Last Hawaii Pictures

Liv and I arrived back in CA this morning. Jeff was scheduled to fly to Vancouver, but got called back in to the Honolulu plant... he's still there. And we're not sure what's in store for the next couple days on that front.

The rest of our stay on O'ahu was very nice!! We spent a few hours at a nearby surf beach with friends - Liv was very impressed with the local big kids & their games. (boogie boarding in the beach break, climbing trees, etc.) The next day we had another terrific afternoon/evening at Ala Moana Beach Park and later at their home with our friends, Chis and Claudia. Saturday Liv and I had a very nice visit with another friend and her kids at their home in Kailua. But otherwise we stayed pretty close to the resort and played in the beach, fish ponds, and pool! No complaints!!

There were loads of little kids at the resort. And I was impressed to see Liv interacting & playing with a few of them during our stay. She'd share her shovels & beach toys, she'd wade and splash and sit in the water with them. It was pretty cool. She also became much more comfortable in the water - by the last day, if she tripped & fell & got her face in the water; she'd scramble into the shallower water to recover - but no crying and no big panic for the most part.

Here are a few more images from our Hawaii adventures.

Liv posing for a picture.

Trucking around in a nearby natural lagoon

Studying a Bug!

Letting the Koi give her "kisses"

"Da! Boy. Tree. Pie." (her version of "up high")

"Lily. Pie."

Pretty fun stuff!

Mom & Liv playing at the beach.

Now, back home. rainy & cool - but not horrible. Unpacking and the piles of laundry that accompany that task! It's also time to start tying up a few outstanding details about the home purchase/move. We'll try to pack a few boxes a day - get quotes from movers, truck rentals & make a plan on that front. Finalize the home insurance & mortagage loan. And a few other miscellaneous tasks... It's exciting stuff!! And everything appears to be on track for the closing NEXT WEEK!!! yay!!

Aloha!

Nyah, Nyah!

Aloha! We are on a surprise trip to Hawaii! Jeff’s been here working on the Honolulu Power, he called on Sunday night with the news that he was expecting to have a bit of free time this week and remind me that he’s racked up a mess of frequent flyer miles. Well, all right! We’ll be there!

So Monday evening Liv and I went to the airport. Liv still loves to watch the planes. Here she’s commenting on the “BIG” British Airways plane.

She did well on the flight. When we arrived Jeff was there to meet us with beautiful fragrant leis and big hugs.

Liv had a long semi sleepless night… ugh. Jet lag, excitement & a new environment all added up to some hours “playing” not “sleeping” ah well.

Here’s our pretty girl in her “Two. Blue. Shoes.” That she asks to wear everyday!

Charging off to throw fistfuls of sand in the water at the “new beach”

The new cheesy grin I suspect we’ll all be seeing more of!

Sand play.

A bit of refreshment.

Kicking back.

cheesy grin, again! BTW, Just kidding about the tongue thing!

Hi, Mom!!

Swimming with Dad after work.

Splash! Splash!

See you tomorrow!

At the Park

Fall Colors & Baking Treats

Liv got a surprise in the mail (and opened it at breakfast this morning). Grandma and Grandpa sent a bit of NE fall color to remind us of "home"!!

"Leaf!" "Leaves"

"Oooooh"

"Wampa! Leaf!"

We also baked some oatmeal cookies this afternoon. Yummy!!!

Update & Beach Pictures

An update.
And some pictures from another happy day in Alameda.

All is well here. We are progressing on the home buying front, looking forward to closing/moving at the end of the month. Jeff is currently traveling like a maniac. What's today? Friday? He's in Long Beach, CA... but headed back to Honolulu this evening. (Then back to Long Beach, & back to Honolulu. Vancouver is in there, too, somewhere... But, he'll be home for the closing - if all goes according to plan.)

Liv is doing very well! She's talking more and more. Someone (I think it was the pediatrician) asked "How many words does she know?" HA!!! First of all... she "knows" hundreds and hundreds, she understands nearly everything she hears, how many can she "say" that's different, but still, I can't keep up! She can repeat most things she hears, though there are some sounds that are still pretty difficult to make: words that start with an "ess" sound, especially. and ending sounds are hard too... and sometimes they get remembered a little jumbled: She often says "topa" for potato. But can repeat the word "potato." Stuff like that. She's taking a single afternoon nap, and wakes up (and wakes me up) in the middle of the night about half the time. It's not horrible. Currently her favorite toys are: Mr. Potato Head (which she refers to as either "topa" or "eyeball"), a shape sorting cube with colored blocks, crayons, a little bowl of pennies, flashcards, and a baby doll.

The pregnancy is going well. We're about 6 months now. The baby has started really kicking up a storm this past week. So FUN!!

We're a little nervous about flu this season. I was surprised by how often I caught little bugs when I was pregnant with Liv, and the current stats show that pregnant ladies are at least 6x more likely to get flu than other adults (why? I don't know) and complications from flu could be tragic. Liv and I will be getting vaccinated for seasonal & H1N1 as they become available to us. And we're staying away from some of the fun stuff we would normally do (e.g., sing-a-long). But between the flu/back-to-school germs and just my pregnancy nesting/cocooning instincts, and how much fun we have just playing at home or at the beach... it's no hardship, whatsoever. (and we haven't had a sniffle in WEEKS)

A trip to the beach is always a fun adventure.

Some shadow play.

A nice walk.

More shadow play. (omg!)

Mom & Liv

And Baby-to-be.

We miss you, Jeff.

A Happy Day

On Monday, Liv helped make cupcakes!

She's quite the little baker.

After nap, she helped decorate.

We called the sprinkles "colors" as in "put the colors on the cake, Livvy!"
She called them all "yellow!"

Some "yellow" made it on the cakes. :)

And to make the day even better... We got a copy of the contract for the house, signed by the seller! Hooray!

Sailing on the Bay

Our dear friends, Skip & Jody, invited us out for a sail on their new boat this weekend!

What a treat! Jody was practicing with another sailing team, while we were out on the water, but we all spent the later afternoon & evening together after sailing.

Liv had a great time charging around the dock looking at all the "big. boats." and the "kids. boats. water." (the junior sailing team was out in their dingies, too!)

After a lovely sail (sorry no pictures... I had my hands full), Liv was lulled into a nap.

(Angel Island, background)

In the lee of the island we motored for a bit and had some sandwich and juice.
(and a chance to take some video)

It was a great time! And I am so grateful to Skip's generocity and capability. He and Jeff handled the boat so very well, while Liv and I sat back and enjoyed the ride! We had such lovely weather! When was the last time we had such nice breeze and could wear shorts & tshirts on the bay?!?!

18 months

Liv is now 18 months old.

So far - so good!

We went in for a check-up earlier this week.

Her stats:

weight: 23 pounds

height: 32 inches

all her vaccines are up-to-date (except for the flu shots... not yet available for under-3 babies)

she's on track for physical & cognitive development (as far as we can tell)

and everyone's happy to see a healthy baby!

She's talking more and more... which is such fun.
Stringing words together, and just naming things!

Mommy is about 23 weeks along in the pregnancy.

And likewise... all is well.

(Tho' her arms aren't quite long enough to get the whole belly in the camera-phone shot. LOL)

Jeff is home for two weeks!

Except for the "emergencies" that pop up and call him out to the various facilities.

It remains a challenge for him to get productive work done (not to mention conference calls) with an active & talkative toddler underfoot.

Which makes us all the more excited to be progressing on our home purchase.

That's news for now... thanks for stopping by!

Mom & Apple Pie

Liv's first pie!

Yes... we do actually cook on the floor.
It's as clean as the counters, I promise. (for whatever that's worth... LOL)