1st Haircut

Michael's hair was starting to get a bit out of control over the ears and in the back, so I just couldn't wait for his first birthday as I had planned to give the little guy a trim. We made a trip out of it to John's barber in Burnaby and all 3 boys got the haircut. Just like his older brother Michael was curious at first about the razor and then decided he did not want his hair cut. Poor fellow. Depsite the fussing, squirming and screaming I think it turned out pretty well.

Michael had started the haircut sitting on John's lap under the cape. Within a
minute he was standing and the cape was nearly gone.

Up, Up, and Away!

Michael has managed two pretty big milestones in the last 2 days. He has started to say the word "Up!" when he wants to be picked up from his high chair at mealtimes. We think he has also said "Heather" and Bye bye!", but when we asked him to repeat these words he didn't.



His other new skill is climbing the stairs. John and I were both shocked to see him sitting at the bottom of the stairs one second (which he does a lot since Bucca's toys are in a basket there) and then on the 4th step a few seconds later. Since his first (and very successful) attempt at climbing all he has done is practice. Here is a video of one of his first tries, he slips a little on some of the steps. I should make another video because in the past 2 hours he has become even quicker and more sure footed.

Aloha!

Aloha! It has been awhile since my last post due to creating wedding invites for my sister and a close friend, hanging out with the boys, holding stamping classes, and most recently living island life in Kona, Hawaii with my ohana (family) including my sister Heather. I can't promise I'll fill you in on the past few weeks at home (if time permits I will), but here is a quick look at our Hawaiian holiday.

We spent many days hanging out at beaches. Michael especially loved crawling around in the surf.

We went to the Black Sands Beach and saw the Honu (turtles).

We took the boys on a glass bottom boat & dolphin adventure. We saw spinner dolphins and 2 bottlenose dolphins swam with us for the entire trip entertaining us at every reef we stopped at.

We drove to the volcanoes and stood at the crater at Kilauea. Matthew was a little scared of the steam vents we could walk up to, but thought the big one in the crater was cool. We didn't get to see any flowing lava, but we did get to walk through a lava tube.

We went to Place of Refuge and saw all the tikis. There were a ton!

Matthew was thrilled to be at the luau, eat kalua pork and watch the hula girls. He even got to watch his Auntie Heather go up on stage to dance!

We swam in the pool, walked the Kona strip, ate in too many restaurants and generally relaxed. The heat and the swimming really wore the boys out though. Matthew even napped most days. Then again that may be due to the fact they were getting up around 5:30 am and going to bed around 9pm.

We had a fabulous time and can't wait to go back!

Brothers

I just LOVE watching my boys interact. As Michael becomes more mobile and vocal Matthew is becoming more and more interested in him. Today it was all giggles and cuddles out on the deck while Michael ate his snack in the sunshine. Aren't they adorable!

Just Like His Auntie Heather!

Matthew has always enjoyed climbing, so today he got me to tape him climbing at the park (unfortunately I didn't realize the camera had to be horizontal for videos - so here is a photo instead). We'll have to get him over to Heather's place soon to let him try climbing there again. He has gained a lot of arm strength in the past few months. I can't wait until he is old enough to climb at a gym and learn some real technique. It is such great exercise.

Matthew "feeding" Michael

Well, I guess I'm a slow learner, but I now know to NEVER leave my boys alone together. The first time I just ran to the basement to grab a loaf of bread and Matthew watched and laughed as Michael splashed in Sambucca's water dish. Monday, I safely secured Michael (so he couldn't get into the dog dishes) before running downstairs to grab some meat from the freezer. Matthew decided Michael couldn't wait the extra 30 seconds to eat his breakfast. The two of them were laughing hysyerically - I wasn't as we were already running late for preschool. Aargh!

Michael's on the Go!

We always figured Michael would walk early - and he is certainly on his way. He is able to pull himself up on ANYTHING, he can cruise around the whole coffee table, couch etc... He can reach out to move from one piece of furniture to another and now he can walk with his little car for support. In this video from a gfew days ago he is pretty wobbly as he had just learned how to do this. Now he just motors. It won't be long until we can lose the props. Hopefully before we go to Hawaii at the end of April he will be independently mobile. Yeah Michael!

The laughing in the background is Matthew - he is very excited and proud of his little brother.