Week One

Well, week one in Buffalo is well underway. In truth, we are in East Aurora, I'm not sure if people here really make the distinction? I think that's likely...kinda like "I'm from Lockport, not Winnipeg". East Aurora is a small village of 7000 people that is about 20 minutes away from Buffalo. I haven't explored too much yet since we only have the one car, but I can say it's a pretty town. People seem moderately friendly to maybe a bit unfriendly if you don't know them? Tyson's co-workers seem very nice, but the average person on the street is a bit...hmm, gruff maybe? Or maybe I just haven't met the right people yet.

Jaden likes his new home, but misses his friends in Hawaii, especially Haylie. I think he doesn't really understand what's happened with his toys yet - almost daily I am asked whether his toys are coming here or not. (Like he doesn't have enough with what he has here at the moment...)

Nothing too exciting to report right now really, except that we are here and settling in our new home. Jaden and I have been out walking/dawdling. It's one mile each way to the grocery store, but it's a pleasant walk and passes a lot of time (especially if Jaden walks himself).

More soon!

August through October . . . Yikes.

Alright, I'm officially bad at keeping up with this blog. Unreal how much time has passed. And so much has happened.

I'll start with the biggest news - we're leaving Hawaii. Due to circumstances beyond our control mostly, but also we had been thinking about leaving in the near-ish future. Tyson has a new job near Buffalo with Fisher Price. I don't know when we're moving yet, but it will be very soon! Yikes so much to do and so little time.

Hawaii has been a wonderful experience, and we've done so much since being here. We've been graced with so many visitors, and hopefully shown them all about where we live. Somehow I suspect we may have fewer visitors in Buffalo, especially in the winter months!
There will definitely be many things about Hawaii that I will miss - our new friends, snorkelling, good weather and wearing shorts year round (haven't lived here long enough to take that for granted yet), the beach and living so near the ocean. On the other hand, there are many things I just won't miss - earthquakes, traffic, how stinky it is often around our apartment, crowds.

Jaden seems excited, though he's wondering about Auntie Rosie a lot and how he's going to see her if we move. Thankfully, the current plan is for me to stay home for at least a few months until we get settled.

Now to think of a snappy new name for my blog.....

Halloween

Well, today we just returned from our three week vacation (two for Tyson). We had a wonderful trip, it was nice to see everyone again and of course, it was over far too quickly. It's always hard to come home again after seeing everyone . . . but once we're here, nice to get home and relax a bit.

At any rate, I just thought I'd post a quick note about a conversation I had with Jaden about a month ago now, but that we talked about today and I received the same response.

I was noticing how quickly time was flying by and thought it would be nice to get Halloween costumes ready early, so one day I asked Jaden what he thought we should all be. When I asked Jaden what he should be for Halloween, he said "a spider" - okay, a spider works for me and I thought up a few ideas how to make that work while he was thinking about what daddy should be. The final decision for Tyson, according to Jaden, was that daddy should be a pirate. In the spirit of Halloween, I'm sure Tyson would be more than happy to dress up as a pirate. Silly me, I asked Jaden next what I should be for Halloween . . . his response? "A water faucet." . . . A water faucet?!? How the heck am I going to do that?

I thought we could try again this week and maybe come up with something different . . . but nope. Jaden wants to be a spider, his dad should be a pirate and his mom....a water faucet.

Any ideas?

My Favourite Sign Ever

This was taken in a washroom on the top of Haleakala. It's a bit blurry, but definitely a keeper regardless. I couldn't resist going back in the washroom to take this picture - and believe me, going into the ladies room with a camera I got a few odd looks, but it was worth it.

Maui Pictures

Our trip to Maui at the end of May was great. We had a good time, and did as much as humanly possible in just four days.
Our highlights were snorkelling in Molokini (an old crater, loaded with fish and great visibility) - a trip to the top of Haleakala - Jaden's first boat ride on the "Reefdancer" - and an afternoon sail (which I've never done before ).
Here are some pictures (finally!)

These pictures are mostly from the top of Haleakala - a 10 000 foot elevation mountain on Maui where you literally drive through the clouds. They warned up to take a lot of warm clouds - clearly "they" were not from Canada, it wasn't so bad.
The sunset was taken at Whaler's Village just after dinner. Jaden was playing in the sand, charming all the young ladies and admiring dogs having a shower. I don't think he enjoyed the sunset nearly as much as Tyson, Linda, Don and myself.
Jaden in a towel was taken on our last day, after his first water slide. He accidently went under for a moment after a trip down, came up sputtering and exclaiming "more slide now". His expression on the way down the slide was truly a mix of sheer terror and pure pleasure. Clearly he is a water child!

Want My Monster Truck

Well, I can scarecely believe two months have passed since my last update. My how time flies. A quick update and then some pictures soon, I promise.

The highlight of the last couple of months has definitely been Linda and Don's visit - a stay with us and then a big trip to Maui. Jaden had a blast with "Nana and Papa Don". The Maui trip will have a post of its own (I promise!!)

In other news, we had Jaden's hearing tested in April, followed up by a speech evaluataion in late May. We were getting concerned with his speech development, and so the doctor recommended this course of action. Needless to say, the minute we started making appointments Jaden's speech became clearer and clearer. The trouble was never a lack for words, only difficulty in understanding him. Now he's a little chatterbox, constantly saying "I don't want to", or "want some milk...now". Oh well, manners next I guess (though he does say please and thank you, I guess he's found 'now' much more effective).

Caramel Apples and Rain

Well, it seems as though my blog has gone from weekly updates to monthly. Not sure how that happened except to say that everything seems really busy over the last few months. I'm not sure how I was fitting it all in before, but I'm sure it's just re-establishing a routine.

At any rate, the last month has not really marked anything new in our family. The highlights of the month, at least in my mind are in the title.
Yesterday and today marked the first sunny days we've had in nearly a month and a half (oh wait, it did rain today). I'm starting to wonder where the arc is and if there's room for me, Tyson and Jaden. We got to the park yesterday for the first time in over a month.

The other highlight mentioned is caramel apples - we made some over this past weekend and it was hilarious. I have a picture I'll post that I'm sure everyone will enjoy. Jaden loved the apples, and we were all a mess by the time it was all said and done. Thankfully it was right before Jaden's bath time.

Some More Pictures

Well, the pictures are not as easy to get up in the order I'd like....but I'm sure you can figure out what's what. At any rate, here are some more.

Birthday Pictures

It's going to take a couple of postings to get all these pictures in, but here are some from Jaden's birthday at Build-A-Bear, and the zoo.

Winnipeg Pictures

There are so many to choose from I don't know where to start. Five per posting is the limit, so here's a few on this one. While looking through his birthday pictures, I realized I needed to thank "Uncle Nut" for teaching Jaden "Birthday Cake Now". He uses that often. . . that and "banana cream pie" - I guess that thanks goes to my mom.

February - A Recap

So much has happened in February, I suppose a recap is in order.

The biggest news of February would have to be our trip to Winnipeg. Jaden and I went to visit for two very short weeks in early to mid-February. Some may consider us crazy for travelling from Hawaii to Winnipeg in the middle of a Canadian winter . . . I like to think we live dangerously. Jaden did very well on the flights, especially considering he sat on my lap the whole way home. Really he was only upset when his sleep was disturbed (and who wouldn't be upset?).

Our arrival in Winnipeg was on a relatively warm afternoon (for Winnipeg). I was amazed how little I actually felt the cold, considering where we were travelling from.
We did so much in Winnipeg, it's hard to remember it all. Shelley arrived a few days after Jaden and I and it was so great to see her. We went skating, shopping, had birthday party for Jaden, my mom and me. I visited with as many of my friends as I could possibly see. Of course, I didn't have nearly enough time and left wishing for one more week, but I probably could have stayed for months and felt the same way.

The week we arrived home, Jaden celebrated his second birthday. We celebrated that in Winnipeg with a Gilchrist-style family bash, but here in Honolulu it was slightly more low key. On the day proper, Tyson took off early from work and the three of us went to Ala Moana Shopping Center to the Build a Bear Workshop. Jaden chose to make a giraffe that we named "Bartleby". We went to a restaurant called Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, came home and had a homemade birthday cake and opened up some presents. On Saturday we gave Jaden a choice, to go to the zoo or aquarium. For the next hour and a half all we heard was "mamumahs...mamumahs...". It was like some kind of mantra that peaked in intensity in the car on the way to the zoo. Maybe we shouldn't have given him the choice until we were closer to either destination? He definitely loved the zoo. For dinner we went to Chuck E Cheese's - my first experience there. It was bedlam - Jaden grew to love it. He especially loved the singing stuffed animals and the car slide that was too old for him. We didn't last too long there, far too crazy. So really, Jaden got to celebrate his birthday three times. Not too shabby.

Tyson this weekend is in Florida for his cousin Ryan's wedding. I just talked with him, he had a great time and the wedding was beautiful. I can't wait to see the pictures. I also can't wait to have him home so I can take a break! But I'll write more about that in a different post. I'll also post some pictures from Winnipeg and Jaden's birthday.

Stay Tuned!!!

January Over?!?

Jaden and I just got in from a tricycle ride...I wonder who got more exercise - me pushing or Jaden pretending to pedal? Either way it was a lot of fun and now Jaden is tired out.
The month has breezed by, a few trips to the beach, the mall and the grocery store are the highlights of January....
Jaden is doing very well in daycare, he seems to like "Auntie Rosie" and Haylie. He doesn't cry anymore and apparently is very happy during his day. He runs to meet me when I go to pick him up, but always seems content. What a relief.
The latest craze in the McCann household is Thomas the Tank Engine, although the garbage truck is still very much a contender.

I'll try to post a few more pictures this weekend.

Cheers!