Hawaii Bound Baby!

Maliana ~

This will be a brief wrap up of this week so far, because...tomorrow we are flying to Maui for our first real family vacation!!!

In a nutshell, this week has included a deepened love of yours for "your friendly neighborhood Spiderman". Ha ha! The movies have been on all week and you have been glued to the TV anytime he pops his masked blue and red head onto the screen...I think you have some sort of crush, kiddo.

I also noticed this week that you had won a prize for your school's funny face contest the other week, and actually have your picture on a poster in their lobby. I wasn't surprised, you're my silly girl!

On Tuesday, I tried to sneak out of bed at 3am to get some medicine in the kitchen. However, you had heard me and a couple minutes later, I heard your soft little footsteps padding out into the kitchen after me, still rubbing your little eyes and gripping your silkie, you asked, "What happened Mommy?" When I told you I was sick and just needed some medicine, you asked, "Big hug?" and then proceeded to throw your little arms around my legs...stepping back to ask again, "Happy?" (your way of asking if I felt better). It was so sweet. But needless to say, we were both exhausted the rest of the day because it took you quite a while to get back to sleep and by then, it was my turn to get up and go to work at 5am. You did help me vote after school though, and then Daddy took you to Red Robin for dinner so that I could have a break and get some packing done. You both had a lot of fun on your "date".

You also have been doing really good at brushing your own teeth now. You pay such close attention when we've shown you how to brush all of your teeth, you nearly do it perfectly. We are so impressed with you (and it's so nice to not have any tears with that anymore!) You even get your "secret tooth" scrubbed too...(FYI this is the tooth that is erupting right in your cleft that is a bit hidden, so we've grown accustomed to calling it your "secret tooth" to make it sound special and fun :)

Wednesday, I took you to Giant Eagle for a bite to eat in their cafe after school. We had a blast, even at something so simple. Mainly because you were very animatedly telling me all sorts of stories over our meal...I couldn't catch a lot of them, but some of the topics included "going up and down", showing me how you do the splits, babies, airplanes, and much, much more. The best part to each story was the end when you would throw your head back and laugh to yourself...obviously some very humorous stuff! I just can't wait until I can understand all of your speech. You are such a hoot! After lunch we went to their bakery where you picked out a cookie and then took it, along with some money I gave you, to a cashier, put the cookie up on the belt, and then gave the cashier the money when she rung us up. You did this all on your own and were VERY proud of yourself! You strutted out of that store with your little bag like you were the best thing since sliced bread. I loved watching you (as did numerous other people that I caught smiling at you too :) In the evening, we took Lao Lao out for Indian food for her birthday. You made her a card and waited in our living room window for her, excited to wish her a happy birthday. Once again, you loved the Indian food...and I'm just so happy to have one more person to eat that cuisine with me!

Today, I think, will be a whirlwind of activity getting everything squared away for takeoff tomorrow. Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Micah will meet us there in Maui. They are both so excited to be coming along and Aunt Lindsey said she is looking forward to some good bonding time with you! It still only barely feels like we'll actually be going on this vacation. I don't think it will feel real until we're actually on the plane. Hopefully all goes smoothly. I'm a little nervous about your ears on the flight since I have a horrible time with the air pressure myself. Anyway, I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time, together as a family, on those beautiful beaches!!
~ Aloha Baby ~

Love,
Mama