Monaloca

The girls and I had a play group outing to Totland the other day. Nalani was thrilled to be able to join the fun, and has moved far beyond swings and sand when visiting the park!

(If you watch closely you’ll catch Melina’s cameo.)

No Comments »

My trailblazing stepson turned eight last week. I say trailblazing because as the oldest child in our house he truly is blazing the trail for his younger sisters. Kai being the high-energy, highly-interactive, and dare I say high-maintenance kid that he is, so far he’s cleared a wide path for his siblings to follow. He keeps us on our toes, and also keeps giving us new occasion to look for fun activities that entertain us all.

For his party celebration Kai chose to take his friends to one of my own favorite kid-friendly East Bay spots: Fenton’s Ice Creamery. His party reminded me a little of one of my own childhood birthdays at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor. It was Kai’s first drop-off party, so his four parents had watch our own four kids plus seven of Kai’s friends.

Kai, Mr. Social, did a fantastic job hosting and helping us keep the party moving, not to mention making sure all his guests had as great a time as he did. Hooray for Kai, and here’s to a great year!

No Comments »

Last night, Nalani climbed our short flight of stairs between the family room and kitchen in a matter of 60 seconds. Both Joey’s and my backs were turned. She’d never come close to climbing them before so I was shocked when I turned around while doing dishes and there she was!

No Comments »

Move. When I picked up Melina from preschool today I overheard her bragging to her classmates: “My baby stands up all by herself!” And it’s true: Just this past weekend Nalani figured out how to let go and stand upright – proud, surprised smile on her face – for up to 10 seconds. (Yes, I’ve counted!)

She’s also quite adept at walking while pushing her little walking toy from Grandma and Grandpa. Or pushing anything else that’s the right height and will move – the kitchen barstools and her toddler play table, to name two. She is cruising everywhere, moves easily between pieces of furniture while standing, and has gotten quite fast. Any bets on when she starts walking?

Play. Our little buckaroo is fast becoming a toddler. Melina is excited for the day she graduates to the Waddler room at daycare because then she gets a cubby. Already, big sis is enjoying spending more active playtime with little sis, though tea parties usually end with Nalani sitting in the middle next the the tea pot, gumming a saucer.

For her part, Nalani loves blocks, her play kitchen, big wooden puzzle pieces, and yes, the wooden crate full of teacups and saucers. She loves swinging at the park and pulling toys off the shelves (and kleenex from the box) in her sister’s room at home. She also loves books, sometimes for crumpling but sometimes for looking at the pictures and hearing the stories. Today I caught her lifting the flap on one of the pages of a board book we read often. I think she’s catching on!

Drink. Turns out our little girl was water deprived for months. I bought her not one but two of her very own sippy cups before Christmas. She never took to either, and would only drink little sips from a big-girl cup. Finally, just a few weeks ago, Joey and I decided she needed to be better hydrated so filled a baby bottle with water. She gulped down four ounces in a single sitting, perhaps even a single breath. Since that day she motions for water all the time, and has even taken to one of Melina’s old sippy cups. But she still doesn’t like the ones bought especially for her.

Breath + Babble. Our poor monkey still has the same chest congestion and cough she’s had since three months. Her regular doc, a pulmonary specialist, and an osteopath have all had little luck clearing it up and it appears simply to be one cold on top of another, for eight months straight. At this point her daycare teacher seems to have the most logical anecdote: Just give it time. Nalani won’t know what to do the day she’s finally congestion-free!

Nalani continues to babble up a storm and seems to be trying to say things. The most recognizable is “hi da” around dada (but sometimes around mama, too). She also does a giddy banana dance for her favorite food and waves to people as they’re coming and going. Best of all, our baby is full of smiles and overall is one super content little girl. Here’s to hoping it keeps up through toddlerhood!

No Comments »