For friends/family who haven't met her, this is our newest (and last) baby, Lehua. How do you pronounce that? First say lei, as in the flower you wear around your neck, and then say the same phrase Marines say to each other: Hua!
Lehua! Lehua! Lehua! Hooray!
Kulani's even created some arm movements to the Lehua cheer.
So what does it mean?
Lehua is a flower that grows on a tree in Hawaii.
In Hawaiian mythology, ʻŌhiʻa and Lehua were two young lovers. The volcano goddess Pele fell in love with the handsome ʻŌhiʻa and approached him, but he turned down her advances. In a fit of jealousy, Pele transformed ʻŌhiʻa into a tree. Lehua was devastated by this transformation and out of pity the other gods turned her into a flower and placed her upon the ʻōhiʻa tree. (Other versions state that Pele felt guilty but was unable to reverse the change, so she turned Lehua into a flower herself.) Separating these united lovers is not encouraged, and it is said that when a lehua flower is plucked from an ʻōhiʻa tree, the sky fills with rain representing the lovers' tears. (From Wikipedia)
I can already hear her saying 18 years from now, "But Mom, I love him! I'd rather die than be without him." Drama coming our way.
In a previous post, I wrote about how all my kids come out looking like Kulani. Well, Lehua came out looking like me, poor little thing. She was 8 pounds 13 ounces at birth, but she's packing on the pounds and is now close to 11 pounds.
She's very sweet at times and very colicky at times. I'm looking forward to being past this stage, honestly. But I do love holding her when she's not crying. And snuggling her. And breathing her in.
Since she is our last, I really want to enjoy every moment. If only I could get a little more sleep. Oh well. I can sleep when I'm dead, as they say.
1 comment:
Cindy, Your little baby is beautiful!!! Personally I think that Melissa looks just like you!!!
Post a Comment