Friday, June 6, 2008

My Kainoa


My Kainoa is 9 months old today. Yay!! Happy B-Day!! I wrote an entry on Keira's name, so here's something about Kainoa's. His full name is:

Kainoa`opu`uhonua Ryan Johnson.

I picked his name before he was born, when Keira was 2 months old. (My 2 kiddies are 19 months apart.) We call him "Kaikai" for short. His dad actually picked his name (like he picked Keira's after Keira Knightley--still not totally cool with it yet!) Ryan always liked the combination of Noah Ryan for a boy's name. Of course, our son needs a Hawaiian name, so I suggested Kainoa Ryan to him. There is a song I grew up with called "Kainoa" by Marlene Sai (I grew up with the Bruddah Iz version), my cousin's boyfriend's name in high school was Kainoa, then later in college, I met one of my good friends, Kainoa (a girl).

Here is a breakdown of his Hawaiian name:

kai = water
noa = free/liberated
o = of
pu`uhonua = place of refuge

His name particularly refers to a place on the Kona side of the Big Island called Pu`uhonua `o Honaunau, a.k.a. City of Refuge. On two of my visits to this place, once when I was like 15 and again when I was 21, I remember standing at the mouth of the little cove on the side of the structure, staring at the water looking for turtles. Hawaiian green sea turtles frequent there (to lay their eggs?) There is a peaceful feeling there.

After I had Keira, I was looking at a Big Island calendar and saw a photo of the City of Refuge and a distinct feeling came over me that my next baby should have that name, Pu`uhonua. It was one of those feelings you'll never question. So, that is his name.

4 comments:

  1. hi miss nancey
    your babies are so beautiful
    miss you
    isa

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  2. You gotta love Hawaiian names! I miss you! Thank you so much for thinking of me the other day. You got a great memory. Cant wait to see you someday soon.

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  3. That is an awesome name. He fits it too. That picture of his is sooooooo cute!

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  4. I just happened to come across your page. Our little boy, scheduled to be born next week, is named Kainoa. We believe Hawaii had some magic, as we got pregnant while we were there after thinking for 10 years we would not be blessed with another child. So, we had to have a Hawaiian name and I LOVE that song by Bruddah Iz. His room is done in sea turtles and I can't wait to rock him while "his song" is playing.

    Your Kainoa is adorable!

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