tinkle tinkle little star

making the most of an early morning.

Happy Birthdays

Happy Birthday to my two favorite people in the whole world! Dalia and her Daddy. I'm so grateful that we get to end the summer with this kind of celebration every year for the rest of our lives. We had a lovely weekend with friends and family. Mark's off to Wyoming for a week or so and Dalia and I are settling in to some Autumn rest and relaxation. Thanks to all those who sent their well wishes and celebrated with us.

ALOOOOOOOHHHHHAAAAA!

Well, aren't we lucky? Hawaii was fantastic. We had such a great time with my mom and Dalia was just awesome. She did such a great job on the plane and except for waking up ungodly early the first couple of nights due to the time change, she slept well, adjusted perfectly to our accommodations and totally loved the water. My mom (Deanna) bought Dalia some swimmies/floaties (Dalia calls them "pimmies" or "mine pimmies"), the last pair in Portland at the end of summer. I think it's probably the best $1.99 ever spent. I swear she would have been swimming if we'd spent another week there. By the end of the trip she was floating around the pool all by herself, just "hanging out". Her new phrase of the week was "I can do it".

We alternated between the beach and the pool. Mark and I liked the beach best, of course, and I think my mom and Dalia liked the pool. It was so nice to relax and enjoy some freedom with Dalia at the pool, I will admit, but I always felt drawn to the waves and the water of the ocean. It was warm, there were giant sea turtles swimming in the surf right at shore, we saw dolphins, and generally just got swallowed up by the magic of Napili Bay. We watched the sunset three of the six nights and Dalia would always put it to bed singing her goodnight song to it.

Mark and I got to go to the beach for a swim by ourselves every morning while Dalia hung out with my mom. As we had last time we went (Mark and I went to this same hotel for our five year anniversary), we had an amazing ocean view from our hotel/condo. Except for a couple of days/nights with a little too much noise from some neighbors, we had just about the most perfect trip. If the food had been better and was less expensive I don't think we would have come home. We're thankful the sun decided to stick around for a couple more weeks here in Portland. Next up, Dalia's second birthday. She grew up a little on our trip. I'm amazed at her communication skills. I think I recently posted about her ability to say "I'm upset". Now she tells us when she's happy, too, which is, thankfully, often. My what a life we live.

Aloha!

Aloha, everyone. We're off to Hawaii for a vacation in an effort to extend summer. We'll have lots to post, but I thought I leave you with some photos that don't include such close ups of Dalia's boo boo, which, by the way, she is very happy to point out to every new person she sees. Yesterday she started saying, "Hi, I'm Dalia. I'm two." Some other noteables: she can count to 13, she's started to tell us when she is upset (usually while screaming and crying) and just today she said she was happy while she was swinging at the park. Her latest phrase is, "I want to see it, (fill in the blank, ie train, moon, Calliou), right now."

We love you all. For those of you going to camp, look up at the stars and kiss the trees for us. We'll go ahead and enjoy the sand, the warm surf and the sweet Hawaiian air for you all, no problem :).

looking for the full moon (she proceeded to wake up this night at 1:22am and could not go back to sleep until noon the next day - someone told me the full moon was some kind of wolf moon - maybe that's what turning into a warewolf is like)
helmet and playdoh - great combo. She proceeded to skin her knees up running down the street right after this. Is this irony?

Below: Major bedhead, front and back after one good night's sleep.