May Day is Lei Day in Hawai'i Nei....that's the opening line to the song that is sung all across the islands on the first day of May. Zak, Koa and I celebrated Lei Day the same way we did last year and the same way the Brother's Cazimero have for the last 30 years--with a concert on the lawn at the Waikiki Shell. We took a picnic dinner and drove downtown (blugh!) in mid-week traffic for the adventure. Considering how much Zak dislikes downtown and traffic, it tells you how much he likes the Brother's Caz!
Last year it was pretty cold, so this year we came prepared! Zak and I bundled up in our pj's and sweat shirts and we brought Koa's sweat pants and sweat shirt with us. When we got to the concert and it wasn't really all that cold, Koa didn't have to change. So it looks pretty ridiculous in the pictures (in the Hawaiiana photo album) with us all bundled up and Koa in his shorts and t-shirt! Oh, well, we are used to looking ridiculous. You can see more of our silliness in Koa's 13 Month photo album.
It was a great concert, as always, with a surprise ending when Don Ho's wife, Haumea Ho, collapsed on stage while dancing a tribute hula for Don. We are not going to make any assumptions (well, Zak might) as to why she collapsed, but she did not need any medical attention. As evidenced by what we saw on our trek back to the car, there was some pretty strong punch back stage, but I'm sure that was totally unrelated!
Earlier this week I got to go undercover and do some investigative work. Some friends of ours, the Bookers, recently had their house burglarized (yes, this is the third couple in our group of friends to have a car stolen in the past six months). The punks who stole their car used their garage door opener and went to their house and stole quite a bit of jewelry and other valuables. So, Brenda and I decided to go to some pawn shops and see if we could find any of her stuff. Some folks we have talked to said that some pawn shop owners keep the good stuff in the back and won't show it to anyone if they think they are looking for stolen items. So, we decided to go as mother and daughter and we were looking for an antique wedding ring. Koa posed as the love child. We did fine as long as no one asked us anything directly because Brenda and I are both terrible liars. I even had a hard time calling her mom! We didn't have any luck with the jewels, but we had a little fun.
Koa has been having lots of fun learning new tricks lately. His latest trick is his ability to climb up the playground steps and go down the big slide all by himself! He has known the route to the slide for a while, but he would usually stop at the slide and wait for me to help him get on or go down with him. Now he just walks over, sits down, and away he goes. He's even figured out to get his feet out of the way so he will slide faster and not spin in circles on the spiral slide.
He is also working on his song-leading techniques. Each Sunday when we finish church I let him get down and tell him he may not go outside. That used to be the first place he would go and I would end up trying to push past everyone rudely to try to catch the crazy little man. Now that he knows he can't go outside, he heads for the front of the auditorium, crawls up the stairs and stands next to the podium waving his hand wildly. The first time he did it I thought it was cute, but I was sure he was just waving or saying "all pau" or something. Now that he does it every time I guess I can't deny that he really is imitating the song leader. It's amazing that he is able to pay that close of attention amongst all of the wiggling during services!
Zak has posted some more videos of the Wee One and his antics. These are a couple that have been in the que for a while. In Update Fifty Five you get to witness his new love for brushing his teeth. We have been working on not whining when he is asked to put away his toothbrush, and he has gotten a lot better since the video. In Update Fifty Six you get to witness his fear of almost nothing and his incredible resilience. What you don't see is that Koa had already thrown his ball down the hill, tumbled after it, and made it back to the top once prior to recording! You get to witness his second throw and recovery. Regina, make sure you have taken your heart medicine before you watch this one--I don't want to ruin the ending, but he's OK!
To new mothers everywhere--apparently kids get their molars before their eye teeth. I had no idea! I didn't know I was supposed to be watching for molars! Three of them sneaked in there without me even noticing. Well, one is totally through, two are peeking through and the fourth one is right under the skin. Maybe that is why Koa has been such a pill lately! Myrna, did you take your heart medicine? Yes, he actually whines and cries sometimes!
