Mele Kalikimaka

a moment I'll never forget

Gordy has been waking up way too much during the night lately.  Each time he wakes up, all he wants to do is nurse.  So, Todd and I have been trying to ween him.  Todd gets up with him the first wake up and turns on his mobile, gets him to calm and lay down and then rubs his back for a little while.  Then, I get up with him the second time (around 1am) and let him nurse.  More often than not, I fall asleep with him in his bed, so when he wakes up again, I'm right there.  He asks for milk, I say no and tell him he has to wait until morning, he gets mad and throws a mini tanti and then I threaten to put him in his crib, so he calms down pretty quickly.  That's when it happened - the moment.  We were laying side by side facing each other (noses a few inches apart) when he pushed his face forward towards mine.  I reached my face towards him and he rubbed his nose on my cheek.  Then I rubbed my nose all over his cheek and face and he closed his eyes and smiled.  We maybe did this for 5 minutes before he was over it, and those 5 minutes were some of the best of my life.  Being Gordy's mom is incredible.

go-dini

Usually when we put Gordy down for his nap or for bed, we get him into his crib, and then close the bedroom door so we don't disturb him.  However, two days ago, he fell asleep nursing on the bed and was so konked-out that I left him there and then closed door.  A few hours later, Todd and I were downstairs fixing a door when I heard Gordy yelling "mama!".  I heard him so clearly and from the opposite side of the house from his room that I was a little alarmed.  So, I ran upstairs to find him walking around the house looking for me - he had escaped his closed door!  Nothing is safe anymore.

18 months old

Gordy is officially 1.5 and is quite the little personality.  

He absolutely LOVES to color on the driveway with sidewalk chalk and will dig in his little dirt corner for as long as we'll let him.

He has gotten quite brave at the playgrounds and will hang from ropes and climb up ladders without any assist.

His list of animal noises has grown to include: cats, dogs, owls, elephants, goats, and wolves.  He has become quite the climber and will jump off the couch, steps, etc. into Todd's arms on command.  He helps take out the trash and will hang laundry on his own little clothes line.

His most recent new word is "wow!".  I decorated our Christmas tree last weekend with lights and a few ornaments and when I plugged in the lights, I said, "wow" to Gordy.  He said it back to me and now, every time we plug in the Christmas lights, he exclaims "wow!".  

He loves Christmas lights so much, that I took him to the Haleiwa Christmas parade just so he could see all the decorations.  He went berserk yelling and humming (which is his way of making a fire truck noise).   I was glad I had him restrained in the bike seat cuz I'm pretty sure I would have lost him to the floats.

cuppa

Every weekday morning, Gordy hops onto his stool in order to help us to make coffee.  His favorite part of the process is when we grind the coffee beans, but his second favorite part is getting to lick milk foam off our fingers.  So, he now has his own cup and he gets to have a cappuccino (milk foam) right along with us.

quite the artist

Gordy loves to color in his coloring box so much that I thought it might be a good idea to get him some sidewalk chalk.  And, ever since the chalk bucket arrived, our driveway (and fence, stone walkway, patio, garage floor, etc.) has been turned into a work of art.  

At least once per day, Gordy goes over to the chalk bucket (which is kept by the door), picks it up and comes to get us to take him outside so he can draw.  

He absolutely loves the chalk!  His favorite chalk colors are purple and blue and his favorite place to draw is the fence.  The neighbor kids even come over occasionally to add their handiwork to the canvas.

#3

Our 3rd aupair has come and gone - Melanie (or Meme as Gordy calls her).  She was an 18 year old German girl on her post high-school trip.  

And, while we don't have another nanny lined up, we are relatively happy to have a break from house guests.  "Tschuss" Meme!

"no more" daddy

Up until recently, Gordy has only been able to say single words - Mama, Dada, Nana, bee, yes, no, etc.  About a week ago, Gordy said his first two-word sentence:  "no more".  Todd was getting him with his homeless-man beard and Gordy had had enough, so I told him to say, "no more daddy" thinking that at best we'd get a "no" out of him.  To my surprise, he said, "no more".  Ever since, he pretty much says no more anytime Todd gets near him.

Mommy - Gogo Waialua Sundays

While Todd continues to spend his Sunday mornings at Waimea, Gordy and I occasionally skip out on the trip to spend our day closer to home.  We go for a nice long run, 

visit the animals down the road, 

stop by the playground, 

and go for a bike ride.

And, while the bay is one of the best places to be, our Waialua Sunday mornings are super special.

bye bye mullet

After a good long run of enjoying the baby mullet, it had to go.  So, one night while I had him in the bath, I grabbed the scissors and did my best to trim it off... such a bad idea.  He wiggled all over and I ended up cutting too much off in some places.  As all bad haircuts do, this one grew out and it became time for another trim.  This time, I called my mom for some help.  I distracted Gordy with videos of himself on the ipad, while his Nana took the scissors to him.  He definitely was not happy about the trim, but he wanted to watch the videos so badly that he tolerated the snipping without too many wiggles.  he looks so grown up with his new do!

the coloring box

I can't say for sure how it started, but at some point, a brown amazon box ended up on our deck and seems to have become a permanent fixture - the coloring box.  Gordy has a few crayons (or peices of crayons) that are kept on the table near the box and at least once per day, he goes out on the lanai, sits in his box, asks for one of us to get him his crayons, and proceeds to decorate his box.

It's getting challenging to find an empty square inch to color on, but Gordy loves the box so much that I don't have the heart to replace it.

17 months old

Yay, 17 months old!

Gogo is changing so quickly!  His vocabulary has grown to include words like: zebra, no more, school bus, bee, bad, and juice.  He loves most foods, but his recent favorites have been coconut water and meat, sushi, rice, broccoli, and apples.

He still loves to go for bike rides, walks and runs, but he'll do almost anything to get to go for a ride (up front) in the truck.  He asks at least once a day to swing in his swing.  He never misses an opportunity to race toys around the deck, and he'll even push me around on his elephant.

One of the funnier things he's started doing has been to yell out "BAD" whenever a loud motorbike or truck drives past our house.  He's become quite the artist - he must've gotten a creative gene from me because Todd is pretty sure that he doesn't have any in his body.

He had his first photo shoot for a kid's clothing company and he did a great job!  While his little girl partner cried the whole time, Gordy showed off his muscles, played ukulele, and did everything but smile for the camera.

He talks/babbles up a storm. He will attempt a shaka if asked.

His daddy taught him how to jump by bending his knees and throwing his arms in the air.  So far, Gordy's feet haven't actually left the ground, but he's pretty sure he's doing it just like daddy.  And, he's become such a little cuddle bug.

Happy Halloween

still loves the coconut

Gordy absolutely loves coconuts!  He loves them so much, that he's started bringing them to us when he wants one - which is quite an effort for such a little guy.

But, as far as he's concerned, the payoff is totally worth it!