He is an old pro at unwrapping presents at this point.

Notice how the box for the "Must Have Toy" is more fun than the actual toy.

Wagons are fun!

This is the backdrop for our walks.

Searching for Santa...

We got up early this morning so we could get to the mall before the crowds. We were on a mission. We had spent the last couple of weeks scouting out all the “Mall Santas.” We knew our search was over when we saw the Santa at the Pearlridge mall. This was THE Santa. We first saw him last Saturday, but the line to meet him was extremely long (which is to be expected when you have the real Santa Claus) He was very nice and knew all the “regulars” that came to the mall. While we watched him work his magic with the kids, we saw him talk to several different people who apparently exercise by mall walking. He knew them all by name and was incredibly nice to everyone. He had long white hair and a long curly white beard. The man was so convincing that Katie even got a little misty-eyed by the whole situation. Needless to say, we feel very fortunate to be able to live here in the island paradise that is Hawaii, but it was made even better once we learned that Santa’s Southern Command was located here too!

Liam and the Real Santa Claus.

Capitalism: Hooray!

After quite a long process my Mom and Stepfather have officially opened an online storefront. They make and sell rustic, western style furniture that they sell all over the country. Some of their work can even be seen in a few television shows and movies. Have a look at the site if you get a chance.

TrueHeart Emporium

Busy Little Bees...

Well, our Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. I cooked the turkey out on the grill. It is not quite as odd as it sounds, you basically cook it the same as in the oven, just on the grill. It freed up the oven for other things plus here in Hawaii it is still very warm on Thanksgiving and an oven being on for 4-5 hours can make the house very uncomfortable. Our good friends the Cortez family http://tezlife.blogspot.com/ came over and we had a great time. Katie had the idea that we would all spend the day in pajama pants and tee shirts. That made the whole after meal belly expansion much easier, plus the babies looked adorable in their pajamas.

In the past we have used an artificial Christmas tree, but this year Katie gave in and let me have a real tree. We had a really good time going to pick the tree out and Katie did a great job decorating the tree, as usual. The real tree takes quite a bit more work to get it ready for decorations, but with a trim here and a trim there it was ready for the decorations. I am always amazed at how Katie can fit so many lights on the tree, but she always makes it work and it always looks perfect. Liam really got a kick out of all the decorations. We let him play with some of the more child friendly decorations, but most of them were strictly off limits which made him want them even more.

We are really looking forward to Christmas this year. While it is not technically Liam’s first Christmas, it is the first time he will be aware of the day being special. (He was only three days old last year) Be sure to check back here for the full story and lots of pictures.

This is my thoughtful face. 

The face of mischief. 

The finishing touch. 

"We should put this one here, Daddy." 

This kid knows a great ornament when he sees one. 

Booty! 

"This one next please."

Helping Momma with the tree. 

Sparkly. 

Christmas ornament...Hawaiian style. 

Bah Humbug indeed. 

Toes are tasty! 

Parties, Plans, and Preparations…

Katie and I have spent quite a lot of time recently planning for many upcoming events. Thanksgiving, Liam’s first birthday, and Christmas. Most of the planning and preps for the birthday party are done. We have the location booked, the decorations bought and the bakery for the cake is picked. We are going to have the party at our favorite beach. You are all invited of course. We plan to have Thanksgiving with our good friends the Cortez’s. They have a 3 month old baby girl and we are really looking forward to spending the holiday with them. Katie’s folks and brother are coming back for Christmas which should be a lot of fun. When they visited last year everything was obviously centered around the newly arrived baby, but this year we intend to spend much more time out and about having fun on the island. We love that Katie’s family is able to visit so often. Our offer for free housing still stands. If any of you want to come for a visit, we will provide a place to sleep and food to eat, all you have to pay for is the airfare…which tends to be a lot. All we really need is a little advanced notice. So let the spare bedroom and couch sleeping begin! See you all soon.

Teeth! 

Sort of a "Cute Baby" meets "James Bond" kind of photo. 

Surprise!!

Liam sporting his Texas Tech cammo overalls. 

Liam and his friend Logan share some toy box fun time. 

Liam had to take a very important call. 

Nothing like a padded head rest for a quick bit of television watching. 

Yeah, he is totally naked behind there. 

Another fun way to play with the toy box. 

An Evening at the Park...

Katie and I took Liam to a little park not far from our house. For his first time on a slide, he did not do too badly. He did not think much of the slides, but there were lots of things to climb. He had a blast climbing on everything we would let him on. Even though he did not really think the slides were much fun, it gave me an excuse to go down them…which I have not done in years. A bonus to having Liam is that I can get away with acting more like a kid now. If there is something that I want to do that would seem a little odd for a “grown” man to do, I just grab Liam and suddenly I am being a great dad. Membership does have its privileges.