Month: December 2005

Heavenly Garland

Lei Lani literally means heavenly garland, and the more figurative meaning is heavenly child. The beloved child in old Hawaii was carried on the shoulders of the parents, just like a necklace or garland of flowers.

The Idea that Leilani means heavenly flower comes from the Dennis Pavao song “Sweet Leilani”

From M. Kawena Pukui and S. H. Elberts Hawaiian Dictonary:

Lani. 1. Sky, Heaven; heavenly, spiritual. 2. Very high chief, majestic, high born aristocratic

Lei. 1 Lei, garland, wreath; necklace of flowers, leaves, shells, ivory, feathers, or paper; beads, any ornament worn around the shoulders or neck; to wear a lei; crown. Fig., a beloved child, wife, husband, sweetheart, younger sibling

Lei Lani bedeutet himmlischer Blumenkranz und im uebertragenen Sinn himmlisches Kind. Das geliebte Kind im alten Hawaii wurde auf den Schultern der Eltern reitend getragen, wie eine Halskette oder ein Blumenkranz

Aus dem Woerterbuch:

Lani. 1. Himmel; himmlisch, spirituell, 2. hoher Hauptling, Majestaetisch, adelig, aristokratisch

Lei. 1 Lei, Girlande, Kranz; Blumenkette, Halskette aus Blaettern, Muscheln Bein, Federn, Papier.., jeder Schmuck der um Schultern oder Hals getragen wird; einen Lei, eine Krone tragen. Uebertagen ein geliebtes Kind, Ehepartner, Geliebte/r, juengerere Bruder oder Schwester

Leilani wearing a head lei
Leilani with Lei

Wedding Leis
Sonja and Andy at our wedding wearing leis

How to make Leis
History of Leis
Flower Leis

Baby Smiles

They say newborns don’t smile, or only smile if they have gas, but I don’t think that’s true. Leilani smiles, and has done so in her sleep from her first week on. Now she reacts to being tickled, or people making faces, or even to singing with little eyes-open smiles.

Es heisst das Neugeborene nicht laecheln, oder nur Grimassen schneiden weil sie Blaehungen haben, aber ich glaube nicht dass das stimmt. Leilani hat schon in der ersten Woche gelaechelt. Jetzt reagiert sie auf gekitzelt werden, und wenn wir fuer sie Grimassen schneiden (am liebsten hat sie Zunge zeigen) und sogar auf Singen, mit einem kleinen Laecheln – mit offenen Augen.

Leilani 6 days old smiling

Leilani 8 days old smiling

Mele Kalikimaka

Here are our Christmas photos with Leilani. Lot of photos and only a little text.

Das sind unsere Weihnachtsfotos. Weil ich das schreibe gibts viele Fotos und wenig Text, aber dafuer zweisprachig….

Andy and Leilani in front of the Christmas tree

Andy and Leilani in front of the Christmas tree

Andy, Sonja and Leilani in front of the Christmas tree


Sonja and Leilani in front of the Christmas tree


Sonja and Leilani in front of the Christmas tree

Baptism

Except for a doctor’s visit last week, today was the first time we took Leilani out into the big wide world. We put her in the car seat and drove 2 minutes to the Wailua Beach. She screamed at first in the car but was quiet by the time we got there. She got fussy again as we woke her and handled her to put a blanket around her, but she quieted down upon hearing the waves at the beach. At least that’s our theory, since we went to the beach a lot when my wife was pregnant.

We’re having incredibly clear weather, and the ocean is the flattest I’ve ever seen it–like summer except the water is cold. We barely stuck our feet in, and just put a drop of ocean water on her. She didn’t really react, not even from the cold since the water had probably been warmed on my hands. No photos or video of the moment, we weren’t sure how it would go and didn’t want to deal with the filming. We’ll go again for a cermonious first dip and record it then.

There was also a funny moment when Mommy held Leilani in front of her chest and she started rooting for a nipple through her dress. Since that is nearly the same position she uses for nursing, Leilani reacted by looking for the food. I guess she was disappointed, and it reinforced her desire to suck on fabric for comfort.

Much later, Mommy adds…

Sucker!

So far, Leilani has been sucking things that randomly get in front of her mouth, from hands to blankets. She sucks at random things but I believe she’s learning that the sucking is definitely a comfort to her. Today was the first time we saw her sucking her thumb, even though I don’t think it was a deliberate act. It didn’t last long and I didn’t have time to get a photo.

For a few days after birth, she didn’t even open her thumbs, she kept them curled against her palms. She later began moving them more, but with no real awareness of how useful they could be. Lately, she’s been spreading all her fingers, so I think her thumb just happened to be extended when her hand was near her mouth. Nonetheless, she did seem to enjoy it, and it’s good that I cut her fingernails yesterday.

Speaking of sucking, there is a great photo…

Why is there no milk...