cruising

Going to dinner at Duke's with Uncle Greg
(and Uncle Pat + fam)
Yes, I did put them in matching dresses!
I know I probably vowed at some point I would never do it, but it's so darn cute.

Kalia with baby in a sling

ironwoods hike
maya pointing to the set coming in

hanging with baby joel

the hike crew

my hiker girls

hendrickson girl shot

up high with zach

kalia & maya doing their thing

sturns - maya loves to walk on mommy's board

I missed the shot - but basically, maya carries kalia's helmet
around and cries to have me put it on.

Just the girls outside - but some of Maya walking.

Well the girls are really enjoying spending time with uncle greg. When we went to dinner at Duke's last weekend they played like crazy with him. Maya was giving him the biggest hugs at the end of the night and he is officially kalia's "best friend in the whole world".

Erik was fishing last night down by sturns & he called us at the park to come and see the biggest turtle was resting on the shore. It was really cool.

Sunday night I had the worst stomach pains, i was literally up all night and erik didn't get much sleep either. Monday, Erik had inventory and a long day and I felt horrible. Thank goodness the girls decided to be amazing on Monday. The universe was aligned or something because we were home literally all day and I was feeling horrible, stabbing stomach pains and a little feverish and the girls got along all day! I just moved my pillow from room to room with the girls and they just played together happily. I was so happy kalia didn't have school because she thoroughly entertained maya all day long! At one point I put them both in Maya's crib and they bounced for 30 minutes. Kalia kept taking maya down and maya would laugh and laugh. I took a small nap in the rocking chair. The one thing about being home all day is that the house was destroyed. There was stuff everywhere. I don't remember Kalia being quite so messy at 1 year and Kalia is definitely not very neat anymore. The combo was scary.

Tuesday afternoon after we picked up Kalia from school, did part of the Ironwoods hike. It was really fun and the kids had so much fun exploring around. Wednesday, uncle greg watched the girls at sturns for us and erik & surfed together! (The bay was junky or else this would have never happened). Thanks uncle greg!

So lately I just try to not let kalia nap and just do early bedtime, since nap means late, late bedtime. Well, wednesday afternoon she fell asleep on the couch- at 4PM and was impossible to wake up (plus, you haven't seen how crabby she is if you try to wake up the sleeping bear, hey, she is like her daddy!). Anyway, so after we put maya down, I knew Kalia would be up late and I was planning on finishing up this little backpack I was sewing for her. So I got out an embroidery hoop and needle and she practiced sewing and I got to finish the back pack on the sewing machine. It was pretty fun. I'll post some photos of her work later.

just some notes

OK, so I just have to write a little bit about Maya. She just sort of gets it or is getting it and it's so cute! When Kalia was at school the other day, Maya brought me her shoe and wanted me to put it on her foot, then she walked around the house with it on. I'm finally putting shoes on Maya, not that I didn't try in the past, but I just got tired after the 10th time of putting them back on. But I have been consistent the last few days and now if she finds them in her diaper bag, she brings them over to put them on. Also, the girls played dress up today and they both walked around with the princess dress up shoes that auntie kim gave them. Well, maya tried to walk around.

The other day we went to meet some friends at Barnes & Noble and kalia had her purse and maya wanted it, so I pulled out the one maya got for her birthday. Maya walked around with with her purse and was as happy as could be.

Yesterday was such a busy day (ballet, two birthday parties & dinner at Duke's with Erik's Uncle Pat & fam) that we just had a really lazy morning today. Because Maya was really thrown off by a late night, she was up mid-day and we went to the Cannery to watch the keiki hula show. It was perfect, since Maya is usually sleeping at this time and I thought Kalia would like it. Kalia really did like it and even was doing her own dance by the stage. Maya was just crusing and walking up to anyone and getting right in front of their faces and staring at them. She just really loves people, of course, Kalia had to stop her about 8 times from climbing on the stage with the dancers.

About a month ago we were in the bathroom doing Kalia's hair and Maya starting fussing and trying to reach the hairbrush. So I handed it to her and she started brushing her hair. We all brush our teeth at the same time in the morning, but since my toothbrush is electric, Maya makes a similiar noise while brushing her teeth. We cannot leave any water bottles around, we have some left over from Maya's birthday party and the other morning I forgot I had one on the coffee table. Maya opened it and poured it on herself in an attempt to drink out of it. She is also the quickest toilet paper unroller, even if you turn the roll the opposite direction, she just grabs the bottom and pulls.

Kalia & Maya have been playing really well together. Maya attacks Kalia with hugs.

Kalia was really into her baby doll again this afternoon and wanted to make up a carrier for her. So we took Maya's old sling and tied it up and Kalia wore it with the baby. Took some photos - so cute!

valentine's & windmills

kalia's obsession - finishing these large coloring pages
here she is starting to color the border!
(I really thought we were done- but she spotted some white)

making valentines -
kalia was so excited she wanted me to drive her around
so she could give away her valentines

maya just wanted to play with the paper
she really just wanted to put it on the floor and step on it.

maya playing with hearts,
next moment she was climbing on the table

valentine's day lunch at gazebo
maya drinks out of her own to go cup!

the bay - checking the surf

windmills- watching tanner surf

So Valentine's weekend, Erik actually had two days off! It feels like he hadn't had a day off in weeks. Saturday was a really fun day. Erik surfed the bay early in the morning. Kalia had ballet in the morning and we all went down (parents couldn't watch - so went to coffee store), I put Maya in Kalia's blue tutu and she loved it. Maya watched Kalia get dressed and then I asked Kalia if Maya could where her other tutu and held it out for Maya to step into. She stepped in and never messed with it - she knew it was her fun thing to wear, just like sister. After ballet we came home, played, had lunch & naps and then packed up the car with boards and headed down south - there was a total winter south swell. Kalia paddled out with daddy for 1 wave and then Erik caught a couple. Then I got to surf one of my favorite spots all by myself and caught a ton of waves - the girls cruised on the beach, playing in a hole and with the buckets. Then home, Erik made dinner while Kalia & I ate chocolate & watched a movie that tutu sent. Fun!

Sunday - Erik surfed and I took the ladies to the park. Then we picked up daddy for lunch at gazebo. Maya got her first to go cup with water and straw and totally drank like a big girl out of it! She is just getting too big too fast! After naps, I tried to surf, but it was all blown out - so headed up north to watch Tanner surf windmills. There was a photographer taking photos of Tanner and it was fun to hear him tell the girl he was with, "That guy is Tanner Hendrickson, he's sponsored by Fox". The girls cruised around the windmills lookout spot and then home. Uncle Greg was coming over to babysit and we got to go out! Dinner at Sansei bar (my favorite) and chocolate souffle and chipshots at Roy's with friends.

OK, we were totally going to send out valentine's to family, but Kalia put so much effort into only two and was totally done. But the two she did do were beautiful, but then she wanted to give them out to whoever she felt like at that moment. I do have a couple we will still send out. Kalia is just so detail oriented, she spent so much time on each Valentine.

For Christmas, Erik bought Kalia these giant Tinkerbell coloring pages and we have so far completed 3. First of all they are huge and second, Kalia must color every single bit - I definitely help her, or else we would be doing them all year.

Kalia and I had a little date on wednesday - just down to the library. The children's section was closed, so the only area we could look for books was in the fairy tales section and it was great since we never look there. Kalia has been into the longer stories. She has been "reading" my Pride & Prejudice book for a while now. Every now and then I catch her "reading it" in her room - well, telling a story and flipping the pages.

We asked Kalia about her favorite thing to drink.

surf morning

About to paddle out at s-turns

Coming in after their wave

We were very productive today and even got a little surf in. Took the girls down to s-turns. First daddy & kalia went and caught a wave (see video above) then erik surfed and then I got to surf. The girls played on the boards and explored on the grass, sand and rocks. We both caught 3 waves and came in, but it was fun and I guess the surf looked terrible later - so we had are magical little session. It was desperately needed and feel much better and happier mommy now.

Tomorrow will be Maya's first day at child care 1 day a week - wish me luck.

lunch & the park

lunch at leilani's with sydney & uncle kirk

keeping maya busy

playing at the park

maya loves the park - she can climb up these stairs

...and goes down the slide

climbing the stairs

playing

peek a boo

then down to the beach for some fun in the sand and water

Maya at story time - i've been taking her on tuesdays when kalia is in school.
She likes to take all the books off the shelf with the other 1 year olds.

So today Maya learned to drink from a straw - Kalia shared her new princess cup with Maya and after many attempts, she figured out how to drink from it. Maya loves that cup. We are definitely going to be getting two of everything very soon. This morning when Kalia woke up, Erik went to get her milk and I told him, don't come back unless you have one for Maya too. Maya wants milk in a sippy cup like Kalia or she will be mad and cry until she has hers too! Good grief!

I'm pretty sure that Maya has teeth coming in, she's just not herself and waking up super early - more like the middle of the night. I did try to ignore her the other morning and then she just gets louder and louder. Then because her naps are so early, she's crying to go to sleep before the sun sets and we are in a vicious cycle.

We checked out the Curious George complete collection from the library and Kalia is really into reading the stories to us. She looks at the pictures and tells the story, but she really does include a lot of the real story, a lot of the sentences start with "quickly, george...", "Suddenly, the man with the yellow hat.." It's really cute. The other day when I was supposed to be reading stories before kalia's nap/rest time, she read to me and I fell asleep on her bed and then she closed the door and went to play in the living room. I woke up 15 minutes later.

The two words that Maya uses are "dada" when she sees Erik and "nana" when she sees a banana. She was screaming "nana, nana, nana" at Safeway the other day. Had we not had to weigh them to pay for them, I would have given in and just let her eat one. That's about where I'm at lately- anything to keep my sanity. Erik's been working almost everyday and long shifts. So that means I'm working a lot lately too and Maya has been tough. Well, it's because she's so damn easy usually that I think she's tough. But she hasn't been feeling herself and crying a lot at night, even if it's just for a few seconds, I can tell that she doesn't feel well right now. Did I mention that she can unscrew water bottles?

Maya has been saying, "NO!" with the exact same intonation that Kalia uses with her- yes, it's very, very scary. Lately, Kalia just slams her door in Maya's face. Maya will just go and bang on the door, she doesn't care, she just wants in. But I guess that is Kalia's room and Maya does love to take everything from Kalia. Kalia will just sit in there reading or drawing.

I really do believe that there are certain advantages to being the second child. I mean, Maya goes everywhere and knows everyone. She definitely has more confidence than Kalia did at this age. She will push past a 9 year old on the stairs at the playground and go down the slide on her own without even looking to see if I'm around. Maya already watches Kalia and learns so quickly. Although, maybe I don't read as much to Maya as I did with Kalia. But Kalia just loved to read from a really young age and Maya just wants to fight me to turn the pages. Maya's favorite book right now is the same one that Kalia loved at 1 year - Where Is Baby's Belly Button, by Karen Katz.

Oh, Kalia and I have been playing Candyland a lot and it's really perfect for her. It's so simple and the game goes by quickly. I have won only once. I have to admit at first I would let her win, but now that I want to win so that she learns how to lose, I can't seem to win!

more ballet...

Maya tried on Kalia's dress up shoes

ballet class

blurry, but love how she's looking at herself in the mirror

maya wants to get on the dance floor!

maya watching ballet class -
yes, I did put her in that outfit for ballet class

taking their bow

OK, I do have more photos other than ballet, but it's just so fun. Plus, I did forget my camera at a couple of fun days. Also, we've been sick. The whole house got the stomach flu! I won't go into all the gory details, but yes, it was scary around here. Maya was sick in her crib 3 times one night and kalia had just under 104 fever one night - poor things! Plus erik and I weren't feeling well either. But we are back in action and I have some new photos from today. I may have pushed us and spent 3 hours at baby beach on friday and both girls didn't feel great after that.

tutu's visit & more ballet

making cookies with tutu

we bought kalia's ballet outfit

her little ballet slippers

all ready for ballet class

after ballet class
we stayed out today and daddy was peeking through the window

girls drawing with chalk

So we said goodbye to tutu. Kalia kept asking me, "mommy, are you going to be sad when your mommy leaves". She's also been saying things like, "that looks like ethan & emi's car, they have the same car! What a coincidence. When two things are the same, I like to say what a coincidence!" I also noticed that most sentences have been starting with "actually..."

So Maya is completely walking and doing really well! She is feeling better, towards the end of Mom's visit, she was having some hard days and she didn't really eat for about 3 days. For anyone that knows Maya that is just crazy - she's the human garbage disposal. But yesterday she had her appetite back completely and was definitely making up for things. Her big thing right now is pointing at things and people. She loves to point at things she wants - things that are too high to reach, she points at the food kalia is eating and makes her "i want that" noises and she points and squeels when she sees someone that she knows. She goes crazy when she sees daddy too. Erik's been working a lot and when he comes home, she cries until he picks her up and then she hugs him and pats his back. Yes, he hates it. He's usually holding both girls the moment he walks in because they both want him to hold them.

So as you see in the photo, Maya is finally starting to draw with chalk instead of eating it. She still will put it in her mouth and when I say "no, not for your mouth", she laughs and does it again. Maya has been the master of repeating words, she loves to say, "no, no" and we've heard her say, "more", "tutu", "dada", "mama", oh and wave and say "hiiiiiiii" or "byyyyyyyye". She also loves to jump on the bed with Kalia. They were seriously jumping the other day and maya kept falling and laughing - she loves rough play.

Kalia has been very patient the last couple days - Maya was very tough yesterday -for the first time skipped her morning nap - 1 hour of trying for her nap and kalia was so patient the entire time. I was getting so frustrated and she said, "it's OK mommy, i love you."

Kalia has been playing a lot in her room and closing the door! Oh, she told erik in the car the other day to turn down the music and then asked to turn it down more because she was dreaming and then looked out the window to continue her day dream.

So the other day I wasn't feeling well (small stomach flu, I think) and so I went to get kalia a movie at the store. They didn't have Beauty and the Beast and the only other one I could find was Pocahontas. OK, big mistake, but kind of funny. First of all it's super violent (should have known that!) people getting killed with guns. But the most upsetting part of it all for Kalia was that Pocahontas and her "friend" John Smith do not end up together, duh, it's historical and she ended up with some other guy right? Plus, she is now going around the house singing, "savages, savages." Lesson learned - OK, should have totally figured that out, but wasn't feeling right.

Well, she's completely obsessed with princesses right now and our neighbors gave us Sleeping Beauty to watch. But the other day she sitting in her chair thinking and then asked me, "what happens when you die." I was a little taken off guard and then she clarified after I stumbled around an answer, "because what happens when you prick your finger on a spinning wheel?" Maybe I'm not ready for these Disney movies.