100 Times and Counting

 June 1, 2012:  The day we received Candyland in the mail.  It was toward the end of our free Amazon Prime membership, so of course I'd overspent the budget, but hey, a kid's gotta have Candyland, right?

I don't regret it.  I love the way he lights up when we pull it out after scriptures and prayer.  I love that he is such a good sport: "Dad, I am so happy you won, and I still had fun even though I lose," and "Mom, it's okay, try again next time."  I love how I can get him to move at the speed of light at the mere suggestion of a round later that day.  It's the first thing he asks about when he wakes up in the morning and from his naps.  He wants to play it with every single one of his friends, and has conned quite a few adults into game after game.

I promise I do not exaggerate when I say I've played it with him 100 times.  I actually think that's a conservative estimate.  The impressive number?  I've only rigged it 3 times.

We've done more than board games this month.  We've spent many hours checking out houses.  Dream houses come with in-your-dreams prices.  That's okay.  We've rented for 11 years, what's another year (or 10)?  It has to be a pretty great house to drag us away from our Poipu home, so close to the ocean, on the greenbelt,

...and with a pool.  Here's Brady teaching Zac to swim on his back.  Zachary's favorite thing to do in the water is stand up on that boogie board and "surf."

 Kate likes the water okay, but begs to be in the hot tub.  She loves to carry her green inner tube around the house all day long.

 You know those toys you figured were a waste of money?  This Little Tykes car was in that category for me.  Zac did not care about it as a toddler.  Now that he's 4 1/2 and there is demand from baby sister, he thinks it is the greatest toy we own.  They each get timed intervals in it every single morning.

 Two weekends ago, we camped at Polihale again.  It was perfect weather, again.  Polihale is the reason I will not be able to leave this island and be happy about it. 

 The only pictures we took were of the boys racing.  Zac and Drake have their tongues wagging in every one of them.

 Zac biffed it:

 ...but came up smiling.

 I told Brady a few weeks ago that I was surprised he hasn't gotten into spear fishing.  This involves free diving (not scuba), and seems like something he'd love.  Saturday, we headed up to the north shore and met up with friends, who took him out for a couple hours.  It was a cold day on the north shore, and it took us 2 hours to get there, but we had a great time anyway. 

 Haena Beach (the last beach before Ke'e):

 Derek can hold his breath underwater for 4:30.  Amazing.  He caught the fish.  (Brady shot a fish on his first dive down but the fish got away.)

 As soon as Zachary heard there was a fish, he got his bucket ready with water.  He was not going to touch it, but he definitely wanted a picture with it in his bucket.  (Derek, on the other hand, had no qualms about kissing the thing.)

 A couple days ago, Kate could not be consoled.  She cried and cried, leading me by the hand to her bedroom and pounding on her dresser.  It took me the better part of all morning to figure out that the poor girl just wanted some SHOES.  This little diva loves her shoes, and would wear them to bed if I let her.

 Kate is at such a fun stage.  It's like everything is clicking at once.  Suddenly, she can do a dozen signs, point to body parts, and get around independently.  She went from hobbling steps to fast walking in a week.  (Thank heavens, because she is now 15 months old!)  She reads books with me, does the actions to "5 Little Ducks" and "5 Little Monkeys," and sings into a microphone.  She races to the door anytime the garage opens, hoping to see her daddy.  She bobs her head and shakes her shoulders to "I'm Sexy and I Know It." She wrestles with Zachary, makes play food for her doll, and pushes her little doll stroller around the house.  She is suddenly a terror with cabinets, toilet paper, and anything in her reach.

I LOVE this stage.  

If I had to freeze an age for my children, I'd be hard pressed to decide between 15 months and 4 1/2 years.