So much of nothing going on....... OK it's mostly about food.

We have been going to "meet up" groups so Helaina can have friends to play with, (as we are still missing our friends The Gerichs and The Ohuchis but I'm suspect that won't change).   We even organized one that was a fruit salad pot luck.  It sounds technical but it's just where everyone brought a type of fruit and then shared while the kids played.  (I completely borrowed the idea from a different mommy's group).  Helaina of course loved it because there was plenty of food involved.  Apparently, love of food is genetic or maybe contagious but I will get to that later.  She sported her sunglasses that Mimi (Chris' mom) had given her almost the whole time, except when she shared with her friend Charrise.  The sunglasses are hilarious because she keeps them on and seems to take on a different persona while wearing them.  She looks around a lot and doesn't show much emotion - I think it's her version of cool.  The glasses may have 'magical powers' because they seem to change Charisse's disposition as well.  We both had a nice time and ate more than our daily servings worth of fruit!

At least she wasn't the only haole

Speaking of food,  we had our first restaurant outing where we did not bring Helaina her own food.  We were 'living on the edge' and ordered off the menu.  Being so close to my niece and nephew (London & Vegas) while they were younger, I remember Frank and Erin order 2 entrees and sharing theirs with the kids.  How did we skip this stage??  We ordered her own dish.  This restaurant is not skimpy on the food, she (and we I suppose) just ate that much.  She has a bowl of black beans & rice with shrimp.  Yes she did finish pretty much the whole thing.

And more about food.....are you catching a theme here?  No wonder why our child loves food so much!
We did have another family dinner picnic on the beach and splurged for grilling out lobster and asparagus (surprise - she loved it).  It was awesome thanks to my fabulous husband who's skilled at the grill.  The company and setting was perfect!  We did also finish off the night with a old school classic of waffles and ice cream.   No Helaina did not participate.  I haven't had it in years and it did not disappoint!  My dad has and my mom had a Love for food that has passed down to our youngest generation.  clearly!

And moving onto the non-culinary portion of my commentary today.  We went to the Zoo with the wife and youngest 2 children (of 8, yeeep - just typed that) of the new pastor of our church.  It was nice to spend time and get to know them.  Helaina enjoyed the zoo as always but was keen on both boys and especially their youngest son Peter.  She held his hand for a good bit of the trip and wanted to be near both boys most of the time.  It was so sweet to watch how delicate they were with her and to see her enthusiasm with them.  They will make great uncles for their older siblings children!

Lastly, our outings are nice but it does not take much to entertain H at home.  Nope, expensive toys not needed in this house (just yet).  We took the box from Helaina's new car seat and have began turning it into a castle - though she is just fine with the minimal alterations we've made.  All she needs is bebe and her daddy.  It would be her preference to have all those things at once but we were already pushing it with just the daddy.  

My 6'1" husband looks sexy in a box

Bebe's such a good sport!

Air Traffic Control

Every child I know runs through multiple phases that seem to consume their whole world (and inevitably yours).  At this stage of the game, they are usually words that they say over and over again when they see or think of the item/thing.  With such limited vocabulary, they are probably less obsessed and just happy to be able to communicate with us.
Helaina's favorite and most consistent has been Bebe.  I'm questioning our fostering of this relationship as our family pet is of the ripe age of 10.5 and will not be with us forever.  Although Helaina's love for Bebe (and Bebe's tolerance for her) does make me smile, I do hope it is somewhat of a phase.  I can't imagine having to comfort someone else when the time does come for me to say goodbye to my first (hairy) baby, but such is being a parent I suppose.

Anyhow, her newest 'obsession' is airplanes or as she says "air air air air air air air air" - ok you get the point.  We have a pretty incredible view from our place.  We can see mountains, ocean, Diamond head and of course, a direct view of the air traffic pattern coming into and out of the airport.  As you can imagine, Honolulu airport gets a lot of air traffic.  In addition to the traditional airport, we have a ton of armed forces and tourist type planes and helicopter flying at all times.
One of Helaina's favorite night time activities is to bring daddy over to the chair that looks out the window and wait until she spots anything flying.  This happens so often that even after Helaina goes to bed, Chris and I can't help but call out "air air air...." when we see the big flying birds.
It feels incredibly annoying yet strangely comfortable to hear her saying this over and over again.  When I feel perturbed, I simply acknowledge the airplane and the smile on her face erases most, if not all of the annoyance.   It is so magical to watch her pleasure in communicating with us.   We should all be so easily pleased.  After all, that's something that most of us really want anyway, just to be part of the conversation and for someone to understand us.

Mother's Day

Wow.  This day has meant so many things over my life.  The usual for everyone when you are young....something hideous for Mom that we thought was fabulous, and that she wore or used with pride.  Then 14 years ago this hallmark holiday became a headache for me as so many holidays do for people that loose someone close.

My mom was my very best friend.  Not the pushover type who tried to be my friend, but the kind who earned that place in my 20's by always having had showed me love, respect and the 'toughness' that I needed so often.  Don't get me wrong, we were not close from about 12-18 years of age.  Not a day goes by that I don't sit and regret those adolescent times that I am sure I took to another level.  I personally was responsible for most, if not all of the gray hairs on my mom's head. -- we all know Frank was the 'good one' - as far as they knew :o)  Fortunately, I was able to mature just enough to somewhat apologize for the mayhem that I caused before she was gone.  She will always be missed and loved in a way that continues to shape me everyday.  I love you mom.

Three years ago, I married into a family where I actually love (not just like) my mother - in - law a whole lot.  I have too many friends that don't have a good relationship with their in laws.   It's amazing the way the Lord works in your life.   He knew I still needed the love and warmth that only a mother can give and he placed me into a loving family where I got just that.
I no longer loathe the thought of May rolling around.  I can't thank her enough for accepting me the way she does and of course, for raising the most amazing man in the world to me.  I love you mom.

And for obvious reasons now, mother's day takes on a whole new meaning.  You can never fully appreciate the labor of love that goes into being a mommy until you have had the privilege and honor.  I wish I could call my mom and thank her for my newest found level of respect that I have for her.   However, I am suspect she already knows.  Helaina, I love you.

Much love to all the mother's out there.  God really does know what He's doing!
PS.  Chris and Helaina have arranged a special spa day for me and then lunch with them.   I heart being a mom.

3 years

It's hard to believe that it's already been 3 years that Chris and I have been married.  It's also hard to believe that it's only been 3 years that we have been married.  We have done so much together in such a short period of time, topping the list with procreating of course.  In my much younger years, I remember thinking my late 30's and 40's would be good but that I had peaked in my 20's and early 30's.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  Although I enjoyed myself thoroughly when I was younger, it was mostly through self serving and indulging ways.  I was unaware of the enjoyment that comes out of the sharing and the sacrifices you make when you are with the person who makes you want to do those things without even thinking.  It's not always 2nd nature but because he is so wonderful, it makes me want to try harder.

Our pre-marriage counselor though our church had told us that as time goes on in your marriage, you will know and love the person so much more than when you got married that you will realize how God placed you together because you barely knew each other when you did get married. As time continues on, I get to know Chris more and watch him grow as a man.  Watching him as a father melts my heart daily and I know that Helaina will seek someone that treats her the way her daddy treats me.  I can't help but feel incredibly blessed.

So hears to my husband and our marriage.  I look forward to many more exciting years with you.
So much.  (pictures, hopefully, to follow after our date on Sunday night).
Update:  We had a lovely evening but I'm not surprised.  We went to a beautiful historic hawaiian hotel called the Kahala.  Auntie Jessica kindly hung out with Helaina and bebe at home so we could enjoy our evening.  thanks everyone for your kind remarks.

"Da" plays soccer

Chris works A LOT and hard.  He does not get to enjoy Hawaii the way Helaina and I do.  Actually, he doesn't get to do a ton outside of work.  Fortunately, he just recently was able to begin playing soccer again.  They had their first early game and Helaina and I were able to go and watch.

Well, at least we were able to go.  Containing a 15 month old, especially outside, is not a task that I have mastered - nor do I think I will ever.  Good thing she will only be this age for a bit :o)  We attended the game and pointed out all the airplanes and dogs that we saw.  All the red dirt mommy didn't want her to play with was found and she immediately began asking for the dinner she knew I had packed.   During one of the timeouts I had to ask Chris what the score was, as I was unable to even keep up with that.

What matters most is that she had a great time and so did Chris.  The team captain showed the Hawaiian Aloha and introduced us to the team.   I'm grateful that after much searching, Chris is able to do something that he loves to do and that will keep him in shape enough so he can keep up with Helaina when she decides it time to kick the black and white ball around.

My handsome man, especially in black!

Go airplane, doggy...I mean daddy!

Turtle(s), Helaina's first 2 syllable word

How fitting that just a few days ago, Helaina put together her first 2 syllable word "turtle."  Shortly followed by her 2nd, taught by Auntie Ro, "purple"  Anyhow, we went to a small beach that is not well known by lots of tourists or locals.  Besides being exclusive, this beach boasts a gorgeous views of the leeward side of the island and is a small cove where the water is not rough at all as it's protected by a reef.  (good for a 15 month old still getting her sea legs).  This beach is also right next door to Chris' project.  We were pleased that he was able to take a few minutes from his schedule to come visit us!

I LOVE this beach for many reasons.  It was the first beach that Chris and I went to when we moved to the island.  Albeit I was as big as a house but still enjoyed it.  You may have seen the pictures on FB.  It was also the first place I saw sea turtles in Hawaii and almost always has them when we go.  (except when my mother in law went with -- Sorry Mom, maybe next time).  This day was not particularly sunny so the water doesn't look as blue but it was nice to have some reprieve from the sun.

This was Helaina's third time seeing the turtles (yes she's spoiled and does not know it) but really the first that she has been aware of them.  We got REALLY close, in which she would insist but then dig her legs and arms into me and say 'no thank you'.  We repeated this process for quite some time until she got comfortable.  Then mommy got scared.  I just kept thinking that her toes dangling in the water looked a lot like something a turtle might think was a tasty snack.  They can be 'aggressive' and have bitten people before.  We continued to watch but you can see the concerned 'that turtle could bite my baby' look on my face in most of the pictures.  Auntie Ro did a fab job of capturing the real moments.  She then shared her apples and sunglasses with Helaiana afterword.  It was a great day.

"Lefty" who is missing a flipper

Turtle copping a feel

Apples with Auntie

Helaina Onassis

Easter Weekend, Aloha Style

Happy Easter to everyone.  We hope you were able to enjoy family, food and fun.  We also hope you had time to reflect on the greatest blessing of all and the reason for this holiday.  Helaina and I attended a very Hawaiian Good Friday service where most of the songs were sung in Hawaiian.  We celebrated Easter Sunday at the church we have been attending since we moved here.  After church there was a pot luck in which we ate 'Choke Food' (Hawaiian slang for a huge amount of food) that was 'So Ono' (really good) it 'Broke da Mouf' (really yummy).

On Saturday night Chris, Helaina, and I walked down to the beach, which is about 5 blocks, and had a picnic.  We grilled out with the Hibachi grill that was also gifted to us by the Gerichs when they left (yes, I'm still sniffling).  As a lesson to myself, don't ever go to the beach without a swimmie and a bathing suit with a one year old, even if it's late in the day.  Helaina tried several times to get daddy to take her in the water.  He tried to explain that we didn't have her suit and so she abandoned his hand and tried to go herself.  Fortunately, she wasn't too persistent but we will be prepared for next time.

On Sunday night, I was eager to not cook again so we picked up Thai food from this little hole in the wall place that makes pretty good food and went to Kako 'Ako Park.  It's a great park right on the ocean and it was busy but not too crowded.  We watched the sun set and reminded ourselves just how grateful we are to live in this beautiful place and how very blessed we are that HE is risen.  May God bless you and your family.

"dis" way daddy

return trip.  mission failed.

poser on the beach

Sunday Night