Isn't it funny how kids change you? My whole life I have been a NigHt oWL and now I am what I thought I would never be; a mORniNG bIRd! It wasn't by choice at first, but now I lOvE evERytHInG aBOut MoRniNg! Elmer leaves for work by 6:30 so Kai is still fast asleep when we get up, giving Elmer and I some very RARE us time. It might only be ten minutes that we get to spend together, but it is sooo worth it. I lOvE tHIs mAn MorE tHan SlEep, and I LOVE sleep! Sometimes after oUr KiSs gOOdbYe, I sneak back to bed for another hour of sleep; but most days my little stinker wakes just as dAddy's TrUCk leaves the drive way. He is up and REadY tO PlaY! Into my bed we go to sNuGgle wItH ThE pIlLoWs, BlAnkEts AnD eACh OthER! Sweet coos of I lOvE YoU mOMmy and gENtle KiSseS from Kai's slobbery mouth help to start the day off right. Of course the occasional slap in the face from Kai is quite invigorating also! What helps you start your day off right?

hiNotice any CHanGes lately? ??

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I have been rather InSPirIEd and felt that it

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time to

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SEE thINgs

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iN a WHolE nEw

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LIGHT!!!

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hi

My

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Creativity

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is brewing....

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I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!

Don't worry mom, we aren't having another baby! We are becoming nudists. Yep! That is right, nudists. "Why?" you ask. Because I am sick of laundry! Do I really need to explain that? WHO IS WITH ME NOW?!?!?!

Meet ... One Tooth!

I have meet babies before, and maybe one of them is yours, who start teething at 4 months. Kai is now ten months and has just one tooth, but I swear he has been teething FOREVER! Just one tooth to show for all of that work but I am now getting a sweet reward; laughter and lots of it. Maybe it is the wild animal in me, I don't know, but ever since he was brand new I would tell Kai how much I love him and then gently "roar" in his ear to reassure him of how strong my love is. Knowing this you wouldn't think it odd that Kai now does it too, the funny thing is that Kai didn't start "roaring" until he got his one tooth. My sweet little baby who used to coo and cuddle with me is now a BIG, scary, one toothed monster who "ROARS" really loud while chasing me around the house, making sure I know that I am loved!!! Needless to say Kai's new nick name is one tooth and every one he meets he proudly shows them his one tooth with a "ROAR". Mommy LOVES you Kai!!!

Just a quick note...

...on why I love this man. Lately I have been a little home sick. I think it is because of the fact that it is fall time and I don't get to enjoy all the fun things I love about fall. Yesterday after reading a few of your blogs I expressed my sorrow aloud. Elmer, who HATES to see me sad, quickly tried to reassure me "It is fall here too!" he said. "Oh yeah?" I replied in disbelief. "Yeah babe..." he said looking around kind of hopeless due to the lack of any presence of fall, "... FALLing temperatures!!!" I love you Elmer!

Don't worry be happy now!

Does anyone else feel this way lately? Right now I am totally kicking myself for not finishing nursing school! I knew the time would come after having Kai that I would need to get job and with the pure uncertainty of our economy, the time is here. With gas being $6/gal and milk $11/gal you can imagine the coast of living on this beautiful island, EXPENSIVE. So I open the newspaper to look for a job and in the help wanted section it was full of personal ads offering THEIR service. "Are you kidding me?" I thought. A big industry for Hawaii residents was the airlines and they all went under so now the unemployment rate in Hawaii is SUPER high, along with all this chaos on wall street and even more jobs are being threatened. So the job hunt is on and this time it really is going to be a hunt. Have you ever heard "write it sown make it happen" will since this is really the only place I write, I am writing it down. I have a fun, well-paying job TODAY! This is me being positive or at least trying too! In an effort to stay positive I put this song on our blog, Don't Worry - Be Happy and let the words get stuck in my head, I figure it is better to keep singing 'don't worry be happy now' then to think of all the bad things that are happening. I really should only watch the news maybe once a week, too much bad news makes me cranky. Wish me luck!!!

My Brillant Baby ... My Absentmind

I recently came across this study that says women with wider hips tend to have babies with higher I.Q.'s (more room to grow?? they didn't specify). Then the other day at the pharmacy these Chinese women kept looking at Kai. When I came to the counter they commented on how round Kai's head was. This wasn't the first time I heard this, when he was born all the nurses told me I had a perfectly shaped baby doll for a baby, and he was! From the way the Chinese women were looking at it, closely examining the shape and size, I didn't know if it was a bad thing and nervously asked 'why?'. They quickly reassured me that it was a good thing and that they believe that babies with really round heads are smart. Silly me! I know my baby is smart why would I even worry!?!

Of course he is smart, now at 10 months he is full of clever surprises. Elmer is bilingual and only talks to Kai in Spanish, I think it has advanced his language skills because Kai will put two words together now. When he wants his bottle he tells me "baba mama, BABA!" and when Kai and Elmer are dancing and jammin to music Kai happily babbles "Ya dada, ya!". He points his finger, waves goodbye, says "Hi" or what sounds like hi, claps his hands, plays peek-a-boo, and crawls and climbs on anything and everything. He is a boy alright, and a boy who knows how to FLIRT! Watch out all you girls!

My baby is brilliant and I.. I am absentminded, all the time! STILL!!! So I have a theory, because I used to be smart, at least I think I did. My baby stole my brain. Since I first got pregnant til, well... now, I have spent the better part of my day walking in circles because I forgot what I was doing. As far a specifics episodes go, I can't really remember but a few days ago my absentmindedness really got the better of me. I went to the ATM put int the card, checked my balance and... walked away, with the card in the ATM, pin entered and the screen asking if I wanted another transaction, and I walked away!! Luckily an honest women came up behind me and got my attention before I got to far. Does it ever go away? I wasn't always this stupid was I??? I don't think I have any brains left for other kids. Please I need a little reassurance!

P.S. I think that every mother should brag about their children to let them know they are loved! I know you all have brilliant kids too, despite the size of your hips! So if you haven't bragged about your little bugs, DO IT!