Swimming Lessons

Today Sadie had her first of nine swimming lessons with the Leahi Swim School.  The class from 5-5:30 pm in a heated pool at St. Francis School in Manoa.  We got there about 45 minutes early and she enjoyed watching the class before hers, but did get a little impatient towards the end of the wait.  When I asked her "is Sadie going swimming?" she said "yah!" with enthusiasm, and when I asked her "is Callie going swimming too?" she said "NO! only Sadie swim-swim!, only ME!" LOL.

From start to finish, she had a permanent smile on her face.  Her class consisted of five kids, each with a parent to assist and one instructor.  First the instructor sprinkled water on their heads for them to get used to the feeling.  Then they each choose a toy and practiced "fetching" it with their parents gliding them through the water...Sadie choose Tigger, which is currently her favorite character along with Minnie Mouse.  They then practiced floating on their back with parents holding, getting in and out of the pool, and dunking her head underwater.  She is still fearless, as she will stand at the edge of the pool and jump right in feet first.....all I was thinking when I saw her doing that is good thing we don't have a pool!!  I was especially proud of Sadie because the instructor kept using her as the "demo" before each new exercise, and with her Sadie was extremely relaxed and cooperative.  Little sister Callie was also very relaxed and cooperative the entire time.  She seemed highly entertained and really enjoyed the new environment.

It was 30 minutes of pure joy...until she had to come out of the water.  Not sure if it was because it was so cold, or if she was just mad that it ended, but she was not happy to end the lesson.  Hopefully next week she will be better about drying off quickly and going home.  Luckily, daddy is off for the next few tuesdays, but hopefully once she has the routine down she will let Grandpa take her in the water instead (Lord knows mommy really does not like going in the water!)  Thank you, Grandpa Minn, for sponsoring these fun swimming lessons!

Girl's Day with TWO Girls!

Callie is so blessed to have received a beautiful Japanese doll from Aunty Diane and Aunty Joy for her first Girl's Day.  We will make it a tradition to take a picture of the two girls and their two dolls each year.  Apparently, Sadie's doll from 2011 is now very valuable since the tsunami has greatly slowed the production of these precious dolls.

STAYcation!

Although I had quite a bit of anxiety/stress while prepping for our 3 day / 2 night staycation at the Hale Koa it ended up being a ton of fun for us and the kids!  The packing was a huge chore since Callie is still being breastfed via bottle and also supplementing with formula.....that means.....packing bottles, formula, purified water, a bottle brush, dish soap, a load of diapers, and all my pumping equipment!  Gotta say though, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined since she eats only every 4/5 or sometimes 6 hours (except at night where she still wakes at 12am and 3am for some reason).

The staycation began on friday, when we picked up the kids after a half day of school.  We headed straight for the beach for a few hours, then checked in at 3pm and all the kids took a nap in Grammie's room.  After nap, we got dolled up and headed down for Gramps' surprise retirement party!  Needless to say, he had NO CLUE, which made it awesome!  Everyone was all dressed up, and even though Gramps noticed that everyone was dressed nicely, he still wore his Jordan dry-fit shirt and cargo shorts!  When we walked into the Kalia ballroom, there were 50+ people were there to greet him :)  The night was fun, with lots of good food, funny speeches, and lots of chasing kids around (especially Sadie!).  We stayed till nearly 10pm, and everyone crashed once we got back to the room.

After being up so late, we planned to just sleep in a bit and go to a late breakfast.....NOT!  Both girls were up at the crack of dawn, just before 6am!  We spent most of the early morning getting ready and walked over to Eggs N Things later, where we waited nearly an hour to be seated!  Breakfast was good (but not worth the wait), and after we took a stroll to Teddy Bear World.  The kids really enjoyed the different showcases of animated bears, including a "Psy" bear (guy who sings Gangnum Style).  Grammie treated each of the kids to a stuffed teddy bear of their choice, and we then returned to our rooms for a nap.

By the time Sadie awoke from her nap, it was nearly 3pm, so we quickly headed for the pool and BBQ area, where Gramps was having a BBQ with his friends from Korea.  The three munchkins really enjoyed the kiddie pool, where the water is 1 & 1/2 feet deep! LOL  After the swim, we chilled at the park/playground area until it got a bit too cold, then we went back inside to take a bath.  Once we were all ready, we went to eat ice cream and headed out to "cruise Waiks."

In Waiks, the kids got to see a couple of acrobats, a balloon artist, the "gold man", and the "silver man."  We also took a brief walk through the International Market Place.  It was a great time, although we walked pretty far and our feet were sore by the time we got back.  Once we came back we called it a night, crashed....and the second morning slept in till about 7am.  We decided to go eat a casual breakfast buffet then hit the beach again, but Sadie was acting a little out of sorts, so after breakfast we loaded up and drove home to recuperate.

Overall, it was a great trip....we managed to pack a lot of fun into 48 short hours!  The only negative thing was that Sadie did not eat much the entire time.  She somehow survived on a few crackers, some rice, a bread roll, a little bit of cereal, a few slices of apple, and soy milk.  I think when she's having fun, eating is just not on her list of priorities, so I was happy that she ate a big bowl of rice and miso soup as soon as we got home.  Callie was hands down awesome on the trip....she barely cried the entire time!

Aloha Friday....early pick up at school!

Mommies & babies (Callie - left in the shade)

The Minn Girls

Gramps' surprise party

"More water please, sir"

Up before the sun!

The Waiks Gang

Waiting to grind at Eggs n Things

No caption necessary

San Fran Trip

Attack him!

The Council

Someone tell them they are cousins!

Daddy and "big girl"

Nice try with the shoes (backwards)

Mmmmmmm

"I'm 2" "I'm 3" "I'm 5"

"Gold man"

C-ya later Waikiki

Valentine's Day pics

Callie and mommy spent a good part of V-day together since mommy was home (sick from work).  Daddy got to enjoy a few hours at WBP's Valentine's Day Ball.  The children were supposed to "dress up" for the occasion....but I guess "dress up" didn't quite mean "princess-style" as Sadie was the only one in princess-gear (the other girls were in regular dresses)!  Oh well, lol....she didn't seem to be embarrassed about it! :)  

Just want to report: Callie is just about 4 & 1/2 months old now, and her reflux/colic problems seem to be greatly improved, or should I say "well-controlled with her medication"!  She usually gets up 2 times per night to eat....and Sadie's been sick recently, so she's also been getting up too!....everyday this week at 4:00 am!  Callie girl has also earned the nickname "Chow chow - Minn" (for obvious reasons) by Grammie....she once drank a 9 ounce bottle (but her norm is about 6-7 ounces every 5 hours).  She has also been blessing us with her laughing, smiling, squealing, and giggling these days!  

Callie's stats @ 4 months:

height: 25" (75%)  [Sadie 25.75"= 90%]

weight: 16 lb 5.3 oz (86%) [Sadie 13 lb 13.6 oz = 41%]

All-eyebrows!

Sadie & her nemesis, Pomai

Preschool Sunday Performance

A great performance, despite being pushed repeatedly by her classmate, Pomai (girl between Sadie and Chase)!  Both Grandpa and Grammie asked "what's that girl's problem...the one that was pushing her".....and when I asked daddy who they were talking about, he said "I didn't see anyone pushing her".....after watching the video, I'm wondering how he could miss that! LOL.

Jan pics

Looking slim (in a size 2T swimsuit!)

Callie's twin (according to Grammie)

Photo shoot on the lawn 

Showing signs of a Korean temper

Second-Child Syndrome

Callie is officially 3 months old today, and while we love her just as much as Sadie, there just hasn't been enough time to keep a "diary" of her growth like we had with Sadie.  Besides the obvious fact that Sadie consumes A LOT of our time, the rest of our time is spent just "staying afloat" caring for Baby Minn #2...who has surprisingly been more of a challenge to us than Sadie was the first time around as new (rookie) parents.  In just these first few months, Callie has been to almost as many doctor's appointments as Sadie had in the whole first year!  We are nearing the end of the bumpy path and on to smooth sailing....I hope!

At 3 months Callie:
- weighs >15 lbs (not sure on the exact weight, but a few weeks ago she was already 14 lb 12 oz, this is in stark contrast to Sadie who was <14 lbs at FOUR months)
- is on zantac (ranitidine), which is an acid reducer for her GERD.  It took a few weeks to stabilize, but it seems we are on the right track as far as helping to decrease her discomfort.
- likes her soothie pacifier
- has taken daddy's place on mommy's bed
- drinks about 4 oz of milk every 4 hours
- is a very light sleeper....longest stretch yet has been 6 hours one time only, and she only did this because Grammie was carrying her THE WHOLE TIME.  Normal for her is about 3-4 hours, with 1-2 brief awakenings in between.
- loves when you talk to her, she is a big-time talker....she might be part podagee :)
- hates tummy time
- barely fits 6 month clothes
- gets lots of compliments on her bushy, dark eyebrows
- daddy says her name should have been "Carrie (Carry)" instead of "Callie" because she constantly wants to be carried!
- spends a lot of time, even sleeps in her car seat (since it's at an incline, which helps with her reflux)
- can be described as "sensitive, needy, & cuddly" -- I'm predicting this will be my shy girl that cries on her fist day of pre-school, unlike big sister who just jumped right in head first!