With Bells On

Aolani's First Christmas

Better late than never, but it's not too late since Epiphany was yesterday ;)

Last week, we finally celebrated the Holy Day with both families.

First, the Olivers --

Kylie, our niece, helped Grandma pass out the presents.

What could be better than books?!

Kylie assembling Aolani's new stacking rings.

The "push" toy

Kylie's new rocking ride

When Aolani goes missing, look in the trash...

Now, the DiMartinos --

Her first baby doll from her great grands

When she walks, she will pull this hen behind her, and it will leave eggs in its wake.

Wooden bead maze

We dubbed this bouncy, blow-up steed, Dominick (the Italian Christmas Donkey).

Jingle While You Work

Our neighbor hand-made blocks for Aolani - one for each letter of her full name (24 of 'em!). Opposite sides contain the letter of the alphabet, the number of that letter in the alphabet, and a picture of a noun beginning with that letter (see the Zebra block to the right). And, there is a bell inside each one that jingles! So cute! Anyway, I had just dumped all 24 on her and gave her the task of making as many words as possible with the blocks ;)

Boxes and Veggies and Games - Oh My!

• Ricky brought something home to us, and we don't know what. It wasn't a big, bad sickness, albeit one terrible day for me last week. Congestion is left in the wake (Aolani still blows really cute snot bubbles ;)
• First food: sweet potato. Second food: avocado. Reaction: doesn't get it. She spits it everywhere while making fart noises and thinks she is gagging every time any gets in her mouth. She's even cried some during the ordeal! I tell her that there is no rush to learning to eat real food ;) [Some must have gotten swallowed as her poop stinks now!]

We just mixed some real food with water.

• NFL started this past weekend. To usher the season in, I have joined my first fantasy league (a small family business)!
• Aolani is really growing - she cooked dinner for us last week!

• We put her the hardwood floor and watched her slide herself backwards across the room :)
• Daddy rocking her box-boat:

• The verse I want to memorize this week and add to our repertoire: Psalm 118:8 ~ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. Please join me in infusing the ordinary with the extraordinary!

You Would Think There's A Monster...

... or maybe I look like one ;)

You might think something is wrong as it sounds like she is in a great deal of pain, but Aolani often smiles while she does this.



Notes:

• Babies. Paper. Don't mix. I had to veto the playing with paper today. Gave her some. She chewed. Got too wet. Tore off chunk in her mouth. Mommy started to freak. Rammed my fingers in her mouth to save the day. Screams. Tears. Trauma. Yeah, don't mix.
• We have tried to play peek-a-boo often before, and she never really caught on. Until this week. LOVES it.
• Yesterday morning, Ricky discovered Aolani propped up on her arms. On her belly. Apparently, she can now roll over from her back to her belly. I have yet to witness it happening :(
  
  

I just like her expression here.

Choco-Taco

And this is Mommy's nickname for Aolani! It's probably pretty obvious that we love chocolate, especially the dark, organic kind :)

Here's a few random (and not-too-important) 5-month comments:

1. Continues to workout her windpipes, making some very interesting noises -- like her cheerful "I'm being ripped apart" screams and "fart" sounds (she is so loud now that you can't hear me when I speak at the same time)
2. Cries when you take away the toy she is playing with
3. Keeps trying to sit up on her own and is almost halfway there
4. Grabs her feet to rock and play, but I don't think she realizes what they are or knows that they belong to her
5. Her hair is starting to grow -- however, the progress isn't noticeable to anyone except her mommy
6. Favorite toys: my water bottle, paper, burp cloth and wristwatch (seriously, toys are so overrated! Babies do not need noisy, plastic things to "grow" and "develop." All they need are parents to interact with them! Go spend time with your family!)
7. Aolani has not gotten sick in any way since her birth!! I am sure nursing is key, but I also take plenty of high-quality probiotics everyday to optimize our immune systems.
8. Stats: Not positive, but I know she is more than double her birth weight (~15 lbs)!

And, here's Aolani sportin' her durag (and a peace sign):

p.s. My left foot is almost all better! It is practically straight again, and I even stood flat-footed on it. Praise God for healing my foot!