Off We Go Again

It seems like we've barely been in Hilo that long and now we're taking off for Seattle again.  This week we'll be getting back on the plane for Allen's cousins wedding reception in Canada and to make it easier we're just gonna fly into Seattle and make a trip of it all.  Our days are filling up already with seeing old friends, visiting Faye's daycare, etc.  Esme keeps talking about how excited she is to see her old friends which is cute.  The thought of containing Chan on an airplane for 5 hours is not fun though.  That kid loves to move!  As soon as he sees an opportunity he goes for it.  Open door - he's there, puddle - he's in it, glass object - he throws it.  Boys!  He's been waking up early this week and we're still blaming his molars for that.  We try to distract him while Esme sleeps but when he slips away from us he goes straight for her room and calls her name to wake her up, "Meeeeemeeeee, Meeeemeeeee!"  So cute!

Chan had his 15 month physical last week and gained a pound but hasn't changed in weight.  He was 31" which is 41% for height and 23.4# which is 57% for weight.  Strangely his body shape seems to be leaning out but he hasn't grown at all.  He's probably saving it up to do a nice big growth spurt all at once :)  He also got 3 shots at this visit which he wasn't happy about.  Truth is that he started crying much earlier than that though.  He's the kid that's afraid of the white paper on the table and anybody that comes in the room.  Poor guy!

Esme continues meeting with her Mandarin tutor once a week and playdates with her friend Chanoe once in awhile.  It'll be interesting to see what Faye has to say about her language skills when we visit her next week.  Hopefully she hasn't lost too much.  Esme's really excited to start her new preschool Keikiland next month, after our trip.  She has at least one friend there now and since it's such a small town we're finding more and more kids that go there.

This is just proof that his hair is coming in :)

Hangin with cousin Tosh

The underwear gang

Chan loves wearing other people's shoes lately, especially Mimi's

Esme helping Nana wash the boys

Too cool!

Here comes Chan!

For some reason he loves to do this and dance :)

We Made It Through Our First Hurricane

We made it through Hurricane Iselle and Julio without a scratch thankfully!  We had to scramble to get all stocked again since we got rid of so much stuff prior to our move from WA and Esme was a trooper while going in and out of stores with me and braving the crowds.  We did our best to explain to her what was going on and she was very concerned.  Chan could also tell that something strange was happening and he seemed very clingy this past weekend.  Iselle hit us overnight and just brought some heavy winds and rain.  It didn't even wake the kids up.  Our neighbors yard was full of water the next morning but ours was fine.  And by the end of the day the water all drained away.  The rivers were going full force in Hilo though.

Our neighbors yard the morning following Iselle

The water drained by the afternoon though

Rainbow Falls the morning after Iselle

Rainbow Falls 24 hours after the above pic

Stroller ride after the storm

Chan started saying apple, Dodge, bubble, woah, Toshie, Mia and other new words that I can't think of this week.  He continues to pick up words at an amazing pace!  "Mines" is a common word as him and Esme sometimes fight over toys.  Ugh!  He's also had some low grade fevers and loose poops so I'm thinking his molars are really taking their toll on him.   

Batman!

Happy Birthday cousin Charlie!

Both of our kids and their "beela's" (=blanket)

Chan's escaping with his beela

Testing out Esme's doll stroller

  

Taking A Break

I just realized it's been quite awhile since I updated the blog!  Of course we've been busy enjoying the nice weather and summer time with cousins and family.  Chan started at his new sitter, Aunty Monica, about 2 weeks ago.  She lives just one street above us and only has one other child with her.  It's a nice set up and he seems to like playing there.  He's still a great eater and continues to eat EVERYTHING that we're eating and gets really upset if we don't share.  He also likes feeding himself the best which makes for a very messy dining area.  Ugh!  In the past 2 weeks he's gotten 3 of his molars but still hasn't gotten any of his canine teeth.  Strangely these teeth don't seem to bother him like the others did.  He's actually sleeping through the night this time!!!  Allen and I don't know what to do with ourselves ;)  New words come out of his mouth all the time now.  Chan loves to mimic and talk to us and his sister.

Esme is getting ready to start her new pre-school this week.  She's VERY excited to get back into school and have her own little life away from home.  I swear she's growing so much more since we moved to Hawaii.  There must be something in the sun and the water ;)  Her clothes keep getting shorter and tighter so it's time to overhaul her dresser again.  We've had some nice mommy-daughter time since Chan started at the sitter and it's been a nice change.  She was having a hard time adjusting to being home with me and Chan when we moved here that she seemed to be regressing a little bit.

We took a short trip to Oahu a few weekends ago for baby Micah's birthday party.  It was nice to get on such a short plane ride instead of the long ones we used to always have to take from Seattle.  Esme enjoyed staying with the Wada's, visiting Sea Life Park, and driving in the rental car.  Chan loved the taiko drummers at the birthday party!

Cousins in wagons

Hanging out with Jacob in Oahu

Family photo at the birthday party

Chan LOVED the taiko drummers

Here he is practicing!

Selfie on the plane ride home

Daily adventure after the rain storm

Roaring water falls with cousin Charlie

Esme's been putting Chan to work

Stroller rides with cousin Tosh

Home Depot kids workshop

Making a pencil holder

Chan LOVED the car ride instead

Liliuokalani Park in the afternoon

Siblings on rocks

Cousins in a tree

Selfies at the park

Chan Man!

So much to explore!