Episode III

Okay, this is actully being posted at 1:29 am on May 13th, but I'm going to postdate it. Just because I have to.
But today is the premiere of the last Star Wars Movie! So, in honor of the movie, I have a picture of Stitch.
- Bubbles

Rocket Dog's Favourite Pose 

OH NO! Goo-goo's getting married! 

This is Lilo's favourite doll 

This is Lilo's favourite doll stuffed into a drum 

This one is for Rocketdog 

On a recent trip to Mexico, Stitch was crawling around a table, when his sweater got stock on the edge of the table. Here he is, literally hanging from the table.  

Okay. I'm procrastinating, I'm supposed to be working on a proposal. But here are some pics as we have not posted in a while. Lilo is fond of taking pictures with the digital camera. I guess with the instant feedback, kids are developing an interest in photography sooner. Here is a representative sample of her shots.

another self-porttrait 

more 

more 

feet 

Stitch Tales

Stitch is turning out to be quite a character. Some funny stories from the last few days:

Getting His Prorities Straight
Usually when he wakes, we get him out of bed and take him to get a bottle in the kitchen. Yesterday, we put him on the floor, and he made a beeline for the bathroom. We found him standing in front of the sink holding his toothbrush with his toothpaste tube in his mouth!

Avoiding Chores Already
Last night, we were playing in their room before bedtime and I said "Clean up time! (Stitch) Cleanup Time!" and started signing the clean up song. Stitch was standing in the middle of the room, admist a bunch of clothes, books, and toys. When he heard me say "clean up", he looked up at me with a sheepish look and then glanced at the door. He then turned around and made a beeline for the door, climbing over or around toys bigger then him, and then proceeded to exit the room and run down the hall!

The Case of the Missing Shoe
Stitch keeps losing his new shoes. Today, he dropped one at church, so I just put it in my pocket. About 20 minutes later, someone pointed out that he was missing a shoe. I turned to him and said "(Stitch), where's your shoe??" He looked up at me, rolled his eyes up to the left as if he was thinking, and then pointed back towards where he dropped the shoe and said "ENH!"

World Hot Dog Eating Champion
Stitch is quite a porker. (I'm thinking of changing his name to another Lilo and Stitch character, Pudge). During dinner tonight, Stitch ate an entire hotdog by himself. At one point in time, he stuffed about 1/5 of the hot dug and bun in his mouth. Anyway, the people eating with us told me about the Hot Dog eating contest they have every year. Apparently, up until recently, the record was 25 hot dogs in 15 minutes. Usually this feat is accomplished by large burly men with big mouths who stuff the dogs in their face. However, the record was recently beaten by a little, tiny Japanese man. He came to the US contest recently, and during the championship started stuffing his face. He was going so fast that the big burly guys sitting next to him noticed his pace out of the corner of their eyes. They started slowing down and focusing their attention on him. Eventually, they just gave up because they knew they couldn't keep pace with this little Japanese man. In the end, the guy ate 51 hot dogs in 15 minutes, more then double the previous record! Give Stitch a few years, and he'll be there!

- Bubbles

On a more serious note (redux)

Why does every single movie or drama involve the death of a child or a parent? How morbid! So, today we watched Elektra (and the deleted Scene feature of Ben visiting Jen. Maybe that's when they..) Anyway, so there's this whole thing in there about Elektra's mom dying, and this other girl's mom dying... Man, I'm gonna need to start bringing tissues to the Marvel Movies. Star wars has it too! It's not fair to parents!
Speaking of movies and unfairness to parents, did you know that there's a senator from North Carolina trying to pass a law eliminating the commercials and previews from movies. It's very expensive for people who have to get a babysitter b/c they have to leave earlier and pay extra. Its not like they can arrive 30 minutes late because there would be do darn seats left! Tickets are expensive enough, let alone additional babysitting. Its a conspiracy between the movie studios and the babysitting union.

Technology!

Technology is amazing! So, these recent pics are emailed from my phone to VZWPix. I cut and paste into MSPaint, then open up in Picasa2, and then upload using Hello from Picasa. Okay, maybe not seamless enough. Apparently there's a way to blog directly from the phone. But the cool thing is Picasa. It's this image organizing software from Google. Aside from cool organizational features, it has editing features. I guess I could have used photoshop...but that would be too many steps. Look at the before and after picture of editing the sushi picture:




What a difference! One of the reasons I decided to do the blog was that eventually the kids could see it and have a history of their lives (assuming google is around in 10 years). Anyway, I suppose it'll be much more seamless by then. And with moving people like in Harry Potter Movies. And 3D.. I hope you appreciate this kids!! Everyone else, hope you're enjoying the pictures and our efforts.

One of the funniest....

Okay, so I'm transferring a few images from my phone... But this has to be one of the funniest things that Lilo has EVER done.
The GC and I were sitting there lounging in bed one evening (March 30). When all of a sudden we hear Lilo run in singing "Hula, Hula". We turn to see her dancing and wearing this outfit!!! I have not laughed so hard in sooo long! Per-son-al-i-ty!!!
-Bubbles

We took Stitch for his first Sushi meal today to our favourite sushi restaurant. Uh. he made a mess. Next time he doesn't come. (Picture from Cell Phone = Blurry)
-Bubbles

Forever...

Ironically, that was the title of this week's Smallville. For those of you who are also die hards... it was a pretty good episode, huh? Funny, I was just telling Bubbles today if there was only a way to freeze time, to capture the moments we go through during our daily life so that we could remember them forever.

I took the kids to the Promenade today. Looking for parking in the structure can be completely frustrating when it's late afternoon with 2 kids in the car. Stich started acting up with his usual fussy self. But today instead of getting frustrated with Stich... Lilo took it upon herself to make him laugh. Before I knew it, the 2 of them were in the back giggling so hard. I thought to myself, God I hope this lasts their lifetime. They have this connection between the 2 of them that I hope will never end.

As we were driving home , Stich was again overcomed with the case of the giggles. I kept looking back at him... his mouth wide open (definitely didn't get his mouth from daddy... daddy has a small little mouth... and came to the realization today that he doesn't have mine too... maybe the shapes of the lips but boy, his mouth is HUGE). But anyways, he just kept giggling/laughing... placing his hands over his face. He was so ADORABLE!!! I couldn't help but laugh.

And on the last note of the day... today marked the first time Lilo shoplifted. We had already left Old Navy with a shirt that we bought for her for ONLY $3.99... what a steal. So she carried her bag out and we started walking towards the parking structure. She was showing me that she could walk backwards and I got a sudden glimpse of something pink. She had one hand on the bag and one hand behind her back. I asked her to show me. Turns out she stole a keychain with a small pink hawaiian sandal on it. I had to explain to her that we don't take things that don't belong to us and we have to pay for things. We marched right back to the store where she had to return the item back to the clerk (how embarrassing) and apologize. Goodness, is this the beginning of many more trials and tribulations for Bubbles and me??? But thinking back, if this is the worse she will ever do... life will be okay.

- The Grand Councilwoman

On a more serious note...

The Grand Councilwoman and I just finished watching our favourite TV Shows - Smallville and Alias. Alias does this heart wrenching play on the father-daughter relationship; in particular it did last week. After last weeks particularly heart-wrenching episode, I said to the councilwoman, "I used to identify with the kids, now I identify with the parents." It scares me anytime to see a movie or a show where a parent loses a kid or vica versa. This week's episode Arvin Sloan relives the death of his daughter. In last week's episode, Syndey's dad plays piano with Syndey as a kid, and then tells his wife (who actually happens to be Sydney pretending to be her mom - so it makes for even more a poigniant moment) that he's going to quit his job at the CIA so he could spend more time with Sydney. I have to admit I was wiping away the tears.
It's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. . Last week, we nearly lost Stitch. Lilo and Sitch were taking a bath when Stitch slipped and fell onto his back in the water. As I started running towards him, I watched to see if he could get up on his own, and all I could see was his face under the water and his arms flailing helplessly to try to get air. The image of him screaming under the water, eyes open, flailing will remain for me for a long time. As I picked him up, I realized that no one else could be there for him. I am the only one who could be a father him, and I need to be there for him. If this means sacrificing other things, then I must do so. If my job at the CIA keeps me from them, then I need to quit. I need to make sure I live my life according to my values.
I also can't imagine what it would be like to lose him. I can am starting to understand somewhat the love that God has for us through the love I have for Lilo and Stitch. The joy he must have when we are good, and the pain he endures when we aren't. And the sorrow he must feel when He loses a soul.

- Bubbles

Happy Mother's Day!!! For Mother's day, the Grand Councilwoman got a free weekend off from the kids and Bubbles. She also gets a free Saturday a month if she takes her weekend before 07/31! 

This weekend was Mother's day and we went to see the Grand Councilwoman's mom in San Francisco. Check out 4 generations of her family!

Stitch has a tendency to climb out of his high chair, even when he's strapped in. So, the other day, we come around the corner and find him sitting like this! 

Wow, I wish I could be like Tiger 

No comment.. 

Don't bother me!! I'm talking to GOO GOO! 

The other day, Stitch is sitting in front of a pile of laundry and starts holding up each piece and making a grunting noise, asking me to put it on him. So I put on a sock, a towel, and his hat...and voila! 

Mommy, these shoes are TOO big!!

Mandals! The Grand Councilwoman bought Stitch his first pair of new shoes. Problem is, he seems to keep tripping all over them.
- Cobra bubbles

Introductions

Moc Moc (My Sister) and I went back and forth today brainstorming ideas and names for the Blog. The blog was originally published as "MiAndYu", based losely on the name of our favourite sushi restuarant, "Yu&Mi" and the play on words - You and Me. However, as we contemplated monkiers for the kids, we decided on Lilo and Stitch, which led to the changing of the blog name to Ohana Tales and leveraging the Lilo and Stitch theme. Disney, if you're reading this, please don't sue us.

- Lilo is our four-year old daughter. We decided on this nickname since: she kinda looks like Lilo, Lilo and Stitch was her first DVD, and when she counts in Chinese, she always says "Lilo" instead of "Liu". She's also similar to the character - Outgoing, creative, spunky, and stubborn.
- Stitch works well for our son, because he's destructive, not because he's from another planet.
- Based upon the chosen theme, my wife decided she wanted to be the Grand Councilwoman. She thinks she's the oldest and wisest in the family.
- Finally, I chose Cobra Bubbles because I didn't want to be Pleakley or Jumba. And I know that some, like my sisters, will say I look like him. And I resemble him - intimidating on the oustide, a softie on the inside.

- Bubbles

Hello World!

This is the first entry in a blog about journey of our Ohana. I've been thinking about creating a blog for awhile, and was finally motivated by my sister, MocMoc , to create one. I mean if she has one, I need to have one too. Here we'll chronicle the joys, trials, and musings on raising a family today. In addition, we'll provide updates to our friends and family, so check back often!
- Cobra Bubbles