Go Hannah go!

My little one is finally taking her first steps! Daddy blocked the flash :(

Mommy catch me!

Hannah looks cute in hats, but she doesn't seem to like them.

Soph likes putting hats on herself, not when mommy does it. Here she is styling it out with the fur cap and skull onesie.

Soph and Hann love this song, because mommy sings it to them often. Soph is loving it a bit much by dancing and twirling around and finally getting dizzy and falling down. Her new thing is to turn around and around and she also likes to get into things like boxes, containers, etc. When Uncle Ray and Auntie Flo were over they dropped Emi off and they were telling Soph to say "Emi" and Sophie said it!!! Later she kept saying Emi, Emi, Emi.... Hmmmm...whatever happened to mama and dada?

We'll get a video of Hannah taking some steps when she's more energetic (the pics were taken before bedtime), but it's so exciting to see her take her first steps. Everyone cheers her on: daddy, Sophie, and mommy. We were all clapping and screaming, "Yay!" Also Hann saw Soph climbing the stairs tonight and wanted to try it too, she did it like a pro (we'll get this on video too).

Hannah still has attachment issues and I forgot to mention that in Hawaii she did not go to anyone except Derek and myself. One night she did let Auntie Stacie, Uncle Calvin, Uncle Chris, and cousin Jayden carry her which was really nice. We didn't think that Hannah was gonna let anyone hold her, but finally the day before we left the islands, she let Grandpa and Grandma Sakai hold her (here on the mainland Hann likes her daycare givers, Auntie Liz, and Uncle Eric hold her, but no one else). Sophie on the other hand will go to almost anyone. There were times where she got shy, but she shakes that off real quick. She does tend to cry for me when I leave the room which I know is bad, but it warms my heart hee hee.

My babies are growing up so fast...13 months is just a few days away.

The Honolulu Zoo

Mommy's favorite early childhood memories were spent at the Honolulu zoo, so what better place to take us for an adventure? The Kage grandparents came along with us as we fared through the hot and humid weather. It was quite sad looking at the animals that paced back and forth in the cages, but maybe the weather was getting to them as well. Many of the areas were either "out" or under construction. We can see how great it will be when and if all the attractions are back online.

Grandpa Kage strolling us through the entrance as we pass the flamingos.

Sophie looking like a Japanese tourist. Mommy made her wear the hat!

The Elephants take a bath.

Sophie's favorite attraction...the monkeys.

Zebras and giraffes. Grandpa Kage was determined to find the giraffes as we went all over the African Safari to find this attraction.

Hannah and mommy trying out the combi carrier that Auntie Joy gave to us. Thanks Auntie Joy!

I think we all lost some weight that day, we sweat out a few pounds. Although it was hot we didn't manage to hit the beach as there were jellyfish warnings and alot of scattered showers.

Sophie showing grandpa her excitement of the monkeys. Mommy was embrassed as people turned to see where the squealing was coming from.

What are we looking at? Rhinos!!! It was quite a sight to see.

Sophie enjoyed the little jungle gym and loved the slide a little too much. I had to pry her from it, so we could go home.

Here Sophie is trying to make her way back to the jungle gym.

Grandma Kage sits patiently with Hannah in the shade waiting for Soph Soph to come back.

Run Sophie run!

Piggyback ride back.

Grandparents Sakai's house

We'd like to thank Grandma and Grandpa Sakai for letting us stay with them. We also would like to thank cousin Julius for letting us play with all his fun toys and books. What a life saver as the girls kept occupied with all the fun toys and books.

Miss Jayden was mighty helpful too as she helped mommy keep the girls out of trouble. We all had fun spending time with everyone and miss everyone alot!

Grandma Sakai watches as Grandpa Sakai captures Sophie.

The cousins!!! A rare moment to have all the kids sitting for a pic. Here left to right Hannah, Jayden holding my squirming Soph Soph, and Julius.

Sophie is getting bold these days as she takes the balloon away from Julius.

Fellow Wahiawa-ans Auntie Stacie and Uncle Calvin.

Julius, Auntie Joy (Derek's sister and mommy to Julius), Uncle Jay (Derek's brother), and Grandma Kage.

Uncle Chris (my brother and daddy to Jayden) watches everyone play as he sits on the couch.

The girls loved Uncle Chris's singing Elmo. Hannah loves dancing to Elmo :) It's funny how a red monster can be so loved.

Tanjyoobi Omedetoo

Uncle Chris's great photo board.

In Hawaii the first birthday is a really big event, so we decided to go on tradition and have the girls celebrate with the Sakai/Kage/Kuwata family back in the homeland. It was a great day although it was probably the worst ventilated venue, the owner of Tree Tops (Martin) is an awesome guy! The restaurant used to be part of Paradise Park in Manoa, a bird (mostly parrots) park that mommy used to go to as a child. The park is now closed, but the restaurant is still open, many people frequent Tree Tops for buffett style events.

It was a great day spending it with family and old friends that we haven't seen in ages. Sophie and Hannah got to meet their relatives. It was a day we will always remember.

Thank you to everyone that helped make it special.

Grandma Kage, Hannah and daddy, mommy, Sophie and Grandpa Kage.

Grandpa Kage and Sophie taking a stroll.

Sophie is now a seasoned walker/runner.

There were two cakes, one chocolate and one vanilla with the same decorations. Yes, the theme was Hello Kitty.

Uncle Chris, cousin Jayden, mommy and Sophie and a bunch of family in the background.

The Sakai's.

Daddy and his crew - Uncles: Calvin, Gavin, Kevin, and Gareth.

Crashed! Hannah slept first and missed out on cake, Sophie had some cake and decided to join Hann. It was a good thing that Grandma Sakai suggested to bring the playpen.

Jayden showing off her balloons. The two balloonist we hired were a great hit with the kids and adults hahahah!

Cousin Julius with a balloon hat.

Mommy and Auntie Caryl.

Caryl, mommy, Uncle Chris, Sachie, Ray, and Daddy. All ex-Tower peeps except for Sachie.

Standing in the balloon line.

Thanks to Uncle Jay for some of the pics in the blog.

Where have you been?

We've been in Hawaii! We celebrated the twins first birthday with the ohana. There's a whole bunch of pics, so in our absence we'll make up for it...

Mommy had a great idea of walking to Koa pancake house in Wahiawa while it was super hot and humid. We were all miserable as we had a sweat bath in the morning with no shade along the way!!!

Hannah shows how much she enjoyed the walk in this pic. Her expression is, "why oh why mommy!!!"

Daddy really wanted a pic of this since we already looked like Japanese tourist why not? Pidgin at it's best. You like get one styling kine kutz?

Pamela Anderson's hat

You like my Pamela Anderson hat?

I want to wear that hat too!

Don't try this at home! Sophie has been climbing the stairs for the past couple days.

The recent updates are:

Hannah is really coming along with talking, she loves mimicking me with simple words and sentences: No Hannah, red frog, Thank you, dog, bubble, and some other words. She also loves Kiki and the feeling seems to be mutual as Kiki loves to come around and let Hannah pet her. She also loves Emi, but I notice that Kiki always catches her eye more than Emi. Hannah also has more separation anxiety than ever before with mommy. She is very attached!

Sophie likes to say words too, but she doesn't talk as much as Hann, instead she loves to climb. Sophie likes to say mama over and over again especially when she's hungry hahhahaha! She also knows that when mommy or daddy says, "no" she doesn't do it. Sophie seems to love Emi and Kiki equally and would if she could chase them around, but too bad mommy keeps her cooped up in the playpen. Sophie's version of separation anxiety is when mama leaves her in the playpen, then the crying begins. She doesn't like playing by herself anymore.

Both girls point at everything (Hannah does a ritual every morning she points at the plastic dog bubble maker toy and both girls love to point out the ceiling fan in any place they go), they also shrug, clap hands, wave hi and bye (even to strangers), give "five", and blow kisses. Sometimes when they're in a good mood the girls will give a loving hug with their head on your shoulder. But the best most recent event is when you get the baby pile up! Der and I enjoy that the most when both girls climb all over you.

Fave foods: Hannah - bananas (and anything banana flavored, good thing her nickname is appropriate), pears, champagne grapes, and chow mein; Sophie - strawberry apple stars, pears, champagne grapes, and chow mein.

They both dislike tomatoes and watermelon. Having them eat non-baby food veggies is a challenge, but we've tried broccoli, zucchini, peas, carrots, and, califlower. Oh lastly, the girls have made their transition to whole cow's milk after their Sept.2 dr apt and they both love their milk.

Thank you to cousin Jayden for the hat :P

Learn something new

So we have a new toy and the toy has a chicken in it, we ask Sophie where the chicken is and she raises her hand. Der and I couldn't stop laughing. She did this a couple of times, but we couldn't get it on video instead this is the still picture.

Here Hann shows me how to play with her toy.

And then...

Hannah eating some fried noodles, chicken, and blueberries on her Hello Kitty plate.

Sophie gets the same meal....yum!

Party in the garage.

Eric's mom and our friend Lauren.

Mama helping Sophie with the legos that Auntie Flo and Uncle Ray gave. Flo's sister Francis and Lily join the play.

Wasn't sure if I should post the other guests kids as I didn't get their permission and unfortunately mommy was running around like a chicken without a head, so there's not alot of pictures. We'll see if anyone else took some pics.

Birthday with the mainland ohana

Good friends singing Happy Birthday to Hannah and Sophie.

Will post more pictures, but these past few weeks have been hectic as we were running around and unfortunately I think it will be like this until we leave (to go to Hawaii). Thus the late post and/or lack there of. Daddy or shall I say Super Daddy, has been working hard in the past week. We've both been too pooped to do much of anything else yesterday, but I guess that's what happens when you're OLD. Hahahahah!!! I will post more pics and have a better blog when I down more caffeine or by some miracle get more energy.

Thank you to everyone that helped celebrate the girls' birthdays!

Special thanks to Uncle Eric, Auntie Liz, Grandma Ko, Auntie Dana, Auntie Flo, Uncle Ray, and whoever else I may have forgotten who helped make it a special day.

One year stats

Sophie

Weight: 20.9 lbs
Length: 28.5 in

Hannah
Weight: 17.12 lbs
Length: 27.0 in

The doctor deemed the girls in good health (Sept 2nd dr apt). He said Sophie was in the 25% for height and weight and Hannah was in the 10% for height and weight. Both girls had 4 shots each, 2 shots in each thigh. The ones on the right leg have the worst redness and lumps, but after a few seconds of crying the girls were in good spirits. They are such troopers (much better than I was as a child)! I watched many other older kids who weren't taking it well (we witness a screeching little boy hitting his mother for taking him to the doctor to "torture" him.). The nurse even commented and said that the twins were the most well tempered twins she's ever met. Ok, that was enough bragging..hahaha!

Older pictures were taken on 8/7/08

Happy Labor Day

We ended up doing some shopping and stopping by Kennedy park to find some baby swings to swing on, but ended up doing something cooler. Sophie and Hannah enjoyed riding a mini-train in the park. Here is Daddy and Sophie sitting on the train.

Daddy tried to capture Mommy and Hannah, but something went wrong. Hahahha!

All aboard!

Sophie taking a walk in the park with Daddy and Mommy watching.

It was just too windy, dusty, and just all around dirty, so we didn't stay long. Although the park has a carousel, petting zoo, bouncy house, pony rides, jungle gym, and the train on which we rode on. I don't know if we'll be returning anytime soon, because of how dirty it was. The coolest thing about the park was the train.

Later the girls finally got to eat the red velvet cupcakes. Mommy didn't want them loaded up with sweets yesterday, so they only had ice-cream on their birthday. Today each girl had half a cupcake. Hannah ate her half all up.

It was really messy, but of course the girls didn't mind.

Sophie working on her half. Sophie wasn't as excited about it as Hannah she didn't finish. I guess she's more of an ice-cream eater.

Here's a picture of the clean up crew. Emi helped with the stray morsels.

So according to wikipedia labor day marks the end of summer and is celebrated by the working citizens. My definition is, "Yay, great sales! And God bless America for having a holiday!"