Hawaii Day 1

If you've been to Honolulu these posts might be boring, but I took so many pictures the only way to post them is what we did day by day.  We started off Day 1 by visiting the Dole Plantation

Pineapple everything, yum!!

We took the Pineapple Express train tour.  It started raining while we were on the train and we got to see the prettiest rainbow. 

Briyler and Kajsen with Aunt Lexi

Al and Alex with our yummy Dole Whip

We probably could have lived without visiting the Dole Plantation, but it was fun to see.

When we got back to the hotel we hit the pool.

Alex floated around in his new float with Dad.

Laying in the sun isn't as relaxing with a nine month old, but we tried :)

Alex expressing his excitement with his hands.

We took him down to the beach to play in the sand.  We've taken him to the beach in LA a few times but we always trap him in the Pack N Play so he's never got to really play in the sand.

He was loving it.

He was crawling and rolling all over the beach.

and then his hands went in his mouth and then his eyes and it was all over from there.  Look at all that sand in his mouth, yikes.

I tried to rinse him off which did nothing so we went back to the hotel for a bath.

That night we had an authentic Hawaiin meal at ONO (meaning good).  This sign was on the door when you walk up.  No Get Mad...haha  

It was a teeny tiny dive restaurant that had about 6 tables.

We had the combination plate which came with Laulau, Kaulua Pork, Lomi Salmon, Pork Jerky, Rice and Haupia, and they brought us a little bit of the infamous Poi to try.    We probably won't be going back for Hawaiian food anytime soon, but it was fun to try and Ono is the place to try it. 4 out of 5 stars on Yelp and 750 reviews.

We took a stroll down Waikiki by all the shops.  It doesn't feel like Christmas when you're in Hawaii, but all the pretty decorations helped make it a little more festive.

The beautiful Surfrider hotel I want to stay at someday

Crazy Camerons

and a picture with Duke himself!!  Get ready for Day 2

Aloha

We survived the 6.5 hour flight to Honolulu.  Alex didn't cry once and neither did I.  In fact I somehow managed to watch 2 movies during the flight.  Woo Woo

Alex took 2 naps, ate a lot of puffs, and played with all his Aunts and Uncles on the flight.

I was so relieved when I saw this....

I've only been to Honolulu once and I forgot how beautiful and green it is.

We stayed at the Waikiki Marriott

Our room had 2 balconies and one of them had this fabulous view.

Since we had just come from Utah we weren't really dressed for the weather, but Alex didn't mind since he had his new favorite snack to chew on.

The over priced sandwich we bought on the plane didn't cut it, so Al and I ate at this yummy burger place we found on Yelp called Teddy's Burgers.  We both got the Pineapple and jalapeno burger.

After dinner we watched the sunset on Waikiki Beach

That night all 14 of us went to the grocery store to stock up on snacks, drinks, and anything we wanted to eat for the week.  Al and I were watching Coby and Trevor shop and it was ridiculous.  They ended up with all sorts of random stuff like a block of cheese, fresh pastries, and sausage...lol

Such a good deal on Milk, not.  HOLY COW!!

Alex didn't do very well with the time change so we were all awake the first morning at 5am watching him play with Al's nipple in bed...lol  Random and weird I know.  

Nine Months

9 Month Stats

Weight 20lbs 9.5oz 60th percentile

Height 29 inches long 75th percentile

Head 45.5 cm 75th percentile

At Nine Months Alex is.....

Won't sit on his bath sponge anymore.  Insists on standing against the tub and likes to hold onto the faucet and watch the water come out.

Knows how to climb stairs, so we bought a baby gate.

Opens cabinets and drawers and we are in the process of baby proofing.

Climbs on the dishwasher when I'm unloading it.

Loves to talk now and hear his voice.

Slept through the night on December 6th and continued for 3 nights after that.....it was amazing and quickly came to an end when we left for Utah and Hawaii.  He woke up at least 3-4 times a night in both states and quickly reminded me what life was like with a newborn.

Is on a great schedule and finally takes 2 long naps a day.

Happiest baby and smiles at everyone.  Loves girls and he gets really bashful when they talk to him.

Flaps his arms up and down when he's excited.

Will not keep his socks on and everyone likes to comment on it in public which is so annoying.

Has 2 front teeth and has 2 more coming in next to those.

Trying to teach him how to wave and say mama and dada.

Starting to enjoy food.  Opens his mouth for everything and wants to eat what we have.  He isn't really consistent with eating 3 meals a day, but looooves his snack foods which consist of puffs and yogurt melts.

Likes to feed himself snacks.  He won't let you put them in his mouth anymore.

Crunches his puffs with his front teeth which is so funny to watch.

Knows how to take the lid off on bowls and his puffs with his teeth.

Isn't very good with chewing and has choked a couple of times which has scared me to death.

Can stand for a second on his own, but he hasn't realized it yet.

Bites everything including me a couple times when feeding him...yikes.

Found you know what in the bath tub and now everytime I take his diaper off his hand goes straight for it.

Will crawl around and follow me from room to room.

Throws his head back, squints his eyes, and smiles.

Let him play in the sand in Hawaii and he loved it.  The first time his hands went straight for his mouth and then he rubbed his eyes, so that trip was short lived.  The second time he just sat there and dug his hands in the sand, so cute.
Has more hair....Al says his hair is invisible because it's so blonde.

Went to Disneyland to see all the Christmas decorations.
Flew on a plane to Utah and Hawaii.

These pictures are getting harder and harder to take.

He has become very vocal and expressive with his hands.  Maybe he will be a public speaker someday.

He's my best friend and we do everything together!!  We Love You Alex

Christmas Travels

We had a great time in freeezing Utah.  Alex is a frequent flyer these days so he did great on the plane.  Al loaded a bunch of Baby Einstein on his iPad for our long flight to Hawaii, but Alex also enjoyed them on the flight to SLC.

He wasn't sure about the headphones, but he didn't take them out.

Our arrival to SLC greeted by Grandma Ranes with Alex's very own Santa hat!!

I always feel popular when we go to Utah because we have plans lined up for almost every day and every night.  We had dinner with my family at Toscano one night.

Lots of quality time with GRANDMA!!

The best part about this next picture is he didn't have a diaper on....lol   I couldn't resist.

A date night with Al thanks to my mom.  We don't get to go on a lot of dates without Alex so it's that much more exciting when we do.  I totally forgot about free parking for the holidays.  I think every state should have this!!

We had dinner at Market Street Grill

Loved all their decorations

Yummy Oyster Rockefeller.

We went to Hatch Family Chocolates after dinner.  We drove to their old location which I didn't know had moved.  I had one of their $6 hot chocolates which was amazing.  Al was mad they were out of brownies for the brownie sundae so he ordered a bunch of chocolates.  He obviously didn't see the sign $28 per lb, so our $20 bill for one hot chocolate and 4 chocolates was a little ridiculous.  Hatch used to be a cool trendy place to get ice cream when I went to the U because the Hatch family who are midgets used to serve you (that's not why it was cool...lol).  I heard they had a show on TLC, so now they are famous and their chocolates are over priced.  I guess I'm over my days of Hatch Family Chocolates.    On our way back I talked Al into stopping at the Grand America to see the Gingerbread House display.  What I didn't know was that it was only one Gingerbread House....whooops....haha  Besides that it was a fabulous date with my husband, thanks mom!!

We attended my Aunt Sarah's Birthday/Christmas Party

The Girls

We enjoyed a yummy dinner at Brio Tuscan Grille with some of our favorite friends.

Alex and his crooked smile that he does when he's being silly.

Quality time with his Great Aunt Liz.

Church with Grandma Ranes in his new red bow tie.

and my Christmas present that came early since we spent Christmas in Hawaii.  I was bummed I couldn't take the big brown box with me,

but I did keep the big brown purse inside!!