I was supposed to have made my way into the world in Okinawa, Japan (where Dad is stationed), but I thought that was kind of boring, so I arranged for the Air Force to fly Mom and Dad to Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii (wasn't that nice of me? okay, fine, actually, the doctors in Okinawa discovered I had a problem with one of my kidneys and the specialist doctor who was going to take care of me was at Tripler, but I DID want to see Hawaii anyway, so there...) almost a month early so that everything and everyone would be ready for me when I made my grand entrance (except Nana, who almost made it from Massachusetts in time; she made a good run at it, getting here only a few hours after I did; thanks, Nana, love ya'; Papa had to stay in Massachusetts and take care of the dogs and cats, and do something called "a job", whatever that is).

Anyway, Mom kind of poked and plodded around all night the night before, and all day before I was born, but I finally decided enough was enough and there was no stopping me. Mom only had to push 6 times and there I was. I don't recall Mom saying nasty things to Dad like telling him that Nana and Papa were never married, or calling him other terrible names, but I was pretty busy at the time, so she might have.

Mom and I had slight fevers, so they kept us in the hospital for a few days (they also wanted to keep an eye on my right kidney but that seemed silly because it's inside of me and why would I want an eye on it? gross...), but eventually they let us go. Nana stayed with us and helped out a lot, and even forgot she was an OB nurse and really became Nana while she was there (I have that effect on people). Unfortunately, Nana had to go back to Massachusetts, so we said "Aloha" (well, we ARE in Hawaii; strange word, though, it means "hello" AND "good-bye"; Mom says it also means "love") and left her at the airport.

As for the rest of the story, the doctors here in Hawaii say I have to have my kidney taken out when I am 6 months to 1 year old (Papa and Dad say that means no contact sports like soccer or stock car driving, and they both say "boys" is a contact sport, too; I'm sure Mom and Nana will set them straight before I'm 35...sigh). The doctors are going to put me on antibiotics until I have the surgery, because even a mild infection can be very bad for me, and they also said that we couldn't go back to Okinawa, since the hospital there can't take care of me. They offered to let us move here to Hawaii, but Dad said he has already spent 6 years in Okinawa and didn't want to live on another island for a long time (but, Dad, it's HAWAII, please, please, PLEASE?). So we are going to be moving back to the United States on something called a humanitarian reassignment as soon as the paperwork can be completed (actually, Mom and I are coming back to the United States from Hawaii very shortly; Dad has to go back to Okinawa to process out and get our stuff packed up and shipped; don't forget MY stuff, Dad, even if I haven't ever seen it, and don't forget the cat). Hmmm...paperwork, government...I might be old enough to vote by the time we leave!

That's it for now...check back every so often and see if Papa has put any new pictures up or has any new information to tell you. Mahalo ("thanks"; see how talented I am already?) for reading and take care. Love to everyone.

P.S. By the way, it seems Papa has been REAL busy and I now have my very own blog (short for weblog; in my case, it's going to be like an online baby book, except I won't be a baby forever)! If you want to leave comments for me (although Mom and Dad will have to read them to me), just click the link below and let me know what you are thinking (please be nice and KEEP IT CLEAN, I am just a baby, after all). To leave your comments, go to my blog, click on the "Comments" link, type your message in the box, choose "Other" as your identity, enter your name, and send it to me. Remember, EVERYBODY can read everybody else's comments. I will also be leaving messages to let everybody know how I am doing, too (I can dictate them to Mom and Dad, because they type faster than me).

My blog link: http://alyza-rose.blogspot.com