It's been almost a month since my last entry. My how time flies! Especially when you're on vacation in HAWAII! Yes, our little youngling turned 1 year old on August 16th. And to celebrate, our family took a nice week-long vacation in the small town of Kailua on Oahu. We rented a home near the beach and we enlisted both eager sets of grandparents to help with the caretaking while Jin and I spent some much needed time together. Unfortunately, Jin's father couldn't make it at the last minute (we missed you!).
We were also in town for the wedding of our friends, Elise Dang and Derek Whang. More on the Dang/Whang Gang in a future entry.
Bella loved spending time with the grandparents! Probably because they taught her new skills that boring ol' mom couldn't teach. Here are some lessons that Bella learned on her trip:
Lesson #1 – Staying up late past my bedtime is a breeze:
At home, Bella is accustomed to going to bed around 8pm. Her circadian rhythm is like clockwork; she predictably starts rubbing her eyes and yawning the second Wheel of Fortune ends on TV at 8pm. Since Hawaii is 3 hours earlier, we tried desperately to keep her up the week prior to departure to adjust to Hawaii time. But we abandoned our strategy after a few nights of forcing her to stay up after our tactics began feeling like a cruel hazing ritual.
Once we got to Hawaii, Bella more than eagerly stayed up with the Grandparents. She even stayed up several evenings to 9pm, which is technically 12 midnight California time. Jin and I were happy that she was able to adjust so quickly, but we silently prayed that this newfound habit could be quickly reversed once we were home. After all, neither of us wanted to stay up 'til midnight with a wired baby.
Here’s a shot of her at Elise and Derek’s Rehearsal Dinner around 9pm Hawaii time:
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! No sleeping here.
Lesson #2 – Sand is not edible:
Seems like a pretty straightforward concept, but for a baby who is accustomed to exploring inanimate objects by shoving them into her mouth, sand is of a strange texture that must require further investigation. But after a few stern “no’s” and telling her “sand is a ‘yuck-yuck’”, Bella obediently complied and never again tried to eat the sand.
Corollary to Lesson #2 – Ocean water is not drinkable:
Bella was so excited to get into the ocean that when the water splashed her face, she immediately tried to drink the water. Needless to say, the saltiness wasn’t appealing and she never tried it again. Here are some other beach-side shots:
Bella's make-shift sand pool Aunt Jean helping to reinforce the walls
Bella discovers a stick can carve the sand.
She runs fearlessly towards the waves. Me 'n Bella Boo
Lesson #3 – How to stay slim even after Grandma force-feeds you every hour of the day:
My mother is notorious for stuffing her loved ones with food like geese being primed for foie gras. My dad always pats his rotund belly while blaming my mother for the excess weight he’s gained in his retirement years. Grandma used to fear that Bella’s penchant for food was a recipe for a chubby toddler, plump adolescent, and overweight adult. So her force-feeding nature had toned down considerably. But once she saw Bella’s svelte frame (she dropped to the 75th percentile for weight), my mom saw her next target.
Bella willingly opens her mouth as Grandma is caught shoveling more food in her direction.
Despite Grandma’s incessant feeding frenzy, Bella managed to maintain her slim figure by burning calories walking about. In fact, Bella has really mastered her unstable waddle and is now attempting a swift gallop. Grandmas and Grandpa chased the wild goose day and night as she rearranged furniture, toppled over decorations, and dug through whatever she got her hands into.
Lesson #4 – Games with Grandpa and Grandma are fun:
For a baby, the world is all a new place. So much so that even simple things we take for granted, like patting a ball or discovering a stick seem like such grand adventures. Sometimes I think it’s unfortunate that her memory capacity has not yet developed. Because then she would remember the games that the Grandparents taught her. Like how to play rudimentary pool on top of the pool table. Instead of sticks, Grandpa taught her to pick up the balls and drop them into the pockets. Or how they encouraged her to run after the toy truck scooting about on the floor.
Lesson #5 – I can’t always get what I want:
I can’t remember why Bella is crying in the above picture, but lately, her tears seem to come pouring for any reason. I guess it was her Birthday so:
“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to,
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to.
You would cry too if it happened to you.”
Lesson #6 – I have the coolest most radical parents in the world for taking me to Hawaii for my first birthday!
Yes, who can argue with this point? There’s not much else to add to this lesson. Bella is one lucky gal. Happy Birthday Bella-Boo!
Bella stares at her cake as she decides what this strange ritual all means. Finally, mom helps her cut the cake.
Here's the whole Chou/Yun Gang ...the beautiful sunrise at Kailua Beach.
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