Silly faces for Friday

Last night was a pretty warm one, and we noticed it most in the kids. It seemed that they had a hard time winding down and getting to sleep because it was too damn hot in their bedrooms. It's supposed to be warm for the next couple of days, so hopefully the heat won't take it's toll on the babies too much. Nevertheless, we're looking forward to a nice and relaxing three-day weekend with the family. Until next week, Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Isaiah's goofy little smirk

Makenna blowing raspberries in the bath

Doing just fine...

So our little Zae boy is doing fine after his visit to the doctor yesterday. The GI specialist was pleased with Isaiah's progress in regards to his acid reflux, and thinks he may be outgrowing it. We've noticed a positive change in his disposition as of late, and hope it continues to move in that direction. Sure, we went through something similar with Makenna, but it seemed a bit more on the extreme side with Zae. It's all good though, he's plugging away like a little trooper, and whatever it is we're doing, we're going to keep doing. Even the doctor noticed a difference yesterday, in comparison to his other visits. I think he's doing just fine, and much like any other baby his age, he's going to have his off days. I also think that we've grown so accustomed to Makenna's schedule, that we sometimes forget what it took to get her there! We just automatically assumed, or so we thought, that Isaiah would follow the same pattern. Oh well, yet another experience for us to look back on and learn from as we think about the next kid.... Hmmmm....

Hump Day

Ahhh, another Wednesday another trip to the doctor for Isaiah. It seems like we take him to the doctor all the time, and if it's not his pediatrician, it's the GI specialist he's been seeing for his stomach issues. By this age, Makenna had pretty much outgrown her acid reflux, so we're wondering why it's so different with Zae boy. While Kenna's slowly tapered off, it seems to come and go in waves with Zae. He'll be 100% fine for a week or two; he'll sleep well and not wake up cranky, he'll eat like a champ without any fuss, and he'll go #2 regularly. Times like that allow us to relax a bit and put our guards down. Then he'll do a quick 180 and he'll start arching his back when he eats, he'll whine or cry all the time, finding no comfort in anything, his sleep becomes restless, and he'll get backed up like bad plumbing! Tensions tend to run a little high in the house when Zae's not feeling well =( For the most part, this last week has been a good one, and the little monster has been in a great mood!

Our happy little Fins Fan...

The Makalicious one continues to be our source of entertainment, especially when her little brother is down in the dumps (no pun intended). Many have seen her numerous dance routines, and every time she busts one out, it's enough to make anyone smile. We've been toying with the idea of starting Makenna in some type of dance class, and it's become clearer that she may be headed in that direction. Members of the family who are or were involved in dance, have expressed an interest in Kenna's ability to perform, and would be more than willing to take her under their wing. Wow, looks like the video camera will get more use in the near future. Happy Wednesday!

Kenna's new hawaiian outfit - she couldn't wait to try it on!

A fun weekend for the kids

Yet another fun and relaxing weekend for the gang. It started off smoothly on Friday evening. Since Mommy was out, Daddy was at home with the kids, and as always, they were angels =) Little Zae boy had a feeding frenzy, and it seemed as if he couldn't get full. When he finally did, he was exhausted! At his bedtime, he had no problems laying still while I read him a couple of stories. Usually he'll fuss around during his wind down time, but he was pooped! When I put him down in his crib, he did a couple of body position changes, but was completely out in no time! Kenna was pretty much the same. Since she's already got her routine down, we don't really have any issues putting her down for the night.

Saturday, we took the kids to a birthday party at the park. Jake was celebrating his 2nd birthday, and had a big bash which both kids enjoyed. Isaiah entertained everyone with his contagious little laugh! We've heard it before, but never in this magnitude, as Zae continued to laugh whenever he was hit with a balloon (I'll post the video sometime soon). He enjoyed being out, especially around a lot of people with a lot of noise. We've noticed that he appears to have a bit of separation anxiety, and will look around almost frantically if either myself or Enz aren't nearby. It's funny because Makenna isn't like that, but hey, two different personalities...

Makenna loved playing on the playground, even though she's still a little apprehensive about going down the slide on her own. But once Mommy convinced her to go down together, she was all for it, and kept wanting to go up and then down! I think she wore Mommy out! Kenna continues to be her own little free spirit, and will have a blast playing by herself. At one point, she was playing with some balloons, having a good old time, and upon hearing her laughter, a couple of older kids (around 8 or 9 years old) kept her company. She likes playing with bigger kids, probably because she's around more adults than children her own age!

Isaiah can't stop laughing...

He who has the remote control, controls everything?

Hanging out @ Makenna's crib... Mommy & Kenna getting ready to slide
Kenna entertaining the big kids...

Ready for the weekend...

TGIF!!! Although the week came and went fairly quickly, we're glad the weekend is finally here! The kids have a birthday party to attend tomorrow, but other than that, it looks to be a relaxing weekend for us all. It seems that we've been on the go these last couple of weekends with weddings and other get-togethers, and it's nice to finally have some down time, at least for now. I'm sure something will pop up last minute, but if nothing does, then hopefully we can just enjoy a calm and relaxing weekend...


If you haven't heard yet, Isaiah has started to do the combat crawl this past week! He hasn't quite mastered it yet, but when he does actually do it, he gets moving. He seems more motivated when there's a toy in front of him, and he gets easily frustrated when he doesn't go anywhere at all. I remember Makenna going through the same stage, and her level of frustration was about the same. I wonder who they get that from?? Both Enz & I are in a state of disbelief, because once Isaiah truly gets going, we'll have two mobile children. Sure, it'll be some time before he's up on two feet, but just knowing that he can move freely on his own is a bit frightening. And with Makenna as his guide, we're in for some real exciting times!

Isaiah's ready for some football...

Diggin' on peas...

Our little Mak monster continues to add more words to her vocabulary. We've noticed how she's become a lot more observant of her surroundings, and how she tries so hard to let us know when she recognizes something. It's fun to have a conversation with her because she listens so intently, and if we say something she doesn't agree with, she'll pause before saying "no." It's like she has to let us know she's thinking before giving us the definitive answer! This one is going to give us trouble in the near future... Have a great weekend!

Makenna's first doughnut...

Happy Wednesday!

So we're not sure what's going on with the little big man, but we know it's got something to do with his acid reflux. We were kind of hoping that it would've subsided by this age, because Makenna outgrew hers by about the six month mark. What's strange is that Isaiah will be doing good for a few days, and then we'll start to think that he's getting over it. Then he'll have a bad day where he's arching his back and not eating, all while he's being fussy and whiny. Those days are exhausting for us, and they definitely take their toll on Zae boy. But then, to our surprise, he'll be back to his smiley self the next day. It's hard to get a read on this guy sometimes, but for now, he's back on the upswing of one of his "bad" days...
Makenna has been surprising us as well with her vocabulary. It seems that it grows on a daily basis. When she talks her "language," she makes great eye contact, and the tone in her voice varies, almost as if she knows when to stress certain words in her sentences. When she's done talking, we try to figure out what she says and answer accordingly, and if she doesn't agree with our answer, she'll say "no," and try to express her thoughts again. It's hard to believe she's at this stage already, and that she's only a couple of weeks shy of the 18 month milestone. Wow!

Fun weekend...

First off, we'd like to congratulate the newlyweds, Tiffany & Ryan Brown! We had a great time at their wedding this weekend! We wish them much luck, love and happiness in their new life together =)

Congratulations Tiffany and Ryan!

On Friday, GE had a "Bring your family to work" event, and the kids had a great time. Enz wasn't able to bring them to the "work" portion of the event, but they did make it out to the family picnic afterwards. Much of my company has met and played with Makenna from all the other times she's visited me, and they still marvel at her growth. For the rest of them, this was their first time meeting Isaiah, even though he's visited me at work too. Everyone stayed true to their promises of squeezing his cheeks when they saw him, and he didn't mind one bit. Little Zae boy loves to be outside, and we were surprised that he didn't get overwhelmed with all the people who just wanted to get a hold of his cheeks!

Virgie gets a hold of Isaiah

Isaiah and Ioan

Makenna always has fun at any park, and this was not different. I think it tripped Enz out a little, when she heard "strangers" calling out Makenna's name. I guess she didn't realize just how much I talk about our kids =) Even with all the other kids there, Kenna managed to make a new friend. Cassidy, in the picture below with Kenna, is the granddaughter of one of my co-workers, and she's only a couple of months older than Kenna. They did the whole "shy kid" thing when they first met, but immediately warmed up to one another as they shared a frisbee together. We were only there for a couple of hours, but it was enough to knock the kids out on the way home. A great start to an otherwise fun weekend!

Cassidy and Makenna sharing

Tale of the tape

Isaiah had his 6 month checkup yesterday, and aside from having to get more shots, everything went well. The doctor was a bit more optimistic regarding Isaiah's acid reflux, and even believed that he was slowly outgrowing it. Continuing Zae on his meds isn't such a big deal anymore, especially now that he likes taking them! Zae's growth is obviously progressing and here are his latest measurements to prove it:

WEIGHT: 18 pounds, currently in the 60th percentile
HEIGHT: 26 inches, currently in the 25th percentile
HEAD: 44.25 centimeters, currently in the 60th percentile

In a nutshell, our chubby little man with a big head is short =) Isaiah didn't mind being at the doctor's office, he just took it in stride up until he had his shots. He got three this time, and he was a bit on the pissy side after getting them. After the initial outburst, he was unusually quiet. I thought he was taking it like a big boy, and was instantly proud of his ability to handle the pain. Little did I know he was holding his breath! When he finally came up for air, he let out his loud and painful cry, but it was short lived as Mommy shifted his focus onto his bottle. All in all, it was a good checkup and his next visit won't be for another few months. That one should be a good one too, as he won't be getting any shots =)

Teething pains

The little big man Isaiah has been one happy camper as of late. It appears that he might be getting another tooth or two, but this time around, he's not letting it bring him down. He's been in a much better mood, and it seemed to change like that last week, right around the time he hit the six month mark. I think we read somewhere that something "magical" is supposed to happen at that time, so we ask ourselves, "is it a coincidence?" Who cares?! His fussiness subsided for the time being, and we're loving this side of him! He's so cheery that it puts us all in a great mood =)

Mr. Sunshine

It's apparent that these last few teeth that are coming in for Makenna, are really making her feel down. One minute she'll be as happy as can be, and then the next minute, she'll be extremely clingy and whiny. When she's on the down side, she won't eat much, and when she does eat, she quickly loses interest in whatever she's eating. For the most part, she still manages to let her smile shine through.

Enjoying her plush, new chair (thank you Zio Dino & Zia Rosa!)

Makenna is also going through one of her little phases. Some might say it's her terrible two's, others may call it sibling rivalry, but whatever it is, we're doing our best to be patient and work her through it. As much as she loves playing with her little brother, we can see the instances where a bit of jealousy will rear it's ugly head. Since Zae is sitting more upright now, he's able to play with different toys, not just teething rings & rattles. These toys include ones that Kenna's grown out of, or has lost interest in. But once she sees her brother playing with one of her "old" toys, she won't have it, and does her best to take it away from him, or move him out of the way to play with it herself! What a little stinker! Even as we introduce new & different things for her to play with, she'll still revert to older toys, as if she's already learned what ownership means! Eventually she'll share her stuff, but there are times where she needs to be reminded. And of the times she doesn't share, she usually makes her brother cry =(

Makenna pulls Isaiah away from one of "her" toys

Back to the grind...

Yet another weekend came and went so quickly! The kids had a great time at their swimming lesson on Saturday, and were in great moods for the remainder of the day. Not only did they get to play in the water, but Grandma, Nonno & Nonna were all there to watch them splish-splash. Isaiah continued to prove that he's part fish by dunking his own face in the pool without taking in any water, while Makenna remained shy around the lifeguards but performed her kicks with Mommy & Daddy. Now how will she ever become a performer if she gets shy like that?!!

Zae boy was in a great mood all weekend. Even on Sunday, when he didn't nap much, and we took him out to visit everyone, he was all smiles - for the most part =) He loves to be outdoors, and will not normally fuss when we're outside. It's when we're cooped up indoors that he gets a little stir crazy. Aside from some new movement in his gums, and his stomach issues, he was very cheerful, and even allowed us to get a great shot of him showing off his first two teeth!

Little Mak was also cheery, but her sunny disposition didn't last all weekend =( While she had a blast swimming on Saturday, she wasn't quite as cheerful as the weekend wore down. Yesterday, her last few teeth were coming in, and they were coming in hard. Not quite sure what she's got going on, but it looks like one of her molars is busting through, making for a very cranky child. It's hard not to get frustrated when everything you do doesn't seem to help. The flare up eventually calmed down, and she was able to end her weekend on a mellow note. She's only got a couple of choppers left, and once those are in, then we can say "adios" to her teething pain!

Yet another Happy Friday!

Ahhhh, another Friday is upon us and the weekend is just beginning. The kids are as entertaining as ever. I've mentioned that Zae has fallen into a more predictable routine, which is a really good thing for all of us. He's gotten to the point where he lets us know exactly when he's hungry, needs to be changed, or when he's tired. Before, it was almost hit or miss, where he'd be giving us some of his signs and we'd misinterpret them. Could it be that he's finally got us trained now?? Hahaha! We've noticed that he can stay up longer between naps, and have even cut out his 3rd nap on occasion, depending on how he acts. When we're all home, he likes to be up with us, even when he's tired - almost like he doesn't want to miss anything. I think he picked that up from his sister, but who knows? As you can see in the following pics, he's teetering on the edge of tiredness as he tries to maintain his happy disposition and fight through the yawns!

Our little hula dancer is doing her version of a traditional Hawaiian dance! I've said it in plenty of previous posts how Makenna loves to perform, and this past week she really showed us just how much she loves doing so. We had some of our cousins over and Uncle Alex happened to bring his guitar. Every time Kenna sees it, she goes crazy! This time, mommy decided to dress Kenna up in her little hula outfit, to see what she'd do. We thought she'd immediately be distracted by all the cool stuff and different textures, but to our surprise, she kept on dancing. In fact, that was probably some of her best dancing to date! None of us showed her anything, we just let her run wild, and she had a great time doing it too! It was only after the novelty wore off that she stopped to play with her coconuts... Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Happy 17 months Makenna!

First and foremost, allow me to apologize for yesterday's post for being "out of sorts" if you will. I don't know why it came out that way, but it did, and no matter how I change up the code, it still comes out jumbled. Nevertheless, I'm sure you were still able to catch a glimpse of our little performers hamming it up for the camera!

So today, Makenna hit the 17 month mark, and for those who have been around her lately, you've probably noticed that she' become a lot more vocal. On a daily basis, we're hearing new & different words in her vocabulary. She's so funny to listen to because she'll be babbling and babbling, but she'll put emphasis on certain sounds, and will even go so far as to end her statement with a question mark, as if she's really asking something! Or, she'll talk her jibberish and then throw in a random word. The other day, she was "talking" to Enz while standing in front of the refrigerator, and then mentioned the word "magnet." Enz was like, "huh?" Hehehehe, now we really need to carefully watch what comes out of our mouths, because this little girl is picking up on stuff fast! Happy 17 months little Mak!

Zae man has found a good rhythm these last couple of days. Ever since we started with the cereal, he's been a lot more content after he's eaten, and he's become more predictable. He really takes notice of his sister, but that's mainly because she's always in his face! Lately he's been reaching out to her, and when she's nearby, he'll grab onto whatever he can of hers, hair included! They have yet to fight, but that's probably around the corner. There are times where we have to remind Makenna that Isaiah's still a baby, but for the most part, she's very good at making him laugh and smile!
When the two can play together quietly, it makes life that much easier for us. Since they're only 11 months apart,(yeah we still can't believe that sometimes) they enjoy some of the same shows. In this picture, they were both mesmerized by Elmo, and wouldn't shift their gaze for two seconds for me to take this picture!

Kid vids to make you laugh =)

Here's a short video of Isaiah when we first gave him Cheerios. His first attempt at eating real solid food was funny to watch as he provided a bit of gas face when trying to make sense of what was in his mouth. It was one thing to give him rice cereal, which is a bit more liquidy, and it's quite another to give him something that he needed to chew on. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it!


This is a video of Makenna as she was watching one of the dance sequences from the movie Flashdance. Whenever this one hears music, she loves to dance, and she shows it in this little video clip. I keep saying that she's going to be our little performer, so this is a good starter! Happy Hump Day!

Happy 6 months Isaiah!!

So it's the little big man's 6 month birthday, and we can't believe how quickly time has flown! Of course we say that every month, but it's true. Seems like we just went through all the same stuff with Makenna not too long ago, and that everything has sort of blurred together. What's interesting about it, is that even though we just went through it with Kenna, it feels as though we've conveniently forgotten things, but that's another story.

Little Zae boy has really started to develop into his own little character. Since we've been feeding him cereal, he's been a lot more content, maybe because he stays fuller, longer. And while he's been sleeping through the night for some time now, we've found that this guy is an early bird, normally waking up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed anywhere from 5 to 6 am! Keeping him in bed past 6 is almost impossible, even when he's had fully exhausting days. It works out ok during the week since we're both up early for work, but on the weekends he needs to give a little! It's all good, we enjoy every waking minute with him and his sister =)

Isaiah's been consistently developing, and though we try not to compare his growth to that of Kenna's, it's hard not to. According to our calendar, he's right on track with his sister's growth, so that's a plus. He's getting stronger in his ability to sit up on his own and for longer periods of time. But when he gets tired or loses balance, we'll find him on his belly or back, where he's most comfortable. He gets less time to practice sitting up because he constantly has to deal with his sister hugging and kissing on him, which throws his balance off! He'll get it soon, and once he does, then we need to prepare ourselves for when he gets mobile. Wow, the thought of having two of them roaming freely around the house..... Hmmmm..........

Hey, I'm 6 months old today!

It's fun riding in the basket while Daddy pulls us around...

Water-filled weekend...

This past weekend was an exciting one for the entire family! When I mentioned "water-filled," I didn't mean that it was bath night! On Saturday, the kids started had their very first swim class, although it really wasn't much but splashing around in the pool. Isaiah started off with a look of confusion, but once he finally figured out that it was a lot like a giant bath, he took to it like a fish, literally! And though he's still working on the coordination in his arms and legs, he was able to understand when we told him to kick! He also enjoyed floating on his back more than he did on his belly. The most surprising part of it was that he would dip his face into the pool on his own, and pop up with the water trickling down his face! We were both immediately surprised that he showed no fear in getting down in the drink!!

Makenna had a blast once we got her in the water. She didn't hesitate to get in and was screaming happily and loudly. One of the instructors was immediately drawn to her when she saw how much fun she was having. But once the instructor started talking to her, Kenna got a bit shy and quiet. It was only after she left and came back that Kenna warmed up to her. Kenna loved working on her tummy float, but didn't care for the feeling of water on her face. She's like that in the bathtub-she freaks out a bit when water runs down her face. It'll be interesting to see how she reacts when we get to dunk the kids...

preparing for their first swim class

monkeying around like brothers and sisters do

Later that day, we took a drive out to Alameda for the christening and maiden voyage of Uncle Sal's new sailboat "Taverna." Congratulations to Uncle Sal for seeing his dream come to fruition! We all had a great time taking his new baby for a "spin," and hopefully we can do it again soon. It'll be fun to get the boat out in the open water with the sails up. For now, we settled for a cruise around the estuary, but that in itself was a great little ride!

Captain Sal at the helm anxiously awaiting the maiden voyage on the Taverna
Gilligan???
First mate???