"a ha!" moments with stephen-fua

may 31, 2009

stephen-fua's mommy found out today that he does not like multi-grain raspberry pancakes...so far only multi-grain blueberry is a hit (and of course without the syrup)...

...stephen-fua now refers to food he wants as "yum, yum"...so he says things like, "mommy, yum, yum (while pointing to the last place he ate what he enjoyed...). lately, it's been organic tortilla chips (3+grams of fiber) and carrots with a little bit of seasoning for flavor...

home improvement

in lieu of our canceled trip to china and now, traveling for vacations this summer, my parents (more like my dad...) decided to stay home and do a little work on our house. my papa fua was a self-taught carpenter as is my papa faatai. my daddy did work on our house before he and my mommy moved in and redid the room that is now my nursery (by himself) before i was born. so, i'm thinking that my daddy has the knack for the carpentry stuff too. thus, our trip to our local home depot store. my daddy caught a class and took me right along with him.

the instructor has a captive audience...those students are usually the best...(so my mommy says)





my daddy's eye is watching...processing...learning...comprehending...connecting...

...still focused on the demonstration and teaching...



...continuing on...


...i decided to check out another part of the project as my daddy continued on with the class...one year olds can only pay attention for so long...

...it was only a matter of time before my daddy started writing...you GO dad!

okay, so the tile was on which aisle sir? no sir, this aisle is the paint aisle and we're not there yet...

...here we are...the tile aisle...

i think we are looking for a natural, clean line look?

let me check back in with my daddy so he knows that i'm alright and that i've located the tiles...

...reading up on this information is always a good idea...my parents do it...why not me too?



--Posted by stephen-fua's parents

my grammy's 73rd birthday

my grammy is part of the "bulletin-folding" ministry at our church with other women who have become good friends of hers. so i thought, why not bless them with a little goodie for my grammy's 73rd birthday? my parents are teaching me to be a gentleman so i thought flowers would be a nice touch along with the cake inscribed, "happy birthday grammy!" what can i say? i love my grammy!

my grammy LOVES fresh flowers like my mommy...she'll probably end up taking them to my papa mapuoletuli's grave like she does all the other flowers she gets...


isn't my grammy cute? my mommy says that she is the hardest working woman she knows... happy birthday grammy!

let's place it here...on this table...nice, simple and sweet...just like my grammy!

hmmmm...i thought these flowers would be nice...my grammy's village color is usually red so let's go with a red ribbon...


-- Posted by stephen-fua's parents

trying out another tv-featured eatery

my parents have been on this kick of trying tv-featured eateries local to us and whenever we travel. they are usually fun to find since they are all hole-in-the-wall places that locals frequent not to mention cost-effective with unique menus...this one was in san francisco...

tommy's joynt serves food cafeteria style...it's located in a building that is a historical landmark...

...here's a shot my mommy tried to take while we were driving...well, while my daddy was driving...


...got my raincoat on and ready to roll dad...

...yes, mom, i have my raincoat on and i'm with daddy...you coming?


-- Posted by stephen-fua's parents

brusha, brusha, brusha...

no, i'm not brushing my teeth full on yet. my parents still have to be creative and get that toothbrush in to my mouth and REALLY brush my teeth. something about keeping my gums healthy? anyway, i just LOVE that i can do what my parents do in the morning and at night. we were getting ready for our first day in 49er town and my mommy thought she'd take these.

okay mommy, like this?


hmmmm...do i need more toothpaste? yummmmm...


nah! i still have enough worth tasting...


change my scenery and continue brushing...my way...lol.


yes, daddy. i brushed my teeth.


see! all clean!
-- Posted by stephen-fua's parents

bonding with my papa faatai over an orange

both my grammy and my daddy's parents from northern cali speak to me only in samoan. i guess the good thing about this moment, is that i understood? my parents wonder if i'm absorbing any of my grammy's aoga samoa during the week and maybe this convinced them that i at least learned a little? anyway, my mommy caught these pics of my first bonding moment with my papa faatai. thx mom!


fia ai moli? lea... (do you want to eat an orange? here try this...)

toe avatu? (do you want more?) a bit on the sour side papa...but i'm alright...


lelei tele oe e ai moli...(good boy! oranges are good for you...)


ua tele lau mama? (is your mouth too full?) chuckle...


aumai le mama ne'i te'i ua e laoa...(here, you drop some here so that you don't choke...)


o le pa'u lea o le moli...(this is the orange peel...)


aumai lou gutu se'i solo...(let me wipe your mouth...) thx papa!


ua a? suamalie? how's that piece? sweet?


-- Posted by stephen-fua's parents

1st sleepover @ grandma & papa faatai's house

my daddy has found that when things are just explained to me, i'm usually pretty good about cooperating. (before, he and my mommy would have to sneak out of my grammy's house or any other place for that matter, so that i wouldn't cry for them...really loud...for a LONG time...i'm still not sure why that's a problem with people...) so he sat me down and explained what the plan was in order for me to get some bonding time with my grandparents in northern cali. i must be very special to have a great amount of grandparents who love me very much...you think?


son, you are going to spend the night here with grandma and papa faatai. daddy wants you to have fun and be on your best behavior...


...and son, please don't break anything in grandma & papa faatai's house because daddy doesn't have money to pay for it, okay?


yes, son...you'll have fun...


kiss daddy good night...



i love you son!


-- Posted by stephen-fua's parents

my 1st morning in 49er town...

on our first mini-vacation of the year as a family, my mommy and i took a little walk over to the exercise room so that my daddy could sleep in (i don't think i've seen my daddy wake up later in the day ever...hmmmm...). while my mommy was walking on this machine that wouldn't let her go anywhere (????), she had me sit down and listen to a book called, Huck Finn (italicized because it's the title of a book). i was hoping that i could listen to worship songs...like my fav, "You Never Let Go." but my mommy wouldn't have it. (does she know that i'm only one?) i was hoping that my daddy would come and get me and sure enough, he evetually did. man! i LOVE my dad!!!

something about mississippi???

forty something years???

maybe i can find something to eat in my mommy's bag to help me remember what i'm listening to???

interesting change in dialect...

funny kid this huck fin character...


-- Posted by stephen-fua's parents

twisting balloons for Jesus???

both samoa and peru mission teams were trained today on how to minister to kids and balloon training. i made a little bit too much noise for the first part of the training so my mommy took me where i could make noise and play...i made it back for the balloon training (done by my aunt edith) and below is a little bit of what my daddy and i learned together. GO MISSIONS TEAMS!

isn't that going to pop daddy?

wow! it didn't!

another one?

would you like to have this? i have more that my daddy and i made...

i think i can pick all of these up...

okay dad, where do you want these?

i was wondering when you were going to make a green one...that's our favorite color! ('our' meaning my daddy and i. my mommy's favorite color is crimson red.)

just let me know when you're done dad...we can add it to our pile. WHAT A TEAM!

hey! who turned off the lights? dad? are you there? is this you?

this one was sized a little bit too big...what do ya think dad?

there is NOTHING my daddy won't do with me. even wear a silly balloon hat. you ROCK dad!
-- Posted by stephen-fua's parents