UP Themed Party Part 1: Watching Jacob on Stage

On May 3, my family and I were at a friend's baby party, and Jacob was loving Disney's "UP" balloon theme. It was such a fun and creative party filled with tons of balloon themed decorations.  At one point, there was a magician, and Jacob sat in front with all of the other kids.  The magician asked for volunteers, and I was shocked to see Jacob excitedly raise his hand to go up on stage. He ran up to the front, and participated in a muscle flexing contest - keep in mind, he's 4! The winner was chosen by an applause-meter, and since we didn't know many people there, he didn't get a lot  of cheers.  I had mixed emotions of pride (that he went up all by himself) and distress (since he didn't get a lot of applause).  Luckily, when he ran up to me after the contest, he didn't seem to notice the silent audience.  Rather, he was extremely excited that he danced and flexed his muscles on stage. Ah, a child's innocence.

It's one thing to feel nervous for something I am doing, but I did not like the feeling of watching my child participate because I had absolutely no control of the outcome. It is going to be extremely difficult to be  in the audience, watching Jacob participate in sports, contests, and performances. Ugh. It's a hard feeling to describe - it feels like there are 50 balls of foil scrunched up and bouncing around in my heart creating small nicks and scratches. Anxiety. Not fun. 

Since a few months have passed, I have had the opportunity to reflect on that part of the night.  I realized my main goal as a mom after that night: I hope to celebrate with Jacob when he's happy and cheer him up when he's sad, and even though I won't be there for everything, I will do my best to be there for him when I can so that he will have positive memories of his childhood.

Love you, Jacob.

To Be Continued: The Up Themed Party Part 2:  Josh's Ankle... 

Swimming at the Wailuku Pool

We currently live in central Maui, but I grew up in Lahaina. When I was little, the pool of choice for my mom was the Lahaina Aquatic Center because it was the only free pool in the area. It's all I knew as a child.  Since moving to Kahului, I have discovered some great free pools, but I think I found my favorite.

The other day, my sis-in-law, Jaz, and I decided to take Jacob to the Wailuku Pool. Oh my gosh, Jacob and I fell in love with this pool!  Heading towards the entrance, I was upset at myself for forgetting to take Jacob's arm floaties. When we entered the pool, Jaz and I were ecstatic to discover that Jacob could stand in the water. One side of the pool was 3 feet deep and since he could stand, he didn't need his floaties and gained confidence in himself. He swam! 

I was a happy momma. :-) 

The other great thing about this pool:  it's heated!  Now, you may be wondering why-the-heck does a pool in Hawaii need to be heated.  Quite frankly, it doesn't... but it feels great. Try it out. You'll know what I'm talking about.

Also, those of you who don't live near a beach must be thinking how crazy I am to take my son to the pool instead of the beach... I know I should be taking advantage of the great Maui beaches, but at the pool, you don't get sand in your _____.  The pool is definitely a cleaner experience.

Aunty Jaz watching Jacob while he pretends he's a shark.

After going to the pool, Jacob says he wants to join a swim club. He definitely loved it, and it was an amazing day. Thank you, Aunty Jaz, for coming with us!