March 2009

Sun, MAR 1, 2009 You tried frozen yogurt for the first time today. And you liked it. There's a new place in Aiea called Orange Tree. Auntie Shannon told us bout it, because they've beern going there after Jacob's ukulele lessons on Saturdays. So yesterday we met up with them there, and today you, your mom, and I went back there. It's a cool place because it's self service. You choose which flavors and how much of each flavor you want, then you put in all the toppings that you want. They charge you by the weight. So mom got vanilla, banana, raspberry, and ltcher flavors, and you seemed to like them all! M
on, Mar 2, 2009 Jimmy Falon took over 'Late Night' from Conan O'Brien who's taking over the 'tonight show' from Jay Leno in Los Angeles. U2 released their new album, 'No Line on the Horizon'. They spent the whole week doing a new song each night on 'The Late Show with David Letterman'.
WED, MAR 4, 2009 You and mom came to join me on Maui. I came here two days ago, on Monday, to train a class. The three of us will go back home together on Friday. SAT, MAR 7, 2009 You and I hung out together all day today. It was a mellow do-nothing rainy day. You and watched TV and played with your toys in the living room while mom got homework done in the bedroom. She's working on her MBA. Grandma stopped by for about two hours as well waiting for grandpa to come pick her up. You we're funny. You have a cool walker ygat looks like a black sports car. Well, when you honk the horn, it plays 'Yankee Doodle'. You liked that, you were pressing the horn and dancing to the music. When it would stp, you'd press it again and dance some more. You did that several times in a row. Very cute. You also have this thing where you require balance. If you pick up a toy, you need to pick up a similar toy to carry in your other hand. You do it with practically everything.
SUN, MAR 8, 2009 You and I went to swim class today. Mom was sad she had to miss it, but she would have been so proud of you. Today was the best you've ever been yet. We've missed the past couple of classes for a various reasons, but you were a champ today. Normally, you cling to me for fear life and we don't really do the various activities the way they are supposed to be done. But not today. You were brave, and even had some fun. I was very appreciative. Later in the day, mom had to do a radio interview for work, so you and I ran around in a field for a while, until you got warn out and fell sleep with your head on my shoulder. Then we went car shopping. The lease on your mom's Mercedes is ending in a few weeks, so now we're shopping for a minivan. We need something big enough to accommodate you, Adam, Seth, Jacob, etc. We started with the Honda Odyssey today. Next weekend, we'll look at Toyota and Nissan.
WED, MAR 11, 2009I have to be away most of this week - again. I was on Maui Monday and Tuesday, came home to you and mom on Oahu to spend Tuesday night, and now, Wednesday, I'm on Kauai until Friday. Nuts. We've been hiring people all over the place ever since the hiring freeze was lifted by corporate. I don't like being away from you and mom like this. It's sad. Fortunately, this time grandma is able to stay over and help mom take care of you. Mom's really been stressing out a lot lately with school and work; she needs a break from stuff. So yesterday I surprised your mom by planning a little vacation for us to Whistler, Canada. We can do that now that you have your passport! And it's still ski season. This will be a couple of firsts for mom. First time skiing, and first time to Canada. Hopefully everything will work out and we can definitely go. I'll keep you posted. Mom, by the way, added $25 to your bank account today from Auntie Mele at the Kidney Foundation. I think that brings it to about $1600 now!
Thu, Mar 12, 2009Mom and I got into a bit of an argument this evening. Which sucks because I'm still on Kauai, so it was over the phone and never really got resolved before we hung up. So we're each going to sleep feeling annoyed and resentful. That's never fun. The whole thing started as a minor understanding - which is how most arguments start. Mom had a stressful day, she was feeling particularly sensitive, and I mis-undesrtood something she was sayin because I cut her off before she finished her sentence. That's it. The whole freakin' thing could have been avoided if I had just let her finish her damn sentence. Stupid. That's a lesson to you. Listen.
Fri. March 13 I got back from Kauai, and we went out to dinner at CPK with the Balatico's tonight. You drank from a straw for the first time. That was pretty exciting.
SUN, MAR 15, 2009 Yesterday, we picked up Adam and went to a movie, then test-drove a Toyota mini-van. Today you had swimming. It went well again. That's my good boy. Tomorrow I start training a class here on Oahu, so I won't be traveling for a couple of weeks. SAT, MAR 21, 2009 You and I hung out alone at the house together most of the day while mom and Auntie Shannon had a girls day at the mall. I had a lot of stuff to take care of, so we didn't get to play together as much as I would have liked. I did our taxes, several loads of laundry, rearranged some furniture (to mar the place more baby-friendly), and some other stuff. I also changed a certain little dude's diapers a few times. You napped for part of the afternoon, and we watched 'The Godfather' on television.
SUN, 3/22/09 Today was a swim class day. We got up fairly early when a little baby in the vein by our bed started making noises. We pulled you into our bed to hopefully get you back to sleep, but you are the biggest tossing and turning little dude ever. You don't lay still for a minute. Mom and I lated as far to each edge of the bed as possible to give you all the room in the middle to spread out. Finally, when mom was facing away from you, making a futile attempt to grab a couple more previous moments of sleep, you climbed onto her head, peeked over, placing your face inches from hers, smiled, and said 'Hi!' It was so cute and so funny, we both just started laughing. At that point we realized there was no more sleep to be had, so we started getting ready for the day. After swim class at the Mililani YMCA, we joinev grandma and grandpa at church, then the three of us had lunch at Ruby Tuesday, ran some errands, and went home. Mom out together Easter bags for all the kids in our lives, we did laundry, and a variety of chores, and we watched 'The Godfather 2'. You entertained is all throughout the day, as always. We call it 'The Holden Show'. You love to dance. You laugh hysterically whenever a dog appears on the television screen. And you love to be chased. You'll do naughty things kaut to get one of us to go get you.
TUE, MAR 24, 2009 I got home a little after 5pm this evening, and you and I got to spend a lot of time together, playing. One of the things you really enjoy is when I'm
SUN, MAR 29, 2009 You've been doing a funny thing a lot lately where you stomp your right foot and walk around in circles. We went to the beach today at Ko Olina with the boys and the Balaticos. We had a good time. After the beach, we went up to the pool at the hotel. Disney is building a new resort out at Ko Olina. They're still digging the ground to lay the foundation at this point. It will be split timeshare and hotel.
TUE, MAR 31, 2009 I'm training a class on Maui this week, but I booked flights to come home every night so I can spend time with you and mom. It's tough for her to take care of you on her own; you're a little handful. We've been trying to baby-proof the house, but you are strong, smart, and persistent. A scary, but entertaining combination. If there's some item you want to reach, or some place that you want to be, you will push, pull, climb, crawl, stomp, and scream until you get it. You get very creative sometimes. That's the entertaining part. We don't block you from stuff to be mean, it's for your protection. You would love to play with some big, sharp, shiny scissors if we let you! You would want to taste them! You're a good boy though; we love you.