Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Miss Ivy turned two a few weeks back!  I labored over what kind of birthday party we should have (like any bored mother) and finally settled on Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  The book is a favorite of Ivy's (certainly not mine), and she's also really into letters right now since she just learned all the upper-cases.

2-year-old Ivy really is a treat.  She gets "Baa Baa Black Sheep" stuck in her head for days on end.  She loves to paint.  She does not deviate from routine.  She loves to swim.  She prefers to wear stripes.  She's a people-watcher through and through.  She's very shy and loves the safety blanket of Mom and Dad.  She likes to say, "Nope."  She loves going to Grandpa's house (and great Grandpa's house).  She loves Kimball and Emery, her cousins.  Her favorite foods are "doodles" and peanut butter sandwiches and she still loves beans of all things.  She won't bother trying most desserts.  She is enjoying the new forward-facing car seat and calls out commands at every stop light.  She loves library trips and reading with Mom.  She helps with almost every meal, stirring mixtures or participating in made-up tasks Mom gives her.

At this point in her life, we are enjoying watching her learn and starting to be more and more purposeful as parents.  We spend a lot of time helping her learn to love reading, drawing, music, and interacting with others (although she is often too shy to do so).  We like to give her opportunities to help with the cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening, etc.  Each week, we try to take her to new places or get her out of the house to enjoy new (and prior favorite) experiences.  Parenting is a learning process.  A lot of planning and purpose go into these really good days where we're all thriving.  It seems anything convenient isn't really good for kids so we're doing our best to avoid electronics and all the other things that turn kids brains and bodies to mush. ;)

I really don't think the two's are all that terrible, so good job Ivy.  You're coping with being a human rather well.

Aloha 2018

A few weeks ago we went on a dream vacation to Oahu! 

This vacation has been a long time in the making.  My company sent all the full-time employees and their families on this trip (almost entirely paid for!), and back when we were committing to the trip a year or two ago, I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it.  Thanks to a few divine interventions, however, here we are back from the trip of a lifetime.  The whole week we were there, I had to keep pinching myself because I couldn't believe I actually ended up being able to come.

Some highlights include the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Laie Hawaii Temple, the Honolulu Zoo, Leonard's Bakery malsadas, a sketchy drive up the west coast, sea turtles on the North Shore, Hawaii's best fish tacos, a botanical garden, a bus tour of the island, Pear Harbor, a luau with the entire company, POG, the Aloha Stadium swap meet, our 7th anniversary, and of course our beautiful resort complete with all the swimming and fun we could want.  This list makes it seem like we were on the go non-stop, but it was a very low-key, relaxing trip.

We weren't sure if we should bring Ivy on this trip, but we are so glad we did.  She made everything exciting and most everything fun. :)  Compared to our last baby-in-tow vacation, this one was a breeze, and either my expectations were set ultra low or she was a dream child!  Either way, I'm so glad our whole family was there.

Ivy kept us laughing with the things she was interested in.  She loved the hula girls dancing, but did NOT love the Polynesian men. During one show we saw, a guy climbed a palm tree, and she talked about that for days and is convinced it's "Daddy's turn."  She was also very interested in their fire sticks and loved swimming.  Unfortunately she thought both the beach and the malsadas were "too messy," but someday she may set foot in sand!  We rented a car a few times, and she took one look at the Toyota Corolla and said, "Race car."  She also brought home a stuffed sea turtle named, "Kona" and I just die when she calls Kona by name.

Another highlight of the trip was my cousin Brooke and my Aunt Susan were there!  Brooke also works at TaxHawk, and that was just icing on the cake to have a few of my favorites vacationing in paradise with me.

Coming home was a real shock to me since I acclimated to living in paradise quite rapidly.  What is left for me here, and why is everything so brown?  *Insert merited sobs.*  We will return, Oahu.