May 30, 2008

Today after gymnastics class, Gigi and I headed over to meet Auntie Jen for lunch at Ala Moana.  We both quickly changed out of our gym clothes into lunch clothes in the parking lot!

Here is Gigi and Auntie Jen.  Silly Auntie Jen, didn't have her camera centered on the both of them.

This is a picture from my camera.

Here's a nice picture of the two of them.

We had lunch a CPK.  Gigi enjoyed coloring the menu.

While we waited for our food, Gigi studied her iPhone flashcards.  She wanted to show Auntie Jen that she can count to twenty in English and Japanese.  :)

After lunch, we all strolled around the mall.  Gigi was in an adventurous mood, and she went exploring in areas she shouldn't have.  

Auntie Jen snapped this picture of her entitled, "How much is that Gigi in the window?"

Look at my naughty Gigi!  She's so happy to be caught!

May 24, 2008

Today we went to art class.  Gigi decided to play with the play dough.  She really likes the garlic press, because it makes play dough strands.  :)

This play dough is NOT edible.  It doesn't smell good, but it does have glitter in it.

Gigi had a lot of fun  with the confetti!  She loved sprinkling it on her fish!

May 22, 2008

Gianna is 20 months old today!

Quick note: The dress that Auntie Susy gave Gigi a while back now fits PERFECTLY! It was super cute, but I didn't take a picture, because Papa has my camera. :0

Parenting note: Gigi threw two tantrums yesterday, one at nap time and the other at bed time. At nap time, Gigi got her way, because Grandma had come over to babysit and came to Gigi's rescue. At bed time, things were difficult, because Papa was packing, and Gigi wanted to be with him. Nevertheless, I did not give in to her ranting, and she ended up crying for an extended period of time, before she gave in and went to bed.

Today, Gigi took a long nap without a fuss, but at bedtime, she threw a tantrum again. BUT, this time, I used Dr. Harvey Karp's techniques, and the tantrum barely lasted a couple of minutes. I had read his book, The Happiest Toddler on the Block, a long time ago, but I didn't need to use his techniques until now, since Gianna never threw tantrums before the one she had a Connor's party.

The good news is that his techniques work! After following his tips, Gigi responded beautifully! She changed from a raving toddler to the sweet and cooperative little girl I know and love. I was amazed to see her climb into bed and go right to sleep without a fuss, after just having pitched a huge crying fit!

A special thanks to Auntie Maile Lum for her recommending Dr. Karp's books to me. :)

May 21, 2008

Today we went to music class, and Troy and Gianna decided to be dance partners.

Here's a video clip of the two of them dancing.  :)

May 19, 2008

Today is the last field trip for the Spring 2008 session. It has been a great experience! Our trip today focused on butterflies.

We visited this lady who showed us how to take care of butterflies.

Gianna was very interested in the lecture!

Each child got a caterpillar to take home. I hope our caterpillar survives!

We also learned how to create a butterfly garden, or rather a garden for butterflies. Gianna planted this plant.

Here she is watering her plant.

May 18, 2008

Today I decided to make a batch of edible play dough. I was watching an episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8, and she mentioned that the recipe called for equal parts of powdered milk, peanut butter, and honey.  The dough was a bit sticky, so I did add in more powdered milk.  It smelled yummy, and sure enough, Gigi ate the dough!  She didn't have much interest in playing with it.  She just wanted to eat it.

I filled this bowl up with soapy water to clean her up, and  she decided to wash her feet, too!

When Papa came home, I snapped this shot of the two of them.  Gigi LOVES her Papa!

May 17, 2008

Today was a very stressful day.  Gianna woke up in the middle of the night last night for the second time in a row!  She just wakes up crying loudly as though she is in pain.  I've had to carry her and sing to her to try and soothe her.  Papa has been at the hospital working, but when he came home this morning, I told him to check her out.  In the afternoon, Gigi again began crying like she's in pain.

Papa advised that we take her to the emergency room to get an x-ray, so off we went.  She was so upset.  She's struggling to get out of Papa's arms!

Papa took her into the x-ray room. Only one parent was allowed in the room, and Papa, being the doctor, was the one to accompany Gigi.

They put her into this contraption to keep her still for the x-ray.  Luckily, the x-ray showed that Gigi only had a lot of gas and poo in her system.  The nurses gave her an enema, and Gigi's condition improved.  By the early evening, she was feeling much better.

Grandma and Grandpa came to babysit Gigi, and she was her happy self by the time they arrived!

May 16, 2008

Today we went to visit Auntie Kay and Chibi.  Gigi LOVES playing with Chibi.

She especially likes feeding him.

Here's a video clip of her and Chibi.

For dinner we went to Auntie Pasto's.  Here's Gigi being silly with Auntie Kay.

Auntie Kay introduced Gigi to dipping her bread into olive oil the last time we were here.

Oh, no!  Gigi got her first taste of a lemon from Auntie Kay.

May 13, 2008

Today Gianna and I made it on the television news program. I was interviewed about the Field Trip Friends program that Gigi and I go to.
http://www.khon2.com/features/green/18917684.html

We went to dinner with Papa to DK Steakhouse.

May 12, 2008

Today we headed out to Hawaii Kai to take a ride on the Duck Truck!

We went on a quick tour of the bay.

It was a fun and relaxing trip.

Our tour guide was very entertaining!

Gigi is holding a duck bill toy that makes duck sounds when you blow into it.

Here are Gigi's friends, Troy and Emi, with Troy's mom, Jen, and Emi's mom, Tara, on the far right.

Here we are on the truck. Adam and his mom, Kris, are sitting in front of us.

We had a great time!

May 11, 2008

Today we went to The Kahala for Mother's Day brunch with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle John, and Auntie Wendy.  The food was delicious! 

Here's Gianna enjoying a butterfly cookie.

We sat next to the entertainer, David Swanson.  Gigi loved his music!

When we got home, Papa took this picture of us.  Grandma is wearing a purple agapanthus lei.  It matched her outfit nicely!

May 5, 2008

Today we went to a taro patch with our Field Trip Friends group. Since I knew we'd be out in the lush greenery, I decided to dress Gigi in bright pink. She'd be easier to spot. I also wore pink, so that everyone else would know who Gigi belonged to! ;)

We had to carpool into the property, so Gianna and I got to ride in the back of Auntie Cindy's truck! This picture is from our photographer, Anne Stone.

Although Gigi was scared at first, she soon ended up enjoying the view from the back of the truck.

Here's Gigi by some taro plants.

We got a complete tour of these lohi.

Here's Gigi by a dairy cow, one of the last ones left on the island.

We got to see the cow being milked, and we all got a taste of some raw milk!

The raw milk we were served had already been refrigerated, so it was nice and cold.
Gianna had three cupfuls! She loved it.

We also made fresh butter from the cream of the milk. Shaking the jar to make the butter was quite a work out. I really need to get back in shape!


In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa came over to visit. Here's Gigi riding on her new tricycle, with Grandma pushing from behind.

May 3, 2008

Today was Connor's second birthday party held at his Popo and Gung Gung's house.  As soon as we got there, Gigi changed into her swim suit and joined in the water fun.  After a bit of playing, everyone had lunch and cake!

Gigi's trying to toot her horn.

After cake and ice cream, the kids all headed out to the water for round #2!  Gigi jumped back in her wet clothes and headed off for the pool.

I'm not sure what happened here, but she soon regained her composure and started to play.

I think Uncle Tim gave her the water hose to cheer her up.  Good job, Tim!

Gigi had been watching Connor show off his watering skills earlier, so she was soon watering everyone around her.

She liked sliding down the yellow slide into the ball-filled pool

Here's Connor with the hose, Halle running around, and Halle's BFF and Gigi in the pool.

Gigi is sharing a ball with me.  What a good girl.

Everyone had left the party graciously, but Gigi was a die-hard.  Here she is with Halle and her cousin, Sophie.  Even Connor had gone home for a nap!

Halle was a great play pal.  She really took care of Gigi, helping her in and out of the pool.  She had even invited Gigi to play with her and her cousins/friends while everyone was having lunch.  I peeked in on them to find Gianna playing very nicely with everyone else.  It was a wonderful scene...a bunch of little girls all playing nicely together!

Unfortunately, our day ended HORRIBLY!  Gianna refused to leave!  She threw her FIRST major tantrum at Connor's party.  Thank goodness that only his family members were left!  Still, I was mortified.  I could barely manage to strip Gigi of her wet swim suit and get a diaper on her.  I was so tempted to just strap her into her car seat naked!  

She just didn't want to get out of the water and go home.  She was crying and screaming for what felt like an eternity!  It took a while, but I did get her in her car seat, and Gigi fell asleep as soon as I started to drive home.  I was shaken!  I have never seen her behave like that before.