I realize I'm a bit biased, but is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?
We had a very Happy Halloween! Isla cut her first tooth, got a flu shot AND went to the Sounder's game, all in one day. She didn't get any candy (gotta preserve that precious tooth!) but she did manage to sneak a couple of garlic fries, thanks to her new best friend Jeremy. Somehow we managed not to get any pictures of Jeremy and Rachel, who generously took us to the playoff game (definitely a fun place to be for people-watching and costume-spotting on Halloween!)
We have had an absolutely breath-taking month of October, have we not? I'm pretty sure our street sports some of the prettiest colors around. Every year, about this time, I find myself scrambling for my cell phone to snap a couple poor-quality shots as I drive from the freeway to our house. I never get any that quite capture the beauty. This year, I was smart enough to take a walk, camera in hand, to snap a few shots.
I have been in denial that summer was truly over until just this week. This is usually about the time that my (entirely self-diagnosed) season affective disorder kicks in at full force. Last year, it was during the month of October that I started training to run a 5K (I worked up to the distance but never actually ran a formal race). I remember fighting extreme lack of motivation when I would wake up to the wet, freezing weather outside. I am so thankful for the sunshine that came along with October this year! I was feeling jipped by our short summer and so chose to ignore the signs of fall in hopes of prolonging the warm weather. I didn't put up a single fall decoration. I didn't even buy a pumpkin. I wasn't feeling up to throwing my usual Black and Orange Halloween Dinner Party (for those who know me well, this is when you know something is really wrong!) But then last week, I passed by the jugs of apple cider as I was doing my routine grocery shopping and for some reason, it clicked that fall is here and I've gotta embrace it! Since that moment, I shifted into overdrive and stocked my cart with all the necessary ingredients for making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin biscuits, homemade applesauce, soups and pasta dishes each featuring butternut squash and of course everything I need to make homemade caramel apple cider complete with whipped cream! Today I pulled out my tub of fall decor and tomorrow we head to the pumpkin patch (it's better late than never!) For some reason I still can't seem to pull the energy together to host a Black and Orange dinner this year (maybe it's partially because we've been out of town or working every single weekend this month and I just want to be lazy at home for a stretch) but I'm cooking up a fall menu for my sister's birthday celebration tomorrow that is sort of black and orange so that's gotta count for something!
I know I've said this so many times before, but I can't get over how fun this age is! I think it is partially so exciting because each day is so rewarding. Isla is literally learning something new every single day and it feels good as her parents to see that the things we teach her are actually sticking.
The biggest news this month is that Isla started walking on October 14th! It started with 6 steps in the morning and by the end of the day, she was walking across our entire living room. Tomorrow marks her two-week walking anniversary but you'd never know it- she's all over the place already! Here's a video of some of her first steps:
I (sort of) taught Isla how to do the sign for "all done" in sign language. When I first did it and asked her if she was done after her meal, she thought I was waving and so waved back. The wave sort of stuck and so now she waves when she's finished eating.
We've also been teaching Isla to "pray" at meals and before bed. She clasps her hands together when we ask her to pray and then proceeds to clap a few seconds later but the idea is definitely there! :) Today we were eating breakfast together and I forgot to pray beforehand. Out of no where, I look up and realize that Isla is clasping her hands and looking at me as if to say "Mom, is there something you're forgetting?"
I absolutely adore Isla's personality. As I see her around other kids more and more, I'm realizing how generally good-natured, cheerful and easy-going she is. Although she has grown a bit more shy around strangers over the past few months, not once has she ever refused to be left somewhere (the church nursery, with a babysitter etc.) She tends to be an observer and I'll often catch her just staring at what the other kids are doing, completely entertained. We often are forced to miss her AM nap on Sundays and MOPS days but she does so well, as long as she has other kiddos to distract her and keep her going. The only thing I've noticed is that she gets much more possessive of the toys when she gets tired and often starts stealing them from other kids which I'm sure is more embarrassing for me than for anyone else.
Isla learned to have these hilarious gargle conversations while we were in Maui...
Isla loves hanging out with her Auntie Lani and cousin Gideon. She likes to pat (which ends up being more of a slap) his face and head. We're trying to teach her the meaning of "gentle." :)
Isla continues to be extremely busy and into everything. I'm sure most everyone already saw this photo...I was laughing so hard!
This is Isla's very favorite drawer in all our house. She loves to empty out and play with the candles and cupcake liners and sprinkles. I think she does it at least 3 times a day, particularly when I'm in the kitchen cooking. Thankfully I relocated the food coloring to another drawer before she got into that... I love that she wants to be near me but is happy to play independantly. Now that she is walking, she waddles around the house, following me whereever I go. :)
Graham and I left Isla for our first long weekend away past week. We went to Santa Barbara for 3 whole nights and had a great time. It looks like Isla and her Grandpa and Grandma Wilson had a pretty good time together too.
The cute rolls on her legs won't be here for much longer I'm afraid!
Isla feeds herself almost entirely on her own now. She loves having her own spoon or fork and actually does quite well with it! Her current favorite foods are: eggs, cheese, berries, beans, broccoli and bread/pasta. She does NOT like sweet potatoes or butternut squash which is so perplexing to me since they are sweet. Go figure!
Isla loves to guide our hands and "help" us do things. She'll push our hands together to try to make us clap or guide our hand so we'll point to various objects in her book. Apparently over the weekend, she was even guiding my dad's hand, showing him how to pat her cousin Gideon's head gently. Where did she learn that I wonder??
Our precious girl still has no teeth. None. But if you ask her "Where are your teeth!?" she'll point right where they should be. I'm choosing to believe she knows something that we don't and that they're in there somewhere. We routinely brush our "teeth" together so on that blessed day when a pearly white finally arrives, we'll be well-practiced.
We are working on teaching Isla other body parts in addition to her teeth. If you ask her where her belly is, she points to her neck. So as you can see, we're doing quite well in this area.
Here is the third and final photo journal of our Maui trip. You can never have too many pictures of baby booties in their bikini bottoms....
I love this shot. Isla was bird hunting.
Ahhhh. There's nothing like grandpa teaching his grandaughter to walk...on the beach...in Maui...
Graham and I got to enjoy a lovely date night out alone one evening. We timed it perfectly for catching the sunset from our waterfront table at the Westin.
To-die-for lobster bisque (actually, I'll probably die because of it...)
Graham's beef appetizer
Isla loved watching us blow bubbles in the pool.
On our last night, most of us took a ride on a former racing sailboat. Ingy was kind enough to stay back with Isla who was not allowed on the boat. It's a good thing that Isla didn't come because it was quite the wild ride!
Sunset from the boat
Graham spotted a mother dolphin and her pup and so our crew turned the boat around so they could swim with us.
The crew caught this ono within minutes of us leaving the harbor. Scotty was the only one brave enough to touch it for a photo.
Last cuddles before Uncle Scotty headed back to school in CA
"I survived the Road to Hana!" as all the t-shirts say. We invested one very long day into exploring the sights along the way. What a fun and unique experience! First stop was at "Jaws," a coastline famous for world class surfing. I was hoping for really big, scary waves but they were a bit weak (nothing like what you see on the Discovery Channel, much to my dismay).
I'm pretty sure this lovely lagoon could be paradise.
We stopped at an arboretum and saw some neat-o trees and plants. These trees were my favorite with papery bark in a rainbow of colors (green, pink, white).
Poor Isla didn't really nap this day because we kept getting in and out of the car, right when see would finally fall asleep. She did manage to sneak in a 10 minute snooze in the backpack.
We ate a quick picnic lunch of teriyaki burgers, banana bread and POG at a small food shack along the way.
Graham found this lovely hat at a nudest beach. I'm totally serious. He went snorkeling off of Big Beach one afternoon and went around this coral reef. When he popped up on the other side and swam up to the beach, it only took a moment before he realized he was the only one clothed. I wasn't there so can't be too sure how the acquisition of the hat came about, but if I had to guess, I would say he probably ran up to some nude dude, snatched the hat, dove in the water and swam off. You just never know with Graham....
We asked one of the locals where the best swimming hole was and she directed us to this one. We were the only tourists there (maybe the "No trespassing, no swimming" signs deterred the others?) and the water was so refreshing. This was exactly what I pictured the Road to Hana to be like.
If you look closely in the picture below, you'll see one of the locals jumping off the bridge above. There wasn't room for error in the tiny sliver of water below so none of us did it.
Above the black sand beach at Waianapanapa.
The 7 Sacred Pools! This place was so beautiful. If ever I visit again, I will make it a priority to get to this place much earlier in the day so I can spend an entire afternoon basking in the sun and swimming in these near-perfect-looking pools.
All of the boys decided to do some cliff jumping here. Look closely to spot Graham jumping to the left of the bigger waterfall below.
Rather than take the excruciatingly windy road back home, we opted to take the excruciatingly unpaved road (that was **cough** strictly forbidden in our rental car contract). The state park ranger informed us that there was only about a "two mile stretch" that wasn't paved. We still to this day are wondering which "two mile stretch" she was referring to. It was by far the most unsafe but exciting road I have ever been on. It probably didn't help that the sun was sinking low and shining directly in our eyes making it literally impossible to see the road (or oncoming cars or cows) up ahead. I'm pretty sure we drove through Mordor; it was so incredibly barren and dry. We had Scotty in our car and he provided us with some pretty amazing commentary of the sights. I think this wild car ride actually ended up being my favorite part of the entire trip, thanks to his live entertainment.
We drove along as the sun set and thankfully made it back onto paved roads by the time we lost daylight. We enjoyed this breath-taking view of the island before heading back down into Kihei for dinner.
