Hiking with Dad

Dad took the day off today since Mom is back to work full-time and Nana and Pop needed a break from watching me. (So, Dad might be taking off every Friday in August to hang with me.)

After breakfast, we went hiking at one of my favorite places, Makapu'u. In the winter, you can see the whales. Today, it was just hot and breezy. The only thing that bugs me about this hike is that it's got paved paths. I like to hike through the grass and the trees. So, I decided to take Dad on a different route, venturing over rocks and through places he's never even been. We checked out several old bunkers and even saw a centipede!

I was tired on the way down since it was approaching my naptime. So, Dad had to carry me most of the way down. But, I had a blast hiking with Dad. I had a 3 hour nap after that!

Mom's Day at Waipao

Although Mom is back to work at both the elementary school and preschool this week, it was teacher prep week for both schools. So, that means a lot of meetings and organizing the classroom. At Kamehameha, Mom got to go to some neat in-services, with Hawaiian food lunch two days in a row!

Today, they visited Waipao (located in Kane'ohe, on the windward side of O'ahu), an area preserved by a non-profit organization called Papahana Kuaola. The organization's purpose is to educate the public on environmental restoration and economic sustainability, focusing on Hawaiian knowledge and backgrounds. It was started by one of Mom's high school classmates, who now owns and runs a Native Hawaiian plant nursery. At Papahana Kuaola, they have student interns who learn traditional Hawaiian ways of living. They have over 15 kinds of taro in the lo'i. They are building a heiau. You can walk to a freshwater stream and waterfall. Mom even drank from a freshwater spring.

Today, Mom and her coworkers learned how to make traditional laulau and pound taro to make poi (ku'i 'ai). Then, they got to eat their steamed laulau, poi, and lu'au stew. Since there are 3 hapai (pregnant) women, including Mom, they sat out of the weeding of the lo'i. But, she got pictures of others getting in thigh deep mud to pull weeds. It was a day of learning more about Hawaiian culture and background, which she can use to help teach her students this year. What a great, hands-on "working" day!

I am 37 Months Old!

Things I've Been Into Lately:
* Swimming in the little pool at Nana's house
* Going to the zoo
* Watching Mommy's belly grow
* Still getting birthday presents

I'm still not fully potty trained. At night, I wet the bed, even with two diapers on. I tell Mom and Dad that I'm a big boy and I don't wear diapers. I wear big boy underwear, but they said I still wet, so I have to wear diapers.

Our First Bon Dance of the Season

Summer always reminds Mom of Bon Dance season (July through September). So, of course, we had to go to one tonight at Jikoen temple in Kalihi. The bon dance is a Japanese tradition, with lots of dancing, taiko drumming, and food. Bon dance season is an important part of culture in Hawai'i. As Dad put it, we don't have county fairs for people to go to, so people go to bon dances. The lanterns overhead have names of those who have passed. The taiko drumming, dancing, and celebrations are conducted in their memory.

They had games for children, but Mom and Dad said I couldn't get the fish because we don't have an aquarium at home to put them in. Mom enjoyed eating fried noodles, andagi, corn on the cob (Dad had his with furikake (nori seasoning) on it!), and kal bi. We headed home when it started getting really crowded. Although it's most beautiful when the lanterns and music light up the night, it was past my bedtime.

I was upset to go home, but Mom and Dad reminded me that there's always another Bon dance next weekend!

"Mo Baby"

Mommy had her doctor checkup today. I missed it all because I was sleeping in the stroller. But she showed me these pictures when I woke up! "Mo Baby" (as I call it...since Dad was joking that it's "One Mo Halsall!") is very healthy, measuring exactly where baby should be for a due date of 10/31/10, measuring about 1 pound 14 ounces at this time. This was the first time Mom got to do 3D ultrasound pictures, so that was pretty cool. The ultrasound technician was actually surprised because Mom has weekly (well now every 2 weeks) doctor appointments. It's pretty neat to see baby up close! And the pictures are way better than those black and white fuzzy ones Mom usually gets!

Mom is doing fine...still taking her weekly progesterone shots, although missing her Bikram yoga workouts. At this time with me, she was already approaching strict hospital bedrest and bedrest at home. So, everything looks good this time around. We keep crossing our fingers because she goes back to working full-time on Monday. That's right, summer is over, and I'll spend the next few weeks with Nana and Pop since I don't go back to school until the end of August.

Pizza and Ice Cream at the Park

We had fun at the park today with the East Honolulu Mommies group. Mommy and I used to do more with them when she wasn't working full time. Today, we went to Nuuanu Valley Park. There were about 30 moms and kids there. We enjoyed pizza (well actually Mom had to bring my own lunch since I'm so picky) and ice cream (I wanted more, but Mommy wouldn't let me.). It was a nice shady park. I loved kicking my soccer ball and climbing on the rope ladder and trying to slide down it. I went on the swings, the slide, and ran around a lot. I slipped about 10 times because the ground was so wet (as it always is in this area). But, it didn't stop me from running and jumping some more!

Summer Fun!

Since Mommy's summer is quickly coming to an end, (and Mom likes to get me out of the house before I destroy it!) we've been doing fun things together. We've gone to the zoo, the beach, the library, toddler time, the park to play with friends, and yesterday, she brought me to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. I had just woken up from a nap so I was kinda grouchy, and I told her I wanted to go home. She convinced me to go inside, but only after I asked her if I could bring my new library books too.

Once I got inside, forget about my library books! The first thing I ran to was this huge obstacle course! I started climbing and running around. I ended up making friends with a boy around my age, and I told him, "I'm a good climber!". We had a lot of fun. Then, Mommy got hungry so we got pizza and chicken wings (and I actually ate about half of my cheese pizza! Mom said I must've been really hungry!). I loved watching Chuck E. Cheese, though Mom says there aren't nearly as many characters as there were when she was a kid. Everything's all on TV now.....but I still had fun playing some games and riding some rides. Mom didn't have her camera, so we didn't take any pictures. But now that I have tokens, I'm sure I'll be back soon!

Avocado Picking

We have a HUGE avocado tree over our driveway that's older than my parents. We have hundreds of avocados. Everyday, when I come home, I want to pick an avocado. Uncle Gary brought out the big pole, and I was his helper. I helped by getting the avocado out of the basket. Then I put the avocados in bags so we could give them away to friends. If you want avocados, just ask!

On the Wall

Daddy went to pick up my 3 year old portraits at the Sears Portrait Studio. They asked if they could use one of my portraits to put on their wall. Guess they liked how it turned out. So, if you go to the Sears Portrait Studio at Ala Moana Shopping Center, I will now be a fixture on the wall!

And It's Only Monday

Mom can finally relax after a crazy afternoon......The morning started off okay. Though it was pouring out this morning, we decided to go to the park anyway, and had a marvelous time with other kids and moms. The sun stayed out, with blue skies and not a drop of rain. Hawai'i is funny that way. The moms worked out (Mommy only slightly worked out and stretched since she's restricted in many ways), and us kids kicked soccer balls around and played bubbles. I even tried to show off some of my stretching and balancing skills.

Then we headed home, but I didn't want to nap, even after Mom managed to carry my tired body down 100 stairs. So, a couple of hours later, our handyman Stewart arrived to install our toilets. He left after 2 hours. Then, the mayhem began. Just imagine a 6 month (high risk) pregnant woman discovering a geyser of water shooting up from her toilet valve, having to take apart/move furniture and frantically wipe up 2 inches of water all over the bathroom floor, all the while leaving her 3 year old (who managed to skip his nap today, which made the afternoon all that more exciting to begin with) to stick stickers all over the floor outside the bathroom while waiting for mommy.

The day ended when I was so hungry that I ate a slice of pepperoni pizza (only to say "Yucky! I don't like it!" after I was all done!) Mommy probably said it was too spicy for me, but I must have been really hungry because I ate it all! Then, I proceeded to fall asleep in my high chair, and Mommy had to carry me to bed without brushing my teeth. It was not even 6:30 pm yet.

And it's only Monday.

A Midsummer Night's Gleam

We always look forward to this event each summer. "A Midsummer Night's Gleam", held at Foster Botanical Gardens, has activities for kids, belly dancing, musical pots and pans, live entertainment, a spooky garden walk, and plant giveaway. We always love seeing all the luminaries light up the garden paths. We got a late start tonight, and it rained off and on, but we still enjoyed walking through the gardens and the new greenhouse. We ran into friends Jennifer and Justin and baby Jade (seems like when you have babies/kids, you all go to the same places!) again as well as other friends of Mom's. I wanted to go into the spooky walk, but the line was too long. Mom passed on the henna tattoo this year, but I still got to blow bubbles, put a wish on the wishing tree, and see Mom's shoes and my shirt glow in the black light! My favorite part was running through the garden pathways in the dark! Hopefully next year the weather will be better, and we can bring baby "Mo" with us too!