Big Island

As many of you know Chris and I spent last week on the Big Island in Hawaii for our 3rd anniversary. We had 5 full days and a day of travel on each side to spend exploring, relaxing in the sun, catching up on some much needed sleep, yummy food and just enjoying one another. We had a great time and could not have asked for better weather (80's the entire time!). Neither one of us had been to the Big Island before so it was exciting to venture into something new together. I have always gone to Maui and Chris has been to Honolulu and Maui. The Big Island is so much different and definitely a must see at least once in your lifetime. There is so much to see on this island you simply can't do it all. We stayed on the west side of the island just north of Kona at the Hilton Waikola Resort. It was enormous, almost too big but very nice. We had to walk about 1/2 mile to our room from the lobby every day or take a monorail or boat. We chose to walk everywhere majority of the time which helped keep off some (hence the word SOME) of the lbs from all the yummy food and fruity drinks we enjoyed. We also got to enjoy the whales every single day. Within 5 minutes of sitting on our balcony you could spot numerous whales putting on a show, sometimes for up to 30 minutes straight. So cool! Here are some of our pics from the trip; I didn't bring my nice camera which I regretted once I got there! Bummer!

The tower we stayed at the Hilton (this is taken from the opposite tower so you can see how far you would walk as you can't even see the middle tower in this photo!):

Taking the boat to our room:Our Green Sea Turtle friends we snorkeled with:Hapuana Beach (one of the top 10 in the world....the sand is soft as powder and swimming/snorkeling here is awesome! We had high surf one day and Chris spent a good 45 minutes playing in the waves)My attempt at an underwater pic of Chris...not so bad for not being able to see a thing!We saw our first ever black sand beach...crazy to see your toes in black sand!We spent an entire day on the east side of the island around the Hilo area exploring the volcano, Akaka Falls, Botanical Garden and the scenic drive along the coast back to Kona. Absolutely stunning!Frozen lake of lava with the active crater steaming in the background. Absolutely amazing sight to see that our little pocket camera does not do any justice!Getting ready to head into the Lave Tube (an actual tunnel naturally made of lava)Akaka Falls (one of the most famous on the islands)Botanical Gardens:Chris went fishing for a day and caught a tuna and also fought a 600 pound marlin for an hour and almost had him in the boat but the hook came out. While this was the second time fighting a marlin for him and losing it (first was our honeymoon in Fiji) he had a great time with the fight!
We had a fabulous time and can't wait to take Henry to Hawaii one day! He would have loved it, but who wouldn't? Aloha!

Little H's Mini Vaca

We just got back from Hawaii yesterday and before I jump into the adventures of our "adult time" I just have to fill you in on Henry's mini vacation at nauna and bapa's house. First and foremost a BIG thank you to my parents for keeping our precious little man so mom and dad could whoop it up in Hawaii for some much needed couple time. I know you are sleep deprived and we cannot even express how grateful we are to have you both! We didn't worry about him one single bit as we knew he was in the best of hands.

I will admit it was really really hard to leave him; much harder than I even anticipated. Yes, I was that girl on the curb of the airport drop off sobbing. I'm not sure if the Hawaiian Airlines Check-In Counter see that many teary eyed people headed to the islands! But I will say that the daily emails, phone calls and pictures from nauna and Henry made it a bit easier as I didn't feel so far removed. Henry also gave me a flat silver rock with an angel on one side and the words "Always with you" on the other. His nauna helped him pick it out and carried him to me in the morning to let him drop it into my palm before we left. I don't think I put that rock down the entire flight there!

Just to show you how amazing my mother is, check out this first email I got recapping his first day.

Subject: Henry loves you
Message:

Henry had a great day! He had a morning poop, morning nap, snack, mid-morning poop, played at the park and giggled on the swings. He then had lunch, another good poop, napped in nauna's lap for almost an hour and a half, had a snack, dinner, and another (small) poop! He had 4 bottles: 2 with whole milk and 2 with formula (first one with his mommy). He brushed his teeth, read a book, said his prayers, and went happily to bed for the night.

He played and giggled and talked to his mom and bapa Bill on the phone and had a grand time. He misses his mommy, but he is happy she and his dad are enjoying some time together because he loves them so much.

Henry loves his mommy and daddy and sends the biggest loves ever ....giant hugs and kisses!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Nauna, for Henry :o)

This was amazing to me as it touched on everything...she knew I would want to know all about his poops! And, man did he poop a lot!

And, to make things even better I received numerous emails like this one we got our first morning in Hawaii. (Henry absolutely LOVES to type on the computer...not sure what language he is speaking just yet though!)

Subject: Good morning

Message:

This is from Henry .....sending his love to mommy and daddy.

xw2p pf vuhjvnvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvbvvvnvbvbbvvbbvvbvbvbvbvce,kjopcckcm,mckknffdfwe,8ughffugujfufh f aqj8ikiilot8 dhy bsdejhvwgrfzz zx

He's down for his morning nap now ....we had a good night. I am going to nap now too :o)
Enjoy your day ...call us later. Love you!

Not only did we get daily updates but when I picked him up they had two CD's full of pictures and videos of his week. We truly didn't miss a thing! It was fun to watch him learn to crawl down the stairs backwards on video, play in his very own drum circle, "walk" around on his knees and just simply enjoy being outside on all his adventures to the park. Thanks again mom and Bill for being so incredibly thoughtful. You take such good care of all of us! We are sooooo very lucky!

Here are some of my favorite pics they took of our little man!

Enjoying his first chocolate organic doughnut! Notice the "thumbs up!" Bapa and Henry after a fun day at the park...check out those muddy knees!H's new yoga mat (nauna taught him the downward puppy dog move!)Also, today I decided it was time to give Henry a proper hair cut and nauna and I took him to Wallingford Center to Little Clippers for a hair cut. He HATED it! I felt so bad that we walked over to the toy store immediately after so he could pick out a new toy. I think he forgave me! ;o)

Had to move to mom's lap...

Before and after pic (you can't tell but he had a mullet before the cut. I think he will thank me as soon as all his girlfriends see the new do!)

So glad to have my family all back together. We had a great time but I don't see any trips in the near future without our little bundle of joy with us! I just missed him way too much! Love you Henry and thank you for being such a big boy and not being mad at mommy and daddy when we got back; we really love all those kisses you have been saving up for us! XOXO

Happy Birthday!

Today Henry officially turned 1!!! I cannot believe we have reached this milestone already! What a wonderful year filled with more joy and love than I could have ever imagined. Truly a blessing you have been to our lives Henry. We cannot wait to watch you continue to explore the world and bring more smiles at each corner. There are simply no words to explain how much love we have for you. Here is a look back on the past 12 months. Happy Birthday Lil' Man!

Our first family pic:

3 Weeks Old:

7 Weeks Old:3 Months Old:

4 Months:

5 Months:6 Months:

7 Months:8 Months:

9 Months:10 Months: 11 Months: 1 year old!!!! And, for our family back in Kentucky here is H this morning opening his gifts....GO BIG BLUE!

Happy Birthday Lil' Man! XOXOXOX...a million trillion times!

Just a taste...

What a wonderful 1st bday party we had today for little H! More details when mama isn't so pooped! But, until then here is a smile to start your week off right. Love this kid!

A Day w/ The Fam

It was such a nice day today we decided to pack up the dogs and head to the family house at Brown's Point to let them swim in the Puget Sound and get us out of the house for some fresh air. We all had a blast! Henry played in the sand for the first time or I should say tasted sand for the first time and loved it! It's so nice to have my husband home on the weekends now! It's been a long stretch of crazy work hours at the farm and it is so nice to have all my boys home playing together. It has really re-energized me and I feel so happy with my life. I honestly don't know if I could be happier than I am right now. I am simply happy. My heart is constantly smiling. But, honestly how could it not when your husband has been going the extra mile to make you feel special with roses out of the blue, yummy dinners and some good TLC. Add an adorable, incredibly happy baby to the mix and life can't get much better! Here are some of my favorite pics of our fun day at the beach.

There was a bench at the park with the name "Henry" already engraved...had to get a pic!

Our crazy dogs!

Playing in the sand and then having a melt down as mom stopped him from eating another handfull!