Miso Cute

Yeah, she's cute. So What?

Christmas 2010

This holiday holiday season came and went so quickly.  Of course, Maddie stole the show and got a boat load of presents.... baby is stealing my thunder!

On Christmas Eve, we headed over to the Motz Estate for the typical 15 course dinner and gift opening.  On Christmas day, we bounced around between Jacques parents, ate everywhere and opened gifts throughout the day.

Here are just a few highlights snapshots from the day.

 Steve getting practice before Maddie's cousin is born next year.

 Maddie loves Santa.  She dreams about santa all of the time.

Sonny's daughter Anniyah.  She's was so happy to open gifts.  I can't wait to see Maddie this happy.

Every year, Jacque's mom has a Christmas village that she sets up. There is shop, a train, and even an  ice skating rink.  My favorite part is the "little homies" scattered throughout the town.

Homie getting a ticket for loitering near the laundry mat.

Santa Visits Maddie

On this Christmas Day, Santa has hopefully made good on all his promises.  I know I have been good, hopefully I get that motorcycle I asked for.

We wanted to take Maddie to get pictures with Santa, but didn't want to subject her to the mall and the risks of sickness.

About three weeks ago, my dad was going to be Santa at his company Christmas party and decided to swing by our house for a personal visit.  I'm not sure why my Dad was Santa.  He's never been Santa before... maybe he lost a bet.

It was very cool that he stopped by.  Maddie's first Christmas was complete!

Grandpa Motz & Madison

 Mi Familia Loca.

My personal favorite.  I think Maddie is onto Santa's shenanigans.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2010

Turkey day came and went.  I think I just cleared the left overs from the fridge this past week.

This was our first Thanksgiving with Madison and while we didn't go big and visit all of our families, we did con the family into bringing us over left overs from each of their feasts.

Happy Thanksgiving from our turkey to your yours.

Tis The Season For Babies.

I would like to make a recommendation and give advise to any couples planning on having a baby (yes, most people plan on having babies, it doesn't just happen). 

Do the "deed" during the early months of the year, January and February preferably, with a desired birth date between September and December.

Here are my reasons:

1. Tax break.  Birth before or on December 31st at 11:59pm gets you money, January 1st 12:01am makes you wait 365 days. Maximize your tax breaks.
2. You want to avoid the summer months for birth.  As if summer isn't hot enough, imagine holding crying baby under the beating sun.  Cooler weather = Happy(er) mother.
3. The last reason is my #1 reason.  Your wife (hopefully) is going to have cabin fever for the first 3-months as she cares for your child.  She can't go out out of the house and bitterness can build up throughout the week.  The weekend baby sitting duties are the fathers duty.  Tell your wife to go out and hang with her family or friends.  This is your wifes time to get some "me time" for herself..  My original point was to make sure your baby is born between September and December, so why does this weekend baby sitting matter?  There is no better time to be locked up with your baby than with football season!  I couldn't have dreamed it up any better.  I am required to stay in the house, hold and feed the baby, and do this all while watching football for 12-straight hours both Saturday and Sunday.  This is what dreams are made of!  College and NFL Football all weekend long.

Madison will love football!

 My monkey in a tree... minus a sock.

Go 49ers.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

Today is my parents Anniversary.  They have been married for 42 years!  Amazing.

Congratulations! Many more to come.

Halloween

Jacque and I have known each other since high school, 1995ish.    It wasn't until well after that we reconnected at a nightclub on Halloween 2004.  I was dressed as a cow with utters and she was dressed as a sexy Pocahontas. If she could hang with me dressed as a cow, I knew I would at least like to make out with her.

I finally made out with her... but it took a lot of alcohol.

Almost 6 years later to the date, Maddie was born.  Jacque and I love Halloween.  I can dress like a fool and she gets to laugh at me.  We usually take vacation days, get a room in Waikiki, party all night and pay for our sins the next day with heavy hydrating.

This year was a little different with Madison being born just 3-days earlier.  We didn't dress this year to celebrate the occasion but we did have some family over to celebrate our favorite holiday.

Mommy Motz dressed up as a grandma.

Kids have it so easy these days.   Everyone in Kapolei sets up in their driveway so the kids  don't have to go door to door for safety reasons.

 Happy Day Hipsters, Sonny & Melissa.

 Jacque's sister Amanda and serial killer boyfriend Jeff.  I hope she did the dishes like she was suppose to.

 Sonny got cigars for the boys to celebrate the new baby.

Happy Halloween 2010.

Baby Madison Born

On Thursday, October 28th 2010, the beautiful Madison Vivian Motz was born.

Her due date was actually November 22 so she surprised us with an early arrival.  Funny story, we actually completed our last parenting class the night before. That night, Jacque had a sudden bathroom urge and some cramping in the middle of the night.  I told her to go back to sleep and stop freaking her self out.  She said it was getting worse.  We decided to take her to the hospital.  I totally thought the doctor would tell her it was just cramps and we would be back home sleeping within an hour... that didn't happen.

An hour later, we found out Jacque's water did break.  I was a little confused with what the "water breaking" meant.  I asked the nurse, "does this mean we are having baby today?" She said, "either today or tomorrow".  I was like a deer in headlights.

We were not ready for the birth this early. We didn't have a diaper bag packed or the car seat out of the box.  We did however have the baby room mostly done.

After less than 3 hours, Jacque gave birth to a healthy little girl.  5 pounds, 14 ounces. She's amazing. I can't wait until she can talk.

NY Giants Football Game

If you know me, you know that I love futball americano... none of this wussy european crap.  Real hard hitting football.

While we were on the east coast for the funeral, I took my brother to a New York Giants verse Texans game at the new Meadowlands Stadium.  It was his birthday that day so I got some decent tickets through stubhub, 17 rows up / feild level.

If you are not familier with Meadowland Stadium, it is interesting to note that they share the stadium with the New York Jets.  What I found interesting is that there was no sign of the Jets anywhere in the stadium... not ar the concession stands, feild, merch shops, bathrooms, not anywhere!  Every week they do a complete turnaround of stadium with new logos and color schemes.

The game was fun, not the loudest stadium I've been to, but entertaining to say the least.

RIP Grandpa George

This past September my grandfather died.  He lived a full life of 89 years.  While everyone was saddened by his loss, we took the time to to celebrate his life with friends and family, and lots of drinking.

Grandpa was generous, humerous and a bit of a ladies man.... I guess it runs in the family.

RIP Grandpa George.

Here is an interesting article from the Jersey paper.  It recaps his life as New Jersey's first air traffic controller and his many accomplishments including being inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame.

PS.  I did remove his tie before we buried him. You will understand after reading the article.

Ultrasound

Yes, the baby has already arrived into the world, but here is one of the highlights leading up to the big day.

One of the burning questions that has been asked is 'was Jacque pregnant during the wedding'?  The answer is no.  It must have happened during the 2 months of bliss that followed.  What can I say?  I got the Michael Phelps swimmers.  Back stroke baby!

Below is an ultrasound we did in September.  Around the 16-second mark, she gives a little grin.  I must be telling a great joke... or not.

The House

So when the year started, I thought to myself  'how many things can I do in one year that will forever change my life'.  Marriage, Baby, become a brain surgeon and purchase house was the goal.... 3 out of 4 ain't bad right?

When we found out the baby was on its way, we knew our studio apartment in town wasn't going to work.  It was a great experience to live in town.  Meeting friends a local bars and being able to walk or taking a reasonably priced taxi is something we are really going to miss.

At the end of the May, we purchased our first home in Kapolei.  For the mainland folk, Kapolei is about 20 miles from the heart of Honolulu on the west side of Oahu.  We planned strategically to set up home near our parents and we were successful.  All the grandparents live within the 5 miles.

To the right is the mansion in which we will be in debt for the next 30 years.  Its 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths.  It is a small house but it's a major upgrade from the 500 sq.feet closet we were living in.  We never did have a house warming party... maybe a super bowl sunday party is in order.  Big ups to my real estate agent Chaz Tiogangco. 

The Honeymoon

I know everyone is anxious for me to jump right into the baby Madison pics, they are coming, promise.  Patience young grasshopers.

I'm setting the table of life and soon enough this blog will be taken over by my precious little baby.

To continue in sequence of events after the wedding, Jacque and I went on our honeymoon.  While we would of loved to returned to Europe, we were looking for something a little more relaxing without the jetlag.  We were slightly exhausted from the wedding planning and didn't the hustle and bustle of a road trip.  We wanted a relaxing vacation- no schedule, a pool, a heavy flow of coctails and gorgeous scenery.

We found it all not too far from home on Lanai.  Neither of us had been there and it was more relaxing than we could have ever imagined.  Lanai is all about relaxing - nothing to do there but relax,  The town is tiny with no big box stores in site.  We had the best of both worlds by staying one night at the Koele Lodge and 2 nights at Manele Bay.

Lanai is all about relaxing.  All your ameneties are at the hotel and you're treated like a king. 

Koele Lodge

Koele Sunset

Drink at the Lodge... I think this girl likes me.

Manele Bay.

 

Sexiness.

Relaxation.

I tried to get her drunk without luck.

My future office in Lanai.

 

Jacque and I both got beachside massages.  Jacque didn't mind another girl rubbing my body.

Lanai was everything we expected and more.  Relaxation at it's finest. Check Lanai off the list.

The Wedding

Before the baby takes the spotlight, let's go back 12 months to January 2nd.  Many of you have already seen our wedding highlights "music video" with Train's "Soul Sister" as the soundtrack.  Believe it or not, there is a full edit wedding video that's almost 30 minutes long.  If you dare to watch something that long, here is the feature film that's broken up into 2 videos.  The video was done by Aria Studios.  My favorite part is the dance sequence at the end.  Enjoy and don't forget to come back tomorrow for more content!  Remember, I'm adding a new blog every day for 12 straight days.

Part I


Part II

New Blog Starts Today

Today it starts. I have been meaning  to start a cool trendy blog for a while but I never imagined it would be so family oriented.  I thought I would be recapping vacations, nightclubs, concert and funny stuff I run into on the daily.  Those days are not gone but a rare occasion to say the least. And while they are all but gone, my life is amazingly great!  I'm truly blessed and can't wait to experience this next phase of life.

Let's start with the year 2010.  I got married in January, we moved into a house in May, and we had a baby in October.  Yes, all in one year. Let's just say, that I have never been so excited to do my taxes.

I understand that starting a blog isn't easy.  Content is king.  If you don't have weekly updates, no one will visit, which would make a blog a complete waist of time. 

I'm giving you the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS.... 12 straight days of content that include never seen before footage of the wedding, the huge mansion, our baby, etc. 

Please tell friends and family to follow the blog using that button on the right top column.  Enjoy and don't forget to leave comments.