Back To Cold Country

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and we had to return to Washington yesterday.  Esme was my great travel partner once again and we had no issues throughout the day.  We left Hilo in the late morning and I was hoping she'd nap on the flight to Oahu but she was too excited to look out the window and play with her Barrel of Monkeys again.  Once we landed in Oahu though I knew she'd need to get a nap in so I found a chair in the breezeway between the interisland and mainland terminals and had her lay down on my chest.  She was tired enough that she didn't fight me and managed to sleep for a little over an hour.  I was just thankful cause this at least saved us some time on our 3 1/2 hour layover.  Once she woke up we took our time walking through the airport, eating lunch, and looking at all the planes close up.  After all that it was time to board for Seattle.  The hardest part of all the plane rides is getting her to buckle her seatbelt so this time the Silly Putty and a little plastic bear that had removable shoes kept her busy for over an hour.  She kept putting the bears shoes on her toes (since that's the only place on her body they'd fit) and she did this over and over and over.  After some time she took another nap for an hour and a half and I didn't even have to get out the Ipad for this flight either.  Once we landed in Seattle she was soooooooooooo ready to see Allen.  She was yelling "hi dada, hi dada, hi dada!!!" at the top of her lungs when we saw him pull up at the curb and everyone around us was laughing.

We had a great last few days on the Big Island with all the cousins, aunts, uncles and Nana & Papa.  Esme and Hunter had a birthday party at the park and Nana's new bubble machine was a hit.  The kids were chasing bubbles all over the place.  Esme was so excited about being outside at the park and the bubbles that she could care less about the yummy birthday cake she had.  It was hard to say goodbye the next day but I think we made some great memories that will last Esme for awhile.  At least until the next time she sees her Hawaii family this coming summer.    

Nana distracting the kids while the bubble machine got set up.

Oh so many bubbles!

The too cool cousins, Charlie and Tosh.

Esme loved this little toy from her goodie bag.

Hunter's birthday scooter.

Toshie showing the little kids his bike skills.

Mmmm, guava chiffon cake.

Tosh wearing Esme's new chef outfit.

Now that Esme's two years old we finally changed her carseat to face forward and she loves being able to see exactly what we're seeing.  We've also stopped buying whole milk for her so she can just drink what we do.  We still need to get her physical set up but the good news is that she doesn't have shots until she's four years old!  

I'm 29 weeks pregnant now and have an appointment with the midwife tomorrow.  The baby's moving a lot and I actually felt hiccuping for the first time last week while we were in Hawaii.  It's getting harder to carry Esme as I have to hike her up over my belly to fit the two of them together.  Esme and I had a great time bonding together in Hawaii but I was glad to get back to Washington and not be a single parent (even though my family was a big help) anymore.  Allen's a great sport and makes up for all that I can't/don't want to do anymore cause of my growing belly.