Maryland

wet bath, no tears

Bath time wasn't Makili's favorite for a while. Maybe because Raph insisted on using cold water. This bath was one of the first that Makili didn't hate. I LOVE cuddling with him after his bath. I pretty much love having his soft warm skin against mine. Sometimes I feel overly sentinmental about how much I like him and other times guilty for not being sentimental enough and wanting a few minutes to update my blog. Parenting has already been a rollercoaster of emotions, though I have to say mostly positive one thus far. I like him. Raph and I like each other still. Raph is putting him to sleep right now, letting him suck on his finger, something he likes a lot.

Go-go girl's child

My mom says that when I was a baby, my grandfather used to call me a go-go girl because I was always happier and less fussy when they were doing something or going somewhere. Makili definitely is the same way. In the short six weeks since his birth he has flown 5000 miles from Hawaii to Manchester, NH. He attended a wedding in Boston the following day. He went realestate hunting in Southern New Hampshire which included an epic search for an EMS store so Raph could try on shoes. He hiked (okay he was carried) Mount Major which was 3 miles round trip to the top (we changed diapers on a rock half way up!) He flew from Manchester to Pittsburgh. He drove from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg and back the day after that flight so I could appeal the rejection of my teaching lisence. And today he performed admirably on a drive to my brother's house in Maryland. Good thing he can keep up. We can't have kids slowing us down! That kid is ready for anything life throws at him.

Abram and Wanita

Two weddings in one week. This was quite a Matty convention. Abram has been a good friend to us in addition to Raph's cousin so it was fun to see him in love. Not a conventional wedding but, as Abram pointed out many times, they were actually married a year ago in Thailand. So it was fun for us anyway.

prelude to a wedding

Abram and Wanita are planning to wed tomorrow. All the Mattys are in town (except Gabe and Laura). Quite a party. New England summer. Vegetables from the garden. Good vegetarian food, asian style. Beautiful

Liam

A post for every baby. Here is Raph's cousin's kids, Liam. He just turned three and really likes to throw crab apples at the dogs. He generally has a herd of adoring adults following him around because he's so damn cute. Yesterday he grabbed a fiberglass pole and got a handful of fiberglass spinters. There were at least 10-15 people all trying to make him feel better and figure out how to get them out.

News

Raph officilly accepted a job today at Dover High School in Dover, NH. So we have a short term plan. I'm excited but nervous about the winter. It is beautiful up here right now. The last time we lived in NH together, I moved here in November and left in May so I missed the beautiful time of year. Who knew it could be this nice. This time I'll be getting to spend the fall in New England, which is the most beautiful time of the year.

In other news, Makili smiled at me for the first time this week. The first time I knew it wasn't gas. He has also smiled at Ann. I'm ready for more of those. I probably scared him when he smiled at me because I freaked out. I'm ready for more of those.

Violet

On Wednesday we got to spend some time with Regina and her 8.5 month daughter Violet. She has the biggest most beautiful eyes. A competitor for Gabrielle. She squeaks with delight and wants to touch everything. She loved the giant calculator.

like a novel.

My friend Camille came to visit yesterday. We went on a hike. We played cards. We sat around. I miss her. Being French, she brought Makili a speedo. It's awesome. She's off to France to bike people through vineyards and make a future with her South African/French boyfriend, who is an international wine exported. Ann says her life sounds like a novel. I have to agree.

One month of Makili

The First Month


It is actually hard to believe it has already been a month. I got up this morning and picked him up and I swear he got heavier over night. He in fact does have a very big head. At our last appointment he was in the 97th percentile for head circumfrence. (I have my suspicions that this may have contributed to our C-section.) His hands seem big already. And his belly grows at every nursing session. We went for a short walk yesterday with Raph’s aunt Cindy. She asked, “So does it feel like you’ve had him forever already?” And you know it totally does.

Some things I’ve already learned from Makili. I mentioned already that I really didn’t know that babies cried a lot. And just when it seemed that we had figured the kid out and were having really good days with him, he got thrush. The medicine makes him cranky so we’re dealing with the crying all over again. I also wasn’t aware that there was such a thing as projectile pooping. I won’t go into great detail on that one but I will say I was glad we were changing him in the rental car. I’ve learned that I can function on much less sleep than I thought and that I actually don’t even mind. I’ve also come to appreciate so much when he sleeps against my chest. There is possibly no better feeling. I like him a lot. As Anne Lamott said, “I think I’ll keep him.”

Makili came a long way this month. Literally, he came 5000 miles from Hawaii to New Hampshire. He was an angel, sleeping on the planes and in the cars. Sometimes it seems like he understands when we need to get things done. He always is good and happy when we’re moving and traveling. When we are home all day, he tends to be super-cranky. He just likes to be out and about I guess. Thank god, because that trip could have been terrible. Raph and I were barely able to carry all of our carry-on luggage, though it turned out to be a blessing that we brought as much as we did because our checked luggage didn’t show up for 48 hours. We must have been a sight with the baby in the front carrier, a big backpack with the pillow strapped to it, a roller, a diaper bag, a car seat. Good thing that people are fascinated with babies and tend to concentrate on their cuteness instead of the fact that you’re holding them up. At one point we were in a tram changing terminals with all of our crap. Raph had the baby and Makili had started crying because Raph had stopped moving. From the other side of the train I watched every eye on the train focus in on Raph. Women with soft smiles and men with looks of amusement. Looks of kind concern and young girls with looks of desire. And it was the same throughout our travel. People are fascinated by babies.


Makili has also been blessed to receive so much love from friends and family. First in Hawaii with his grandmas and one of his grandpas, an aunt and a cousin. Now in New Hampshire, people stop by every day to meet him, and for the last few days try to comfort his upset belly. He falls asleep on the lucky ones’ laps. He went shopping with Raph’s aunt Gina yesterday who spoiled him by buying him “Raph clothes.” Raph’s other aunts stopped by too (from New York) to meet him and give gifts. What a well-dressed, well-loved boy he is. Thank you.

Tom and Laura Wed

Stealing Time

Boy is Makili lucky. We're all lucky, in truth. My sister drove all the way from Mariposa to Oakland (4 hours) with four kids to see us on our six hour layover. We went to their hotel. Raph and Doug swam with the kids. We picked blackberries behind the hotel. We ate the free continental breakfast. It was awesome. Thank you.

Aloha Hawaii

We officially said aloha to Hawaii this week. Our last day wasn't that awesome. I had intended to stop by school one last time and say good bye to people there, to stop in Honokaa and look out over Waipio Valley, say hello to our doula, Shannon, to stop at our favorite beach on the Kona side. None of those things happened. (Goodbye Dara, Betty, Pahoa, Shannon, etc.)

We woke up a bit late on Thursday after being up with Makili most of the night. We cleaned and did our final packing. As I was cleaning up I found a pamphlet that my sister had given me about breastfeeding in the first two months. I had been feeling sore for a few days and read in the pamphlet that soreness after the first week or so isn't a good sign. Afraid that I would need medicine after leaving the island and wouldn't be able to get it, I called the doctor and asked to see him. They told me that I could come at 1:30 and wait for him to come back from surgery. So we headed to the doctor's office. In the meantime I noticed white spots on the inside of Makili's mouth and knew right away that he had thrush. I called the pediatrician's office and they offered to call in a prescription without even seeing him. My doctor, on the other hand, was detained in surgery. We waited for almost two hours only to have him to tell me that I didn't have thrush and that I looked fine. He told me that thrush is painless (which is bullshit) and that I shouldn't give the baby any medicine without seeing the pediatrician. Super upset, we headed for the pediatrician's office. After a tearful explanation as to why we showed up without an appointment, the pediatrician saw him. she looked in his mouth for a few seconds and said, "yup, that's thrush." I was pretty pissed off at my doctor, especially since he wouldn't prescribe the medicine that I need to keep from passing the thrush back and forth between the baby and myself. Luckily the pediatrician said I could use the baby's medicine on myself.

After all that, we sped to Kona and dropped off our overweight bags (having to pay extra for them.) We then left again to drop off the rental car and returned to checkin. We were a half hour early and almost missed the plane. (So much for our first chance at pre-boarding). Every single person was already on the plane and they were all waiting for us. We parted with Hawaii on less than awesome terms, but it was a great year.