Little fish.

Just as I knew I was pregnant before the test turned positive, and just as I knew it was a boy before the 5-month ultrasound, I knew (I KNEW) that this kid was a water baby. I don't know what it is about being pregnant, but if you really listen to the baby inside, you get such wonderful insights into their developing personality, their preferences and such.

I knew Makani had Brad's active side but he also had a very quiet, observant curiosity, just like his mom. His personality is a mellow, go-with-the-flow type, but he doesn't like to be surprised or rushed. Strange combination? It's exactly what Brad and I are like together, so it makes perfect sense to us.

While in my belly, I would feel Mak coast serenely back and forth, back and forth from side to side in my belly, sometimes doing flips, sometimes kicking off on one side and bumping into another. Then he'd have a little fit as if to say, Why isn't there more room in here?! I'd often tell people, Ah, Mak's doing his laps now.

So it was really no question to us whether we wanted to put him in baby swim (plus, my mom has a pool, two aunts have a pool AND we live near the beach... it's just good sense wherever you are). It was no surprise, though it still brought a bit smile to my face, when Mak took so easily to swimming!



It's been a month now and he happily dives underwater, knows to hold his breath, comes up making funny faces and smiling. His teacher, Erin, says he's a natural, and most babies don't take to it so quickly. Proud parents, we are!



During bathtime, he practices his kicking and has recently learned to make BIG splashes by slamming his hands down on the water. I'm pretty sure most of the bath water ends up on one (or both) of us, but water dries and we never pass up a moment to laugh along with Makani.



How can you NOT smile upon seeing THAT smile??

Much love,
The Dolfos

Six Months!

*SO* much has happened this past month that I haven't even had time to sit down and write it all! I'm going to try, this week, to dedicate an entire post to all these new and exciting milestones and events that have been added to our lives. Starting with, of course:

Makani has turned six months old!



All day, I kept looking at this boy, watching him sit up, watching him balance on all fours, watching him play, laugh, smile, learn, cry, grab and I couldn't believe he was here. I couldn't believe that just a year ago he was barely a few inches long and now he's 15 pounds and 27 inches long and he's HERE. And he's mine. Well, ours, of course. Everyday I look at him and sometimes I see Brad, sometimes I see myself, always, I see Makani. A perfect blend of the two of us. He has a personality now, he's developing preferences (LOVES his monkey, not crazy about peas), he exudes charm and has a quiet playfulness about him that I just love LOVE love.



He loves to smile, which is wonderful because everyone he meets loves to make him smile. He's developed a sense of independence, which I thought would be hard for me, as his mom, to encourage, but I see his eyes light up and his smile get so wide that I can't help but cheer him on. I have years (that I plan to cherish and cherish) until he really starts to let go, so I take these little moments as practice and I hold onto those brilliant facial expressions when he achieves his goal.



Makani, I can't tell you what a joy it is to be your mom and I know Dad feels the exact same way. We love you so much!

Love,
The Dolfos

1, 2, 3, GO!

It's amazing to me how quickly we develop. As I watch Makani grow, I share with my parents that "it goes by so fast!" And they always respond with a knowing, sometimes bittersweet look and reply, "Oh, I know." And I realize they *still* think the same thing when they look at me, their daughter, then a wife, now a mom.

Makani has been doing such a great job hitting all those milestones. He's now sitting up for minutes at a time (he gets bored, or sees something more interesting a few feet away, then just falls to his tummy), he's learning that he can get on his knees and balance there, he's definitely mastered backwards motion, sideways motion, and even turning in circles and now he's using all his might to get forward motion going.

The house *HAS* been baby-proofed.

Now all that's left is to watch Makani's face light up as he realizes he's MOVING FORWARD! Good thing we started running again, gotta keep those muscles in top shape as we gear up for chasing after this little one.

Much love,
The Dolfos :)

Ariel turns 25!

We always go wine tasting for my birthday. It's an unspoken tradition by now. So the Saturday before, a few good friends and the two of us piled into the big silver van and drove up to Temecula. It was such good fun! We stopped at three wineries, including Leonesse (where we are members) and we had a picnic, tasted wine, enjoyed good company and beautiful weather. It was a wonderful celebration and I felt blessed the whole time for everything I have. :)

Of course, going wine tasting takes a good part of the day (the whole day, really), which means it was our first test being away from Makani for a WHOLE DAY. We did much better than we thought we would! Of course, I would text my mom just about every hour asking how Mak was doing down there and she was wonderfully patient with us and would always text us back (even a few pictures of him being content). That did help a lot. The original plan was to let him stay all day at my mom's (Abue's) house and also spend the night there, but when we got home, Brad and I looked at each other and decided being away from our baby all day was enough for us for now, so we drove the five minutes to Abue's and picked him up. Makani was SO HAPPY to see us! Oh, the smiles! That made us feel so much better about our decision. We don't want to be wimpy parents who can't enjoy time as a couple without the kid, and it's nice to know we're not. It's also nice to know that we're bonded as a family and that Makani misses us as much as we miss him.

I must say that birthdays are so much sweeter when you have a little one of your own. Sure, they don't know there's something significant about that day, but when they smile at you all day, it's just heartwarming.



I had a wonderful birthday where I was able to see all my parents (that's rare)! Thank you to everyone who made the day so much special. Here's to a great start into my mid-twenties! :)

Much love,
The Dolfos

Pee happens.

So Saturday night, Brad, Mak and I went out to the Old Spaghetti Factory with my mom and John. Delicious dinner, wonderful company and even some yummy vanilla ice cream. We were all pretty tired when we got home, so I immediately fed Makani and put him to bed. This was around 9pm.

Because his schedule's so thrown off by the time change and the busy weekends, Mak ended up waking up around midnight to eat again. No problem. We just lay him down right next to me so he can nurse, then put him back in his bassinet when he falls asleep. Except he felt WET and needed a diaper change. So Brad got a diaper and decided to change it while Mak was nursing. Weeellllll....

Brad took the diaper off, realized it was dry, but before he could get it back on.... Makani peed. ALL over our bed. Okay, all over Brad's side of the bed. If only we'd waited just a few more minutes! Mak was still nursing, our bed was wet and we both were struggling to wake up enough to figure out what our next course of action was going to be. Luckily, Makani stayed asleep, I changed his wet diaper (and he STAYED asleep!) and put him back to his bed. Brad took the sheets off and we shared a very hearty laugh. Pee happens when you have kids. Whatcha gonna do.

Much love (and laughter!),
The Dolfos

You know they're tired when...

... they fall asleep in a busy restraunt:


Brad and I were always adamant that yes, our child should have a regular schedule. Napping, eating, bedtime, all that stuff. But there should be some flexibility, too. If we're out and about and it happens to be naptime, then sure, let's put the kid to nap. He can nap in the car, or the stroller, or even in our arms. Sure enough, after five months, we finally have a nap schedule. And it sure is flexible! This makes for two very happy parents.

Makani has become a rolling fiend! Any chance he gets, he rolls front to back, back to front, over and over. We'll lay him down in his bed and he'll just roll and roll until he gets too tired and finally falls asleep. He's also getting pretty good at balancing on all fours. Mak sticks his little booty up in the air as he gets up on his knees and he jiggles his way onto his elbows. Can't seem to stay on all four limbs for long, but give him a few weeks and I'm sure he'll have his "LOOK AT ME!" face on as he triumphantly balances on his knees and elbows.

Maybe it's time to childproof the first part of the house? We're heading to Target this weekend to get electrical socket covers and baskets for things we don't want him to get to. Don't worry, we know nothing replaces good parental supervision, so that's always our first priority. Gotta keep our little mover safe.

Much love,
The Dolfos.

21 weeks.

It's so hard to believe we've gone from this:



just three days old.

To this:



One day shy of turning 21 weeks old. That's 147 days old.

We each have accomplished so much. Makani can now roll over, coo, smile, laugh, grab (oh, does he grab!), eat solids and all the wonderful milestones you expect your almost five month old to do. He's eager to be held upright on his legs and we let his "walking instinct" take over. As in, he looks like he's walking, but it's just his legs' instinct, he's not really walking or attempting to, really. But the more we allow him to practice this, the faster his brain will realize that he CAN control those movements and use them with a purpose. Mak is now working on sitting upright on his own, helping his first two teeth cut through and sleeping through the night. He is taking solids like a champ! Loves carrots (as pictured above) and also avocado, banana and oatmeal. We're hoping to introduce applesauce next. The best thing about all these foods is Mom makes them all herself at home, so no preservatives for him! They even taste better! :) Here's to hoping we all can figure something out to help him through what seems to be a pretty tough teething phase.

It's quite something to love someone, then create a life out of that love and watch it grow. It certainly adds a new dimension to our personalities and relationship. Brad and I have worked hard to make a smooth transition from couple to family and I think we're doing well. :) Bathtimes, diapers, playtime and feeding solid foods have all become easier. We laugh a LOT at our attempts when we try something new (feeding carrots without a bib = BAD idea!). If anything, we feel blessed and even younger with our new addition, having so much fun rediscovering childhood and watching each other gracefully fall into the roles of "mom" and "dad". It's such a wonderful, natural feeling.

Much love.
The Dolfos.