Today, Keana lost her first tooth. And here she is to tell you all about it:
Tag Archives: development
Death grip, sleepovers, loose teeth
Curling toes that try to grab; tiny chubby fingers that have difficulty navigating at first, but then get a death grip that can’t be budged, the grip surprisingly strong. It’s these little things that we’ve forgotten over time that Aliya is now reminding us of. She’s really working on her motor skills and figuring out what those little hands attached to her chubby little arms are for. She still likes the finger puzzle (a term we coined when she interlocks her fingers and stairs at them intently wondering how and what they are), but she’s moved on to liking baby rings, watches, and any other baby-hand-sized object to grab, grip, explore, turn around, and bring up to her mouth. Yep, she’s started the quasi-teething. Maybe it’s real teething, but basically she’s started exploring things by sticking them in her mouth and producing inordinate amounts of drool.
Aliya continues to be completely entertained by her sisters. When she sees Keana or Maia dancing or jumping around—or generally acting crazy—she busts out laughing. It is the cutest thing. It’s not just a giggle but more of a bellowing baby laugh. Her sisters love to see how she’ll react almost as much as they love holding and squeezing her. The fact that Aliya’s beginning to sit up better and develop more of her core body strength definitely helps with being held by Keana and Maia who aren’t always, how should we say, stable. Also, Aliya actually enjoys “tummy time” for a while and can roll herself over onto her back when she gets up on her strong little arms. She continues to be very mellow and quite smiley, even to nosey strangers.
In other news, Maia and Keana had their first voluntary sleepover at Grandma Jennie’s house last night. They stayed at Grandma’s when Sarah and I were with Aliya in the hospital in San Francisco, but of course that wasn’t exactly something they chose. So we watched the Giants secure their place in the World Series, then said goodnight. Keana had a little trouble saying goodbye, and we assured her she didn’t have to stay if she didn’t want to, but when Maia decidedly said she wanted to stay and sleep there, Keana quickly decided that was really what she wanted to do too. We took Aliya home and it was very, very quiet. I sort of liked it and sort of didn’t. I was quickly thinking of what life would be like when they started sleeping over at friend’s houses or stayed out late doing who-knows-what. But I did sleep until 8 a.m., with no interruptions, something that hasn’t happened in ages, and it felt great. It seems like the girls had a blast too, so it was a win-win.
Oh, and Keana is on the verge of loosing her first tooth. She has several loose, and this one’s been loose for a while, but it’s finally, almost there. She’s in no hurry to get it out though, and certainly doesn’t want any discomfort, so it’s basically holding on by a proverbial thread. It’s so loose it can stay sideways, but yet she’s not quite ready for it to come out. Of course we don’t want to damage any trust by yanking it out without her permission or her being totally okay with it, so we wait. It’s her tooth, it’s her call. Maybe tomorrow.
And the beat goes on
Sarah and I just celebrated our 6th year of marriage last night and had an amazing time out together. We finally found a truly excellent restaurant called Cracked Pepper Bistro here in Fresno. I mean, it’s not like we’ve been out a lot here, searching for that perfect, magical dining experience, but it’s Fresno, and things are different here. It brought us right back to our “younger” days in Santa Cruz and then the bay, pre-kids, when we were, as we like to say, “ballin’”. We frequently went out to expensive, fancy dinners with zero regard for how much it would cost or how long it took, simply because we could. From our very first date in August of ‘02, all the way up to last night, one of our favorite things to do together is eat really, really good food, and just talk and laugh. And last night we reflected on what an amazing life we’ve had together so far. Speaking of which…
Keana is doing amazing in school. She’s writing better and better every week, and even writes short sentences now. Her letters are getting cleaner and cleaner and she’s even starting to sound out words and knows some “sight” words (i.e. I, me, my, see, like, etc.). We were skeptical at first of a school that pushed her so hard in kindergarten, but now we’re seeing that she’s really ready for this knowledge and finds a great sense of individuality and power in knowing how to read and write. Just like it was when she started talking, it’s really amazing to see her find her voice through literacy as well.
Keana is also just the sweetest, brightest little vessel of light in her class too. I mean all the kids are really sweet and amazing in their own regard, but when Keana arrives and leaves every single day, it’s an event. Before she even gets on school property, her classmates are shouting, “Hey, here’s Keana! Hi Keana!!!” and even the lady that walks late-comers to class looks forward to Keana being a little late, just so they can have their 20 second conversation on the way to the classroom door. And yes, she has been a little late lately. Not technically, because I do get her there before the final bell, but the kindergarten classes line up at 7:35 in the cafeteria and walk to class together. So we’re usually running up to the school gate around 7:40 (class starts at 7:45). Anyway, every day when I pick her up, kids are literally lining up to say goodbye and get their Keana hug. At first, no one gave hugs. But Keana always hugged her teacher Mrs. Vick before leaving. And eventually it caught on and now all the kids get hugs before she leaves. It’s as if Keana gave the other kids permission to show their affection, and it’s truly one of the most touching things to see. This isn’t an occasional thing either, it’s every day.
Sarah and I volunteer in the classroom on Tuesdays from 10-11 (we alternate weeks). It’s a great way to see what class is like and meet all Keana’s peers. They really are great kids and it’s interesting to see how loving, respectful, and open these kids are in a school setting. It hasn’t been scared or shamed out of them yet and I hope it never is, though I know things haven’t changed that much since we were in school. But who knows?
Maia continues to be Maia. Willful, outspoken, and hilarious, she is our feisty middle link. There is no way she is going to get lost in the shuffle of Keana the Love Magnet and Aliya the Tiny. She is loving preschool and last Thursday when she came home, she ran to me yelling, “I had a GREAT day at school daddy!!!” She’s only going two days a week right now, but I think she’d be open to more in January if there are any other days available. And yes, she calls me “daddy”. At first I wasn’t sure about that, just because I’m so used to “papa”, but now I kind of like it; best of both worlds: “papa” from Keana and “daddy” from Maia.
Poor little Maij has been falling a lot lately too. She’s just more daring with her body than Keana was, but takes her licks like a champ. No matter how many times we caution her or how many times she falls, she’s right back into climbing, or running, or jumping. As her great, great grandma Beulah used to say, “I may be the smallest, but I’m still the mightiest.” These words truly apply to Maia.
And now for Aliya. Ah, our sweet, sweet mellow Aliya. She’s practically sitting up now and can hold her head quite well, looking side to side to catch all the action around her. She’s quick with a smile and continues to be our easiest baby yet. She naps a couple times a day and sleeps through the night. A couple things we miss though as she matures: grunting while pooping and laughing in her sleep. She still smiles in her sleep, but she rarely chuckles out loud like she used to. She’s still talking a bit though, and has begun to really suck on her fingers. She prefers gnawing on two fingers but often tries to fit both hands in there and gets a little frustrated when it doesn’t work. We weighed her yesterday and she’s 16lbs. and roughly 26”. We have Aliya’s first neuro follow-up tomorrow as well, here in Fresno, with a doctor that splits his time between UCSF Children’s and here. He’s supposed to be one of the best and we have another neuro follow-up in December at UCSF. Aliya is doing amazingly well and we have no concerns about her development, but it will be nice to have a “professional” confirm that.
So that’s the story here in Fresno. Team Hokama rolls on, into the fall, and we’re ready for the heat to give way to the cold, wet of winter. Oh, and for our anniversary, we got a new camera. No promises, but I’m pretty sure our pictures are about to get a lot better and our videos will now be in HD.
The Maij
There are so many things we love about Maia and I think it’s safe to say one of her greatest characteristics is also her biggest challenge for us: she is full of fire. On the positive side of things this plays out in being confident, adventurous, and quite funny, and on the other side of things her will is very difficult to get around when she’s tired, hungry, or frustrated. She’s so much like me that having her as my little, slightly less developed mirror is scary.
Maia may end up being our most petite kiddo, but she sure is growing up fast. She begins her fourth week of preschool this week and she’s been adjusting really well. The first day was a breeze, but the next couple times involved some screaming and crying at departure. But the last two times I’ve dropped her off, she simply says, “Bye Papa.” gives me a quick hug, and runs off to talk to Great Grandma Bev. It’s been really nice, for both her and Keana, to have family as part of their first “teacher experience”. After school Maia is completely exhausted, but still insists on coming along to pick up Keana who gets out 30 minutes later. It is SO sweet when we arrive. Keana waits in a line until we show up and when they see each other Maia screams, “Sissy!” and Keana screams, “Oh Maia! Maia! I missed you!” and they run and embrace as if it had been weeks and not hours since they last were together. All the other kids seem to look on with envy and excitedly ask Keana, “Is that YOUR little sister?!”
And it’s a good thing Maia is so sweet with that touch of fierce, because although she and Keana play really well together 90% of the time, that other 10% requires some sweetness to deal with Keana’s bossiness, and a good dose of ferocity to eek out her space with her much bigger sister. I have to say it makes me proud to see our little one stick up for herself with such bravado.
Maia is also quite fearless. When she was having trouble sleeping she would often walk around the house in the dark, just playing or checking things out. Keana never did this and still won’t go into dark rooms without Maia. She often says, “Maia is much braver than me.” and I think it may be true. Also, this summer when we roasted marshmallows, it was Maia who stepped out first to get closer to the fire. Of course she has her things that she’s scared of, but overall, she’s our brave little girl.
We’re finally getting into a good schedule with her sleeping as well. For the longest time, probably because she is so independent, we tried to take cues from her for sleep. It was always a struggle though, and it seemed like just as we got on top of it, something big would disrupt it (the last being Aliya’s birth). So the last couple months we’ve gotten back on the boundaries and she’s sleeping much better, mostly through the night. At first, of course, she screamed bloody hell, but now bed time is much less traumatic for everyone. She even asks for her naps during the day when she’s ready.
Speech-wise Maia has always been impressive. Perhaps the influence of a very verbal older sister has helped. Communication is, though, a bit of chore at times. We think her thoughts might be moving much faster than her tongue can handle and she either gets very frustrated or gets stuck in these loops, repeating phrases over and over until they come out. For instance she’ll be telling a story and when she moves on to the next part, she’ll say, “And then, and then, and then, and then…”. It’s really cute, especially when she uses hand gestures that seem more in place with a thirteen-year-old than an almost-three-year-old.
Maia just continues to be our tiny-feisty-now-preschooler and it’s so fun to see all her amazing attributes just continue to develop and grow and evolve. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about her getting lost in the middle of our little trio of girls.
Chubaroo!
Aliya is—I’m just going to say it—a chubaroo. Man, she is the most delightful of fatty fats. That is to say, she is very healthy and doing amazingly well. Not only is she big and healthy, but about two weeks ago she started talking. Of course it’s just “agoo” and “brrvu” and “ugggg”, but it’s her timing and eye contact that really make it like a conversation. You look at her, say something, and she responds. Then you listen while she talks and when she pauses, you talk, and it’s back-and-forth like that, just as if you were discussing the most normal of things with her. We’d have to consult “the files”, but we think she may be our earliest conversationalist yet.
Another really cute thing that started about the same time are the “hand puzzles”. Aliya’s really been working on folding her hands or just playing with her own fingers, as if it were some kind of puzzle that could be solved. It’s especially cute because her arms are short and chubby, so she rests them on her big belly and stares out at the world with her big cheeks puffed out on her chest. With all this chub though, she’s still quite strong. She’s able to hold her head up pretty well and swivel it round to look at the things that interest her. For the most part, she likes to just be held but occasionally goes in her bouncer for naps or just to hang out while we eat.
Of course her sisters are in love with her and still smother her at times with kisses and cheek rubs. It’s really a challenge to let them show their affection and see what works and what doesn’t, without intervening or correcting them too much. Recently Keana’s been saying really crazy things like, “Aliya, I’m going to take you away and you won’t see your Mama any more!” At first we responded by saying, “Oh Keana, we don’t talk to each other like that.” and of course that just made it worse. Then we tried saying, “Now what would that mean and why are you saying that?” but that also seemed to make Keana think, “Hmmm, they don’t seem like this, let me try some more.” Now we observe and let her say things and just try not to give it any more charge. Maia for the most part just goes about her business and gives Aliya the occasional drive-by face smooshing or kiss attack. It is very difficult to figure out what the best reaction to a situation would be, especially in the moment your parental protectiveness is being triggered.
They always say that the first kid gets all the picture and video attention and the second kid gets none. I have to say, I think I did a pretty good job keeping up with Maia. But this third kid, man…definitely a challenge to keep the documentation up. But Aliya, I promise I will keep trying and I’m determined to take as many pictures and video of you as I did for Keana and Maia. The blog…not so sure…can’t make any promises, but I’m working on it…I’m definitely working on it.
p.s. The fact that I didn’t mention anything about sleep means it’s been awesome. She sleeps through the night, naps like a champ, and is the mellowest third baby anyone could wish for.
It begins
It begins: school. Real school…for Keana at least. Yesterday was the first and here’s what she had to say about, “It was better than I thought!” I took her to school at 7:25 a.m. and they have the kindergarteners meet in the cafeteria, sit at a table with their class, then line up and walk to their classroom altogether. It was quite the scene. Not only were the kids nervous and excited, but then there were all the parents. I have to say, many of the kids were handling it more gracefully than the parents. I think as parents we need to remember that we have a lifetime of “stuff” about school and separation that we sometimes put on our kids. What I’ve had to keep reminding myself is that this is all new for our kids and it’s exciting and interesting, this whole school thing. There’s no reason for them to be scared or worried. We’ve done our best to pick the best possible school for them and our family, and now we just have to sit back, observe, trust, and support Keana in having fun with it, while getting the most out of it.
Anyway, so…for the most part, the departure of Keana and the rest of the kids from their parents, for a brief 5 hours and 15 minutes, was pretty smooth. Keana clung a little, but when it was time, she lined up and marched off confidently. She was ready. Unlike some of the little guys in her class that were bawling. Screaming and crying and clinging, these little guys really derailed the whole thing. I was just glad it wasn’t my kid! At least not this one.
Maia had her first day of preschool yesterday. She’s going Monday and Friday and drop-off was seamless. She was ready to play and have fun. At around 11 a.m. Sarah’s phone rang. It was Grandma Bev, but it only rang once so we thought it was an accident. When we picked Maia up at 12:30 p.m., we found out that Maia had had a little “accident” and had to change her clothes. She threw such a fit that Grandma Bev said, “I thought the roof was going blow off the house.” Sarah and I realized she had never witnessed the wrath of Maij. Anyway, once they got her changed she calmed down, so there was no need to intervene on our part. But when we picked her up she was exhausted and didn’t have a whole lot to say. She did say she wanted to go back though, and Bev didn’t tell us not to come back, so I guess we’re on for another adventure on Friday.
After picking Maia up, we went to pick up Keana. We were early, and just as Maia and Aliya were melting down, Keana walks out, in line, to meet us. It was great to see her huge smile and she seemed so grown-up. She didn’t want to talk a lot about it, but she did say she had a great time and it sounded like she really enjoyed everything. And although she keeps asking, “Why do I have to go to school every day?”, it was no problem getting her to school today. And the scene was way more manageable. Less parents, calmer parents, and the kids knew just what to do. Keana was visiting with a girl in another class and she started to walk in the wrong line to the wrong class, but I snagged her and got her in the right group.
So that’s it. School has begun. It is good, mostly. And with Keana getting to school so much earlier this year, I think it’s going to give me more time to get this website updated, water the lawn, practice my horn, etc. All things that would normally have to wait till after 9 p.m.
Say goodbye to summer
I’d say we officially started “back-to-school” last Thursday. We went shopping for Keana’s uniform stuff and a couple things for Maia. After work we attended Keana’s back-to-school night at her new school, Dailey Charter. It was weird. I mean, there were lots of levels of weirdness. For one, there was the weirdness I felt. I know I’m a grown-ass man, but something about attending our first “real” school event for our little 5-year-old made me nervous. I felt out of place and couldn’t believe that we were now responsible for her formal education and the choices we made would affect her success in this crazy world. I know all the decisions we’ve made up to this point also affect her success and happiness, but this was a new level of it.
It was weird to see all the other families and kids too and to imagine what Keana’s interactions would be like with the other kids and how these other grown-ass people in the room were just like us; nervous, concerned, excited, curious, etc. Actually, they weren’t just like us. I didn’t get the feeling at all that they shared our political views, sensitivities, and/or education. One of the downfalls of living in a place like Fresno I guess. I was happy though to see such a diverse room full of people. If I had to guess, I’d say only 15% were caucasian, but there were very few asians, which didn’t surprise me. But it was good to see so many different types of people represented anyway.
Which brings me to the next weirdness. The teachers did not reflect the population of students. 90% of the teachers were young, white women. Which is fine, but I think it’s important for students to see themselves in their teachers. Of course, our girls are predominantly white, so maybe it’s my issues…I mean, I guess they’re all my issues, because Keana certainly doesn’t think about race very much. People are people to her and she doesn’t blink twice at skin color. (Note to self: work on that.)
Then we visited the classroom. It was a very neat, new classroom, with all the desks grouped in fours, and the kids’ names already on them. The teacher’s large, black desk was at the front, in the corner, angled, overlooking the kids. There was a laptop on there and a pseudo-laptop for the kids. To the right of that was a SMART board and a projector hung from the ceiling with new speakers on either side. Fancy. In the back there was also a behavior chart, like a stop light. All the kids start out on green. Everything was labeled: scissors, crayons, pencils, desk, etc. The kids will learn to read and write. There will be homework, especially reading every night. There’s a field trip. It felt sterile in the classroom. We’re hoping it will warm up and gain some character as the year goes on (after all, it is a brand new school).
I think Sarah and I both wished the teacher had focused on welcoming the kids, but instead it felt like she/the school wanted to emphasize to the parents that they were a serious academic school, with strict rules and a dress code. So we’ll have to see. The fundamental principals of the International Baccalaureate program sound great, so as long as those really shine through, I think it’s going to be a great school for Keana.
Little Miss Maia will be starting preschool too at the school that their great grandma Bev runs. Keana loved it there, and Maia got small samples when dropping her off or picking her up, so I think she’ll love it too. She’ll be going two days a week for now and she will be one of the youngest kids there. So we’ll see how things go and we’re willing to be flexible. If she hates it, we’ll try again in January. If she loves it, we’ll increase the days in January (if there’s room).
Aliya has been growing, growing, growing into a little chuberoo. She’s 12lbs. now and 24” (95% percentile for both). It will be nice for Sarah and her to have some alone time with both girls at school, and I think it will be great for Maia to have her little sister to herself on her days off.
It’s really hard to believe we take another plunge tomorrow. Kindergarten. The beginning of formal education. And Maia in preschool. Damn!!! Where has the time gone? I’ll let y’all know how the first day goes!
Time with Aliya
The simplicity of a baby is wonderful. They sleep, eat, poop, wiggle, repeat, and we are soaking up that simpleness in large amounts. The first week Aliya was home she slept practically all the time which was exactly what we all needed. Starting about a week ago, she’s begun to have more wakeful times, but still sleeps quite a bit. When she is awake, she either looks around the room, maybe looking for the origins of all those crazy sounds around her, or maybe just to get the lay of the land. Sometimes she just stares at your face for long moments, with the intensity and seriousness that only a newborn can have. And when she sleeps, it’s not merely heavy, peaceful slumber (though there is that too), but it’s somewhat active sleep. I think all babies have this, and Keana and Maia certainly had their versions of it, but sometimes when Aliya sleeps she frowns with a whimper or raises her eyebrows as if to stretch to an enlightened place with her eyes closed. Other times she actually laughs or giggles in her sleep followed by the sweetest little smile you ever saw. Sarah and I have never seen a laughing, sleeping baby and we think it’s something amazing. My other favorite is when she stretches her arms straight up with raised eyebrows and closed eyes, her arms still just barely longer than the top of her head.
Her eyes are actually lighter today too and we believe we may have our third blue-eyed-quarter-Japanese princess. When she’s hungry or just exercising, she wiggles quite briskly and throws her arms straight up or out in quick, brisk movements. Then her legs will go from their fetal curled up state, straight out in the blink of an eye. She’s fast. She might give Maia a run for her money. It’s amazing how well she holds her head up already too. We remember Maia doing this early on, but Aliya may already be a little more adept at it than Maia was. When you have her up to your shoulder, upright for burping, she holds her head right up to see the world around her and can even move it around, though the movement is still a little wobbly.
So overall, yes, she’s just being a baby. But she’s our baby and we are beyond thankful for every moment we’ve spent with her and for every moment to come.
What’s going on outside
Well little baby, you’ve got your papa’s nerves going. I know I know, I’m trying to mellow out and just “be in the moment man”, but this is the toughest part. Waiting. Today something seemed to be going on, cause Mama was noticeably uncomfortable and said that there had been mild contractions most of the afternoon. But I could tell they weren’t the painful, baby’s-coming-now type of contractions. Still, I headed straight out to the hardware store to get that final piece we needed for the birth tub; the ever-elusive faucet->hose adapter. The tub takes 24 hours to heat, which I’m pretty sure we won’t have when you decide to come, so we have to get as much hot water from the faucet, and we’re using a standard drinking hose, so one must have the adapter. You’l be happy to know we had success on the way to pizza tonight, and now all the parts of the tub are ready to go.
Your sisters are crazy as ever. Maia continues to challenge our will, often calling our bluff. This morning she and I sat in the car while everyone else ate their breakfast in the restaurant because she was pitching a fit over not having a diaper. Mind you, she’s potty trained now, but she still occasionally insists on having a “fresh diapy”. Man, what a strong-willed girl that one is. We were all tuckered out from our first block-party last night, so that didn’t help either. Everyone was enamored by you and your sisters. I think they could tell you were just about fully baked in there. But you’re still moving around a lot, especially between 10 p.m. and midnight, so it seems you still have plenty of room. And man, you are fast. We’re really curious if you’re going to be fast and feisty on the outside too. If your sisters are any indicator, methinks the answer is a solid “yes”. But yeah, in case you weren’t able to figure it all out in there, we had the local firemen there with their fire truck, and the neighbors provided a bouncy castle. Keana and Maia had a blast in the bouncy castle, and I was in there too with Maia to protect her from the crazy bigger kids, but it was fun. It was really good to meet our neighbors and I think we’ll be seeing more of them now. One couple is Japanese like us, and splits their time in San Francisco, so it will be fun to get to know them better. The guy plays drums and jams with some history professor from Fresno State, so there may be a band forming for me to play in…we’ll see.
So we’re basically just getting all our ducks in a row for your arrival. Keana can’t wait for you to some, and asks just about every day now, “Is the baby coming today?!!!” Every birth experience is a big Unknown, and we know we just have to be ready for anything (which is consequently very difficult, especially for me). Right now I’m trying to have faith in the fact that we’ve done this twice before and that you and your mama are genetically programmed for a safe, healthy birth. I’m going to keep focusing on that until you do decide to take the plunge, but you should know, we really are ready when you are.
Love,
Papa
p.s. We’ve been feeling your toes lately which I don’t think we ever got to do with your sisters, so that’s something that’s all yours and pretty damn special.
Your 1st 50th
Hey Little Baby, it’s me again, Papa. I thought you’d like to know what’s been going on out here since I last wrote. Your sisters were sick last week so that was exciting as usual. Fevers, copious amounts of snot, more tissue than you can believe- you’ll see. Not fun but not all that bad. Just another one of the things you get used to on the outside. I had another work trip to Berkeley also, and I couldn’t believe that it was probably my last trip to the bay until after you’re born! You’ll be within your dates to pop out in three weeks now, but there’s no rush. You just stay in there and bake as long as you need. Make sure you’re really ready for this Team Hokama craziness.
Last week was filled with the usual antics around the house. Mama helped Keana and Maia build a castle out of cardboard which is still around, being used for all kinds of make-believe goodness. And Thursday morning before Keana went to school, she and Maia got into Mama’s makeup and painted on their faces and arms. I think they were pretending they were kitties. I definitely got a glimpse of the future that morning.
Keana and I continued the piano lessons, and started to learn Three Blind Mice which then turned into a chasing game around the house where we each took turns chopping off each other’s tails. Maybe you heard your sisters squealing with delight while they held onto their butts as I was chasing them down the hall? Good times ahead for you Little One! We also finished up planting the zucchini, carrots, bush beans, chard, tomatoes, mint, basil, rosemary, and parsley so you’ll have a nice little garden here when you arrive.
On Friday we had another prenatal appointment with Dr. Kopascz. Everything looked good, you’re “measuring perfectly”, and just after the doctor checked your heartbeat with the doppler, you moved so fast that it surprised even her. It was really funny to see a doctor be so astonished, especially when you imagine that she’s probably seen thousands of babies. It was a very defined movement, so maybe it was your knee or elbow? Anyway, you continue to amaze us with all your action.
Keana’s really been working hard writing the letters in her name and figuring out how to spell words. You can bet she’ll be a great teacher for you. A lot of parents stress out or brag about how much their kids read or write, even before kindergarten, but you’ll be happy to know we have complete confidence in your abilities already, and all will be learned in good time. We think we’ll be sending Keana to Dailey Elementary Charter School, which is a new charter that uses the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. Basically its a focus is on global standards, so the kids learn another language starting in kindergarten (Spanish), and continue on through 5th grade. They also hire specialty teachers in physical education, art, and music, so it seems there’s a good emphasis on the whole student, not just reading, writing, and math. The idea is to teach kids to be a part of a global community and help each kid grow so they can compete on an international stage. At least that’s what I gather from my research. They do have longer days though, 90 minutes longer for kindergarten and 180 for the other grades I think. Hopefully that’s just so there’s plenty of time for the extra language and arts without neglecting the basics. We’ll see though. It is a new school, so Keana will have to test it out for you. Aren’t you lucky to have two older sisters to test the waters before you have to jump in?
On Saturday we headed to Sacramento for your Great Uncle Vic’s 50th birthday celebration. Keana and Maia had a blast playing with cousins McKenna, Cassidy, and Riley, and I’m sure you’ll love them too. They’ll be pretty old by the time you’re able to run around with them, but they’re so sweet I’m sure they’ll slow down for you (at least they do for Keana and Maia). Your sisters really enjoyed swimming and jumping on the giant trampoline too. I also realized that we probably won’t see most of that family until after you’re born as well. They’re all quite excited to meet you and see what kind of scruffer you’ll turn out to be.
Man, it was crazy though. The party was great, but Maia was really getting tired, so we headed to our hotel. And we all crashed after getting settled, but Maia woke up at 2 a.m. Maybe you heard her? Anyway, she would not settle down and as you know, Mama needed rest to keep up with you, so we told Maia if she didn’t quiet down and go to sleep, we’d have to drive her around in the car until she was ready to sleep. She called our bluff and said, “I want to go in the car.” So she and I got dressed and I took her out. It was windy and cold and I figured she’d be asleep in 20 or 30 minutes. Oh no. She was ready to go. She was pretending bad guys were chasing us and I’d look back and she’d have this mischievous smile and she’d say, “Papa, I’m scared!” I drove and drove and it was quite clear she wasn’t settling down. Eventually we got hungry so I found a Safeway and I’m pretty sure everyone thought I was either kidnapping her or that we were crazy. It was almost 4 a.m. at this point and you’ll see that that is not the time for kids to be out and about. We got some flowers for Mama for Mother’s Day, then some bread, cheese, salami, and water and had a little picnic in the car with the motor running to keep the heat on. You should have seen your sister. She was having a blast, and I must admit, so was I. When I was younger I used to do stuff like that all time, so it was great to be on a night adventure with your sister. Every once in a while Maia would say, “More cheese Papa!” followed by a high-pitched, “Thank youuuu!” It was really a lot of fun. But as 5 a.m. approached I realized how horrible the day was going to be without some sleep. We finished up and I put Maia back in her seat and asked if she was ready to sleep now. She said, “Let’s keep driving!” I realized my mistake was fueling her up, so we drove a little longer, then headed back to the hotel. It was a little after five before she crawled into bed with Keana and I. Hilarious. Three people in a double bed. Around 7 a.m. I think I crawled into bed with you and Mama and I thought for a brief moment, “What the hell are we going to do with THREE kids! Where are we all going to sleep?” Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. Or we won’t ever leave our house. Just kidding. Maybe.
We woke up kind of late (surprise surprise) and headed over to Great Aunt Krisite’s Mom’s house for Mother’s Day brunch. It was an elaborate spread and great to see all the Petersons one last time before heading home. You all slept for a while in the car heading back to Fresno, but then Little Miss Maia woke up and was pissed. She always has a hard time the last part of any trip, so hopefully she’ll be over that by the time you start rolling side-by-side with that crazy girl. Keana’s pretty easy going in the car though, so at least you’ll have her to balance things out. This is, of course, assuming you’re not going to be as crazy as Maia, but I know you’ll have your own flavor of crazy however it turns out. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made the team.
Anyway, we got our appointment with Jacque tomorrow, so rest up and we’ll just keep getting things ready out here for your arrival! I think this weekend I’ll be cleaning out the garage and getting all the baby gear out. Oh, and maybe we’ll see if Tia’s birth tub will work for us.
Love,
Papa