Let me make sure I follow - I hold my arm out like this and that arrow thingy on the screen moves around?
If this is what my daddy does it must be cool.
Daddy spends a lot of time in front of this bright screen with lots of colors. I asked him to show me what its all about so he has started giving me lessons. I like sitting on his lap and watching the screen as he moves things around – its like magic. I’ve even started to copy his movements a little bit. He tells me I’ll be a “whiz” in not time – he smiles when he says it, so it must be a good thing.
(Dad Note: The pictures also show something we’ve been noticing more and more – Maile seems to reach for things with her left hand more than her right. Not sure yet if that means she’s going to be left-handed, but that’s the running theory in these parts…)
I’m a lucky girl. Mommy and daddy make me feel that way all the time (and Grandma Gail and Grandpa Cal and Grandma Jill and Grandpa Mike – basically the list goes on and on…)
This weekend I was reminded of that fact once again when I journeyed to Chicago to meet daddy’s side of the family. It was great fun and I was definitely the center of attention. I loved meeting everyone and I was so happy that everyone came in to see me!
I felt especially lucky to meet my great grandparents – from what I’m told not everyone gets to do that. I have 3 great grandparents – Grandpa Mike’s parents and Grandpa Cal’s mom. (I’ll meet Great Grandma Kiyoko when we go to Hawaii for Christmas.)
True story: when I came in the room to meet Great Grandpa Irv, he looked at me and said, “Oh the baby, isn’t she sweet!” I’m told Great Grandpa Irv was always quite the charmer and we instantly became fast friends. I really enjoyed visiting him. (Check out the video below – apparently, the paparazzi heard about our visit and was ready with the cameras…)
After meeting my great grandparents, I went and met my dad’s sister, Aunt Julie and my mom’s side of the family. I got passed around like a hot potato and received lots of love from all comers.
Last, but certainly not least, I also got to spend some quality time with my Auntie Elyssa. It was really nice to see her again, we chatted for awhile and I caught her up on all my fun adventures.
It was a quick trip, but a great start to the Maile World Tour ’09 – next stop Boston for Thanksgiving and then on to Hawaii in December!
See below for all the pictures:
(Dad Note: If you click through to view the slide show, you should click “Options” in the upper right and turn on the captions.)
(Click here for the full photo set if you want to download/purchase any copies.)
I forget if I already told you this, but I headed to Chicago this weekend to meet my daddy’s side of the family. It was great fun and I can’t wait to tell you all about and share lots of pictures … but right now I’m exhausted! It’s hard being a girl getting all this attention sometimes
So you will have to wait for all the fun details, but for the time being, here is a quick video. I went and met my Great Grandpa Irv at the home he stays at and they had a piano. I asked my daddy to show me how to play it. I’m not sure he got it entirely right (am I really supposed to jump up and down on it with my feet?) – but it was still pretty cool and made fun noises.
I know what you are thinking, “man Maile, your parents really celebrate every day and week that you’ve been alive like its a birthday.” And while that is kind of true, this Sunday was a particularly special day – it was my 100th Day Birthday (or Momoka in Japanese).
100 days is pretty important in Asian cultures. In Japan, you are served tai (sea bream) and sekihan (red bean rice) for health, luck, and to celebrate your special day. We didn’t have any sea bream or red bean rice – but I did get to do something very special.
Grandma Gail brought my mommy’s first kimono with her from Hawaii. Even cooler, the kimono was made by my mommy’s Grandma Kugiya. The very same Grandma Kugiya that I am named after (Grandma Kugiya’s first name was Chieko.) How cool is that?
I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but check out how adorable I am in the kimono!
The full view
Up close and smiley!
(Dad Note: as with most things related to Japanese culture, I cheated off of Katie’s blog for the info on what 100 days was all about. Here is the post from Emily’s 100 Day Birthday and for Katie’s too. I can’t wait to meet my cousins!)
So Sunday morning started out strangely too. First, when I woke up at 3:15 AM, daddy came to feed me instead of mommy. I was so excited to see daddy that I pooped my diaper 3 times and then I stayed up and chatted with him until 4:30 AM. (Dad note: this is true and I didn’t have nearly as much fun as Maile did…)
Then when I woke up at 7:30 AM, Grandma Gail and Grandpa Cal were there, but mommy was still nowhere to be seen. I started getting a little nervous, but then daddy explained to me that mommy was currently out running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. 13.1 miles – that’s almost one mile for every week that I’ve been alive!
Daddy and I quickly whipped up a sign for mommy and then we all headed out to meet her at the finish line…
I roll everywhere, so clearly I'm impressed by anyone that can run 13.1 miles!
Pretty sure any of these people would trade places with me in a second...
It took a little while, but we finally found mommy at the finish. She did great – we were so proud of her. I couldn’t stop looking at her. We went home and I had her tell me all about the run. Then I told her how I made daddy change my diaper 3 times at 3:45 in the morning. Then we both had a good laugh.
I was so proud of mommy - she is definitely my hero!
As you’ll see over the next couple of posts – things were very busy here this past weekend.
Things started on Saturday morning … instead of my normal play time, mommy bundled me up and put me in the car first thing in the morning. I tend to like the car, so I didn’t complain too much. Next thing I knew we were at the airport, but instead of getting on the big airplane, we just waited a bit. And then guess what??? Out came Grandma Gail and Grandpa Cal! What fun!
Happy days are here - Grandma Gail and Grandma Cal are here!
Who looks happier - me or Grandma Gail? (I think Grandma Gail, but trust me, I was pretty happy too!)
Grandpa Cal and I rehashed what happened to the Red Sox in the ALDS - I told him I was disappointed in the guys, he told me it would be okay.
After we dropped off Grandma and Grandpa’s stuff, we took them to the Ferry Building for brunch and a walk around the farmer’s market. It was great fun and I even got a present (shocking, I know!) – my very own pumpkin!
Apparently, these things come in bigger sizes too, but I like my Maile-sized pumpkin!
And then I went to sleep.... (and that was only half way through Saturday!)
Did I tell you that Daddy took the day off from work on Monday and we had a day together, just the two of us? It was the first time daddy was responsible for feeding me and everything for the whole day. He did a pretty good job, although I was so excited to be hanging out with him that I was even less excited about my naps than normal.
The best part of the day was that daddy took me to the store and bought me a new toy – a mirror! I’ve seen them on the walls and in the bathroom at our apartment, but I didn’t realize I could get one of my very own!
Now that I’m a little bit older and can hold my head up better, I’ve been enjoying new modes of transportation. Mommy and daddy have been using the sling and baby bjorn a lot more. Both make it much easier to go out for quick walks and to do chores around the house…
