Da Keiki Blog

February 2nd we flew to Oahu. It was an early flight and the view of Kauai all the way to Waialeale was fantastic. Leilani, who is now a seasoned traveller was really good at the airport and during the plane ride, napped a little on the plane, and then a little more in the rental car.

Bright lights, big city (on the edge of Chinatown):

We had lunch at my favorite (vegetarian) Dim Sum restaurant, and since the place was cheap, clean and baby friendly went back there 2 more times. Next stop was the Honolulu Zoo, Leilani loves the animals, some of which she’d never seen before:

The Keiki (kid’s) Zoo had a lot of adventures, among them tunnels through a fishpool:

In the evening we went to a potluck and met Jaya’s friend Cassia and a lot of Adam and Aditi’s friends. Unfortunately we did not take photos and lost Leilani’s shoes, otherwise it was really nice. The next morning we went back to look for the shoes, and took a few photos at a nearby meadow:

We then had dim-sum brunch again and watched a few dragons and lions at a chinese pre-New Year celebration, but the loud banging music scared Leilani:.

Then we went to a children’s discovery center, Leilani enjoyed it, but since they charged every one of us it was pricy. On the photo below we are in their play kitchen. Leilan is toasting with (make-believe) tea. She sometimes drinks herbal tea now calls it tea when it is unsweetened and honey when it is sweetened with honey. It is also her preferred play beverage, she feeds it to all her stuffed animals, and all people within reach, making drinking noises and saying mmmmh at the end. (and yes, I will get a haircut, really soon)

Then we went to the Punahou (a private high school) Carnival: I had wanted to pack costumes and was surprised that it was just a fair. Leilani didn’t seem to mind the crowds, I estimate we saw as many people as the entire population of Kauai in the few hours there. We had Fair food, another thing Leilani enjoyed. In the evening we went on some rides, she had pointed to the one below every time we got close and indicated that she thought it was a lot of fun. She called it the “Dancy”. I patiently stood in the line for 15 minutes, and when we got on Leilani just loved it. She yelled “Wee-Wee-Wee” all the time and her face beamed. (“Wee-Wee-Wee” is what she yells on swings, slides, and on any other fast fun activity, some other kid or Andy must have taught her, and coming to think of it maybe it’s spelled Oui-Oui-Oui) [Andy says: I taught her that, it’s English so wee-wee-wee, and I took an awesome (lucky) photo below:]

Andy took her on the Merry-Go-Round (and didn’t have to stand in line). Leilan shows great form, except for the heels.

Peek-a-boo at the hotel (with a scratch on her nose from falling on a metal drain coverr at the fair):

Since the first 2 days had already been a little hard on Leilani – and us too – for a lack of naps and late bedtime, we took it easy on Sunday, packed, went to brunch with Francine, went shopping at a swap meet (baby shoes among many other things), and did a short walk at the Aiea heights state park.

Andy says: At the state park there is a heiau (Hawaiian temple). Leilani was running around in the grass and we wanted to walk into the heiau. Leilani went ahead but the path was rocky. So she stopped and waited for me and then said “hand.” She grabbed my fingers and walked confidently over the rocks with me.

I was downstairs, and I heard Leilani in the kitchen talking with her Mom. I assumed Leilani was sitting on the floor with a plate of bananas that we give her to peel:

— “Nana … mum-mum.”

— “Nein Leilani, Banane gehen nicht Boing-Boing.”
(“No Leilani, bananas don’t go boing-boing.”)

Maybe you had to be there, but we both laughed. “Mum-mum” is how Leilani says boing-boing, bounce, jump or rabbit.

In other news, Leilani is hitting the three-syllable milestone. She’s been practicing long words in baby talk but the other day I heard “naNAna”, pronounced correctly with the accent on the middle syllable. Another time, she pointed to my knee and said “knee” then she pointed to her knee and said “my knee.” Finally, she is starting to sing. If we tell her to sing and we start the song: “The babies on the bus go Wah, Wah, Wah” she will sing the next “Wah, wah, wah” with a different note for each (not just saying them). We can’t tell if the notes are correct, but they do fit the song.

Aunty Maureen, who helps watch Leilani and plays with her 3 times a week.

Leilani created her first work of art!

Leilani sleeping with all her tigers…

…or just with one

Jaya and Leilani

Still life with roses

Spirulina is healthy! And green.

Teddy Bears!

Leilani’s new train

Makani’s birthday party (picture taken while Leilani snoozed)

Potluck!

Hawaiian Sunset

Saturday, January 20th ago we drove up to the Arboretum, and further to the Jungle hike trailhead. We hiked to the gaging station and weir with a view of the blue hole first, then along the jungle trail to a nice and cold (really!) little pool. Andy and Chris floated through the tunnel, and Adam tested the strength of a rope and a branch.

After scrapbooking and moviemaking I learned matting and framing:

Aditi, Adam with Jaya, Sandy, I with Leilani, Chris with Alex, Amaya with Eden and Andy:

The famous Blue Hole:

Makaleha Mountain:

Andy emerges from the tunnel:

Tarzan:

As recorded, Leilani is really talking a lot now and picking up words almost every day. But I’ve noticed that there’s a lot more than just recognizing objects now. While she’s always had feelings, they were mostly conveyed by crying and other sounds. Now she has a few words to express those feelings and desires.

• No. She said it a few times in that recording, but she really masters it now. We often ask her if she wants to do something (get up, go potty), and if she doesn’t want to, she says no. Since she hasn’t really learned “yes” yet, we have to be careful what we ask and how we ask it. Sometimes it’s better not to give her a choice.
• Down. Leilani used “up” to mean both “pick me up” and “let me stand up” (in other words, put me down). So we kept trying to teach her to say down. Not only did she finally use it correctly, she immediately understood that it applied to anything, and that it was relative. She started squatting and saying “down,” then standing up and saying “up.” She also lifts a toy “up” and then puts it “down.”
• Sissi. This is her way of saying the German “Sitz(i)” (sit down – with an i tacked on for babytalk) and she always sits down when she says it. I thought sitting down and saying “sitzi” was redundant (she often comments her own actions when she knows the word), but recently, I noticed she says it when she wants us to sit down with her, for example if she wants us to read a book.
• Oww. Leilani use to say “aïe” for small pain (big pain is crying), I don’t know where she picked that up. It’s the same as in French, but I never used it around her, and I can’t imagine anyone else would. Recently she switched to “oww” which is what we parents use. What I find incredible is that she began using it for things that can hurt, such as forks and other sharp objects around the house, even if she’s never been hurt by them. She’ll touch or point to the sharp part with her finger and say “oww.”
• Mmmaa. This is her imitation of the kissing sound, and she points her lips in the direction of the kissee. She correctly understands kissing as “I like what I kiss” but she uses it to show the objects that she likes, not just the people. So she makes this sound to say she likes her Bunny puppet (named Mum) or her toothbrush. Still she does use it for people, and it’s quite a moment when you realize your daughter just said “I love you Daddy/Mommy” for the first time.