Fall Changes

Wednesday, 10 October 2007

We made flight reservations last week to go to California to visit my mom and other relatives in December. It will be the first time for my aunts and uncles and cousins to meet Chris and Chase. Plus, Chase is the first great-grandchild for my grandmother, so she's excited to finally meet him in person! They're all helping me get warm clothes since we really don't have any here in Hawai'i! He doesn't even wear socks here! Chris will be visiting for one week, and Chase and I will be staying for a little over two weeks. It will be a fun trip.

Chase has been cooing and gurgling a lot more (We sing songs and have daily conversations about the weather, politics, and current events). He is still a wiggle worm, and has starting making clicking sounds with his mouth. Those little nubs in his gums are there, proving that he is indeed teething, as he gnaws on wrists, fists, teething rings, and shoulders. He wants to crawl and move so bad that when you hold him he kicks his legs and flails his arms and butts his head against you. But, he still doesn't last on tummy time for long. When we push his legs (on tummy time), he will make it to the other end of the crib, but gets frustrated with his face stuffed into the ground.

He's still got all of Daddy's expressions, showing that he is truly his father's son. And, just like his daddy, he takes a long time to get up in the morning (going through a ritual of loud grunting and stretching), but he gets grouchy if he is not fed immediately (He gets that from Mommy.).

I'm waiting for him to go through another growth spurt because he hasn't been gaining as much weight as he was the first couple of months. He's still a little guy (wearing 3 months or 0-3 months clothes), but at least he's proportional and the soft spot on his head is filling in more (I no longer stare at his heart beating through the top of his head.)

This week has been consumed with researching for contractors and handymen to do repairs on the house (stairs, lanai, windows) as Jay and his girlfriend Shelly recently bought a $700,000 house. It's still in escrow, but the plan is for them to move out in a couple of months (They may rent the house back to its original owners until they find a place) and for us to fix up this house (as it has not had any major repairs in 30 years). I've also been looking for daycare for Chase but it's hard to find someone. I may just have to stay home with him (which wouldn't be all that bad, except that I am providing the health care insurance for all of us!).

The weather is getting cooler at night and is more bearable during the day. It gets dark earlier (by 6 pm), but that's nothing compared to Seattle I know. Although the leaves don't change color here and the temperatures don't drop dramatically, time is still flying by as winter approaches.

Finally, copy and paste this link to see a news clip of Peggy Chun (a local artist with ALS who only can move her eyes now) as she presents her new book, The Watercolor Cat.

http://www.khon2.com:80/news/education/10219541.html