Hawaii Part Five - Aloha!

This is the last of our Hawaii posts.  At the end of this post, I will have published fifty pictures from this vacation!  I won't do that to you again - mostly because we won't be able to afford to take such a nice trip for a while, and also because you are probably tired of hearing about our vacation.  I know I bombarded you with photos this week but we just took so many and I didn't want to leave anything out.  On our last night, we attempted one last time to get a family photo.  You can see how well that went ...

Someone is not being a team player!

All tuckered out.

Leah got in some last minute play-time with Nana.

And our FINAL attempt at a family photo.  After all our failed attempts before BA and I didn't have high hopes.  I didn't bother to dry my hair and he didn't shave, but lo and behold, Leah decided to cooperate.  Rascal.

Since she'd been sick most of the week, we were prepared for a rough flight.  But in typical Peanut-style, she surprised us and was the best behaved baby on the plane.  She got lots of compliments on her St. Paddy's Day style. 

The welcoming committee as our fellow passengers boarded

Cheeks for miles

When we landed in L.A. it was 50 degrees and raining!  Say what?!?!   No matter.  We'll always remember the warmth we found in Hawaii.

Aloha!

Hawaii Part Four - Peanut's Post: Hanging Out with Nana and Papa

Okay, so you know we went to Hawaii last week.  I wasn't a huge fan of the hotel pool, too crowded, and I don't know if you know this, but kids pee in there, so ... Anyway, I preferred to spend my leisure time hanging out with the big people.

My Nana and I worked on clapping.

"Put down the camera, daddy-man, and no one gets hurt."

And she bought me a new ball.  It's supposed to be used as a pool toy, but you know how I feel about public pools.  So we played catch in the condo instead.

Papa and I liked to have long conversations.  He's an expert at the markets right now and he told me all his secrets.  Too bad for mom and dad, because I swore I wouldn't tell a soul what I know. 

Sometimes Papa would take me for a walk, and we'd talk then too.

And of course I cherished the time spent in the steam shower with mom and dad. They weren't quite as excited as I was about the idea of hanging out in a steamy bathroom at 3 p.m. or 3 a.m. but I thought it was great fun.  Way better than the pool!

"I wonder if this is what the steam room at the spa is like?"

Hawaii Part Three - Aaron Family Adventures in Hawaii

On our second day of vacation, we took a drive up to the North Shore of Oahu to see if we could find any big waves.  There wasn't much action in the water, but the beach was beautiful.  After we struck out on the North Shore, we drove to the Polynesian Cultural Center to learn about Hawaiian culture.

The North Shore of Oahu.

It looked like the sand was made up of tiny broken shells

Leah with her Nana and Papa Aaron

Boat Parade at the Polynesian Cultural Center

While at the Polynesian Cultural Center we took several attempts at a family photo.

Hum, not quite, Leah ...

Not this either ...

There we go.

What a rascal!

On the last day of our trip, Leah was feeling better and her Nana and Papa offered to babysit so BA and I could hike Diamond Head.  We had a great time, the weather was beautiful, and the hike was the perfect amount of exercise for us.

What a view!

Overlooking the crater - and the hundreds of stairs to the top

Hawaii Part One - Getting There

I want to apologize in advance for making this my own personal photo album.  But hey, it's my blog, so I guess I can do whatever I want.  Plus this is how I'm chronicling Leah's first year of life.  So beware of many many pictures to come.  

We left for Hawaii around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  BA and I had been up until 2 a.m. the night before packing.  And then Leah did her usual 5:30 a.m. wake-up call, but this time, we had to get up anyway.  Leah was a champ on the flight.  She mostly played on our laps, smiled at the people sitting behind us, walked the aisles with Dad, ate, and took naps.  We bought her a seat, partly because it's safer, and partly because we needed the space.  We were on the plane almost six hours (!!!) but she barely cried at all, mostly due to the fact that she could nap in her own car seat.  The minute we saw an eye-rub, we'd plop her down, pull the sun-shade, and she'd be out like a light.  I'm convinced she actually slept better on the plane than she did at the condo in Hawaii.  Just goes to show that she prefers jet engine ambient noise, not the rainforest, to fall asleep to. 

Making friends on the flight.

Yay, we've arrived on Oahu.

The long flight was worth it, because we arrived to this ... 

Ko Olina Marriott Beach Club

This past week, Leah has started to have this look ... where she's thinking about something her tongue hangs out a little. It's an inherited trait.  Her mom does it, her mom's dad does it, and her mom's grandmother did it.  It's pretty cute, if you ask me. 

Her hair also went wild in Hawaii because of all the humidity.  You will see many curly-hair pictures in the days to come.   Just notice the difference in this picture, versus the one right above on the plane. 



Gotta have my shades. 

8 Month Hula Skirt

Remember back before Peanut arrived, we took a poll among family members ... would I be having (a) Swim Trunks, or (b) a Hula Skirt?  The Hula Skirt won, obviously, and we finally made that trip to Hawaii we'd been dreaming about for over a year.  Because we did so much and took so many pictures, I'll have publish a couple of posts on Hawaii.  But I wanted to make sure I got the 8 month post up first.  Look for lots of photos from the rest of the trip in the coming days.

On the first full-day in Hawaii, Leah turned 8 months.  BA stuck with his tradition and got her a cake.  There wasn't a single pineapple upside-down cake at the grocery story (would you believe that!) so he just bought a white cake and chopped off the top of a pineapple for decoration. 

Aloha!

The above picture was the ONLY picture in this series where Leah was smiling.  She actually spent a good deal of the trip sick (croup cough that just got worse) and we ended up spending half a day going to a pediatrician in Honolulu, only to find out there was nothing we could do.  As usual, the Peanut exhibited no symptoms at all while at our $150 impromptu doctor's appointment.  This is classic Leah.  Screams all night, coughs up a lung, throws up her formula, refuses her formula, we go to the doctor, and she smiles like nothing is wrong.  Not a sniffle, not a cough, not even a runny nose.  The doctor looked at her and actually said, "well, she's the picture of health." 

So we went back to the condo and started steam showers, during the day and over-night.  Luckily Hawaii is humid so there was no need for a humidifier, we just slept with the balcony door open.  And we tried to get her to nap but she would have none of it.  She hated the pack-n-play they brought in for her crib.  She would scream and cry and flail her legs up and down on the pad.  So in order to get her to sleep someone would usually have to load her in the stroller and take a walk. 

Because of our impromptu visit to the doctor we got an accurate weight and height for Leah.

Weight:  17 pounds, 8 ounces (38%)
Height:  27.5 inches (60%)

And our biggest milestone for this month so far (only crawling has the potential to surpass this one) Leah learned how to clap!  We'd been trying to get her to do it for a few weeks, but it wasn't until her Nana clapped for her that Leah decided it was time to try it out.  And she loves it!

Happy 8 months to my little Hula Skirt!

The Express

Have you heard about The Express?

Leah's favorite way to travel these days is in the baby carrier, aka, The Express.  It's kind of the only way we get anything done around here.  The Express has many variations:

There's the Daddy Express ...

Helping daddy with work

There's the Mommy Express ...

Helping mommy do her homework

And don't forget the Nana Express ...

BA's Corner: The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

***

Many roads diverged in a smoggy, hazy horizon

And sorry I could not travel all (at least at first)
And be one traveller with a curious mind and a beautiful bride, long I stood (though not too long, because Sallie Mae was calling)

And looked down one as far as I could through risk analysis models and many long talks with the career center
To where it u-turned, exited, and sloped suddenly up and down the hills;

Then took the other, as just as fair, though scared but self-convincing
And having perhaps the better claim in my head because of the potential of the unkown,
Because it was long and lead to a rainbow;
Though Roswell, NM was on the path there
She would not let me deviate from the 7-day journey west, for we had massages ahead.

And both that morning equally lay
The Penske no boxes had been left within

Oh, I kept the comfort of our known surroundings for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I wondered if I would ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a cheer
Somewhere ages and ages hence, or next year:
Many roads diverged in a haze, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference in my long commute, thin pockets, and lack of happiness.

Lake Tahoe

We went to Lake Tahoe last week.  It was my spring break and BA took a week off for vacation.  My mom flew out to L.A. and we all drove up to Tahoe together.  I had originally planned this trip a year ago, before we knew I would be pregnant, so the plan was for us all to go downhill skiing at Heavenly Resort.  I booked a 2-bedroom Marriott hotel villa right by the Gondola to take us to the lifts.  Unfortunately, downhill skiing is not a pregnancy-approved activity, so I had to sit out, but it was still beautiful, and relaxing and the hotel was fantastic.  And BA and my mom got to enjoy some world-class west coast skiing. 

Check out these two ready to hit the slopes!  My mom is still wearing her ski clothes from the 1970s and BA's sweatshirt is probably from middle school.  We were proudly the least-fashionable group in Tahoe.

I rode the Gondola up to the base of the lifts on our first day.  There's a large lodge with food where I could sit inside and eat some lunch while BA and mom hit the slopes for a couple of hours.  It's a winter wonderland up there but oh so cold.  The lodge is at about 9,000 feet elevation.  The ski runs go up to 10,000 feet.

My sister sent some flowers to brighten our condo since she couldn't come with us this time.

My one pregnancy-approved activity - snowshoeing! 

Mom and I snowshoeing on the shores of Lake Tahoe.  It's like you are walking on the beach, only the sand is snow! 

My mom, 64 years young, making a snow angel!

Swim Trunks or Hula Skirt - Part I

We've been planning a trip to Hawaii with BA's parents for next year after the baby is born.  When I found out I was pregnant I wondered if I would have to buy a hula skirt or swim trunks for the little peanut to take on the trip.  So before we found out the gender verdict, I wanted to see what everyone's guesses were on what we are having.  So here is the Swim Trunks or Hula Skirt Family Poll.  (*this is not what people are hoping we have, just what they think we will have)

Haley - Girl
Mom - Boy
Dad - Boy
Wanda - Boy
Priscilla - Boy
Frank - Boy
Me - Boy
BA - Boy

So far the Swim Trunks have the lead in my completely non-scientific, and totally irrelevant, family prediction poll.  I'll (hopefully) find out tomorrow if I'll be buying exhibit A or exhibit B.