Home again...

Wow...we are now home after 8 great days in Hawaii. I'm very happy to report that Jake was 100% better on the flight home (He slept for 2 hours, then was actually happy playing on our laps for 2.5 hours...miracle!). The airport was also super quick, so all in all, it was an easy trip home. The time change is going to be tough though...Jake didn't fall asleep until midnight last night, and we had to wake him up at 8:30 this morning. We'll see how fast we can get him back to California time. I've got a few last pics and videos to share.

Jake really does LOVE music and dance, so every evening while in Hawaii we tried to find some live music for him to watch or dance to. Here he is dancing to his favorite "guitarman":

Here is Jake on our last morning:

The last day we rented one of these cabana type things and just stayed on the beach all day long....it was definitely my perfect day!

Endless hugs and kisses

Today is our last day in Hawaii. It has been a wonderful week. I'm pretty positive that Jake loved having Mama and Papa around for 8 days in a row. He gave us endless hugs and kisses all week long, and it was wonderful. While Jake is busy, busy all the time, he's also a snuggle bug who loves to be carried, hugged and kissed all over. We're so lucky to have such a great kid!

Making Friends

On our very first day at Napili Kai, Jake found a new friend, Wilfred, from Canada. We ended up getting along nicely with Wilfred's parents (who are both movie directors), and Wilfy REALLY liked chasing Jake around. Wilfred is 3 months older than Jake, and is quite a cutie (he reminded me so much of Benny Bolger). It was too funny that this family is from Canada, considering I WORK for Old Navy Canada now. We saw them all four days that we were there, and exchanged information once we left. We'll see if we can start a tradition of seeing them there every year and watch the boys grow together.
Jake made quite a few much older friends as well on our visit, but none as cute as Wilfy.

I've got a great video of the boys running around screaming that I'll need to add later to this post.

Maui Aquarium

Since we have moved over to stay at the Sheraton for the last 4 nights of our stay, we have been waiting to take Jake to the Maui Aquarium. We decided that this morning was the morning, so we packed up bright and early and headed down. The Aquarium is actually really cool, with TONS of fish, sharks, sting rays, turtles etc. Jake's highlights were definitely petting the enormous turtle and walking through the awesome underwater tunnel filled with sharks. He was actually really scared to enter the whale exhibit with the large replicas of whales hanging from the ceiling...he kept pointing and saying "scary, scary"!! So, we bypassed the whale section, but still, it was a great little Aquarium and great for our 2 year old!

Maui Sunsets

You just can't beat Maui sunsets. They are just the most beautiful, peaceful moments of the day, and Jake has been in a great, playful mood every day at this time. We tend to run around either the grass or the beach right as the sun is setting, which makes for great pictures. Here are just a few:

Pool Time!

Steadily, every day that we are here in Hawaii, Jake is getting more and more comfortable with the swimming pool. He still won't put on his floaters and let go of us, but he is slowly finding his pool time more enjoyable. Much of our days at both hotels are spent sitting on the top step in the pools shallow area, playing with buckets and shovels and stirring pool water. Josh has been really patient and great with Jake as he gets more comfortable in the water.

Running, running and more running

Jakey has endless energy...I mean ENDLESS. If there is not a toy in front of him, or he isn't in the pool, he has to be running. He runs everywhere...forget walking, just running. We knew this was the case at home, but with all of the endless green grass areas here on Hawaii, he really doesn't ever stop running (yes...there have been a few falls due to running as well). If he is running, that also means that WE are also always running. Literally, the ONLY time that we ever are sitting down is when he is napping (and generally one of us is walking him around in the stroller to get him to nap, so really only ONE of us gets to sit down at a time ever). It has definitely been quite a active trip. Had to share these pics from our last night in Napili, when of course, Jake was doing his post dinner running around. He was also wearing Josh's old red shirt that he used to wear when HE was two years old at Napili...pretty special!

The funny part about his running around though is that he would run up to everyone at the hotel to say hello and then run away...I received multiple comments from random people about how personable he is, and that "he exudes personality"....crazy!!

More pics of Days1 and 2 in Maui

Sugar Cane Train

As we all know, Jake is obsessed with Trains (hence the upcoming train themed 2nd birthday party). As Jake really can't spend that much time in the sun (just like his Mama, he breaks out in heat rash with too much sun), so we decided to explore outside of Napili Kai yesterday. I found an ad for he Sugar Cane Train, and decided that would be the perfect activity for Jakey. He was SUPER excited about the idea, and it was so cute watching him on the train. They have all of the windows taken out, so it was a nice, breezing trip. Unfortunately, about half way there, there was a fire near the tracks, so the train had to stop, and drive backwards all the way back to the start. So...our trip was cut short, but it was kind of a blessing, as there is only so long that we can hold Jake's attention with the train. In these pics, Jake was upset because he wanted me to hold him, but I promise, he really was having a good time.

Aloha!!!

Aloha from Maui!! We are here on our first family vacation in a year, at Napili Kai, in paradise! It's day four, but I have to back up to day 1.....the airplane!! So...my sister Erica was kind enough to take us to the airport bright and early on Saturday morning. I was nervous about how I was going to expend all of Jake's energy in the airport before our flight as we were getting there nearly two hours early. Well...boy were we surprised when walked into the United terminal into complete chaos. Literally, the bag check line snaked around 4 times....all the way down the length of the terminal. The security check point was a complete disaster as well. Jake was immediately overwhelmed, as it was so crowded we could barely walk through. We decided that it was best to split up to conquer the chaos, so Josh got in the bag check line with our two enormous bags (amazing how much stuff we had to bring due to Jake), and I took Jake through security. The family line at security was considerably shorter than the rest, but it was definitely overwhelming trying to deal with Jake, all of our carry-ons, our shoes, getting the Ipad out, etc, all with crying kids surrounding me, and Jake hanging onto my leg out of fear. We made it through though, and got to the gate in time to watch the big airplanes take off and land for a bit before we boarded the plane. Josh barely made it on the flight though, as the bag check line literally took him almost 1.5 hours to get through. Jake was VERY excited about the airplane, and once we got on, wouldn't sit down in his seat (all he wanted to do was stand up on my seat and push and pull the seat in front of me...yikes). We opted to NOT buy Jake a seat for this trip, as we are two weeks shy of his second birthday, and wanted to take advantage of the free ticket. However, the flight was 100% full, so he was stuck on our laps the entire trip. This made him extremely unhappy right off the bat, as he is Mr. Independent now, and did not want to be held. By the time the flight even took off, Josh and I were already exhausted from struggling with him. Well...the flight felt like 20 hours, with Jake's 30 second attention span. A good friend advised me to wrap a present for every hour of the flight to keep him occupied...yeah...he ripped open each present, spent 30 seconds playing with it, and was on the next. By two hours in, he was squirming and screaming, so Josh started walking him up and down the aisles, but that didn't last long as there are endless carts and people.... Needless to say, it was a very long flight (thank goodness we took a direct flight), and Jake didn't fall asleep until 30 seconds before the captain said "Ladies and Gentleman, we are about to begin our decent into Maui"....seriously!!!!! Anyways, we got to Napili Kai 9 hours after leaving home. We have the most spectacular room ever, RIGHT next to the pool and steps away from the beach. Jake has made endless friends here, as he literally runs around ALL day long.
Ok...so we've taken WAY too many pics to update on the blog with this incredibly slow Internet connection, and the computer is also freaking out...this is the only pic that I was actually able to upload so far. I will upload more tomorrow on a different computer...

Fun times outside

The weather has pretty cold this past weekend here in SF, which was quite a bummer since we've had some nice weekend weather recently. We were able to escape outside for a bit on Sunday before it got rainy, after Josh returned from running the Bay to Breakers race (go Papa!). Here is Jake and Papa running around the Lucas park near our home:

Parent Teacher Conference Time!

I can't believe that another 6 months have flown by...time for parent-teacher conferences again?? It's always funny for me to listen to someone else telling me about my child. Jake does act more clingy when I'm around though, so I do love to hear about what he is like when I'm away. In short, this is what they told me:

Jake's strength's include:

- Social Relations (i.e.- chatterbox!)

- Sense of Independence (can follow directions and ask questions back)

- Favorite activities: Art, Bubbles, Play-dough, Reading, Dancing, Dramatic play in kitchen and blocks/puzzles/cars

Areas to work on with Jake:

- griping crayon/paintbrushes with the pincer grip (practicing for writing soon)

- Meal time expectations- "use words to ask for his food instead of complaining and learning the concept of time". (I had a good laugh at this one, because my child does not have any patience, especially when he sees other people eating before him!)

His next big hurdles: Getting rid of the pacifier and POTTY TRAINING!! His teacher also wants us to practice Spanish with him more at home, because he is such a little parrot right now, it is the perfect time for some basics to stick.

Park Time!

On Sunday we hiked up to Julius Kahn Park and hung out there for much of the day. Jake is now big enough to try some of the larger play structures (ahhh...he now likes to climb all of the ladders...yikes!). Here Jake and Tessa tried out the fancy swing. It was so sweet to see them holding hands having a blast (we later found out that Tessa was not feeling well at this moment, hence no smiles from Tessa).

My Mother's Day

Apologies for the very delayed post regarding my Mother's Day...it has been a crazy week so far. But, I had a lovely, very mellow Mother's Day this year. I woke up quite under the weather (thank you Jake for the bad cold!), so Josh went out and bought me breakfast and flowers. We headed to the Farmer's Market after breakfast, and then ended up hanging out at the park most of the afternoon with Dan, Katherine and Tessa. Josh made his famous tacos for dinner to end the day. Very mellow day, but just what I needed with the crazy head cold that I woke up with (and no cooking or laundry for me all day long)!
Thanks so much Boys! Love you!

Here is Jake serenading me on Sunday morning:

Avery's B-day Party!

Saturday morning we headed over to Golden Gate Park for Avery's 2nd Birthday Party. Avery is in Jake's class at school, and I also work with her fantastic Mom Kristina. The party was at a great little picnic area next to Koret Park in GGP, so the kids could run around between the playground and the party. Many of Jake's best buddies from school were there, so he had a blast. It was also next to the old carousel ride, which Jake insisted on going on twice, and would have stayed on all day if we had let him!

Happy Mother's Day Moms!

Happy Mother's Day Moms!

You both are truly amazing women from whom we learn every day. You are wonderful examples of how to be fantastic Mothers, and today we are thinking of you. We enjoyed celebrating with each of you on Thursday and Saturday.

Love, Jenny, Josh and Jakey

p.s.- Happy Mother's Day to all of our wonderful friends and family who are reading this blog...you also are wonderful Mothers!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Jake and I have hijacked the blog for one day because we would like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to Jenny. She is truly one of a kind and we are very appreciative of all the big and little things she does for us every day. We are very lucky boys and look forward to pampering mama all day.

Besos,

Joshua and Jake

"Parent's Day" Tea

Yesterday was the famous "Parent's Day" Tea at Jakes school (never to be referred to as just Mother's day or Father's Day). Jake was patient and sat at the table for about 10 mintues before he was up and running around the room while all the other kids sat and ate. The teachers sent us home with the adorable plant pictured below. There was a pretty good showing from the parents, but unfortunately Josh couldn't make it from work in time to join in the fun.

Crissy Field Birthday Party

Well, it was ridiculously gorgeous in SF this past weekend (we all got a little too much sun I think!), so we spent nearly all day on Sunday outside. We came upon the 10th birthday party of Crissy Field as we were on our walk, and as we are members of the Golden Gate National Park Association, we were invited to join in the festivities. They were giving out kites (my favorite!) and kids books and cake, and there was a great band playing out in the field. So, we pulled out the blanket and flew kites, ate cake and danced to the band all afternoon. It was just a fabulous, spontaneous day!!

Jake came home from daycare with a pretty bad cough on Friday evening, so we had to keep weekend activities pretty easy on him. Saturday was Josh's 5 year Stanford Business School reunion though, so we decided to take Jake down for the family picnic party. Wow...I'm impressed with how well Stanford can through a kids party...there were clowns, bubble men, balloon women, games, animals and lots of food. Jake was quite overwhelmed with all of the ruckus, but he kept going back to pet the horses. Finally he decided that he wanted to actually RIDE the pony....so we put him right on. He did great, and just giggled the entire time. Along his ride I was telling him about his Great Grandpa Martin who was a real cowboy! It was a fun, quick party, and Jake and I headed back to SF for a mellow evening of getting better, while Josh lived it up with all of his old buddies.