Hilo Has Been Soooooooooo Hot!

Esme's been having a hard time getting ready for school in the morning for the past few weeks.  We've speculated on all the possible factors that could be making it worse and in the end we think it's all just behavioral.  We started a reward program for if she does well in the morning and it seems to be working.  We're just ready for this phase to be done with ;)  She loves being at Keikiland though.  They do a lot of hands on activities and outdoor play.

Chan's also still teething and waking up early in the morning.  That last molar is just teasing him and right under the skin but won't break through.  We give him meds off and on to help with the discomfort and it seems to take the edge off.  He had a bad case of heat rash last week that's finally healed.  He was covered head to toe with the heat rash but it was also breaking down his skin on the side of his chest and on his back so he had these sores.  It was the strangest thing.  We tried all sorts of treatments and in the end the best one was a trip to Onekahakaha beach park for some saltwater on his skin.  That night his skin was already drying up and in the morning all the redness was gone.

Chan's been so tired from waking early that he falls asleep randomly

Good morning siblings!

Nana watched all the grandkids and us "kids" got to go to the Hoolaulea

Fun at the downtown Hilo Hoolaulea

Mmmmm...a full bucket of lilikoi.  Goes great in our morning smoothies.

Chan at the beach

Onekahakaha Beach Park

Lucky we live Hawaii.  A scenic pic on mommy's drive during work.

More, More, More Family!

Our Hawaii family just grew by 4 more!  Aunty B, Uncle Josh and cousins Makena and Capri moved back home last week!  Now the family is complete!  And the get togethers are huge!  Esme's loving having the girls around but Chan's still warming up to everyone.  He's already saying Aunty B though which is a start.

The kids got to see their first paniolo parade this past weekend in Waimea.  Chan slept through most of it and when he woke up he had major heat rash that's still there today.  It's slowly fading but he also has a diaper rash so the kid looks like a mess.

Welcome cousins!

Esme insisted on wearing her bathing suit that day.

Cousin Mahina is too cool!

Front row seats.

It was so hot that Allen was so excited for the rain that came later!

Back To A New Normal

We're slowly but surely developing our daily/weekly routine now that Esme's in pre-school again and mommy started work.  The biggest transition for Esme is having to get up a little earlier and out the door with dad since her school is closer to his work.  Luckily her bed time has always been an early one so that helps.  And mommy's new job is a lot more flexible as far as hours go so she gets home earlier too.  Chan is still at Aunty Monica's during the day and he gets dropped off on mommy's way to work since it's just right up the street from our house.

I'm not sure on the last update on Chan's talking but he comes up with new words all the time - ice, arrow, all pau, help, bubbles, moon, piko, smoothie, poop, pee pee, and many more.  He loves showing off his body parts when you ask him where they are.  He also has this habit of putting his face right in front of yours if he's near you and you're not paying attention to him.  Recently he's been having trouble sleeping and we're pretty sure his teeth are bothering him.  He still needs to get his last molar and all 4 canines.  We're hoping they all come in at the same time cause it's hard on everyone when he doesn't sleep well.

Esme getting ready for her first day of school

Another first Saturday kids workshop at Home Depot

Hangin on the tractors after the workshop

Chan caught a ride from cousin Tosh

Chan trying to eat the jabong at the moon festival

Chan riding Chico at Nana's house

Esme made edible hand cookies at school

Playing on the toys at the mall

She already loves shoe shopping!

And We're Back!

Wow how time flies!  We made it to Seattle and back in one piece and we had a lot of fun along the way.  We arrived into Seattle late one evening and stayed the night at the Patoc residence. Esme was so excited to see her friend Addy that she even wanted to wake her up that night.  I convinced her that that wasn't a good idea but the next morning before Addy went to school she snuck into Esme's room.  Esme was very jet lagged but I gently woke her up and told her Addy was there and she just about jumped out of her bed with a smile on :)  They were so happy to be reunited again!  They got in a little playtime before we hopped in the car and drove all the way to Canada.

The airplane set up - Chan napped inbetween us and we brought extra blankets to make a bed on the floor for Esme.  She's under the pink blanket down there...

Addy & Esme reunited again!

A quick stop at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant before hitting the road.

Unfortunately we still caught the Friday afternoon traffic on I5 and it was a longer drive than we wanted it to be.  The kids had obviously forgotten what long car rides were like and they weren't always the happiest about being strapped in for so long.  Once we got there though it was nice to get set up in a little cottage with Allen's sisters family.  Esme and her cousin Kai were so happy to see each other again too!  The weekend was a whirlwind of family get togethers, lunches, and of course the wedding reception that we travelled there for.  Apparently we were the family that travelled the furthest too!  Way to go!

The Shih cousins, Kai, Chan and Esme

Chan was so happy to be out of his carseat!

A makeshift playpen at a Canadian Starbucks.

Family photo opp!

Hanging out with second cousin Ollie who's just a month younger than Chan

The backyard reception was well equiped for kids

Selfies with the kids

The bride and groom in the backyard

Celebrating Uncle Yo-yo's birthday before we left Canada

We spent the weekend in Canada and then headed back down to Seattle again.  Yes, it was a lot of driving!  Esme had this knack for always having to go potty right as we're going through the border crossing which was a challenge for Allen and I.  Luckily Allen is a fast runner and got her in and out fast!  We stayed at Aunty LeAnne and Uncle Rex's house in Seattle and were lucky enough to catch them for less than a day before they took off on their own adventure.  

Esme and Chan got a special treat and were able to attend their old daycare for a few days.  Ms Faye was so happy to see them that she was crying on the first day.  Unfortunately Chan didn't remember them very well but Esme couldn't stop talking about her best friend Juna until we got there.  During those evenings we had dinner with friends we missed since we left WA and then Allen and Chan had to leave early so Allen could get back to work.

A quick visit with baby Nora before they took off for the week

Ms Faye missed her Esme!

Esme was so excited to see Juna again!

We visited their favorite old neighborhood park after school

Dressing up with Natalie

A picnic at the Mitchell's house

Mommy got to meet up with old co-workers.  Miss these girls!

Playdate with cousin Tabby at Carkeek Park

Mapping out the Puget Sound together

WA beaches are soooooo cold!

Esme chose the glasses and headband while shopping with mom

We had a playdate with our old neighbors Sydney and Simon

Esme and I stayed a few days to play some more and visit with other friends.  We ended up back at Addy's house so the girls could have sleepovers, playdates, and lots more fun together before we left again.

Extra playtime with Addy

A visit to the Cougar Mountain Zoo, perfect for little ones

The Shih and Patoc girls

Out to lunch with Addy and their baby leopards

By the end of the trip Esme was very ready to get back home.  She missed her Nana and cousins and just normalcy and routine.  Unfortunately we got stuck in the airport for an entire day and ended up having to fly the next day.  This made for some fussy travellers between the two of us but thanfully we're back home now.  Esme started her new preschool Keikiland the day after we got back and I started my new job so it was a busy first week of September!  More later...

Esme was so excited to go home in the morning

But then we had to camp out in the airport for 9 hours

I was so tired that I begged them for a wheelchair to help get Esme out of the airport

Esme was excited for her Frozen t-shirt I had to buy her to sleep in the hotel while we waited for our flight the next day