In Loving Memory

Christmas this year was bittersweet. With the passing of Tyson's dad on the 22nd of December, we decided to celebrate the day anyway knowing that is what he would have wanted. It was a nice day all things considered, and having Jaden was a blessing. Here are some pictures of our day together. Jaden really got the hang of Santa Claus and opening gifts, though it did take several hours (with a breakfast break in the middle) to get it all opened up.

More Pictures

To put you in the festive mood . . .

Jaden seems to LOVE hamming it up. At the "community Christmas party" he really enjoyed wearing his Elmo hat, in fact he wore it for the next few days after.

Tick Tock . . . The Countdown Begins

Aloha! I know I haven't updated in a long while, it seems as though the closer one gets to Christmas, the shorter the days become. I've had so many pictures to put up, from Maui, from the community Christmas party and day to day Jaden stuff and haven't done any of it in a long while. Well, tonight is the night. :)

First of all, we're almost ready for Christmas, just a couple of last minute items to get. It's going to be strange to be away from snow, and it scarcely feels like December. Living here can be very deceptive time-wise, it always feels like summer so it's hard to notice time passing.

Our visit from Linda and Skip was great, and I think everyone had a good time. Maui was excellent, nice to get away for a few days, and it was beautiful. I think we've told everyone by now about our trip, so I won't elaborate. Sufficed to say, it was a break much needed.

Enjoy the pictures!

Love,
Melissa

Ahhh, a Thunderstorm - In December??

Jaden is napping at the moment, and I am getting things ready for dinner, but had to update that right at this moment there is a thunderstorm. (Naturally while Jaden is asleep.) Kind of weird there's thunder in December instead of a blizzard, but even more I didn't know they even had thunder here. Best kept secret of Hawai??

Speaking of snow, yesterday we took Jaden to a free kids' Christmas event, and they had "real" snow in the parking lot for kids to play in. People waited in line for a chance to play in snow for five minutes. Strange indeed. I couldn't help but think of everyone who at this time of year might wait in line a lot longer to be rid of snow for five minutes. :)

November Pictures - A Catch Up Session

Aloha! Just a few pictures of Jaden, Tyson and I taken in November. Lots to catch up on of course, but thought these would be a nice way to start.

Family Portrait

Here's a picture of us from Halloween I forgot to put in. In case you didn't recognize him, Jaden's the one with the moustache and beard!!

Diamond Head

The weekend overall was somewhat uneventful, though relaxing and enjoyable. We did however have a great trek on Sunday and hiked Diamond Head - a large volcanic crater. The hike is a perpertual incline to the top where there is an amazing lookout worthy of all the hard work to get up there (which really wasn't all that bad). Except for the crowds, this was a great hike.

Tyson had many sympathetic looks since he was carrying Jaden in our new baby backpack (not an easy task, I agree!). We all three of us made it, though Jaden perhaps had it best. I wonder if they make those backpacks wife-sized? Hmm, worth looking into.

There were so many people at the top that is was crowded and felt very cramped. Everyone was snapping pictures and we were constantly in the way. The plus side however was that there were plenty of people who were willing to take our pictures together - a rare treat for us. One Japanese woman even asked to have her picture taken with Jaden despite the fact that Jaden wanted no part of that.

The last picture I've included this week was Jaden eating a peanut butter cup shortly after Halloween. Pure contentment and a whole lotta mess. He hasn't had another one since, I think he likes them a bit too much!!

Christmas Shopping and Surfing Don't Mix...

I cannot believe it. Christmas shopping season is upon us again! How did this happen? Only this morning, I was watching the surfers at the beach and this afternoon I'm in a panic about getting shopping done in time to send off to everyone. Weird.

I've realized in the last week or two that living in Hawaii is really like living in a foreign land. I work with people from all over the US and other countries - most have been in Hawaii for a couple years or more and they all have the lingo downpat. In a typical day, I have to ask what something is at LEAST two or three times. For instance, Veronica was talking with someone about going out for Puupuu's. In fact, for ono puupuus. What is that I asked? Puupuus are appetizers, and ono means delicious. Now, keep in mind Veronica is from Texas. Very strange indeed. A couple days later, Marvin (from Napa, California) was talking about menehunes with Sharmaine ( a Hawaiian). What's that I asked? Menehunes are spirits, like leprechauns maybe. It's not that the language is strange, it's that it becomes a part of your daily vocabulary, very insidious indeed. I look forward to the day Tyson and I decide to go out for some ono puupuus.

I've recently joined a French club. More for the social aspect, but also because I've spent so many years learning French, I'd hate to forget it all. I've been to two meetings, it's quite the cross-section of people and I really enjoy it. In the next couple of weeks we are getting together to watch a French film.

In still other news, Jaden is taking an interest in his numbers and letters. He especially loves the number 5 and the letter W. We have fridge magnets that we use to make words and Jaden plays with them every day. He's also really into storybooks. We have a whole bunch of Mercer Mayer books (I remembered reading those to my oldest neice when she was young), and Jaden loves them all. I can hardly wait until he's old enough for Robert Munsch and one of my absolute favourite storybooks "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day" (my favourite being The Three Billy Goats Gruff, that I still have a copy of).

Well, I'll try to get some more pictures up, I have some really cute ones!

Ahoy There Maties!!

First of all, Happy Halloween!! I cannot believe it's this time of year already. We've been in quite the festive spirit here at the McCann residence - we went to a Halloween party put on by a local shopping centre, carved a pumpkin and even made a Halloween cake for Jaden's daycare. Of course, Jaden understands little of what's going on, but it's fun all the same. This year Jaden is going to be our little pirate - I hope you enjoy the pictures of him going to the party on Saturday.

We had a great time carving the pumpkin this afternoon. Jaden sure loved getting his hands into the guts, and of course he was covered in pumpkin by the end. In fact, we had to divert his attention AWAY from the pumpkin carving in order to get it done at all because he kept making a huge mess. So, while Tyson carved, Jaden and I decorated our cake (and ate marshmallows and candy corn - needless to say, Jaden and I were on a sugar rush for the rest of the afternoon).

Uhh...where has the time gone ?!?

Well, the title says it all - October 20th and I can scarcely believe it. We'll be trick or treating soon!! Someone told me that time starts to fly here because there are no changing seasons, so it all blurs into one. I was reluctant to believe it and yet, now I think maybe they were on to something!

Jaden is up to his usual tricks, loves the garbage truck, but also now the cement truck. He has learned a couple of numbers, can recognize the numbers 1 and 4, and perhaps a couple more and is starting to hold up the right number of fingers. He loves to sing "Mary had a Little Lamb", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "This Old Man".
I think Jaden has finally adjusted to daycare, though Rosie mentioned today that he doesn't interact too much with the other children yet. I find it hard to believe he's antisocial (of course I would), so I'm thinking maybe he just needs to figure them out some more.

I know we need to add more pictures - this weekend we'll take a bunch of Jaden so you can see how much he's growing!!

A Weekend Alone - and Jaden up to No Good.

This past weekend was very hectic, what with all of the running around ,errands, housecleaning, and Jaden entertaining we needed to do that I can scarcely believe it's Sunday night and it's back to work tomorrow. Oh well, at least there'll be another weekend in a few days.
On Saturday we managed to get out to Sandy Beach - which I haven't been to since our first day here. The water is getting rough and beyond our swimming abilities however we did get to explore the tidal pools a lot and that was really nice.
Jaden really loves walking around on the beach now, and into the water and on the rocks and yes, even in the sand. We saw a lot of little fish in the tide pools that Jaden enjoyed looking for and watching if they were conspicuous enough. In letting him run on the beach, he found a culvert and ran directly towards it, that is until Tyson caught up with him - Jaden had a look on his face that showed he knew exactly he wasn't really supposed to be there but revelled in getting there before being caught all the same. He's really quite a handful most days, but it's hysterical watching him try to get away with any and everything.
Sunday was a day of shopping and though Jaden was tired and a bit crusty he still managed to hold it together long enough to get everything done - but it surely wasn't the most fun for anyone.
Today (Sunday) is the first day Jaden has not had a single bottle, all his milk has been in sippy cups - and I don't think he's missed it at all. I'm not sure how that will work at daycare but we're going to try - and see what happens (I hope Rosie will forgive us!)
I know I promised to put up some pictures of Tyson in Japan, and I certainly will but we have to discuss which pictures I can put up - so stay tuned.

A Visit from the Mainland !

Our visit with Randy and Marilyn was great - although it seemed very short because we wanted to do so much with them and of course there wasn't enough time for everything.
Randy and Marilyn arrived on the same day that Tyson got home from Japan - needless to say there were a lot of McCann's in the airport at the same time. Jaden and I met up with all of them after work and Jaden took to his Pa and Nana just like that.
On Friday, Pa and Nana had Jaden all to themselves for a day, and they sure kept Jaden busy! He went to the zoo and the Waikiki Aquarium (which was apparently the favourite by Jaden, who would have thought!)
The weekend was a little slow for me personally because I needed to rest, however we did make it to Waimea Bay on Saturday and a luau in the evening. The luau was pretty good - mine and Tyson's first, and of course a first for Jaden too. He was a little trooper, staying up well past his bedtime with minimal crankiness (for being up so late). Tyson, Randy and Jaden went for a three minute ride on an outrigger canoe, and Jaden loved that! He even got to try a sip of my pina colada (virgin of course, I was off alcohol that night) and I would say he loved it (better watch out!)
On Sunday Tyson, Randy, Marilyn and Jaden went to Sea Life Adventure Park and saw all sorts of sea creatures and shows. I'm looking forward to going with Tyson and Jaden in the near future. The rest of our visit was mostly that, a nice visit with not much sightseeing because I had to work, as did Tyson.
Hope you enjoy the couple of pictures from our visit with Randy and Marilyn!

Coming Soon!

It has been a very busy week and a half, but I assure you we'll have some great new pictures up soon from Tyson's Japan trip, and our visit with Randy and Marilyn. A great time was had by all on both counts, and lots of stories to tell.

Hopefully in the next couple of days we'll update the site!

Night Night Garbage Truck

Since Tyson has the camera and is currently in Japan, I have no new pictures for anyone this week. I thought instead I'd write a little update about some of the funny things Jaden is up to. He seems to be quickly approaching the "terrible twos" and gave me a small taste of it this past weekend, mostly by repeatedly trying things I asked him not to do. It was a marathon time-out weekend - on Saturday alone he had four time-outs. He wasn't a happy camper, but he DID finally give up trying to make me go insane. Really, it was quite funny, and the time-outs gave me a bit of time to laugh about what he was up to.

First of all a little about Jaden's development and all the cool things he's learning. Jaden knows several colours now - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, pink and sometimes grey. He also knows a few shapes - circle, triangle, rectangle, square and star. He's really good at trying to repeat everything we say, though for the most part it's un-decipherable to the "untrained" ear. We've been practicing numbers and the alphabet, and he likes doing that together. Jaden especially loves colouring though, and we can get him to sit for very long periods of time and colour - pictures of cars, and of course the garbage truck.

Our little Jaden is completely absorbed in the garbage truck. You ask him who he loves, it's the garbage truck. If you ask him who he would like to give him a bath/bottle/tuck him into bed , it's the garbage truck. If you ask what he'd like for dinner, again it's the garbage truck (mmmm, yummy!). His favourite colour? "Green garbage truck". And the last thing he wishes goodnight as he's whisked away to bed? You guessed it, it's the garbage truck.

Which brings me to the subject of Jaden's favourite game at the moment - it's saying "night night" to everything before he goes to bed. A stall tactic? I'm not sure at the moment, but it is pretty cute. "night night moon" - "night night book" - "night night mommy's laptop" and on and on, ending of course as I said in "night night garbage truck".

That's about all for now I guess. We have two days left before Tyson gets home - both Jaden and I are looking forward to that day. I think I'll hit the beach - sans Jaden - just for a break.

Whirlwind Weeks

Well, the dust is finally settling from me starting a new job, and Jaden starting daycare for the first time - but only barely since Tyson is gone to Japan this week for fun and games at the Tokyo game show! (I'll post some of his pictures when he gets back)

My new job is going well so far. Everyone is very nice, and as always it's interesting learning the quirks of new people and that associated stresses of starting a new job. Things seem to be going well, and they're good about my needing some flexibility in my hours.

Time has flown by lately, but we've managed to get out to the beach - Waimea Bay to be exact. Jaden is finally playing in the sand (see the pictures as evidence he's starting to explore beyond the sand-less beach mats!). For the most part we've made it out to the beach every weekend without fail, so maybe that helps.

As you can also see from the pictures, Jaden is still completely enamoured with his yellow rubber boots (that and the garbage truck, but that's another story). These might be my favorite recent pictures of Jaden because he decided to put on the boots and hat himself and then asked for the camera - I wonder if he's a comedian in the making? We'll have to wait and see. Certainly a little ham right now who LOVES attention (then again, who doesn't!)

Random Pictures

I've been meaning to post pictures for so long, and things have been so crazy I thought perhaps the easiest thing to do would be to post a random assortment. Some are of us at the zoo this past weekend, some of Jaden, Tyson and I around the house. Enjoy!!

The Honolulu Zoo

Well, the first crazy and hectic week of preparing for and starting a new job is over, and thank goodness for a long weekend (to say the least). Jaden hates daycare though I think in time he’ll grow accustomed to it. I just hope our daycare provider , Rosie, can brave it out!! I’ll write a bit more about my new job in a later post, but sufficed to say the job is alright, I think I’ll enjoy it once I know Jaden is okay.

In honour of starting a new job, we thought we better do something special this weekend. So, off we went to the Honolulu zoo. It’s located right in the thick of Waikiki, across the street from the beach. We almost didn’t stay because the parking lot was so incredibly full. As we were leaving, Jaden chanting ‘nanama’ (animal?) we found a spot and pulled in. Parking was 25 cents per 10 minutes, a 2 hour maximum. Admission to the zoo was 6 dollars each (Jaden free). This doesn’t sound too bad except the zoo is really quite small and largely under construction. I wouldn’t say this was a waste of money because Jaden loved it, however maybe the Waikiki aquarium would have been a better choice?

Despite the size, this zoo is beautiful. The enclosures seem small, but are so aesthetically pleasing so it was quite a nice stroll. Unlike the Winnipeg zoo, most of the enclosures were open air and barriers strategically placed so you’d hardly notice they were there.

Various Odds and Ends

There are a lot of day to day gaps in my writings, some small others not so much, so since this will be a quiet weekend, I may as well do some catch up.

First of all it's a quiet weekend because Jaden seems to be sick. He has a slight fever, and had a runny nose a few days ago. He did just have a plethora of shots this past week so I'm thinking it could be that (or maybe teeth?). At any rate, he's cranky and we don't want to chance him getting sicker by taking him to the beach.

It's also a quiet weekend because tomorrow night I'm heading out to Vancouver to get my visa for my new job. For those who don't know, I got a job as a chemist with a company called Oceanic Analytical. I will be the section leader of the semi-volatiles lab - a small promotion I think, more responsibilities anyway. It sounds like fun and everyone seemed really nice in my interview so I'm looking forward to it overall. The only reservation really is Jaden in daycare, but we've been fortunate to find a great daycare provider and Jaden will only be there a few hours a day.

Back to the trip though, I'm very much not looking forward to it. I fly out tomorrow night at 10:20 pm and arrive in Vancouver at 9:45 am on Monday morning. I leave Vancouver at 1:45 pm and return to Hawaii at about midnight Monday night. Talk about marathon flying. With luck I'll be able to sleep on the plane.

On a happier note, my new laptop arrived this past week, and I sit here happily typing on it now. I really love it, my treat for finding a job! It's a Dell, I don't konw the specs, but I can say it is super awesome. I think I'll make a habit of getting to a coffee shop one night a week with it to sit and write or update my blog or whatever (even if it is just to get out of the house)...and of course go to Starbucks!

As I mentioned, Jaden was at the pediatrician this past week. In addition to the myriad of shots, he was weighed and measured. He's 28.5 pounds and 34 inches, which is 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. Happy and healthy...well, perhaps not TOO happy when we were at the doctor's but definitely moreso afterward!

Tyson for your Birthday

Your birthday gift this year is a little different . . . In order to find out what it is you're going to have to go here :


http://www.hawaiiactivities.com/index.cfm?activity=109B887D-9251-4BAF-9ABEB87C6EAF4C78

Now, what could it be ?!?


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYSON!!
P.S. For Non-Tyson readers...this is still a surprise for Tyson, so until Friday morning please don't say anything!! Thanks!

Pupukea Beach Park

This past weekend was a long weekend, Friday was a day off in honour of "Admissions Day"... I think the day Hawaii became an official state. So on Friday we ventured out on our favourite north shore drive with resolve to stop at some different spots and explore. We originally planned to stop at Waimea, but so did a gazillion other people. Interestingly enough even though the lot was full and people parked halfway up the hillside the beach did not look that full. Optical illusion or is there some hidden paradise there...hmm, worth exploring for sure. At any rate, it was then we made our decision to test out some new spots and are we ever glad we did. We stopped at the Pupukea Beach Park/Nature Preserve, at a place called Three Tables. This places was amazing! As you can see in the photographs there is a tide pool, very large but completely encircled by volcanic rock (I assume though I'm no geologist). We explored in there and let Jaden walk around, spying several small fish. We then climbed over the rocks - extremely sharp rocks I might add, I felt very brave - and explored the other side. Basically it was a shelf, a nice flat walking area where the ocean flowed across but then at the edge was a 15 foot (I'm guessing) drop, a nice shelf that beckoned underwater exploration. We could see some orange fish way down there at the bottom and a couple of snorkelers just off the shelf about 20 feet out, snorkeling their way back to their catamaran (nice - in fact you can see the top of the vessel in the bottom photograph. I must admit I have no idea if this was a catamaran or a yacht or what, it was a boat.). Not sure if I'd have the nerve to snorkel at this spot yet with the open ocean RIGHT THERE and in 15 feet of water....but boy did it look pretty. I might be brave enough to sit on the edge and stick my face in the water....then again, maybe not.

An Update on Jaden

Well, it sure has been awhile since I've posted on here and there is so much that we've done, so I'll just have to give the general impressions on things. A good place to start (at least the most interesting for some?) would be an update on the new things Jaden is doing and learning.

Jaden seems to be coping well with island life, and seems to love exploring his new home. His favourite pasttime at the moment though is definitely talking. He's starting to string together a few words, his favourites being "garbage truck" and "black car", which of course don't sound remotely like that but spending enough time with him it gets easy to figure out (or maybe just easier).

We bought Jaden a new potty the other day, and are trying to get him used to the idea of what it's for and how it works. He seems to revel in sitting on that potty at least a couple of times a day, and sure enjoys taking all his stuffed animals to sit on the potty. I have to admit, he's a bit of a ham and gets a kick out of himself most of the time. We of course are not going to force the issue, but thought getting him used to the idea might help somewhat.

One thing that kind of took Tyson and I by surprise was Jaden's ability to hum "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" all the way through and on key enough to know what he was singing. It's not a song we sing a lot (though it's the same melody as the alphabet song? I never knew that) but I guess he likes it!

Well, that's most of the latest with our little Jaden. We'll have to see how he likes daycare, we'll find out soon enough and I'm sure it will be a challenging transition for him at the first. Good for him to play with some other kids though.

The Waikiki Walk

On Sunday (the 14th of August), Tyson, Jaden and I decided to walk around Waikiki and play the part of the tourist. (Not so hard to do in a place like this I tell ya). We parked at Ala Moana Shopping Centre and trodded off in the general direction of Waikiki, map in hand, backpack on back and Jaden securely strapped in his stroller. We really looked like tourists except for the cameras. At any rate, we walked into Waikiki and stopped at this huge mall, I think it was called "DFS shopping centre" or some such, but I don't remember exactly. They had a huge saltwater aquarium with rays, sharks etc and of course Jaden could not pass that up. He is completely infatuated with fish and did not like the idea of moving on.

Overall Waikiki is beautiful, full of shopping areas (mostly souvenirs, jewelry etc) but it was fun to check out. The beach was a verifiable sea of flesh (mostly very white, untanned flesh - I can say this now that I am tan-ish). I couldn't imagine swimming there with such a wall of people but it was neat to see. Our Waikiki walk was two hours long, at least and very tiring. It's beautiful and there are a lot of pretty parks that I'd like to picnic at, but in all there are a lot quieter places to go in O'ahu.

The Wai'anae Coast -- Ka'ena Point

Tyson and I decided last weekend to drive the other side of O'ahu and check out the Wai'anae coast. First of all, I have to say I'm impressed with my bad self in my newfound ability to dissect the Hawaiian language and pronounce some of these words (though I'm sure I butcher them all!). Very foreign but they really roll off the tongue after awhile. Anyway I digress.
This coastline was a lot more rugged, the climate seemed more arid, at least it seemed so because there was a lot of brown rather than the luscious green of other areas on O'ahu. Overall I didn't like this side of the island as much (also very industrial and more rundown) but there were still some impressive sights. I also got to see my very first surfer for real at Ka'ena state park (the beach shown in the photo). Hmm, wait, maybe I've seen a couple off in the distance in California. Anyway, I saw a real Hawaiian surfer...surely that counts for something.

This Week in Review

Just a couple of pictures of Jaden taken over the course of the week! He sure loves the "mamera" as he calls it.

Well, yet another week has slipped by so quickly I can scarcely remember what we did. Jaden and I did have a couple of real adventures that were a lot of fun though.

On Thursday, I decided to check out a local mom's group and let Jaden play with some children near his own age. Of course, I decided at nearly the last minute so had to run around and get things ready to go including a lunch and the miscellaneous items one needs when travelling with small children. The backpack was huge. I did try to grab the camera but the batteries were dead, so I have no pictures. Sorry.

Anyway, we had to travel (unknown to me when I set out) onto a military base. Well, the bus was stopped at a random checkpoint and low and behold, I had forgotten all of my photo identification at the apartment. Only me I tell you. I had sunscreen, I had toys, I had snacks and two drinks for Jaden. Did I have I.D.? Heck no! So, the military guard looked at me rather incredulously while I explained my story, and only hesitated a moment when I said I was from Canada. I assured him I had no idea I would actually be traveling onto the base, finally he let me go after I offered to call my contact for this mom's group. OF course, I'm holding up a bus half full of military personnel who are likely now getting late for their appointments...not smart. Anyway, it was rather uneventful after that, and note to self for the future.

The mom's group were very nice, and Jaden really enjoyed playing with three children all his age. He held hands with a little girl named Gabby, and seemed to really like her a lot, giving her hugs and such. A flirt I tell you!

On Friday, Jaden and I went to Ala Moana mall to browse. It's been so hot here that getting into some nice air conditioning is a nice relief. Anyway we shopped until we met up with Tyson, then walked around the Ala Moana beach park for a bit and headed home.