Dante begins to learn to feed himself

This is the first time D used a utensil to bring food into his mouth when I was feeding him.

New Year's in Hawaii

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To ring in 2008 we set off for a ten day adventure on the big island of Hawaii. We spent the first half on the Hilo side and stayed with my family, Jeff and Eileen, in Pahoa. They are the perfect hosts and have a lovely home with ocean views. We watched the sunrise from the balcony each morning - it was paradise! We spent our days picking exotic fruit off trees (guava, papaya, coconut, dragon fruit), swimming in the warm ponds, hiking, driving through the rainforest and indulging on delicious papaya salads.

We went to sunny Kona for the second half of the trip and explored all the snorkeling spots. Rahav did a night snorkel with the manta rays and was lucky enough to see whales and dolphins on the boat ride. Dante was a gem and really loved the water! He took naps in the car, explored the lava rocks, chased yellow butterflies and took up playing the ukulele!

Christmas in Texas

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We spent a week in Texas visiting my family for the Christmas holiday. My folks house is always bustling with laughter and cheer this time of the year. At any given time there was ten + children running around playing and Dante delighted in the activity and new playmates. Dante has no fear and immediately took to launching himself into the middle of the action even if it meant getting hurt. He wanted to run, climb stairs and play with the big kids. My goal was to keep him from seriously harming himself. Thankfully we left Texas with Dante's body intact - although he did manage to get two black eyes and several bruises and scratches.