Christmas in Hawaii: The Beach

The only record I have of the day after Christmas is a wonderful video of Betsy "jumping" that you can see at the end of Cornyee's Christmas post, here: http://courtneyhastings.blogspot.com/2013/01/christmas-in-hawaii-christmas-and-beach.html.  The whole first week of the trip was pretty uneventful because everybody was tired, and nobody was motivated enough to take charge, decide on an activity, and get the group going. 

On December 27, we did go down to Mauna Kea beach because Christian and Shandie's friends, Brian and Jen, were staying there.  We got to play like guests and enjoy the lounge chairs and umbrellas.  It was a perfect day, and Ever was completely in love with the ocean.

Mamo entertained the other keiki on the sand:

Dolly started taking steps over Christmas - generally to people who were encouraging her to do so - but she wasn't as legit as it appears here:

Betsy, always the bathing beauty:

We had to take Ever in for some snack time . . .



. . . but then she wanted to go back in the ocean:

Shan and Bets modeled their new trucker hats:

Tristan bodyboarded:

Betsy wandered the beach with her hat over her eyes:

Coco and TKan had fun with the camera:

Look at those guns!

Back at the ranch, TKan got some Tutu love:



The following day, we headed to Hapuna.  

Chow and I cuddled over lunch:



TKan and Bets played happily together:



Dolly was fuss face, probably because she was tired and because I didn't want to take her in the water:

Coco was a nice auntie and took her in for me.  When they got out, Coco said, "Your daughter is crazy.  She loves getting pummeled by the waves."  If I recall correctly, Dolly's fuss face didn't allow us to stay too long at the beach that day.  Baby fatigue is the worst.

Back at the homestead, Feathers For Hair looked like a zombie but played contentedly with a box of granola bars:

Aaaahhh, much better:

Betsy and Chava loved up on Jim:

Betsy got in Ever's face, but it was all in good fun:

The girls enjoyed getting to know each other a little better and worked on their pat-a-cake:

Christmas in Hawaii: United Stinks & Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve, we flew to the motherland for two weeks.  Before we left, we made Dolly open a few presents at home so we wouldn't have to lug them across the ocean and back: 

The flight from LAX to Honolulu was hard.  A one-year-old who can't sleep outside her crib but gets extremely tired if she's awake for more than three hours at a time is not the ideal traveling companion, especially when she gets almost no sleep the night before.  (We had to wake her at like 3 in the morning to get to L.A. to catch our flight, and she didn't go back to sleep in the car.) 

When Jim checked us in before we left home, he was only able to check us in on the first leg, to Honolulu; he couldn't check us in for our flight from Honolulu to Kona.  The agent in L.A. did check our suitcase all the way through, though.  So when we arrived in Honolulu, we hopped straight on the shuttle and went to our gate in the interisland terminal, where we tried to check in.  Lady 1 told us that we had to check in 45 minutes before flight time; the computer shut them out at that point.  We explained that we booked our trip at one time (both legs) and were given such a short connection that we could not get there 45 mintues early.  We had gone straight there.  The plane was still there.  Our baggage was on it.  But Lady 1 would not let us board.  We went back and forth with her, and ultimately she said she would put us on standby for the next flight - which was full, so we obviously wouldn't get on it - and then we could talk to a higher-up.  While we were standing at the desk, we heard over the loudspeaker, "We may have two seats available on Flight [X] from Honolulu to Kona . . ."  I was like, "Those are our seats!  They're giving away our seats!"  When Lady 1 fininshed whatever she had to do, she sent us down to the gate to see if the woman there (who was a higher-up) could help us.  Lady 2 at the gate was super-condescending and kept calling me "hon."  She said, "If the Chamberlains show up, then there's nothing we can do for you.  You can't get on this plane."  Jim said, "The Chamberlains?  Who are the Chamberlains?  They're our seats!"  Then a couple walked up, and Lady 2 asked if they were the Chamberlains.  Of course they were.  Lady 2 ushered them onto the plane.  The argument heated up.  The condescending "hon" thing continued, and finally Jim exploded:  "Don't call her 'hon'!  We didn't do anything wrong.  United booked this trip for us with a short connection and wouldn't check us all the way through.  Is there anyone human here who can do anything?  Are you human?!," etc.  I was mortified at first.  By the time he finished yelling, though, I was all riled up and burst out crying, "So we can't get home for Christmas?!"  And with that, we whirled around and stormed off.  Jim told me later he actually thought we were going to be escorted off the premises by security.  As soon as we walked away and sat down, I was totally embarrassed.  We really made quite a scene.  A minute later, Lady 1 and Lady 2 came and told us that they would be able to get us on the next flight, which left in about an hour and a half.  We would be taking the Chamberlains' seats, since those were freed up now that the Chamberlains had taken our seats.  The ladies were kind enough to do that for us, even though there were standby passengers who were at the front of the line for the Chamberlains' seats.  RIDICULOUS.  (This reminds me that I still need to write to United and complain.)

After that fiasco was sorted out, we got some food and left the area to eat it so we didn't have to see the Ladies anymore.  (We were sore ashamed.)   We made it home and found our suitcase, stroller, and car seat waiting for us at the Kona airport (since they had arrived on time).  What a relief we didn't have to spend Christmas Eve in a hotel in Honolulu! 

While we thought we had it rough, Courtney was delayed repeatedly and didn't make it to Kona until 2:00 A.M. Christmas morning - five hours after she was scheduled to arrive.  Needless to say, she was less than thrilled about getting up for presents, but she didn't want to miss out.  We opened presents by the fire:



One of Tristan's favorites was a whoopie cushion that Jim broke within about an hour.  Christian promptly bought a replacement, which Christian then broke.  Apparently they're not made for grown men's enjoyment, or they're just terrible quality.  In any event, Tristan was devastated, but he enjoyed it while it lasted.

Tristan also got this mask, which completely terrified Ever:



Cornyee kindly bought me The Family Stone, to replace the copy my friend Natalie accidentally stole:

I got her an FNL t-shirt - a memento of the show to which I introduced her and the show that changed her life.  Texas forever:



Many other lovely gifts were exchanged, but I don't have photos of those. 

Chow Mein either talked on the phone or brushed her hair (it's unclear):



Pod and TKan played some Hungry Hippos . . .



 . . . and Dolly played with her new xylophone (thank you, Cornyee!):

The rest of the day consisted of breakfast . . .

. . . walking practice . . .



. . . snuggling . . .

Bags rocked this outfit probably 50% of the trip.

. . . Dominoes (note how they kindly took turns pressing the button in the middle) . . .



. . . piano playing . . .

. . . belated present-opening (Dolly had to go down for a nap before she opened all of hers) . . .

 . . . and general laziness since all of us travelers were weary.

Breaking News: She Walks(ish)

Today I break the cardinal rule of blogging (posts must be in chronological order!) to bring you this special announcement:  Dolly walks.  She doesn't walk walk, but today she did a lot of this:

It was very exciting for me, and I was sad Jim's at Joshua Tree with the Young Men.  Go, Dolly!

Dolly Had a Birthday

Nana Wilson, JoAnn Miller (wonderful babysitter), and Grandpa Kringel gave Ever birthday presents.  I also wrapped up some of the clothes Tutu had bought for her so she'd have extra to open.  So Dalai's first birthday (celebrated late because I worked on her birthday) consisted of a lovely fire by Jim and a very apathetic Dolly opening presents with substantial assistance.  It was past her bedtime, so I'm pretty sure she would have preferred to be sleeping.

A short hug break:

(That's one of our very favorite Dolly developments.  She hugs and snuggles now, and we love it so much.  I always used to cradle her in my arm when I rocked her before I put her down.  Now she often climbs up me so she can lay her head on my neck/shoulder during our bedtime routine.  Love.)

Back to presents:

Can you feel the excitement?

JoAnn gave Dolly her first dolly.  She hasn't totally gotten into it yet but she has cradled it briefly a few times.  

Chava was more interested in the paper, labels, and bags than the gifts.  

I taught her that putting things on your head is fun.  She enjoys it:

While she opened presents, Jim and I sang "Happy Birthday."  Apparently we sounded bad because it seemed to really freak out the birthday girl. 

I just took Dolly in on Friday (January 11) for her one-year appointment.  At nearly 13 months, she weighed in at 17 lbs, 10 oz, and that was with a wet diaper on.  That put her in the third percentile for weight.  She's now in the 35th percential for height (let the decline begin).  Her head remains steady in the 76th percentile.  I complained to the doctor about how she rejects pretty much all food, and he said he's not worried; she's not going to be a big eater, and she's still following her growth curve pretty well.  He said not to be too concerned about how healthful the food is but to just give her whatever she likes to get calories in her.  "If she likes french fries, give her french fries."  So the bad diet begins.

One of the questions on the form I had to fill out in the doctor's office was something like, "How many blocks does he/she stack on top of one another?"  My answer was 0.  Sometimes Dolly and I play blocks . . . 

. . . but what that means is I build and she instantly topples.  

Who, me?

Karen/Nana Wilson told us months ago that Dolly was saying "dog."  (The Wilsons have a dog named Sam.)  I didn't believe it until early December when Dolly saw a dog two days in a row, and both times she immediately said, "Dog!"  (Except it usually sounds like "dah" or "dow" or sometimes "doh.")  Ironic that two dog-haters had a baby whose first official word was "dog."  She has started imitating sounds a lot and will say "ball" and "book" (both pronounced without the final consonant sound), "baby" (pronounced "ba-ba"), buh-bye (also pronounced "ba-ba"), "uh-oh," and "dada."  Tonight she mimicked my "night-night" with a "na-na."  Mamo said she heard a "papa" while we were home for Christmas.  I'm still not sure she knows I'm "mama," but she definitely knows "dada."  The other day I asked, "Where's dada?," and she looked at Jim and pointed. 

She still growls.  In fact, she sometimes says "dog" in a semi-growl.

She likes to hand things back and forth and bonk heads. 

She's going to be a monkey before too long.  In the airport on the way to Hawai'i for Christmas, she held on to the back of a chair and climbed up it with her feet.  She also climbed over the back of the couch at Mamo and Papo's to reach me behind it. 

Jim says Ever loves me more and wants me when she's sick or sad.  For a while Jim was actually getting super bitter because she would come to me and give me long hugs but would never hug or snuggle with him.  As seen in the photo above, she finally broke down and started giving him loves, too. 

It's so fun to see her learning.  She knows what things are for and will "brush" her hair and hold barrettes or hair ties to her head.  She treats all sorts of electronic items (including remotes, ipods, and cameras) as phones, holding them to the back/side of her head.  She started taking steps by herself over Christmas, but her progress has been hindered by illness.  (More on that in the Christmas posts.) 

She sleeps with her knees under her and her bum in the air.  I wish I could get a real picture, but I had to settle for a photo of the monitor:

She loves being around other kids.  We were at the Koehles' for dinner several weeks ago, and Gordon (who's 2 1/2) was running around with some other kids.  Dolly crawled after them and wanted so badly to play. 

She has a fun sense of humor and the best laugh I've ever heard.  Light of our lives!