Randall likes to talk about ages but has trouble believing that mom is 33 and dad is 32, and he insists it should be the other way around. This morning, after being told the same old truth which he was not yet ready to accept, he led mommy downstairs, saying, “I need to show you something. Look, in this picture, daddy is much bigger than you!”
All posts by maomao
Aloha
Two days after mommy’s birthday, we set out on our Hawaii vacation, and the first thing Randall learnt there was “Aloha!”. After spending four days on the quiet island of Maui, we headed over to Honolulu and found ourselves surrounded by the bustle of Waikiki beach.
Randall did not like the cold water at the swimming pool but instead enjoyed running in and out of the waves at the beach. He called this the “catching waves” game.
He also had a great time building his sand castles by bring back water from the sea. It was our first beach vacation that involved a lot of activities aside from sitting at the beach. While in Maui, we went to Iao Valley with a small water fall as well as the volcano national park of Haleakalā where we drove all the way up to the summit (10023 feet) and saw the crater. Still nothing was better for Randall than an afternoon ice-cream snack.
Our morning routine there was having breakfast on the balcony that offered a stunning view of the sea and the hotel’s pool. And one of those mornings Randall pointed to the palm trees by the swimming pool and said, “Those trees are like hand prints.” Randall also spoke Spanish in front of us for the first time – number one through five. Exactly two years ago, when we were on vacation in Miami, Randall did his first counting in English, “One, two, three, eight, nine, ten.” And now he just told mommy proudly that he could count up to a hundred.
We stayed at Waikiki beach in Honolulu but found Kailua to be a nice escape from the crowd. On our way to Kailua, we stopped by at the Pali lookout and enjoyed a great view of the sheer Koolau cliffs. Mommy and daddy had fun riding the waves while a slope created by sand dunes turned out to be Randall’s favorite spot. The sand was his imaginary snow, the softness of which allowed to him slide down or jump off the slope freely.
That was not all: we went on a short bus tour; we visited Pearl Harbor on New Year’s Eve; and we hiked to the top of Diamond Head. Randall made this hike all by himself and was rewarded with a beautiful sight of a rainbow when we reached the top. Of course, he had to check his map from time to time to make sure we were on the right path.
Christmas is coming
Randall decorated the small Christmas tree and mom did the big one. Randall said he liked them both.
Legoland & Carlsbad
Thanksgiving at Legoland California. Randall drove cars, boats as well as helicopters. Got his first driving license, twice :); got fascinated by the New York subway train at Lego Miniland; and got scared by the Ninjago ride and the 3D Lego movie.
After our first day’s trip to Legoland, Randall was too excited to fall asleep at night, so I said to him, “If you don’t go to sleep, instead of Carlsbad, this place’s name will be changed into ‘Randallsbad’.”
“I’m not a bad boy. Daddy is, because daddy doesn’t know which bathroom is which. So this place’s name should be changed into ‘Daddysbad’.” replied Randall. (Daddy mistook women’s room for men’s room at Legoland that day but stopped right before it was too late.)
Soon-to-be driver
Randall often seems to be quiet in car, but he’s been “secretly” watching us when we drive. The other day, when I backed up the car to get out of the parking lot at his school, he said seriously to me, “When you back up, you should always look at that picture (the backup camera). That’s the safety rule. If you don’t, it’s dangerous.” And another time when I was driving on the highway and getting ready to exit, he suddenly asked me, “You just switched lane, right?” He surprises us with such funny statements all the time, and I always joke that all he needs to be able to drive to grow tall enough to reach the pedals.
Ran Ran 