Oren At The Lanes

Oren set foot in her first bowling alley this past weekend at Logan & Tehani’s Aiea Bowl Birthday Party! This also marked the first time Mommy and Daddy have been bowling together (either that or it’s been so long that we don’t remember). The kids bowled great (with the help of the awesomeness that are retractable lane bumpers), along with the rest of the family–except for me. In 2 games, I probably averaged about 72 while Mommy averaged 100+. Who knew she possessed such talent?

Oren got into it midway through the first game, cheering as Grandma and Tutu knocked down pins. She somehow managed to get one of the balls off the rack as well! Guess we’ll have to get her little bowling shoes for our next visit!

Thanks to the Malterre’s for hosting the party. I’ll have to work on my game for the next one though…

Potty Breakthrough
Well, after a month or so of uneventful potty routines, Oren finally went #1 all by herself this past weekend! She pointed to her diaper so I took her upstairs. She went through her paces; put up the toilet cover, grabbed her potty cushion, pushed her Dora stool to the toilet, climbed up, and SPLASH! Tinkle!

We’re cautiously optimistic, though, as she hasn’t repeated it since. We’ll keep you guys posted if she goes again.

THANKSGIVING 2007: Stuffed!

Happy Thanksgiving! The massive caloric intake began with a potluck lunch at the Yates’ beautiful home in Kaneohe and ended with a kalua turkey dinner at our house with the Valdezs and Lees. Great job with dinner, Mommy! We are definitely thankful for you!

THANKSGIVING 2007: Horsey!
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Our cowgirl riding the Yates’ old school horsey with the help of Tehani!

Closing In On 50,000

We’re more than halfway through National Novel Writing Month, and the Valdezs word count is up to 33,724! Last year was our first year entering the NaNoWriMo contest, and we succeeded with our first novel, entitled ‘The Yearbook’ (no, we’re not publishing that silly little book… unless someone pays us. ) This year, the novel remains untitled. You can read an excerpt here.

Things are going a little more smoothly than last year, where me and the missus had our share of creative differences (coupled with my terrible sense of continuity) resulting in a few shouting matches. Ok, so this year we almost scrapped the novel in the first week, but we’ve persevered since then!

Wish us luck as we pull through the home stretch!

HALLOWEEN 2007: Our Supergirl

After nine hours of sewing on Saturday (thanks Mom #2!), some early morning pumpkin-carving on Tuesday, and one and a half hours of Daddy sitting in traffic on Wednesday, Oren finally debuted as Supergirl in Hawaii Kai. It was her first pedestrian trick-or-treat (last year, Darth Vader carried Princess Leia door-to-door; the wheezing was real).

She made it about four-fifth’s of the way around the block before the kryptonite drizzle started to weaken her, but before that, she was harvesting candy like a superhero. Her treat bag was as big as her! The “Halloween Justice League” included her cousins, Tehani, Logan and Candice, along with a slew of aunties, uncles, and tutus (no, not the ballerina kind).

Next year, Oren will probably be picking her own costume. Let’s hope the tradition of sci-fi garb continues!

HALLOWEEN 2007: Gut-O-Lantern
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Oren helps prep the pumpkin for carving.