Hawaii 2008

Dear Addison,
This Christmas your mommy and I decided to bring you Hawaii to spend the holiday with your Daddy's side of the family.  We had an amazing time and although we were a bit hesitant about traveling with you on a plane over such a long period of time (10 hours) we figured that you would come through for us and behave nicely.  I'm so glad we were right... you were an absolute angel on the plane.  So much so that other passengers even commented on your good behavior.  We even got a thank you! =)

Anyhow, here's a photo journal of all that we did.

Here you are scamming me for my bag of chips while we were waiting for our plane.

...you found much amusement in the floor at the terminal.

You found the people mover even more amusing.

The morning after we arrived in Hawaii, your mommy and I had a hankering for a loco moco.  Yeah I know, looks messy, but boy is it good!  And it seems, you loved it too.  After all, who doesn't love eggs, hamburger, gravy, rice and macaroni salad all at once???

We wasted no time in getting you to the beach, here you are hydrating for the day of adventure.

Our first beach visit was at Ko'olina resort, one of my favorite places on Oahu.  The water is still and is absolutely perfect for a little baby like you to play in.

You were a little taken back by it all, being born in New York and all, the whole beach experience was something totally new.

...But you seemed excited about being at the beach. =)

Daddy and Addi

Rockin my shades... you crack me up with this face you make every time you put these on.

ooooh water....

...Hey, where'd the water go?

Neat freak as always, here you are brushing the sand off your hands.

We even visited Santa Claus....  No meltdown here. =)

Your uncle Jarrel loves you soooooo much.

Serious baby is serious.

OK... so your mommy and I decided to leave you with Nana and Papa as we went on a weekend adventure to Kauai.  I'd only been there once when I was in the Navy and your mommy has never been to any other island other than Oahu so we decided it would be fun to just take a break from raising our little angel (you).  We found an awesome shave ice place named after our little puppy JoJo... ok it wasn't named after him but it was soo cute, we couldn't resist.

We visited the Kilauea Light house on the north shore of Kauai.  This place was really neat, we even got to watch a pod of dolphins playing in the ocean through binoculars.

Hawaii's state bird.  The Nene... not your Nana.

It's not too often your mommy and I get a picture together as I am always the one behind the camera but a tourist was kind enough to take a quick snap shot.

Here's our cute little rental car.

We even went to a luau.  Notice your mommy's spaced out look.... she can't believe we left you on another Oahu.  =)

Hula!

Man Hula...

Fire dance... yeah I can do that...

As were still a bit jetlagged we found ourselves up at 6am every day... so we decided to catch a sunrise...

Pretty sunrise on the eastern shore of Kauai.

Your mommy was still a bit sleepy.

But I was WIDE AWAKE!

She even dozed off while I was giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Later that day we visited Poipu beach and came across a hawaiian monk seal... isn't it cute?

relaxing day at the beach with the funny papers.

We then made a trip up to waimea canyon, the grand canyon of the pacific.  Grand it definitely is... I actually think it's prettier than the grand canyon because it's sooo green.

Do you see the water fall back there?

This shot makes me dizzy...

Goofing off in the rental car.

Wailua falls.  This place gave us the creeps... 

Back home on Oahu, you Nana and Papa decided to throw you a late birthday party.  It was your first time meeting all your family daddy's side.  By the way, your Nana is an awesome cook.

I loves me some pancit palabok.
Uncle Dominic and Auntie May

Opening some birthday presents... another Tiffany box (Charity!!!! You started this mess!  Expect a word or two from me when we visit you in san francisco!)  This one was from your Auntie May.

Your Madeline impression....

Your Auntie Georgina.

Here we are again at the beach, this time Kailua beach on the windward side of Oahu.

Mommy got you both matching beach outfits at the swap meet...  lol!

You were soooo embarrassed.

But you finally came around... =)

A tender moment with Mommy.

Here's your uncle Marc, playing guitar.

Christmas morning!

"enough with the pictures already, I want to open presents!!!"

You with your Nana and Papa, boy how they miss you. =(

Your Nana can always get you to smile.

While changing you out of your christmas dress you decided that "au natural" was most comfortable as you took off running while mommy was changing your diaper.  You will kill me when you see this many many years from now. =)

Here's a present that your uncle Jarrel bought for you.

Oh yeah... the princess has a throne.

"Bow to me O humble Daddy!"

Saying goodbye is never fun... Here is Uncle Jarrel getting one last kiss...

...Then all the power went out.

...and the waiting began.

But we finally got home... and found a treasure trove of presents waiting for you.  Your Uncle Ben got you this awesome little learning/gaming thingamabob... it took me a while to figure it out but we finally got it working.

We even got some presents from your Auntie Charity in San Francisco.

All in all Christmas this year was an absolute blast.  You were all smiles and had so much fun in Hawaii.  You enjoyed it so much that we are now even considering moving back there so you can grow up never having to bundle up or worry about the cold weather.  

As always Addi, here are your latest achievements.

-You had your first sugar rush... absolutely hilarious.

-When you want something you point at exactly what it is and sign "more" with your hands.

-You can do facial expressions when asked.  My favorite is your serious face.

-You are on the verge of starting to run.  A bit scary for me and your mommy.

-You like to help out around the house.  When doing laundry you like to push mommy's laundry basket to the living room for her to fold the clothes.

You reached your 13th month on the 27th of December and it amazes me every time I look back at the previous month and see how much you've changed.  Keep smiling sweetheart!

Love Always,

Mommy and Daddy