Nathan's First Trip to Hawaii - Part 1

Last week we took Nathan on his first trip to Hawaii!  We stayed at the Grand Wailea in Maui, and it was so fun to see Nathan experience the beach and ocean for the first time.  He LOVED it!

He also had fun splashing up a storm in the pool.

We took a boat ride to the nearby island of Lanai and enjoyed spending time on the beach there and snorkeling.  

As we always do, we went snorkeling quite a few times on our trip.  We took turns snorkeling (turtles!) and playing with Nathan on the beach in front of our hotel.  He seriously couldn't get enough so it's official: we'll be back!

Nathan appreciates the little things too.  He loved the flowers on the grounds of our hotel and wanted to touch them (yes, literally just poke them once with his finger) every time we passed them.  He also thoroughly enjoyed all of the birds that hung around the open air eateries, the fans that are everywhere, and Hawaiian art (who knew?).  

There are so many good beaches in Maui, and right in Wailea, and we were able to walk to Ulua beach which had the best snorkeling of our trip with incredibly clear water and abundant fish.

We ate out at a number of fantastic restaurants during our trip and had fancy dessert too for our anniversary.  Happy 13 years!  (Yes, in this picture I'm kissing Nathan, not Jesse, but Nathan's picture of us didn't really come out well!)

Happy Baby

Nathan has been throwing up his hands in the air in excitement and clapping his hands when he sees himself in the mirror.  Gotta love this boy!

Other things that make him happy?  Vacuum cleaners.  Here he is super pleased to just be close to one! 

And bread.  He loves bread and can't get enough of it!

May Layouts

I created two layouts this month ... for National Scrapbooking Day!  They are of the two baby showers my work and church threw for me last year.  This first layout was inspired by the Scrappy Friends challenges.  I took the teal and stacked ribbon from the mood board, used buttons, and used the sketch. 

My second layout is based on the May 1st sketch from Stuck?!  It was nice going through those pictures again!

Nathan is Walking!

Nathan has been on the verge of walking for some time now and today he took those first real steps!

We are so proud of him!  He has also been saying "uh oh" when anyone drops anything.  So darling!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!  I am so blessed to be a mom to the cutest little thing that ever was!

In other news, Jesse is a super dad.  I went on a work trip late last week and Jesse and Nathan not only survived but had a lot of fun being silly.  Love them to pieces!

Grandpa Thomas Visits

Jesse's dad stopped by for a couple days this past weekend, which was a real treat.  He brought some presents for Nathan, and while he ended up enjoying them, at first he was interested in nothing except the bag they came in:

It was really nice out and we spent a lot of time outdoors.  We went to the park,

and took a little hike along the foothills.

Last Island of Hawaii Layouts

I finished documenting our last trip to Hawaii just in time for our next one!  I created this layout of the Halema'uma'u crater based on the April 15 sketch from Stuck?!

and used CSI's major case this month for this last layout of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

High Five!

Nathan has learned how to give a high five!  Here we are having fun giving each other high fives while he is swinging at the park.

Also at the park?  Ginormous tumbleweeds:

That's springtime in New Mexico for you!

More Big Island Layouts

I love our snorkeling pictures from our trip to the Island of Hawaii.  I used Blue Fern's April sketch and a Blue Fern chipboard piece for the title of this layout.

For my second snorkeling page, I used Brenda's sketch and I was also inspired by the spring colors and feel of Kelly's mood board.

This next layout is for Prima's April BAP.  I used Prima Songbird's line, stencils, ink, flowers, and wood icons.

This final layout is for Creative Embellishments' April challenge.  I was inspired to use large butterflies!

What a Goofball!

Our little boy certainly has a goofy side!

In this video, Nathan is laughing and laughing at Jesse while they were being silly together.