Maui 2010

As promised...some pictures from our trip. (I went a little overboard with the pictures.) Sorry for the delay. Things have been a bit out of my control for the last few weeks. Damn morning sickness.

Thanks again for all who offered their advice regarding traveling with a toddler on an airplane. I was a bit nervous about how Grace would do but luckily, thanks to you, we were prepared. Grace did fantastic! She even took a 2.5 hour nap ON the plane. Here is a quick list of what we brought with us (some of you have asked me for this) to avoid a meltdown at 30,000 feet.

First and foremost, we bit the bullet and bought Grace her own seat which was the best thing we did. It was worth EVERY SINGLE PENNY of that six hour flight!

Second, we stock piled the diaper bag with all of Grace's favorite foods and a few new fun things for her to try. A friend recommend a lollipop! Grace had never had one before so that kept her busy for a good 20 minutes! Brilliant! Grace also tried Vanilla Wafers for the first time en route to Maui. She loved them!

Third, we packed an entire carry-on bag FULL of books and toys for Grace - some new and some old. She received her very first My Little Pony (thanks to Grandma) and that was a BIG hit! She also LOVED LOVED LOVED crayons!

Here is Grace in her "I'm Going to Hawaii" outfit. Can you see the palm trees and pineapples on her pants?

Nap time on the plane! Unfortunately, I was dry heaving (under one of Grace's blankets for privacy) into the vomit bag the airlines provides. That was a first I care to never repeat!

Upon landing, Daddy surprised us with leis! He really is the greatest! (Can you see Grace's shirt? It says Aloha! Thanks Grandma!!)

Grace woke up EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. between 4:30 and 5:30...A.M!!! Day 1 we hit the beach before 8 am - still in our PJs. Here are Grace's first moments on the beach.

I quickly came to the realization that we needed reinforcements. Bathing suit, sunscreen AND DADDY!!

Back to the beach we went!

Not the biggest fan of swimming in the ocean myself, I was super impressed at how much Grace LOVED the ocean. She liked it way better than the pool. Even after she was rocked by a few "big" waves!

What a trip to Hawaii without appreciating the flora and fauna, right?

The whales were hoppin'! Luckily, I had whale watching "to do" while I was balled up on the couch dealing with ALL DAY morning sickness.

Back to the beach...

or the pool! Just GET ME IN THE WATER!!

Grace loved her new Princess float.

Couldn't keep her out of it....land or sea!

Traveling with a toddler is fun. Don't get me wrong. Giving Grace the experience of flying and the ocean...it was priceless. But vacations are supposed to be relaxing, right!? Well, with Grace's early wake up calls and my morning sickness episodes, Court and I got little time to recoup or recover. Wonderful, amazing Court picked up all my slack. He cooked all our meals. Went to the grocery store. Looked after Grace. Cleaned up. We now clearly understand while some families choose to travel with a nanny.

We only went out to dinner a few times - when I was feeling up to it. We discovered that Grace loves Mahi Mahi and ice cream!

More beach shots!

She loved digging in the sand

and getting really dirty!

Below are some shots of one of the VERY few dinners we attempted eating out. If you can believe it, we were in and out of this restaurant, Joe's, in less than 30 minutes. Grace ended up having a meltdown and I ended up vomitting. That's how fast and deadly a toddler can strike.

I know I sound like a broken record but I hate HATE dealing with morning sickness especially on vacation!

Good bye Maui! See you next year...with two kids in tow! (GULP!!!)