this kid is one

With all the madness going on these last few weeks I never even addressed Miss K's milestone birthday. My little girl is officially a running, babbling, eating absolutely everything-in', cannot be contained one-year-old. She has the sweetest six-toothed smile in the land and has changed every inch of our world for the better. We love you Miss K!!

why else would grown-ups dress up for a superhero themed kids birthday.

just another morning in waikiki

Mr. Awesome had an interview in Waikiki this morning so Miss K and I decided to tag along. Bright and early we loaded into the car and made the twenty minute drive to the most popular beach on Oahu. On a side note, it is incredibly easy to be a morning person in Hawaii because the island and all the little birds and creatures on it have their own natural rhythm, there really is no use fighting it. Plus, Miss K's "natural" rhythm still has her waking up between 4 and 5 a.m.

But back to Waikiki. This place is Hawaii on steroids and is definitely not the place for the easily overstimulated. Throngs of tourist line the streets and long stretch of beach and small local shops vie for space between luxury powerhouses like Coach and Louis Vuitton. Even at seven in the morning this place is buzzing. You will find a lot of people who loathe this place and avoid it like the plague but I'll tell you why I am not one of them.

Here's what Waikiki has going on...it is a literal one stop shop, in the sense that you have the beach, restaurants, bathrooms, and an ABC store (for anything you could need) on literally every block and for a Washingtonian with a bit of a Starbucks habit there are more than a handful in just a few short blocks. And while the North Shore may be the place to be for watching the best surfing, Waikiki is definitely the place to be for people watching. As a professional eavesdropper the number languages alone is baffling, far exceeding the number overheard in the International Terminal at SFO. Every color, every body type, every age is present and accounted for in Waikiki...and they are friendly!!

Miss K has first hand experience being that an older Korean woman (I'm guessing at least 80) just happened upon us walking and decided to come along. She swooped up Miss K's hand, gave me a nod and a smile and the three of us continued on for at least a block before going our separate ways.

There's so much more to say about Waikiki so I'll be sure to revisit but for now suffice to say that it's pretty sweet that Mr. Awesome can be all dressed up headed to an interview while Miss K and I can be ready to hit the beach and all three of us can go about our business on the same block.

we made it!!

These last few weeks in Washington have been hectic. We've had boxes to pack. We've had a birthday to both plan and execute. I had a half-marathon to shoddily train for and run, while Mr. Awesome had tests to take and relocation planning to undertake. All three of us have had multiple doctors and dentist appointments and I can't even count the numbers of hugs and goodbyes we received. However on Tuesday, after five hours of sleep, two packed cars, and two flights...we arrived. At our new home...

To everyone who sent us off...we love you, we miss you and we absolutely can not wait for you to visit!!!

Mahalo.

my phone is having an awesome summer

Thank God for camera phones and their amazing ability to document the everyday, seemingly mundane moments...they never looked so pretty!!

a note on moving

Dear Miss K,
I know without a doubt that the road map of your life will take you all over the world. Between your daddy and I we’ve covered quite a few bases ourselves and look forward to showing you as much of this great big, beautiful place as possible before you strike out on your own adventures. However, having moved around myself I know how important it is to know where you’ve been, if only because it makes your story that much more compelling. So my beautiful little girl let me tell you a little about where your adventure began.

Your story began in a little house, under a big Magnolia tree, on a street called Oakes. Now this may not be one of the great wonders of the world but I assure you that there was many an Everest for you to conquer in that little space. You were so little, and not just baby little, but just under six pounds little. On the day we brought you home we made the three minute drive from the hospital to the house and all of a sudden we were on our own with a baby and this place that had just been a house quickly became a nest as we hunkered down and settled into the rhythms of being three. Every single day you grew, not just in size but more amusingly in personality and this little house was your playground and classroom.

So I hope one day when you’re older you’ll see a picture of this house, and be able to say...
this is where I....
learned to crawl and just as quickly walk
judo chop while flying through the air
got that little scar on my forehead from a confrontation with a coffee table
said Momma (FIRST...regardless of what daddy says)
hid in the Magnolia tree with daddy...momma was not amused
ate just about everything
projectile vomited
was rocked to sleep to the sounds of the rain outside my parents window
got my first four teeth, started to bite!!
predominately slept in mom and dad’s bed (horizontally), never mind the perfectly good crib
loved and was loved on a million times a day
climbed stairs, the coffee table, and had absolutely no respect for the edge

(this is just a few of a long list of firsts)

I know that years from now this house will be buried somewhere deep in your subconcious memory. It will be overshadowed, no doubt, by the amazing people, places and things that will undoubtedly surround you or maybe the current challenges you may be facing. I also know it was just a place, but everyones story starts somewhere and this was yours. A little house, under a big Magnolia tree, on a street called Oakes where you learned to conquer giants because you were fearless, because you had absolutely no concept of failure and because you already knew we would be there to catch you. Three things i hope you will always carry with you from this little house.

Love,
your momma

a first

For the holiday weekend (yeah I'm behind)our little posse headed down to Portland to visit family and relax, well Miss K and I relaxed and Mr. Awesome did a crap-ton (an actual unit of measurement) of work. In order to avoid distracting him, which happens to be one of my greatest joys, my step-mom and I took both Miss K and my niece to the Portland Zoo.

The weather and the little ones were both perfect and we enjoyed a few hours walking around and looking at all the exhibits. I didn't expect much of a reaction from Miss K considering how little she is but she was super talkative and wanted to touch everything.

here are some highlights...

1.) elephants are typically my favorite animal at the zoo and the Portland Zoo didn't disappoint with two babies running around. 2.) we agreed that this was a favorite stop, the lighting makes them look so graceful and majestic. 3.) Clearly my niece was in awe. 4.) Holy telephoto lens Batman.

5.) There were two hippos making the rounds, all glossy and burly. 6.) My niece and her Nana 7.) Miss K and I baby bjorned it up the whole time:) She was such a trooper 8.) Who doesn't like a cow, Miss K wanted to climb into all the pens at the petting zoo.

9.) The African Safari exhibit was in full effect, with pretty much all the animals out and about. 10.) This guy was just munching away, perfect for a photo-op 11.) Obviously the Northwest part of the zoo has to represent and on this particular day it was the most packed part of the whole place. 12.) How every good day at the zoo should end:)

Happy Monday!

look who it is

this blog has been hijacked by Lady P and I intend to give an account of my experience with/and leading up to, rice cereal.

1. As you may have assumed I have been on a very strict liquid diet for the past 5ish months and let me tell you liquid diets aren't for everyone. People (I won't mention names) cook upwards of three meals a day of cereal, sandwiches, pizza, steaks!!! But do I get any....NO!! They like to make me think that it's because I'm lacking in the teeth department but lets keep it real, I would gum a steak to death.

2. The next step was to lay the groundwork for my foray into food. I did this by constantly gnawing on my hands whenever my parents were eating. This combined with a steady stream of drool and a little glassy eye did just the trick. Well let's be honest it took them a minute to put it all together (they may be teachers but sometimes I wonder). Needless to say, I was ready, the date was set.

3. Apparently a utensil was needed, I was given one purely for photographic purposes. I would not be allowed to drive.

4. I was nervous. What if it tasted like rotten oysters? and what do oysters even taste like?

5. It was pleasant, in a milky sort of way. My review: it was not horrible, must try again!!

6. However, it definitely was no steak!!