Fall in April

It's been rainy the past few days and we were lucky to get some sun again!  We usually wake up around 7am feed the king his breakfast, then head to our neighborhood cafe Amsterdam.

@ Amsterdam trying to distract Nainoa from pulling things off of the table

Earlier today we went to take some photos at the post office for my immigration paperwork.  Nainoa weights 7.6 kg which means he hasn't gained much weight since our last appointment.  BUT we aren't sure how accurate the scale is because his full weight may or may not be on the scale.  I was freaking out a little about his weight, but we'll go see a doctor to make sure he's growing the way he should be.  I'm not too worried because I know he is healthy and happy.  (But to be on the safe side, we're gonna check it out)

In the afternoon we went to the park by our house.  

It's so weird that it's fall right now and it's April.  I'm used to spring showers. 

I'm so crazy about these two.  Tim is such a good dad, and he's so proud to be one.  It's really sweet.  And of course Nainoa is the best thing that ever happened to us.  

Nainoa was fascinated with this steering wheel and the green bars.

Big smiles

Time to go home and have some dinner

Just wanted to post some pictures of what we've been up to.  It's so handy to have an iphone.  I don't have one, but Tim does and it takes such awesome pictures!  I hope I can have one someday... Instead I am content with having Tim's old prepaid dinosaur phone.  I made enchiladas for dinner last night and we ate the leftovers tonight for dinner.  I also made mexican rice for the first time.  Not sure why I've never made it before it's SOOOOO EASY!  I'm going to attempt a cafe rio style salad sometime soon, and tomorrow, since Tim has a game, I'm going to make acai bowls for breakfast. 

We looked at a house today, to rent.  It's a 20 minute drive outside of the city and is in a nice little town called Altona.  I really like it and so does Tim, so we'll probably be moving there in a month.  It's being rented by Matt's friend and is fully furnished!  Well, that's the latest with us.  I'm still trying to settle in here.  Some days are good and some not so good, but I try to remind myself that the most important thing is that we have each other.  

Kalofai

Funny story.

Yesterday we had to go into town because Tim had an interview with a recruiter.  Trying to find 2hr parking in the city is really hard on top of that it was cold and raining on and off.  We were driving around for almost half an hour when we finally found parking.  We had enough change in our wallets to pay for an hour and half and agreed to be back by 4pm.  Tim went to his interview and Nainoa and I went window shopping.  I bought an expensive lip gloss, yes I got in trouble for that later on, but at least my lips are hydrated with a rosy tint.  I decided to head back to where I left Tim but he hadn't come out yet and the little king was getting fussy.  Tim didn't show up until 4:20.  Uh oh.  The area we parked in only allowed parking til 4:30. (Or so we thought) We had to walk several blocks and wait at several red lights, AND there were tons of people walking and smoking.  I absolutely and completely detest smoking and can't stand it when people smoke in public.  If you want to F up your lungs do it in your own space not mine or not public space.  It's not fair that you are endangering MY health as well.  (I shared an article on FB the other day about 2nd hand smoke and how it increases EVERYONES risk for getting cancer, even under limited exposure) Anyway.  I sent Tim ahead because I was walking slower with Nainoa in the stroller.  I finally got to where the car was supposed to be and there was so much traffic!  I didn't see the car anywhere, and I didn't see Tim.  I kept walking thinking I was in the wrong area when all of a sudden Tim was standing in front of me.

Bad news.

The car got towed.

More bad news.  We didn't read the sign carefully enough.  Parking ended at 4pm.  By the way, the car didn't belong to us, or Tim's brother.  It was Tim's friend's car which we had to return today.  Our car seat was in the car too!  AND our house keys were in the car.

Tim ended up getting in line to take a taxi, and Nainoa and I braved the trains.  I've never ridden the train in Melbourne, but I knew the name of the station by my house.  I got through the crowds and to the ticket box.  I couldn't understand all of the directions given to me because 1. It wasn't in english, it was in Aussie English and 2. my ears are small.  She mentioned a flashing and "something something glen waverly."  Needless to say I got on the wrong train.  THEN I got off of the wrong train, which was express train and would've taken me to somewhere called Mulgrove, THEN I almost got on the wrong train AGAIN.  I finally saw my train, the one that said "glen waverly" and got on.  It was a short ride and I got off and walked into the grocery store to wait for Tim.  Luckily I had a store gift card.  I spent more than half an hour walking around the store.  Finally I couldn't wait anymore because Nainoa was getting hungry.  I covered him and walked home in the cold with the stroller and all our groceries.  Luckily Tim had given me a big blanket to use while we were in the city.  I fed Nainoa, sitting outside our house with the big blanket to keep us warm.  Tim showed up about half an hour later and we finally got inside the house and warmed up.

Here's me and Nainoa around 3:00pm going to drop Dada off at his interview

It wasn't too stressful.  More than anything else it was funny.  It did suck that we had to pay to get the car out of the tow lot and we need to pay parking fines.  But I don't care.  I'm just glad we are safe.  And Yes we have learned our lesson to read the traffic signs very carefully.

It's hard to be in a bad mood, or stay in one for so long when we have this little guy to make us smile.  I love this face he's making.  It's a baby crazy face. :)

Last but not least, tonight in the shower Nainoa said, "hi Dada" it was so cute and we both were so excited.  Love the little guy but... Kalofai, sorry Nainoa, your mom and dad sometimes run around like chickens with no heads...

Hunger Haze

I just read my friend Darah's post about her obsession with Red Bull and it made me think of what I'm obsessed with.  Besides being obsessed with my hubby and bouncing baby boy, I'm obsessed with food.   Not in a way where I'm eating all the time, and all day long, although sometimes I do eat all day long, but more so in the way where if I'm hungry and haven't had anything to eat for a while (too long), I better get my food. Or else!  Here are a few examples of how crazy obsessed I am.

- Do not get in my way if I'm hungry.  I'm like a hippo.  If you get near or threaten my food source you will be in mortal danger.  But really I'm just throwing stones at you and beating you up in my head mentally.  I'm punching your face, kicking you in the baby-maker etc.  I might not hang out with you for a while afterwards.

-If you are my husband not only will you receive a beating mentally I will be mean and grumpy to you too.

-Sometimes when I'm really really REALLY hungry, I'll keep saying, "I'm so hungry" to the point where people around me get irritated.

-If I'm starving and go to a restaurant and the food is taking too long, I will eat all of the bread, chips or whatever little snacks they give you while you are waiting for you food.  But I will be considerate and make sure you get your share.  AND if you eat more chips than me I will get upset and think you are hogging all  of the food.  I'm hungry!  Don't eat my chips!

-Do not touch my food!  I will not and do not want to share while under a hunger haze. It usually ends by the time I've eaten 3/4 of whatever I've ordered.

-If you keep me from, prevent, or delay my meal I will think you are a really inconsiderate and rude person who ONLY thinks of themselves.  Hahaha I know this sounds dumb BUT sadly it's true.  I do think this way sometimes.  Only when I have that hunger haze around my head.  Feed me and I'll be back to my normal, awkward, not so demanding self.

Last example of how crazy I get when I'm that hungry.

-If you brush off my hunger and treat it like it doesn't matter, or tell me to "just wait" like I'm making a big deal of something inconsequential (only when I'm crazy hungry) I will temporarily put you on my mental hate list.

Yes people.  This is serious business.  Hippos are dangerous!

Ok. I've confessed.  Now you may judge me.

8 Months

Last night I was filling out forms for my Aussie Immigration and I had to list all of the places that I've lived.  I can't believe how much has happened since moving home from Japan and I can't believe my son is already 8 months old.

Nainoa is sleeping in his own room now.  Even though this is only the fourth night I miss him every night.  He cries himself to sleep, sometimes 15 or 10 minutes and then there are freak incidents like tonight where he cried for almost an hour.  We've been working on letting him cry-it-out for a week and so far it's going okay.  Since we let him sleep on his own he's slept through the night twice!  So I know we are doing the right thing, even though sometimes I feel like I'm being really mean for letting him cry for so long.

Nainoa loves attention.  Whenever we are out in public he stares at other people and waits for them to look at him.  Then he flashes them a huge smile.  He loves the attention, especially from the ladies.  He will start to yell until you look at him.  He enjoys crawling with his left knee and right foot.  It's so funny to watch.

He loves his solid food and I've been letting him eat banana without mushing it up.

He still only has two little bottom teeth.  It's so cute whenever he smiles his big two teeth toothy smile.

Nainoa loves his dad.  I can already see they have this really special connection with each other and of course Tim is so proud of his son.  He is always showing him off and they still go on their morning walks together.  Whenever Tim walks into the room Nainoa stares at him and smiles and waits to get his attention.  The other morning Nainoa woke up and we brought him into our bed and laid with him for a few minutes.  It was so cute he was so happy and just kept smiling at us.  Then he grabbed Tim's finger and just lay there holding it.

He's turning into such a chatter box.  Right now saying "mama" is most popular (which I love) but he also likes to say DADA, Nene, and he puffs his cheeks out and blows raspberries.  Sometimes he waves goodbye if we lift his arm up, he'll move his hand.

He understands that if he wants me all he has to do is crawl to me.  Even when I'm in the kitchen he'll crawl from the living room.

We miss having all of our family around us, but we are so happy that Uncle Matt is here.  Nainoa has so much fun laughing and playing with him.

I feel so blessed to be his mom.

Independent Sleeper

We are trying to sleep train our little boy and so far it has been going great!  He whines for 5 minutes and then lies down and drifts off to sleep.  It gets easier everyday and I'm really happy we decided to teach him to self-soothe and sleep on his own.  I tried to do it several times before but it wasn't working and everyone we lived with, including Tim, gave me a hard time about it.  So I'm glad to say it's been done!  Nainoa still wakes up in the middle of the night wanting to nurse and be held and/or just wanting to scream his head off.  Pay back, I guess, for not helping him to sleep. lol.  We've been going crazy because he's been waking up 2-3 times in the middle of the night for an hour or more just screaming and yelling.  We talked it out and realized that he wasn't waking out of need but out of habit.  He's been waking up at almost the same time every night!  SO.  We decided to try letting him cry-it-out.  In order to do this though, we couldn't be in the room with him which means... we slept in another room away from him!  

Hahahaha!  It's such a big deal to us and I know it may sound silly but it was really hard.  It's only been one night and tonight will be the second night away from the little man.  I've never spent a night without him in the same room as me so last night felt wrong in a way.  I almost gave in and told Tim we should go back in the room and be with him.  Ah... the joys of parenting.  Soon our boy will be 8 months and he is already getting into so much mischief.  I'll try to do a birthday posting if I have time and speedy internet.

I can't upload too many pictures because the internet is too slow where we are staying.  We will soon move into our own place but we are still unsure of where that is. It's one big adventure and I'm feeling really good about it today.  

No You May Not Sleep

My baby has been waking 2-3 times in the middle of the night just screaming his head off!  No signs of new teeth coming through.  He just wakes and screams.  He'll fall asleep in my arms after yelling (no tears) and when I put him back down he starts screaming again!  He falls asleep really easily when we put him down for naps and at night, BUT it gets crazy after 12.  The other morning he woke up at 3:30am I tried to keep in his bed, then I tried rocking him, then finally I offered him the breast.  He fell asleep after emptying both sides.  When I put him down he woke up and started yelling again.  I kept trying to rock him, and he wanted to nurse some more.

Anyway.  Anyone else gone through this?

I Live Here Now

Trying to fly standby when you are moving to another country with all of your stuffs.  Not the best idea.  But being the geniuses that we are you know we tried to.  We didn't leave on the original day planned, but we did get on the flight the next day.  It was heaps of drama and I had to drive home and then drive right back to town to collect the rest of our things.  Nainoa spent his last afternoon with his grandmama and Tim and I went surfing.  The next morning, more drama, trying to make sure Nainoa had a ticket to fly (Hawaiian requires infants to use a pass for international flights) We didn't have a ticket confirmed for him until we reached Kaneohe.  Yes I'm sure you're thinking eeeeeeeediots.  So, what happened, happened.  We got on our plane and I said goodbye to my beautiful Hawaii.  On a side note, a lot of people don't realize or even know I'm Hawaiian, but Yes I am and it may only be a little, but I have this indescribable feeling when I think about home.  Our beautiful aina radiating in aloha... I take it with me wherever I go and it holds a sacred place in my heart.  That said, it's hard for me to leave again.  I know I'm coming back in a few months, but only to visit.  I'm going to be living here.  Down unda'.  For better and/or for worse.

We arrived in Sydney and had a crazy time trying to get all of our things out to the taxi, but once that was done everything else was easy.  Nainoa met his Japanese uncles for the first time, and we all drove in, what tim likes to call, a convoy 4 hrs down the coast to Meme and Papa's house.  We got a few days of surf in, ate some delicious food, and then had our wedding party that weekend.  It was a nice party and there were a lot of people drinking.  I was worried it was going to end up being just a big "drink up" but we had a tiny ceremony in which we passed our rings around to everyone so that they could give us their well wishes.  It was really nice.  The party was catered and the food was DELICIOUS.  The food was being served on platters.  Lol.  It was a little fancy.  No one got super ridiculous drunk, but I did witness several older people acting slightly inappropriately.  Hahahaha.

Nainoa had a hard time adjusting with all of the traveling and getting used to a new house but he was such a little champ.  We drove down the coast from Lilli Pilli to Melbourne and we are now living with Tim's brother, the actor, Matt Le Nevez.  Nainoa love his uncle Matt.  He's really funny and sweet, and knows a lot of random facts about things you wouldn't expect him to know.  I really enjoy listening to Tim, Matt, and their other friend's conversations.  They talk about things we probably never talk about at home.  Different people, different lifestyles.  It's fun to see and live in another side of the world.

We are sleep training the little king again.  So far things are going ok.  The first night he cried for 45 min.  Second night 20 min.  Tonight maybe 15 min.  BUT and that's a big BUTT, he didn't go down well for his two naps today.  Poor guy cried for an hour and 15 minutes for one of his naps.  AND the hardest part is that we still share a room with him, so when he wakes up in the middle of the night he screams until he's picked up.  He woke up at 3:30 am and cried for an hour.  I had to pick him up and nurse him.  I'm not worried that he feels insecure.  I know that I'm giving him the gift of sleep.  And I can already see improvement!  

Here are few other things going on with our little champ.
-He crawls and scoots himself all over the place
-He can now climb over me if I'm lying next to him and he wants something on the other side of me
-Pulls himself into standing position against chairs and the tv table
-Eats yummy solid food, chicken, beef, veggie, and fruit purees (I wish I could say I make them myself. But I don't.  One weird thing about AUS they don't sell much veggie purees and if they do it's mixed with fruit!)
-He sings, yells, and says mama, dada all day long
-Enjoys his morning walks with Dada
-I think he weighs about 17 pounds now and I'm wondering if we need to start wearing the next size up in diapers.

Tim's hunt for a job is going pretty good.  No job offers yet but he has a ton of contacts and I'm sure he'll find work soon.  We found out we qualify for the baby bonus! woohoo! It's $5000 for having a baby.  I love free money.  We are starting to look for our own place and also figuring out what kind of car we are going to buy.

I forgot to mention we went to Bell's beach and watched the surf contest.  It was so hot that day we had to leave early and we missed the final heat.  We watched the highlights on tv and that was enough for me.  Tim surfed at a break called "winki pop" lol.  Which is right next to Bells.

Ok I'm beginning to get sleepy and I have to work on a research paper for my english class.  Tim's at training and Nainoa has been asleep for an hour while I've been rambling away.  I miss my home.  I miss my family but I feel so blessed to have such an awesome husband who takes care of me and Nainoa and cooks such ridiculously awesome Indian curry.  I'm so spoiled.