Happy Birthday!

In July, we celebrated Liam's third birthday with his cousin Abby, who is one day older.  We are so lucky that Abby's mama, Liam's Aunty Cathy, is one of the most creative and talented people we know.  She did most of the work to make their birthdays super special.  Liam even got to pick the theme: Mickey Mouse!

There was a cool Mickey Park jumper.

Ewan and Papa watched the goings on.

Liam and Abby posed for the camera in the cool birthday hats Aunty Cathy made.

Liam, true to form, was content to play inside while everyone else was outside.

But his buddy Nica came in to play with him.

We had cake!  Each of them got their own.  This was Liam's.  Yay Safeway!

Liam and his buddy Luca enjoying the sweets.  Incidentally, that cupcake was pretty cool.  It was white with chocolate Mickey baked right in the middle.  I still don't know how Aunty Cathy did it.

And Liam, at home, enjoying his gifts.  What generous friends and family we have!

And here's the favor Aunty Cathy made -- Oreo Mickeys!

Happy birthday Mr. Liam!

This Party Just Don't Stop!

This past weekend was a full one for Team Monkey.  Good thing we're getting the hang of this two-child thing!

On Saturday, we went to Ava's 1st birthday party.  With a Lilo and Stitch theme and a location right on the water, it was set to be a good time!

Talk about an entrance!

The tablescapes were pretty incredible.

As was the cake!

And doesn't that dessert table look inviting?

Of course, the pool was the bigger temptation because, man, was it hot and muggy!

Some of the Iolani boys had a chance to hang around and catch up on the latest news.

Liam had fun playing with the little beach zen garden on the table.

He also had fun watching the candy-maker sculpt his lollipop.

See my octopus?  Just like the Octonauts!!

Ewan spent much of the party napping.  There are no more pictures of him because once he woke up, he just wanted to eat and be held.

But oh, how that pool was calling to the boys!

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to be invited to Brent's 6th birthday party.  Brent is cool because he and Liam have similar temperaments and he doesn't mind hanging out and playing with a 3 year old.  And...they finally got the chance to enjoy the water...

...in the form of an 18-ft. high water slide!!

I didn't manage to get a picture of Liam and Mikey as they splashed around, but apparently Liam went down the slide by himself several times.  That's my brave man!  Good thing it was Mikey out there, too, because I don't think I would have let him go by himself.  Mostly, though, it was the kids and the dads out there having a good time.

Once he was pau swimming (primarily because he wanted to play in the sand box and I wasn't about to let him mix sand and water at a place other than the beach), Liam enjoyed watching the other kids in the pool.  He paused to say hello to one of the grandpas.

He also enjoyed the birthday cupcake!

Ewan continued his courtship with Ava.  Way to go for the older women, there, dude!

And he amused himself by trying chew off the bottom of the water bottle.

Overall, it was a busy weekend.  But everyone had a great time!  (And we still managed to get naps in on both days, which meant that Mikey and I also had a great time!)

Fish and Poi

Or, well, just the poi.

As if we hadn't had enough fun with Ewan's gastrointestinal issues, we decided it was time to try "solid" food.  So back in August, we again started with poi.

The first bowl was a bit runny, but the second one was pretty good.

Ewan looked ready and willing.

Then he got bored, waiting.

And started to wonder what big brother was doing.

Ewan's Video

We didn't take any pictures this time, but we did do a video.  Just follow the link above.  If you can't access it, just tell let me know and I'll add you since the video is private.  

Ewan enjoyed the poi and made sure to let us know that he was in charge of feeding, not me.  And big brother may have been a wee bit jealous of the attention.  Overall, though, it was a good first start!

We've since moved feeding to the big high chair and Ewan has made it clear that he needs at least two spoons at all times.

One is for playing and one is for dropping.  Then I'll take the one Mama has the food on, so she'll have to get another one and the rotation continues.

Now that he's eating big boy food, Ewan is certain he can take on anything...

Dun Dun DUUUN!!

Family Photo Shoot

Our favorite photographer, while technically maintaining two shops, is mostly in California these days, so it has been hard to get pictures done.  So we turned to our favorite amateur photographer, Uncle Roger!

Since we're in Waikiki now, we figured we'd take advantage of the location and headed down the street to the beach.

Ewan waiting his turn.  He's skeptical about this whole venture.

Liam looking like we don't feed him.  But the background is nice!

It started to rain, so we went over to the Moana Surfrider to continue the shoot.  We had new clothes for the kids to be in, but getting them on was a different story.  Here are Liam's antics as I tried to get some jeans on him.

He looks so proud of himself.  But at least the jeans were on!

Ewan remained a bit skeptical.  Board shorts for the couch?  Really?

Once dressed, Liam posed nicely.  Considering a Gymboree photo shoot next, dude?

Hahaha!  I take it back.  Couches are fun.  Especially with bags.

And this pretty much sums up what we got in terms of a family photo.  Might just have to try this one again.

The boys were getting tired, so we took them back home to see what we could get there.  The light is pretty good, after all.

Ewan looking handsome on the bed.

Liam relishing his role as big brother.

I have a similar photo with Liam at this age, so I wanted one with Ewan.  Of course, Liam photobombed...

...until we included him in the picture too.

What a ham!

Thanks Uncle Roger for helping us catch a slice of life on film!