Our Little Woodchuck

How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Let me tell you, a doorway, crib rails and coffee tables! Every time I turn around Ella is chomping on something! We have lowered her crib to the lowest setting so she can't reach the tops at the end of the crib and chew off all the paint. The side rails have a plastic teething cover but the ends are rounded and wider so we have nothing to protect them. We get her in the morning or after a nap and she's got paint chips all over her face and in her hair. In some parts she's chewed down to the wood. I've noticed my coffee table has some Ella teeth marks and today as she was following me around the hallway, she chomped away at the doorway. Did we have a puppy or a child???
Today, we put her hair in a pony tail for the first time, but because it's so curly, it looks more like a bun....
Other Ella news, her eighth tooth has come though, 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top. Perhaps that's contributing to her woodchucking. She is also totally on the move and will be into something if you turn your back for a second. She crawls a little odd and use one leg for further leverage or balance, we're not really sure. She crawls normal on the bed or carpet, but this is how she looks when she crawls on the wood floor...maybe it's too hard on her knees.
She's getting better at standing on her own and will let go of what she is holding onto and then after a minute, realizes she's on her own and will grab at something or plop down. Sometimes she looks at you with such excitement like "Whoa! Look what I'm doing!" She can be so proud of herself! Here she is after standing on her own..."Whoa" and check out her tan!

Aloha `oe

(This means Farewell to you)

I just took Erin to the airport :( It's been a great two weeks of old friendships, girl talk, beach, sun and tans. It's going to be hard to go back to the everyday life of cooking and cleaning and errands. Though I'm sure going back to winter in Victoria is going to be a lot harder for Erin. Ella, Ron and I are very sad to see her go but hopefully we'll get to visit the west coast in the spring.

Dear Auntie,

Thank you for coming to Hawai'i and hanging out with us. We loved the beach, the sun, the sightseeing and especially our tans...next time you'll have to stay longer so you can catch up to me and we can be the same color. I know Mommy and Daddy are very sad to see you go back, Daddy said he'd support you and Mommy for at least a month next time! :) Maybe by then I will have learned to kiss with my mouth closed and not drool all over your cheek. I will miss you. Until then, kipa hou mai`anake (come visit again, Auntie). Kisses to Auntie Sue, Uncle Stu, your sisters and the babies!

Love Ella

Sightseeing and Beaches

Erin, Ella and I spent the day in Waikiki on Friday walking through the International Marketplace and watching tourists spend ridiculous amounts of money on high-end shopping. Waikiki Beach was everything you see in a postcard, masses of bodies on every inch of sand so thick, you can barely see through them to the water...wow, sounds so relaxing?! We also walked through Chinatown, lots of authentic grocery stores.
We spent the whole weekend at Ko Olina, getting up early to picnic and spend the entire day working on our tans. Erin's determined to be the same color as Ella when she leaves! Though Ella is getting darker and darker every day despite the shade and the sunblock...she is loving the water so it's where she's getting her color from. Little kids love her and as Ron and I were letting her play in her floaty at the tide line, a little girl about 3, grabbed the handle and pulled her away... "I'm going to show my sister," she says as she's walking away. Ron had to chase her and follow her so Ella wouldn't get knocked over and drown...where is this kids' parents!!! Ella, of course, can't get enough of all the kids she sees playing. You know she's thinking, "How can I get out of this floating contraption and join them!"

Yesterday, we spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I love everything about new places. I love the culture of people who live there, the native way of life is beautiful. What I hate...tourists! The Center was a great educational place for all the Polynesian islands: Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, Marquesas, and Hawai'i. We toured the villages, saw a canoe pageant, ate at a Luau, and watched the fire show. It was beautiful, and the proceeds from the park support the Polynesian university - most of the performers and staff are students or instructors. But, being the most popular tourist event on Oahu, it was packed, and a total tourist trap. Ella loved the people and watched the shows fascinated with all the traditional dress and dances. She clapped along with the crowd too. I really shouldn't complain about mass tourism...we were them yesterday...

Beaches

Today we went to Hanauma Bay to snorkel and get some more sun. It was really windy and the large fish freaked Erin out so we didn't snorkel long. Ron stayed out of the water and watched Ella as Erin and I ventured out to the coral-bottomed water. I love seeing all the fish but didn't like being so close to the coral, touching things in the ocean freaks me out. With all the beautiful quiet beaches closer to home, it's hard to adjust to the masses of Asian tourists and mainland visitors that flock to Hanauma Bay, famous for snorkeling. After battling wind and scary freaky sea life we took a drive along the southern coast and found some amazing coastline....

Best Outfit Ever!

Today the girls went shopping and found some fabulous deals. Erin bought some sexy boots for under $20 and that was just the beginning of our hot bargains for the day. Karen gave Ella this cute sun dress this past summer when we were in Philadelphia and the matching bandanna has made it her cutest outfit so far....

Waianea

What a gorgeous coast line, up the west side of Oahu to Waianea....

North Shore

Spent the day driving around the North Shore and top half of the island.....

Beach Bums

We spent the day at the beach at Ko Olina and brought a picnic lunch. It was so relaxing and Erin and I got too much sun. The water is deep past the break water so the waves bring in the colder water. It's a little too cold to have Ella in for very long but luckily she had a cute beach wrap from Grandma to warm her up and protect her from the sun's rays...

Mountain Hike

Erin takes beautiful photographs. Today we hiked a bit up the summit of the mountain range on the base. It's breath-taking! Here is our Christmas present from my Grandfather...Ella's hiking backpack. We love it and it was so worth the splurge. Ella loved being up high and walking with the adults, and Ron loved running around with her. Here are some pictures of the day. Gorgeous!

Fun in the Sun

Erin arrived last night after midnight. Poor thing got stuck on the airplane for 2 hours while Vancouver airport cleared a single runway (yes only one runway for arriving and departing planes) because of some more snow. We relaxed all morning and then hit the beach at Ko Olina this afternoon. It's winter and the surf is up so it was fun to rock in the waves. The resort is sheltered by a breakwater so we don't see whitecaps but we get the tidal movement. It's like body surfing at those water parks. Fun Fun. The water is too cold for Ella as she has a bit of a runny nose, but Ron was more than happy to watch her while we body surfed.