June iPhone Photo Dump

Here are some favorites from the month of June...

Getting his mullet trimmed at Gene Juarez

My date to Haidee's baby shower

Dinner with the Zetas

Daddy & Pooks playing

PJ Day at school

Where did our baby go?!

Post-vacay blues...

The tater tot snatcher!

Father's Day 2014

Let's see where to even begin with this post?  People get sensitive about the words and definition of father, dad, daddy, father figure, etc.  Maybe I just don't understand because I'm simple and think the spirit of the definition of a dad or father are the same.  You can't just be a 'biological father' or essentially a sperm donor and call yourself a dad, if you want the title you should be everything that it encompasses.  Meaning, you are a part of your child's life and influence the development of his/her mind, body, spirit and morals.  Anyways, I just had to go on this little rant as I was going to start this post with the definition of a father or dad and got frustrated with the Internet and people's stupid comments on threads of what it means to be a father or dad.

I think my last post was right around the time I was getting ready to be a father.  Boy! We've come a long way since then.  I wasn't too naive at that time and think I said something along the lines of that you can't really prepare yourself for this gig and you have to take things in stride, adjust and just do your best and it wasn't going to be easy.  For the most part things have gone really well; he's alive, seems to be happy, no serious health issues and has all his hands, feet, eyes, fingers and toes.  Don't get me wrong there have been plenty of times when my patience has been pushed to the max, been so physically and mentally exhausted to the point where I'm on autopilot hoping the routine and repetition from previous days was so ingrained in our brains that we wouldn't have to think about what we were doing…because frankly, we couldn't.

Parents often say that at the end of the day, it's all worth it.  I can now say this, mean it, understand it, and want to sign up to do it again!  It truly has been my greatest accomplishment/milestone in my life thus far, to be a dad is the most gratifying feeling in the world and every time I look at him I think - "wow, that's my son!  I made him, he is of our flesh and blood".

I can't wait for future Father's Days to come when my boy can run into our room, wake me up, jump on me, try to help mom make breakfast, and play in the yard but for now I'll take his smiles, laughs, hugs, cries, drool, and that cute little face.  He's already growing so fast and his personality is really shining through.  He's a happy boy, unless of course, he doesn't get what he wants which these days is usually food, milk, or a balloon.  It's fun to wonder about how he'll be as he progresses through his life in terms of mannerisms, likes/dislikes, and just his personality in general…more like mommy? More like daddy? Or neither?!  Will he be an athlete?  Musician/singer/songwriter or something in the arts?  A genius?  Will he do great things?!  Will he be philanthropist? Millionaire?  Who knows but I'm excited to find out and help him/support him along the way. 

On the actual Father's Day this year we met up with Grandpa and Grandma Ko at the classy Red Lobster in the Hood.  I vowed never to go there again after our last visit 2-3 years ago but Papa Ko always gets what he wants.  I guess that's one perk on Father's Day I have to look forward to, I can pretty much lay down any rule or decision I want that day.  To my surprise, the food was actually pretty good but not sure I'd use my executive powers to have a Father's Day meal there in the years to come.

I did receive an art project from Sebastian that mommy helped him create…I'm sure it looked a lot neater on the Pinterest page she probably got the idea from. ;)  Nonetheless, it's the thought that counts and it's my first piece of what I'm sure to be many art projects that will decorate my work cubical.

Maui 2014

From Monday, May 26 through Saturday, May 30 we were on the island of Maui (our happy place)! While in Oahu we kept checking the weather for Maui and were so excited to see that we were finally going to get some sun! We had a little snafu at the Honolulu airport as we had to scramble to lighten my suitcase and in our haste managed to spill a bunch of my and Sebastian's stuff all over the place! It was okay... our moods couldn't be ruined as we were just too excited for the second leg of our trip. Best of all, the boys were feeling SO much better (although all three of us still had stuffy noses)! The plane ride to Maui was so quick that David and Sebastian hardly got to sit in their seats as they were in the bathroom the majority of the time changing Sebastian's diaper!  :)  We arrived in Maui a little early so had to wait quite a while before our hotel room was ready.  This time around we were staying in Makena which is right next to Wailea, our favorite part of the island.  

Here are some highlights of our time in Maui: 

• The pool at our hotel was not too exciting and there were bugs and more bugs EVERYWHERE!  After our first visit to our own pool, we decided we couldn't handle all the nasty bugs so from that point on, we spent our days at the pool at the Fairmont (where we stayed the last time we were in Maui and without the babe)
• Before we would go to bed at night, we would often go for a walk on the beach - it was always so beautiful and peaceful. On a couple occasions, Sebastian would just fall asleep in my arms!
• We were very deliberate about our daily routine/schedule to avoid any meltdowns!  In the wee hours of the morning, Sebastian would usually wake up and want to move from his travel crib to our bed and then continue to sleep for a few more hours. We'd wake up and then head downstairs for the (delicious) breakfast buffet where we discovered Sebastian's love of Cheerios and papaya.  :)  After that, we took the short drive over to the Fairmont where we'd go for a walk around the grounds with Sebastian laying down in his stroller.  It was during that walk he would fall asleep and then we'd park him under a huge umbrella near the pool where mommy and daddy got to enjoy the sun for a couple hours until he woke up.  From there, we immediately moved from nap time to pool time - which he absolutely loved! Such a cute little water baby!  :) 
• We happened to be in Maui during Wailea restaurant week so we got to enjoy a yummy three course dinner at a fancy Greek restaurant.  Although dinner was yummy, the best part was the bacon baklava a la mode! It was almost like a date night because Sebastian was sleeping throughout the entire meal!
• One night we took the trek to Lahaina for some shopping and eating (weird)!  :)  We ate at this little Hawaiian food stand where David had a yummy teriyaki chicken dish and I had the best tilapia meal.  For dessert, we had a large shave ice from Ululani - which is hands down the best shave ice place, in our opinion!  Little piggy LOVED the shave ice!  I'm surprised he didn't get a brain freeze as he was just gulping the stuff down so fast!  ;) 
• While in the Wailea shopping center, we were in such a hurry to make it to our dinner reservations that we accidentally ran over our diaper bag in the parking lot!  Immediately after we ran over the bag, I asked David what the noise was and he just said it was "nothing".  When we got to our dinner place, we noticed the bag was missing which not only had Sebastian's necessities, but his wallet, my wallet, and my cell phone!  We called a few of the shops we had visited in the shopping center but no one had seen the bag!  We sped over to the center with a crazy quickness and David jumped out of the car trying to find the bag.  I don't know how we got so lucky but David happened to run into someone on a smoke break who asked what he was looking for.  When he said it was a bag, lo and behold, his buddy had just found the bag not too long ago just chillin' in the parking lot!  And with that, the great diaper bag debacle was over! :)
• We would be so screwed if we didn't have the following items for Sebastian: His lamb travel noise machine, the baby jogger stroller we bought on a whim on Craigslist, his inflatable pool toy, and his purple and yellow coins (part of an overall toy chest set)
• This goes without saying but traveling with a kid is a whole other experience! We were very nervous and didn't know what to expect but are happy to report that it wasn't that bad and would do it again!  :)  It was so fun to experience Hawaii with Sebastian and watching him experience everything for the first time.  :) 
• Before we had to head off to the airport, we realized we still had about $100 in resort credit that we had to spend!  Challenge accepted!  :)  The majority of it was spent on Hawaiian children's books for Sebastian.  
• We think that Sebastian went through a "big" growth spurt while on our trip.  Must be something in the Hawaiian waters!  :)  
• Although we kept Sebastian covered in sunblock he does seem to tan pretty easily like we do. So freaking cute to see his farmers tan and the light parts where his fat overlaps.  :) 
• We got home from the airport pretty late.  When we were finally home, the funniest thing happened.  Sebastian got his second wind and just started laughing, screaming, crawling around like crazy as if he was in the best place in the world.  He was more excited to be home with his toys and Pookie than in paradise!  Babies...go figure!  ;)