Things Babies Can't Do

A while back I was joking with Colin when I was in shock about being a soon-to-be dad. We decided that I needed to make a bucket list of things babies can't do that I need to accomplish before September 14th. That got me thinking about the things I was used to doing that I may not be able to do anymore, or at least for a while.

So here was my list...

1. Go to Las Vegas
2. Do keg stands
3. Go to the movies as much as possible
4. Fly (peacefully) in airplanes
5. Go to bars
6. Shoot a lot of guns
7. Sleep through the night
8. Cuss like a maniac
9. Go to nice restaurants
10. Backpack through the wilderness

I accomplished 8/10 of those since beginning this list.

1. Go to Sin City...Last October Heather & I went to Vegas with our good friends (and Heather's cousin) Brett & Erin. We were lucky enough to stay at their timeshare with them and we had a blast. This was (of course) before we knew we were expecting a baby though. So, we went again! In March we went to Vegas with Cody & Mone! We stayed at the Hardrock off the strip and had a great time. Heather was 15 weeks pregnant but still a trooper! So...take my pregnant fiancee to sin city was able to be checked off the list!
2. Do Keg Stands...I came up with this on my bi-weekly hangouts with my friends Christina & Justin. We decided that babies can't do keg stands and that was something I needed to do. I haven't done a keg stand since my freshman or sophomore year in college...and I didn't accomplish this one. We even had kegs at our going away party and I totally forgot to do one. I'm surprised because I was completely sober at that party. :) I'd freely welcome a keg stand prior to being a dad, but now we're in Hawaii and it'd be tough logistically.
3. Go to the movies as much as possible... Check! Heather and I really like going to the movies and we've gone to quite a few. I don't know if I'm ready to have the TV on Yo Gabba Gabba and Blue's Clues...actually we've decided we want Ashton to only watch dvd's and tv in Spanish so he picks it up quickly. I was a linguistics major at UCD and that is something I studied pretty often. So, if you want to be a cool person - send us some DVD's/Books in Spanish! We will get good use out of them! Favorite movie of the summer so far??? I really liked Ted, The Dark Night and Spiderman. I want to see The Watch though!
4. Fly (peacefully) in Airplanes...so I have accomplished this! Since finding out we were having a baby, I've flown to Vegas, Hawaii, and Hawaii again! I guess it was as peaceful as a plan ride could get. I'm nervous to fly with a baby though because I know how annoyed I get when a baby is crying on a plane. We plan on coming back to California sometime in December or January (hopefully) so we hope Ashton is a good boy.
5. Go to bars...well that one is really hard for me because I don't drink and Heather can't drink. However, I was coerced into attending a bar function with friends once or twice. :)
6. Shoot a lot of guns... damn it! I didn't get to do this. And now my shotgun is in storage. I'm sad I'm going to miss dove season this year, but I guess living in paradise makes up for that.
7. Sleep through the night - We're really trying to get as much rest and relaxation as possible up until the baby gets here. With the time change here though (3 hours behind California) I don't think I've been up past 10:30pm and slept in past 8am. I've been a grandpa here!
8. Cuss like a motha fu%$# maniac - haha well, I feel like I talk the same as I always have. I don't really cuss THAT much. But will be really aware when I'm around a kid, but as a baby it doesn't really matter.
9. Go to nice restaurants - Check! Nothing annoys me more than kids running around, under the table, screaming and being little maggots. Actually, I kinda like them acting like that, just not at nice restaurants. I'm sure it'll be different with my kid though. For heather's bday we went to The Firehouse in Old Sacramento which was awesome! Now, though, since we're both unemployed we're trying to be on a budget and eating at our condo as much as possible.
10. Backpack through the wilderness - babies can't do that! But daddy did! Before moving to Honolulu, I backpacked through Lassen National Park with Cody and his little brother Jake. It was initially a 3 night/4 day trip that we cut down to 2 night/3 days. It was really tough but really fun and rewarding as well. I've never backpacked before and so happy I got the chance.

Now, any other suggestions?! I don't have much time...

Disclaimer: If you have a problem with my blog updates, do me a favor and stop reading. If you enjoy them, you're welcome.

We moved to Hawai'i

Aloha friends & family. Sorry it took so long to update, but we just got our cable/internet hooked up a few days ago! So here is an update, it will probably be unorganized and confusing FYI.

We've been here for 2 weeks now (we moved on July 14th). And...we absolutely love it. Surpised? Haha We literally fit our entire lives into 7 suitcases and moved to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Wow...

We were really anxious to see the condo once we arrived. (BTW - the flight was fine). We'd seen pictures of the condo and skype'd with our landlord but still you never really know until you see it in person. We love the place. It is already starting to feel like "home." I don't think i'll ever get used to the beautiful Diamond Head views I get to see every single day. Each morning I wake up, make some coffee and sit in the living area gazing at Diamond Head. It's gorgeous and I still can't believe we live here. The other day after drinking my coffee I decided I was going to go on a run to the water. I made it (taking a roundabout way) in about 2 miles. I took off my shoes & socks, jumped in the water, sat down on the beach while drying off, then I ran home. What's not to love about a life like that? Well...we've been doing a lot more than just that, but we are enjoying the downtime and relaxation for now before I start graduate school/get a job and we welcome our baby boy.

I've had a lot of interviews so far (I think 6). They have all gone well and just waiting for positions to open but networking it going well. I'm not worried at all and know the right job will come along and I am doing everything I can. I actually am really enjoying time with Heather - adventuring around O'ahu. I worked fulltime throughout college and this is the first time I haven't been employed since I was 16. I have another interview on Monday.

We've had a successful OBGYN appointment and another coming up on Monday. We love the doctor and really thanksful for that. We also starting taking baby birthing classes at Kapiolani Medical Center. We don't really like it haha. I guess its educational, but we've both done a lot of reading and research on our own and we feel its a lot of overlap. They're teaching us birthing positions and breathing but it probably won't be necessary since Heather is pretty set on an epidural ASAP. We'll see though.

CODY & MONE are coming to visit us in August!!!!!!!! It's actually only a couple weeks away and we're so excited!!!!!!!!!! They're the first visitors in Hotel Reyes. We actually have a lot of visitors planning on coming this year and really excited to see everyone. We're basically all booked up through the rest of the year so Hotel Reyes may open back up in January...haha

So, sorry for the randomness...the next posts will have some structure I promise. We also finished the nursery so pics will be coming soon. Heather & I are doing well and really enjoying the Aloha life.

Dedicated to our friends

Well, only a few more days until the big move! Saturday morning, bright and early, Heather and I will be packing up our life and moving around 3000 miles away to the beautiful island of Oahu. I don't really know if it's 3000 miles, but that is my best guess. It's emotion overload in the Reyes home! Haha We're excited, anxious and sad all at the same time. One thing we aren't though, is, nervous. We have prepared ourselves mentally and our family for this move for almost a year now. We are confidient in our abilities that we can handle this. We are excited and thankful our family and friends are there for us. My parents have always taught me to dream big and never lose sight of my goals, and that is something Heather and I hope to pass along to Ashton. So here are a few words for Ashton...Dream big son, aim high. Nothing is impossible. Don't let the negative people get to you and tell you that you can't do something. Your mom and I are here to help you along the way. Also, please be a good baby and don't projectile diarrhea all over me. I don't do well with that. I have more requests, but we'll just stick with that for now. That gives me a great idea about a new blog post. Haha

Like I have said, we'll be posting a lot more in the coming weeks and months updating everyone, but please keep in touch! My Skype name is "antreyes." After thinking about what else to write on here, I decided that I am going to dedicate this post to a few of our closet friends. I've heard this quote before, I just don't know where, so don't sue me for using it. "Friends are the family you get to choose." That resonated with me. We are forunate enough to have the few close friends that we do. We do everything with our friends and we know that we will still keep in touch and be just as close when we move back to California in a few years.

First up, meet the Mullers!

This picture was taken last October in the Outer Banks of North Carolina when I traveled across the country to go to their wedding in Nags Head. That was an amazing trip and I'm so glad that I was able to go and be there for them. I was trying to remember when Colin and I first met and I know it was in highschool, but we became close in college and I don't even know how haha. All I know is that Heather and I love spending time with them and their little Chan man. We joke a lot with them about how they're always in bed by 8pm, but really it is because they have their shit together! These 2 are the only people that we could go to Applebee's with on a Saturday night and talk about breast pumping, crazy dreams, nesting, and other random things - and have the best time. Oh yeah, Ariel is also pregnant (about 14 weeks) and is due on January 14th. We've already decided that depending on the sex of their baby, Ashton will either have a beautiful bride or a best friend. We're hoping for the arranged marraige though. Also, thanks for helping us move friends. We love you and will miss you a lot! Come visit!

Prego Buddies Fo' Life

Ariel on the left and Heather on the right (and our pal Kelli in the middle! but don't be confused, she is not prego, nor is the unknown gal behind her - but I don't really know...)

Next up, meet the Azzopardi-Moodys!

Cody and Mone! This picture was taken a while back at Tex Wasabi's in Sacramento. I've been friends with Cody since freshman year (2006) in college where we lived in the dorms together and lived together a couple more years after that. He is also going to be the Best Man in my wedding! Mone is the perfect woman for him and we love spending time with both of them. This past March we went to Las Vegas together and had a great time. I also just went on a 3 day/2 night backpacking trip to Lassen National Park with Cody and his bro Jake - lots of fun and lots of blisters. Thank you two for helping us move, we couldn't have done it without you. We love you both and will miss you, lets keep in touch often and you know you always have a place to stay in Honolulu. 

Well, I didn't realize how long this was going to be. So I'm leaving it with Colin/Ariel and Cody/Mone for now. Obviously, we have a lot more friends & family that we'd love to write about, and possibly will! In just a few days we'll be moving away but that doesn't mean we can't keep in touch often. We can't wait to introduce baby Ashton to our best friends. Aloha!

All moved out & car shipped!

7/2/2012 Update

What a weekend. We moved out of our house this weekend and we didn't realize how much stuff we actually have. It was chaotic, but we did it! Most of our stuff went to my parents shop for storage, and we're now living out of about 6 suitcases and a few boxes. It's kind of liberating to have donated so much stuff and gotten rid of the junk that we never use. Thank you to my parents & friends who helped us move and clean. It was so helpful and we couldn't have done it without you. We're going to miss you guys! 

We're living with my parents for the next few weeks. At least we get to sleep in our own bed! Our dog Kona is now my parents dog and he is loving his new friend Ricki! 

Heather's last day at work is this thursday and mine is on friday. That's exciting. Then we have a week to relax before we head out next Saturday (12 days).Today I drove to Oakland and shipped our car to Honolulu through Matson. It actually leaves the port on Thursday and will be on a boat for 10 days and arrive around the time we get there. With that down, most things are ready for us to move. We're both really excited for this new adventure! 

We had our last obgyn appointment at Woodland Healthcare and we found a doctor in Honolulu. Heather will be 30 weeks this Friday...31 weeks when we move!

Sorry this post was so random, I haven't updated in a while so there was a lot to update on. Here are a few pictures! We will update a lot more once we're in Hawaii. And maybe Heather will finally make her blogging debut! Haha

 Ricki & Kona

All of our belongings...we donated a lot!