Aloha Grandmas

Last night we took Ella's Grandma and Great-Grandma out for dinner and took them to the airport. We were all sad to see them leave and hope they had a good time, saw enough of the island and spent enough time with Ella. Ella was tired so she didn't really pay attention to what was going on but when she rolled over at 5am this morning and didn't see her roommates, she was so upset, screaming and crying "Grandma", "Daddy", "Grandma". I ended up bringing her to bed with us and while we tried to get a couple more hours sleep, she poked and chatted with us until finally we reluctantly got up at 7. Here are some pictures from the last couple of days they were here...

Monday I set up the pool and the girls played in the water all afternoon. Ella continues her bravery and "swims" the length of the pool over and over. And by "swim" I really mean she crawls on her hands and knees with the odd attempt at kicking her feet behind her.

Tuesday, Grandma and Great-Grandma took Ella to gymnastics, and I hear, had a great time watching Ella and her Daddy do all the circuits. We headed up to the Dole Plantation for one last pineapple ice cream run. Yummy! Here are the pictures from Dole and then dinner before the airport...

Sunday Drive

We headed out to the south part of the island on Sunday, through Honolulu and Waikiki, past Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay to Kailua. We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and then ice cream at Cold Stone. Here are some pictures of Iolani Palace, Waikiki, a scenic lookout on the south coast and from our lunch in Kailua.

(I've also updated the map from the previous post...)






When we got home, Grandma played with Ella on the playground. So many new things to show Grandma!

The Grandmas' Visit Thus Far...

My computer has been on the fritz for a couple of days and I've been frantically saving all my photos, files and music so Ron can work his magic and restore it. Here's a recap of the last few days...

Thursday we headed to the outlet stores and a did a bit of shopping. We had lunch out at Chilli's and then came home to watch a movie. Grandma, Ella and I went for a walk in the evening and then Grandma took Ella to the park.Friday, we headed to the beach at Ko Olina and had a picnic lunch. On the way home we drove up the west side of the island and through the mountain range and Kolekole Pass (an ancient site where it is claimed that defeated warrior chiefs were beheaded). We ordered Thai food for dinner. Today was the first time Ella ventured out into the water without being held by one of us. She has loved playing in the surf, but once she gets to her knees, she has to hold onto someone (a very safe thing - thank goodness!). Today, I kept backing away from her as she took more steps deeper into the water. She's still shaky so I am just inches out of her reach, but she walked out to her chest and made a jump into my arms. Then, once she could touch the bottom again, pushed me away and made her way back to shore (with me very close behind). She was so proud of herself that she continued to walk out to me as far as she could touch and then make her way back to shore, over and over. Could this be a first step in learning to swim??? No worries about her safety, I have no delusion that one little misstep could be fatal so I stay right behind her. I have turned it into a game of "I'm going to get Ella" - she loves making it to the shore without me tickling her and triumphantly shouts, "Mommy funny" before coming in again. Today after lunch, we drove around the north part of the island, up to the North Shore and through Waiamea Bay to Turtle Bay. We stopped at the Dole Plantation for some pineapple ice cream. We had some friends and neighbors over for a small BBQ tonight.

I will post some more pictures once my computer is fixed so keep checking back. I've also updated a picture or two from previous posts. Here is a map of Oahu that I edited to include the places we've taken Grandma and Great-Grandma, and to give you all a sense of where we live in relation to some famous landmarks such as Waikiki, Pearl Harbor and the North Shore. (Click on the map to see it full scale)

Horton Movie

Ella finally went to sleep last night and slept in later than usual - all that girl talk with her Grandmas wore her out. We lounged around all morning and took Ella to see "Horton Hears a Who" in the late afternoon. It was loud in the theater, though completely deserted except for us and 4 other people. Ella sat in my lap, or Grandma's the whole time, I think the volume and the giant screen scared her a little bit. Cute movie, but I think Ella's not ready for the movie theaters yet. I used to take her as an infant and she'd sleep through the whole thing but now I think the screen's a little too big, the volume too loud and the motion too startling for her.

She's been hard to put to sleep tonight, and I'm not sure if it's the excitement of having 2 wonderful, all-spoiling roommates, or perhaps left over theater fears. I think tomorrow night we might have to do what we usually do when guests visit - have Ella bunk with us. A late bedtime the night before does not a happy toddler make...

Happy

Both Ella's Grandma and Great-Grandma arrived tonight, safely and on-time. We picked them up from the airport and had dinner before heading home. They are sharing a room with Ella who's been talking for the past hour and a half while her grandmas got ready for bed. It's going to be a fun week - first night and Ella is spoiled already!!! Such a lucky girl, she is so excited and happy (and we are too). Aloha, Grandma and Great-Grandma, welcome to our home, a little place we like to call paradise.

Indian Princess

Today we went out to Bellows Beach for Ron's command picnic. Unfortunately, Ron woke up in the middle of the night with chills and has the flu. I moved into Ella's room to avoid the germs and left Ron in bed this morning when we left. We met up with Jeff, Sara and Baby Wyatt, and headed out to the other side of the island. Bellows is an air force base and has until recently been off limits to the public. The beaches have been open to the military and there are vacation cabins, camp sites and picnic areas for the armed forces and their families. Because it's been private for so long, it is almost pristine in it's condition. An absolutely gorgeous beach with white sand and turquoise waters. We had lunch, the girls had their faces painted (they had a professional face painter), we played in the surf... it was a gorgeous day. Here's Ella as an Indian princess.

Mommy's Little Girl

Fever Update

So we're pretty sure Ella has the flu. 2 Hours after her temp went down to 100.6, it was back up to 103.3 and we had 2 hours before we could give her more medicine. I managed to get her temp down to 102.2 by the time she was able to take some more Mortin. I spent all night on the couch with her, stoking her head, wiping her neck with a cloth while she dozed on my chest. Every time I would pull her off me to lay her beside me, she'd just say "no, Mommy sleep" and hug me tighter. Sitting in the middle of the night, sleep-deprived with a sick toddler, I've never felt more like the luckiest mom in the world.
This morning at 6 am she was still high at 101.8. There is a flu bug going around, we just thought we missed it, but apparently it only lasts 24-72 hours. I've had 4 hours sleep, Ella almost seems normal, aside from being a little oven, and Ron is golfing. I think it's time to pullout the blow-up mattress and have a girl's day of movies, Elmo's world, and Sesame Street in the living room.

Potraits

Ella's 2nd Birthday

In My Wedding Dress
Easter 2008

Fever

Ella's had a very mild temperature in the past day or two, nothing over 101 and a little Tylenol made her more comfortable. Lahrissa had the flu at the beginning of the week and was picked up early the couple of days until it passed. Ella, Ron and I seemed to have bypassed the germs that have been going around... or so we thought...

Tonight, as we were getting ready to BBQ , Ron noticed Ella burning up. Within a very short time (almost minutes it seemed) Ella had gone from her normal wild toddler self to blah. I took her ear temperature and it was fluctuating between 102.5 and 104.5. I panicked and had Ron get a hold of the pediatrician's after-hours number (which was a big run around) while I dosed Ella with some Motrin and put her in a luke warm bath. Not trusting the ear thermometer, I got an accurate 103.5 with the traditional method - sorry Ella:( The doctor called us back and said to also dose her with some Tylenol and then alternate the two every 4 hours. We were to bring her to the ER if there was no change in 20 minutes. She just laid on Ron and soon began to look better. Her temperature went down to 102.7 in 20 minutes and now, 2 hours later, it's at 100.6.

Phew! I'll be checking her through the night, but what a scare for us! Ron was calm and level-headed, while I might as well have had my head chopped off. LOL It's very reassuring to know there's at least someone in this house who can cope rationally in a crisis :) (But for the record, I don't think I've ever seen Ella's temperature above 102-102.5 at most, so the 104.5 freaked me out.)

On a lighter note, we picked up Ella's birthday and Easter portraits today (as soon as I can get my scanner working, I'll post them).