Water Babies

We've been enjoying our first few days in Kauai.  We arrived Thursday night on a pretty uneventful flight.  Both the kids were good for the most part.  Kendall was overtired and had a hard time falling asleep, and Ryan didn't sleep a wink.  He did get up 6 times to go to the bathroom, though!  And he must have asked 100 times when we're going to land.  At one point he said, "We're going to be in the air forever!".  Thankfully, we weren't and Ryan started the round of applause on the plane when we landed. 

The kids enjoying a snack on the plane.

After walking to the beach in the morning, we spent the first day at the pool.  Both of the kids need to be watched like hawks.  Neither of them has any fear of the water and jump in at any time unannounced.  

Kendall likes to catch the water dripping from her suit. 

We picked up some water wings and goggles for Ryan, which has turned out to be some of the best money we've ever spent!  He loves that he can float now and is much more comfortable in the water.  Without them he was a bit wild.  He is having so much fun!

Mean old Mom made everyone go to the beach yesterday morning.  Ryan wanted to stay at the pool.  But once we got to the beach he had a blast.  It's just a short walk from the house, and we can whale watch on the way.  We also found a "pet" fish in the lagoon that just hung out by the rocks where we were sitting.  Ryan named him "Fish is fish".  Kendall loved the sand and was so content to bury her toes and fill up the buckets.  

Ryan and Daddy hanging out in the lagoon at the beach.

 There were two Hawaiian Monk Seals hanging out on the beach, which were really fun to watch.  There were two ladies at the beach this morning who had been there since 5am waiting to see the seals, and we got to see two yesterday!   They told Ryan and I that they have been driving around the island hoping to see the seals.  I guess timing is everything!

The Hawaiian Monk Seal taking in the sunshine on the beach.

 

 

 

Miss Kendall taking in the view.

 The weather has been overcast since we arrived, but it is still warm so I can't complain.  I am hoping the sun comes out to stay one of these days, though! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm so thankful for my Valentine's!

AND Happy Birthday to Grandpa Bill!

AND Happy 6th Birthday to Luke!

Her Favorite Things

Kendall has become quite attached to her blankies and her nuk.

Spoiled Rotten

We always feel so spoiled when my parents come to visit.  David and I usually get out for a date, the kids get undivided attention 24/7, and I don't have to do the dishes or laundry (thanks, Dad!).

Needless to say, we had another wonderful week with them and were so sad to say goodbye Monday night.

We had fairly decent weather while they were here so we were able to enjoy some outdoor activities - Alki Beach, biking around the block and lots of baseball.  Ryan would drag whoever he could find out for a quick baseball game.  He even hit two balls over the bamboo into the neighbors yard!

Kendall enjoyed getting away with basically everything, and endless snuggling with Grandma.  She just knows how to get what she wants.

Grandma and Grandpa decided to stay in a hotel Monday night so neither David or I had to get up at 5am to drive them to the airport Tuesday morning.  We were a little annoyed by this, because getting up at 5am is the least we could do to thank them for a weeks worth of help.  It turned out to be a fun adventure, though.  The hotel had a pool so we spent the evening swimming!  Ryan had so much fun jumping in and going under.  It's amazing how far he's come.  Miss Kendall clung on to Grandma in the pool, and had fun splashing.  For some reason she wanted nothing to do with me.

There were no tears when we said goodbye this time, but I could have cried the next day when I had piles of dishes to do and two screaming kids who just needed some attention!

No Sleep for the Weary

We have been sick for almost 3 weeks now.  Ryan started it off with a cough around Christmas.  He never ran a temp, or acted sick but the cough lingered for quite a long time.  I decided to call the nurse to see what her opinion was.  Since the cough was lingering for so long she suggested we bring him in. 

The Dr. checked him out and said it was border-line bronchitis, and prescribed an antibiotic.  The antibiotic made him vomit, and then he started to run a temp.  We're not sure if he was running a temp from a virus or the antibiotic - and we'll never know.  The Dr. prescribed him a different antibiotic, which seemed to do the trick but he is still coughing.  He missed a week of school, and successfully passed his germs on to the rest of us.

The moment we thought we may be getting back to normal, Kendall picked it up and has been miserable for almost 2 weeks now.  Her temp never got really high, and didn't last more than 72 hours so we didn't end up taking her in.  I hate putting really little ones on antibiotics, so was happy about this.  They always seem to do quite a number on their systems.  In any case, the miserable little girl has not been sleeping.  She's up 5 or 6 times a night because she can't breath through her nose...and heaven forbid she get rid of her nuk and breath through her mouth.  We've resorted to bringing her into bed with us. 

It's amazing that a 2-foot tall person can manage to take up a 6-foot bed, but she does it successfully night after night.  Go figure.  Last night, she went ballistic around midnight.  We thought something was seriously wrong with her.  She was so upset.  Our theory this morning is that she was mad because she didn't like the nuk she had.  Once we swapped it out, she was fine.  I'm thinking that it is time to get rid of the nuk.  I have no patience for that sort of silliness, especially in the middle of the night. 

The lack of sleep has caught up with us, David especially.  He went to the Dr. yesterday and had a chest x-ray that showed fluid on his lungs.  The Dr. prescribed an antibiotic and rest.  David laughed at him, and asked him if he'd take Kendall for the week.  The Dr. promptly told him to ask the pharmacist for a prescription for a Nanny.

I got off pretty easy with just a bad head cold, but am exhausted from all the sleepless nights.  It has me wondering if we'll ever get a decent night of sleep again.  And I'm dreading the sleep training we'll have to go through with Kendall again to get her to sleep in her crib all night.  She was doing so well before this all hit.  For now, I'm going to focus my energy on getting and keeping us all healthy for our trip to Hawaii in a few weeks.  We have successfully been ill on all but one of our vacations over the last 3 years.  Seriously.  I am bound and determined to NOT let this happen again.

Thankfully, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ken are here until Tuesday to provide some much needed relief.