Big News

Don't be disappointed by the title! This may just be big news to our family, but I couldn't resist in sharing my excitement and pride. Saige, who is now 17 months old, did her business on the potty last night! She was looking and sounding a little like she was "trying" to go so I asked her and she said yes. I asked her if she wanted to use the potty and she said, "yup". So off we went. She got it all set up with her big brother's Dora seat, I plopped her up there and VOILA! I was soooo proud of her and she was quite proud of herself, asking for toilet paper, asking to flush and wanting to wash her hands! I figured it was just great timing on my part, but was quite impressed that she was comfortable enough to not "hold" it. Then this morning while I was getting her dressed, she told me "pee, pee" and went and put the potty seat on so I got her all undressed and put her on the pot and she peed right away! Now, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but I think she might be on the brink of potty training herself! What a Christmas gift that would be.

Jingle Bells

Christmas has officially arrived at Ho'oolako. We have our tree, which is fragrant, full and beautifully decorated with kids in mind. Meaning there are no breakables that curious little hands can reach. Saige likes to look and poke at the decorations but for the most part listens to her mama and leaves it alone. Dayton on the other hand, likes to remove decorations and stuff them in the stockings or hide them in the trunk of his bike. (Yes, the same trunk that he peed in a couple weeks ago) I think he is overly excited about this whole Christmas thing this year...he is talking a lot about Santa, his elves, the reindeer and the North Pole. I need to remember to be consistent with what I tell him or he catches me. It has been fun because it has truly put me in the spirit of believing again. Christmas through the eyes of a child is really special. Today he will be making a gingerbread house and doing some Christmas crafts. We are all getting excited for our family to arrive after Christmas as well. So much to look forward to in the coming weeks and no better way to end and start another year.

An Update of Random Events

It has been a busy couple of weeks and it seems as though there is much to update you all on, but my aged memory seems to already be on Christmas vacation. Dayton has been accepted into a wonderful Catholic Montessori Preschool. It was on the top of our list and we've been waiting almost a year to get him in. He will be starting January 5th. I'm excited, nervous, scared, sad, proud... He's growing up so fast and I know he will love it and I will come to love it. He will be going Monday - Friday from 7am-2:30pm. A long day for a 3 year old. He'll get used to it though. It will take some time for both Saige and I to adjust to him being gone all day. She will miss him...she follows him everywhere and plays with whatever he is playing with. It will be a great opportunity for me to have some alone time with her before the baby though. Second children and those thereafter don't get that individual attention that the firstborn gets. Okay, I'm rambling about preschool...I'm obviously having some pre-separation anxiety.
On a more festive note, we went and took pictures with Santa the other day. Dayton was excited and actually sat on Santa's knee and talked to him! He asked him for a red robot. (I have no idea where that came from) Saige had different plans. She refused to sit on Santa's knee and was instantly in tears screaming. Fortunately Santa was not offended. So, once again (3 years in a row now) I am in the picture! Saige accepted the candy cane from Santa and instantly stopped crying...she then politely told him "bye bye". Sorry, no scanner to share the terrible picture!

Much To Be Thankful For

I LOVE eating turkey, but I don't particularly like all the work that is involved in making a full Thanksgiving meal. Especially when I have a husband that sweetly reminded me on many occasions how much he dislikes turkey, a 3 year old that is going through a "my don't like that anymore" stage and a 16 month old that doesn't really know what a turkey is or how to manage eating it with only a couple molars. Despite all that, I cooked at 13.65lb turkey, a sweet potato dish, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and apple crumble made from scratch. Yummy. Being Martha Stewart is a lot of work. I think as a family, we realized this year how hard it is being away from loved ones during those times when family gathers together. We love it here, how can one not with such beautiful weather every day and a beach at our doorstep, but we miss you all! I am thankful to have such wonderful family, extended family and friends as well as a loving husband and precious children; whose unconditional love I will always treasure. I love my husband. I love my kids. I love my dogs. I love my life. And we are thankful to be blessed with another miracle in the making.

Christmas At The Beach

For those of you wondering, yes we are all still alive here in Hawaii! I've been incredibly busy with the kids and various yearly doctors appointments as well as more preschool tours and interviews. Which means, I've not had time to get my camera out and take pictures. Which means, I've had no pictures to update on my blog. Sounds like a good excuse doesn't it? Finally, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the beach to get some Christmas pictures. Prior to that, I invested in a tripod; a necessary piece of equipment for family pictures! Of course, we couldn't do any of that until AFTER lunch at McDonalds. Our little 3 year old has been craving it! Somehow we all managed to keep our white shirts clean for the pictures! Dayton wasn't too impressed to be wearing jeans. He looked at them and said, "no, those are yours mom." Then I put them on him and he said, "mom, off please they're too big." I think he thought they were shorts that were too long for him. Even Scott complained that I was making him wear jeans in the heat of the day, but that is not unusual. (Scott complaining that is) Saige was the only one that didn't complain..bless her sweet little soul. Once at the beach, Dayton refused to sit on the sand because he didn't want sand in his pants and he didn't want to sit on Daddy either, just Mommy. *Sigh* The fun begins. Come on everyone, I just want a good family picture. Can we all stop crying and start smiling? Do you know how hard it is to keep two liitle ones sitting still AND looking at the camera AND smiling? Nevermind the fact that I only had 10 seconds to get myself into the picture and my hair out of my eyes from the wind. 20 pictures later we finally got a decent one and then I let the kids play in the sand while I took a few snapshots. Belly's full of grease, clothes full of sand and mommy satisfied.

Surprise Gifties From Grandpa and MomMom

I've finally managed to get these pictures posted of the kids opening/wearing some cute little surprises from Grandpa and MomMom. Dayton of course was most interested in the books (even though they weren't for him) and Saige loved her hat and the little stuffed toys that "talked". She loves imitating the baby tiger roar and the little dolly laugh. It's cute. I'm not quite sure why Dayton insisted on poking at his belly button for the picture, as it would have been a cute picture of the two of them otherwise. Saige also likes her book and can read a little bit of it, but she prefers the page that has a little baby eating cookies. Every time you hand her the book she opens up to that page and says "dookies, yummy" and then pretends to eat them! So thank you and big hugs from both Dayton and Saige. We love and miss you all!

A Hawaiian Halloween

Halloween in Hawaii is a little different....first off, it's hard to find costumes that accommodate the hot climate!...the neighborhoods are all built on ridges (volcanic mountain chains I guess is what they are) so it makes traditional neighborhood trick or treating a little bit difficult if not impossible...and most people are out during the daylight hours! We never had any trick or treaters come to our house last year...or this year. Now I know why. Who wants to hike up hills just for a tootsie roll!? So local shopping strips and malls open their doors and hand out treats. It's actually kind of easy and efficient (and safe) - you just walk into the store and someone is standing there all dressed up handing out candy. Some stores just have a big bowl or box of candy and it is a "help yourself" policy! Very strange but super easy for parents with little ones! Dayton was super quiet and had the iron grip on his pumpkin filled with candy. In each store, he would yell, "twick or treat." (If you recall, my child is one of those rare children that has never eaten a piece of candy) He kept staring into it! He saw a couple robots and buzz lightyears and said hello to them; otherwise, he was all about business. He was so funny...all day he kept saying "where is Halloween?". When Daddy got home from work he was immediately asking, "can we go to Halloween?" Saige was excited to trick or treat too, but she refused to get out of the wagon! She just held out her little wand and pumpkin and people thought she was so cute they would come over and put candy in it for her! After we got home we had a quick dinner and Dayton got to pick out one piece of candy. He chose sweet tarts...and enjoyed every single one! Not surprisingly, he was pretty hyper before bed! In fact, this morning after breakfast he asked if he could have more candy. Being the nice parent that I am, I said "no". And just to be fair to my children...Saige cannot have any until she is 3!
My two little trick or treaters. Thomas and Fairy Saige!Sir Thomas himself.
Fairy Saige waving her magic wand and saying "ta-da."
Our mode of transportation.

A Chance To Sit and Enjoy The View

This is me enjoying our newly completed lanai. It had been closed up for months with the doors covered in paper while the stonework was finished. Well, actually, this is me enjoying a nice mug of ice cream. Peace, quiet, a beautiful view. One child climbing on my shoulders, one climbing on my lap...both saying "bite please", one dog at my feet. What could be more blissful than this? A spa day? A romantic dinner? A mug of ice cream to myself? Nah...I wouldn't have it any other way. I do get out 3 spoons now when I have my mug of ice cream though! The only thing that might have made the moment more enjoyable was chocolate ice cream instead of orange sherbet!

Our Pumpin Hatch Trip....

Despite the rain, it was a successful weekend to the pumpkin patch! I have a bunch of photos to post, but I'm having a hard time transitioning to the MAC computer so my posts for the next little while may be a little disjointed. I will try and add captions to the photos to help out...Dayton was SOOOOO excited to go to the "pumpin hatch" he kept asking over and over when we were going. When we first got there he said "wow cool, look at all the pumpins!" He immediately started running towards them and picked up almost every single one he saw. It was quite funny. Saige enjoyed tripping in the mud, putting her hands in rotten watermelons and trying to pick up big pumpkins. There were pony's to see, some cheezy kids rides, fresh fruit and veggies for sale and lots and lots of dirt....
Dayton at the house getting ready for the "Pumpin Hatch" by wearing his "Hawoween shirt."Saige loving being up on Daddy's shoulders!
Daddy & Dayton taking this picking the perfect pumpkin quite seriously.
Saige running in the mud and quite obviously enjoying herself.
This is Saige attempting to pick up a large pumpkin.
This is Dayton's 100th pumpkin to pick up and say "how about this one?"
Dayton carrying "the" pumpkin.

Getting Ready For Halloween

Finally, I can start celebrating holidays with Dayton...in previous years he was pretty terrified by most Halloween stuff, but this year (now that he is a big boy) he is excited to dress up and go to Halloween parties (we'll see if it actually happens). He points out all the scary stuff in the stores and says, "look at all the scary Hawoween things." If you ask him what he is dressing up as, he says, "my don't know." He's never had a piece of candy either, so I'm opening up a whole new can of worms by introducing this Halloween stuff! We've been doing crafts lately to help him understand a bit better and we decorated the house a little bit. We don't have hardly any Halloween decorations, but we'll accumulate some each year. Tomorrow I am taking both Dayton and Saige to a Halloween party. Saige will be dressed up and Dayton at this point, won't be.....his costume should have been here by Tuesday at the latest and it is now Thursday, so it doesn't look good! Then, this weekend Mommy and Daddy are taking the kids to the pumpkin patch! That should be an adventure...I didn't know the island even had one! I've heard it is very hot and dusty! It's quite a drive, so I hope it is all worthwhile...
Dayton proudly holding up his "shapes" ghost.
Dayton's version of what a pumpkin looks like! Personally I like the "cat" mouth.

Saige's New Skills

Saige has developed some signs of potty training readiness...she often comes to me carrying a diaper and package of wipes. Now she typically doesn't have a dirty diaper, but soon after bringing me those things I can usually smell something. I guess she is starting to recognize the "need" to go. Actually, she just came to me the other day and pointed at her diaper and say "poopoo"...and yes she had one! I was so impressed. However, I'm not so impressed that she is constantly taking her diaper off..take the picture below for instance...she is so proud and showing off her diaper removal skill and if you look hard enough or click on the picture to make it larger you will see her skill of peeing on the floor! And yes, she is saying "cheese" while she pees on my floor! On the flip side, Saige's other new skill is practicing her paparazzi pose and smile. She might not be wearing Chanel sunglasses but they do have cool snakes on them.

Our Attempt At A Family Picture

I've decided that I need to do a better job of getting family pictures or pictures of me with the kids for that mattter. I am always the one taking the pictures and it is easy to get into the habit of hogging the camera...not that Scott "likes" taking pictures, but I figure it is probably important that the kids grow up with "some" pictures taken with Mommy. So here is our painful attempt to get a family snapshot. The most impressive thing is that we are all looking at the camera and yes we are all saying "CHEESE".

I'm A Mother To A 3 Year Old Now....

I am still in shock that my baby boy is 3 whole years old...perhaps one of the several reasons why I've been avoiding posting party pictures on the blog. If I can just deny it a little bit longer...ok, who am I kidding?...he's a big boy now, I'm 3 years older and I just need to get over it. This is where you start to fudge the truth a bit when people ask...how old is he? And undoubtably it is during a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store...do you dare admit your boy is 3 when he is clearly acting like a two year old? Or do you say.."oh, he "just" turned 3"..as if to explain the reason for his behavior is due to his lack of experience as a new 3 year old. Actually, I was so excited for this birthday because Dayton has been talking about it for weeks and for the first time he was showing "anticipation". As I'm typing this, he is standing beside me singing "The itsy bitsy spider" while playing his new Ukelele. Every time we would ask him what he wanted for his birthday he would say "a party hat" or "a dog" or "a cow"....so he hasn't quite figured out to ask for "toys", but that is probably a good thing...he does know that "boxes" arriving via the mailman are typically "surprises" for him, so every day leading up to his Birthday he had been asking if there is a box for him. The morning of his Birthday, he crawled into bed with us (before the sun was up of course) and when I said Happy Birthday to him, he said "no, its not my birthday yet mama." Oh...I didn't realize. Then he asked where his boxes were hiding...and if he could eat some cake. I smiled. We spent the day at the Honolulu Zoo (which is nothing to speak of compared to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans so you won't be "wowed" by my pictures) and on the way home Dayton said he was tired and wanted to nap. C'mon...nap? It's your birthday....mommy wants to eat cake and open presents. *sigh* Okay, nap first and then presents and cake. Here was our day....
We started our day with a yummy Cinnabon roll. No doubt this was Mommy's idea.

A picture of Dayton with Daddy at the zoo. The best seat in the house of course!

Mommy and Dayton at the zoo. It is fire prevention month so they were allowing kids to climb into the fire trucks and of course Dayton was not the least bit interested. He just wanted to know where the giraffeses (he is pluralizing everything these days) were.

The Rhino resting his mouth on the ground (is his horn really that heavy?). The giraffeses that Dayton kept going on about from the time we walked though the gates. Note to readers...graphic material...some giraffeses getting "frisky" in the background.

Then, on to the monkey section..who knew there were so many varieties. Is that Dayton hanging from the bar? For some reason they started screaming monkey talk when we came by...maybe they recognized the kids as some of their lost babies? We told Dayton they were singing Happy Birthday to him.

Some turtles...we did see some GIANT ones but they were all dirty and gross. Note to readers...more graphic footage..beware of turtles getting frisky in the background.

The elephants...of course they were quite stinky too, but Dayton was excited to see them. He kept saying "insert elephant sound here".

Dayton patiently waiting to open his "boxes".

Dayton guarding his boxes from Saige...who kept trying to peel wrapping paper off.

Dayton opening his new Ukelele and then tossing it aside.

Saige opened and played with the Ukelele.

A cool flashlight for Halloween night.

Some cool Halloween washcloths. Dayton demonstrating what they are used for. Tula inspecting.

Saige excited to see a book for her! She kept saying "book...book"

Dayton says "a cool tiger shirt"...and then tosses it aside...later saying that it was his favorite thing in the box. I'm still trying to figure out if it is for Dayton or Saige.

Dayton wearing his cool Tiger shirt and saying "take it off, the tag hurts".

Or is it a nightgown for Saige? She liked it too.

Nothing like a box of goodies from Ya-Ya...intentionally packed with peanuts I'm sure.

Thomas the Choo-Choo Train - repeated about 20x...he was SOOOOOO excited. The moment I was waiting for... Dayton has been requesting to go to this toy store that has a huge Thomas set up for ages, so occasionally we go and he plays for a little bit. Sometimes when I ask him what he wants to do that day, he asks to go there. So after much deliberation, we decided to get him a little set and I was so excited to see his reaction. For once we actually caught something on video.

The only Thomas picture I could get because he wouldn't stop moving around. He played with it for a LONG time. Long enough to go through one set of batteries!

Then it was cake time! Here is the cake that Dayton and I made. He mixed up food coloring with the icing and iced it himself. Then we added sparkles. He's into sparkles lately. Personally, I think he (we) did a pretty good job. Not quite what I imagined, but yummy just the same.

Three candles, one wish.

Now for the best part...EATING it. Of course wearing his "party hat" and using his "CARS" utensils and plates. Now why is it that he won't use utensils for any other meal, but for his cake and ice cream he did? Anyone have any theories?

That night before bed he said, "my had the best party mama." I smiled.

The next morning, he crawled into bed with me and like every grown up 3 year old, said, "thank you for coming to my party mama."

I laughed. I wouldn't have missed it for the world my baby (yes, you will always be my baby).