Dean Talking (kind of)

So I've been trying to get a video of Dean's new tricks for WEEKS now and it just doesn't happen. (see second video - it's self explanatory why I can't seem to get a video of him these days). I thought this was pretty cute though. You can hear him say 2 of his words..."All Done" or "All Gone" (I don't know which it is....I say all done, my mom says all gone) and "bye". In the second video, you can hear him say "hey" right at the beginning, then "wheeee" (this is what he says anytime he slides down a slide, slides off a chair, slides off your lap, you get the picture) and "hi". Most recently he's been saying "cool", "dude", sometimes "cool dude", "wow", "whoa" and sometimes "whoa dude", and trying to repeat just about everything. Oh, I think you have to actually go to the blog to play the videos...they don't work from the e-mail. You can get to the blog by clicking here.

West Maui Hiking

Dean went on his first "real" hike today - by "real" I mean that he actually did some hiking instead of being carried in the backpack kid carrier. In fact, he refused to get in the kid carrier, but insisted on walking on his own. He's getting to be so independent!! We did about half of the "13 Crossings" hike that is around the Western side of the island on the North Shore (past Waihee, before Kahakuloa for those of you that know). Dean had a blast exploring nature on his own level!! He found lots of sticks, some rotten guava to carry around and smash in his hands, rocks to throw in the stream and his favorite - pulling bark off of trees! Here are lots of cute pics... (be sure to notice his new haircut - I trimmed about 2 inches off all the way around last week!! I can't believe how fast his hair grows - this is the 5th time I've had to cut it since he turned 1 in December!!).

New Big Boy Toy

Nope....it's not for Dean. Joel's birthday came a little early this year. He got a Wii and we've been having some killer battles on Guitar Hero!! I have to say that it's really fun melting Joel's face with my kick-ass guitar licks!!! :-) We got our butts handed to us when we played the Wii over at the Shapiro's a few months ago. Joel's practicing up so he can redeem himself in a few rematches against 10-yr-old Sam!! Sam, Joel says you better spend your summer practicing because when you guys get back to Maui, it's on!!!

Little Helper

Dean's had a busy few days. He won't leave our computer alone, so we got him his own little laptop and he LOVES it!! He's so cute. He somehow instinctively knows how to properly hold a mouse and thinks he's so important when he "works" on his computer!

Dean's getting really good at giving kisses and loves to give Nani kisses. He's also learning to be "gentle" with both cats, which we can see is very difficult for him!!
Dean's starting to enjoy "helping". He helps me vaccuum (he has a little toy vacuum that he pushes around the house) and especially loves to help Joel mow the yard!


And today Dean helped me pot a few plants, although he mostly just wanted to dump the dirt out of the pot immediately after I'd fill it!

Music Class Fun

Dean had a fun morning in Music Class today. Only 2 weeks left this semester. He's really gotten into it this semester and is starting to follow along with the movements & singing some. And of course he's the cutest kid there!!!

Scarf Dancing

Patiently waiting for his stamp for being good

Baby Ducks outside class

Baby Pineapples outside class

Happy Birthday Mia!

We spent a few hours this morning at Kamaole III Beach Park in Kihei For little Mia's first birthday party. We met Mia, her Mom Lori and her Dad David when Mia was just a few days old. They have a condo at Kihei Villages where we used to live. Anyway, it was a fun morning and Dean is taking one of his marathon post-beach naps that I LOVE!!! Here are some pics...

David, Lori & Mia

FINALLY - Mother's Day Pics

Yes, I know, I've been a terrible blogger lately! Besides the internet issues, I've been busy helping a friend with birthday party invites and goodies, making a digital mini-album for Dean's girlfriend's birthday ;-), and doing some design work for my local scrapbook store. So I do have a good excuse!!!!



As you know, Mother's Day was last weekend (Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies out there!!). I had a nice relaxing day scrapbooking then Joel made dinner for me, my Mom and my Grandma. Here are some pics...

We have a First Birthday Party to go to at the beach this morning, so I promise to post pics later this afternoon!!

Ulupalakua

We've been having weird internet issues this week, so I'm behind on my posting -sorry!! I have a couple of posts I'll add tonight.

We spent Saturday last weekend hanging out with Lonnie & Joy Hamilton, who were here visiting on one of the Hawaiian Cruise Ships. Mr. Hamilton was my all-time favorite teacher - I had him a couple of times throughout high school, but the most memorable class was AP American History (for which I received 6 hours of college credit after passing the exam, thank you very much!!). Seriously, he was an AWESOME teacher who had a huge impact on my academic life. I was also involved in a couple of extracurricular activities he sponsored (Close-Up Government Studies Program and the El Reno City Council Student Advisory Board). My parents got to know him through parent-teacher conferences and also thought he was great! My Mom joined us on the Close-Up week-long trip to Washington, DC my senior year and got to know both Mr. Hamilton, his wife Joy and Joy's amazing father on that trip. They've kept in touch sporadically over the years and when the Hamiltons planned their Hawaii vacation we were excited to be able to spend a few days with them!! ANYWAY...Joel, Dean and I met them at Seawatch in Wailea for breakfast Saturday morning, which was nice (except that Dean is NOT fun to take to a restaurant right now...we're working on that). After breakfast we all made the pretty drive Upcountry to Ulupalakua to tour the winery at Tedeschi Vineyards. The weather Upcountry was AMAZING and Dean especially enjoyed running around the large park-like grounds of the winery while we all had a tasting and did the tour. It was so nice to see the Hamiltons and catch up. I still count Mr. Hamilton as one of the most influential persons in my life (in a very positive way!!). Here are some pics from our Saturday...

Jen, Lonnie & Joy

Dean's sign for airplane....if he hears anything that sounds remotely like an airplane (be it actual airplane, helicopter, motorcycle, lawnmower, etc) he points at the sky.

Dean and Grandpa Eddie "cruising" the grounds at Tedeschi Vineyards.

Such a cutie!!

Dean and Grandpa Eddie

Playdate with Noah

My good friend Lauren and her adorable son, Noah, came over this afternoon for a playdate. Noah and Dean are just a week apart in age. It's so fun to see them FINALLY interacting after a year + of ignoring each other!!! And I think they are just too cute together with Dean's blond curls and Noah's dark curls!! They still require a little time to get used to each other, but they did share legos a few times and even exchanged a few hugs and kisses. And Dean does love snuggling with Auntie Lauren!!! It was adorable!! Here are some pics...