Christmas Photo Shoot

Last week, we grabbed the chance to snap some shots of Zachary while it was nice outside. Like every Nov/Dec, it has rained like crazy these past couple weeks. Zac woke up from his nap grumpy and not at all excited about putting on his "nursery shirt," but he brightened right up after figuring out that we would give him a chocolate chip every couple shots.



Look closely: see those chocolate chips???




My favorite shot this year. Oh man, I love this little boy!



We get told all the time that we "couldn't possibly live here" because our son has such a fair complexion. I don't know--he looks a tiny bit more tan than the white on the Santa hat!
A random shot from last night's Christmas party. He was excited all week to sit on Santa's lap, and this year there are NO TEARS! Sure, he still looks a little wary and he's definitely not leaning into Santa's beard, but he couldn't stop talking about it the rest of the night.

Turkeys Don't Really Fly, But November Sure Did

...and so did Zachary, when we threw out the rule book for a day and let him jump all over the furniture. Definitely not the best parenting, but man, he sure had fun. We switched him to his "big boy bed" and new room. He did super with the adjustment, although still refuses to sleep under anything but his baby blanket. Don't worry, that gigantic TV is gone, too.
For Thanksgiving, 6 little families joined us and pitched in with yummy food and afternoon company. We played some t-ball with the kids, ate from our 7, maybe 8, pies, and enjoyed the sunshine that evaded us last year. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a hard day for sharing with Mr. Z, so mostly I was stressed out.





The next day we shot up to the mountains for camping. I'm all for cold camping every once and a while. I do not, however, really love it when it rains...and rains...and rains... It was muddy and cold, but at least we were able to enjoy mugs of hot cocoa. Our car was the only wimpy one that couldn't survive the gnarly, muddy roads. Next time, we buy 4WD so we can have a cool mud shot like everyone else. (Actually, next time we're going to camp at the beach where it is warm.)

Oh, hello belly. This is at 25 weeks. I'm 27 weeks now (yay for 3rd trimester!), and just got asked by a gas station attendant if I was having a Christmas baby. Ouch.
Making up for our cold camping was a warm couple of days paddle boarding. Kalipaki is not our favorite beach, but it is perfect for paddle boarding, which is just about the only water sport I can do these days. I'm guessing I'll have to throw that one out soon, too, considering that when I start to lose my balance and jump into the water, it's getting a little tricky to get back on the board. I'm a little jealous that Brady has learned how to ride waves on the paddle board, which I will not venture to try until after baby girl arrives. Don't worry, I am very cautious, I stay away from other boarders, and I only go where I know I can hack it without falling unexpectedly.
Kalipaki's other perks include it being a great beach for the kiddos, and only 25 minutes from our house.

Olivia is such a little ham for the camera.




We went to the Lights on Rice Street parade this year. This Christmas has been the most exciting so far with a child, because it seems like Zac "gets it" about everything--Santa, snowmen, lights, the tree, etc. He is so excited, and he knows that presents come soon. I haven't really introduced the concept of Santa knowing if you are bad/good--maybe next year. I remember really believing that Santa was keeping track. That's got to be more effective than time-outs, right?



Zac loved decorating the tree. Notice how he put all the jingle bell balls in the same section. When he woke up the next morning and noticed we repositioned them, he was not very happy.

Oh, and I made something pretty with my hands! Minus the ribbons, candles, and berries, this is all fresh and real.

We're enjoying our decor while we can. Our landlord comes the 23rd for 11 days, so we'll be out of here and staying at a friend's house while they are on the mainland.

Run Fast, Daddy!

Brady ran the Koloa Sugar Mill 10 mile race on Saturday. Zac helped make this poster on Friday, but couldn't wait to show off his artwork until Saturday. As soon as Brady got home from work, he rushed to show him this "poter."

This year was fun because there were so many friends running the race. There were 400 participants total, and 92 that ran the 10 miler. Here's Brady with Josh Herr at the 4 mile mark.
Bishop and Will:
Karen S:
Meagan:
Nic coming back. He won this race by a mile...and that's just about literally! He was 5 min ahead of Josh (2nd place).


Zac was screaming, jumping up and down, and clapping for the runners. He kept saying, "GO, GO, GOOOOOOOOOO!"


Brady finishes strong:
He was 2nd in his age division, 6th overall, and finished with a time of 1:12:53, or 7:17 miles. With his crazy work schedule lately, it's completely impressive to me that he finds time to do long runs, play with his kiddo, and keep me happy. Way to go, babe!

Happy Halloween!

Since Halloween was Sunday, this year it was a 3-day gig for us. Friday was our ward activity, which the Primary was in charge of and it went off without a hitch (albeit it was unbelievably crowded and HOT!). Saturday we went to Will and Karen's for an adult-only bash, and Sunday we ate in Halloween-style with the Ellis clan. I think we definitely got our fill of ghosts, spiders, and all things creepy.

We started by carving our pumpkin Thursday night. I only wish we took a pic of what it looked like just 3 DAYS LATER--covered in mold and dozens of fruit flies. Zachary waited to carve all week long, but his bravery with the pumpkin was limited to observation, not touch.
Brady to Zac: "This is how you pull out the seeds, Zac..."
"...Do you want to try?" Zac's response:
Zachary also took our hands, put them into the pumpkin, and pulled them out for us. He definitely wanted to participate, but he's not quite there with the gooey texture and the unknown insides of a pumpkin.

He came out of his bubble bath to find that Dad had finished up the witch. This kiddo is really good at laying on the praise. He also congratulates us with a "Nice Job, Mom/Dad!" plus a high five anytime we go to the bathroom, make our bed, or put our dishes in the sink.

Buzz Lightyear is Zac's favorite character at present, as I'm sure is the case with almost all toddler boys. We bought him this outfit a month ago. When it came in the mail and we tried to get him to try it on, he cried. We did a mock trick-or-treat on Monday night, and he wore it for 15 minutes. That made us confident he would wear it on Friday at the ward Trunk-r-Treat. He did, but this is the expression he wore all night long:

He was partially excited that his wings lit up. Poor kid, he just does not like the costumes. I had to carry him from trunk to trunk because he was "Scared, Mom!" He religiously said "Trick-or-Treat" and "Thank-you," but he held on tight the entire time.
The pics of us in our wizard and witch get-up from last year (but slightly improved, in our defense) were taken on another camera. We decided not to wear the same thing two nights in a row, so we spent the better part of Saturday morning cutting out poster board. Notice the pink bow--that's the best part. The worst part of these (and all Halloween costumes) is that they are not meant to be worn in Hawaii. It makes me sweat just looking at these pictures.
Some other notable costumes: Wendi made these costumes, as well as three others for her girls to make a family ensemble.
Will and Karen:
Melissa (as Sarah Palin) and Lance (as Glenn Beck):
Matt and Megan (Brady told me I didn't appreciate his costume enough because I haven't seen "Karate Kid"). The day before, Megan dressed her little family in Wizard of Oz attire--Tin Man, Dorothy, the witch, and baby Chase as Todo.
The best costume I saw from adults either night came from Chad and Mary:
Carol and Merv (I think Merv should grow out his hair like this):
It wouldn't be a Will and Karen gathering without games.


I honestly dread coming up with costumes each year, but it is really fun to see what other people come up with, and I have to believe that someday my child will think costumes are fun.