Maui August 2009

Finally getting around to posting some pictures from our recent trip to Maui. Get ready, my previous post was long in speech and this one is a lot of pictures! It was a short trip and work related for Scott, but nice to get away. We will be heading there again for the week of Thanksgiving with Scott's family. We are all soooo excited about it. Our hotel suite was awesome and so huge that when we walked in for the first time, Dayton said, "wow this is a really nice kind of place" and then proceeded to check it out. I guess this was considered Addley's "first" vacation. Pretty spoiled at 7 weeks if you ask me! We stayed on a different side of the island this time at the Westin Resort. It was really beautiful but for some reason didn't have a "kiddie" pool. The pools were called kids pools at only 4 feet deep but there were no wading pools for toddlers. That kind of stunk because the kids weren't comfortable in the deep pool unless they were clinging to daddy. Weeks before the vacation Dayton talked about going down the water slide and when we got there we discovered that there was a "big kids" slide and a "little kids" slide. Daddy took Dayton down the slide once and that was the end of that. Apparently at the bottom, Scott's feet slid out from under him and dunked both himself and Dayton. Needless to say, it was not a hit. He also wanted to go under the "waterfall" in the pool so Scott had one on each hip and took them under. Dayton freaked out and did not want to come back out. Sadly, I missed out on all this fun because I was busy taking pictures and watching Addley. The flights went well, navigating the airport was horrible, and transportation to/from the airport was a nightmare. Then again, what kind of travel is ever easy with little kids? At least we are well practiced for our next trip there in November.
Addley (7 weeks) hanging out on vacation
Our "suite" living, dining, office area with wrap around balcony and oceanfront view. Very nice!
The fancy master bathroom.
View of grounds and pool with waterslides. Big slide (white on left), small slide (green on right).
View of ocean from balcony.
Scott taking the kids under the waterfall.
Dayton & Saige playing at the beach.
Mommy & Addley at the beach.
Dayton refusing to have a "nice" picture taken while out at dinner.
Saige asleep on Daddy right before dinner is served. That's what happens when she refuses to nap.
Dayton, Saige & Daddy having their picture taken with a giant sperm whale. Dayton said it was a dinosaur.
The kids checking out a map of Maui.
Taking an afternoon walk and Dayton discovers an anchor.
Then he discovers a frog and needs to have a ride.
The kids agree to have a picture taken together...sort of.
Saige insists on having a turn riding the frog.
Horrible composition but such a cute picture of Saige.
Saige looking like such a big girl out at dinner.

Beauty From The Backyard

Every once in awhile you come across something so beautiful in life it takes your breath away. I captured these pictures one recent evening before the sun went down. In fact, it was Dayton that pointed it out..."mommy, come look at the cool clouds and the moon."

Long Time No Blog

I've certainly thought about blogging lately, but somehow just never seem to get around to it. Granted I don't have a ton of time, but at some point I just started to procrastinate - where does one start after a whole month has passed? I suppose with the kids. I have 3 to talk about now, so this might be a long one...you may want to have a potty break and perhaps grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine depending on what time of the day it is where you are. Dayton is into his second month at preschool. The first few weeks were...well...not so great. Several tantrums in the morning, talk of kids being mean to him, talk of having no friends and not liking his teacher. I kept telling myself to give it time. He just loved it so much last year. Granted his best (and probably only) friend from school moved to Thailand, and his old teacher retired, and his teaching assistant left, and he was in a totally different classroom....I don't know why I thought it would be easy for him to go back. With a little time and a lot of encouragement and a few teacher parent discussions, he has settled in and is back to "loving" it. This year he has come home talking about cubes and hexagons, is singing all kinds of songs I don't recognize and has developed a strong sense of imaginative play. He is still having some difficulty with some of the ethnic names of kids in his class so I only tend to hear about kids with "easy to say" names. We've also enrolled him in a hip hop class (I need to figure out how to post a video) once a week after school. He is starting to like it a little but keeps saying how "hard" it is. I think he expected to be able to "freestyle" in his dance class instead of learning steps of a routine. I love my little man and I couldn't be more proud of him. I can hardly believe he will be 4 years old in just a few short days. Breaks my heart yet warms it at the same time.
Saige...oh geez...where to start...well, she is by far the true epitome of a sassy diva. Strong willed, spirited, sensitive, determined, persistent, bossy, imaginative. Did I add any bad adjectives in there? Like manipulative, obnoxious and....hmmm...what's a nice word?...moody. She rarely wears clothes, still refuses to sleep more than 8 hours, in incredibly obsessive about her baby sister and constantly has to touch her, hug her and give her "wittle tiny baby Addwee sister tisses". Put it this way...I am currently reading "How to behave so your preschooler will too" as well as "How to solve your child's sleep problems." Obviously I'm not finished either one. I've enrolled her at MyGym in a playgroup once a week and she's been my stroller partner in my Stroller Strides exercise class.
Addley is 13 weeks old now. Yes I know, it seems like she was just born. She is at times a spitting image of Saige and at times one of Dayton. It depends what old picture I pull out. Another project...post some so you all can be the judge. She is a happy, active baby. She is hitting her milestones early (a little too fast in my opinion) and is incredibly amused by her brother. He is the one person that can easily make her burst out in uncontrollable laughter. She's about 15lbs now. Her next appointment isn't for another week or so, so I'll find out then. It appears as though she is large for her age but not quite as large as Saige was.
As for me, I have been busy and getting out a lot more. I've decided that a tidy and clean house is near impossible with 3 kids and two dogs so I've developed a unique ability to ignore those things that would otherwise normally bother me. I don't vaccuum every single day anymore...it's kind of nice. On Mondays I've been trying to get out and do a hike with friends. On Tuesdays I take the girls and push the double jogger up the lighthouse hike. Wednesdays is my Baby Hui group with Addley - I've met some nice people and Addley is making some friends. Thursdays I try and do the lighthouse hike a second time and on Fridays Ive been taking the girls in the double jogger and doing a Stroller Strides class. It's basically a circuit training/running group for moms who have young kids. For me, the running is the easy part...the circuit training is hard. The instructor really pushes you to push yourself. Most muscle groups are targets through the use of resistance bands and added to that are cardio drills to keep your heart rate up. I really just thought it would be a social type class where moms speedwalk and talk about their kids. Um..no. No time for talk until the class is over. No ability to talk because I'm out of breath. It's hard, but I love it.
Lest we not forget the man of the house...Scott...he's doing well. It's football season...what else is there to say? He gets about 500 channels of football in high definition. He does a lot of yelling and refereeing depending on who is playing/winning/losing. The kids wonder what's wrong with him. Dayton doesn't like to watch football. Saige calls it baseball. He is hoping Addley grows up to be his football watching partner. I've been informed that if the Saints ever make it to the superbowl that he will be attending that game no matter where it might take place and no matter how much it might cost. I figure by the time that happens, Addley will be old enough to go with him!
Okay, this is getting a little long...let me post some pictures....tomorrow.