We're here...

We made it to Hawaii, safe and sound. Austin's first plane ride went pretty well, we gave him a little Benadryl before we boarded the plane. He was nursing during takeoff and fell asleep for the first two hours. He woke up and was energetic for the rest of the flight. It was nice that the lady that was sitting next to us slept the whole flight. I had to change Austin's diaper on a closed toilet seat since there was no changing table in the bathrooms. His body fit but his legs had no where to go. He got antsy a few times during the flight so Willis carried him to the back of the plane. One of those times I went to see what they were up to and Willis was talking with a fellow Trojan fan he met while standing in the back (apparently that guy's daughter went to USC around the time we did). Austin didn't feel like nursing or napping on the descent, but he was playing and laughing with Willis and didn't seem to notice the pressure change.

We got off the plane and caught the Wiki Wiki for Austin's first bus ride. Our bags came out right away then I put him in the Ergo Baby carrier to walk to the car rental area. (We got the Ergo carrier for this trip and it was such a lifesaver allowing me to carry him, my bags and a suitcase through the airport) He fell asleep as soon as I put him in and slept all the way to my Grandmother's house. He even slept through his first trip to Zippy's, where we stopped on the way. He woke up when we got to the house and was so excited to see his Granny and meet his Great-Granny and Uncle Bryan. He studied everyone's faces and didn't even seem sleepy except for putting his head down on the carpet every once in a while. He had fun walking along the coffee table and exploring the living room. We finally put him to bed for the night around 11:30pm (2:30am our time). He didn't seem to have a problem sleeping in a new place and a new bed. He slept all the way through till 7am Hawaii time (10am our time)!

Austin played in his new surroundings this morning, exploring our room with the big mirrored closet doors and the carpeted hallway and living room. It feels so nice to be here and enjoy our first morning in Hawaii. I had a little natto with my breakfast, Austin had his first taste of it this morning and he liked it, to his father's dismay.

Ni hao Ka-Lan

I recently saw an ad in a parenting magazine for a Nickelodeon cartoon called, "Ni hao Kai-Lan." It's for preschool age kids and is the Mandarin version of Dora the Explorer. I recorded a few episodes and just watched them. It's a little too old for Austin, but I think the animation is really cute and i'm learning Chinese. :)

Austin is starting to imitate things that other people are doing. One example, last night after bath time, I wanted to wipe up some of the hair that was on the floor as I was trying to lotion and clothe Austin. I pulled a tissue out of the tissue box and wiped the floor. Austin proceeded to pull out a tissue also and wipe the floor. It was so cute, I wish I had video of it. And I love that he will occasionally give me hugs. On Monday night and tonight after his bath he came up to me and gave me a big squeezy hug. I've been waiting for this moment, when he can return hugs. It makes my heart swell up and makes me feel so proud of my sweet boy.

No more Olympics

The Olympics are over. We became obsessed with watching the Olympics. For two weeks, we watched the various events every night until the wee hours. It was exciting to watch the American athletes do so well in so many events, especially the ones I saw a lot of: swimming, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball and tennis. I didn't get to see much of the track and field or the obscure events that I wanted to watch, like synchronized swimming or rhythmic gymnastics. Oh well. Now that the Olympics are over, we are in Olympics withdrawl. :( Luckily we have a little of the last day and the closing ceremony recorded so we can re-live it for a little while..

Notes: I love to read the notes written by Austin's teachers on his daily sheet. One note from today says, "Camping Collage: Austin glued his tent backwards and wanted to eat the sleeping bag - was very sneaky about putting it in his mouth too!" Haha. I can just see him sneaking it into his mouth. :)

Welcome baby Katie

Congratulations to Kelly and Joe!! Their baby girl, Katie Grace, was born this morning at 6 lbs, 13 oz and 18 inches. We are so happy for them and can't wait to meet little Katie.

Long Beach Aquarium

We went to the Long Beach Aquarium yesterday with Austin's class. We met up with the teachers and other babies and parents and went in as it was opening at 9am. It was nice and empty and the babies were free to get right up to the tanks and look at all the sea creatures. Austin got to see lots of sea creatures; fish, eels, jellyfish, sharks, sea lions, and he even got to pet a sting ray! We also went into the Lorikeet Forest and fed the little birds. He had a great time. We enjoyed it so much we decided to purchase membership giving us entry for a year and discounts at the store and restaurant. So, even if we only come back one more time we've made it worth it! Can't wait to visit again.

The aquarium is really close to my sister's place so we went there afterwards for dinner. We watched the Olympics on her new tv and Austin roamed around playing with all the fun things in her living room.

(Pics to come when I have a chance to load them)

Surprise!

Last night I was sitting on the couch with Austin. Willis walked away and said he was going to take a shower. His phone was charging next to me and it started to vibrate so I looked at it and it said, "Deb's phone calling." My phone has been broken for two weeks so I was completely confused by this. I must have stared at his phone for half a minute before saying out loud to myself, "that's wierd." I picked up my broken phone and stared at that for another half minute while trying to press the power button. Then Willis comes out of the hallway and says, "What's wierd?" I'm about to tell him about it when I see him with a big smile holding a phone to his ear. Haha. He surprised me with my very own iPhone 3G! I guess as soon as I said that's the one I wanted, he made plans to go get it. He went to the Apple store and picked it up yesterday before picking up Austin from day care. I just love surprises and he keeps me on my toes. :) So, after a whole two weeks, I finally have a cell phone again!

Eleven Months Old

Austin is eleven months old today! Another month has gone by and still I wonder, where does the time go?

Austin is starting to share. Sometimes when he is playing he tries to hand me what he's holding or he tries to put it to my mouth, just like how he holds things in his mouth.

He has also started to say "no" when he's upset, but it sounds more like, "nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh" while shaking his head and shutting his eyes real tight.

(Austin on his tip-toes, sneaking a peek on top of the plastic dresser)

(Playing in his play pen)

(Reminding me to say "Please")

Getting better

Austin's fever finally broke and he got a little rash on his chest. He's doing a lot better, but still not himself. He plays a little, but mostly wants to be held. And it looks like his fifth tooth is going to be the right front tooth. I can kind of see it just under the gums.

Sick day

My poor little Austin is home sick today. He had a low grade fever on Tuesday afternoon. It went up a little so Willis stayed home with him yesterday and took him to the doctor. He has an ear infection in his right ear. This is his second ear infection and his second time having to take antibiotics. He is used to getting his vitamin from a dropper and he's a little older so it's not as hard as it was last time, but he still doesn't like it. The fever didn't really improve much by this morning so I only went in to work for only a couple of hours in the morning to finish some urgent stuff then came home to stay with Austin. He wasn't feeling well at all, very tired and no energy. He pretty much slept the whole day and didn't really get upset when I put him down. He just cried a little then rolled over and fell back asleep.

Practice pays off

Austin continues to get much better at crawling on his hands and knees. He is getting lots of practice and likes to crawl slapping his hands on the hard wood floor. I can hear him smacking away at the ground as he crawls around our house. He is really enjoying this new way of getting around. He enjoys when we hold his hands so he can takes steps, sometimes he moves his feet so fast it's like he's running. He's also pulling himself up on anything he can get his hands on; tv tray table, chair, table leg, dresser, hamper, my leg.. And he is cruising along the furniture, mostly to get to something he wants to check out, like a remote control. He even figured out how to use two tv tray tables as support as he walked through them to the couch!

Trash sneak

I spotted my neighbor sneaking over to another neighbor's trash can across the street this morning. I've seen him sneak over in the middle of the night before, but this time it was 9am and in broad daylight. He's either putting his trash in or taking out bottles, i'm not sure. I've also seen him take his trash to the park trash can in the middle of the night. Last week Willis took our trash and recycle bins out to the street for trash day. The three of us watched the truck empty our recycle bin from the kitchen window in the morning. I went to feed Austin breakfast and I think Willis was checking his work email. When I took the dirty dishes to the sink, I looked out the window and said, "Hey! How did our yard waste bin get out to the street?!" Apparently, someone had walked all the way into our driveway by the house, put their trash bag in our yard waste bin (Willis went out and looked), pushed it out to the street and left it there, facing the wrong way. Who would do such a thing? I didn't see who did it, but I have my suspicions.

Summer Olympics

No more "So You Think You Can Dance" and "I Survived A Japanese Game Show." Now our evening tv watching is filled with lots of Olympics coverage. It's fun to watch all the different events. We just watched the US Men's Team win the Gold in the Swimming Relay. It was a crazy, such close finish and gold medal win for USA!

I had a great day yesterday. I was treated by Michelle to a massage at Burke Williams for my birthday, we went with Peggy and Michelle's Mom's friend, Brenda. Four Mommies talking about their kids at lunch and then relaxing at the spa. It was a lot of fun. I appreciated the chance to get away and hang out for most of day.

After I left Michelle's house I met up with Willis and Austin at Fry's. Fry's was having a big sale on tvs and Willis and Austin had gone shopping around earlier during the day. Willis found the one he wanted at a great sale price so that was his birthday present. :) He's very excited..

Belated 9-month photos

Austin had a day off from day care today so we spent the whole day together running errands in Torrance. We went to the studio for Austin's belated 9 month photos this morning. He needed to be able to stand holding on for this milestone picture. He was just starting to stand with help around 9 months so we postponed till he was stronger. He did so well, he was rested and fed so he was very happy during the photo shoot. I can't wait to see the proofs.

After we left the studio we met up with Kelly for lunch then finished up our errands. I went to get the Ergo Baby Carrier at a store on PCH for our upcoming trip and Austin napped as I pushed him around Babies R Us.

Tonight is the opening ceremony for the Olympics in Beijing, China. Willis is recording it so we'll probably watch it sometime over the weekend or during the week.

Fun times in the tub

Austin enjoys bath time. He used to just sit back and relax in the tub, now he scoots himself to one end of the tub to play with the water and be near the faucet. Then all the toys get trapped in front of him. Willis had been wanting to get a spout cover to protect his head from hitting it when he leans over and I found this cute inflatable frog one at Babies R Us.

(These bath pics were taken a week and a half ago and you can see his third tooth - on the top - just starting to poke through his gums)

Another haircut

Austin got his third haircut tonight. He needed a trim to look nice for his pictures at the studio on Friday. He wasn't as upset as last time when the lady came near him to cut his hair, but she gave him a lollipop anyway which distracted him until she was finished. I think this is my favorite haircut so far. :)

Updates

Austin is crawling on his hands and knees a lot better and more frequently now. He only reverts back to the army crawl every once in a while. Ever since he learned how to pull himself up he is progressing so fast; crawling, standing, creeping, climbing, balancing, taking steps (with help). This morning he pulled himself up using the plastic dresser in his room, found the little alarm clock that was on it and let go so he could hold and examine the alarm clock with both hands. He balanced pretty well for a few seconds before sitting down. Pretty soon he'll be taking steps without holding on!

Willis lowered Austin's crib mattress on Saturday morning. Another change now that Austin can pull himself up.

Last night, Austin and I were playing and he looked straight at me, held up a block and said, "da duh dah ga ba dah da." Sometimes in the car we'll have "conversations" on the way home from day care. He also likes to share, he hands me a toy or burp cloth or tries to put it in my mouth (since he likes putting things in his mouth). Then I offer it back to him and he takes it. He is so much fun and he's learning, developing, and changing so fast! I'm enjoying this phase and trying to soak up and cherish every minute.

Surf Fest

We went to the International Surf Festival at Hermosa Beach yesterday. Lucca's dad, Jason, told us about it, he is playing in the Surf Fest's 6-man Volleyball Tournament. Our friend Aaron is also playing in the tournament.

Our plan was to head out there fairly early in the morning, get good parking, watch the volleyball games and enjoy a day at the beach. But, instead we ended up spending the morning feeding Austin milk and breakfast, getting ready, waiting for Austin to wake up from a nap, feeding Austin milk again, then it was time for his lunch. We finally headed out around 2pm and it took an hour to find parking, which was in the residential area at least a mile away from Hermosa Pier. It was a big hill to climb to get to the strand and we couldn't really go onto the sand with the stroller to get closer to the games and look for people. Plus, it was really packed around the volleyball courts. So, we enjoyed the view of the games from the path then walked down the pier. After checking out the little Roundhouse Aquarium and ordering food at the end of the pier, we sat and ate while I fed Austin. It was very relaxing to sit and watch all the people; surfers, body boarders, swimmers..

(Here are some pics from the beach)