18 months...where did the time go?

At this point, it is WAY past my bedtime. However, it's been forever since I've blogged about my beautiful baby boy and, at the risk of losing precious sleep, I need to at least post something. So...here it is. A week ago week my baby hit his 18 month mark. In some ways I've been counting down the days but, as usual, there is always that mommy part of me that says, "Please don't grow up so fast!"

Some of the highlights of Ola hitting the 18 month mark include:

- Our 18 month check-up, where we learned that he is no longer in the bottom 10th percentile for his age, but has made his way up to 25th percentile (for both height and weight).

- He spent his first day in nursery at church on Sunday. And, unlike almost every other kid that has ever stepped foot into that room, he didn't care at all that I left and never once looked for me. Yeah...he's fabulously independent like that!!

- He is now attempting to say words we try to teach him, instead of the constant "this" or "what that?" Some of his favorite words include: "Dada", "gecko", "elbow", "ball", "go down", and ... since he has discovered it's power when asked "Waiola do you want Daddy to pull your ear?"... he also enjoys saying "NO".

- He is finally saying Mama. (And yes, this deserves it's own line)

- And...possibly the cutest...He is already showing love and tenderness to his little brother. He is often checking mommy's tummy for his "Brudda" and giving him hugs whenever he can. By the time his little brother arrives, in a mere 4 months, he should be quite the protector.

It is hard to believe that he is already 18 months old. And to think, I haven't even finished the first week of his scrapbook yet. Lol! But he is growing and learning so much every day, and it is amazing to watch what a little body and mind can do. We are so blessed to have our little Waiola! We just can't wait to see what crazy thing he'll do next. ;)

It's a........

This past Friday, Aho and I finally got a chance to get a good look at our new baby. We have both been so excited waiting for our ultrasound and especially waiting to find out if we were expecting a boy or a girl. With Waiola, I was pretty confident it was a boy. I'm not sure if it was mother's instinct, or just an overwhelming desire to have a boy. But this time around, I wasn't so confident. Since I was so sick and the pregnancy was so different (not to mention the fact that I know how much Aho wants his baby girl), I thought, it's definitely a girl. Then, I'd think, no, I'm not ready for a girl, maybe it's a boy. By the time we got to ultrasound day, I was totally clueless. Both of us knew that no matter what, boy or girl, we'd be totally thrilled. Even my husband, who has made it clear that we will keep having children until we get that girl, said that it would be kinda cool to have two boys.
So, after an hour of waiting in a very busy office, we finally got to take our first peak. The nurse we had was great. She got fabulous shots of baby's hands and feet, the spine, the organs, just about everything. Except of course, the one area she was trying to see. Baby was face down for the first few minutes, and it took quite a lot of prodding on the nurse's part to get baby to turn over. But, once baby turned over, our nurse said ever so quickly..."It's definitely a BOY!"
We are so excited that another little man will soon be joining our family. Aho said he knew before we got into the exam room that it was a boy and he was really happy. It's great to think that the two boys can grow up and play together, beat each other up, and come to each other's rescue. Although, Waiola may need to watch out because this one is already SO active and, by the shots from the ultrasound, he may be bigger than his older brother. He already has huge hands and feet.
It's also great to think that we already have everything we need for a little boy. Now comes the hard part of enduring to the end of the pregnancy, deciding on a name, and helping Waiola transition to the role of older brother. It's so sweet how he will hug my tummy and, just the other day, he even gave baby a kiss. Come June, I will definitely be outnumbered in this household but, I am SO excited to have a house full of boys. Three big, strong, sweet men, all for me. What a blessing!

Christmas 2009

For our family, Christmas this year was a little crazy. It would have been nice to have had a little rest and calmness, but then again...where's the fun in that??

Since Aho had to work Christmas Eve into Christmas morning, Ola and I spent Christmas Eve at our friend's, the Horita's, house. Every year they have the same Santa come by and have all the kids get a chance to sit with Santa and get a present.

This was the first time Ola actually saw a Santa Clause and he wasn't quite sure about him at first. But once the jolly man gave Ola his present to hold, he was totally content with the guy.

Christmas morning, we got up and headed to Aho's parents house to open presents with them. The rest of us were all busy with our gifting, while Ola only cared about the ukulele.

We thought maybe if we helped him open a toy he'd get excited and help open the rest, but he really just wanted the ukulele.

After Christmas with the Del Toro's, we opened a few presents at our house and then headed to the airport and home to the Badua house. As usual, my mom totally over did herself and we all got way too many presents. Ola, however, didn't complain.

Among lots of other things, he got a play tent, complete with crawl tunnel...

this squishy case with handles and headphones that lets your kids use your ipod...

and the mickey mouse he's been eyeing at Walmart every time we've gone the past few weeks...

But the biggest present was the one we picked up two days after Christmas. The newest addition to our family is our precious little Hiwa. She is an 8 week old, black lab puppy, and she is absolutely adorable. She is such a cruiser and loves attention.

Ola wasn't too thrilled about her at first. I guess he didn't like having someone following him around and licking at him. He would actually start screeching and run away from her, which only encouraged Hiwa to follow him more. But, he is slowly adjusting to her. In fact, by this afternoon, he was already willing to pet her and give her a kiss. Granted, she was sleeping when he did both, but...baby steps.

Thanksgiving in Vegas

Two years ago, my family decided to spend Thanksgiving in Vegas. Mom, Dad, Aho, Me, my brother Kai, and his girlfriend Vicky all went up for the Thanksgiving break. My mom's brother, Uncle Paul, and his wife Susan also met us there. That trip ended up being a bust, since almost everyone (except lucky little me) got sick. Mom was sick in bed all Thanksgiving day, and Aho was sick in bed on his birthday. Two years later, we decided to do it again. Mom, Dad, Aho and I, and of course, our little man, flew up for a five day trip.
After almost a year of not having a functioning temple on Oahu, I was SO happy to get to visit the one in Las Vegas. It was the first time I've ever been into a temple other than Laie, and it was so wonderful. Lucky thing we had the best baby sitters to keep our little man busy while we were there. Thanks mom & dad!!


We also got to take a drive up to Mt. Charleston so that I could see the snow. I really wanted to let Ola play in it, but he knocked out in the car and took the longest nap ever. I just couldn't wake him. So Aho and I just took pictures by ourselves and laughed the whole time cause we were trying to figure out how we should stand if we wanted to photo shop Ola in later. We're such dorks!
Ola wasn't really thrilled by Vegas, until he discovered the escalators. After that, it was up and down and up and down. This was while we were waiting in line for the buffet. Aho and I took turns taking him up and down.


And of course, my Uncle Paul had a blast with our little man. This is him swinging Ola in Mom's insulated tote. SO hilarious! Ola kept asking for more. Uncle P also showed him how to bounce on the bed (still in that bag) and how to turn his stroller into a super charged racer. I'm not sure who had more fun.

All in all, it was nice to get away and enjoy a change of scenery, but we were all happy to be home.

Wrecking Havoc!

Recently, with this second pregnancy, morning sickness has been getting the better of me. Most days, Ola and I just lounge around at home because mommy is too sick to even get up off the couch (or ground). And so the little man has been left to find his own entertainment, which isn't always a good thing. When left to his own devices, Ola has discovered how to....

iron the carpet...

pop all the bubble wrap...

climb onto the kitchen chairs...

and reach all the items stacked in the corner or on the kitchen counter...and then throw them on the ground.Amazingly, he also sat still long enough for mommy to make sure his new beanie and mittens fit for our upcoming trip to Vegas. Oddly enough, he really liked the mittens.
In a realization that we needed to use our down and out time more constructively, we've been working on a few new things. Ola now knows the signs for "more" and "please" (his own version), which he has found very handy around snack time. We're also working on "apple", "cracker", and "cookie", which are all a little more difficult. And besides signs, he's also learned a new word. But for some reason, it only applies to phones. (You'll have to listen carefully. He's kind of quiet in this shot.)

Halloween

This year, we were a little slow with our Halloween decision making. In fact, we didn't decide until two days before Halloween what Ola would be. And then, we only decided the morning of Halloween that Aho and I would dress up too. But, that said, I think we did ok. We got to celebrate with cookies from my mom & dad, trick-or-treating with friends at the mall, and then some trunk-or-treating at our chapel. It was so much fun, and I was so happy my boys got all decked out. They were such good sports.
Our basket of cookies, minus a couple heads.

It took him a minute to figure out what he was holding. Actually, it only took him one bite. YUM!Ola all dressed up before we left.


The whole fam. Popeye, Brutus, & Olive Oyl. (At this point, we were pretty much exhausted, but, I had to get at least one picture.)

My two favorite boys

I love my boys! Without Aho and Ola, I really don't know what my life would be. They keep me busy, the keep me laughing, and even though they drive me crazy, somehow, they keep me sane. In the past couple of weeks, I caught a few pics of them that I just couldn't help but love. After all, they're pics of my two favorite boys.

Daddy and Ola looking at the Sesame Street gang on display at the Thinker Toys at Windward Mall.


Like father, like son. (Laugh if you must at Aho, but he's being excessively animated to try to get Ola to keep the hat on so I could at least snap a picture. What a good Daddy.)


And possibly my favorite...my two boys...fast asleep. Ola was supposed to go to sleep in his own bed, but he climbed out and snuggled up next to his Daddy. He didn't even try to send him back to bed. Now THAT'S precious!!