Ola's new LOVES

Ola LOVES certain things. Like when his daddy comes home in the morning and says "good morning to you!!!" Or his crazy little dog ball toy that makes funny noises whenever it's shaken and has crinkly ears he loves to chew on. Or like sweet potatoes, which he can't seem to get enough of. But today I caught three of his newest LOVES on camera.

Ola LOVES the bouncer his tutu and papa got him for Christmas. And...he's finally starting to figure out how to bounce in it.

Ola also LOVES turning over. Over...and over...and over. I guess it was getting old by itself, so he decided to take his blanket along. It was easy getting these pictures (since he was kinda stuck).

And...Ola LOVES his new sippy cup with fresh, cold water. He had this trick down in just a few minutes. Now it's hard to keep it away from him.

Can't wait to see what he falls in love with next. I'm crossing my fingers that it's sleeping.

Kung hei fat choi!

Yesterday, with the encouragement from Cameron & Lohi (yes, i now need encouragement to leave the house), Ola and I went down to the Chinese New Year celebrations in China Town. Saddly, Aho was sleeping in between shifts (he would have enjoyed it the most), but we celebrated Ola's heritage anyway.

Ok, so Ola took a nap while I celebrated his heritage, but he didi wake up in time for the parade.We saw so many awesome lion dancers.

And even thought about bringing home a costume for daddy. Kung hei fat choi!!!

Finding joy in the little things...

So tonight, when I was putting Ola to sleep, he was laying next to me and I, for some reason, started staring at his ear. Now, there is nothing special about Ola's ear, aside from the fact that its his. But laying there, looking at this tiny little ear on my precious son, I was amazed at how perfectly beautiful it was (Just to clarify, I do not have any sort of ear obsession).

There are so many things in this world that are amazing, but I am continually impressed by the joy I find in simple things. Like the perfection that I can find in my child. Granted, he is not perfect, but the love that I have for him is. I can be utterly exhausted and grumpy, but he can almost always change my day. Like the way he smiles a little half smile in his sleep. Or how his plump little hand brushes back and forth when he's tired. Even the way he puffs out his bottom lip right before he's going to start his "sad" cry. And tonight, looking at his perfect little ear, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the simple blessings I have. I am so grateful to be a mother and a wife, and I am grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with Aho and Ola. And more than that, I am truly grateful that he made it possible for us to understand and to have joy...even if it is in something as silly and simple as a baby's ear.

Picture update

So, we finally got a working computer and I've been dying to upload some pics from the last couple of weeks. Warning: there are a lot!!

The friday before Christmas, Ola made his first visit to the ER, thanks to an unknown milk allergy. He was smiling so much when we checked in, they couldn't believe he'd been throwing up so much.

It was so sad seeing him on the hospital bed.


Two days before Christmas, he rolled over for the first time.
I came back down the stairs to find this.


We got to spend a little bit of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning
with Aho before going home to Kauai.
And Ola had a bunch of gifts under our tree from all his anuties and uncles here.Some of them were bigger than him!!


We flew to Kauai Christmas morning and Ola had a whole other set of gifts.
His tutu and papa had tons of stuff for him.

At first, he was a little more interested in EATING all of his presents
(and wrapping paper) than playing with them.

He got a bouncer from tutu and papa that has a frog he can't get enough of.


Of coarse, my parents were thrilled their baby was home.
(Can't you see the family resemblance??)And they spoiled him rotten!!
After we got back home, Ola hit his 5 month mark.
So we took our monthly pictures in our 12 month outfit
(that barely fits over his fat head).

We also started eating other things besides cereal and found out that he LOVES sweet potatoes.

But all the extra food has added a few more rolls of fat.


So we've started working out by doing tummy time and sitting up. But we found out he's not only working out at play time...
He's been doing bedtime workouts too! Sneaky little bugger!
That's our update.

New tricks

So lately, Ola has been pulling out all sorts of tricks. He rolled over the first time two days before Christmas. Then, while we were at home on Kauai, he totally mastered it. Now, put him down, and within seconds, he's on his tummy. And...he's making moves. I fear he will be crawling in a few weeks. He's also getting pretty good at sitting by himself, and he's working on standing.
He's also become what Aho calls "heavy handed." His new bouncer toy has a frog that has the ability to spin when nudged. Ola, however, doesn't want him to simple spin, he wants him to whip around as fast as possible, which is why he whacks that poor frog non stop. I simply hope he outgrows his heavy handed instincts before he makes any real friends. Otherwise, he might have to wear a sign that says "does not play well with others." I guess only time will tell.