Daddy One More?

We took Maddy to an inflatable playground yesterday that they had running at the Eleele Fou. It had a giant rock face for climbers, a rugby challenge complete with slides and obstacles as well as an enclosed trampoline-like tent. Maddy loved it!

After playing there for about an hour, I decided it was time to go home but Maddy kept saying, "Daddy, one more?" with this cute little smug grin on his face. How could I resist? After about 4 or 5 "one mores" we finally managed to drag him off the slides and into the car.

Clever Quotes

I tend to laugh at quotes I find on the Net that are true in one way or another. Here are a few that I came across today that ring true to me:

Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home. - Phyllis Diller

Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time. - Rabbinical Saying

The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy. - Sam Levenson

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. - Leo J. Burke

Level with your child by being honest. Nobody spots a phony quicker than a child. - Mary MacCracken

Children are the only form of immortality that we can be sure of. - Peter Ustinov

If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things. - Norman Douglas

Happy Birthday Aunty Sachi!

Maddy has asked me to pass on our best happy birthday wishes to his Aunty Sachi. We hope you have a great day and got lots and lots of birthday pressies! Love from Maddy and his 2 slaves.

Our Fearless Little Climber

Maddy is a fearless climber. He loves climbing up just about anything. If he's outside playing, you can pretty much guarantee he's off the ground somewhere.

Maddy likes to scare his parents to death with his daredevil-like antics on the playground

This the look we get when we have to go home

Mommy, vaai lea!

Weekend at the Golf Course

Yep, if Maddy sees a rock, he HAS to climb it

The Pisikoa Golf team in their flash new uniforms, don't we look like pros?

Maddy is the official Pisikoa golf mascot

Difficult Decisions

Rachel and I decided to let our housegirl go yesterday. Without going into too much detail, we decided that it would be better for all concerned, especially Madison, that we went our separate ways after a rollercoaster 6 months together.

There are times when I wonder why people take advantage of other people's generosity. You give them things they never had, freedom to do whatever they want, reward them for good work and still, they find a way to make you regret being so nice to them.

Maybe the majority of Samoans aren't used to this concept and are more familiar with the "tough love" approach of strict supervision and well defined boundaries. I know that's a gross generalization but in my experience with people I've worked with and people who have worked for me, I find this to be true.

It's in my nature to give people the benefit of the doubt, to believe that people are intrinsically good, so I guess this makes me gullible in a way. Maybe I should be more cynical or skeptical in my future dealings with people.

Afternoon in the Sun

We took Maddy and his posse of friends from next door to the playground yesterday afternoon. I can't describe how pumped they all were to be going to the playground, it was a nice feeling doing something for the kids that they really enjoyed.

The kids were running all over the place, laughing and screaming for joy, seemingly in a rush to play with every single thing. Maddy wanted to be the centerpiece of every game they played and was often frustrated when the other kids ran away because they didn't like the way he tried to dominate everything.

It was funny watching this because by the end of the day he figured out for himself that playing nice was more fun because the kids stuck around a lot longer than when he was screaming his lungs out trying to direct traffic.

Happy Birthday Aunty Lagi

Rachel, Maddy and I would like to wish aunty Lagi in New Zealand a big happy birthday! We hope you have a wonderful day and got lots and lots of prezzies. Maddy says that since it's your birthday, he's expecting a pressie from you in the mail!

Oi Sole

Madison is speaking Samoan so well now that he speaks in slang too. A good example of this is how he adds the word "sole" to almost everything he says. Just the other night he asked mommy for some bubblegum and when mommy said no, he replied, "Leaga ia o mommy sole".

He's also developing a very strong independent personality, he must be the leader in everything he does. If the other kids don't want to go along with what he wants, he'd rather play by himself then go along with the crowd.

Home With Maddy

After spending the better part of yesterday on the golf course, I'm feeling a little worse for wear and have decided to take sick leave today. I must be getting older because it takes a lot longer for the aches and pains to go away after some exercise. It's either that or I'm really unfit! haha

It's going to be nice to spend some more time with my son today, he's growing up so fast.

Baby Nua - Madison's 2nd Cousin

Isn't she beautiful

Pool Day aka Father's Day

It was a scorcher today so I brought the pool out of storage and let the kids from the neighbourhood go crazy. It was big hit as you can see from the photos. Happy Father's Day to all the lucky fathers out there!

After 2 hours in the pool I sent the kids back home and now there is peace and quiet in the land, now that all the kids are all tuckered out.

Changing Things Up

I have decided to cancel Madison's geocities website and move it here. Updating two webpages has become a hassle and since I no longer have the software program that made updating the other webpage easier, this seems the logical thing to do.

Don't worry though, I'll post links to all of his photos and guestbook here and in the future I'll post all of his photos in his blog right here, and they'll be archived monthly with the rest of his stuff.

If you had his other page bookmarked, you might want to bookmark this page instead as this will become his new main page. Thanks!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Happy Birthday BatGran!

I know today is the 8th but today is BatGran's birthday in New Zealand, so Happy Birthday BatGran! Rach, Maddy and I hope you have a wonderful day and save all the major major celebrations until we get there early next year! Love you!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today is Papa's 62nd birthday, malo lava Dad! Maddy and I just called Papa up on the phone but our reluctant hero got bashful all of a sudden and wouldn't utter a single word. We'll try calling again tonight, hopefully by then he'll have rediscovered his voice!

Face Painted

Maddy wanted to paint his own face but after a bit of persuasion he finally relented and let me do it for him.

He wanted a superman logo, a spiderman logo and a harry potter one.

I've yet to meet a kid that asked for a Jesus sign or a bible to be painted on his or her face.

I guess that's a sign of the times.

One Happy Kid

Maddy enjoyed his birthday party at McDonalds last night. It didn't take him long to get to sleep afterwards.

Click on any of the photos to see or download the original.

Watch Out Below!

Madison must have been up and down that slide about 100 times last night. The boy is like an Everready battery, he just keeps going and going.

Yay! Ice Cream!

Normally we don't let Maddy have ice cream because it exacerbates his cough but since it was his birthday, we let him have one. Boy, did he savour that ice cream!

Have It All

Madison normally likes having the chicken mcnugget happy meal when we go to McDonalds, so that's what we got him last night. But when he saw that his friends were having cheeseburgers, he too wanted a cheeseburger, so instead of asking mommy to get him a cheeseburger, he just took his friends cheeseburger *haha* I guess it was my fault for telling him he could do whatever he wanted on his birthday!

The Shy Guy

Maddy loved his Superman chocolate birthday cake but when it came time to sing happy birthday, he went all shy! This is a photo of him during the happy birthday song wishing people would just get it over with already!

Maddy and Grace

This is Maddy on the slide with his friend Grace. Our little hero seems to be a bit of a girl magnet!

Mr Three

Maddy had a wonderful birthday party last night. About 20 kids turned up (maybe more, I lost count) and he had a blast. I'll be uploading photos of his birthday party here throughout the day so check back every now and then.

Happy Birthday Son!

Today is Madison's third birthday! He woke up this morning and when we said "Happy Birthday Son!", the first words out of his mouth were, "I want more presents".

He's feeling a little better, his energy is slowly returning. He's with the next door neighbours today because Neta is still away.

Mommy is buying some stuff today to top up the McDonald gift bags that all the kids get. It seems everything is set for his birthday party tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who sent him something for his birthday, it's going to be a great day!

Four Days Out

Maddy's third birthday is only four days away and all the kids in the neighbourhood are eagerly awaiting the birthday bash at McDonalds. It's all they can talk about. While mommy and daddy are frantically looking for some money to pay for the bash, the kids are talking about the Superman cake and baloons and games they will be playing. I wish I was a kid again!

Maddy isn't feeling very good today, he's got a bit of a temperature and mommy is at home looking after him.

Neta has gone to Tutuila for a church conference and will be away til early next month. Maddy wanted to "go on the boat" but there's no way I was going to let him subject himself to that kind of torture.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Three More Reasons Our Son is the Best

The other day when we were walking out of the bakery after lunch, Maddy in one hand, car keys in the other, Madison put his hand over my eyes to shield my eyes from the sun saying "ua la daddy or it's sunny daddy". It didn't occur to him that the sun was in his eyes too, he was more concerned for daddy's eyes.

Yesterday we were driving home when Maddy silently grimaced and clutched his tummy. When I asked him what was wrong he said "sore tummy daddy". He must have had a tummy bug because he had the runs all day yesterday. Not once did he complain or whine about it. He's braver than mommy and daddy put together.

Maddy has at least 5 pairs of jandals. He loves wearing them on his hands as he runs barefoot all over our rocky front yard, playing with his friends. I tried walking barefoot to the garage from the front door and nearly died.

You Going To School Today Son?

Every morning we give Maddy the option of whether he wants to go to school or not. Most of the time he says, "No, me stay home" or "nofo fale a'u" but he caught us offguard yesterday when he said he wanted to go to school. We had to look for his uniform, iron it, get his lunch ready and fill up his school bag with his spare change and shoes.

When I picked him up after school he looked so happy. It seemed as if he really enjoyed going to school and playing with a new bunch of kids instead of his usual posse.

So when I asked him if he wanted to go to school today, knowing how much he enjoyed it the day before, I was suprised to hear him say, "No daddy, me stay home today".

*sigh*

Caught Red Handed

Yep, there must be something irresistable about a mothers purse because you can bet your bottom dollar that if mommy turns her back for one second, kids dive right in. This is a photo of Maddy going through mommy's purse while she was in the shop.

Birthday Plans

Maddy's 3rd birthday is 2 weeks away and Rachel and I have made very few plans for it. We're still undecided between a beach party or a McDonalds party. I think his friends would love a day at the beach but logistically speaking, getting 20 kids to the beach for the day wouldn't be an easy feat. Any ideas?

Lost In Translation

Our wonderful son is now more fluent in Samoan than he is in English. He speaks more Samoan than his mom already and I often find myself translating what Maddy says for his mommy.

He spends most of his day with the kids from around the village and comes home with new words everyday. He's so proud of himself when he uses a Samoan word correctly and at times, he sits by himself, talking to himself in Samoan, almost like he practicing what he'll be saying to the kids next time he sees them.

Almost There

I've been kinda busy with work lately and so, haven't been able to update Maddy's Journal as much as I'd like to. We're changing out all of our old equipment at work, replacing it with new equipment and it's disrupted the normal flow of things.

Once we're done I should be able to resume updating Maddy's website more frequently. I also bought a battery recharger for our new digital camera so we'll have heaps of new photos to upload too. Yay!

Mommy Can I Go Outside?

Yep, that's Maddy and his friend Amataga from next door at church. This kid will try any kind of excuse to go outside and play, including begging his mommy to go to church.

Rach has done a great job of keeping him indoors all week but relented when Maddy got upset because we wouldn't let him go to church. I'm sure Papa would love to hear that we finally let him go and he was so happy to be with the other kids singing and playing at sabbath school.

The Wild Child

No, Maddy isn't quite the wild child yet but he's heading in that general direction. It seems as if there aren't enough hours in a day for him, he has to be full steam ahead doing something all the time, in perpetual motion. He's loving life at Lalovaea, playing with his "posse" of friends, going to school and he even came to us yesterday asking for money because he wanted to go with his friends and buy an ice pop from the shop.

Fatilua Fatilua B.A., M.A. Ph.D etc etc

I also managed to catch up with my old buddy Fatilua while I was in DC. He made the 5 hour drive down from New York and we spent a couple of days catching up on old times. It was good to see him. Fati is in Albany doing his PhD and intends on going for his professorship after that. Best of luck to you Fati, we're all proud of you!

Shopping With Ling

It was nice to see my sister Lagi again during my recent trip to the USA. She has lost a lot of weight and is looking good! We went shopping for stuff for Maddy and while I was buggered after 5 straight hours of shopping, she was still going strong. Good to see you again sis :)

Catching Up With Mom

I was fortunate enough to catch up with my mom during my last trip to Washington DC. It was so good to see her again! I believe it was 4 years since I last saw her at my wedding. I didn't realise what a terrible cook I was until I had mom's homecooking again!

Daddy in Washington DC

Daddy is in Washington DC for IT training and is due back in the first week of June. He is going to visit my Nana, Papa, Aunty Lagi and Uncle Toli in Wellington, before he returns with ALL my pressies (hehe).

I miss him so much and so does Mommy! She has been driving me all around town, and taking me to school and picking me up, going to the shop to buy dvds, food and goodies to eat for me and my best friend Mataga.

Hurry on home Daddy, we love and miss you very much.

Blogging From Washington D.C.

If you're wondering why Madison's Journal hasn't been updated in awhile, it's because I am in Washington DC for a work related conference.

I'll be here for another few days before making my way home via NZ.

I miss my family and am already looking forward to coming home in a few days time. I wonder if Maddy misses me at all?

Maddy and His Best Friend

This is Maddy at play with his best friend from next door, Amataga. Amataga is 3 and a half but gets bossed around by our 2 year old Maddy.

Maddy's Friends

This is a photo I took today of Maddy's friends Toto and Alofa from next door. I tell ya, these kids can play all day, without rest.

Mr Handsome

Yep, our boy is gonna be a ladies man.

The first thing he did when we got to the beach yesterday was seek out a girl and play on the tree with her.

Most of his friends are girls too. I think it's funny but I think Mommy is keeping a close eye on him already hehe.

Don't Ask

A chocolate fish goes out to the person who can provide the best caption to this photo.

It was taken yesterday while he was having a shower outside with mommy and Neta.

I laugh everytime I see this one.

Shower Time

Madison loves taking showers outside.

Normally he'll say, "Daddy, can I have shower outside?"

Here's a photo of him having a shower outside in the backyard.

Uma School

Here's a picture I took of Madison leaving school on Friday. He's loving school and according to him, his best friend is a girl named Mona.

I can't figure out if she's the one standing in the doorway or the one standing outside but I'll find out.

Hey Daddy I Wanna Go To School!

This morning, Madison slept in. When he finally awoke we asked him if he wanted to go to school.

His answer was thus, "Me stay home, I'm sick".

So off we all went in the car to take mommy to work, pick up some medicine and some breakfast.

When we got back to the house, Maddy looks up to me and says, "Daddy, I wanna go to school!". So off we go to school after frantically looking for his school uniform and hurriedly packing his lunch.

On the way out to the car, he was teasing the puppy from next door with his meatpie when the puppy lunged at him and took off with his meatpie. It was so funny to see the look on his face!

I gave him my meatpie and all was okay again.

Maddy and Amataga

Maddy has had an up and down day, as far as his friends are concerned. He was out playing with them early this morning but his friends deserted him after he became rather impetuous.

He has a habit of dominating everything and his friends can only take so much apparently. When he doesn't get his way, or noone listens to what he's trying to say he walks right up to whoever it was and smacks them.

It's funny though because he came crying back to the house earlier and when I asked him why he was crying he said that "Mataga smacked me!!!"

His new best friend, Amataga (Maddy calls him Mataga) from next door came back later on this evening and the 2 of them were again thick as theives. All's well in paradise.

Here's a photo of Maddy doing his tiger impression AAAAAHHHHHHH. He does it until he's hoarse sometimes. The kids love it.

So Far So Good

Day 2 of my 3 week leave has been good. Me and my son are having lots of fun playing games, reading books and watching movies.

Madison loves playing with the next door neighbours kids and I can keep an eye on him from the second floor balcony.

I could get used to staying at home!

Spending Time With My Son

After a disappointing salary negotiation, I've decided to take the next 3 weeks on leave to reassess my future with the Peace Corps. Immediately following my 3 weeks off will be a 2-week trip to Washington DC, where I'll be attending a workshop for the Pacific region's IT Specialists. So all-in-all, I'll be off for 5 weeks. I don't think I've ever had a vacation so this should be interesting.

I'll use this time away from work to spend more time with my son, read him books, take him to the playground, teach him new stuff and watch him grow. I might even build him a sandbox in the front yard. I'm looking forward to it!

Reaching For The Moon

Tonight, me and Madison were outside looking at the stars when Maddy said, "Daddy, look at the moon up there!". He then proceeded to jump up and down with his hands outstretched. When I asked him what he was doing he said, "Daddy, see the moon up there? I can't reach it!"

It's the little moments like this that make life worth living.

UPDATE: Doctors Visit Goes Well

Maddy skipped school today so he could go with mommy to the hospital and wasn't happy about it. He likes leaving the house with us every morning and doesn't like being left behind.

The doctors visit went well, the doctor said the heart murmur wasn't as pronounced as it was before and seems to be reacting well to the antibiotics. Thank God for that.

He's now on penicillin syrup for a month, twice a day. I hope it tastes okay so Maddy won't be too fussy about taking it. So far he's been very good when it comes to taking his medicine. He looks so proud of himself when he takes it and we let him know how very proud we are when he does.

Thank you for all of the support. It means a great deal to us to know that the help will be there should the need arise!

Could Maddy Have Rheumatic Fever?

I know it's been awhile since I added something to Maddy's website and his journal. Things have been crazy and with all that's been happening, I haven't been in the mood to do anything online.

We managed to make the move to Lalovaea without too many complications. It's been kinda hard making the adjustment, Madison seems the least bothered of all of us, which is good. The house needs a lot of repairs. We're doing a little bit here and there but the major components such as the leaking roof and rotting floorboards will require the assistance of the aiga lautele.

Maddy is almost 100% healthy again after a worrying 5 - 6 weeks of the flu. We went to 3 different doctors, each of whom had a different diagnosis. The last visit we made was to the echocardiologists at the National Hospital who told us that Maddy has a minor heart valve malfunction caused by a mild case of rheumatic fever.

I am skeptical, to say the least. He has none of the symptoms and is very strong, active and has good stamina for a child his age. He doesn't have a rash of any kind nor does he suffer from joint pain.

Anyway, they say that Maddy must take antibiotics for a 10 day period after which he will be assessed again. If this treatment doesn't fix the "problem" he will require penicillin injections for an indefinite period of time. I hear that those shots are painful.

I'm thinking that maybe Maddy and his mommy might be coming to NZ for a checkup with a REAL doctor at a REAL hospital. Talk about frustrating.

Advanced Development

I just finished reading this interesting article in Newsweek magazine called "When Does Autism Start?" It's about the rise of autism in children around the world, as much as 500% in the past decade alone.

According to the article there are tell-tale signs to watch for to see if your child has autism. At seven months, many children are able to turn their head when name is called, smile back at another person, respond to sounds with sounds and enjoy social play (such as peekaboo). Maddy was doing all that at 6 months.

At one year, many children are able to use simple gestures, make sounds such as ma and da, imitate actions in play and respond when told "no". Phew, Maddy was doing all that too.

At 4 years, many children are able to use five to six word sentences, follow three step commands (get dressed, comb your hair and wash your face) and cooperate with other children. Maddy is already capable of that at 2 and a half years old.

We've been blessed with a very bright child!

Hard Way To Lose 5 Kilos

Today is moving day. We're in the process of moving house to Lalovaea. Maddy has been loving it, the excitement of it all and has been helping out carrying the little stuff. We had no idea we had so much junk.

The next post we make will be from Lalovaea. Now all we're faced with is the monumental task of fixing up Mama's house. The roof is leaking all over the place and the ceiling upstairs has collapsed. The downstairs part needs a new coat of white paint to brighten it up a bit. We're also going to look at buying an oven as well as a bigger fridge.

Who said life was supposed to be easy? Happy Easter everyone!

Proof That Madison Is his Fathers Son

Here are a few things that go to prove that Maddy takes after his daddy:

He sleeps without a blanket at night. No matter how cold it is, he'll kick off his blanket.

He told mommy today that he doesn't like wearing underwear.

He hates veggies.

He has demoted mommy to the back seat when we go for car rides. You can bet mommy doesn't like that!

He doesn't like being helped, he likes to do things for himself.

His favourite song is by Maroon 5.

He loves cold showers (even at night!)

He pretends to not hear mommy when she tells him to do something. I think it's hilarious, mommy doesn't.

The Never Ending Ride

Tonight we made a spur of the moment trip to the circus again. Unlike last time Madison was extra keen to try out a few of the rides. He especially loved the merry-go-round because of the horsies.

After his first ride on the merry-go-round he asked Mommy if he could go again. Eight rides later he went for a hair raising ride on the dragon rollercoaster, which scared Mommy and Daddy a lot more than it did him.

His Highness wants to watch his Lion King II movie on the computer so I'll post pictures of our trip to the Circus after he goes to bed.

The Easter Bunny Arrives Early

Madison received a surprise meaalofa in the post today from the Easter Bunny in Wellington. He was sooooooo pleased to get an airplane filled with chocolate eggs (all uma already), 2 sheets of stickers (already affixed to the fridge door), some M&Ms (daddy finished those oops) and a book (which he can read by heart already too). He's so spoiled :)

Thanks mom for the wonderful meaalofas. I hope everyone has a fun filled easter holiday.

Gluten Steaks Part II

Okay so last night I decided to try making gluten steaks one more time. The last time I tried they came out too salty. This time I used a different soy sauce but they came out too salty again. I give up! Maybe there's something easier to make out there that I can try that's healthy and Maddy will like?

The Circus

We went to the circus last night. Maddy loved it! He was a little reluctant to go on the merry-go-round but agreed to accompany mommy on the ferris wheel. I was a little worried that he might freak out once the ride started going but instead it was his mommy who was scared while he wanted to undo his seatbelt so he could stand up for a better view. This boy really has no fear.

Madison's Persistent Cough

Maddy has had a cough and runny nose for almost 2 weeks now and while we've been to a doctor about it, his cough isn't improving. It's weird though because he has a lot of energy and is still his playful self. Also of concern is his loss of appetitie, he doesn't eat very much unless we FORCE him to eat and even then it's not very much. Anyone have any ideas on what else we should try?

Goodbye Grandma, See Ya Later

Madison's grandma is set to return to NZ on Friday night. She's been with us for almost 3 months now and has been a great help to me and Rach looking after Maddy.

I wish she could stay longer but that would be a selfish wish as she must be missing her own life in NZ. We wish her well and hope she comes back to visit us again soon.

Mom? How Do You Make Gluten Steaks?

Yesterday we went to the Sanitarium shop at Lalovaea and bought some gluten flour. Now if we only knew how to make it. Mom could you send us your recipe please? You should've seen the look on the face of the lady that sold us the flour when I asked her how to make gluten! haha She looked at me as if to say, "You buy gluten flour but don't know how to make it?"

Doctor's Visit

This morning we went to see the doctor about Maddy's cough. The funny thing was that as soon as we got to the clinic, his cough and temperature magically disappeared. Maybe the medicine was finally kicking in but all in all, it was a waste of 20 bucks.

Glad to see my son feeling better though :)

Under the Weather

Madison is a little sicky today and so, we've kept him at home. He didn't like the fact that mommy and daddy went without him this morning and threw a hissy fit when grandma held him from getting in the car. We'll take him for a car ride when we get home and hopefully that will satisfy him, for awhile.

Todays Drama

I thought it was a normal day until Rach and I got home today to find a pouting Madison waiting for us at the door. Apparently he had been playing on the back porch as he always does and fell off the top rail of the guard rails that encircle the porch.

I don't know how many times grandma, mommy and daddy have warned him to be careful when he climbs up but it doesn't stop him from trying to walk the top rail as if it was a tightrope or swinging himself around the pole, with both feet up in the air.

So after an hour of him moaning and groaning (probably out of embarrassment more than anything) he finally went to sleep and all is quiet in the house once again.