Big boy laughter

Layne captured Daniel in a laughing mood the other day. She would throw a ball in the air (which explains the shaky camera work) and he would go crazy. He doesn't really follow things so well when they're moving that fast, so maybe he thinks the ball just disappears and reappears randomly. Whatever the reason, his laughter is pretty contagious. So if you're feeling a little down, bookmark this video and you'll perk right up!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today I turned the big 3-1. Whoopity-do. (: For my birthday, Layne and I tried out this awesome new burger place called The Counter. One of its owners is Daniel Dae Kim from Lost, but we didn't see him there today. At the restaurant, we picked the kind of burger we wanted, along with all the toppings--cheese, sauce, extras, etc. I picked a veggie burger with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, roasted red peppers, lettuce, and hard-boiled egg, with roasted garlic aioli sauce, on a honey wheat bun. Oh my goodness, it was so delicious! Layne got a 1/3 pound burger with cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, dill pickle, and pepperoncinis, on a regular bun with roasted garlic aioli sauce. She declared it the best burger she's ever had! We shared sweet potato fries and onion strings. Poor Daniel had milk and steamed zucchini.




Layne, Alex and I celebrated my birthday early with a fancy dinner at Alan Wong's about a week and a half ago (big thanks to Julie S. for babysitting the little man). Here's my dessert from that night:

Fun in the exersaucer

Daniel loves bouncing around in his exersaucer! He likes to pull on all the toys and hit all the buttons to make the most noise that he can. He also loves chewing on anything that he can get his mouth around. I'm sure the toys are caked in drool, but that's all right!

The exersaucer also has an unadvertised bonus function--let's just say that if Dan is feeling a little stopped up and we need to jar something loose, 15 minutes of bouncing around in this thing does the trick. Good thing the seat cover is washable because it has seen its share of bodily fluids. TMI?

My little veggie-lover

We've been trying to introduce Daniel to a lot of different vegetables so he won't be a picky eater. So far, he's enjoyed everything I've put in front of him--peas, asparagus, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and zucchini. I think his favorite so far is the zucchini (see video below). On the non-veggie side, he's had sweet potatoes, brown rice cereal, bananas, and poi. I think the rice cereal is too bland for him, so I have to mix it with other flavors so he'll eat it. He's a champion eater, just like his mom and dad, but I'm hoping he won't have as much of a sweet tooth as I do.

Loving the zukes:

More play time

That's all this kid does--play, play, play. Must be nice! When I'm done with the Navy in a couple of months, I'll get to play all day long too. But for now, Layne gets to have all the fun. But I put her to work making supper as soon as I get home. Right now, she's working on veggie frittatas. Yummy!

Anyway, here's the Dan Man, chilling in his room:

Afternoon play time

Layne managed to get some good shots of the little man when he wasn't in constant motion--rolling around everywhere or kicking his vibrating chair toys. Daniel seems like he's always on the go, even though he doesn't actually go anywhere. Yet. Today, he rolled over onto his stomach, then burrowed his head into the ground while bending his knees, so he kind of scoots his face along the ground. I guess when he gets tired of rugburn on his face, he'll get his arms involved in the process. It's only a matter of time before he's crawling everywhere.....

I'm 7 months old and I'm a Mac

Get this baby his own commercial! Daniel was a very good helper for Layne's boyfriend, Alex, when he was messing around on the computer. He'll be ordering toys online in no time!

Roll, Baby, Roll

Dan's been able to roll for quite awhile but he's been pretty lazy about actually doing it. His usual strategy is to roll from back to front, then whine and wait for someone to turn him back over. But I think he's finally getting the hang of rolling back and forth, back and forth.

I want to rig a hidden camera over his crib to see how he gets himself into some of the positions that I find him in when he wakes up. I'll put him down on his back with his head at one end and then like 15 minutes later, I'll check on him and somehow his head is all the way at the other end. What a goober!

Rolling fool:

Toy taste test

We've all witnessed Daniel's fondness for my iPhone case, but I've been trying to find something else that he'll like just as much. Aunt Jean sent two possible contenders, so today I did a blind taste test to see which one Dan would pick:

Daniel's first luau

Yesterday, we headed up to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the dinner and luau. Layne, Alex, and our visitors from Iowa went up earlier in the day to take in all the activities and shows that PCC has to offer. I knew that the baby wouldn't do so well if we stayed up there the whole day so we just joined them for the nighttime festivities. We had a great time, watching hula dancers and fire-throwing guys and eating a delicious buffet of Hawaiian specialties, including poke, kahlua pig, lomi lomi salmon, and pineapple. Daniel even tried his first poi (not a big fan).

Of course, I had to dress him in his finest luau attire (the shorts were too small and the shirt barely buttoned, but it still looks good):

Road trip without Mommy

Yesterday, Layne, Alex, and Dan took a trip to Haleiwa on the North Shore. He was a good boy on the way up, napping in his car seat, and a good boy at lunch, but decided to scream his head off the whole way back. Kind of glad I missed out on that trip! They stopped at Chinaman's Hat for a photo shoot and they ordered shave ice (which is as big as Daniel's sizable noggin). Too cute!




Today was not Daniel's best day. He spent the day at the Child Development Center (day care on base). Because Zach's deployed, we get 10 free hours of child care each month. So Daniel spent the day there and I think it just threw him off his routine. He only took two naps, for a total of an hour. Hopefully he'll get back on track tomorrow. I'm home on leave for two days so we can spend some time with my aunt and uncle and cousins who are visiting from Iowa. Polynesian Cultural Center tomorrow, then Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay on Thursday. So much for getting the little buddy back on track....

Rainy Day

Yesterday was cold and dark and dreary. Well, for Hawaii, anyway, which means that it was probably about 65 degrees. But it did rain off and on all day and not just a little sprinkle here and there. So we had a quiet day of staying inside, but we did manage to run a few errands in between the rain bursts.

It seemed pretty chilly to me, so I dressed Daniel like it was December in Buffalo! I just love this hand-knit sweater paired with his white pants that look like male gymnast pants to me. Too cute!




As you can see, he loves to eat my iPhone case. I think he just likes the chewy goodness of the rubber. I'm thinking about getting him some doggie chew toys if I can't find rubbery baby ones. (And I'm only half kidding!)

Today looks like it'll be much more pleasant, which is good because Alex, Layne's boyfriend, is here for spring break. And my Uncle John, Aunt Kay, and cousins Kayley and Jenna are here for a week as well. They're down in Waikiki because our house isn't big enough for all those guests at once! We have some plans with them during the week, so I'm taking Wednesday and Thursday off. Hope it's warm in your neck of the woods....

Pics from my phone

Here are a few random pictures from my iPhone. I always forget my camera when we go to the doctor's so it's a good thing my phone has a camera for the all-important scale picture.

Last night, Daniel just didn't want to stay asleep, so I brought him up to my bed around 0415. He slept for another couple of hours and then I decided to make the bed with him in it. I used to love that as a kid--my mom or dad making the bed around me and then trying to pound out the lump (me) to make it smooth. He's a little too young to play along, but he still looks pretty cute with just his little noggin sticking out.

Funny expressions

This morning, Dan had his six-month appointment. Perfect little buddy, according to the doctor, which is just what I expected. He's 27 inches long and weighs 17 pounds 15 ounces, so I think he's becoming a little more normal in the weight department. He did manage to spray the scale with pee, so that was a nice little surprise for the nurse. Ooooops!

Layne took some great pictures today--enjoy! I know at least one person was looking forward to a pants-on-the-head shot......







OMG, I'm ROFL, GTG:

Scrunched-up pal

I was messing around on the computer with Dan in my lap and somehow he ended up pretty squished. His poor little feet were turning purple! But he looked really cute so we took some pictures before we stretched him out again to actual size (you know what I'm talking about, Jean!).

In case you haven't heard....

We're moving to North Carolina! Not our first choice (long story), but we'll make the most of it. The big positive is that we will be within a road trip of many friends and family members. Zach will be an instructor at HMT-302, the squadron at Marine Corps Air Station New River that teaches people how to fly the CH-53E helicopter. Which means that Zach will have to learn how to fly the CH-53E, since now he flies the 53D. Confused yet? Me, too! For now, I'm going to stay home with the baby. I don't know if you've heard, but the economy isn't really friendly to job-seekers right now, so maybe that's a sign that I need to take some time off. (:

Zach should be home in the end of July, so we'll have about a month in Hawaii to sort things out before we head east at the beginning of September. After six years here for me (and seven for Zach), we're looking forward to new opportunities! If you kept saying that you were going to come to Hawaii, now's the time to start planning your trip to North Carolina. We'll only be there for three years, so the clock is ticking!

15 minutes of sunshine

Yesterday and today have been uncharacteristically dreary and overcast. So when the sun decided to make an appearance late this morning, Layne, Daniel, and I hustled out to the pool. Well, hustled is probably the wrong word. We hurried as fast as we could when you consider that I had to find a swimsuit for me, a swimming diaper and trunks for Dan, get us both dressed, blow up his crazy pool floating contraption, and then get out the door. Amazingly, there was still daylight when we finally hit the pool. Both the big pool and the kiddie pool were freezing, so we floated around in the hot tub area. It wasn't very hot, so don't think that I was trying to boil the little man. It was pretty much lukewarm, like the pool is supposed to be when the weather is warm in the summer.

Daniel seemed to enjoy the water, except when I accidentally shoved his whole face in. Even then, he recovered quickly and resumed splashing and kicking. I'm very ready for the weather to really warm up (I know, I know, it is warm here, especially compared to places like Buffalo) so we can take Dan to the beach and let him play in the sand and surf.







We tried to give him a faux-hawk: