Back from the land of Aloha and Don Ho

We got back from Hawaii on Sunday night. Since this was our first trip with Jost there was definitely a lot of trial and error involved. I will elaborate on the errors so other people don't make the same mistakes we did with their children. Here goes:

1. Do not book a flight that involves waking your child up at 5:45am. This makes your child grumpy, which makes his parents grumpy, which makes the day LOOOONG and exhausting.

2. Do not forget to bring your diaper bag. Leaving it on the dining room table will do you no good when you are no longer in the continental US.

3. Buy milk at the grocery store when you are staying in a house with a lot of adults. Beer, wine and vodka are not appropriate beverages to serve a baby.

4. Make sure the crib your baby sleeps in does not face a full length mirror. This may cause your baby to laugh, scream and stare at themselves for 45 minutes when they should be taking a nap.

5. Do not ignore a big poop when you are driving from one side of Oahu to the other. If you wait to change the poop once you reach your destination your baby will have shit all over his legs, on his clean and expensive Pumas, on his mom and dad, and on the rented car seat. NOTE: salt water does not remove the smell of poop, so don't think dipping in it will help you.

6. Not all babies like the ocean or sand. If your baby does not like either, going on a beach vacation may not be the best choice. Go somewhere like the Grand Canyon or Missouri.

In all seriousness, Jost had a really fun time. He mostly hung out with his dad because I was doing wedding/bridesmaid stuff a lot. The picture in this post was taken by the lovely bride, Kiera, at Kailua beach only 200 yards from where Nick and I got married in 2003!

A Couple Cute Pics from Hawaii

Aloha!

We are off to Hawaii tomorrow morning to participate in the wedding of my dear friend Kiera! I went a little bananas today at Baby Gap getting some last minute "essentials". I am bringing our computer, video camera, and camera so I hope to capture some great beach moments of Jost. He is super styling in his board shorts. It was about 100 degrees here today so I think Hawaii will feel like a reprieve from the heat!

Could you be loved?

Here is a funny video of Jost jamming out to Bob Marley this morning. I put a Bob Marley video on my computer from YouTube and Jost was super into it! Enjoy the laughs, one love!!

Happy Easter/Passover/Candy Craze Day!

Happy Easter/Happy Passover peeps! Jost had a very fun day today. His Grammy and Grandpa came over this morning for breakfast. They brought all sorts of Easter treats that they hid around the upstairs for Baby J to find. When it was time to look for the treats I had to take away the remote control he was playing with, then direct Jost to his presents. He was not really down with that at all. It's so funny that kids get fixated on weird stuff, like remote controls, when people are literally waving huge baskets of candy in their faces. I guess I should have taken it as a good sign that Jost won't be totally addicted to sugar. Alas, this was a short lived thought as Jost devoured 2 Reeses's Peanut Butter mini cups in about 30 seconds. Remote control who?

Then, we went to my dear friend Jessica's mother's house in Berkeley where Jost had an Easter Egg hunt with Jessica's son, Finn and another friend's son, Emil. Additionally there were also about 20 adults with various cameras and camcorders to capture all of the important moments o the hunt on film and DVD. It's pretty funny to see so much attention lavished on 3 kids. Jost was not so down with the hunting part, but was totally into the eating stuff business. He probably ate his body weight in raisins and jelly bellys. Then he spun around a lot and hung out with his Grandpa who got him even more wired. Then, he passed out in the car. Like dead to the world kind of passed out.

Later in the day (after I took a power nap) we took all the dogs t0 the dog park near our house. Jost was delighted to be licked by a Great Dane, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and a variety of mutts. He also enjoyed playing in the dirt/chips at the park. I had to will myself to NOT think about all the dog pee/poo particles that he was probably coming into contact with. Honestly, it can't be worse than stuff he ate/licked/picked up in Ethiopia, so I tend not to worry about these things that much.

We capped off the day with Nick's kick ass organic hamburgers and rice pudding from Grammy. Then, after a longer than usual bath (to get all aforementioned dog grossness off), Jost protested his way through his bedtime routine and finally succombed to sleep around 7:30pm. All in all, a very successful and fun-filled Easter.

NOTE: We took video of the Easter Egg hunt, but I am too tired to post it. I will get to it this week!

Jost is Walking!

Jost's First Trip to the Oakland Zoo

Today Jost went to the Oakland Zoo with me, his dad, his Auntie Rachel and his Uncle DJ. It was really fun, he loved all the animals and especially the train ride!

Let's talk about sleep deprivation and haircuts

So our precious, beautiful, fabulous baby has not been sleeping well the last few days. No nap yesterday, woke-up this morning at 5:45am, and JUST started to take a nap right now after I took him for his first haircut which he cried/screamed/squirmed his way through. I have to say, I understand why sleep deprivation is used as a torture device. Nothing makes me, and apparently my child, more irritable or pissed off than not having enough sleep. Nick was a saint this morning and took Jost after I changed him. I got to sleep in until 8:30am. PRICELESS!

There's also a lot of activity going on for Jost right now. He spent part of Monday (with us) and part of today (without us) at his new daycare. It's very small, only 4 kids, and one of our friends has their 19-month-old son there, so that will be great for Jost. He did a great job when he was there, but when he came home he kind of melted down a little (read: screaming bloody murder until we popped some hot dogs in his mouth). We are still trying to figure out what behaviors are simply baby/kid stuff and what are traumatic/anxious responses since he is still attaching to us and very new to our family and his house and his life. I think because Jost is pretty great most of the time it's hard for me when he is not pleasant. I also think I am still getting used to being a parent and that this is a transition for Nick and I, too. I am trying to cut myself some slack, but it's definitely hard sometimes since I want to be a perfect parent yet sometimes need to acknowledge when I need a break.

I am happy to report that Jost's haircut looks really cute. I will take a picture of it and post it within the next few days. I love my son but I also want to be honest about our journey and what it's like to be a parent to an internationally adopted child. In the infamous words of my friend Kim, I am just "keeping it on the REAL". Now I am going to drain a glass of wine and take a shower!