Hawaii Here We Come!

This Saturday, September 5th, we leave for Maui, Hawaii! I am so excited, yet SO incredibly nervous. I have prepared myself in the fact that I know this trip will be different than any other. We've got a child now, so all things revolve around him. Nap times, the 4 hour time change, fewer dinners out, perhaps more lunches out. No lounging by the pool with Mai Tais (ok, I may be able to do this a little) and no sleeping in. Here's my fear....THE SEVEN HOUR PLANE RIDE! Did I say it was 7 hours? Cause ya, it's SEVEN hours. (and yes, I am packing a LOT of Benadryl!)

My mom and Dave are coming along with us, which will be wonderful. It'll be great to have the help on the plane and on vacation, but more importantly, I'm so glad they'll be able to share in all the fun we have with AJ.

I can't wait to have AJ play in the sand, play by the pool, experience the aquarium and just enjoy Hawaii like I did when I was a kid. Assuming we don't get kicked out of the plane on the way over, I think we should have a great trip!

What Does a Bunny Say?

As you can see, we still have some work to do, but he does know!

Use Your Words!!

Oh, how I wish I could say that to AJ and he could understand me. He has begun to whine for EVERYTHING and he gets super frustrated (read: temper tantrums) when I don't understand what he wants (which is 90% of the time).

He walks around the house saying "ehhh? ehhh?" to everything- pointing sometimes, but then even then he's not pointing AT anything. He will point at the ceiling, or the kitchen cupboards and I don't know what he wants? Or, we'll be walking thru Walmart and he'll point at every little thing we walk by.

I don't know if him doing this means he actually WANTS the thing he's point at, or if he's telling me that he sees it or what. I know it's just a stage and if he could talk he would, but this constant "ehh?" is getting tiring :)

Here are a few words that AJ can say now- certainly not on command, but I have heard them semi-clearly recently:

Truck
Cracker
Please (eesh)
Fish (ish)
Doggie
Mommy
Mama
Daddy
Dada

Boy Time

Tonight my friend Ki and I went out for dinner and her husband, Tim, was nice enough to watch AJ and their son Dax for a few hours. At first I wasn't sure if AJ would be ok as he was tired which means he only wants Mama. But he did great! The boys all had a wonderful time- as did their Mama's :)

The Boys!

Night Time Fun

Happy 14 Months!

Reading

When AJ was just a little baby he used to love when I read to him. I would talk in high and low voices and he would smile and giggle and really enjoy himself. Then, he got to the age where he would grab the book and eat it- making it nearly impossible to read. I'm happy to report that we're back at the stage where he LOVES to read! He will bring me books and plop in my lap and want to look thru the books, turn the pages and point things out. It's really been nice because he likes to learn about the different animals on the pages. Plus, I LOVE that he likes to sit ON me while we read- and he's usually holding my hand or leg at the same time. He's such a lover!

Here's a short clip of him "reading" and as you can see, at the end he brings the book to me to read to him. So fun!

Thank you Oma for this great book! It's his favorite :)