Luke Peter Christiansen

Aloha!
It's been so long since we've been able to write a post- I think we have about 3 different drafts saved but haven't been able to finish one yet because we've been a tad busy. We're parents! Whohoo! We welcomed Luke Peter Christiansen into the world on June 23rd at 7am on the dot! He weighed 6lbs 11 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long! The labor was fast and easy but was extremely stressful at times because baby's heart rate kept dropping so the nurses were on high alert watching it. There were even talks of an emergency C-section and Luke needing to go to the nicu if his heart rate didn't stabilize. Everything thank god, ended up being perfect even with baby having a huge knot in his umbilical cord! Little Luke had a few angels looking over him for sure. Seeing his little face, we can't help but think of all his family in heaven looking over him. Luke is a very spoiled little boy because his grandma's flew in right before his birth to meet him and to help us.They stayed with us for a few weeks and Mark and I are convinced there's no way we could have done it without their help! In just a few weeks he'll turn THREE months old (which is crazy)! He is by far the happiest and sweetest little boy- unless he's hungry. Haha. His personality is starting to really show through more and more as the days go by. Every morning he gives out smiles and giggles for almost an hour. He's also come to be a WONDERFUL sleeper- just like his mommy! He'll sleep straight through the night- about 10 hours waking up only once or twice to eat, then is right back to bed! He's become the light of our world- we're already planning all the travel adventures he's going to go on with us. His first trip will be a 10 hour trip across the world from Hawaii to Wisconsin in October, to meet most of his family that he hasn't met yet! He'll also be getting baptized during the week we're be home. He loves car rides and walking around exploring Hawaii with his parents... and is starting to be very fascinated with staring at his pets, Cleo and Caesar as well as looking outside. We'll leave you with a bunch of pictures of our little man... that's what new parents do right?! :)

Here's a few maternity photos Mark took a few weeks before Luke was born.

I loved being pregnant... but it's even better having him here now! We can't wait to see little Luke with his little cousins and with all all his family in a few weeks! <3 More on our adventures from this summer coming very, very soon! :)

XOXO,
Mark, Jen and LUKE!

Nai'a Dreaming

Aloha! How is this year almost half over?! Yikes! 

With the expected arrival of baby c in only a month and a half, Mark and I had to postpone our planned trip to Australia in March. We still have plans to go soon hopefully! Instead we opted to go to Big Island in February with my mom when she was here visiting! Big Island will always be our favorite so it was so fun sharing it with my mom! We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village-the same resort Mark and I stayed at to celebrate his 30th birthday. It's one of the largest resorts I've ever stayed at which makes it so fun exploring and taking the water taxi around the property.

While on the Hilo side of Big Island we stopped at Akaka Falls. It brought back a ton of memories as  Mark and I recreated one of our favorite photos from our honeymoon! The falls are apart of a park that allow you  to walk in a large circle and view dozens of species of plants, flowers and animals ending with the waterfall. The day we went, much of the park was closed due to flooding and tree damage. The falls however we just as beautiful as we remembered!

Our recreation photo in front of Akaka falls from our honeymoon in August 2013 and now February 2017 with baby on board!

One of my favorite big island treats, Bradda Pops! Best Popsicle! 

Turtles on the beach 

Virgin Lava Flow for me! 

While we were visiting Big Island we visited some of the same spots we did when Mark and I were on our honeymoon. Mark was working and met us later in the trip. In the mean time my mom and I stopped at the Kilauea Volcano for a few hours hoping to see some action. Right as we first arrived at one of the lookout points we saw the red lava flow for about five minutes before it quickly disappeared. But it was awesome seeing the flow, even for a short time. We also walked through an old lava tube which was eerie but amazing at the same time. The temperature inside the tube was about 15 degrees colder than the outside and felt extremely damp as you walked through. 

We also saw the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut farm (our favorite!) and Rainbow Falls.  On Mark's birthday when we were honeymooning in 2013 this is the same spot we came to. The falls are 80 feet tall and fall over a natural lava tube. The lava tube is mythological home to Hawaiian goddess Hina. 

Some random fun times from the past few months on Oahu. 

We bought a new car... with air conditioning! Yay! 

My (jen) first time getting stitches... cut my finger at work :/

Mark and I recently went on a dolphin watching catamaran boat cruise on the west side of the island. When we did the cruise off the Na Pali coast on Kauai we saw a handful of dolphins so our expectations weren't to high for this cruise just because we didn't want to be disappointed. Boy we sure weren't. On the two hour cruise we had to have seen at least 300 dolphins, both spinner and bottle nose. We also saw a few turtles in the water as well. The Hawaiian spinner dolphins are so playful and happy and often jump out of the water and literally spin through the air- hence their name. It's such a magical experience seeing them in their natural habitat- such a fun time for sure!

We have a trip planned home for October for a week to visit family and friends with our new little pea. We can't wait to see everyone and visit home again very soon! 

XOXO,

Mark & Jen