Kauai Kid!

Aloha!
We are in Hawaii! Having a blast! It's a long trip to get here... 26 hours from door to door (that's counting our 7 hours at a Ramada in Portland). But it is so worth it!
We arrived on Friday, tired but happy and have been relaxing ever since. Ian continues to be an amazing little traveller. It's fun because now he knows what a plane and airplane are and gets SUPER excited when he hears me start talking about flying. He also has an amazing little memory. During our last two trips I started to wrap up little items from the dollar store and carefully doled one out very so often to keep him entertained on flights. Well, as soon as we got on the plane to head to Hawaii Ian asks for a "present!" I we prepared but a bit surprised about how well he remembered our little tradition and that now plane flights required presents!
I will admit that many aspects of traveling are easier at this age... For the most part, there is little crying and we are able to redirect him when he's about to melt-down. He's also so much fun to watch! He gets so excited! But... He rarely naps when we travel and if he does fall asleep it's for less than an hour. This results in a pretty cranky toddler. Oh well!
We are staying in a lovely condo on the eastern side of the island called Kaha Lani. We couldn't have picked a more perfect place. After our last trip, when we stayed in a hotel room on Maui we decided to forego the big resort and opt for more space, a kitchen and fewer amenities. It was a wise decision and it turns out that we are in toddler paradise. The pool is minuscule by resort standards but to Ian it is huge! We are a 5 minute walk from a protected ocean swimming lagoon where Ian had a blast jumping in the waves and riding on snorkel daddy! And, a 3 minute walk in the other direction brings us to a "play bridge.". It's a huge, maze-like structure that you climb up to get to two awesome slides that bring you back to the ground.
So far we have made just two short trips in the car to check out some waterfalls. Otherwise we have been napping, swimming and just enjoying our time off. It feels wonderful to relax a bit and start gearing up for the arrival of Sesame in just a few short months!