Our Vacation

Recovering from the trip has taken me a lot longer than I thought it would, and I'm still not done with laundry! Yesterday I had a dizzy spell that lasted 4 hours, maybe I took my motion sickness patch off too soon. And we can't seem to get enough sleep around here. The baby has slept through the night since we got home and Isaac has been sleeping past 8:00!

We had a great 10 days in the Aloha State. We flew into Honolulu on a Thursday night and stayed in Waikiki at the Marriott. Great hotel, by the way! The city was packed with people. They told us it is because of Christmas along with the normal amount of tourists. We boarded the ship on Saturday and the kids were exhausted. Isaac fell asleep during dinner. We explored Maui and Kaui`i during our excursions. Beautiful islands!

Some of the funny things about Isaac on the trip are that he loved our housekeeper "La-La". He would race down the hall and jump into her arms and hug her every day. SO cute. He loved sleeping on the top bunk and went to bed every night without any fuss. He took his first of many showers on the boat and told us he likes baths better (we didn't have a tub, so Vivi had to shower too!) He cried every time we took him to kids club on the boat but loved it and was always in a great mood when we picked him up. He ate Macaroni and Cheese for 3 meals, more than I think he has had it in his lifetime! He loved the ocean...going a little further than I was happy with but he would belly surf his way back to the beach. So funny to watch. And lastly, he fell asleep in the airport on the way home while we were waiting for our 11 p.m. flight to Denver. When we woke him to board the plane, he started crying softly and went and curled up in a strangers lap!! We all got a huge laugh out of that and she asked if we wanted her to carry him onto the plane. :)

Now...onto Vivi...she was a dream baby on this trip! She got very spoiled from being held by somebody all the time and I still can't put her down without a squack. She had a bit of a rough time sleeping in a new crib, but it got better. She hated grass, sand, and pigeons. The birds were pecking under her highchair at a resteraunt and she went nuts! Poor baby. She loved all the people on the ship and they LOVED her. I started to call her Suri Cruise because she was like a celebrity. The manager of one of the diners even gave Vivi and Isaac presents on the last day of the cruise. On the way home she slept most of the flight in her car seat. She really was a breeze.

Billy and I did okay. I got sick one night and threw up because the boat was sloshing all over the place. Billy got to swim with dolphins, snorkel, do a zipline, and drink a Mai Tai (I think that is how you spell it!) And we both got to have a couples massage...very nice. We really had a great vacation, as you can see from the video montage.

My favorite t-shirt I saw was one that said, "No, I don't speak Spanish. I'm Hawaiian." Ha!! :)

We're Home!!

I took this picture last night off the terrace of Tiki Bar and Grill.
Waikiki Beach...Vivi did not like the sand!
My little sailor girl on the steps of the cruise ship foyer.

We got home this afternoon from our vacation to Hawaii. We are unpacking so I don't have time to post a bunch of pictures. I will try to do that in the next couple of days, but here are a few to tide you over!

Play Therapy

Isaac and Ms. Sarah

He loves the ball pit. She has him jump in the tube to get used to aiming for a target in space.
Hanging upside down in the ball pit.
This is a bucket of beans that he sits in and then he has to dig animals out of another bucket of beans. This works on his tactile sensory.

The zipline!
Hanging from the harness.

This is the "space shuttle"
This is called the "rodeo sing". It works on his vestibular balance.




For the past couple weeks Isaac has been going to play therapy based on a recommendation from our pediatrician at his 3 year check-up. I was telling the Dr. that we are still having some big seperation anxiety issues, slight impulse control concerns, and of course Isaac's endless need to move and talk. He has a motor that just never stops.



Here are some pictures of him at his therapy session. She has diagnosed him with very mild sensory perception issues. Some of his symptoms are not liking his hands in rice or beans or getting dirty with shaving cream. He bounces around a lot and likes to bang and bump into things. He struggles with focusing and staying on task...stuff along those lines. She thinks a couple months of play therapy along with a rich "sensory diet" at home will help him immensely throughout his life as he learns to deal with outside sensors.



So I will continue to post about his progress and the things we are doing here at home to help him, along with some books I am reading to help us learn techniques that will give Isaac the best start in life. Wish us luck on our new journey!!

Is it Christmas yet?

(You have GOT to try this stuff....mmmm...peppermint coffee)

Along with asking every day if we are going to the big airport to go to "Ha-why", Isaac has been a bit preoccupied with wanting to know if it is Christmas yet. The day we decorated the tree he went up to a kid at the library and said "today is Christmas" and the little boy said, "it's not Christmas! It's just a windy day." :)



Well, both Boz and I have been teaching Isaac that Christmas is Jesus' Birthday. This goes really well with our obesession with birthdays this year. So now Isaac says we will bake a big cake and it will be Jesus' birthday party and there will be lots of presents. Sounds like a great Christmas to me! So this is a great age because I have been able to buy ALL of his gifts with him standing right next to me at the cash register. I call it the age of oblivion. We buy stuff and by the time we get home and I hide it in the closet, he forgets we ever bought it in the first place! Or I have been able to put them in the bottom of the cart without him even seeing them. And I know a month from now when he opens them, he will not remember they came from Target! :)

So this brings me to my next point (can you tell I am procrastinating from packing/ cleaning?)
What do Christian families do with the idea of Santa Clause? Well...to me, every family has to come to their own conclusions about this (much like Halloween). And for us, we never made a decision on this until we actually have kids now and can see it is so not a big deal. Isaac could care less about Santa. We stop by his house at the mall and peek inside and I say "shhh..Santa is sleeping" (We shop early in the morning!) and that is pretty much it. We will have their pics taken with the big guy, but as far as presents are concerned, the kids will always know they came from Mommy and Daddy. The element of surprise and excitement is coming out Christmas morning and seeing them arranged under the tree, so every year we will bring them out on Christmas Eve, but no....no magical man will be coming down our chimney, this year or any year. A real man came on Christmas day, long, long ago. God Himself, humbled in the form of a little baby. And this is what we celebrate...with presents....songs...cake...frappuccinos and all. And for the record ...oh how I wish the Christian radio stations would play more "Silent Night" and less "Up on the Roof Top" Sheesh, people...

Packing!

Here are the suitcases that are done.
And here is the stuff that still has not found a place to go!

Well, as you can see the packing is well under way. I spent the weekend drowning in laundry and I'm still not done with that, because now I am washing Vivi's clothes that she wore last week and all our bed sheets. Will it never end?!! The suitcases are busting at the seams and so heavy, so I am not looking forward to transporting them. I've suspended our mail while we are gone and worked out the details of the dog's boarding. They are staying at a swanky doggie daycare facility with astro-turf to pee on and couches and tvs to lounge on. Lucy will have a good time, but I am a bit worried about anti-social Oscar. He is my shadow and will be lost without me. Tomorrow begins the heavy cleaning of the house day, so that we can come home to a clean place. It has been a bit hectic getting up all our Christmas decor, shopping for presents and traveling supplies, and packing all in the same week. It will be nice to just focus on Christmas when we get back. I will post pics of our tree and decorations in a couple weeks.

Parade of Lights

Friday night we survived the cold and went to Fort Worth for the Parade of Lights. It was crowded but we had a good time. Vivi did so well bundled up with all the noise of fire trucks and horns beeping. She actually fell asleep near the end! Billy was volunteering before the parade at the starbucks booth passing out samples. We were so glad he could sit with us during it!