Mahalo.ne.Trash

it's officially begun. these days, we are hearing our own voices and phrases come from owen's mouth at an alarming rate. we've always been pretty careful and tend not to make a big deal out of words that aren't rated "G", but even seemingly harmless things can sound so sassy when they come from the mouth of an almost-three-year-old. today, john and i were in the middle of conversation and owen , to his credit, had attempted to interrupt appropriately by saying, "excuse me". but, we failed to notice right away. we then heard, with the tone of an annoyed 13 year old, " helllll - OOOOO ?!?!?" got to admit, it was impossible not to laugh. then there's the everyday things turned back around on you: when asked to fetch his pajamas - "i have idea, you go get it and i wait right here" when assisting in the bathroom - "give me some space. that's right, privacy" while singing ABC's and owen praises you mid-song -

this morning owen and i met up with his preschool program to explore ho'omaluhia botanical gardens (say that three times fast). it took a quick chat with my brother to motivate me to forego plans to do chores and actually get out of the house and it was certainly worth it! we walked up to the pavilion as soon as the gathered group was starting the Oli Aloha (morning chant). i have to say that i'll miss this group as owen starts his new preschool at the end of july. i'll also miss learning about hawaiian culture. but i know it will be worth it for me to have those two mornings each week to spend some q.t. with baby brother. anyhow, we did a little art project--the crayon rubbing pictrured above--and then set off to feed the ducks. mysteriously enough, there was only one duckling to be found. owen loved feeding them the heels of our bread loaves and taking a few bites himself. "mommy, we share with the ducks. see, i share too." point well taken. our

baby brother is cooking like crazy. his favorite in-utero activities seem to include rib-kicks and what i like to call "bladder jabs". i seem to remember that when i was pregnant with owen, i was certain he'd have a future in tae-bo (remember that???) or soccer. other preggo-reports are that i've not had such bad heartburn this time, my late night snack of choice is a bowl of frosted flakes, and the doctor scolded me for "heavy lifting" at my last visit. oh, and also, owen has started bonding with baby by playing a game we call "see if baby will push back". owen gently presses one hand on my belly... then baby (well, really mommy) pushes back. hysterical laughter ensues when owen feels baby brother move. here's a couple photos from the 8 month mark this time around.... getting ready to exercise; hanging at home

I'm giving my first public astronomy lecture on June 30! I've actually known about this for a while, but they finally finished the posters last week and put them online. Here's the advertisement: The lecture will be video recorded, so I'll post the video if I can. But if you happen to be in Honolulu on the 30th, stop by for the talk!

A long time ago, in a land far far away ( Iowa ), Auntie Amy made Owen a cross-stitch depicting various nursery rhymes. The picture been hanging on Owen's wall his whole life, but it wasn't until recently that he started to get curious about the cow jumping over the moon and other such strange happenings. Erin taught him three of the rhymes by adapting them to song, which they sing each night during the bedtime routine. We now proudly present for your viewing pleasure: Owen's world-famous Mother Goose Medley! For those of you who don't speak Owen-ese fluently, here's the set list: 1) Jack and Jill 2) Humpty Dumpty (baritone) 3) Hey Diddle Diddle (where "soon" = spoon) Join in everybody, you know the words!