Birthdays, aloha, and gummy grins...

Luke, Lisa, and I were lucky enough to enjoy this view on a hike last week on the Big Island.  I was only able to sneak away for five days, but Luke and Lisa stayed on for another ten for some quality time with Auntie Jaisy, Poppi (Bill), and Tutu (Cathie).  We took Luke in the the ocean and the swimming pool for the first time.  It was something we were very much looking forward to and he did not disappoint.  He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the water even when we dunked him, and he treated us to lots of gummy grins, which is pretty much the highlight of my day. 

Luke was an absolute champ on the flight and hardly made a peep throughout the five and half hour trip.  We lucked out with an open seat in our row so we were able to spread him out for naps.  Once we arrived in Hawaii, we enjoyed the whole spectrum of weather from bright sunshine and smooth, calm seas, to misty rains with moody skies.  We were treated to relaxing days, great food, and wonderful company. 

Back in March, we celebrated Lisa's 35th birthday by taking a quick weekend trip down to Costanoa which is a resort situated on the coast between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz.  They offer accommodations ranging from tent camping, to canvas cabins, to wood cabins, to hotel rooms.  As this was our first camping/glamping adventure with Luke, we opted for a little more convenience than being in a regular tent, and rented one of the tent cabins.  We enjoyed a beautiful drive down the coast, a great picnic on the lawn, afternoon dip in the hot tub, a delicious dinner at the on-site restaurant, and finished out the night with a glass of wine around the camp fire.  We then retired to our canvas tent, complete with electric blanket (which was key).  It is a great, very kid friendly spot that reminds us a lot of El Capitan Canyon Resort where we were married.  We are hoping to head back with a group of friends in the near future.

Luke is absolutely amazing.  He's more interactive everyday treating us to gummy grins, lots of coos, and an endless variety of facial expressions.  It is incredible to watch him develop and begin to sort out the world around him.  He is very interested in his hands these days, and we expect that any day he will discover his feet and start shoving these in his mouth as well.  Lisa is an extraordinary mother with unwavering patience and seemingly endless reserve of energy despite the interrupted sleep every night.  Although Luke started life as a scrawny 6 lbs 3 oz, he is a very good eater and is full of delicious rolls these days.  I'm unable to adequately articulate just how much I love my time with Luke; his stretches and yawns when he wakes up from a nap, the seriousness with which he takes his kicking and splashing in the bath, his desperate attempts to suck his thumb despite the fact that it is clenched tightly in his fist, his big gummy grins.  My favorite thing to do these days is carry him around in my right arm and go exploring.  He puts his left arm around my neck and clutches my thumb with his right hand.  We set out on adventures and he takes in the world around him until the exhaustion of so many new sights and sounds wears him out and he falls asleep in my arms.  

Parenthood has been amazing, and Lisa and I feel very lucky to be sharing the joys and challenges of this experience with some great friends both near and far. We will be welcoming a nephew any day now courtesy of Marci and Tyler, and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of "Skipper".  Finn is his usual great self and has accepted the fact that Luke is here to stay.  He's quite sweet with him and is doing his best to bolster Luke's immune system via licks directly to the face and mouth.  That's all for now, here are a few more relatively recent pics of Luke Makai as well as some videos that Lisa put together of his last month.  Much love and aloha...

Below are Luke's Third Month movies:

Lukes3rdMonth from Lisa Dutton on Vimeo.

LukeMonth3Pics from Lisa Dutton on Vimeo.