...blue waters....

It's hard to ignore the beautiful waters of Kauai, be it from the ocean or the pool.  Our condo's supply closet included backpacks, boogie boards, coolers, bamboo mats, a beach umbrella and snorkel gear. We  took advantage of quite a bit of the provided items and attempted a snorkel outing only to find that just one of the snorkels was in working order.  

We picked up a pool floatie for Wren to try out so she could easily join us in the pool.  It took coaxing and having Water Baby show Wren how much fun it was before Wren warmed up to the idea. Once she got in she had a blast, kicking her legs and being led by us back and forth across the big pool.  It was great!....the one day that she used it.  Wren refused to use the floatie again, but we took it to the pool repeatedly anyway.  

At the end of our first week we were ready to restock some items at Costco and make a day trip to the south coast.  On the way we took a detour to Wailua Falls.  The small parking area was very crowded, so Sondy and I jumped out to snap a few pics while Jay turned the car around.  

We made our way around the island and took Waimea Canyon Drive up away from the ocean.  The 20 mile drive has stops along the way to view the expansive and amazing Waimea Canyon.  We stopped at mile 15 at Koke'e State Park and took a few minutes to tour the museum and take a short nature walk.  Chickens and roosters run free all over the island and Wren had a great time chasing them at the park, shrieking "B!!!" every time a bird was on the move.  We ate our snacks at a picnic table after speaking with some very friendly locals who shared their opinion of the remaining stops on the road and their Ovaltine cookies with us!  Then Sondy and I stopped in the restaurant on site (which was packed, by the way, and the menu looked good!) to find out rental information for the cabins we passed on the drive up.  For around $85 per night they seem like a good option for those planning to get out on the many trails available in and around the canyon.  

From the park we continued to the next two stops to take in the view of Waimea Canyon and Kalalau Valley.  On the drive back down we split off the main drag to try out Koke'e road, which was less windy and seemed faster than our drive up.  

We stopped in Waimea for lunch at The Shrimp Station, which had been recommended by a number of people, including the dude at the Koke'e Lodge restaurant who called me "Bro".  I didn't partake in the shrimp (and instead went next door for shave ice!) but Jay and Sondy did and said it was great!  Wren tried shrimp for the first time and really liked it.  From Waimea we went straight to Costco then back home - that was a long day!  

Tunnels Beach

Wren and Water Baby soaking up some sun. Good thing we caught her using the floatie on film!

Using the pool floatie!  Not quite as effective when you exceed the 33 pound weight limit...

Wailua Falls

Wren chasing chickens at Koke'e State Park

Waimea Canyon

....paradise continues....

Our goal on this trip was to relax, and for us that means minimal car trips and plans.  We would discuss generally what we might want to accomplish over the following two days and then see what happened. We were somewhat limited by what our no-schedule-napper would allow, but we did get out a few times to hit some highlights.  

When we made our trip arrangements and looked for places to stay we found our budget-friendly accommodations on the north shore, which is rainier and slightly warmer than the south shore.  We really got lucky with our selection (both price- and location-wise) as we were able to access quite a bit on foot or with short drives.  Maybe it helps that the island is pretty small and you can go from one side to the other in about 2 hours.  Due to the rugged Na Pali coastline (more in a later post) you cannot drive around the island. 

A few days into our trip we drove a few miles east to Kilauea to Anini Beach to give Wren a taste of the ocean.  She has been to the Oregon Coast but, surprise surprise, the weather hasn't been friendly.  We didn't stay long but it was a beautiful spot to stop! 

The town of Princeville pretty much consists of a 2 mile road with branches of roads where different resorts and residential areas exist.  One of these roads led to the path to Queen's Bath - another trail that was not stroller friendly and was fairly slick from recent rain.  Across a pad of lava rock we found Queen's Bath!  Check that one off the list of touristy things to see.  

At Anini Beach

I doctored this photo from HawaiiGaga with a few more notes.  The yellow triangle marks the path to Queen's Bath, the green star is the actual Queen's Bath.  A - often mistaken for Queen's Bath; B - the same spot as the second picture from the bottom of this post; C & D are not recommended for swimming; E - the more easily accessed beach near us; F - Hideaways Beach (with the treacherous rope trail!).

Sondy making her down the mucky trail to Queen's Bath!

The actual Queen's Bath.  The day we visited was not a swimming kind of day.  An acquaintance of mine was there a few days before us - he swam in Queen's Bath with calm waters and sunny skies. 

This spot can also be seen on the map above as point "B"

Our little Sunshine having fun on the patio

Traveling we go!...

At the beginning of February Jay, Wren, Grandma Sondy and I jetted off to Kauai for 11 days away.  Our first experience flying with Wren was eye opening.  We were those people with a cranky baby.  Sorry fellow passengers!  What saved Jay and I from going completely nuts was: 1. We were very fortunate to have the middle seat open between us so Wren had her own seat.  2. Alaska Airlines serves a complimentary Mai Tai before landing in Hawaii.  I asked our attendant early in the flight if that was truly going to happen as everyone around us would need it after listening to our child....she snuck me a drink early!  6+ hours later we landed in Lihue, Kauai, and loaded up in our snazzy rental car (of course, an upgrade 2 classes ahead of our reservation because the only option left in our reserved class was a 2 door coupe.....really?!). 

Our first stop was Costco nearby to stock up on groceries then we were headed north to our destination - Princeville.  About 20 minutes into our drive we made a stop in Kapa'a in the Long's Drug parking lot while we changed Wren out of her now vomit covered outfit and did our best to clean out her car seat. Oh, travel!  That was the most time we spent in Kapa'a!  Fast forward to arriving at our condo in the Pali Ke Kua complex.  We had a unit that, while set back from the road and a little inconvenient for unloading, was right next to the pool and had a private grassy area outside of our large sliding doors.  The condo was a duplex but the neighboring unit was under construction so aside from some workers during the day we had peace and quiet. Until.....Wren woke up about 5:45 am Hawaii time for the first 3 days and stood up in her travel bed.  "Hi!  Hi!"  

Our introduction to the Garden Island consisted of getting to know the pool/hot tub and acquainting ourselves with the 2 miles of walking paths along the beautifully manicured resort grounds.  

A steep path near our condo led Jay and I down to a pretty nice beach on a scouting trip.  A scramble over lava rocks then led us around to Hideaways Beach where Jay played in the ocean.  Coming back up from Hideaways beach on a different steep and rough path was tricky.  Ropes are strung to help pull yourself up and were very necessary.  Not at all a stroller friendly trail and questionable for a baby carrier - we didn't test that one out.  

Not possible to truly travel light (or stress free) with a baby

Jay had a lot of fun using our new underwater camera!

Looking west down the shoreline from the resort grounds

Hideaways beach

Did you all get your tickets to the gun show? ;)

A How-To

Wren wanted to share with everyone how to sit down on a potty seat.  Here she gives clear, step-by-step instructions.  Like an Ikea instruction booklet, no text is needed.  Follow along at home! 

(Hat wearing, especially sideways hat wearing, is optional.)

 

15 months!

At 15 months Wren is still topping the growth charts.  She is 33.25" tall (99th percentile) and weighs 25 pounds, 8.5 ounces (92nd percentile).  Wren still has a healthy belly but her little legs are getting skinny, which really amplifies her cloth diaper booty!  She now has 11 teeth, thanks to her lower right lateral incisor cutting through in the last week and after a rough night last night we are anticipating her 4th first molar breaking through.  She has a pretty big vocabulary (though No, Mine, and Thank you are most often heard) and just started saying "All done" when she wants to get down from the table. She now puts stuffed animals away in the cupboard and says "Night Night".  She amazes us with how much she understands and can go to her room and get a hat or socks from her dresser if asked.  We have the same bedtime routine that has been in place for many, many months and after reading stories as a family Wren decides who gets to put her to bed.  Wren loves milk from a bottle....we are still on the bottle.  Our hope was to have transitioned by now to cup/sippy/straw but we aren't there yet.  We leave for our Hawaiian vacation in a few weeks and plan to really attack this bottle issue when we return.  Hey - we all want peace and joy on our vacation and flight, right?  Wren likes to climb and in no time will be getting up on the couch on her own.  She really likes to sit in grown up chairs at the table and color on paper/newspaper/table top.  She has recently started singing little songs made of a string of "ba ba ba" and sweetly serenaded me one evening as I danced with her in my arms.   Her hair is getting pretty long and still has an adorable mullet quality to it, but s/he who dares approach Wren with scissors will surely feel my wrath.  It may be years before a first hair cut! 

Here are a few pictures from a recent sunny afternoon of packing up Christmas decorations.

 

This is my newest favorite picture of Wren. 

Waterbaby portraying Narcissus

Around town

Jay recently had a change in his schedule which has freed up some weekends for family time!  Over the last few weekends we have enjoyed bundling up and taking rides around town on our bikes with Wren in the trailer.  Two weekends ago we met up with Wren's almost-birthday twin, Geneva, at the grade school playground near us.  Wren took cues from adventurous Geneva and tried climbing up the slide.  The two gals wanted to be in the spot the other one was in and there was some hugging/wrestling at one point!  

This past weekend was very chilly here (today's high was 30!) but that didn't stop us from getting our ride on!  For our first adventure we rode across town to the Corvallis Indoor Winter Market at the fairgrounds to pick up a couple pounds of our favorite squash - Ambercup.  We rode through the OSU campus to The Beanery to warm up with a hot drink and a snack before returning home.  Later in the afternoon Jay and I rode downtown for happy hour while Wren enjoyed some time with Grandma Brynn.  Today we all hopped back on/in the bikes for grocery shopping and again later to grab a bite to eat downtown.  Overall we logged just about 21 miles - thanks to Jay's handy Garmin Edge for tracking our travels!

Bundled up on a sunny but cold day

All smiles here....no smiles when it was time say goodbye to the bike....

Helping Daddy in between rides!  

Animal Sounds!