Hawaii

Back in July, we ventured on our first out-of-state trip with Natalie: to Hawaii for a week! Brian's parents own a timeshare there and kindly invite us about every other year. I was so nervous to take a 6 hour flight with a 1 year old, and I didn't know how she was going to handle the time change. But the first flight and most of the week were great!

On the way there, we made sure to keep Natalie occupied and broke out a new toy whenever she seemed to be getting antsy. She took a couple naps laying on my chest, and we only had to use the airplane bathroom twice. One time I put her on the floor and she accidentally flushed the toilet, which you know is very loud, and it startled her so bad! She jumped - it was hilarious. She kept waving and saying "hi" to everyone around us - cute! We made sure to walk her up and down the aisles, too, but this one time I didn't hang on to both of her hands, and she bumped a man's coke can into his lap (and he was wearing white shorts). Actually, she slightly bumped it, and I think I knocked it further by trying to catch it clumsily. There was only a teaspoon left of coke in there, but I was MORTIFIED and apologized profusely! I ran to ask the flight attendants if they had any stain removers, but they just had wet towelettes. So I got my baby wipes and offered them to the guy, whose wife was helping him wipe up his shorts. The second time I came back, he didn't seem as mad, but I still just wanted to die. I must've been so red. So I go back to the front of the plane and sit with Brian and Natalie, and tried to get over it. Just then, a man who was sitting across the aisle handed me a $100 bill! I kinda laughed, assuming it was a joke, like he was about to say, "Here's some money for your troubles," or something. But instead, he explained that he was so impressed with Natalie's good behavior, that he wanted to give her money to start a college fund!!! I think I turned down the money at least 3 times before I finally took it. And since I was already so emotional from the soda incident, and this man's kindness, I started to cry. I bet everyone around us was wondering what was going on. He also continued to say that he was dreading his seat placement once he saw there was a baby nearby, but was pleasantly surprised since she didn't cry at all. I am still in awe! Anyway, I felt like I needed to talk to this guy and find out more about him so I can tell Natalie some day. His name is Al (60-something years old), and he was on his way to the Philippines to visit his girlfriend and uncle.

"Aloha!"

Ok, back to Hawaii! Natalie slept soundly (naps and all) for the first 5 days, which is great considering the resort pool was right next to her window. Since she slept in the same room as Brian and myself, we had to be extra quiet whenever we entered and went to bed ourselves. The last couple nights were rough, though. She woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble going back to sleep, so I made the decision to let her sleep in our bed. She slept great, but is quite the kicker and an oven! She really radiates heat, and even smacked me in the face a couple times! So I eventually was able to sneak her back to the playpen/crib that the resort provided (the first 3 tries failed miserably). There was even a night where Brian and I were awakened by what I can only describe as a noise a dinosaur would make - it freaked me out! I thought maybe it was a weird new tsunami alarm Hawaii uses or something. Brian went outside to investigate, and found out that it was the time-share staff drilling the wall to hang a new picture in their lobby right beneath our room! At 11:00pm!!! Surprisingly, Natalie did not wake up.

"Look at the sea turtle on the rocks!"

Our time there was mostly relaxing, but we took a few jaunts out to some local beaches that were baby friendly. Natalie LOVES the beach! She wasn't too fond of the sand because it stayed on her hands while playing, but she liked digging in the sand, the feeling of the sand in her toes, and the waves hitting her legs. She did put some sand in her mouth and I tried to wash it out, but I think she may have swallowed some. Oops!

We also spent quite a bit of time on the lanai (2nd story patio) blowing bubbles for Natalie, eating meals, and letting Natalie climb all over the cushions for the benches. She liked jumping on them, too. We also made her a "cushion corner" in the living room where she liked to play.

Brian and I kayaked along the coast (of course) and even tried a paddle board! It takes a lot of balance, but I got the hang of it quickly. Plus, a sea turtle swam right up along side of me! I could have petted it if I wanted to (but I didn't).

We also took a stroll around the resort and across the golf course (later in the day when no one was golfing):

And Natalie got to wear her rain coat for the first time, as it rained occasionally. Usually just while we were sleeping, but as you drive up in the mountains (volcano?), you are pretty much in the clouds and there's much more rain. Here we are in the clouds at the Coffee Shack. You should be able to see the ocean in the background, but again, the clouds.  :)

Now the flight back was just AWFUL!!! Natalie did not sleep (except for 15 minutes during the landing in Phoenix), and cried quite a bit. We tried all of the tricks we knew, but it's difficult for her to sleep when there's so much light from the windows and overhead reading lights, plus right when she finally fell asleep, the flight attendants made an announcement and woke her back up. Ugh! She was so tired and cranky - I just felt so bad for her. At least we all got to sleep-in the next day!

Thank you for the fun trip, Grammy and Grandpa!  :)