New Year Happenings 2011

Although not extremely religious (Clint and I are very spiritual and believe faith to be a personal endevour and relationship between you and God) we decided to have Sakai be blessed through Baptism. We had a private ceremony at a small chapel on the east end of Molokai at Kamalo- St. Joseph's Church, which was built by Saint Damien (cannonized in Fall 2009) himself. It was very quaint, personal, and spiritual- just the way we envisioned. The day was not complete without his Godmothers- Rowena and Amy (Godfathers- James and Sam), great-grandpa's christening gown from the 1920s (the bonnet was on at one point, but did not make it into many pictures!), and, of course, a mum mum- he wanted to go for 1st Communion too, haha. Afterwards, our small crowd of Sakai fans enjoyed a Mexican dinner up in Kalae prepared by our friend Carlos' mom, Chela. 

  

 Sakai loves nothing more than to go to the beach. It is like the ultimate playground. Even better than a playground, less germs, in my opinion...at least the ocean salt disinfects a little right? This little guy will play on the sand and then crawl into the ocean on his own and be totally content. He is a water baby. This a picture of Sakai at Morris Pt- one of our favorite beaches, but you have to get there early to get a good parking spot- right on the beach! 

 Sakai and Dad with our new stroller from Papa Jim at the wharf. New stroller is da bomb, it is not quite a jogger, but you can still jog with it if you want to. It is very versatile and can convert into a double stroller too!

 Sakai accompanied me on my business trip to Los Angeles for a reading conference. Our good friend Crissy let us borrow this Ergo Baby pack. It was so great. Sakai loved it, as you can see he could sleep in it too. He has had a hard time sleeping in our other carrier- Baby Bjorn since he grew out of the newborn position. I really appreciated having this carrier and was sold on it right away to get my own!

 Pic that Clint took at Rock Point while he was having bachelor w/ no kid week!

Before my conference in LA, Sakai and I were able to spend the weekend with my sister in-law Rowena and her family. This is Sakai and our niece Sasha in the tubby. It was a great time! Sakai enjoyed playing with his cousins. He really loves to be around other kids it seems, he is so happy and curious about what they are doing. The enjoyed him too, Kaley told me, "I like when Mr. Sakai (his name to them) kisses me!"

To Sit or Not to Sit?

9 months @ Halawa Valley Beach

So we are back at home, after a wonderful holiday on the Mainland. Spent with lots of family, heaps of food, and what we love best...lots of baby time. My favorite part of our vacation was the 24/7 time we got to have with Sakai. Whether he is sleeping on an airplane, crying in a car seat, giggling at his daddy, or squirming during a diaper change, I can just not get enough of it. As a working mom that I am now, all the moments I have with Sakai are so precious, it doesnt matter what we are doing, I love each one.

Now that we are back, it is actually the end of January, the Labrador Grandparents (Mama and Papa) have been graciously caring for Sakai while Clint and I work all-day. However the time has come and we have been forced to recon with the idea of "the babysitter." Ever since Sakai was born, I have been asked, "who will watch him" and all the while I never felt compelled to answer this fully or even think about it. We have been blessed for the last nine and a half months to have maternity leave, paternity leave, and lots of 'live-in' grandparents nannies. Time is up though. Time to think about this. Time to find someone. Oh the thought of some stranger spending so much time with my son just made me cringe, almost want to cry. Cry for him and his anxiety of being with someone new, but also cry for me- jealous tears, I want to be that person spending all that time with my little love bug.

So we had three options for sitters, all great people. First one, not taking anymore kids. Second one, too expensive. Third one is a charm? Hope so! Clints parents took Sakai to the new sitter last week to get his feet a little wet and allow the other kids a chance to meet him. Apparently, Sakai now has 3 three year old girl waiting to dote on him and a 2 year old that he owes an apology to for smothering with kisses and knocking down. After this report back from my mother-in-law, needless to say, I was thrilled. Sakai had a great time and the other children adored him. She is also willing to let me come by at lunch to nurse, do my cloth diapers (not wash, just use), and keep TV time to a minimum (zero). Hmmm, sounds good to me. I will keep you posted on the results. Start date is February 11th!