Friday, May 27, 2011

Last Day in Kauai

Today was our last day here. We decided to go to G's favorite baby beach in Poipu. We are sure gonna miss this beach!

After the beach we went back to the pool, and played with McKenna. Mckenna was Gavin's girlfriend for the week, and we got to see her each day at the pool. Gavin even shard his chicken nuggets with her:)

Last but not least was a very nice dinner in Poipu. We went to Roy's (nice restaurant) and had a delicious fish dinner. After dinner we got Shave Ice, and it was a first for G! Of course he loved it, and had to try each one we had. We had such a fun week....hope we can come back one day!!! Thank you "Ma" for inviting us on this trip, we will never forget it!



Thursday, May 26, 2011

Gavin's first Lu'au

I am not sure where to begin about our Lu'au! We decided early in our trip that we wanted to go to one, as I had never been. We found out that the Hyatt next door had one tonight, so we got reservations to go! It was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen...from the food to the dancing, it was all so neat!

We got there at 5pm, had drinks, and Gavin explored. He got to see a wood carver, and he got to dance with the Hawaiian dancers (with the poi balls). He was trying so hard to swing them around like the dancers did...and he as laughing at himself:)

We had the most delicious dinner, and Gavin and I tried almost everything! We ate sooo much food. Here is the list of what we ate. Tropical fruit, lomi lomi salmon, island fish, huli huli chicken, imu style cooked kalua pig, poi, teriyaki steak, Hawaiian sweet potatoes, coconut lemongrass rice, coconut cream cake, macadamia nut cream tart, and lots of mai tai's!!! Gavin's favorite was the kalua pig! He kept saying meat, over and over! I loved it all...I went back for seconds and thirds! Of course G loved the dessert, and tried each one! 

We sat next to a couple with a little girl Gavin's age, her name was Claire. G and Claire ran around together, and even tried to "pose" together. I asked him to sit by her, and he sat like 5 feet away, and backwards! :)

After dinner we got to watch the hula dance. At first they taught us all some of the dance, and Gavin and I went up on stage. Gavin would NOT let me put him down on the stage, so we had to get off...Phew! These dancers were unbelievable. I was seriously in shock at how amazing the dance was...and as you can see from G's face, we was in awe too! (the very last pic). I did not take any pics of the dance because it was too dark, and I was just so amazed. 

Gavin got tired after a little while, so he went back to the resort with Grandma while Derek and I stayed to watch. It was so nice to sit and relax, and have some drinks during the show! Thank you Grandma for taking care of G:)







"More water Hawaii"

"More water Hawaii" was Gavin's favorite phrase on our trip. He said this phrase over and over and over. He was just so excited to see the water, everywhere! We have always known that he has a little obsession with water, but now it is a pretty big obsession. Such a happy little guy in the water! Also, notice how he is down on his hands and knees, trying to "Wum" (swim) in the water. He was pretty close to blowing bubbles, and was VERY proud that he was swimming:)


Poipu Baby Beach

Our second last day in Kauai we decided to go to the Poipu baby beach. It is just a few miles away, and the perfect place to hang out. Gavin was having so much fun playing on the beach, and we would take turns watching him while the others went snorkeling. We saw some of the most beautiful fish while snorkeling...and even sea turtles! 

The part I loved most about this place was how friendly everyone was. On the beach, everyone looks after everyones children. Everyone shares their sand toys, and everyone is so friendly. We know the reason that Gavin became obsessed with the word "Everybody" on this trip was because we were always talking about Everyone! 

We ran into Gavin's BFF Ford here, and they both played together for hours. They were very busy watering the rocks in the ocean...Gavin said they got too hot...he is just so thoughtful:)


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A night at the Grand Hyatt

Our resort was called the Point at Poipu, and like I said earlier, it was VERY beautiful. We loved it there, but we realized a few days after arriving that we were right next to the Grand Hyatt too! Just steps away, we went to explore. The Grand Hyatt was just amazing. All the restaurants, pools, and of course the hotel, were so cool. We decided to go out to dinner there one night, and picked the most fancy restaurant they had, Tidepools. We figured that it would be OK to go with a toddler since we eat at 5pm! We were seated right away, in one of the best tables they had. Right on the water, the entire place was. But, on the downside, there were one million open doors, that lead right out to the water...big old Gavin hazard! Thankfully, he only almost fell in once, and that was when he was getting out of his seat at the end of dinner. He sat the ENTIRE meal in his highchair, and was good as gold. I need to mention that the whole trip, Gavin was an angel at mealtime. He ate and ate and never asked to get up (like he does every night at home!) We were shocked that we could finish a really nice meal, and Gavin would still be seated! 

We had the most delicious fish for dinner. Gavin ordered pasta, and his little kids menu was a 4 course just like ours! I have never seen such a fancy kids menu! Us adults also had some pretty yummy drinks. For dessert, we had LAVA CAKE!!! My all time favorite dessert! It was sooooo good, and I think we knew why G was so good at dinner....because he knew lava cake was coming! We ordered one to share between us, and looking back I wish we would have ordered 2!

After dinner Gavin toured the Grand Hyatt grounds by foot. He seriously ran the entire outdoor area of the hotel. Maybe too much lava cake? ;) We played a big game of "tag" Gavin's favorite game. He likes you to chase him, and then tag him, and then run the opposite direction. Its a pretty big work out, especially after a HUGE meal! He sure keeps us active:)


   

Nightly Routine

Almost every night, we would head outside after dinner, and gavin would just run. Run, run, run. Then we would make it to the beach, and Gavin and Daddy would watch the waves...and look for sea turtles in the water. We saw so many of them, and Gavin always asked to go see the "tuh-tuh's"


Gavin's Hawaii Kitchen

Here is Gavin doing what he does best, playing with "wader." The child LOVES his water. Indoors, outdoors, ANYwhere! 

Daddy's Sunrise

Every morning and every evening Daddy would snap some sunrise and sunset pictures from our balcony. It was the most beautiful view!




Botanical Garden

Today we drove up to the north side of the island to go to Lydgate Beach and State Park. We heard there was a great beach for kids, and a HUGE play structure as well. When we got there Gavin got to play on the big jungle gym, and then we walked along the beach. When we got to the "baby" beach, it was closed....Previous storms caused a lot of debris on the beach...so they were cleaning it up....with BULLDOZERS! What could be better? So Gavin sat and watched the bulldozers on the beach...and watched, and watched! 

After we left the beach, we headed further north to go to Na Aina Kai Botanical gardens. We heard it was a great place to go, and it even had a kid garden inside. We arrived at 10:30, and found out the tour had already left, but we could just get a 1/2 price ticket for the kids garden! Another oops turned into a good thing! (Although we did not get to tour the beautiful gardens...but we could see a lot where we walked) Gavin got to play in the kids garden, and there was SOO much to see and do. Water, tree house, slides, swings, and tons more. Yet another Gavin heaven:)




Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Na Pali Coast

Today Derek and I booked a boat tour to go up the Na Pali Coast! We went on a 6-hour catamaran ride, went snorkeling, and enjoyed time alone!

Our day started with the boat leaving at 8am, so we got there early and had a cup of coffee. It was raining when we got there and I was pretty bummed. I thought it would be cancelled, and I asked the lady at the desk if we needed to reschedule. She laughed, and told me that the rain happens every day, and it would pass in a few minutes…. sure enough, it was gone once we went back outside, and the sun was out. Perfect!

We started the boat ride with some Hawaiian music, breakfast, and a beautiful view. We sat in the sun, and soaked it all in. We even went up to the top of the boat and got to “drive” the boat with the captain. 

The dolphins followed us almost the entire trip…swimming right along the boat. They were so cute! We stopped a few times to see them, and when we would cheer, they would do tricks. I wanted to get out and swim with them so bad!!!

After we saw all the coves and waterfalls of the Na Pali Coast, we got in to snorkel! We saw some really pretty fish, and the ocean water was so nice. I can’t remember all the titles, but a TON of movies were filmed on these beaches.

Once back in the boat, lunch was ready. (They had a chef on board, and she made the BEST Teri chicken, coleslaw, beans, and cookies! We ate, and had wine…and when my glass would empty, they would walk about and fill it back up.

After too much food and too much wine, guess what happened? I got a little bit nauseous.  Derek could see it in my eyes, and so we went up to the top, where I could see ahead. I immediately felt better, and was no longer feeling sick…but I decided to no have any more wine! Oops!

This was probably one of the best dates Derek and I have been on (Since being married) It was romantic and beautiful…Just what we needed!



Monday, May 23, 2011

A day in Kauai

Today we headed to Spouting Horn, just down the road from us in Poipu. Spouting Horn is a natural blowhole that sprays water out really high…and its so neat to watch. More important was the darn roosters and hens. They are ALL over the island, and just walk around right next to you. Every single time we got out of the car, and saw the “birds” Gavin would squeal. He would practically jump out of our arms to go chase them…it was like watching an episode of Gavin’s dreams! He would chase and chase these poor roosters, and thought it was so funny. Who would have thought we needed to travel so far to get such entertainment!

After the rooster chase we headed to the “Baby Beach” just down the road. It is a cute little secluded beach, behind some beachside cottages. We were the only ones there, it was a perfect little toddler spot! The big rocks out in the ocean made the water nice and calm, no waves, so G could play. He loved to explore on the rocks, and even found a lobster to look at. (He thought it was “Night-Night”)

The last stop was the pool at our resort! Gavin made a BFF at the resort this week. His name is Ford, and he is from Oregon. Ford is 2.5 so G and Ford were always playing together. (There were TONS of other kids at the resort and beaches:)




Saturday, May 21, 2011

"Hawaii Home"

We had so much fun in Hawaii, I am not sure where to begin. I will start with our first day because this is the day we all fell in love with Kauai. From the moment Gavin saw the sand and beach, to swimming in the pool, we knew we were going to have a great week!

Gavin learned the word “Hawaii” very early on, and would call this our “Hawaii Home." It was so cute!

Our flight out went pretty smooth, and Gavin was an expert traveler as usual. We were not able to check in to the resort right away because we got there at noon, so we headed for the pool. As soon as I saw this pool, I knew we were going to have a hard time getting Gavin AWAY from it. It was a perfect baby pool! Gavin was able to walk in the pool in almost all of it! There were a few deep areas, but for the most part it seemed like it was built for Gavin size people! He was a little unsure at first, but warmed up quickly. By the end of the week, he was venturing out in the water by himself (We were not far behind!) and he was just as proud as can be. He would walk out to the rocks, and then look back at us with a huge grin…proud, very proud!

During the first afternoon, we were able to explore the grounds of the resort. It was probably one of the prettiest places I have ever been. The grounds of the resort were perfect, and spotless. If a leaf was on the ground, there was someone there to pick it up right away. The views of the beach were also some of the prettiest I have ever seen…it was just like a dream!

When we got our keys to the room, I was shocked again. Our place was so neat! It had 2 pretty big bedrooms, 2 big bathrooms, and living room, and a HUGE walk in closet. We set up the pack-n-play in the closet, and there Gavin slept very well all week long! The bedrooms and living room each had a door to the balcony, with a perfect ocean view. We really lucked out with the view, I am pretty sure it was the best in the whole resort!

Each afternoon, for about 10 minutes, it would rain. I very light rain, and it was nice and refreshing. Then the sun would pop back out, and be gorgeous the rest of the night.

Last but not least. Gavin did something pretty funny all week long. He would do a “role call” each time we left the condo. He would say “Mama? (and look for me), “Dada” (and look for dad), “Ma?” (and look for Grandma) It was so funny, like he was making sure we did not leave anyone behind! When Derek and I were out a few times, Grandma said that Gavin took role call, and she had to remind him that we were “At the store.”

*Since I took way too many photos, I decided not to edit any of them. I am so tired, and this stuff gets done during G’s naptime… Here they are, straight from Kauai!




Saturday, May 14, 2011

{Gavin 21 Months}

Dear My Little Man,

Today you turn 21 months old. That makes it so much more real that you will be two years old this summer. I am in shock that my baby will be two. Of course I am thrilled to have such a wonderful baby toddler in my life, I am just a little bit sad that my little man is growing up. These past 21 months have been amazing. Way too many words and emotions to describe how great it has been. I will save that for when you really turn 2!

Lets talk about what you have been up to lately. Since the weather has been so nice, you have become one with the outdoors. You have a passion for all things water, dirt, sand, bugs, grass, and trees. You are always thrilled to get your shoes on to go outside. You grab your shoes, run to the couch, and wait for us to get your shoes on. If you are really really excited, you run and grab your shoes, and then sit down wherever you are, and eagerly look up for someone to put them on you. When outside, you immediately ask for the "wawa" and demand to play in it. It is an obsession of yours. If the water is "broken" then you find joy in so many other things:)

Your vocabulary has exploded in the last few weeks. You now repeat every single word you ever hear. You are like a little parrot...and you know when you say something silly. Sometimes it catches us off guard when we hear you say something, and we ask you to repeat it. When you repeat the word, we get so excited and tell you that you are so smart. You smile and smile...very proud of yourself. We are too!

You are also learning some new letters! You know the letter "O" very well, and will find all the letter O's in the letter bin. You also know if you see the letter O somewhere...like on my jacket! It has a North Face logo, and you pointed out the O to me:) Just today, you brought me a letter and told me "M" ! ! ! ! I shrieked and was so excited! I told you that I was very proud...and you were so happy:) We have not really been working on any letter in particular (besides O) so I was amazed! You picked this one up all by yourself. You have a lot of interest in colors, and will tell us if something is blue...and you are always right. You know blue. Most of the time you will say that something is yellow, when it is red...we are working on that one!

Personality, oh Mr. personality! You have such a fun little personality! You are daring, shy, fearless, outgoing, sensitive and oh so much more! You play little jokes and you laugh when you are being silly. You love the word silly, and will tell us that you are "si-yee" all the time. Such a character!

Your eating habits have been great, as usual. You are a good eater, and you really do enjoy food. Just like your momma! Most days consist of eggs (2 scrambled), banana, fruit/kale smoothie, and glass of milk for breakfast at 6 or 7am. I eat my breakfast at about 8am, and you always have some of what I am eating. Then by 9 or 10 you want a snack, and we are usually out at a park or play date, so you have a fruit pouch, cheese stick, peanut butter crackers, dried pineapple slices, and a cup of milk. 11:30 is lunchtime, and we are usually home by then. Most days consist of leftovers from dinner the night before, or a sandwich. Oh, and we cannot forget about "dert" or dessert. You know it comes at the end of a meal, and you also know that you must finish your meal first. One of your favorite's is animal crackers. You say "an-i-mal terter" and get so excited to talk about all the animals you get to eat. Then its snack time after nap, and this is pretty light because you wake up pretty close to dinnertime. We realized if you did not get a big snack in the afternoon, you eat a better dinner. Dinner is usually lots of veggies, rice/pasta, and some kind of meat or fish. We go out to eat once a week, and I really look forward to the break:) (You are a handful and a mess!) Oh, and of course there is "dert" after dinner!

Sleeping. Oh Gavin, you are a great little sleeper! You go to bed every night at 8pm, no fuss, no issue at all. We give you a bath, brush teeth, and read books. You now have to sleep with your stuffed animal frog (in his little mini bed), your babydoll ("baby"), and your bulldozer/construction truck quilt ("Bull-do"). Oh, and of course your blue blankie ("Bakee") and 3 paci's ("Paa-eee). After all is in your crib, it is quite full! We put you in the crib, kiss you goodnight, and close the door. We do not hear a peep out of you the rest of the night:) You have been waking up around 6am, and you get to play with Daddy for an hour before he has to get ready for work. I am so thankful that I am able to sleep a little bit more in the morning, your Daddy is so great to me! At about 12:45 we head inside, and get washed up and ready for nap time. We read stories, and then you choose a few books to bring to bed with you. Your naps have been lasting about 2.5 to 3 hours sometimes!

Baby G, for a few more months, you will still be my baby. OK, you will always be my baby, but I may have to stop calling you that:) Thank you for bringing us so much joy...we love you little man!

We have a big trip coming up to Hawaii, and we are SOOOO excited!!! In less than a week we will be on the beach:)

Gavin cooks OUTSIDE!

As we all know, Gavin is a chef. He loves to cook, clean up the mess, and cook some more. We have always done our cooking inside, and now we can do it outside too!
Here is Gavin in his "New home" he got today. Grandma came over in the morning and played with Gavin so I could go out to some garage sales. I got some really great deals, and this was one of them. A Little Tikes Playhouse with a kitchen. It is 2 years old and was originally $200. The lady wanted $50, and I offered $20. Deal! (I learned my master garage sale negotiation skills from the best, my Mom!)

Once we got it cleaned up, we set it up, and Gavin was in his glory! He brought all his outdoor cooking stuff in his house, and started making "Boup" (soup) for Grandma. He would go to the hose and fill up his watering cans, bring them back and cook. We had to peel him out of here when it was nap time!


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

What do I title this???

This morning Gav was running around naked (like usual) and he got that look in his eye, like he had to go potty. I ran him to the bathroom, and he did this! 

We are by no means starting potty training, but when possible, we always have attempted to try to see if he is interested. After he made this small poop, he was SOOO proud! He was smiling at it like it was his child.  I told him he had to sit on the toilet again and finish...because we ALL know that this was not all that was in there! He sat, made fake grunting noises, and then he was "done." 5 minutes later he did the rest, in his diaper of course! 

At least its a start!

Play date with "Mannie"

Today we met Hilary and Maddie at Happy Hollow for a very fun play date. We decided to meet at San Jose History Park at 9am so we would walk around and see the train. Both Maddie and Gavin wake up super early, so its nice to have someone to hang out with early! We saw the train, and then walked around so that M and G could pick the rose petals and see bugs. G would throw the rose petals on the ground, and M would pick them all up…she is very nice and neat! 

At 10am we walked over to Happy Hollow since it was open. Of course we were met with one million field trip kids, which is NEVER good! From MY experience, these kids are never supervised, and are kinda crazy. So fingers crossed, and we actually did not have to deal with too many of them since we do all the baby stuff anyways. There was one instance where these big (way too big for the baby ride) boys tried to steal the firetrucks from M and G…HAHA nice try…these babies have a strong voice…their MOMS!

We rode the carousel (I can’t believe that I did not vomit…I do NOT really do well on these), played on the playground, rode Danny the Dragon (2 times!), rode the bugs, and last but not least, the cars. 

We decided to go see the animals last, and have our lunch picnic there. G and “Mannie” ran around and took a bite of food here and there, and Hilary and I were able to sit and relax for a few. We were in the sand pit where the dinosaur bones were, so the little ones were really busy “digging” up the bones.  It was pretty cute that Gavin was calling Maddie “Mannie” all day, and he would get very concerned if she was out of his sight. There were even a few hugs/kisses exchanged:)

We ended the day by walking through the Japanese garden park on the way to the car. The garden is so beautiful, and the little’s were having fun looking at all the waterfalls and fish. We got some crackers out to feed the ducks, and G and M both wanted to go swimming with them…time to leave!

Gavin was asleep before we got out of the parking lot. He fell asleep with a cookie in his hand talking about "Mannie". When we got home he woke up and I put him on the couch while I unloaded the car. I came in to find him asleep again, tired boy! 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

New Play group!

Gavin hosted a new play group here at his house this morning! Gavin is in 3 different play groups (through Las Madres) and this one has LOTS of girls:) (the other 2 are mostly boys). Gavin did really well sharing his toys, and I was pretty impressed! We spent most of the time outside, and eventually all of them were in the pool. I think its time for a bigger pool!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Words Words Words

Gavin has become quite the chatterbox lately. Talking all day long, lots of repeated words, and lots of Gavin words. 

I can't keep up with all the new words he says, but one that stuck out today was "An-i-mal" ! ! ! Derek and I were cooking dinner and when it was done I told Gavin it was time for his chicken nuggets. They are animal shapes, and he said very lout "An-i-mal!" Derek and I were so proud!

Gavin also loves to learn his letters and numbers. We practice his letters on the frig, and he likes me to tell him what they are, and he repeats. He can pick out the letter "O" and is so proud of himself:) As for numbers, he counts all day long. I am always counting with him, and I guess he has been listening! I will hear him trying to count to himself, and its so adorable. It sounds like this "One....doo....treeee.....one....doo" and then stops. If I count to him, he repeats each number, and we go to 10. Most of them are pretty clear when he repeats them! 

Another cute thing he did today (Derek says its very SMART) happened after dinner. Gavin wanted to play in Daddy's truck, but could not get in. He walked inside the house, pulled the chair up to the desk, grabbed the keys (Look just like mine, but the difference is ONE key on them), and walked back out to the truck. Derek and I were actually talking, and noticed this going on...I guess if we are not listening to him, he will get it done himself;)


Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mothers Day 2011

What a great day! It started out with sleeping in!!! Then, I woke up to Gavin bringing me a yummy breakfast in bed:)

After breakfast we played, headed to the park, played more, and then G took a 4 HOUR NAP! During that time Derek and I relaxed and I even napped a little. I woke up to find beautiful flowers and Derek making a delicious dinner...

When Gav finally woke up at 5pm (!!!) we had Grandma and Grandpa over for dinner. We had my FAVorite dessert of homemade lava cake and then played some more. Sleeping in, playing, napping, no dishes, no cleaning, and no cooking. Sounds perfect to me! I only took a few pics at the end of the day...another thing I took a break from, but could not help when I saw G in the front yard with Grandma:)

I really do feel so incredibly lucky to be a mother and to live the life I live. Thankful? Of course. Blessed? Completely. Although it is the hardest job on this earth, it by far is the most rewarding one. Do I need to sometimes pinch myself because I think I am living my dream? Yes, I do.

I have to say that it was the best little Mother's day:) I feel so so blessed to be a mother, and I also feel so blessed to have been raised by a great Mom. Everything I know and have learned, it is from her. She makes me the luckiest daughter in the world. To top it off, I also have the worlds best mother-in-law as well.


When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.  ~Sophia Loren


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Hippie Babies

Auntie Eva made all the cousins these adorable tie dye shirts, and tonight we took a pic of them all after bath time. They looked pretty cute...like they all belong in California:) Thanks Eva for the shirt!


Last Night

Tonight was our last night in Ohio. We have had such a fun week here. We spent the afternoon/evening doing what we did a lot of, playing outside at Grandma’s. Gavin, Griffin, and Annabel have so many toys and cars to play with. Oh, and also the rain puddles…they love it! Griffin and Gavin liked to take a push car/toy to the top of the driveway, and then push it down and watch it hit things…they would laugh and laugh.

After dinner Ma gave each of them an ice cream sandwich for dessert. Wow, more sugar!!!

We ended the night with their last cousin bath. After playing outside AND ice cream, that bath water was pretty brown!!!

We are so thankful for our fun time here. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa, Erica & Scott, Eva & Pat, and of course Griffin, Annabel, and Noah. We hope to see you guys soon…maybe a trip to California this summer???