March Madness

One of the highlights of March was Addi's friend Paige turned one!  We went to Paige's birthday party (which was also Addi's first birthday party) and celebrated with good Hawaiian food, lots of balloons, and friends.  Addi spent most of the time hanging out with Aunty Erica and Aunty Jan which they loved!

This month my sister Erica, Jon, and I also ran our first 5K marathon (if you can call it a marathon).  While Jon and Erica trained for months before the marathon, I decided that I could just get up off the couch, run 3.1 miles, and call it a day.  I did run all 3.1 miles, but then proceeded to get severely sick from dehydration after the run.  Pretty embarassing!

 Hanging out with Aunty Erica at Paiges 1st birthday party

 Eating Cheerios with Aunty Erica

 I love daddy's scratchy kisses!

 But I love to pull his hair even more!

 Hanging out with Grammy

 And with daddy.

 Playing with my favorite toy...tupperware!

 Bathtime!

Cruising in my new high chair. 

The February That Got Away

Wow!!  Where the heck did February go!  It seems like the month flew by and now it's almost April!  Addi seems to grow faster and faster with each passing  month and the milestones seem to fly by.  Now that she has mastered the art of the army crawl, she has quickly moved on to bigger and better things....like getting into EVERYTHING.  Jon and I had to quickly baby proof our entire house!  It's amazing how Addi has so many nice toys, but she would rather play with an tupperware container or an empty water bottle.  Cheap thrills!

This month we took Addi to the zoo for the first time and although she was more interested in her friend Paige than any of the animals, she had a great time.  We also attempted to take her swimming in her wading pool for the first time, but she was NOT happy about it mostly because we tried to do it before her nap time (bad idea!). 

Here's a little update on what our little Peeps is doing now that she's 8 months old...
- Sleeps from around 8pm till 6:30am
- Would much rather eat solid foods and fights with Aunty Kathy (the babysitter) to drink her bottles.  She has yet to learn that Aunty Kathy ALWAYS wins
- Eats rice cereal and half a jar of 2nd foods for breakfast, same for lunch, and a whole jar at dinner
- Loves to crawl into mommy and daddy's room to play on the sheepskin rug and bang on Zoe's kennel
- Naps for 1/2 an hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon
- Talks and talks and talks in the carseat
- Loves to eat Cheerios!

 Striking a pose in the Burberry swimsuit Aunty Teri got me!

 At the zoo with Paige

Checking out the biting parrot at the zoo

 I love honus just like my mommy!



 Not as interested in the ass...

Hanging out with Uncle Doug Rhodes who came for a visit that weekend and joined us at the zoo

A Busy, Busy January

January was a fun-filled, busy month for us!  After the New Year's celebrations died down, my friends from Seattle came for a visit.  It was so great to see them and they got to meet Addi for the first time.  Those girls gave me a much needed dose of girl-time and reminded me of just how good they are for my soul! 

At the end of January, Jon had to go to San Diego for a conference so Addi and I tagged along since his company put him up in the swanky Hard Rock Hotel Sand Diego which was right in the heart of the Gas Lamp District.  We got to see my brother Ryan and his fiance Chrissy almost everyday, ate at some wonderful restaurants, and toured San Diego.  We even went to Sea World!! While Addi slept through most of the experience, Jon and I had a blast!  One of the highlights of the entire trip....Addi decided it was time to start crawling!  Yup, she is on the move! 

 Hanging out at the Waikoloa Colony Villas with Becca, Molly (6 months pregnant!), Erin, and Tina

 Pool hanging with sexy Aunty Becca

 While in San Diego, we drove north to visit Uncle Ryan at work

 Ryan took us to the famous Phil's BBQ where the ribs were juicy and the onion rings were HUGE!

 One day while Jon was working, Addi and I drove to Coronado Island and relaxed in the grass for a while.

 Ryan and Chrissy found a great italian restaurant in La Jolla where the pasta was homeade!  Yum!  Our friend Jess was able to join us too.

Daddy and Addi checking out the flamingos at Sea World

 Waiting for the seals to be fed

Addi's first MLB park! Petco Park was right next to our hotel

 Addi having some fun with daddy on the plane ride home.  She was AWESOME on both flights and slept through most of the plane ride.

Now that Addi is on the move, one of her favorite things to do is chase Zoe!

Out with the old and IN with the NEW!

Happy New Year everyone!  2011 has been flying by and I can't even believe it's the middle of January already!  Our little Addi is 6 1/2 months old and has developed quite the personality.  She has learned to rotate herself 360 degrees  and is able to do this VERY quickly.  It seems like crawling is just around the corner...yikes!  The biggest highlight for mommy is that Peeps now "asks" to be carried by leaning with her arms out.  That small little gesture of neediness seriously makes me melt...Another big milestone in the Arbles family has been the introduction of solid foods!  Rice cereal and mashed green beans have been the new dinner of choice for Addison this past week and while we were looking forward to the menu change, we were not at all prepared for the resulting changes the diaper area.  OMG!!  Gramps Paik has noticed that Peepers is slowly starting to look more and more "pocho" (Portugese) to the delight of her daddy...although Gramps also commented that Addi also has a little Korean temper...not sure where she gets that from. 

Jon and I hope all of you were able to ring in the New Year with a bang.  As usual, the New Years' celebration for us was filled with family parties, good food, and lots of fireworks!  Another one of the many, many reasons we love being home in Hilo :-)

Here are some highlights from January...

 Our New Years celebration started out on the eve with a party at my sister Erica's house.  If you ask Kysen Honda who his favorite person is he will tell you "Adda".

Aunty Marylyn and Uncle Tim came from California to visit and joined us for the party.

 Hanging out with Aunty Erica at her house on New Year's Eve.  (Whenever I ask people who Peeps looks like, one of the most common responses I get is that she looks like my sister's kids! )

On New Year's Eve we went to Papa Correa's house for lunch and Addi got to hang out with Papa and Tutu Arbles.   

She also got to spend some QT with Aunty Mary Correa whom Addi is named after.  One of Addison's middle names is Malia which means "Mary" in Hawaiian.

 Uncle Ryan (my brother) and his new fiance Aunty Chrissy even came to visit from San Diego!!

 One of the highlights in January for little Addi...green beans and rice cereal!

One of the highlights for mommy and daddy in January...DATE NIGHT!  We went to Cafe Pesto to listen to Uncle Rupert Tripp play.

Addi's new favorite toys...Sophie (my parents dog) and Zoe!  Addi LOVES to grab Zoe and touch her fur and laughs hysterically whenever Zoe brings her squeaky toy out of her kennel.  Unfortunately for Addi, Zoe doesn't quite feel the same and tries to avoid Addi whenever possible.

Christmas is GREAT!!

Our holiday celebration started with Christmas Eve mass then dinner with Papa and Tutu Arbles, Uncle Bryan and Aunty Kristeen and her cousin Jin at Pond's Restaurant.  Although Addi was asleep by the time we opened Christmas presents mom and dad were excited that Addi got a new Bumbo chair and a Jumper!  On Christmas day we opened presents at home then had lunch at Uncle Tom and Aunty Wendy's house followed by dinner at Gramps and Grammy Paik's house.  All in all a great but exhausting Christmas!

Addi, or "Peeps" as Gramps Paik likes to call her, had a great first Christmas.  At least we think she had a great first Christmas...amid all the holiday comotion and last minute running around was a little girl who had no idea this day was different from any other.  In a weird way, her naivity was somewhat refreshing.  We get so lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas crowds, shopping lines, and traffic that we end up trading in our "holiday spirit" for a "scrooge attitude".  We become so focused on what's left on our "to do list" that we forget that Christmas is not about giving gifts or spending money or putting up fancy decorations.  Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of something GREAT.  Everyone's definition of  that "something great" will differ, but my little 5 month old baby really put in in perspective for me.  As I sat on the floor next to Addison with ribbon, paper, and tissue paper strewn about the living room floor, she looked up at me and gave me the most innocent, pure, honest smile I have ever seen.  And that was all I needed.  It's amazing how something so small and unknowing can remind us that Christmas is a time to give thanks for what is GREAT in our lives.  We hope that during this holiday season all of you rediscover what is GREAT in your lives!!

 Grammy and Gramps Paik with all the grandkids and their dog Sophie!

Christmas Eve dinner at The Pond Restaurant

Addi's first Christmas morning! 

 Hanging out with Aunty Kristeen and Aunty Anne...

 ...and Aunty Lesley and Uncle Kelsey

Playing with Aunty Wendy's expensive crystal ornament (shhhh...don't tell her!)



This about sums up Christmas

A Christmas present for all...

Since Addison was born in July I have been meaning to start a blog.  One of the things Jon and I love most is reading the blogs of our friends back in Washington because we get to watch their families grow.  What I am still trying to figure out is how Jenn Kang and Alicia Fritts (my two inspirations for this blog) find the time to blog despite having TWO kids...amazing.  Jon and I have discovered that along with all the amazing things parenthood has brought, it seems that all our spare time has been swallowed up.  Simple emails or phone calls to friends and family far away have become almost impossible...so sad.  Although a little blog post cannot replace a phone call to a friend far away, it is a great way to keep everyone up-to-date on what is going on in our lives.  So as a little Christmas present to myself and all of you, I am proud to introduce the debut of the Arbles blog!

Here's a little update on what's been going  in our lives...

 Every Sunday Addi goes to church with daddy then has breakfast with great grandpa Correa

Addi gave Gramps a little present all over his shirt! 

 Great grandma Akiyama turned 94 this month!!

It might be time to start solid foods soon...