I woke up in Nana and Papa’s bed in a good mood. I had a nice long sleep and felt I caught up on my rest after waking up early yesterday to see the garbage truck. Nana and Papa fed me my fruits for breakfast and let me watch Paw Patrol. They asked if I wanted to go back to the pool and Mommy and Daddy’s hotel and I said no, then yes, then no again. I decided to just wait at home for them to come back.

I played nicely at home all morning and barely even acknowledged Mommy and Daddy when they came home. Maybe I was holding a bit of a grudge. Mommy came to play with me and I showed her my new Lego toy.

One of the things on my check list was to bake cookies with Nana. The older I get, the more I can do to in the cookie making and baking process. I was really good at rolling the dough and cutting the cookie shapes. As for decorating, I did a good job, but I really leaned into the pink decorations.

Just around lunch time I got into a mood again. I was being mean and started to throw a tantrum. I tried to reset by taking a couple of timeouts but they didn’t quite work. I started to be even more mean and started to talk to Mommy very rudely. Daddy took me outside to reset. I said I wanted to go back inside to Mommy and that I would say sorry, but Daddy said he wouldn’t let me be mean to her. I was getting deeper and deeper into my tantrum, yelling and even screaming, unable to get my emotions under control. Daddy listened to me, talked to me, and explained that I couldn’t go back inside until I could be safe and nice. I said I couldn’t. He said I could. He said he believed I was strong enough to control my emotions instead of let them control me. He helped me. He held my hand and told me to squeeze to get rid of all the bad feelings and take a deep breath at the same time. So I squeezed and breathed until slowly I started to feel in control. I started to calm down and started to be able to be more of myself. After a short time I had calmed down and was ready to go back inside. I nicely told Daddy that I was hungry, so he got me some food to eat while I apologized to Mommy. I started to eat and was my good self again. Daddy picked up his and Mommy’s food and I shared what they ate. Then not only was I calm and nice, but happy and smiley again. I guess I was really hungry. Next time when people tell me I should eat, I will listen to avoid these problems.

After lunch Daddy set up the wading pool in the backyard. He didn’t ask me if I wanted to jump in the pool or not, but when I saw what was happening I got changed and sunscreened up and just jumped right in. Daddy brought out my beach toys and we had a ball in tiny little pool. We played with trucks, buckets, and water guns. The trucks talked to each other. We used the buckets to cook things. We shot the water guns into the air to make it rain. We even did target practice. We were in the pool a long time!

At one point I had to go pee. But since I was all wet, going into the house was not an optimal option. Instead, Daddy suggested that I have a “bush wee”, as they call it in one of my favorite shows Bluey, so I gave the plumeria tree a watering.

After a lot of pool play we went in to shower and change. When I was asked what I wanted for dinner I answered beef stew, then beef, then kalbi. Then I played on the iPad for a bit. Nana needed to go shopping but I opted to stay home this time. Mommy and Daddy went to Costco and I just hung out at home with Papa, both of us on our iPads.

I ate a lot of kalbi for dinner, but stopped before I got too full for ice cream. Daddy told me that after ice cream I couldn’t have any more dessert and I agreed. I ate my ice cream cone and then was still hungry. So I had a second dinner of kalbi and rice. After I finished that I played more until bedtime.

When it was time for bedtime everything went smoothly and I was asleep very quickly. Playing in the pool had worn me out.

I woke up super early today. I was on a mission to see the garbage truck pick up the garbage in the morning, so I had Daddy wake me up at 5:30 in the morning. I did not wake up fully right away, so Daddy carried me out to the living room to wait for the garbage truck. I slept in Daddy’s arm for a bit and then I woke up bright-eyed and excited to see the garbage truck. We went outside to wait. It took a long time but then the garbage truck showed up. I watched it in awe and waved hello and goodbye to the driver. It was so fun to watch.

Daddy asked if I wanted to go back to sleep, but I said no. So I stayed up. I had breakfast, watched TV, and got changed. Then I played.

While playing with Daddy, I started to become bossy. I was telling him how to play and how not to play. I told him he couldn’t move the toys but I kept telling him to play. He lost interest in playing, saying that he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. If he tried to play, I would tell him not to play with something or tell him that he was doing it wrong. If he just watched me play I would get upset because he wasn’t playing. He said that it wasn’t fun for him because he couldn’t do anything that he wanted when we played. I told him, “We don’t always get what we want,” which is what he often tells me. He admitted that that was true, but he also said when we play together we should at least get some of the things that we want. I guess I was not in a great mood from waking up so early, but I eventually said I understood and apologized.

We played separately for a bit, but then when playing with Mommy I was not being nice again. Daddy thought I needed to get out of the house a bit, so he suggested that we go out for a walk. I thought that was a good idea. He and I, just the two of us, headed out to the juice shop. I suggested we pick something up for Mommy because I knew I was not treating her nicely and wanted to do something nice for her. I walked the whole way, did not complain a bit, and had a wonderful time with Daddy. We chatted about all kinds of things. I counted 12 fire hydrants that we passed. We saw so many interesting things on our way to the shop. We stopped by a different store first to pick up some snacks for later. When we got to the juice shop, I ordered my smoothie and one for Mommy. Then we called Nana and Mommy to come pick us up because it was a very hot day and we did not want Mommy’s smoothy to melt on the way back. They came in no time and we had a nice short ride home. Mommy was very happy with the yummy smoothie I chose for her.

After we got home, Mommy and Daddy started packing for their date night tonight. We are all going to the hotel and then play in the pool. Then I am going to go home with Nana and Papa while Mommy and Daddy stay at the hotel. I’m not so keen on this plan but I can accept it.

We went to get lunch at a market near the hotel. I chose a fruit bowl and it was delicious! I enjoyed our outdoor seating because there were a lot of chickens and birds to watch. I think they were eyeing my lunch, but I didn’t share with them because there was a sign saying not to feed the birds.

After lunch we checked into the hotel, where I decided that I did not want to play in the pool. I think part of the reason was because I understood that after the pool I would go home with Nana and Papa while Mommy and Daddy stayed. I think in my mind I was thinking if I don’t play in the pool then there would be no separation from Mommy and Daddy. After a bit of a moody argument with Daddy, I came around and got ready for the pool.

We headed down and found that they had free snow cones too! I tried one, but it was too cold for me. I much prefer Hawaiian shave ice to the crush ice snow cones.

Then it was time for the pool! I jumped into the shallow kiddy pool and was all smiles! It was so much fun. Then I headed to the deeper pool and had fun there too.

Before we came to the hotel Daddy had bought a swimming vest with water wings. We saw some other kids swimming around in them all by themselves and I thought it looked pretty cool. Daddy asked me if I wanted to try it too and I said yes. We grabbed it from the hotel room and when he came back with it I excitedly put it on. It took a little getting used to, but once I got the hang of it I loved it! It was so much fun! I told Mommy and Daddy not to hold me or even hold my hand. I wanted to swim by myself! I found so many new ways to play in the pool. I had swimming races with Mommy. I even practiced rescuing Mommy. I had her go into the middle of the pool and then I would swim out to her and escort her back to the edge.

After a lot of play time in the pool we went back to the hotel room where I got showered and changed. Mommy and Daddy had prepared me for their date night so I didn’t put up a fight or argue or do anything mean. I was sad to be separated from them but I didn’t want to make it hard for them so I held back my tears and put on a strong face. I smiled and waved good bye when we were back in the lobby of the hotel. But Mommy and Daddy walked me all the way to the car and we said goodbye there. I had teary eyes, but I did not cry. I said my goodbyes and then we were off. I shed a few tears in the car but I was fine by the time we reached the highway.

Nana and Papa said that I could get a new toy and shave ice, then asked me what I wanted to do first. I said go shopping for my toy. On the way to the store I fell asleep, but I woke up when we arrived. We looked at all the toys and I chose a Lego ice cream truck. I was very happy with my choice. In the car I told Nana, “Mason made a good choice.”

We went to the shave ice store and I asked for a strawberry shave ice. I nearly ate the whole thing all by myself! It was a lot yummier than the free snow cone at the hotel.

We went home and I played with Nana and Papa. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. I said that I wanted a cheeseburger, so I had a cheeseburger kids’ meal from Burger King. That huge shave ice kind of filled me up, so only ate some of the cheeseburger and mainly ate French fries.

Of course I had room for dessert so I had some ice cream for dessert. Papa asked me if I needed to botcha but I told him that I showered at the hotel so I was fine. Nana went to shower and by the time she got out I had changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth. Papa and I zoomed through my bedtime routine. Nana asked what book I wanted to read, but I said I wanted to skip books and go to bed. I opted to sleep in Nana and Papas bed. I announced that I wasn’t sleepy and showed it but jumping around, rolling around, climbing in and out of bed multiple times. I was so busy. I told Nana and Papa that I wanted to go outside, but got response because they had fallen asleep (or had pretended to fall asleep). They had a long and busy day too. I lied down and closed my eyes and was fast asleep within a few minutes. I was asleep by 8:45 p.m..

I slept through the whole night, but woke up when Nana got up to use the bathroom but went right back to sleep when she came back to bed.

I slept in a bit today. Didn’t sleep 14 hours like the first day, but I didn’t wake up until 9:30. But I woke up in a good mood. I called for Mommy and then went out of the bedroom and told Nana and Papa good morning. Daddy woke up right after and I greeted him with a happy and smiley good morning too! The day was off to a good start.

It was a relaxing morning of just hanging out together. I ate my breakfast, watched some TV, and played with my toys. I saw Nana working on my Halloween costume and using the sewing machine. It looked like fun so I had her teach me how to use it. It was really cool and I think I did a good job for my first time. Before I knew it, we were getting ready for lunch. After the big dinner last night and my late breakfast, I wasn’t that hungry, but we still had to eat lunch. We had a smorgasbord of leftovers. We had pizza, sandwiches, chicken, potatoes, and a spattering of other snack foods. Even though I was kind of full from breakfast, I did my best to eat my lunch.

After lunch I worked on a birdhouse kit that Papa got for me. He had heard that I like to use my toy tool kit so I had a go at using the real things. It was a little more complicated than I imagined but I did pretty good. I got to use a lot of tools and paint! I hope a lot of birds come to visit my bird house.

After that I played a bit but started to get into a mood again. I’ve been a very good boy this trip, but I have bad moments when I’m in a mood here and there. Instead of engaging with me, Daddy just went outside and started playing with water guns. I saw that and immediately followed him outside. Mommy had to chase me with my hat and sunscreen to protect me from the sun. We played with water guns and sidewalk chalk for a bit before Mommy, Daddy, and Papa had to go someplace. I stayed home with Nana and we played on our iPads.

When everyone came home I had my snack and then went back outside to play. We were playing for a bit when we started to put together our dinner menu. Papa was already starting the grill to cook the kalbi, but we realized that we needed more ingredients for the salad. So Nana was heading to the market to pick up more vegetables and I said that I wanted to go to. We bought cherry tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers and croutons. (I also picked up a new toothbrush too.) We got home and got dinner ready.

I was in a mood in the car ride home and I was not Mommy. But when we got home I had a talk with Daddy and I realized what I had done wrong. I eventually apologized to Mommy. After mending fences we had a great dinner. I ate everything on my plate and had several servings of the kalbi. After dinner I played a bit before it was dessert time. I had another delicious ice cream cone. But even after that I was still hungry. So I had some blueberries and cheese and crackers.

Then it was bath time and Daddy made a bubble bath for me again. I had a lot of fun playing in the bubbles. I tried to pop all of them, but there were too many. After my bath I decided to skip my bedtime book so that I could go to sleep early. The reason was that I wanted to see the garbage truck pick up the trash the next morning. The garbage truck comes very early, about 5:30 so I would need a good sleep before I woke up early in the morning.

As usual, I had an extended good night session with Nana and Papa. I went into their bedroom and jumped on the bed before giving them a big hug and joyful “Aloha” before I went to bed.

I had a very good sleep. I went to bed quite early even though I said that I wasn’t tired and didn’t want to go to sleep. Once I settled down and closed my eyes I fell right asleep. I had my own bedroom and my own bed, so I had a lot room to move around, but I got lonely in the middle of the night. I called for Mommy and Daddy in the middle of the night. Daddy came to put me back to sleep. I fell back asleep quickly, but when Daddy tried to leave I woke up and grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug. I wouldn’t let go. I did that a few more times. Even in my sleep, I knew I didn’t want to sleep by myself. But eventually I was so fast asleep that I didn’t even notice that Daddy had left.

I woke up the next morning in a pretty good mood…at 10:30. I had slept for 14 hours! It was necessary! Not just did I not have that much sleep on the airplane, but I also had a very busy and full day without a nap, so I needed the rest.

I started to eat a cherry turnover for breakfast. Then I noticed that Nana and Papa where not around. I asked Daddy where they were and he said that they were at church. I asked what church was and he explained it to me. They came home and I was so happy to see them. I went to give them a good morning hug. I was in the middle of eating my breakfast when we started to eat lunch. I combined them. I shared a Philly cheese steak with Daddy and ate a bunch of French fries.

I also had several cups of milk. I had told Daddy earlier that I like Hawaiian milk. The grownups didn’t know what the difference was, but they were happy to give me a lot of milk. I must have had 4 cups of milk for breakfast and lunch.

I finally got to try on my Halloween costume. I asked Nana to make a Hello Kitty costume this year. We were worried that I was growing so fast that it might not fit, but it did. I guess that is the benefits of a dress.

After lunch we played in the family room a bit. I mainly played with Daddy, but everyone was there, which made me happy. After a while Nana and Papa mentioned that they had to go shopping and I said that I wanted to go too. I just like everyone being together. At the store I first wanted to sit in the cart, but it was a bit small for me, so instead I chose to push the cart and helped Nana out. Nana and Papa were very impressed at how good a shopping helper I was. I also had fun looking at the mirrors up in the corners of the ceiling. I could see so much of the store in those mirrors. I even saw Daddy shopping in another aisle. Then I even helped scan all the items at the self-checkout.

Then we went shopping at another store. On the way I made sure that Papa went over as many speed bumps as possible. At the other store the carts were bigger so I could easily fit in the kids’ seat. We finished our shopping very quickly.

When we got back to the house we played outside with waterballoons. I had so much fun throwing the balloons at Daddy. I had so many waterballoons all to myself. I actually went through them very quickly even though I had a ton of them. Then we cleaned up all the balloon pieces before we played with other things.

Daddy had bought some sidewalk chalk at the store and we broke those out to draw some pictures. I was doing really good but then at one point I got upset. I tried to draw something and it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. I said, “It looks weird.” Daddy told me it looked good but I was too sad to hear him. I got very upset. After a while I had to go pee-pee so Daddy took me inside to use the toilet. While inside he talked to me about how not everything turns out the way we want it to, but what is important we is that we keep trying. Eventually I calmed down and when we went back outside and had fun drawing some more. This time I drew a lot on the wall!

Soon it was time to go out to dinner. We took Nana and Papa to a nice restaurant for their belated anniversary celebration. When we got to the restaurant there was a long line. I was complaining about waiting, so we took a walk. Daddy played with me and I ended up forgetting about the wait because I was having a lot of fun. We did some roughhousing to get me out of my complaining mood. Then we played a janken game. I was having so much fun I didn’t want to go into the restaurant when our table was ready.

At the table, we played with the Tomica that I had brought. I also ate a lot of the free bread that was waiting for us on the table. That was the best part of dinner. Mommy’s salad came early and she shared a lot of it with me. I think I ate at least half of it. It was delicious! The dressing was a papaya dressing that everyone thought I wouldn’t like, but they were wrong. I thought it was delicious!

When my dinner came I ate the rice, but not the main dish. But that was fine because we could take it home and I had already ate a lot of bread and salad, which was healthy. We all had great dinner and definitely want to go back to the restaurant at some time.

When we got home I asked Papa to make me an ice cream cone and he made it perfect again. I ate very nicely and did not spill a bit.

After playing some more I went to take a bath and had a nice surprise. Daddy had also bough bubble bath for me at the store so I had a tub full of bubbles! It was so much fun! Too much fun, actually. I didn’t want to get out of the bath. I eventually got out, got dressed, and started my bedtime routine. Nana read me my book and I brushed my teeth.

Once again, I stalled a lot when it came to bedtime. I was in a great mood, and told Nana good night many many times. I was chatting with Mommy in bed for a very long time before I got sleepy and fell asleep.

Today was my first full day on Kauai this trip (despite only being awake for half of it) and it was such a nice day! I look forward to many more days like this!

When we got to Nana and Papa’s house it was as if I had never left. I made myself right at home. I refamilarized myself with the house, visiting every room, and then just settled in.

We unpacked some things, like the toys that I brought and the gifts that we brought for Nana and Papa. Then I saw some wrapped gifts that I just assumed were for me. Without asking I started opening them up. Luckily, they were for me, and I found out that they were new Tomica toys. I started to play with them right away. Nana and Papa were talking with Mommy and Daddy and I played with my toys. We all just relaxed for a bit.

I hadn’t had breakfast or lunch because I was sleeping during breakfast service and the airplane and we didn’t have time to eat lunch at the airport. I was quite hungry, but I didn’t complain at all. I was such a good boy during our entire travel time. Mommy and Daddy said that I should eat lunch, but I was too busy having fun with Nana and Papa that I didn’t feel like eating. Daddy just put some food in front of me and said I could have my Tomica on the table, so I started to eat and play at the same time. It ended up that I was hungrier than I though and I had a full plate of food.

After a while we went shopping to pick up a few essentials. I enjoyed going to store and I picked up some colorful ice cream cones for my dessert tonight.

When we got home I invited Nana to play Tomica with me right away. And we spent the rest of the afternoon playing together. We had so much fun!

I was asked what I wanted for dinner and I answered pizza, so we ordered a bunch. Daddy and Papa went to pick it up and when they got home we dug right in. I didn’t eat that much since my lunch was so late, but the pieces that I ate were delicious! I had pineapple pizza of course.

Even though it was early, Daddy suggested that I take a bath before dessert and I was very good and just agreed to it. I didn’t fuss at all. After my bath Papa made be a beautiful ice cream cone. I ate very neatly and didn’t spill a bit. I finished my dessert and watched some TV until my playmate, Nana, finished her shower. Then when played together until it was time for bed.

Even when it was time to go to sleep, I wasn’t sleepy at all. I was still so excited and happy to be on Kauai with Nana and Papa. I said goodnight to them about a dozen times, visiting them in their bedroom and jumping up and down on their bed. Mommy and Daddy finally got me into my bed, but I said that I wasn’t sleepy. Either way, we all lied down to rest our eyes, and before I knew it I was fast asleep.

I woke up very excited to head to Hawaii today! I’ve been so excited for weeks! It’s all I can talk about.

Our flights don’t leave until night, so I had to keep myself busy all day. I don’t know how many times I asked Daddy when we were leaving.

Just some final grooming before we head off.

We arrived safely on Kauai. Our trip went very smoothly.

We left our house on time and were able to catch a taxi without much waiting. When we got to the airport, dropping off our bags was easy because we had checked in online previously. Then we zipped through security. There was no waiting from home to the airport.

Once we got passed security we grabbed dinner at the new foodcourt in the international airport and it was really good! I had udon and nearly finished it. After dinner we headed toward the gate and got there with time to spare, but the flight was delayed. So even though we were on time, we had to wait a bit. When our plane was ready we were rushed on and as soon as everyone was onboard the plane taxied away. I think that was the quickest onboarding I had ever seen.

On the plane I got to open a special travel gift. It was a new Tomica! It was an out of production model one that I had wanted for quite some time. I was so excited to play with it, that instead of watching movies on the entertainment system or playing with the iPad, I just played Tomica with Daddy. Since the plane was preparing for take off we couldn’t put the tray down and had to play in between ourselves on the seat, but it was still a lot of fun. My new Tomica was introduced to my old Tomicas and they had some adventures on the airplane. They jumped around, climbed, rested, ate, and did all kinds of things. After the plane took off we could use our trays and that gave my Tomica so much more to do. They jumped around, slide, parked, and had all kinds of adventures. Eventually, the food service started so I switched from playing with my Tomica to watching a movie on the entertainment system.

I chose to watch Lilo & Stitch, which I’ve seen before but really liked. I wanted Daddy to watch with me so he connected his earphones to mine and we watched it together on my screen. The food came, but I wasn’t hungry because of the big meal I had at the airport. I just kept watching my movie. Then before I knew it, I fell asleep. It had been a long day and it was already way past my bedtime. Daddy took my headphones off, gathered up my Tomica that were scattered across my seat, and adjusted my pillow to help me get comfortable.

Then I slept for the rest of the flight. I was in a deep deep sleep. I adjusted my position here and there, hugged Daddy’s arm, snuggled up against Mommy, and just twisted and turned to find a nice position.

Even when the plane started its descent, the lights turned on, and the breakfast service started, I remained asleep. I didn’t even feel the airplane land. While we were taxiing to the gate I woke up. And I was so well reseted that I was in a great mood! I woke up with smiles and hugs. I had check right away, “Are we in Hawaii?” Daddy told me yes and I was so excited to see Nana and Papa. Then Daddy had to explain that we had one more flight to see them. I asked if we were going to Kauai, and Daddy answered yes.

After we got to our gate, the transition to our next flight went smoothly too. We got through passport and customs control smoothly without problem. We got to the interisland terminal and zoomed through security. But I had to use the bathroom so we rushed through the last part. We were kind of cutting it close because our previous flight was delayed, but we ended up getting to our gate just as they started boarding and did not need to wait in line. We got to our seats and started playing with Tomica again. They had fun looking outside the window at all the airport vehicles and all the things going on outside.

I spent the whole flight looking outside the window and playing with my Tomica. It was a very short flight and before we knew it we were landing. I was very excited because I knew that I would be seeing Nana and Papa soon. I walked all the way to the baggage claim where Nana was waiting for us. I went and gave her a huge hug!

Finally, we were on Kauai! Our Hawaii vacation was off to a great start!

After school climb.

Chopstick face pinch.

Watching Mommy head to the subway to go to work.

Pool day at school.

After the Unko Museum we went to the MLB Cafe for lunch. I had a great hamburger for lunch!

I got a toy with my lunch. It was a cute little camera.

After lunch we went to a Hello Kitty store that had a fun ball game. Daddy and I threw balls against a huge interactive screen. It was a lot of fun!

Daddy bought me a sticker book that I played with right when I got home.

It was such an exciting day that I was still worked up when it was time for bed.

I eventually fell asleep but it was still a pretty dynamic sleep.

A nice breakfast to prepare for the visit to the Unko (poop) museum.

It was a bit of a long bus ride, but I didn’t mind. I like riding the bus. When we got there I was very excited.

The Unko Museum experience started off with us sitting on a toilet. They had us make grunting noises and then we got up there was an unko in the toilet! I was surprised! I don’t know where it came from. It was really funny and got me in a silly mood.

There were a lot of interesting displays and exhibits.

Even when it looked nice and fancy, it was still poop.

I had a lot of fun in the ball pit. I didn’t even mind the huge poop in the middle of it.

There were a lot of games as well. There was one video game where you had to catch as much poop as you could.

And there was a physical game that tested your reaction time where you had to catch a piece of poop

There was an interactive poop stepping exhibit that for some reason I didn’t really like and ended up crying.

After that I had a lot of fun decorating a huge toilet with stamps and drawing. It was not easy drawing with a large stylus but I think I did pretty good.

I did some magnet letter spelling as well.

And then I left a little toilet message.

What a cool museum! I wonder if all museums are like this.

I finished off with a capsule where I got a nice little piece of poop.