Chase as Zack's personal wind-up toy

Prior to this video, Chase was making Zack laugh by drumming (with two pencils) all around the living room. Of course, by the time I got the camera out, Chase didn't want to make him laugh again, as he "had enough". But, Chase is still a ham for the camera. And, Zack still loves smiling at his brother, his own personal wind-up toy.

The Artist

Here is some of my artwork from school in January.


Do you think I'll be a poet one day?

Long Time No Post

Yeah, I know it's been awhile. I know I haven't kept up my new year's resolution so far. Here are my excuses: 1. Our internet connection sucks since we just connect to whatever's out there, and I guess this mountain doesn't have great connection. 2. I'm still a bit sleep deprived since baby Zack decided to change his sleeping patterns on me the past few weeks, so we spend most of the time from 2 am - 7 am on the couch, and after work, I'm just too tired to blog. 3. I have yet to replace my camera, which broke before Christmas, so I have been using Chris' camera. 4. Where does one find the time?

I'll back-track and catch up with my blog at some point, but to hit the highlights:

* Zack had a great 4 month checkup in February. He is 14 lbs and in the 25th percentile for weight and length. He still has congestion, probably from viruses, but that's what happens when he's around an 18 month old (at Auntie Oanh's on MWF) and big brother Chase, who probably brings home a lot of germs from preschool on a daily basis. Zack was super feverish and not himself after his 4 month vaccinations. We're all happy that he got better after a couple of days.

* Zack is all smiles and loves people. He "talks" a lot, and loves to stand on my legs. He is discovering his toes and has found his right thumb. He loves sucking on his hand and is drooling a lot since he's teething. He loves tracking the motions when I sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He laughs when I sing "The Wheels on the Bus".

* Chase has been having a lot of vivid dreams the past couple of months. He'll wake up in the middle of the night and talk about them in extreme detail.

* We're enjoying Chase's vocabulary and funny sense of humor (he loves making cross eyed faces to make us laugh during dinner), or when it comes to his answers to the Question of the Day at school, or his funny jokes. But his favorite saying these days is "No Way!" and "I'm just kidding you!" But, he's adopted some bad behaviors too, like spitting and talking back. He doesn't like getting his face washed when he spits, and he has visited time out on several occasions.

* Chase loves his brother. On Valentine's Day, the question of the day was "What is love?" He said, "Hugging Daddy and giving Zack a kiss." He loves to give Zack hugs and kisses. (But, he also sits on him and screams at him on occasion.) Tonight he said he can't wait until Zack is older and he can share his "mans" (GI Joes) and cars with him.

* Chase's favorite books these days: Where's Waldo (from my collection as a kid) - He loves little details and finding Waldo and talking about the silly things happening in the picture. GlamMa gave him PuzzleBuz, a magazine subscription from Highlights. He loves doing all the puzzles, mazes, and searching for pictures.

* Loving my new job...lots of training (going to and leading them) but the hours are working out, and I'm learning a lot professionally. This month was busy with a lot of testing, an annual assessment we give our ELL students. I'm getting to know a lot of schools and principals in different K-12 schools in the district.

* It's been hard to go to Bikram yoga because I'm still so sleep deprived. But I try to go once a week. Chris just did the Swamp Romp, the muddy obstacle course race he did last year. It's been awhile since he's gone mountain bike riding with the guys though. Once we get into a better routine, we'll try to incorporate more of our yoga and biking when we can.

* January and February were very rainy months, so we had some leaking issues in the house. We have yet to paint the interior and exterior, but I can't stand the mosquitoes, humidity, and vog. So I'm hoping to be more productive this spring, when everything dries up. Surprisingly, it didn't rain at Punahou Carnival this year. So Chase got to enjoy 2 days of the carnival. He already wants to go back to a carnival again (GlamMa wants to take him to Disneyland for his 4th birthday. We'll see if he's 40 inches or not.)

* We've hiked Makapu'u a few times and saw a lot of whales. (We also saw an elderly man who had fallen off the side of the trail and needed emergency attention for his bleeding head. Of course, that's all that Chase could talk about...never mind the whales. "That man fell off the edge. He should be more careful!") We also went on a whale watching cruise (which may turn into an annual event) with the Halsalls.

* Went to Shelly's (my future sister-in-law) bachelorette party and bridal shower.

* Celebrated Chris' 39th birthday...He celebrated by buying a new (but used) car since his other one has no stereo, no A/C, among other broken things.

Finally, baby Zack and I are off to Sacramento on Wednesday for Jay and Shelly's wedding. They wanted a destination wedding, so some 150 family and friends will be joining in the festivities at a winery in Livermore, about an hour from San Francisco and Sacramento. All his friends will be going snowboarding in Lake Tahoe the following week. Chris couldn't take off work, and at the time, I didn't think I could handle both kids by myself, so just Zack and I are going. But I wish Chase was coming. And he does too. Yesterday, when I told him we're going, he said, "Oh, I'm going to bring my backpack and toys and books and Buzz Lightyear. Are you going too, Daddy?" I had to tell him he wasn't going. He said he wants to see snow and see GlamMa. It's too bad because our spring break is the next week. We'll just have to plan a family trip in the summer or Christmas. I hear it's cold, but I'm excited for a trip, as it's been awhile. Auntie Oanh bought Zack a warm onesie/fur jacket. I wanted to just bring a carry on, but I forgot how much stuff a baby needs!

It is picture day tomorrow at Chase's preschool. He has already decided that he's going to wear his cool policeman shirt. I took him to get his haircut yesterday, so he's all set! I'm sure Chris will take Chase hiking up Makapu'u or another trail this weekend. And I'm sure they'll spend a lot of time with Nana and Pop while we're gone...after all, someone's gotta cook dinner.

I hope to have more pictures to share when I return! (and perhaps I'll have more time to catch up on my blogging during spring break)

Hanging Out With the Boys!

Here's Dad packing Zack up for his first hike at 3 months old.
We went to Hawai'i Nature Center with Nana and Pop.


There was a cool bridge and little stream...which meant a lot of mosquitoes! Poor Mom...
This canopy is probably an invasive weed...but it looks cool in the picture.

Zack is so squished in the carrier, he has no choice but to suck it!
Here are the happy hikers!
Mom and I ran all the way back down since she was eaten alive by mosquitoes (with about 20 bites in an hour's time) and so she wanted to keep moving!
We tried to catch some fish near the lo'i (taro patch).
Zack has been smiling a lot lately, and Mom finally captured it on camera.
Zack loves his mobiles above his changing table. That's usually what gets him all smiley.
I love trying to make him smile.
He's so cute!
It's been cold in January and very rainy and stormy. Dad's wearing his fleece onesie he got for Christmas!
And here's my fleece onesie...I decided to show Mom my glowing tummy!
I picked up Zack to show her his fleece onesie. Too bad, Mom doesn't have a fleece onesie.
I love being a big brother!
I had fun playing with Mom's calendar she brought home from school (now that she is no longer in the classroom with her new full-time job as an ELL Resource Teacher for Honolulu District). I put all the cards in and then said, "WELCOME to my elementary school!".
Dad loves reading books to us every night before bed. I go to bed at 7:30 pm and Zack usually goes to bed around 8:30 pm. He sleeps 5 -7 hours each night!
I always touch his cheek and go "Ticko, ticko" (tickle, tickle)....It makes him laugh.
Here he is giving me a little smile.
And, just for that, I give him a big hug!
Zack loves the lion mobile above his changing table! He can see himself in the mirror too! So he gets all excited, starts kicking, and starts talking to it.

Knock, Knock

Knock, Knock.

Applehead.

Applehead, Who?

Applehead, Mr. Potato Head.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

That has been Chase's favorite joke for the past couple of months.

Yeah, we don't get it either (and it's getting a bit old)....but he won't let us teach him any new "Knock, Knock" jokes.

Happy New Year!

We had dinner at the Otakes' house earlier in the night, at their annual New Year's Eve party/Sky's birthday party (She turned 5.). Turns out, 2010 was a productive year. Apparently, each family was told to bring a new baby to the party this year. Here are the new babies that arrived in 2010: (From L to R) a 9 month old, a 1 month old, a 6 month old, two 3 month olds, and a 2 month old.


And, here is the view of the fireworks at midnight, from our lanai. This is the last year of the big bangs, since a new law goes into effect tomorrow regarding fireworks. Fireworks have always been a huge deal here in Hawai'i, especially the illegal aerials. But, this year, all fireworks could be set off from 9 pm to 1 am. Permits had to be purchased in order to use of possess aerial fireworks. We got home in time to see the craziness ("the war zone" as I call it) below our house. Because of the new law, this year was supposed to be a crazy one, so we closed up all the windows and put the kids' A/C's on so that the smoke wouldn't fill the house (which also seemed to help with the noise and all the kabooms that shook the house). Just take a look at the video.



We were blessed in 2010 with a healthy, sweet little baby Zack. It will be fun to see him and Chase grow in 2011. Here are some of Daddy and Mommy's new year resolutions:

* To be a better husband and father
* To be a better wife and mother (she copied Daddy)
* To go to Bikram yoga 2-3 times a week
* To keep my blog up-to-date

Zack's 2nd Month

Zack had a great 2 month checkup with Dr. Sia. He's still a bit congested since birth, but being born in the winter, around the flu and holiday season doesn't help. But, it doesn't seem to bother Zack that much since he's already sleeping 4-5 hour stretches at night. The doc says his breathing and lungs are fine, so to just give him a nasal saline spray, to keep him sleeping upright, and to just keep nursing him on demand. His left eye continues to have all that makapiapia (eye boogers in Hawaiian) too, but we continue to just wipe and massage his blocked tear duct. He says that, over time, it should clear up. As long as the whites of the eyes are not red, they are not infected.

Zack's stats at 2 months:

Weight: 11 lbs. 6 oz. (50+%)
Height: 21 3/4 inches (10%)
Head Circumference: 37 1/2 cm (5-10%)


Here is another gorgeous view from the front porch and bar of the beachhouse we stayed at in Waianae with the Keanes.
And here is baby Zack swinging away in his swing. This time, Mommy and Daddy got smart and got one that plugs into the wall. With all the swinging I do, it saves on D batteries!

Chase likes his Automoblox cars and put his pencil in baby Zack's hand.

Then, Chase covered baby Zack up with his blanket. Mommy needs to remind him not to cover baby's face.

Here is a beautiful sunset taken from our lanai.

Baby Zack is sleepy on his changing table after a nice warm bath. He loves baths by the way and even fell asleep in it once.
It's hard to catch his eyes open!
Here Zack is in his formal wear for Thanksgiving dinner.
Chase is giving his stink eye while Pop carries Zack.

The boys pose in their ties. Aunty Linda, Chase's preschool teacher, gave them these t-shirts because she is always commenting on Chase's cool t-shirts.

Here is the spread on Thanksgiving. The Halsalls went hunting and gathering again and picked up dinner from the Hyatt again this year.
Mommy told Chase to remember to hold baby's head. He took Mommy literally. Poor Zack!

Big brother Chase and little brother Zack
Chase loves giving hugs and kisses to his little brother Zack. Then he says, "Can you say 'Awww'?"
Cheese!
Ah, don't let baby fall!

Chase is comfy on the chair, but Zack looks a bit worried.

Zack sleeps through lunch (with Sir Prance-a-Lot) while Mommy visits with her friends at Big City Diner.

Aunty Jolene visited from Seattle and came to meet us at the mall for dinner. Chase couldn't resist and did his "statue" poses.
Zack is zonked out at home. Mommy's been putting him to sleep on the Boppy pillow in his pack-n-play to let gravity help with the congestion he's had since birth.

Zack's eyes are open!
Zack looks a bit milk drunk.

Zack sticking his tongue out
Chase is zoning out at the TV while baby Zack tries to lay on his lap.