Growing Up

Saturday, 29 September 2007

Growing up means making important decisions and securing yourself and your family for the future. Chris, Chase and I went to talk to a lawyer this morning about real estate. I wanted to get a clearer idea of how our co-ownership (between my brother and I) works and what the implications are when it comes to loans, selling, renting, buying out, etc. It was very educational and worth the free appointment. We found out that our property is really complicated, with three houses and families on the property. And since everything has always been in the family, the little details have never been worked out. Much has just been verbally agreed upon. This is how many Hawai'i families have operated, but it can make things a little messy down the line. It was good to get advice on what to do for the future.

We went to Zippy's for lunch, then to Chris' parents' house to get all of his bike stuff. He went on a long-awaited afternoon bike ride with the guys. Chase and I went to Kahala Mall to get out of the heat. THIS time I decided to use the stroller, but since we don't use it that often, it always takes me awhile to figure out how to snap the carseat in it. Chase was screaming, I was trying to figure the dang thing out, and I decided to just throw the things I needed in the basket underneath the stroller rather than trying to fit the diaper bag inside. I was so glad to enter an air-conditioned mall and find a bench to nurse him, especially since I was a sweaty mess after all that.

Ran into Cindy, her mom Alice, and son Brandon. They visited with me and Chase and caught up. They have given me all of Brandon's hand-me-downs, which includes tons of clothes, baby toys, a Pack-n-Play, etc. It was fun to see them and for them to see Chase. They commented on how handy my nursing cover is and (when he was not covered) how alert Chase is. They noticed how he coos and responds to my voice. I told them that I talk to him and sing to him a lot.

After they left, I went window shopping at Kahala Kids and tried Chase in a variety of slings and pouches. I want to see if he likes sitting in forward-facing positions in these slings. He seemed to be fine. I'll have to decide if I want to get one or not, or if I should just manuever my carrier to a hip position. Chase wants to look at everything these days, so I need to find different positions for him so he can look out when I'm wearing him. He's really strong in his neck and head, so he seems to be fine in the slings. I tried on and bought a dress on sale at Macy's.

We headed home after 6:30 pm. By the time I got home, he was crying and hungry again. Aunty Jane heard us pull up in the driveway and she came out to hold him and bounce him while I took all my stuff downstairs. Chase was all smiles and talked to me a lot and laughed when I did "Dance Dance" with him (I'll have to catch that on video soon.). Chris brought home Korean food for me and I was already bathing Chase. Chris got to towel him off and we put him to sleep. It's so fun now that Chase is more interactive with us, and he's easier to handle now that he's getting stronger, supporting his head and neck better and growing bigger each day.

Alexis, the owner of the Bikram yoga studio I go to, called me to tell me she had a baby girl last week, just under 8 pounds. Her Bradley classes helped and she gave birth naturally in about 6 hours. We talked baby stuff and she asked the all important questions like "When will baby sleep through the night?" and "When did you take baby out of the house?".

I'm glad I'm almost through that phase. I definitely don't miss those sleepless nights. But, I hope Chase doesn't grow up too fast.