Kauai - Travel Day

So after getting between one hour and one hour twenty minutes of sleep (we'll get to that story later) it was time to get ready to go to the airport.  Traffic allowed us to make good time, but not good enough for us to circle back once we got halfway to the airport and realized Anthony forgot his wallet.  Hey, with almost no sleep two nights in a row, what did we expect?  Luckily he had his ID on him, so we were good to go (literally).

This was Xander's second flight and we were hoping that it would be even better than his first, but secretly we were both a little terrified of how horrible it may turn out to be.  After we got into the air and Xander started to get fussy, we pulled out his cell phone for him to play with.  Mama had been hiding it from him for a week so he would be extra excited to play with it and much more well behaved on the plane.  It worked!  Just look how happy he was to be reunited with his phone!

Ultimately he was able to nap for a bit  - and Dada got to sleep a little too!

We brought along plenty of distractions for him to keep him busy.  When toys weren't enough anymore, we resorted to noise canceling headphones playing Gangnam Style on repeat... that lasted at least 20 minutes.

Unfortunately the flight was pretty turbulent and as much of a rock star as Mama tries to be, she's still not the best flier.  Mama was pretty worthless for about an hour of the 6 hour flight, but once she stopped being nauseous and got feeling back in her face and limbs, she was alright.  We were all pretty happy to get off the plane, regardless.

When we went to get our rental car, we learned a lesson about the generosity of strangers.  Strangers suck.  We had gotten to the rental shuttle station in time for a good spot on the curb so we'd be ensured a spot on the first shuttle, but after waiting quite a while for our shuttle to come, everyone managed to force us out of the way and fill the shuttle before we could get on.  Mama decided, based on google maps, it was a short enough walk that, despite the rain, it would be faster to just walk.  We did walk and wound up getting there before the next shuttle would have gotten us there, so it was worth the trip.  Plus, after being on a plane for 6 hours it was nice to walk for a little while and get some fresh Hawaiian air.

While Dada went inside to get the car, Mama and Xander waited outside with the bags.  While we waited, we were introduced to a little piece of Kauai - the chickens!  There are wild chickens all over the place around here and it is awesome!  Xander, of course, was calling them ti-ti and eventually found them quite hilarious and entertaining.  You can see the ear to ear smile the feathered ti-ti's gave him...

Once we finally got our car (not the sharpest knives working there, to say the least) we were on our way to the hotel.  It was really close to the airport, but we just had a little trouble finding it at first... oh well.  We rented a beautiful unit at the Marriott and Mama said it was the nicest place she'd ever stayed.  She felt so spoiled!

It was definitely past lunch time, either on Seattle or Hawaii time, so we headed out to find a grocery store and some lunch.  We had a deli sandwich and some store bought sushi for our first Hawaiian meal... nothing to write home about.  But we were so hungry!  Anything sounded good at that point.

After we had some food in our belly, we needed to get some food for our room.  Breakfast, milk & meals for Xander, some staples.  We bought just enough food to get us through most of the week (breakfast and some snacks) and when we left, Mama said by the amount of the bill she felt like she'd just gone on a shopping spree at Whole Foods!  Everything in Hawaii is SO expensive!

We didn't want to complain about being in Hawaii, but with the little sleep we got and all the little dramas that ensued throughout the day, we felt pretty beat up!  Xander was so tired that he went down for a nap and didn't wake up until the next day - a 14 hour nap!  Mama and Dada enjoyed a drink on the lanai that night and despite the bug bites we got, it was nice to just relax.  After a nice shower, we were beyond ready for bed, but looking forward to the next day of adventures!

2 Guitars!

Xander got an animal sounds guitar for his Birthday last year, and he loved it.  It was the toy he always took with him in the car for quite a few months.  Just when we thought he was tired of playing with it, he started back up with it again.  So it was pretty cool when Santa left Xander a different guitar under the tree this Christmas.  

You would think Xander would trade one guitar for the other.  Be the typical kid who drops the old toy for the new.  But nope.  One morning while Mama was finishing getting ready Xander came downstairs and opened his toy chest all by himself.  What was it he wanted to play with so badly?  When mama came downstairs, Xander was sitting quietly with both guitars in front of him just jamming away.  Of course, she couldn't get to the camera in time, but Xander likes the guitars so much he was bound to do it again!  

And, in fact, he did!  Sorta bad lighting for this one, but he's so dang cute!  How many blog posts have we ended with that fact?  So many... but that's cuz it's so TRUE!

Christmas Evening

After mostly all the presents were opened (including some cool stuff from Grandma and Grandpa for Xander, Mama and Dada, and visa versa) it was time to start making dinner.

Mama prepared a nice Christmas meal that started off with a Harvest Soup.  With notes of butternut squash, apple, potato, onion, leek and much more the soup was a hit!

Here's a quick photo before we dove into our soup with rolls.  Not pictured here, obviously, are Dada and Xander.  They were at the other end of the table.

After the soup, Mama prepared a tasty vegetarian meal.  An onion tart was served with roasted asparagus and a baked potato.  There were lots of mix ins for the potato so you could make that baby as fully loaded as you wanted.

Once anyone could think of eating again we had dessert!  Mama always makes lemon pizzelle at Christmastime because Grandma likes it so much.  Mama also picked up some tahitian vanilla bean gelato to go with the pizzelle - Auntie Samara's favorite!  And why not, that stuff is beyond delicious!  Grandma had made thimble cookies, which were super tasty, and there was peanut butter chocolate fudge too.  And who can forget, soutlach!  Everyone likes soutlatch!

After dessert, Auntie Samara and Uncle Jeremy had to get going so they could get to bed for work the next day.  But before they left, Auntie Samara made sure Xander opened his present from them too.  A new drum set!  Xander loves this toy, including the bright orange drumsticks!  It also plays animal sounds, can't go wrong with that!  Thanks, Auntie and Uncle, for coming to our Christmas dinner and making the day the much more awesome.

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

After Xander had opened all of his gifts from Santa, it was finally time for breakfast.  Yes, many parents probably make their kids eat something before opening presents, but our little guy wakes up on the later side and refuses food until he plays for a while, so pushing his mealtime off for a little present time wasn't a big deal.

Later on Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa came over to spend the rest of the day with us.  Since Xander was awake and ready for more play time, we figured there was no better time to open more presents!

Grandma wanted to help Xander open his first gift not from Santa.  Xander insisted on taking his new xylophone along for the experience.  Grandma and Grandpa had gotten Xander the Llama Llama Red Pajama book along with matching Llama Llama plush!  This is extra sweet because one of Grandmas favorite animals is a llama!  How perfect!?

Grandma and Grandpa got Xander a lot of nice presents, including this awesome soft car!  It rolls and makes cool noises when you push on it.  Looks like Grandpa liked this one too.  

Before Grandma and Grandpa had to leave for the day we managed to get a couple snapshot in with Xander.  Here Grandpa and Xander are sharing a secret - must be something funny to make Xander smile like that!

Grandma had a harder time keeping Xander still for the photos - that's why you can see his pants are slipping off and his shirt is up over his belly.  It was all good for a laugh though.

Xander is always so happy when Grandma and Grandpa visit.  It doesn't hurt that they usually bring him a little something to play with too, but he really just likes spending time with them while they are here.  Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for coming up to visit with us on this special day!

Christmas Morning

This Christmas we were all excited to see what Santa left for Xander under the tree, but first Mama and Dada celebrated Christmas together with their own gifts.  They knew they had some time to do this before Xander woke up to start his day.  

Here you can see all the presents from Dada to Mama on the left, Mama to Dada in the middle and Santa to Xander on the right.  On the far right is a red bag of presents from Mama and Dada to Xander and of course the kitty stockings from all of us to the kitties.  We never leave the kitties out!

Last year, Xander was a little young to understand what presents were and why they were fun.  This year was a bit of a struggle too.  He just wanted to play with the toys he already has and didn't know that Christmas was a time to get NEW toys to play with!  So at first, he wasn't all that into it, as you can see...

But then some toys really got him excited!  This one was a puzzle that makes noise.  Santa didn't realize the elves left the batteries out of it, so Mama had to remedy that situation during the next present opening and Xander liked the puzzle even more after that!

Not really into "reindeer" games tho...

But REALLY into guitars!  Xander already has an animal sounds guitar that he really likes, so Santa thought he would like this music guitar.  It plays songs like Message In A Bottle and Love Shack - Xander really likes this one!

One of his favorite toys of the day was his Xylophone.  Not only was it orange (his favorite) but it makes music!  He loves music and banging on things, so this is just the perfect toy for him.  Thanks, Santa!

Muters was keeping Xander's stocking warm... or rather was using the stocking to keep herself warm...

Then it was time to try and hide under the table...

Sark wanted in on the action too.  We spent much of the day keeping the kitties from eating the tree.

We had to open things in shifts between meals, and Xander didn't get to open his gifts from Mama and Dada until later in the week, but check out all his loot from Santa!  A drum and instrument set, Sesame Street play house, tons of books, a sound making puzzle with vehicle shapes, a cool tiger xylophone/piano, a wicked awesome guitar and a ton of books.  And that was just what Santa brought.  He also got good stuff from his Grandparents, great Aunt Marge, Auntie Samara and Uncle Jeremy.

We think that by next Christmas, Xander will be more into the process of presents and the idea of new toys waiting under the tree.  But we aren't in a rush to get there - the little man is already growing up way too fast!

Christmas Eve

This Christmas, Xander and Mama carried on with their Christmas Eve tradition and made peanut butter cookies for Santa!  We decided that the cookies don't always have to be peanut butter, and we can make them another day before Christmas Eve, but this year we did the exact same thing as last.  Mama made the dough and Xander helped get the cookies ready to go into the oven.  

First we had to put on our red Christmas gear.

Then it was time to press the cookies.  Xander and Mama did that together.

The more cookies we pressed, the funnier Xander thought it all was.

Making cookies is fun, Mama!  I like making cookies with you!

When do we get to eat those?  Well, Xander, those are for Santa!

After the cookies finished baking, it was time for our bedtime routine while the cookies cooled.  When Xander would normally be reading books after bath time, we took him to leave the cookies for Santa by the tree instead.  Look at all the pretty lights and ornaments!

Mission accomplished!  The cookies are under the tree and Santa will most likely be thankful for the treats when he comes to put the presents under the tree!  Thanks, Xander, for making Santa feel appreciated!  Now, let's just see what you get for being such a good boy this year!

Hug a Muters

Xander sure loves his kitties.  He likes to show them how much he loves them by giving them big hugs.  Sark doesn't usually indulge the little guy, but Muters will put up with him from time to time.  Here is a recent group hug taken after the Seahawks game on Christmas Eve Eve.  Aww!