Tag Archives: talking

development

Who dat?!!

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Our little Maia’s verbal prowess just gets more amazing every day. What’s really interesting is her attraction to colloquial speak. Saying things like “Oopsa-daisy!” “Oh man” and “Oh goodness” and “silly guy”. It’s fun how she shortens words too, like “pop” instead of “papa”, “sis” instead of “sissy”, and “babe” instead of “baby”. As her language skills increase I think so does her patience…a little. She still gets quite fierce when she’s not understood, and of course when she’s tired or hungry, but being able to say what’s on her mind better is definitely helping with that. I’m also glad that she still has those cute “kid” sentence structures. For example, the other night she came walking into our room at 3 a.m. saying, “I good sleepin’ Papa!” to which I could only respond with tired laughter and, “Not exactly baby,” before putting her back in bed. Maia also doesn’t quite have “I” and prepositions down, so she says things like, “Granola bar me?” and, “Mama sleepin’ me?” Another example is how she says “dat” and “dere”. One of my all-time favorites now is how she says, “Who dat?!!” in a super-excited voice when she sees anything that she doesn’t know the name of. And it isn’t just for people, she phrases the same question for objects and actions too. Hilarious.

Language is definitely entering into her own play as well as she narrates things like taking care of her babies, much like Keana did when she was this age. Maia is really sweet with her babies, often rocking them to sleep saying, “sh-sh-sh-shhhh” or singing a made up song like, “I love you, I love you…”. It’s fun to be reminded of the similarities between them at various ages and it takes us back to some of our favorite Keana moments as well. Keana and Maia have also been playing really well together the last couple months. Sometime in early December a switch flipped and they’ve been having a lot of fun together. Before that, they often played together, but conflicts would arise quicker or they just wouldn’t have quite as much fun. I attribute some of this to Maia’s ability to communicate better verbally with Keana. Keana can ask her lots of questions and figure out what she wants to do as well as tell her what she wants to do. Maia no longer feels the need to bite when she’s frustrated, though there is still the occasional punch or hair pull, but from what I understand about sisters, that doesn’t go away until one of them moves out.

This leads to our issues around sharing. As they play more together, this issue comes up more frequently. Maia is actually pretty good about sharing her toys, it’s Keana who has trouble realizing there’s plenty to go around. I’ve been reading about this in Becoming the Parent You Want to Be and have found some very useful tips in there. The tough part is remembering these tips and having the patience to execute them when you’re tired, trying to get work done, or brokering a deal between them for the 20th time that day. I’d like to think it is getting better though, and the less angry I get around these issues, the better they deal with them as well. Surprise, surprise.

development

Language

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“I do it!!!” In those simple three words, Maia is speaking volumes, and speaks more and more every day. One of the funniest/cutest things is how she adds “me” onto the end of phrases to explain that she wants to do it. Some examples:

  • “Mama sleepin’ me.”
  • “Holdin’ me.”
  • “Unwa (underwear) me.”

She’s like a little parrot too, and repeats all the short phrases that we say. You can imagine how fun this is for both Keana and Maia. Luckily Keana uses this mostly for good and not evil. And even though Maia has more words and phrases than we can keep track of at this point, she still balances her new skills with traditional growling and screaming. The girl has got a scream. What better way to fend off a sister twice your size than with a super-sonic “NOOOO SISSY!!!” or an ear-piercing scream? Quite effective. Keana covers her ears and runs the other way. It’s also interesting to see the parallels between acquiring language and gaining independence in other realms too. Maia is a fierce dresser, much like her sister, in the fact that she knows exactly what she wants to wear and there’s no talking her out of it. Most of the time, it’s perfectly reasonable, except for those times she chooses long sleeves when it’s 100 degrees outside or a little dress when it’s 55. Once the clothes are chosen, as you prepare to help her dress, she quickly says, “I do it, I do it.” Of course she prefers to just run around naked most of the time, but also really enjoys her new underwear- since she only wears a diaper at night- and changing in and out of different outfits all day long.

On the flip side of that, Keana, who is extremely articulate, has recently reverted in the language department. We think it may be influenced by her best friend at school who is not nearly as articulate as she is. It may also just be that all 4-year-olds prefer fart noises and silly rhymes to well-formed sentences. It’s hard for me not to be too hard on her and let her have her fun. I just try to remind myself that in spite of her silliness, she is an amazing communicator and seems way above average in the language and comprehension department. Her language skills really shine in her imaginary play when she’s by herself. She tells very elaborate stories and handles both sides of the dialogue, often breaking into songs that are beginning to actually make sense with lyrics that sometimes rhyme. The way she changes her voice inflections to create drama and suspense is awesome, especially when she slips in some ominous music in between lines. One of the really funny things I’ve noticed lately is that she narrates her toy set-up like a commercial. In a tone like a TV announcer, she’ll say things like, “Cinderella, in a beautiful rubber dress, sparkling for your enjoyment!” We don’t even have regular TV any more, so she gets it from the advertisements that show before some of her movies I guess.

One of the funny things about being a parent is that when your kids are young, you absolutely love their little baby voice with its baby accent, mispronounced words, and unconventional phrases. So much so, that when they finally learn to talk properly, you’re sad it’s gone. You look at old videos and say to each other, “Ohhhh, wasn’t it so cute when she talked like that?!” Then it’s not long before you’re criticizing them for saying things like, “Me do it!” or “Why does it be that way?” I guess you just have to always try and appreciate whatever phase their going through or whatever thing they’re experimenting with, all the while steering them towards learning words and speaking properly so their thoughts can be clearly voiced and understood.

development, education

Summer’s end and new beginnings

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Summer may be over but the heat certainly isn’t here in The ‘No. Lots of 100 degree days and “lows” are 90. Ouch. But we’re surviving it. The morning is the time to make your move outside the house and it can be 80 as early as 9 a.m. (probably even earlier some days)! I’ve had a few meltdowns about it (no pun intended), and it’s hard to tell the girls we can’t play outside because our skin will melt off, but whatever. Anyway, we all know the heat is an issue, so what the hell has been going on?!

Keana started school two weeks ago (August 17) and we’ve been slowly sinking into the schedule. We’re excited to be heading to Santa Cruz this weekend to visit Peter and attend Neel and Sai’s West Coast wedding reception in Aptos. Sarah and the girls couldn’t go to the Hindu-wedding-extravaganza in Boston in May, but Team Hokama will definitely represent this weekend! We all really miss the coast and it will be good to get out of this heat and back to our old stomping grounds. After all, it is where Sarah and I met and got engaged, oh so many years ago. The only real events on the agenda: beach and good food.

Both girls have been amazingly inspiring lately, and Maia especially continues to win our hearts. Keana won our hearts in the same way in her early-early years, and now it’s Maia’s time to show off all her little developing characteristics. She’s fiercely independent and insists on doing most things by herself and on her own terms. Her temper is quick to flash, not unlike her papa’s, but is always followed by a sweet gesture of love or shyness at her ferocity, as if she didn’t know it was going to be so extreme and she’s a little afraid of it too. Mostly though, she’s the sweetest, funniest thing you ever met. Maia is really talking but still says things like “nilk” for milk, and “mo again” when she wants more of something. The cow’s milk in the fridge has taken on the term “papa nilk” since it’s the only milk I’m blessed with and it cracks me up every time. Even Keana uses the term and I must say, it catches other people off guard. I took the girls to ice cream yesterday, and of course both Keana and Maia wanted to walk on their own without holding hands, which I figured was fine on the sidewalk, and when Maia and I accidentally bumped into each other, she smiled sweetly and said, “Sorry, sorry!” as she moved on her way. Makes my heart melt.

Keana continues to be our bright, shining star. She’s been reveling in her physical abilities to run fast, flex her muscles, and move in the craziest ways. Like her mother, and maybe a little like me, she can make the funniest faces. We could spend hours just making faces at each other and laughing. She’s been very good playing with Maia lately, but the burden of having to share her toys, space, and parents with her little sister definitely comes through. It’s hard to see it happening, and Sarah and I are both second children, so I think we tend to favor Maia in most arguments. Although we are starting to see Maia’s little antagonist emerging as well, and often Maia will scream, we think, just to incriminate her sister unjustly. It’s a big balancing act and we’re trying to be fair about it all, but you can’t be all places at once and we’re definitely trying to let them work things out on their own. I remember having to do that all the time with my brother growing up. We had some serious fights, but for the most part, we were so close in age and interests that there seemed to be little conflict. I see a lot of myself in Maia though, especially when she walks up to Keana and pinches her out of the blue, just cause she has a wild hair. When Maia gets frustrated, she gets physical and I have to say Keana handles that quite well, often enduring the pain and holding back retaliation. Pretty impressive for a four-year-old I think.

Sleeping has been our issue lately (and again). Every time the schedule gets thrown—by a family trip or me being out of town or whatever—it seems like it takes at least a week to readjust. Both girls typically go to bed in their own rooms quite well, but often wake up in the middle of the night; Maia for milk (and late night parties), and Keana to pee and say she had a bad dream and misses us and wants to sleep with us. On Tuesday I just gave up and crawled into bed with her, cause who has the energy for an emotional breakdown in the middle of the night? Especially because if one of them loses it, the other wakes up and then you got double-duty. Keana can often be reasoned with, but Maia is one stubborn baby. She’s very sweet and cuddly and even whispers while patting you or kissing you, saying, “Nilk? Papa nilk? Papa up?!” We endure quietly, trying to ignore her until it goes too far and Sarah ends up putting her back in her room and closing the door to let her cry it out. There’s no silver bullet for the sleep issues and the only thing we really know is that we all do better sleeping in our own rooms (at this point at least), and consistency is key. Don’t mess with the sleep schedule. And if you have to, then just be prepared to be patient and make sure you have some good coffee on hand for the days after the tough nights. I almost feel it’s my duty to document this appropriately for those that have yet to experience this. That way I’ll remember when the girls have their own kids and will then be able to sympathize appropriately! (And not try and offer too much advice, cause what the hell is going to work anyway?!!)

Speaking of neophytes, Iana is due in two weeks and technically could go at any time now. We’re very excited to meet the first, first cousin! Sarah is on Iana’s birth team, so I’ll be watching the girls whenever she does go into labor and then Keana, Maia, and I may drive down to Long Beach for a sneak peak right after the birth. We definitely want to give them their space and be respectful of their newly budding tripod, so we’ll just be happy with whatever introduction we get. Maia’s been asking, “Tia, baby?” lately and Keana is so sweet when she talks to Tia on the phone. A couple weeks ago she said, “Hi Tia! How are you feeling? How’s the baby?” and she asks Iana all the time, “What is the baby saying?”, trying to get a feel for how the baby might react to her, the default “Leader of the Children”. From what I understand, most people really enjoy being the oldest sibling/cousin, and I certainly think Keana won’t mind being leader of the pack one bit. Of course Maia will be a formidable lieutenant, but I’m sure they’ll just be very excited to share the younger stage with the new talent.

birthdays, development, family

Who needs a petting zoo?

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Tonight, after we went to the park, I was trying to make dinner and hold Maia and she got a hold of the lettuce bag. I was too tired to fight it so I just sat down with her and let her play with it. She proceeded to grab little handfuls of lettuce and shove them in my mouth (along with her whole hand). Maia sure gets a kick out of feeding other people, and as I sat there, I realized feeding other people is kind of like feeding the animals at the petting zoo. What little kid doesn’t like that?

In other news, we celebrated Sarah’s 30th with a surprise party in the garage last Saturday. It was a blast and Maia was my party sidekick, sleeping most of the night in the sling, strapped to my shoulder. Keana ran around and played chasing games with various guests, and around 9:30 p.m., she and Grandma Jennie went inside to mellow out and ended up watching Disney’s Robin Hood three times until I came inside around one in the morning, and we put Keana and Sarah to bed. Although many of the guests provided the fun and helped decorate, Grandma Jennie, Tia, and Uncle Ryan were a big help all weekend, especially for clean up on Sunday.

So the week has pretty much been recovering from that. Some new Maia developments include head banging while walking as well as almost running. She can say “tickle-tickle” and a loud “Mmmmm!” when she sees you get some food out she thinks she might like. Maia is our little athlete and is an aggressive little climber and bouncer. She loves climbing on Keana’s little chairs and often insists on standing on them. Just today too, she danced in a circle with her arms up as Keana sang the theme to Sleeping Beauty.

Which brings me to the Zooba. She is amazing. Her latest, most articulate phrase is, “I’m three but I’ll be four in March.” She has continued to struggle sharing with Maia, but it’s interlaced with some of the sweetest sister moments you’ve ever seen. Tonight Maia took a water bottle over to her and Keana wanted a kiss, but Maia shook her head “no”. So Keana said, “No? Okay, I’ll just take a sip of water then.” A few minutes later Maia cashed in on that kiss. Keana can also pick Maia up and uses her special powers to help keep Maia safe—which is really sweet—but sometimes we have to stop her from scarily hauling her sister around for no reason (who, by the way, weighs half as much as her).

That’s the latest and I think we’ll be using the three day weekend to catch up with our lives.

development, family, holidays

Christmas whirlwind

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It’s the four days before Christmas and I think we can all feel the madness creeping in. On top of that, little Maia is really going through it. She has a little bit of the flu too—yes, the magic of puking—but there’s been a lot of other developmental things going on too. She’s been walking up a storm and seems to be enjoying her mobile independence. She has the occasional fall, always does a great job catching herself, gets back up, and waddles on. Maia has four teeth poking through on the top and four pretty well established teeth on the bottom. She’s also been waking up in the middle of the night for a couple hours to party which has been tough, especially since she really only wants Sarah to put her back to sleep. All that being said though, things are getting easier. It’s the little things like her holding her arms right to get shirts and jackets on and being a little calmer while being strapped into her car seat. I guess those little things really show that our little Maia is getting used to the world.

Maia has also been getting better and better at communicating and clearly shows she understands something like, “Do you want to go upstairs?” with a nod and a smile. She also says “see-saw” quite clearly and a very audible “pull-draw” from her favorite rocking activity that’s accompanied by:

See-saw, pull and draw,
Old man, dull saw,
Green wood, hard to cut…
Fuzza-wuzza-wuzza-wuzza

Maia’s also learned to call things “hoT” with an emphasis on the “T” when she feels heat coming from it. And while in Texas, she gained an affinity for the Happy Birthday song, and requests it by singing the first couple notes from it (followed by a huge smile and a little rocking). Maia is also getting better at imitating sounds and actions we make. In fact, Keana often sings Ariel’s song from The Little Mermaid and Maia’s sweet little voice can be heard echoing the tune.

And Keana…our Little Miss Thang. Exuberant as ever, she can’t wait to open any and every present. Her verbal skills never cease to amaze us, along with her comprehension. I often forget she’s not even four yet and have to check some of my expectations and just let her be a silly, goofy spaceball. Just like with Halloween this year, I think the whole Christmas thing is sinking in. I must admit too, that last year we got sucked into her youthful magical spell and fell into telling her about Santa and Rudolph and flying reindeer and she was so excited at the prospect, that we just went along with it. So yes, she can’t wait for Santa and thinks maybe she’ll hear the reindeer on the roof because they’re so big. She’s also vigilant about reminding us to open the Advent calendar and loves the little pictures and countdown to Christmas. The fact that we have divided family as well has spoiled her, because we celebrate several Christmases; this year the total reaching six! We Celebrated with Tia and Grandma Jennie last weekend since Tia’s going on her honeymoon over Christmas this year, and we celebrated with Grandma Linda, Grandpa Sam, and Uncle Peter yesterday and today since G&G are out from Texas. Tomorrow we head down to Great Grandma and Grandpa’s in Los Altos for Peterson Christmas, and Keana is really excited to see her cousins McKenna, Cassidy, and Riley. THEN, we have “actual” Christmas just the four of us, and head to Fresno on the 26th for Christmases 4 and 5 with Grandma Jennie and Uncle MIchael, and Grandpa Robert and Nana Cin (respectively). THEN we head to Seal Beach because Great Nana and Granddad are flying out from Hawaii and they’ve never even met Maia yet, so that will be a treat. Grandpa Jon and family will be out there as well, and we’ll probably get to visit with Great Auntie Helene, and third cousins Helen, Stan, and Riki. So we’ll finish the Great Christmas tour of 2008 with a bang in SoCal, and ring in the New Year down there as well.

It’s a little daunting, but we’ll make it fun and of course, that’s what makes this time of year wonderful anyway. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that we finally decorated our porch with lights (below). What sold me on it was Keana saying, “We have to Papa so the other kids can enjoy it!” And that big ball of lights in the center is Super Sphere, a Longs’ special that’s 100 hundred lights of pure glory. We bought if for our first Christmas party six years ago and it has finally realized it’s full potential (I think).

So there you go. The Christmas whirlwind is in full effect. See you at the end…or maybe before.

development

Pre-turkey update

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It’s the week before we head to Texas for Thanksgiving. I’m going to San Antonio for work on the 19th and Sarah, Keana, Maia, and Uncle Peter are joining me a few days later. Then we’re all driving to Fredericksburg to visit Grandma Linda and Grandpa Sam. Boy are they in for a surprise. I think it’s been almost seven months since they’ve seen the girls—more than half of Maia’s life so far!

Maia is getting more and more verbal and she vocabularic arsenal consists of hi, hello (pronounced “heh-roh”), dada, mama, and more. She blows kisses by putting her hand to her mouth and blowing into it, and can of course wave (and if you’re lucky you get the two-hand wave). She is her father’s daughter being very particular, and very clear about what she wants and doesn’t want. She’ll shake her head with an emphatic “no” when you offer her things, and when she’s done playing with something she throws it to the side like a pirate casting off an empty beer flagon. It’s really hilarious. Besides, it’s safer to throw things to the side so you don’t trip over them as you move along to the next thing, right? Maia also loves climbing. She’ll climb all around on the couch, often taking a moment to bounce up and down while stabilizing on the back of the couch. She loves to throw her head back with complete abandon when she knows you’re there to catch her (and you better be), or when she’s on a bed. Climbing on Keana’s little chairs is also a favorite while we get Keana ready for bed. She sits backward on them like the Fonz and bucks back and forth like she’s riding a bull. Maia is one crazy little action baby. Speaking of action, she loves to walk and almost run while holding on to our hands. She’ll be walking any day now and none of us can wait. Keana especially seems ready for her little sister to be more mobile to chase around and have fun with in that way. They certainly love playing games with each other. Maia’s even learned to hold something out so Keana can reach it, then pull it back quickly and laugh and run when Keana fails to reach it. Something I think she might have learned from Keana. It’s so much fun to see them interact and play with each other. It is tough not to be overbearing when they struggle, but Keana really does bring so much joy to little Maia, and vice versa.

On the food front, Maia doesn’t eat a whole lot of regular food, though she has sampled just about everything we eat, with the exception of cow milk, honey, and spicy stuff. Tonight she grabbed an onion off my pizza and said, “Mmmm!” then proceeded to spit it on the ground. So she’s not afraid to try new things!

Little Miss Thang (a.k.a. Keana) is progressing amazingly as well. She is incredibly tall, mischievous, bright, and funny. Her comprehension of life is really incredible at times. Last night I was I having a hard time with being patient, and as I was reading her bedtime story I told her I was having a hard time and that I was sorry. Keana replied, “That’s okay Papa. Just do your best.” A not-even-four-year-old with amazing insight. We absolutely love her energy and humor, and though we struggle with it at times, her bright little light is such a great asset to our quadripod.

Keana’s really starting to develop her physical being as well, gaining speed while running, height while jumping, and trying out things she was afraid to do before. She loves throwing and catching, though she often turns catching into a comedy routine of errors. Her slapstick humor is really quite funny. Keana also loves to kick the ball and Tia Iana thinks we might have a soccer player in the making. To give you an idea of her evolving personality, here’s some of her latest and greatest quotes:

8/13/08: Keana had a song stuck in her head while driving around and it was really bothering her, so Sarah put on the local jazz station. Keana started shaking her head around and said, “Oh yeah, this is workin’ my head out.”

9/1/08: “Helloha means ‘hi’ in Spanish!”

10/6/08 (While I was cooking her a quesadilla): “Mama, are you going to last forever? I don’t want anyone to die because we’re having too much fun!”

10/11/08: “I’m so busy I smell cake!” (while eating dinner)

10/15/08 (Keana’s first poem): “The tree I love with all my might, I close my eyes and it turns to light.”

10/22/08: After coming home from an outing and being very tired, “I just want some yummy, delicious quiet time.”

So, as you can see, we got a lot going on here at Team Hokama ,and in about a week, the whole fam damnly flies to Texas for Thanksgiving adventures and Maia’s first birthday! You’ll get it all right here, so don’t touch that dial.

development

Hello? Maia?

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“Maia’s sure growin’ and growin’!” exclaims Keana, and indeed she’s right.

The Communication Front
Maia’s always been our little squealer, often producing the loudest, highest, sustained pitches you’ve ever heard. After a few months she augmented that squeal with a low growl, often growling when she’s found something interesting to her. Not long after that she began saying, “Ma-ma, Ma-ma,” these first words confirming what we already knew; this is a mama’s girl. Then in August she began saying, ” Dada” when I appeared. Around the same time Maia also began waving at “good bye” and “hello”, sometimes with both hands. She also started shaking her head, showing a definitive “no” where appropriate. And just two weeks ago she began pointing to where she wanted to go or at what she wanted. Finally, just last week, Maia started mimicking talking on the telephone by picking something up—a spoon, a bear, her hand- producing a huge smile, and sometimes saying, “Hiiii.” Absolutely adorable.

The Movement Front
As just about everyone knows now, Maia started crawling at the end of August, and instead of just moving fast after Miko (the cat), now she moves fast to follow her sister or one of us around the house. She’s a master of the two carpeted steps we have downstairs and has even attempted the full case of wood stairs that goes between levels (not quite up for those yet). She also pulls herself up to a standing position on anything raised off the floor quite easily, and even practices going up and down, up and down. When she’s excited or listens to music she sits on her butt and waves both arms up and downs, sometimes with such force she pulls both her legs off the floor. Two weeks ago she started walking with assistance and it’s really fun to let her lead the way to whatever interests her. She also uses this new-found technique to kick balls around the house like a little soccer player. And to round things out, Maia loves to bounce. She loves to get up on the bed with her sister and jump, jump, jump. She can stand in the crib herself and do this, but on the bed really goes for it when one of us holds her under her armpits.

The Eating Front
So far, Maia really only likes yogurt, black beans, avocado, cheddar cheese, kamut puffs, zucchini, and tofu. She’s still nursing quite a bit and loves sharing sips out of water glasses. No bottle for this one either and since Keana stole her sippy cup, she’s gone straight to glass.

The Sleeping Front
This one’s been tough lately, but for the last couple months she’s gone to sleep pretty easily in our bed when Keana goes to bed around 7:30 p.m. Sarah would take her downstairs, lay with her and nurse her, and she’d drop off to sleep, waking up occasionally until we got down there, then sleep through the night. For the last three weeks though Sarah’s had to rock her to sleep for quite some time, then lay her down, which has been wearing on Sarah. I tried to help out once and I was greeted with a shaking head, signaling “no, no”, and so much crying that she actually threw up. Needless to say, she does not like her papa rocking her to sleep. Nap times are tough too because she really needs Sarah’s undivided attention to sleep, but with Keana running around and thirsting for attention herself, Maia doesn’t always get to sleep. So, as it seems to be with most kids, sleeping and getting enough is an issue, but for the most part we have been pretty spoiled with Maia.

So I think that’s pretty much the latest and greatest of the one called Maia (a.k.a Deedles a.k.a. Maimi a.k.a. Mimi Maimi a.k.a Snuggy Dugs).

development

Good work little baby

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I’ve been needing to write about all the good work little Miss Maia has been doing:

Talking
At about five months (around April 2008), Maia started saying “mama”. This of course makes sense she’s always been a mama’s girl. And at first we asked ourselves if we were hearing things or just being eager, proud parents, but indeed she was using “mama” to gets Sarah’s attention or to ask for Sarah when she was upset. It was especially clear when Sarah was gone and Maia would sadly but clearly say, “Ma-ma! Ma-ma!” In the last three weeks Maia’s added a slightly different version that’s almost “papa”.

In the last two months she’s really started to squeal and experiment with her volume as well, often screaming out uncontrollably then looking up at us smiling. Hilarious. And although this isn’t necessarily in the “talking” category, Maia has really become a laugher. At first she was our serious little baby but in the last month Maia’s sense of humor has really blossomed. Her smile is amazing and her laugh just makes your heart melt. She’s also started to smile more with people she doesn’t know as well and it’s really cute when she smiles sheepishly and then melts back into your chest shyly. And for the record, I think she’s going to be a full-tooth smiler like her big sister and papa.

Action
Maia has always been squirrelly and strong, right from her first hours, and we’ve coined the name Action Baby for her. She still loves to jump and jump while being held and rarely sits still on your lap or in your arms. She loves bath time and of course, jumping in the water. Sometimes she jumps so vigorously that she splashes the water everywhere and Keana, who’s carefully playing some flavor of make-believe with her toys, gets upset and shouts, “Hey Maia, stop splashing!”. Maia also can’t stay leaning back. No matter where she is, she wants to be sitting upright. No relaxing for this girl. Which definitely led to her latest big breakthrough of sitting up by herself. Three weeks ago she started sitting up on her own and again, our lives are changed forever. Sitting up on her own allows her to entertain herself better and allows Sarah to have a little break to do house stuff or play with Keana. Of course being more autonomous has its perils. Keana loves playing with Maia which sometimes includes pushing Maia over and tackling her. We’re really trying not to be overbearing parents, but Maia is still a little helpless. I definitely try and take cues from Maia and if she’s laughing and smiling at Keana, I fight off my papa bear. Keana is still learning the boundaries of playing safely with Maia, but she’ll get there. Oh, and recently, about three weeks ago, Maia waved and has been waving hello ever since (not so much good-bye yet).

Bottom Line
Maia is progressing like a champ and is definitely doing her thing for Team Hokama. Keana has set the bar high but little Mai Mai is having no trouble reaching it.

birthdays, development

Quadripod

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So, we had a baby. It’s not news any more, but indeed on November 25, at 3:11 a.m., Maia Ilani Hokama was born. Actually, “Baby Girl” was born as we didn’t have a name chosen yet, but it was beautiful. I will be writing all about the details of the birth in her birth story, but here’s the two second version: at midnight we called Cindy the midwife, and shortly after she called her assist, I woke up Keana and Iana—who was in town to help out with Keana during The Event—and three hours later Maia was born. It all happened pretty quick and she came out, arms springing into the air, reaching out to her new world. I know, exciting huh? But I don’t have time to get into it now, so you’ll just have to wait for her “official” birth story. I will say that the love and support our family, friends, and co-workers have shown us is amazing and we are truly thankful for all the wonderful people in our lives.

Anyway, I just got an urge to sit down and write here because it’s been WAY too long. Keana has practically grown up. She forms her thoughts well in wonderful sentences and gains new ways to express herself in words and other actions every day. Growling has been a great one lately, often growling to show frustration but to also tease. This isn’t exactly new, but she’ll growl a word or a name as a type of joke which is hilarious. I’ll be sitting upstairs after her bedtime and will hear a growling, “pApAaaaa!” through the monitor. We’ve been decorating for Christmas and her new word is “breakaful”. Don’t be fooled though, this is one articulate two-year-and-nine-month-old! Her physical activity has grown too. She now goes down all the slides at the park by herself, even the tall twisty one. She also likes to climb things and has even ventured to the top of the arched monkey bars (with my assistance though). In stores Keana refuses to hold hands but follows closely behind, often galloping or dancing down the isles. Everywhere we go, especially at the local natural foods store, she is truly the star. Some of her latest phrases also include persuasion, like “C’mon, just do it!” or “Maybe we can buy one?” Yes, she has discovered how we attain all the wonderful material objects around us. You can’t get through a store with stuffed animals without at least one very sweet, tame plea for a cuddly, furry friend. My latest way around this is enlisting a “finding friend”, just while we’re at the store, to help us get what we actually need. Two days ago it was a panda that helped us find the Christmas tree skirt. I find that a short relationship, with a hug at the end, often makes for a satisfying way around buying her everything she wants (or a very sad departure). Yes folks, Keana is growing up fast and we love her more and more every day, if that’s even possible.

Now what about Maia? Well, she’s two weeks old (two weeks and nine months I guess). She actually sleeps in three, four, and five hour stretches allowing us to catch up on sleep or other daily tasks relatively easily. What I’ve been loving are those mid-sleep and waking sputters and honks that babies make. Not to mention those adorable little baby stretches. Her eyes are getting lighter and I think we may have another blue-eyed beauty in the house. She’s got that serious new baby expression with that not-quite-focusing-but-looking-at-something-intently gaze, with unbelievable smirks and smiles while sleeping. At first her eyes crossed pretty easily, but with gentle reminders from Sarah that her nose wasn’t going anywhere, those cross-eyed moments are fewer and fewer. Maia also has the longest eyelashes anyone’s ever seen on a baby (but then maybe people didn’t see her sister’s). She’s gaining weight like a champ and is starting to get some chubby cheeks, so I hope their prepared for all the kisses and squeezes that they’re in for.

Sarah is feeling better every day and has been healing at a record pace. Two weeks after the birth she’s starting to feel normal again and says if feels great. She did a phenomenal job giving birth and amazed all those around her. Those at the birth not only marveled at the alertness and vitality of Maia, but also the strength and grace of Sarah throughout the occasion. She continues to be a great mother and nothing makes me happier than to see her caught up in one one of those loving, motherly stares at Maia or Keana. We are so lucky to have her holding down the role of Mama in our house.

Last but not least, me. I’ve been amazed, happy, tired, excited, frustrated, totally stressed out, and popping with love. It’s been hard adjusting to our new life, but I think we’re doing really well. I already feel like our fridge and our garbage can reflect our new number of four.

Which brings me to the title “Quadripod”. It’s a term I started using just before Maia was born, inspired by the word “tripod”. As we all know, a tripod is a three-legged device that usual supports a camera, but all the legs come to one point and in so doing also support each other. This is kind of how I saw Sarah, Keana, and I before Maia was born. Not knowing what a four-legged device would be called I just started saying “quadripod” and funnily enough, no one even batted an eye when I used it in sentences. Example, “Yup, this new little one will make us a quadripod.” See? Sounds almost scientifically correct. Anyway, that’s what we are now and for you conventionalist, we can also stick with “family of four”, though that’s certainly less glamorous.

What else can I say? It’s been a wild ride so far, already complete with ups and downs, and I assume it will continue on in this fashion more or less, but I can already see we’re up for it and ready to roll.

development

H-o-kama

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Keana’s been doing funny things with names lately- she’s figured out our first names. The other day she said, “You’re Luke!” and her “Ls” aren’t quite right yet, so it was more like “Yuke”—it was hilarious. And yesterday she was pretending to talk on the phone with “Luke”—having a full conversation inserting my name frequently throughout. She still calls me Papa, but there’s something strange about hearing your first name come out of your kid’s mouth. It always makes me think of those “coming of age” movies where the rebellious teen calls their parents by their first names just to annoy them, and it’s always said with a sarcastic tone and some eye-rolling. Keana’s also been calling Sarah by her first name too—I think slightly before she got my name she realized her mama’s name was Sarah.

But the real kicker is she’s learned her last name! She and Sarah were playing downstairs last week and Keana was writing in one of Sarah’s old checkbooks and as she was writing she was saying, “H-o-kama” over and over. I have no idea how she learned that we write our last names out. Actually, I think it was at the campout because she and Grandma Jennie were writing “papa” and “mama” and “grandma” in different colors. Of course they were all scribbled circles, but I think the connection was made.

(A funny side note on the checkbook thing—as I was picking up some of Keana’s toys in her room, in her little cash register I found some checks Sarah had written. One was made out to Keana Hokama for $2000.00 and the other to Big Bird for $200.00. It made my day.)