On Sunday, after a nice walk around the neighborhood, we all spent the afternoon at Iao Valley State Park. This is one of Dean's favorite places to walk around like a big boy. He loves all the plants and watching the water in the stream. Here are a few pics...

Tuesday evening, Grandma & Grandpa made another yummy meal for us that included Dean's new favorite...Kula Super Sweet Corn. He had a really good time eating it right off the cob!!

Fun times with Grandma & Grandpa

We've been having a lot of fun with Grandma Jo & Grandpa CR!! We haven't done a whole lot, but it's been fun!! Last night, Sarah (the babysitter) came over and played with Dean for several hours so the grown-ups could go out for a nice dinner. We tried a new place in Lahaina - The Melting Pot. It's a fondue place, which was a new experience for us. It was yummy, but very complicated!! Joel went on a "team-building" hike today at work, so Grandma Jo and Grandpa CR hung out with Dean and I at the Maui Tropical Plantation this morning. That was fun!! Dean loves looking at all the flowers and plants and REALLY loves feeding the ducks (actually he probably enjoys chasing them more). There were lots of baby ducks too. We did the tram ride through the property, which Dean wasn't too sure about. After his nap this afternoon, Dean took a ride upcountry with Dad, Grandma & Grandpa to see the Jacaranda trees that are in bloom. I stayed home to update the blog and work on some crafty projects.

At the Melting Pot...Joel's incapable of smiling in a picture (that is steam from our fondue pot floating up in front of my face)

Grandpa trying to get Dean's shoes on him so we can go to the Tropical Plantation...

Dean eating the duck's bread...

Grandma & Dean playing in a tree...
Beautiful view of West Maui Mtns from the Tropical Plantation
Dean chasing ducks that are bigger than him...

Pretty Bird of Paradise...

A Day at the MACC

We spent a fun afternoon last Saturday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center - we had tickets for Sesame Street Live! I think Dean liked running around outside more than the show. He's still a little young yet for a 90-minute live performance, but since things like that rarely come to Maui (and he does need to learn how to behave in those situations) I figured we might as well give it a try!! Grandma Jo and Grandpa CR arrived Friday night (MUCH later than expected, thank you to the weather and flight delays...but they did make it!) and Joel was SOOOO disappointed (can you detect my sarcasm??) to let Grandma Jo use his ticket. So Jo and I took Dean to the MACC to see Elmo. He did better than I expected. He was pretty interested and watching the characters intently for the first 20 minutes. Then he started squirming a lot, but still watching for another 10 minutes. Then he was done. So we went out in the lobby for awhile and let him run around. Then it was intermission so we went outside and had some ice cream and Dean jumped in the jumpy castle with his buddy Evan who we saw there. Evan is about 4 months older than Dean. He's Teacher Kim's (Music Teacher) son. According to Kim, Evan only lasted about 5 minutes in the show. Anyway, we tried to go back in after the intermission, but Dean wasn't having it. Apparently 30 minutes of Elmo is enough. I still think it was worth it - if nothing else, just to have seen his face those first 20 minutes. Here are a few pics from our afternoon...

When Daddy's left in charge (take 2)

This is what happens when Joel is SUPPOSED to be keeping an eye on Dean but instead ignores the tell-tale sound of a kitchen drawer opening, Dean's little footsteps running into his room, his bedroom door closing, and then 5 minutes of silence. It's just never a good sign. The first pic is Dean knowing he's in trouble!!!

How can you stay mad at this face???

And yes, that WAS a permanent marker...it's probably going to have to wear off. And fortunately for Joel, Dean for some reason chose only to draw on himself and not all over the walls or carpet!!

Iao Valley

One evening last week, Dean and I went to Iao Valley State Park to walk around. Dean loved it! Of course, if it's outside he usually loves it! And this involved lots of trees and climbing lots of steps, so it was triple fun!!

Dean and his "ana"

Dean LOVES bananas!! We are going to have to plant another banana tree at the new place to supply his habit. He calls then "anas" and now will ONLY eat them with the peel still on the bottom. He is such a little monkey!!

Little Opihi

Grandpa Eddie has a new best friend!!! Opihi (or "Petey") is a 5-month-old miniature Schnauzer who joined the family today. Mom and been wanting to get Dad a dog for awhile now and since Joel finished their fence a few weeks ago, they took the plunge today. Petey is so sweet!! He's very calm and is already housebroken. According to his foster parents, he loves children and he did great with Dean today! He already seems to prefer Dad and didn't stray too far from him when they stopped by to visit today. Here's a cute picture of the pair:

New Video

Hold onto your hats folks, here's another super exciting video of Dean eating a banana!! :-)

Little Boy

That's right. My baby is turning into a little boy! I'm not sure how I feel about that. He sure is a cute little boy though!



Wednesday was officially Dean's last day as a baby....that was the last day he got a bottle. Ever since he stopped breast feeding at about 7 months old, he's been a major bottle baby! I half-heartedly started to introduce a sippy cup (as all "the books" say to do) around his first birthday. He wasn't interested. I continued to patiently try coaxing him to use a cup for the past 6 months. Now I have to be honest and say that I could have tried harder. But he REALLY REALLY hated drinking milk from a cup (and still does hate it). Besides, I think if I'm really honest with myself I didn't WANT him to make that transition. I knew he needed to and I knew that I had to keep trying. But to me, that really marked the end of his babyhood and I wanted to hold on to that just a little longer. And with this one sometimes I just have to choose my battles. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to go to high school with a bottle in his mouth (I have my good friend Ellyn to thank for that guilt alleviating piece of wisdom....thanks Ellyn!). For some reason, his turning 18 months was a turning point. I finally forced myself to get tough. So Wednesday morning Dean had his last bottle. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I do miss seeing him sit in his little chair with a bottle in his mouth, contentedly watching "Elmo"...and that's just it. I think it's been harder on me than on him. I wanted so badly to give him a bottle last night while I rocked him before bedtime. Why is that? He seemed fine without it. Oh well. It hasn't been all smooth sailing though. Wednesday was actually the worst. If I even walked toward him with a cup in my hand he would start screaming. And if he actually took it from me and realized it was milk, he would throw the cup across the room, then throw himself on the floor and scream and scream. In his mind, milk belongs in a bottle...not a cup. After a day and a half of lots of juice and water (so he'd stay hydrated) and a whole 6-pack of Yo Baby yogurt (so he'd get his calcium and protein), he's finally taking milk from a cup.



So as a reward for his accomplishment (as if he isn't spoiled enough already!!!), Dean got 2 new toys today....a Diego tent and a Little Tikes ride-on dump truck. So far he is ignoring the tent and pushing the dump truck all over the house. Here are some pics...

Such a big boy....

why his face is so dirty.....Dean does love his PBJs!!
new toys...

the Criders

My good friend, Greg Crider, got married on June 1 in Bella Vista, Arkansas. We weren't able to attend the wedding, but Greg & Bev are here on Maui for their honeymoon after spending a week on Kauai. They stopped by to check out our place and meet Dean on Sunday morning. I was so excited for Dean to meet "Uncle Greg"!! It was also nice to finally meet his wife, Beverly, who is awesome by the way!! Greg and I went to high school together (although he was a few yrs older) and have been good friends since then. He also became good friends with my brother Jeremy and moved to Maui about 2 weeks after I did 4 yrs ago. Greg was one of my roommates when I first moved to Maui and he's one of those friends you know is going to be in your life forever. Anyway, here are a couple of pics from their visit.

Dean had to show Greg how his tractor worked, then when Greg was pointing at me to try to get Dean to look at the camera, Dean had to do it too!

Our Little Music Prodigy

18 months old and already rockin' out on the harmonica like a pro!!! Remember, to watch the video, you have to be on the blog website, which you can get to here. The video doesn't play in the e-mail update. Ignore the messy room - Dean was having his own little jam session this morning and had to have ALL of his music making toys spread out all over the place!

Playdate at Noah's

Dean had a private playdate at Noah's house (Or as Dean pronounces it "Nonah"s house) last week while I went to get my haircut (thank you Lauren!!!). Here are some pics Lauren took of the little rascals....aren't they just too cute together???


Sharing is Caring....

New Shoes & Last Day of Music Class

Dean got a new pair of "big boy" shoes - some really cool Vans skate sneakers that he actually likes to wear (this is a first - he normally hates all shoes). They're still a little big yet, so it's so funny to watch him walk around in them. He reminds me of tourists at the beach walking around with their snorkel & flippers on!!!

Here he is checking them out....

Today was the last day of Music class this semester. Dean has REALLY enjoyed music, more and more each semester. We first started the classes when he was only 4 months old. It's been amazing to see him develop from just sitting there absorbing everything in the beginning to participating and making his own music now!! Here's a picture of Dean and his new girlfriend Ryanna snuggling with some Care Bears during the lullaby...

Dean and Mom dancing...
Ryanna really enjoying Johnny playing the guitar...
Dean, Teacher Kim and her son Evan (who is NOT happy). Dean was so cute this morning. He gave Teacher Kim a lei and a kiss and handed her a thank-you card (which he signed himself) to thank her for making Music class so fun!!