Father's Day

To make Father's Day extra special for Buddy, Hunter and I made him breakfast in bed. Hunter always wants to help mix things for me when I'm baking or cooking. So he scrambled the eggs for breakfast and then drew dad a nice card.

Buddy wanted to eat steak for dinner so he decided that he would cook that for dinner and Hunter and I made dad's favorite trifle. Again, Hunter was a big help mixing the cake mix and pudding. He was also really great at licking the bowl and mixers.

We had a wonderful day together and we're grateful for Buddy and all his hardwork during the day to support us and then all his hardwork when he comes home to take care of me and the kids. He devotes all his time and energy to his family to make sure all our needs are met. He makes us laugh and loves to play with the kids. He works hard as a husband to keep our relationship strong and to make sure I'm happy. A happy wife = a happy husband. He teaches Hunter to play, laugh, and have fun, but to also be obedient. As the patriarch in the family, he leads us spiritually and blesses us when we need it. Thank you Buddy for your wonderfulness. We're lucky to have you.

Swim lessons

We signed Hunter up for swim lessons at a nearby YMCA. Since he's not 3 yet, a parent has to swim with him. This past Saturday was the 1st class and this is a picture to sum up how it went. Yup, he cried the whole time. Finally, the teacher wanted the kids to practice jumping into the water to the parent. So as soon as Buddy put him up on the side of the pool, he made his escape and ran over to me sitting on the bleachers.

Hunter has salmonella poisoning. We're not sure when or how he got it, but last Saturday night, he started running a fever and having diarrhea. We thought it was just normal stomach flu so we kept giving him tylenol and hydrating him. But on Monday, he started having blood in his stool, so we took him to the doctor. For a couple of days before the fever came on, he was extra fussy. He still isn't 100% himself so we're thinking that contributed to the crying session at the pool. He usually LOVES the water and loves to swim. When we got there, he was so excited to go in the water, but as soon as class started, he was a mess.

Bottle game

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Kaiava's 1 yr old birthday party. Thanks for inviting us and we really enjoyed ourselves. Good food, great entertainment, and amazing decorations. You could tell Aunty Eileen had something to do with it. I think Iolani was giving it away and Aunty Eileen told Aunty Sandy. It was an ocean theme so they had fishes hanging from the ceiling and all on the walls. It was great. I told Uncle Timmy that they should use 'em for all the kids parties. He was quick to say "no way". I guess it was a pain to put up.


They had little games that the kids could play. One of them was knocking over empty water bottles with plastic balls and Sheren's brother was manning the game. I could not get Hunter away from there, he loved knocking those bottles down. I had to apologize to her brother because Hunter was taking over and making him work too hard. After awhile, he got tired of getting Hunter's ball and restacking the bottles. I took over and was helping Hunter, but I got tired too after awhile.

Here's Hunter stacking his own bottles...

and getting his own ball. Her brother is sitting down. I don't blame him, poor thing, and I'm glad he did otherwise he would've never been able to enjoy the party. Hunter would've kept him busy. Well, at least I know what game to have at his 3 yr old birthday party.

Sea Life Park

Hunter's preschool was going on an excursion to Sea Life Park. I wasn't spending as much time with Hunter as I wanted or needed to since Lexi came, so I thought this excursion was the perfect opportunity to have mommy and Hunter time. We had a blast and it was so nice to devote 100% of my attention and energy to him. He LOVED the dolphins.

I haven't been to the park in years. It's different now because there's no pirate ship thingy and they don't have killer whales. They have a wolphin which looks and jumps just like a dolphin. I wouldn't have known the difference if they didn't tell us. And it seems like only haoles work there. There's no pretty lady paddling the 1 person canoe anymore and the shows are like an hour apart so you spend a lot of time waiting around. You can even swim the dolphins now which is pretty neat.

He absolutely loved this huge fish tank. He didn't want to leave it. So in between shows, we would go hang out in the shade and watch the fishes.

Lexi and my baby blues

Lexi's colic has gotten a lot better and her maintenance level has gone down a notch where she doesn't have to be held every second of the day. She's becoming more independent. She has also started sleeping a 5 hr block at night so I have gotten a little more rest as well. She's getting chubbier and filling out more, but she definitely doesn't eat as much as Hunter did. It's interesting how different she is from him. What worked for him, doesn't work for her, so it's almost like being a new mother all over again and trying to figure things out.

At first it was a little overwhelming, and I don't know if it's because of the hormones or what, but I do get a little "bluey" after I give birth. It was like that with Hunter as well, where I felt lonely and sad a lot. I always wanted Buddy to stay home with us and I didn't want to be alone. Even if it was just me and Lexi, it was almost like she didn't count, because she can't talk and just sits there and is sleeping most the time. I slept in her room at night so we didn't wake up Buddy since he has to work early, and I would have Hunter sleep with me just so I didn't feel so alone. And my parents were always over or I was over their house so they could help me. They were life savers. Thank goodness I'm done with that stage and I finally snapped out of it. I feel a little embarrassed admitting that I have some form of depression after giving birth, but if there are others of you that get those sad feelings, I know how you feel and it helps to talk to someone about it.

Abby

My mother-in-law is an animal lover. Buddy and his siblings joke about how she loves animals more than people. On her land she owns a couple horses and about 6 dogs. About a couple years ago, she bought a pony for the grandchildren. The pony's name is Abby. I love the name Abby and was thinking of naming Lexi that. Anyways, I never grew up with animals and therefore don't really feel that comfortable around them. Plus, I've seen the show, "When animals attack" and I always think they're gonna bite me or try and eat me or something. So basically, I'm scared of animals. I'm glad Hunter is being exposed to them early on. He still gets nervous around the dogs since they're a little bigger than him, but he eventually warms up and will want to pet them. The horse is not an animal he is warming up to. Every time we go to my mother-in-law's she tries to put him on the horse. He'll sit for a second but wants off shortly after.

Tiare is gonna try and put him on the horse so she's gradually moving Hunter closer and closer. He's very unsure of what's going on.

I can read it in his eyes...he's saying, "mom, get me out of here." He knows what's coming up...

That didn't last long.

Ok, dad's turn to get Hunter to sit on for more than a second. Notice the tongue is out...that's what Hunter does when he gets nervous.

Tongue still out...

Ahhhh....safe with dad.

That's Phoenix in the background...he's not a pony. Notice how I'm up on the hill and nowhere close to the horse. Tutu tried to get Hunter to sit on Phoenix but Hunter wasn't having any of that.

Hunter and Elena helping Tiare make cupcakes. Yum.

Playing with dad

Hunter is definitely and outside person. As soon as he wakes up, he wants to go outside and play. I love being outside with him, but since Lexi came along, I haven't been able to play with him as much as I'd like to. He loves playing with Buddy because daddy lets him play in the dirt.

Playing in the dirt in the backyard. Can't wait till we put our grass in so I don't have to worry about Hunter bringing the dirt inside the house. Yes, there have been a couple times Buddy has let him run into the house after playing in the dirt. Our carpet is a light beige and I've had to scrub out little brown footprints . I'm definitely not a violent person, but it's times like that where the thought "strangle the husband" comes into mind.

Another love of Hunters...bubbles. We have a ton of bubble containers in the garage. We even bought the machine that creates a gazillion bubbles. He can play with them all day.

The week leading up to Lexi's birth, we stayed at my parents house in town so we could be closer to the hospital. Hunter got spoiled rotten in that week. This is his new bike my mom bought him because the other kids in the neighborhood that he plays with have "big boy bikes" like this one.

PRIVATE

We're jumping on the private train with our blog. Buddy keeps asking me if I made it private yet and I keep telling him I'm getting to it so it's time I follow through. So please send me your email if you want to continue viewing our blog. You can either leave it in the comments or email me at ehuchan{at}yahoo{.}com.

Happy 1 month

Lexi turned 1 month old on May 9th and we LOVE her more and more. She is quite a little princess and likes to be held. She is a bright eyed joy and is starting to smile more. It feels good to have a little one to hold close again and we love when she stares at us with her big brown eyes.

And with all the good comes a little bad. The first month was a pretty LONG one for me...and I'm sure for her as well. I'm slowly starting to remember what sleep feels like although she's getting better as time goes on and sleeping longer at night. She's a colicky baby which I never experienced with Hunter and always skipped that part of the parenting books. He was super mellow so when she wouldn't stop crying at 3 am I thought I was gonna lose my mind. But now that I know what it is, the sleeplessness and crying are easier to bear.

While Buddy was remodeling Jim Leahey's (sports announcer) home last year, he introduced Hunter and me to the Leahey family. They absolutely loved Hunter and told us to enjoy every second with him because he will only be this Hunter once. He'll grow up and we're gonna miss the 1 1/2 yr old Hunter. So he really emphasized how we need to enjoy every moment with our kids. I keep reminding myself of that advice during the middle of the night feeding and screaming, when my nipples hurt, when my arms ache from carrying and carrying and carrying, and most of all when I put her down to sleep and she's awake again a minute later. And to be completely honest, while there are many newborn moments I love, there are many newborn moments I don't think I'll miss.

Little Engelbert Humperdink

Since Hunter was a baby, as a way of soothing him, my dad would sing him this Engelbert Humperdink song. One day a few months ago, he was talking talking talking to himself and I was wondering what he was saying. When I listened more closely, I realized he was actually singing this song. I recently FINALLY got it on video. I have no idea what the title of the song is, but here are the words he's singing:

Planes to Rome and ships to Spain
China sunsets, jungle silver with rain.
But what a fool I would be to leave heaven, no not me.
But all this world and the seven seas...

By the way, don't mind the mess in the background. The 4th bedroom is still in the "moving in" stage.

Lexie

Thankfully, the labor and delivery went well. I went to the hospital at around 11:30 pm on Tuesday. I thought I had a high pain tolerance, but the pain I was having right before I got the epidural was excruciating. I give credit to those who go all natural. They let me sleep the rest of the night/morning and when I woke up they were getting me ready to deliver. She came out so fast. I thought Hunter was easy...I pushed for about 15 minutes with him. With Lexi, I only pushed 3 times...1 contraction and she was out. In fact, she came out so fast, my parents missed it. They were parking the car. They had Hunter with them and he woke up late. He usually wakes up at 7am, but this one particular day for some reason he woke up after 8.

I did have a wonderful support team there. My Aunty Kuuipo is a retired delivery nurse at Queens so she came at 2am and stayed till I delivered to make sure I was being taken care of. I'm sure the nurses would've taken good care of me regardless if she was there or not, but it gave me peace of mind to have someone I trusted speaking with the nurses. My other Aunty Poni was there also. She was present at Hunter's birth as well.

Lexi was very quiet when she was born. She let out one little cry to let us know she was breathing and then after that, she just stared all around her. She didn't make a peep. We're hoping she continues to be like that.

Hunter and my parents walked into the delivery room soon after I delivered and this is a picture of Hunter not too sure of what was going on. The doctor was still working on me and Lexi is on my chest. He was very hesitant to give me a kiss at first.

Sorry, kinda out of sequence, but this picture was taken yesterday

Back at the hospital
Aunty Kuuipo
Grandma

She's here

Just a quick update. I gave birth at 9:29am on April 9th. We had a baby girl and she was 6 lbs 8 ozs at birth but of course has lost some weight. And she is 19 1/4" long. She's so tiny compared to Hunter who was 8 lbs. We named her Alexis "Lexi" Ann Emmalani. She resembles Hunter when he was born, but she has darker hair and more of it.

We just got home today and are all doing well. I will post pictures soon.

Still Waiting...

A bunch of you have asked if baby has arrived yet and the answer is "no". I went to the hospital at midnight a little over a week ago with strong contractions that were 2 minutes apart so I thought it was time. But after 4 hours of no progress, my contractions stopped and the doctor sent me home. Talk about disappointing and frustrating. We're playing the waiting game now. Hunter's due date was Nov. 10th and he came on the 9th, so maybe the same will go for her. Hopefully in the next day or two. I'll let you all know when she arrives (if it is a "she", we have a boy name just in case).