Vacation in a Nutshell

We are back in Portland, where it is strangely warmer than it was in Hawaii. The weather forecast, however, is calling for cooler temperatures, so we'll see.

Anyway, Hawaii was fantastic. Henry was awesome on the airplane; which is what I was most worried about. Of course it helped that Gigi and Uncle Geoff were on the same flight home as us...extra help! Hawaii was the first time Henry had been in a swimming pool (other than the little plastic one in the backyard!) and he loved it. We got him a little inflatable innertube and he could float around in that but he also liked just being held in the water. Brett, being the former swim instructor/lifeguard, was able to help Henry feel really comfortable in the water and make sure he didn't get overwhelmed. Henry also loved the ocean and jumping into the waves. Most of all he loved riding the boogie board we rented for the week. And by riding, I mean kneeling on the board and then leaning his head over the plastic see-through hole in it to look at the fish and coral and various other underwater flora and fauna. It was hilarious. I could not believe that he caught on to the idea of looking through the "window" on the board to see under the water, but he totally did. It was awesome. He also got to see a couple sea turtles, which was so cool once he realized that he was looking at a big animal and not a big rock! Uncle Mike cooked for us nearly every day - a wide range of cuisines...sort of an international and Hawaiian fusion using lots of fresh ingredients from the plentiful farmers' markets. We went to a luau one night; we weren't sure how Henry would like it but it turns out it was a fantastic event for him. He was captivated by the dancers and music, got to people watch, and also got to run around a little. Given the success of the boogie board we thought he might enjoy a glass bottom boat tour. Not so much. Maybe it was bad timing (early afternoon) or maybe it was that he couldn't run/climb on the boat like he wanted to, but he didn't seem too keen to just sit and look at the ocean - although he did for a little bit and got to see some more fish. I do have some video of him on the boogie board, however it's about 15 minutes long which is way too long to post here, so I have to edit it down...stay tuned!

Now that we're home, we've definitely got to start taking him to the local pool so he can continue to get swimming lessons from his daddy. We're all still adjusting to the time change. I think it's harder to come back this way because you want to stay up later than you should and then have to get up earlier than you want to! Plus I've got the dreaded bedroom switch to look forward to. Arg. I am not looking forward to moving him into his own room to sleep, but I know it needs to be done for all our sakes. Off to the doctor's office tomorrow for what was supposed to be a 15 month check up but is now a 16 month check up...vital stats to follow.