WARNING: Baby Bragging Below

When Helaina was born, and frankly for the first 8 or 9 months, I truly thought she was a challenging baby.  In hindsight, I'm now fairly certain it was me learning how to become a new parent that was the huge challenge.  Don't get me wrong, it was extremely tough when she would only nap for 20 minutes at a time.  She was pretty strong willed about not napping or missing out on anything.  I'm not sure where she gets that from?  That can wear on anyone after 12 and 13 hours day after day by yourself.  When we transitioned to one nap, she finally would sleep (and still does) for 2-3 hours and get her (and mine) much needed rest.  My other hurdle was breast feeding but that was neither of our faults.  We just needed the care and concern of the right individuals to get through it, which we eventually found.

Looking back though, those have been my only huge challenges thus far.  We are incredibly blessed with her disposition.  Although it took a ton of patience and finesse in the beginning to get her to go to sleep, she has always been a great night sleeper.  Right from the get go, she started to give us huge night stretches that were the envy of my friends.  She still sleeps great from about 7:30PM - 7:00AM.

Her eating habits have been nothing less than stellar.  She has no problem eating leafy green veggies and other things that other kids won't touch.  It is not an exaggeration to say that she at times,  eats more than I do.  She could most resemble a gold fish in that I am certain if we kept feeding her, she would eat until she popped.  In the rare occasions when she was not feeling well enough to eat, I got a small glance into the problems that mom's of picky eater's have.  My heart goes out to them.  I'll would much rather have take a second mortgage out on the house to feed my daughter any day.

Always big smiles when she's eating

She has always been very flexible and adaptable.  For example, in our trips to "mainland," she has adjusted much quicker to the gruelling time change and the travel itself better than we had.  I pray that it the case with our upcoming travel next week.

As of late, she has blown the doors off any expectations that I have of a 1.5 year old.  Chis and I foolishly took her to a Sushi restaurant that sat us in a very small room with 5 other tables.  You could hear EVERY ONE'S conversations.  She ate off the menu and was close to a show pony with her behavior.  2 tables and a handful of waitress' came by to commend us on her behavior.  I smiled and said AMEN to the Lord to myself -- 'cause that can't be my parenting that would have dictated the situation.

Last week, I was helping my friend Rochelle get ready for a big party.  In my infinite wisdom, and because I don't have a ton of options, I took our toddler daughter to our big Costco visit.  She was an angel in the cart, for almost 2 1/2 hours!!!  We had to do some entertaining and of course some eating to keep her occupied but she seriously impressed me.

People of Walmart Costco

We have an amazing child.  She is sweet, happy, and open to learning among a whole list of other things that we think are great about her.  I'm sure this is a 'parent sydrome' to think your child is great but if it is, it is also my right to blog about it.  I really pray that she keeps shining and most importantly that I can add 'good teacher/example' to her accolades as she does have a sibling on the way.

Shhhhhhhh, I have a secret

I've been penning this blog in my head since we found out 2 day before mother's day and I am still having trouble coming up with the words.  We are expecting again.  Those words bring a huge smile to my face, joy to my heart and some healthy fear to go along with them.  


It feels insane to plan to have more than one child so young in age. As my father once told me, I'm no spring chicken and that I lived things on the front end of my life.  I think he's pretty much right.   Therefore, It has always been our plan to have our children close in age and together.  I'm glad God has obliged.    Hawaii is paradise but also a long way from family and friends.  There will be challenges from this but also some great benefits.  We are so excited to be able to deliver our next child with the same mid wife that delivered Helaina, Linda Chong-Tim.  She was a guardian angel and I can't imagine going through the process without her.  Also, hopefully because we live in paradise, we will have loving, willing visitors to come calling around the due date again.  (hint hint)

We have asked Helaina for fun, if she wants a brother or a sister.  Depending what gender you asked last , she would say that.  However, lately she has been pretty much consistent with sister.  Chris has announced that we would be getting a male dog if that were the case.  Last time I was sure it was going to be a girl for the first 6 months and then the hormones took me everywhere.  I was completely surprised.  Chris waited to guess until about 6 months and was correct with his girl prediction that he stood by.  We have all the gender neutral things and of course all the girl stuff so we plan on waiting again.  The not knowing helped through labor last time.  I plan on putting a poll up on this site if you would like to roll the dice.  Either way.....we pray, and hope you will join us in doing so, for a healthy Higgs baby 2.  We will also be praying for Helaina's adjustment to sharing the spotlight and that Bebe will not jump off the balcony when she realizes what's happened.

By the way, it's not a secret anymore.  Thank you for sharing this special time in our life.

"Tras Truc" This one goes out to all my buddies at WM.

Really I blame the fact that I worked at Waste Management while Helaina was in utero.  My MIL said that Chris was obsessed with trucks as a child too. either way, our newest obsession is with Trash Trucks.  We live on the 34th floor and have an incredible view...beach, mountains, and some urban landscapes too.  Because we live in a large city, the trash cans are serviced by a little truck going to pick up the industrial cans (6 yarders for all my garbage groupies) and brings them out to the busy street so the traditional commercial truck can service them.  Our building has about 6 regular cans that are serviced several times a week.  That would be 12 bangs on the asphalt (two for each container) that are just loud enough to hear from our place.
The reaction is as if if you were giving away free ice cream. (not that she would have tried that yet but you get the point)  "Tras Truc, Tras Truc Tras Truc Momma, Dadda"  Not that the banging is the only cue.  Any truck beeping will do.  Heck we don't even need a cue, we can get summoned to the window 25 times a day for nothing more than to see if the containers are being serviced.

The good news is that airplanes have taken a back seat for a while and we don't have to hear "air, air" 40 times a day.  As a former trash geek I have to say I don't always mind watching the process.  There aren't as many rules here in Hawaii, or at least these drivers are not following them.   The drivers have their way with the cans and throw caution, as well as other's drivers and road rules to the wind.  It's quite comical to watch, at least in the safety of our apartment.

We have even made a mini trash truck our of her bristle blocks

I think Chris and I are having more fun with her blocks than her.  

I've included a few other random pics for those of you who solely check this site for Helaina.  You know who you are.

She looks like a worried princess.

Daddy dubbed this one Lionel Richie

Bebe

Bebe (our boston terrier) has often made it into the content that is mostly about Helaina.  She really does deserve at least one blog entry created just for her.  She is going to be 11 at the end of this year and I don't want to wait to highlight the joy she brings into our life written as an obituary.  Though, I am sure when that day comes you will get pages or ear(s) full.  Our friends Tim and Bill just said good bye to their companion Snickers after 16 years.  I can only imagine the sadness they have experienced.  Our heart goes our to them and anyone else who has lost a furry member of their family.

So let's face it, pets can be a pain in the derriere!  As if there's not enough poop to clean up and mouths to feed around here.........don't forget the dog.  We live in a high rise.  If we didn't, we still would have to walk bebe a few times a day and regularly rid the yard of poop, but at least first thing in the am or last thing of the night, we wouldn't have to get dressed (more dressed than you would to open the slider at your house), bring her down wait for her to do her ritual poo poo dance which includes walking a bit then in a circle 37 times before finding the right spot.  As an added bonus - our building is 'dog friendly' but your dogs paws aren't allowed to touch the general public areas that are not outside.  Therefore, we have to carry her through halls, the elevator and the lobby.  I used to make fun of people that had dog strollers.  I now use Helaina's stroller to cart bebe down then she and Helaina switch places for the outside portion of their walk.  Laugh if you will but have you ever tried to herd a 1.5 year old, push a stroller, & hold a dog?

If our bank account ever feels too big, we like to bring bebe to the vet.  It's the quickest way to over correct any disposable income we may have had.  Bebe has had all the normal vet bills that most animal people have.  She also over achieves in this category and suffers from allergies, finicky eating and now cataracts.  This sweet thing is allergic to grass , among 45 other things, for heavens sake.  Isn't that a cruel joke?  

She starts off sleeping in her bed at night and then when you are mid REM sleep sometime around 2-4:30 am, she whines until we bring her up in the bed.  In all fairness, she used to sleep in the bed until we got pregnant with Helaina.  A hard transition, I am sure but that doesn't come to mind at that hour when you have to get up to pick her up and put her into bed.

She can destroy almost any toy within 1 day

So why have a pet?

If you are pet owner, you probably already know.  There is something so wonderful about the way they unconditionally love you.  Bebe doesn't care if we've said something wrong, wore an outfit that you really shouldn't have or if you have stinky breath.  They just want to be loved and are happy to be around you all the time.  You can spend an hour with her, leave to get the mail and when you come through the door, she is wagging her nub of a tail and will promptly go get the toy for you to throw.

My world that has changed so dramatically over the past 10 years, through 3 cities, 7 different homes, and extreme lifestyle differences.  Bebe has been there every step of the way, always just wanting to love me unconditionally.   She took to Chris immediately and isn't it true that dogs have a real insight for people.  She was so patient when she took the back burner (ok maybe even the fridge) when Chris and I were learning how take care of the newest member of our family that took all the time and patience that used to be reserved for her.  Her gentle nature with Helaina and her overall tolerance for her is amazing.    She doesn't even look at Helaina cross when I miss that her ears are being pulled or she is being saddled like a pony.

She is extremely sweet, filled with fun quirky habits (like sleeping way way down under the covers where anyone would find it hard to breathe) and I wouldn't trade her for anything.  Despite all the extra work and annoyances of owning a pet, they are far exceeded by her fun loving and spirited personality.

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.