hil-ar-i-ous!

Ok, my friend Mari had this link on her blog...and I was literally in tears laughing my lil' butt off. It's a blog of funny signs and such from foreign countries with some unconventional English wording. Having lived in Japan...I can say that these things actually exist. Quite often. And it's funny. Seriously, it's hilarious. Check it out.

www.engrish.com

(another) day at the zoo

Ok, we really need to find some more activities! Just kidding...for some reason, kids sure do love seeing animals! Anna could go to the zoo everyday, and not complain. She loves the zoo! Today, we went with her cousins Hugo and Aya (and baby Kash, Luke & Jolee, too of course.)

Um...totally random observation, but have you ever seen adults without kids walking around the zoo solo? We see them quite often! And I always wonder...they sure must love animals to come to the zoo all by themselves! Hmm-definitely something I wouldn't find myself doing, that's for sure!

Anyway, in case you're wondering why I always have Jolee in the carrier...this is why:Jolee can't stand her carseat. Absolutely detests it. She rarely falls asleep in it, and even when she does, it usually doesn't last long because she wakes right back up. She used to enjoy it much more-but beginning about a month ago, she no longer has any tolerance for it. It's probably because she knows no one is holding her. Even if the car is moving, or I put her in the stroller...it's a no-go. She always wants to be carried. I should take a picture of Kela and Anna in the car when Jolee is crying. They usually both have their hands covering their ears to muffle the sound of Jolee's wailing. I suppose it's not only the carseat...she simply always wants to be carried.

Who ever said baby #3 is usually the easiest?! Liars, I tell you! LIARS! I feel like I've been duped! Seriously, all things point to "no more kids!"

Just kidding...(sort of).

And after we came home from the zoo, I found Jolee like this. I think Kela gave her the ducky blanket to keep her from crying. Funny thing is, it actually worked! Even if it was only for about 10 minutes...which in Jolee time, is fast approaching a record!

i give up!

It's my own fault, really...mostly, it's because I'm lazy & it takes so much effort to prepare a bottle for Jolee. On our trip to Seattle, I didn't take a bottle with me. In the back of my mind, I knew it would happen. Jolee no longer has any interest in drinking from the bottle. What's weird is the day after we came home, she drank the bottle ok. Then probably because of my inconsistency and laziness-a few days later when I tried-it was a no-go. This afternoon, I tried (unsuccessfully) to feed the bottle to her for probably 2 hours. All the while, she's screaming and fighting it, mind you! Our poor neighbors probably thought I was torturing the child! Anyway, I GIVE UP!

In between my "force-feeding" bouts, Jolee seemed so happy...I took a few pictures of her smiling. How could she look so dang cute one minute and the moment I put the bottle to her mouth she wails as though I'm poking her with some medieval torture device or something?! (wailing face not pictured)

Anyway, I'm done fighting it. It's not like this is anything new...both Kela and Anna also never took to the bottle. I was just hoping this time around, I'd get a bit more of a break than 2-3 hours in between feedings. *sigh* oh well...freedom is overrated.

anna's balloon kick

Like I said in my previous post, we went to the mall and the girls got balloons. What is it about balloons that kids love so much? I have no idea...but I, personally, have yet to meet a child not mesmerized by the air-filled, latex ball of pure annoyance.

Anyway, here's a short clip of Anna. They started trying to throw up the balloon and kick it like a ball. Anna actually has one mean kick in her...I forsee future Saturdays filled with hot sun, rediculous post-game luau's and screaming soccer moms & dads ahead.

This video was the second take. The first time she did this was actually much funnier...she threw up the balloon so high, she "air-kicked" 3 times before the balloon even came down close to her. Then, seeing us with the camera, Kela has to jump in her her own silly rendition-such a ham she is!

2 months old!

Our little JoJo turned 2 months old this past Friday, the 19th. Wow, how fast time flies! Although...at times, I wish she'd hurry up and start sitting up by herself and crawling to relieve my tired arms from carrying her. (Bad mommy moment).

Anyway, we had her 2 month check up at the dr.'s office and here's her stats ('cause I know you want to know!) She's 11 lbs. 14 oz. and 22 3/4 inches tall. Supposedly ranking around the 84% & 79% respectively. However, at 37.5 cm, her head is only in the 15%. Do kids here in Hawaii have large heads? Or is my baby strangely lop-sided?...Can you tell? I think she just has the case of the "Seavey small-headedness syndrome" Oh well, what can you do, right?

And, I couldn't get a great pic of Jolee this month...she's going through a growth spurt or something (obviously, did you see her weight?) 'cause all she does is sleep.

Although today was Saturday, we braved the mall to get a few errands run. Today, there was some special event going on where companies held different themed booths for the keiki (kids). They had the "mad scientist" presentation, balloons, gymnastics, hula, etc. We visited the balloons (don't all kids like balloons?) and a booth making Kids I.D cards. On the back is their thumb prints and of course, their pic on the front. A good thing to have, I must say.

some extra pics

Many of these are repeats from the digi pages I scrapped below, but there are a few others I've thrown in. If you got the time and wanna take a look...be my guest!

just the highlights, please!

Last week, we went to Seattle for a very short little trip to visit my family out there. We were there for just under a week...although one would think we were there for much longer because I took waaaaay too many pictures while there.

So, since most of the pictures and events are probably only interesting to me...I'll try to be as concise as possible in my writing so as not to not bore you loyal readers out there to death.

There are, however tons of pics to show, so bear with me!

Here we are at the airport and on the plane. We had a short layover in Maui before flying out to Seattle, so Kela and Anna killed time by making funny faces and "sliding" down the tall bench sitting area by the gate windows. Anna insisted on carrying her back pack around which housed the only toys we allowed them to bring on the trip. I though she looked just too darn cute with it on. And, for the record, the girls did WONDERFULLY on all the flights. They behaved, never cried, and rarely fussed. They napped (lucky us got an entire row both there and back!), watched their videos, ate their food ('cause Hawaiian still feeds their passengers!), and were all around very pleasant. Even Jolee slept the entire way there and back-her very first time on a plane! Horray for more travel possibilities in the future!! :)

This was Ojichan (my dad, "Grandpa")'s first time meeting Jolee. She took to him quite nicely!

And of course, Obachan (my mom, "Obachan") with the girls. Everyone loves Obachan!

The best thing about Seattle is that my brother Makoto has 3 little girls. Kela and Anna LOVE to spend time with their cousins and miss them so much already! My sister, Elika and her family also happened to be there, too! Good fun for Kela and Anna...so many cousins to play with, even in Seattle!

Probably one of the main reasons why we flew out to Seattle is that my parents are getting ready to sell their house. It's an empty nest now...so we spend quite a bit of time painting and prepping the house for the market. Any takers??

Oh, and see the sploch of paint on JoJo's head? Um, that's supposedly after Mitch washed up...

My favorite meal there was our Sushi Party. Courtesy of our very own personal itamae, my brother, Makoto. Salmon, Natto, Kappa, California & Spicy Tuna Roll. Thanks Makoto! It was just soooo good!Then, after dinner, we picked some plums off my Dad's plum tree in the back yard. The kids each got their own basket & collected the plums that Ojichan picked. Yum Yum!

While we were there, Jolee got pretty good at smiling on cue. Of course, it could have been the taste of the popsicle I gave her...

She sure is getting so big!

So great that I got to see my good friend (and fellow blogger!) Rachel and her two cute little girls. We ate lunch at Anthony's down by the marina in Edmonds. Oh, the food was so good! And by the way, the weather in Seattle was PERFECT the entire time we were there! As you can probably tell by these pictures. Yummy lunch and great company! Thanks, Rach!
What's so great about Anthony's is they have little sand boxes for kids to play in, right next to the outside dining area! So, before and after lunch, Kela and Anna got to play with the sand toys with little Lucy while Rach and I chatted & "caugh up." How great is that?! Genious!


And one person that I never leave Seattle without visiting is my good friend Carrie. We've been friends FOR-EVER! She is my oldest and probably closest friend from childhood. What's so great is that her daugher, Amy, is super close in age to Kela...although you wouldn't know it by how TALL she is! Sheesh, Kela looks like a midgit next to her! Oh well.

And, they recently got some chickens!! The girls had tons of fun feeding the hens and chasing them around the yard. Hopefully, they aren't permanently damaged from the trauma of being chased around by 4 little girls!!

I miss you, Carrie!

This is at Silverlake Park on the outskirts of Mill Creek ( I think...). Beautiful lakeside park with the biggest playground ever! Better than anything we have here in Hawaii! We seriously need to do something about the parks here in Hawaii!!! Anyone want to start a petition?

Anyway, so, so, many more good times and memories with the family and friends... The week flew by so quickly! And even though Mitch wasn't there for the entire week (he had to fly home for work, then flew back out to help me on the plane ride home. The benefits of free travel!!), I got to do almost everything I had planned to do. I even made my rounds to the all-important stops of Target, Nordstrom Rack and even IKEA. I did miss seeing a couple of friends...but there's always Christmas time!