karla made that adorable flower hat! Our babies are going to be about a month apart. I really feel blessed to know that our little one will for sure have a sweet little friend no matter what. Such a blessing!

HAWAII - National Geographic Style

You know how you sometimes hear about people getting island fever, especially on islands in the Pacific. Well, that is NOT us. We feel like everyday there is something new to see and discover. On top of that, the beauty that Hawaii offers is second to none. This is a video Clark put together to capture some of the moments that we have witnessed and been amazed by. Clark also wanted to not create a "typical" Hawaii video. He wanted something more artistic and bring attention to the small details often looked over.

February, the traditional month of love!

Since I'm waiting to hear the big news about the birth of our new niece, and definitely can't sleep (because of the movement of my own child) I figured I could update my blog on our Valentine's day. Madelyn should be here in a couple of hours!! I can't wait to be her Aunty!!

The best part of today was being able to spend the whole day with my best bud! Even though I'm so excited for our little miss to be here soon, I'm going to miss our alone time to the max.

 I'm trying to hold/take in every minute with my sweet handsome husband. I'm a lucky girl to have him!

  

32 weeks

The day kind of went like this: (Be aware there is a lot of LOVE happening here)

<3 sunrise

<3 filming

<3 hawaiian sweet bread - hand picked flowers

<3 open mail from big sister

<3 surfboard - him

<3 picnic + beach

<3 cruising along the coastline - wind blown hair/face

<3 sunset - mountain top

<3 diamond earrings - her

<3 rain drops

<3 dinner in bed + baby kicks

Love in a box.

I seriously have the best friends and family. Thank you Brittany for the wonderful happy today!! 

She send me the perfect care package that included lots of awesome goodies, mix cd, and Sophie Blackall's book full of her illustrations. Can I say how in Love I am with her artwork!!

(Check out a video of her work below).

Sweet dreams...

Clark and I are not big morning people and don't really talk to much until we are more awake :) 

This morning though, he was smiling at me and told me he had a dream that he was holding our baby girl at the hospital. He actually got to see her face and said she definitely wasn't going to be bold. This made me laugh... 

Hearing him say that she was beautiful and that she was staring at him with her big eyes was so sweet and special. I can't wait to see the relationship between father and daughter! I do know though how truly blessed I am to have them in my life.

Warm Ice...

This weekend I did the unthinkable, something that no pregnant lady should ever part take in. ICE SKATING. Well, normally I would totally agree with this statement. But, honestly this didn't really qualify as real ice skating. There was no way I could get hurt, or at least not to bad.

Let me explain: Our little town set up a very, very small area inside an old Barns & Noble bookstore in the mall. It was crazy hot in there first of all. Also, the ice wasn't real ice, but some type of tile that looked like those matts that you put together like puzzles (slippery workout matts). The walls would come apart if you ran into them to hard. Let's just say it was a real interesting experience and lots of fun none the less. Instead of finding some fresh chilly air, we got a nice workout - just what the doctor ordered,  ha ha!!  

Raynor Surfboards: Promo Video

The latest promo video for Raynor Surfboards. Matty Raynor is one talented guy. He not only shapes the boards, but also has mad skills when it comes to painting them. No wonder his surfboards are some of the hottest selections on the Island. Clark and his buddy Dan captured Mattys story so wonderfully. Check out Clark in action @ Raynor Surfboards blog.

Strength discovered

Sometimes I feel like we are cut off from the world. I miss my family and friends and get a little sad. It probably doesn't help that I am getting sick again and getting super uncomfortable. 

But, thanks to my husband I get snapped out of my depressing mood and back to reality. He is the kind of man I always wanted to marry, not knowing how much I would really need him in my life. A husband, a best friend, and a person that always looks for the best in everything. I can't imagine a better daddy for my baby girl.

("God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble..." - Psalm 46:1-4)

We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. And I often wonder if heaven looks like this. I'd be a happy girl. So, the choice I make today is not to let the last "10 weeks" of my pregnancy get me down, but instead enjoy this special time only I can have with my baby girl - before I have to share her with the rest of the world.

Promo Video

Mr. Hilton finished up these promo videos for the BYU Hawaii soccer team a couple of weeks ago. I think it turned out great so naturally I have to do a post about it. The first video is a longer one, and the second is a bit shorter more dramatic. Let me know what you think.

Art on canvas

Finished painting I created for my new future niece. Congrats to Karla & Chris!

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou

If you want the short version of our blogpost, then just watch the video. And even if you don't, watch it anyways. Clark did a stellar job on this one!!! :) 

Happy New Year in Hawaiian is Hau'oli Makahiki Hou. That still is a tuff one for me to say. 2011 is officially gone!!! We can at least say we celerbrated the last few hours of 2011 in style. We started the last day of the year with visting Waimae Bay. Spent time snorkeling, cliff jumping and of course, tanning. After the bay, we ventured up to Pupukau trail. We found the perfect spot to overlook the bay and watch the sun set.

While we watched the final sunset of 2011, I'm pretty sure all of us were reflecting on the past year. Thinking about all the fun times, the memorable times, the hard times, and everything in between. Clark and I were overcome with gratitude. Gratitude for being right in the very spot we stood while watching the sun fade away. Gratitude for being in Hawaii, surrounded by friends. Gratitude for all we have and going to have (little Ms. Hilton). 2011 was a year of change. Some good and some not. Either way, here we are. Trying to live life and enjoy each other and take in all the blessings we have been given. So, with all that being said, we feel like 2012 is going to be a great year. There are so many things to look forward to. We have only been in Hawaii about 3 months and have had so many amazing experiences. Many blank pages await for 2012 and we have no idea what's going to be written on them, but we are ready to start writing our story.  

After watching the sun set we got our things and drove to the beach to enjoy a good old fashion tin foil dinner. A first for myself. I couldn't imagine a better place to be while ticking away the last remaining hours. We then finished the night off with a toast to 2012. 

The Book

I haven't made time to sit down and make my new years resolutions list yet, but I definitaley decided that on the top of my list this year will be making crafty things (basteln like they say in german) for our house and especially for our new baby girl. I still have some free time so I better get on with it so I can be ready for the little miss. 

SO, since I made a big deal about making stuff my adorable hubby got me this amazing book today! Fist up will be something I'm going to try and make for our new niece arriving in February. Only a few weeks before our little one makes her big entrance. They will be besties! 

I have a good feeling about this year.

Let the fun begin!!

Tubular MaDDness

Most recent film done by the Mr. of the famous Pipe Masters 2011 surf competition. This is probably one of my favorites he has done so far. Glad he got to capture this EPIC day.