Friday, February 29, 2008

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We realized that we were dressed like twins today...And we didn't even plan it!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

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We visited Erica's Split Obsession store and Chase had fun playing with her dog Bear. I bought an outfit and Chris bought some toys before we left.

Saturday, February 23, 2008



After Chris' birthday brunch at the Halekulani (mmmm, popovers!), we decided to sit on the nice lawn and take some photos. Chase loved grabbing handfuls of grass and was probably wondering, "What is this stuff?!"

February Update

Saturday, 23 February 2008

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but after being sick for a couple of weeks (I still don't have my normal voice back and sound like a teenage boy going through puberty when I try to hit that high note while singing in the shower, and both of my babysitters got sick last week as well.), busy at school with standardized testing, celebrating my dad and another volleyball player who passed at the annual University of Hawai'i men's volleyball alumni game, relatives and friends coming into town this past week, celebrating our wedding anniversary, as well as birthdays this week (my brother's was on Tuesday and Chris turns 28 today *wink*wink*), and having a carpenter fix what will soon be one hundred stairs going down to our house from our driveway, it's been rather hectic around the house.

We're getting ready for Chris' parents to take us out to brunch at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki for Chris' birthday. I have a nice white dress on. We'll see how long that lasts. Mr. Spit-Up Baby (who's grunting on the floor right now, which means you-know-what-else..must be Chase's birthday present for Chris - "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" - Is it a cake or a pie? Ha ha.) has had a habit of trying to add to my wardrobe as of late. Not sure why I still try to dress fashionably, but at least I got my eyebrows and lip waxed for the occasion. Might as well try and look like I'm not such a disheveled new mom.

I've got lots of fun pictures to post of our weekend at Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore, Chase with 'Iki the Opihi, and Chase's first experience in the ocean, sand, and pool. Chase continues to make us smile with his uproarious laughter. He is fast approaching the 8 month mark next week. I've also been busy trying to research venues for putting together his 1 year birthday lu'au, which is a big milestone party here in the islands (comparable to a wedding). I'm behind schedule I know. But if I can plan a wedding in 5 weeks, I have faith that I can plan a 1st birthday party for a couple hundred people in time before the end of June.



Chase is VERY vocal these days, often competing with Taiga when he has speech therapy, so much so that Miya has to take Chase in the other room because he's yelling so loud. He loves sitting up and playing with his toys. He often scoots himself on his butt to turn around. He uses his strong legs to get just about anywhere, ON HIS BACK, and although he's not crawling yet, he wants to walk already and loves standing and doing the standing splits on the chair (while bouncing up and down) when nursing. I've already bought a handpainted wooden toybox and two living room storage cubes off of Craigslist to help me ORGANIZE (my big thing lately, though it may not look like it from the mess in the house) and store stuff away from the curious child we have that wants to get into EVERYTHING! He's still a charmer and bats his blue eyes and that smile at every woman he sees. But, he's becoming such a BOY! We want to take formal studio pictures soon because after looking at photos from the past seven months, we're realizing that our baby Chase is growing up so fast and is not such a tiny baby anymore!

More soon, I promise...I won't let Craigslist and Facebook get in the way this weekend (but of course the Ho'olaule'a at Kamehameha is this weekend too)!

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Mommies Party

Saturday, 9 February 2008

Went to 9 am yoga this morning because Chase's nursing cut it close to the 7 am class. I'm sore and my muscles are tight, having not gone to yoga for a couple of weeks. I think this is how it's going to be from now on unless I up my frequency of practice. I had a good class though. I do need to try and go more often. It's just so hard with nursing. And, if I'm not nursing, I'm just so tired....and lazy. Surprisingly, I can still do a lot of poses. Still building that muscle memory.

I talked to Popo as we drove out to Pearl City Peninsula for a Honolulu Mommies party. My grandmother is recovering from emergency hernia surgery this week. She sounded good and is glad to be back at home. We got to the party and it was fun to meet other moms "in person" rather than just chatting online and recognizing screen names. The place was loud with all the kiddos running around and babies screaming. There was a lot of food and lots of open space and a nice playground for the kids to run around outside. Military has such nice, well maintained facilities. Caught up with moms I hadn't seen for awhile since previous playdates and talked about how the babies have grown. Also talked constipation and poop of course. No event with babies and mom can miss that topic of discussion!

We went to Toys-R-Us to get alphabet foam mats for Chase's nursery and diapers (the only place we can find size 2-3 Pampers Swaddlers diapers). The Halsalls offered to watch Chase tonight so we could go out on a date.

Chris and I went out to eat Italian food at Verbano's. It was not great. Too buttery and heavy, but the company was nice. We headed home and played with Chase before finally putting him down for the night. We didn't get home until 11 pm and I didn't fall asleep until 1 am! What a busy Saturday!

Friday, February 08, 2008

Men's Volleyball Alumni Game at UH

Friday, 8 February 2008


Enjoy this video of Chase eating his skull shoes!

Chase was tired today and didn't eat much at the Halsalls, which is unusual for him because he usually eats a ton of food at Miya's. But, he was fun and verbal after I nursed him when I picked him up after work. Tonight, we went to the University of Hawai'i Men's Volleyball Alumni Game. They honored Dad (who played on the team in 1967 when volleyball was still a club sport) and Guy Jennings (who died of a brain tumor last year) by having a moment of silence before the game, with lei over two empty chairs courtside. They had a potluck afterwards, and the booster club honored them again, mentioning Dad's humble spirit and enthusiasm for the game and the alumni, as he still attended the games, even though he was wheelchair bound. But, we missed Bob's speech because we had left to go pick up some chili at Zippy's. He mailed me a copy of the speech instead. I met the coach, who said he used to play against Dad when they were in their younger days.

We sat and watched the game with Uncle Ralf and Auntie Slum, so they got to meet Chase and play with him. I wore Dad's alumni t-shirt from last year, the game he never made it to. Linda and Bob had brought the shirt to my house after Dad passed as they had saved it for him, grateful for his generosity and helping to find the old guys to participate in alumni activities. Chase wore his Colt Brennan t-shirt, jeans, and skull socks. So trendy I tell you.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Kung Hee Fat Choy

Thursday, 7 February 2008

I've been having sinus headaches tonight as my head rushes when I get up and down. For Chinese New Year today, I decided to celebrate by picking up a plate of chow fun noodles from the Chinese restaurant we used to eat from with my dad. I thought there would be LO's (leftovers), but no, I ate it all up! Last year, we had a big family dinner at a Chinese restaurant. This year, without Dad, we didn't do anything. Guess, I'll have to start my own traditions...starting with next year that is. I really want to eat a 7 course dinner!

I worked on school work at home, watched tonight's new episode of "Lost", and joined Facebook by the encouragement of my friend Kai. (Great, Chris is going to love that! More time on the computer lost to my blog, Craigslist, and now Facebook!)

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Vocal Baby

Wednesday, 6 February 2008

Dropped Chase off a little bit earlier at Miya's this morning since I had a meeting with a parent at school. When I picked up Chase this afternoon, she said he had a really exciting day - all verbal and scooting around on his back on the floor while Taiga had speech therapy at the house. Yes, our son is trying to crawl on his back. He prefers the back to the tummy and can actually go quite far, kicking off with his feet. This is probably why he is still sporting a toupee-type hairstyle, because there is a bald spot on the back of his head.

We went home so I could eat lunch, and then I took Chase back to school so that I could attend a staff meeting. I don't always go to staff meetings, but sometimes I like to go to be in the loop. He was very good and just sat on my lap the whole hour, looking around at everyone. The computer teacher set up an aquarium setting so that Chase could look at it. He immediately went for the keyboard because he loves tapping on the the keys, mimicking how I do at home. He was held by a few teachers and we chatted about him after the meeting.

Chase now mimics everything we do, from opening his mouth and chomping his gums, like we do when we eat, to wanting to use the remote controls and flipping the pages to books and magazines.



We went to the Halsalls' house for dinner tonight, and they had a blast playing with Chase. He was super animated, vocal, ate, played, laughed and had fun hitting towers of blocks over.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Still no voice....

Monday, 4 February 2008

I got a sub for school today because I still have no voice, and I cannot administer tests to English Language learners when I have no voice. I had to bring Chase in to school this morning to get sub plans ready in my classroom. Went to the doctor and she put me on antibiotics. It's a little late in the game, but it will help me get rid of this thing for good, and it's okay for baby since I'm nursing.

Stewart, the Halsalls' handyman/carpenter, came by and gave us an estimate of redoing the stairs to our house. He will make the stairs sturdier, which will allow us to do other repairs. Our existing stairs are just simple cement cinderblocks, which are not only narrow, but not code at all. Our old set of wooden stairs are rotting away, and these days, I know which ones to skip over and avoid, not to mention, my heel has already gone through one of the planks in the landing at the bottom of the set. Perhaps if we get the stairs fixed, people won't keep giving me weird looks when I have them come and give me estimates for things (as they always go, "Is this the ONLY way down to the house?!".

Jay and Shelly made a surprise visit this afternoon, but Chase got scared and cried. I don't think he's used to them since they're not around much anymore.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

The 7th Month Review

Sunday, 3 February 2008

After looking at my "Baby's First Year" book and realizing that I haven't written anything in it yet, I thought I'd reflect on how far Chase has come and where he is at now. Call it milestones....It has been a journey so far, but he is definitely becoming more fun and interactive these days! Here are some things he's doing now that he is 7 months old:

1. Trying to be a multitasker (unlike most males), Chase is good at eating poi, trying to suck his thumb, pooping in his pants, grabbing the spoon or the bowl, and rhythmically kicking the chair with the heel of his foot simultaneously.

2. Sits up on his own real well (though if he falls down, he has trouble getting back up on his own), and still prefers to scoot on his back rather than on his tummy, which makes for a peculiar-looking breakdancing scene.

3. Can pick up a ball with one hand and switch it from hand to hand. Practicing his b-ball skills already.

4. Can flip over from his tummy to his back and from his back to his tummy and do pushups.

5. Can play on the floor and entertain himself for an hour without complaining (but enjoys it more when there are other kiddos to look at and play with).

6. Enjoys standing and bouncing and jumping on your lap or on the floor.

7. If he cannot reach something with his hands, he tries to grab things and play with things using his toes. What else are you supposed to do with those prehensile, monkey toes?! And he grabs EVERYTHING, from hair to skin to sippy cups...basically anything and everything in his reach! (He still has a need to hold onto things with both hands as he nurses.)

8. Does he sleep through the night? Well, that depends on how you look at it. He still gets up about 2 to 4 times to nurse each night. So, yes, Mommy is getting up for sure.

9. Still a spit-up baby, Chase spits up what looks like cupfuls of milk when he coughs or after he's been playing. Pediatrician says he'll grow out of this reflux...eventually. In the meantime, we're used to having lots of changes of clothes and burp cloths handy.

10. Chase is VERY ticklish, all over his body, and loves to laugh at his goofy parents (He is easily amused). His laugh is hilarious!

11. Finally, Chase is pooping on a more regular basis (probably from all the solid foods he is eating...He loves his poi and pears the most!). Never thought I'd be so concerned about examining the color, consistency, and frequency of poop before. But, become a parent, and there it is.

Ah, the joys of parenting!

Friday, February 01, 2008

Team Cold





Friday, 1 February 2008

It's a good thing that I have a part-time teacher who works with me because she had to do most of the teaching and talking today. The kids tried to whisper along with me and kept asking, "Why are you whispering?" They didn't understand how I lost my voice. I actually was straining to talk, so I did mostly paperwork at my desk and helped one or two kids here and there.

It didn't seem to phase Chase at all that I didn't have a voice. He just smiled at me, and I smiled back. We played and read books together...minus the reading of course. There has been lots of dancing and funny faces....The things you do to entertain the baby, especially when you don't have a voice to do so!

Chris managed to leave work about an hour and a half earlier, and we picked him up and headed to the Punahou Carnival. We paid 5 bucks to park at the nearby Central Union Church and walk to the school. We thought we had it all planned out so well, but we were a disaster to start with!

Just call us Team Cold. Here I was with no voice, trying to communicate with my husband and my baby. Then, Chris was sneezing and had a runny nose all day, so he had kleenex stuffed in his pockets and would go through sneeze attacks as we were trying to organize all of our stuff. Chris is outside the car trying to get the hiking backpack all situated, and I moved Chase to the front seat of the car to nurse him before we leave. I look at my hand and notice this yellowish-greenish poop on me. (Oh, did I say that it's pouring rain out!)

Me: "What the hell?!"
Chris: "Oh a bird must have pooped on you."
Me: "It's not bird poop. It's all over my nursing cover and my carrier. It's probably baby poop. Check the car seat."
(By this time, it's starting to pour down hard and I ask Chris to put his backpack and stuff back in the car and get Chase in the back seat so we can check him.)

Sure enough, there is poop on the car seat and the poop has exploded out his pants onto his leg. Together we attempt to change a wiggly, screaming baby (who's very hungry and irritated at this point) in a crowded back seat (because we had two huge umbrellas, a car seat, lots of extra clothes and other crap, and a huge hiking backpack back there). All the while, I can't talk, and Chris is blowing his nose and sneezing, and I don't want him to touch Chase's hands to get any of his snot on him. Talk about a mess! I think we sat in the parking lot for about half an hour before we finally got all clean and packed up and started walking towards Punahou School.

Most people would have just packed the car right back up and headed home. But, we were determined to spend a couple of hours at the carnival, since we had a feeling the rest of the weekend weather was going to be even crappier. Ah, the things you do for your children!

So, even though the weather was absolutely miserable, muddy, rainy, and wet...Chase slept some of the time and had fun looking around at all the people the rest of the time. We bought $20 worth of scrips and figured we would use that up. We ate saimin, teri burger, noodles, and malasadas. We visited the art gallery and bumped into a bunch of friends along the way. The kids and teenagers were having a blast sliding around the campus in the mud and riding all the rides. We went to the plant booth, the White Elephant Booth, and tried to keep dry. Our last $10 worth of scrip was spent on rides. Not any crazy roller coaster like I used to love when I was a kid, but our goal was to take Chase on the merry-go-round. So, we each got our $5 ride. Chase and I rode first, then Chris took Chase on. I forgot the horse goes up and down. Chase smiled each time it went up and down. We took lots of pictures, and by 7 pm, we called it a night. It was cold, windy, rainy, and muddy. Plus, we were both sick. No need to keep Chase (the only healthy one, who was bundled up good in pants, shoes/socks, and a fleece hoodie) out in this weather.

I decided to stop at the hospital lobby on the way back so that I could nurse Chase. Chris walked back and got the car and picked us up in the turnaround. What a nasty night! But, we had to bring Chase to his first Punahou Carnival. Don't think we'll be going back tomorrow as the weather forecast doesn't look any better. We did two loads of laundry once we got home, baby clothes and stuff, which were poopy, and our clothes, which were dirty from walking around the carnival.

We'll have to wait again till next year (and hopefully we'll be in better condition!).