The Sweet Pea Diaries: Hawaii

So we're back. And whew! What a trip! It's not exactly the same with a little girl (read: complete lack of sleep), but just as fun. Tia and Uncle Chuck are officially hitched and I informed Uncle C that this means he gets to change poopy diapers now. He had to turn down yesterday's poopy mess. Even Tia had to hand it over to me it was so bad. Can't blame 'em. Poop is only something a mother could...love?

Miss E decided to surprise us with her very first illness since she was born. The night before we left. Yeah, the runny nose that started in the afternoon turned into a 9pm trip to the After Hours Clinic run by our pediatrician's office.

Along with the nose, E had been throwing up during the day. Not totally uncommon. She has a bad gag reflex so anything caught on her tongue causes her to ralph. Anytime she is even slightly constipated, up comes her lunch. We are used to it. No biggie. However, the minute we walked into that clinic, the monster was unleashed. Literally. E puked. (Thank goodness Dada was holding her, I couldn't take anymore.) And puked. And upchucked. And vommed. On herself. On Dada. On the floor, all over the floor. For about 15 seconds there was complete chaos. The nurse is running to get a bucket, Shaun is trying to get me to do something, I'm trying to catch projectile vomit with a burpcloth. All while trying not to bust into tears because my baby is clearly not feeling well. And it's extremely unsettling to see your child throw up like that.

So a wonderful smelling Dada and naked bebe sit down in a room and wait. After a quick look in an ear, the doctor proclaimed that our little had an ear infection. What?!?! She's never been sick, I say. What do we do, we are supposed to be on a plane in 12 hours?? This wonderful woman explains that we caught the infection very early and a few days of antibiotics and she'll be fine.

And she was right. We put that munchkin on the plane, handed out super cute bags of Halloween candy to the unsuspecting passengers and E was a doll. People couldn't get over how good she was. She didn't nap though, so by the time we got to the hotel, our baby was wiped.

She did pretty well considering the crazy change to her routine. The time change had her up between 4a-5a every morning but she went to bed at her usual 7p. She was definitely clingy and whiny at times, but was much better that I was prepared for. Needless to say, Shaun and I were a bit exhausted by the time we got home.

The trip back was pretty good. She slept on Shaun about 4 hours out of the 7. Once we boarded the plane in Dallas, she was out again in Dada'a arms. Now that we are back home she is adjusting back to normalcy. She goes to bed around 8p and doesn't wake up until 8a! WOOT!! And today she took 3 hours worth of naps. I'm loving it!

So on to the pictures!

Splashing with Dada in the kiddie pool

The first day we took her to the beach was a major fail. She was terrified of the waves. Shaun kept trying to put her down and she would scramble like a shark was after her back into his arms. So we tried again a few days later. After sitting with me for a good 20 minutes and me happily exclaiming "Water!!" every time the waves would come up, she finally decided to give this whole sand thing a try.

Hmmmm...this is new! Can I eat it??

Our gorgeous view

Daddy's cute idea to get a picture of E's footprints. Yeah, too bad she only weighs about 17 pounds and hardly leaves a mark.

But I don't waaaaaaannnaaa get down Mama!!!

Pick me up, pick me up, PICK ME UP!!!

Huh, this isn't so bad

The videographer, Jones, arrived to film some beach footage. Once Miss E saw that camera come out, she knew it was time to get it together, perform and look awfully cute.

Don't be fooled by the cuteness here. She's trying to distract you so she can scoop up some sand to sneak in her mouth.

See me punch Dada?? Yeah, your next!!

E was a mess after the beach. She had sand on her face, in all that hair. Yuck!

There was more sand on her face before this picture, she just snuck some into her mouth. Yeah.

The day ended with a wonderful sunset right outside our room and a sleepy baby girl.

We ventured into Old Town Lahaina, one of my favorite places in Maui. It's filled with little shops, great restaurants and old charm. There's a great place to eat and get drinks on the water called Kimo's. We've sampled their Lava Flow and Blue Hawaii on every trip to Maui. Ella sat by the water and studied the sights while mom and dad had Bikini Blondes, a local brew.

Like father, like daughter

The neighbor island Lanai

So E has this thing with sugar packets. I guess it's the noise? She thrashes them around, holds her hand out to give them to you then promptly drops them on the floor and looks up at you with expecting eyes.

She thought the ocean needed some sugar. Too salty, she said.

Every morning we visited the grand buffet at The Grand Wailea. It is truly a smorgasborg. That's the only way to describe it. Ella sampled local fruit and toast for breakfast every day.

Love me some pineapple!

Then it was off to Hailimale General Store, on the way up to Haleakala Crater. Another favorite on our trips to Maui.

For some reason Ella likes to be a big girl. She doesn't show much interest in baby food, opting for chunks of adult food. And she drinks better out of a regular cup than a sippy cup. When doing so, she often gulps too much water and then "coughs". Hurry up, someone dial 911!!

Such a faker

Then on to the town of Makawao (pronounced maka-wow) to visit a local artist's showroom.

This is the artist, Sherri Reeve. She is only in the store one day a week and we got lucky! She absolutely fell in love with Ella. And Ella loved her. They hung out while Sassy and Gigi browsed through art. After ooing and ahhing over Ella she told us, "You two should do the world a favor and have another baby!" Yeah, she said that! Of course, Ella was on her very best behavior and cheese-in it up for all the people in the gallery. We even picked up an adorable print for Ella's room that Sherri signed for us!

After a long day, we headed home. And Ella had to stop and admire her favorite piece of art.

A large painting that hung in the lobby of the hotel caught our future art enthusiast's eye.

Then it was time for Tia and Uncle Chuck to tie the knot.

I am the flower girl

Show me the money Sassy!!

More pics to come courtesy of Heather Banks of Eclectic Images,

http://www.eclecticimagesphotography.com/

Then we left Ella with Sassy, Poppy and Gigi and hit the ropes. Metal ropes that is.

Ziplining!!! At Piiholo Ranch, the largest ranch on Maui. If you've never been, you are missing the greatest adventure of your life. Racing 3000 ft above sea level from one mountain to another is breathtaking! A little scary as you stand on the platform and your eyes take in the massive expanse in front of you, but totally worth it!

Those little bitty lines from one point to another across a valley