"Ca-tion"

We had a mini "staycation" on island.  We were generously invited to 4 test day's of Disney's Aulani, which is the hotel Chris has been feverishly working on to complete.  (phase I)  I was purely excited just to get to see my husband for more than 1 minute at 5 o'clock in the am when he would leave for work and 1 more minute at 12:00 am the next day when he would get home to do it all over again.   He was exhausted and I wasn't quite sure he could separate himself from work by being at the place her works at, but he did a great job.

The hotel is absolutely beautiful.  There are so many things that I like about it.  The grounds are amazing and the 3 story slide is F-U-N!!!!  The Spa is the best I have ever been too.  I relaxed just by walking in before I even got my massage.  We were treated with the Disney quality that is not easily found on island.  I could go on and on but you really should consider at least a brief stay there if/when you come to visit.  My most favorite part was watching the fun that Helaina had.  She kept saying "cation" and smiling.  Despite being a "Disney" family we have somewhat 'sheltered' her from any type of characters.  This weekend singlehandedly threw her into character 'awareness.'  She was obsessed with them all (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Stitch)  However, she would not dare touch or take her eyes off them when approached.

Since our honeymoon to Thailand, with the exception of family visits, we have taken 1 vacation which was 3 days to Maui.  It was our 1st family 'cation.' It really was a great time and we hope to do it again while we are still here.

Our 1st character encounter

The second -- Auntie Ro protecting her from Stitch

She did not take her eye off him (he's kinda' scary)

Sunset with Daddy

Uncle Jim and Auntie Ro

Menehune water playground

Lazy River with Daddy

Yummy Dinner night!

Yup, even Mickey waffles

Maybe that's why Micky finally got a kiss

View from above. Check out the lazy river and the slides!

This cation stuff is tiring work!

It was a good couple of days, mates.

Our friends Laura and Nate Hall came to visit us with the daughter, Abbie all the way from Australia!  Ok, well really they were coming to Hawaii and we invited them to stay at our place but I wanted to make some of you feel a little guilty for not visiting yet, even if it was just for a moment.  It was really great to see them and special to see Helaina have a play mate for a couple days since we are still missing her best buds,  Sydney and Kalina who have moved away.  Abbie is one month older than Helaina and the Hall's are expecting again one month ahead of us so everyone was on the same page.  The girls went to the beach together and did a nice job of sharing (as best as one and half year old children can do.)  They even switched hats on our way to the playground one day.  You can almost see that they would be good buds if the geography was different.

They were already picking up boys together but
don't tell Nate or Chris that :o)

Unfortunately, we only got to spend a few days with them before we headed out to our island staycation (info to follow).  They left us with some good memories, some AMAZING chocolate that I'm devouring from Australia, and a sweet mini mouse doll that Helaina has not let out of her sight since receiving as a generous gift.  They were great house guests and we hope to have them again -- where ever that may be.

Transition

Transition is the hardest part of labor and it's true for most things in life as well.  Most of us do not simulate well to change and this is especially true for most children.  We are in a transition period with Helaina.  She has thrown herself out of the crib (literally) and into a big girl bed.  I was under the impression that most children do this closer to 3 so I must applaud her eagerness for progress.  I shouldn't be surprised as I broke my arm at 18 month jumping out of the crib myself.  ( I'm quite certain I have heard my mom laughing, now anyway).
After the shock and scare wore off (well most of it anyway), we took action.  Action included a trip to Babies R Us (my least favorite store on the planet, but I digress), to the tune of $385 buckaroos with a coupon.  What pray tell, you may ask did the small fortune get us?

1.  Two boxes of diapers -- nothing to do with our issue but if it's one less time I need to step in the forsaken store, all the better for me.
2.   One new monitor to replace the piece of junk we purchased on our first go round that was not cheap either.  Camera 2 is on it's way from online -- and cheaper too.
3.  One bed side rail to replace the one that came with the "big girl" bed.  The one that came with left no room for the 19 month old to crawl down when trying to get out of the bed --- therefore having her fall once again - a much smaller distance than a high crib  -- but none the less this one makes it more safe for her escape efforts.  The new one is shorter and when placed correctly, leaves a nice sized opening for her to get down without head injury (in theory)
4.  One stool since even with the new opening, she's not tall enough to reach the floor safely.  -- I love teaching my 19 month old how to climb on things when she hadn't yet figured it out.
5. Safety locks for her drawers -- not that there is anything unsafe in her draws but for Mommy's sanity when she is in the room by herself and decides to "yard sale" everything in her drawers.
6.  Chocolate -- because I'm pregnant I couldn't have a drink -- not that babies r us served alcohol but maybe they should consider since I feel like I've been taken advantage of every time I leave there.

Big enough to help put it together too.

Looks like a 3 year olds room to me

So with all our new items, we have embarked on our big girl bed adventures.  We are showing signs of progress and it's not as painful as the first few days were.  We had company come to stay with us (info to follow) so we weren't as steadfast as we would have been with letting her work it out.  We even slept on her floor one night to get her to stop crying and stay in her bed.  Now that we are back from our staycation (info also to follow) and our company has left, we are all business when promptly returning her to her bed and getting her to work it out on her own.  We are showing signs of hope that it's working.

It's been a learning experience for all of us.  My best friend Cathy has often said, "just remember that everything that kids do (good and bad) it's all a phase."  I try to remember that when I am on the 17th time of returning her to her bed.  I'll keep you posted of our progress. On the bright side, we will have one less crib to buy and one less transition to cross when baby 2 get's here.  

Oh Baby!

Although my belly is growing and we have monthly visits where we hear the heartbeat, there is nothing like the confirmation of your pregnancy than having an ultrasound.  We were blessed today to see and the littlest Higgs baby and to find that everything is progressing nicely.  We have chosen to opt out of the newer (and older) technologies of genetic testing so hearing the doctor's confirmation of a healthy baby was encouraging.  The pictures are currently displaying the appropriate alien look but it's still a face a mother can love.  Also, there is a 100% chance of the baby being a girl......

or a boy.  Helaina came along for the visit and kept saying "baby" while looking at the screen.  It was very sweet.  She was also very patient and polite.  Hopefully a sign of things to come for her sibling.

such a cute skeletal foot

Thumb sucking!

Everyone else is also doing well.  We are currently hosting our friends Jerry and Mike for their first Hawaii visit.  It's great because we get to do the 'tour of the island' that we don't take advantage of often enough.  Helaina has quite enjoyed their visit as well. (pictures to follow later)

The first phase of project that Chris is working on opens next week so he is more busy than I thought possible for one person.  I can't help but feel confirmation that God looked fairly upon me when he joined Chris and I together.  Despite his working ALL day (no exaggeration) for this whole week, he took time to come to the ultrasound, entertained our friends this weekend, and has not wavered from his amazing daddy and 'husbandness'.

Picture Tour de Florida

We're back!  Though we were gone for over 3 weeks, it flew by!  As is usually the case, when you are spending time with the people you love, it is never enough but we are grateful for the the time that we did  have.  It is impossible to capture all the moments that were shared or even to give you an idea of the fun we had (especially when I vacationed from blogging as well).  Honestly, we did not do anything special and yet we had the best time.  Hopefully this picture tour will give you a glimpse.

The park right by my brother's has kiddie swings!
Sounds "not that special" but there aren't any near us in Honolulu.
She LOVED them.

Uncle Frank (or uncle "fu&*" as she was working out the pronunciation) reading to H.

Dress up courtesy of London.

Playing games with Pop Pop, London, & Vegas

More dress up.

BFF with "San San"

Auntie keeping us stylish

Cousin Love

More Love for Sandy

Pretend Pedicure from Pop Pop

I loved turning 25 again

 

The 1st place Daddy and Mommy
had their 1st official date.  

Auntie baby sitting -- took everyone to Johnnie's
Fillin' Station for Burgers!

Looking at baby pictures to see who Helaina looks like...
Hmmmmm  She really does look like Chris and I as babies

An early birthday celebration for London

Lunch with ladies then off to pedicures
and shopping.  

Aghhhh.  Being almost 9 is good.

She loved being with her cousins.

Daddy's much anticipated arrival into SoFL.

The pool with Mimi was a BIG hit.

Family night out at Max's grill.  YUM

Helaina has magical powers to make Grandaddy
go swimming after a 25 year hiatus.

I don't look a day over 38.

I had to fight all the ladies (and some guys) off
of my strapping husband for "prom" aka
reunion night.

PS.  There was not shortage of eating, especially for me.  I weighed in at my doctors appointment to find that I gained 4 lbs during my visit.  :o)

As I said, we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the people we love.  We missed those who we didn't get to see but hope that we will be able to spend more time in the near future.......Stay tuned for some exciting news on the horizon.

WARNING: Baby Bragging Below

When Helaina was born, and frankly for the first 8 or 9 months, I truly thought she was a challenging baby.  In hindsight, I'm now fairly certain it was me learning how to become a new parent that was the huge challenge.  Don't get me wrong, it was extremely tough when she would only nap for 20 minutes at a time.  She was pretty strong willed about not napping or missing out on anything.  I'm not sure where she gets that from?  That can wear on anyone after 12 and 13 hours day after day by yourself.  When we transitioned to one nap, she finally would sleep (and still does) for 2-3 hours and get her (and mine) much needed rest.  My other hurdle was breast feeding but that was neither of our faults.  We just needed the care and concern of the right individuals to get through it, which we eventually found.

Looking back though, those have been my only huge challenges thus far.  We are incredibly blessed with her disposition.  Although it took a ton of patience and finesse in the beginning to get her to go to sleep, she has always been a great night sleeper.  Right from the get go, she started to give us huge night stretches that were the envy of my friends.  She still sleeps great from about 7:30PM - 7:00AM.

Her eating habits have been nothing less than stellar.  She has no problem eating leafy green veggies and other things that other kids won't touch.  It is not an exaggeration to say that she at times,  eats more than I do.  She could most resemble a gold fish in that I am certain if we kept feeding her, she would eat until she popped.  In the rare occasions when she was not feeling well enough to eat, I got a small glance into the problems that mom's of picky eater's have.  My heart goes out to them.  I'll would much rather have take a second mortgage out on the house to feed my daughter any day.

Always big smiles when she's eating

She has always been very flexible and adaptable.  For example, in our trips to "mainland," she has adjusted much quicker to the gruelling time change and the travel itself better than we had.  I pray that it the case with our upcoming travel next week.

As of late, she has blown the doors off any expectations that I have of a 1.5 year old.  Chis and I foolishly took her to a Sushi restaurant that sat us in a very small room with 5 other tables.  You could hear EVERY ONE'S conversations.  She ate off the menu and was close to a show pony with her behavior.  2 tables and a handful of waitress' came by to commend us on her behavior.  I smiled and said AMEN to the Lord to myself -- 'cause that can't be my parenting that would have dictated the situation.

Last week, I was helping my friend Rochelle get ready for a big party.  In my infinite wisdom, and because I don't have a ton of options, I took our toddler daughter to our big Costco visit.  She was an angel in the cart, for almost 2 1/2 hours!!!  We had to do some entertaining and of course some eating to keep her occupied but she seriously impressed me.

People of Walmart Costco

We have an amazing child.  She is sweet, happy, and open to learning among a whole list of other things that we think are great about her.  I'm sure this is a 'parent sydrome' to think your child is great but if it is, it is also my right to blog about it.  I really pray that she keeps shining and most importantly that I can add 'good teacher/example' to her accolades as she does have a sibling on the way.