Speed-Darling

• Work was cancelled today because of the snowfall!
• Ricky notified his current employer that his last day of work there will be January 28, 2011. He will be working full-time as a freelance court reporter and transcriptionist. We will keep you posted.
• Aolani is now crawling faster than I can roll -- trouble.
• While she loves to stand in her crib, she still cannot pull herself up into that position on her own.
• We think that she might have curly hair. Here is her toothy grin:

• During our family time every night when we cuddle and read on the bed, Aolani attacks me! Our almost 11-month old can be scary. She bites any skin showing, be it cheek, lips, arm, tummy... She rams her fingers up my nose and rips them down to cause nosebleeds. She pulls my hair out. She slaps, smacks, pounces, scratches :( Oh yeah, and then she laughs. [Sigh.]
• I started giving her some of my organic plain yogurt last week, and she actually liked it! We would really like her to start eating some food by her first birthday, in addition to her nursing.
• Aolani is learning when to say uh-oh -- when she accidentally drops something, when she intentionally throws something, and when she dangles something over an edge before she lets go. Obviously, she just uses the uh-oh to get attention.
• Air-drying:

• I plan on taking a sabbatical from the computer next week. No blog, no emails, no Internet -- I will not even be turning the computer on. I am going to focus this time to rest, read, pray, and reevaluate.
• Verse to memorize this week: 1 Corinthians 2:9 ~ However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him...

A Go Get 'em Girl

• While she is still practicing, Aolani is learning to combine waving and saying, "Buh-Bye." It is so adorable to watch her hold her hand out straight and rotate her wrists slowly. She looks at her hand intently and pensively as she solves this huge mystery ;) Hopefully, I can record it.
• Her sixth tooth came last week.
• Solid food update: We offer her some very nonchalantly every now and then to no avail. Her gag reflex has not disappeared yet, so solids (no matter how liquidy) still make her choke and spit up. No worries though; she'll eat when she is ready :)
• "I need a bath buddy."

• My left foot is generally much better. The pain is still gone, and the foot naturally points outward to 11:30. Not perfectly straight but good enough!
• As Aolani's personality is revealed more each day, here are five adjectives we would use: aggressive (in the physical, violent sense), bright (cheery), loud (vocal), curious (active), and excitable. If you saw an isolated five minutes of her day, you would find her screaming, smiling, and clapping. She is a happy, extroverted baby -- not calm, quiet, or mild.
• Yesterday, she had a "playdate" with a boy who is about three months younger than her. Despite that, his head was bigger than hers, and he weighed more than her. No matter, this baby girl can hold her own. One time, she crawled up on him, put the strangle hold on him, bounced up and down, and screamed at him in excitement. Made him cry. "Get her off of me!" Not sure if we'll be invited back after that incident ;)

Practicing her stand

• Verse to memorize this week: Ephesians 5:20 ~ ...giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Active Little Servant

• I just cannot get over the gorgeous weather right now! Fall is my favorite season. Yesterday, we took advantage of it and played Boccé Ball together in the backyard. Boccé Ball (pronounced Botch-ee) is one of the few games I can play outside. It's been a great gift! However, I have resorted to wearing rubber gloves while I play, so that I can get a better grip - is that cheating? ;)
• I meant to acknowledge this earlier, but Aolani can sit up by herself quite well.
• So, Aolani doesn't really like food or water (baths, swimming). I think most babies do. I sure did and do still. Not quite sure what this oddity means, maybe nothing.
• Just like her daddy, she would much rather play than eat or sleep. Not me! She is ready to forgo having these basic needs met if it means play time. And, she associates Ricky with play and Mommy with the "boring" stuff. No wonder she's a Daddy's girl!
• We let Aolani feed herself all week, hoping that was the answer. Did it work? Nope :(
• There is a website that you can go to and make clicks with your mouse to help the poor and needy. It is free and takes 20-30 seconds! I do it everyday. Check it out and don't forget the tabs at the top of the page: www.thehungersite.com
• I can't stop thinking about how thankful I am that my firstborn is a girl. Because our firstborn is going to have to be Mommy's Little Helper with a servant's heart! She will have to help me with all the household chores and future children. More so than other families (with my being in a wheelchair). No offense to the male race, but girls are (usually) more attentive, sacrificial, and overall sweet. Thank You, my Provider. This is just one drop in my ocean of gratitude.
• It is time for some videos. The first one is of her getting ready to crawl. Seriously, she rocks the crib so hard that I am just waiting for it to break! [Don't you just love how she rocks so hard that she sets off the musical bear in her crib ;)] The second video is of her jumping in the Johnny Jump Up. Her legs are definitely getting stronger.

• Verse to memorize this week: Hebrews 4:13 ~ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Daddy's Girl

Daddy's girl seems like an understatement. This child LOVES her daddy. She stares at him, smiles for him, laughs at him, sleeps for him, talks to him (in coos of course), and is all-around good when he is near. "When Daddy is here, I'll shed no tear." Okay, okay, that's a little exaggerration :)

The computer wears me out!

Two great wonders: a book and a baby

Butt-buddies

Bathtime with Daddy is fun!

This picture may be scary but too cute not to share!

First Week of Life (ex utero)

No one exaggerated. Eat, sleep and poop is seriously ALL a newborn does. Including Aolani. She is a non-textbook eater: no rhythm, no rhyme, no routine, no schedule. She sleeps very well, although she is getting fussier as she grows. She poops too much according to her diaper-changers ;)

Here are some pictures from her first week:

I think she looks so funny swaddled tightly at the hospital.

Her pediatrician gave her the "thumbs up" to go home.

Her first doctor appointment when she is three days old. She had lost eight ounces, which was normal. My milk came in this morning and her umbilical cord fell off that night!

Her favorite place to sleep!!

Cruisin' with Mommy

This is her first bath. She is very good-natured.

All spiffy

You can tell how dark her skin is here. She definitely has Ricky's coloring. Is she really Caucasian?