Happy 6th Birthday to Dulce!

Today is our sweet Dulce's 6th birthday! We adopted her when she was four months old from Ratbone Rescues, just a month before we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. She has been with us almost through our entire married life, here for all of our adventures. She is our first baby, she is spoiled, and she will forever be referred to as a "puppy" in our house.

Have I ever mentioned how Dulce got her name? It was "Snow" when we adopted her but we changed it. Dulce means "sweet" in spanish and Johnnie proposed to me while we were staying on a resort on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. The name fits her well, as she is a very sweet and loving dog.

Dulce is well trained, has free reign of the house at all times. We have yet to get her a doggie door for our new house so for now she lets us know she wants out or in with pawing and a sharp bark at the door.  Every night before we go to bed, she goes out to pee and secure her territory one last time before coming in for a bedtime treat. 

She has a dog bed in the living room that she naps on during the day. She also has a dog bed on the floor in our bedroom but often sneaks out to sleep on the couch in the middle of the night (she's not allowed there during the day). The minute she hears one of our alarm clocks, she jumps up on our bed to kiss us good morning. She likes to get her cuddles in with us in before CC wakes up.

Dulce loves soft beds and blankets, getting baths, small toys that squeak, Nylabone DuraChews, and circular braided rawhides. She loves food and will do anything for a treat. She is very patient, she travels well, and she would never run away even if we left the front door open all day long. She loves us as much as we love her.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! We wish for you many, many, many more years of adventures with us!

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“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.”

~M.K. Clinton

  

Family Friday: 22 Months Old

We were a little late with this month's photos. We moved at the beginning of the month, then stormy weather rolled in, and then I was sick for a week...  I'm getting caught up just in time to take more photos!

For this month's photos we went to the Kawainui Marsh Trail in Kailua.  This is a 1.3 mile long path for foot, stroller, and bicycle traffic only.  There is a paved sidewalk next to a gravel road about the width of a car.  We saw a lot of people walking their dogs, jogging, and riding bicycles.  We didn't notice any bugs on the evening we went but people we talked to said that gnats and mosquitos can be really bad at times.  The views are great but there is no shade so going in the morning or late afternoon is best.

At 22 months old, CC is still wearing size 4 diapers and mostly size 2T clothing. She is wearing size 6 shoes.  I haven't measured her height or weight lately but she is definitely getting taller and leaning out some.  Her hair is growing and getting lighter, although I'm pretty sure she is destined to be a brunette.  It is still as curly as ever!

CC still has a bedtime of 7:30pm and sleeps for about 12 hours.  She takes an afternoon nap everyday, usually from 1:30 to 3:30pm.  She has stopped crying at nap time and bedtime now. She throws her selected baby dolls into the crib, goes in willingly herself, and then goes to sleep without a fuss. Easy-peasy... finally!

CC eats 3 meals and 1 scheduled evening snack every day.  She has started occasionally wanting a mid-morning snack which I do give her when she asks.

CC drinks water all day and always has multiple cups sitting around the house.  I'm amused by that because I have always done that myself, even when I was young.  CC does not like plain milk of any kind.  For calcium, she does eat a lot of cheese and I make her smoothies with breakfast made with either almond milk or coconut milk (because that's what I drink myself).

CC is such a little person at the table now.  We never bought a high chair for her.  Instead, we used the Inglesina Fast Table Chair so that she would be more a part of our meals (besides the fact that high chairs are big and take up a lot of space).  She used the Inglesina for a year, until she was about 18 months old, and then we switched to the Graco Blossom Booster Seat. The booster was short lived, she only used it for about 3 months. She loves to put her baby dolls in it now and play with the buckles but she refuses to sit in it.  She wants to sit in a normal chair like everyone else.

CC drinks from either a real cup or a cup with a straw now.  She can also drink from normal water bottles.  She uses real metal silverware (I bought some small sized real forks and spoons) and she occasionally use real plates (our salad plates are the perfect size). All of these changes make eating out at restaurants so much easier since we no longer have to take any of our own things along.

CC's language is still a lot of baby babble but occasionally she'll say things in plain English.  She understands everything and follows directions extremely well.  Her list of words she uses on a daily basis is growing.  Her top most-used words are uh-oh (something's wrong), uh-uh (no), yeah (yes), agua (water), and more (still accompanied by the sign language).  She is starting to say please and thank you (also still usually accompanied by the sign language).

CC says Dulce (deh-see) and has picked up a few things on her own in regards to Dulce just from watching me.  For example, CC calls for Dulce by yelling her name and smacking her lips (trying to mimic the sound I make); when we leave the house, she tells Dulce to be a "guh goo" (good girl) like I always do; and when Dulce rolls in the dirt, CC says "bah goo" (bad girl) and shakes her finger.

CC still loves music and loves to dance and sing.  She plays her keyboard and other instruments every day.  Her favorite toys right now are her "babies" and her shopping cart.  She loves to color but still needs supervised with writing utensils.  She still loves to read and looks at books quietly by herself.  Lately, instead of wanting me to read to her, she gives me a book to read while she reads her own book beside me :)

CC watches a TV show once a day.  Last month she couldn't ever decide which TV show she wanted to watch. This month it is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood every single time.  She loves that show!  I honestly love it too - the characters are cute, relatable, and diverse (some are animals and the rest are people of different races), there is a lesson of the day that is sung often throughout each episode, the show really focuses on feelings, the content is very relevant to toddlers and preschoolers, and it is educational!

CC still throws tantrums and she screams when she gets frustrated.  Fortunately both of those things are short lived once I give her the understanding and words that she needs to describe her feelings.  The Happiest Baby on the Block was my lifesaver when CC was a newborn.  The things I learned from Happiest Toddler on the Block are a huge help now.  Below is a great video clip of the author Dr. Karp on the Dr. Phil show putting his advice into action.  You do feel like a moron at first but it does actually work, especially if you use it consistently.  It is now second nature for me to start most things I say to CC (even in normal conversation, not just tantrums) with "You want..." or "You don't want..." which lets her know that I hear her and understand her. This almost always calms her down quickly during a tantrum or prevents one altogether.

Some people talk about the Terrible Twos while others swear that two was fine and that it's the Terrible Threes you have to worry about.  Every child is different... we'll just take it one day at a time and see how it goes!

*******

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up

is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."

~Phyllis Diller

Family Friday: Across the Island

As I mentioned in our last blog post, we moved again! We must be crazy to live in three different houses during one assignment! It certainly wasn't the plan but we couldnt foresee the problems that we ran into. We loved our little beachfront North Shore house but the owner is extremely difficult, inconsiderate, and uncooperative, and the property manager honestly didn't do much to help us out. We were lied to often and had to fight to get basic maintenance issues fixed and even then, it took a long time and most of the things were only half fixed. We were not being difficult. I mean, the front door should have a working lock and the roof shouldn't leak, right?  Especially for what we were paying in rent. I'll get into it more in another post but for now I'll just say that it is a huge relief to be out of there.

We were very fortunate to find another great house to move into, owned and managed by a super sweet and helpful lady, and with a short term lease since we'll be leaving at the beginning of the new year.  The new house is in Kailua which is a perfect beach town on the eastern side of the island.  It's the kind of town with a ton of little stores, restaurants, and coffee shops, and people jogging, riding bicycles, and carrying around surfboards.  It also has one of the prettiest beaches on the island with the gorgeous turquoise water.

Our new house is HUGE compared to our beach house.  The beach house was TINY, furnished, and crammed full of the owner's belongings.  This new house is large, open, and empty.  Both houses have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but this house has at least double the living space.

Most of our belongings were in a storage room since the other house was furnished.  This new house is completely empty so we were able to get things out of storage.

Before everything went into storage in January, we sorted it all and made a large pile of things to sell.  We lived very minimally at the beach house and it was really refreshing! When I started unpacking the storage boxes here, I realized that we still have a lot of things that we don't need.  Living a minimal life for a while really changes your perspective on things!  I went through everything one more time and added a lot more to the "for sale" pile.  It is so freeing to have a simple, uncluttered home!  Simplifying your belongings is simplifying your life.  It really is only necessary to keep what you need, use, or love.  It is not easy to get to that mindset, however, it took us five months of living without!

This one room pictured below is bigger than the entire kitchen/dining/living room of the other house. The carpet in the photo is an 8'x10' to give you some reference.

Our new house was built around 1960 and has that flair to its architecture and details.  I really love the wall color that is throughout our new house!  It is not something I would've ever picked myself (I'm more of a classic neutral wall kind of person) but it is so bright and beachy that it makes me happy just looking at it :)

We traded the ocean for a pool in our new backyard.  Pool service is included with the rent so it really is a pleasure to have, especially during this hot summer.  I LOVE our backyard!  It is large and surrounded by a wall, has a large grassy area, palm trees and other vegetation, and it's so private! We can't see any of our neighbors or their houses, we can only see the green trees, the blue sky, and the gorgeous mountains.  It's a pretty good trade off for the ocean view of the last house!

Early morning view, opposite the sunrise - I love those mountains!

CC loves the pool!  We couldn't go into the ocean at our other house due to the coral and waves, but a swimming pool is perfect! To be honest, I do worry about having a pool and a toddler but therefore I am extra vigilant of knowing CC's whereabouts at all times.  Thankfully, CC has always followed directions well and she especially does by the pool.

CC loves to stand, sit, and splash on the shallow steps of the pool.  She loves to sit in her baby float and occasionally she'll let me hold her in the water.

Dulce hates swimming and avoids water at all costs.  We have a pool at our house in Georgia and she fell into it the very first night we brought her home.  She was terrified and that may be a factor in her feelings toward water now.

I gave Dulce some pool survival training as soon as we moved into this house.  She needed to know where the steps are in case she ever goes in or falls into the pool.  The first couple times I dropped her in, she freaked out, swam to the nearest wall, and held on for dear life!  But after she learned where the steps were and that she could get out, she went for them every time no matter where in the pool I put her.  We practiced until she was swimming calmly.  She may never get in again but I feel better knowing she won't drown if she does.

Dulce has spotted skin under her pure white fur that becomes very visible when she's wet!

Dulce is in her glory in this backyard! We haven't had a backyard like this for almost 4 years.  It actually took her five days before she realized all the freedom she now has and how much space she has to explore!  She is outside constantly, running around, hopping through the bushes, and chasing lizards and birds.  She is one happy dog!

This house is perfect except that it is very hot during the day (so was the beach house) but it doesn't cool off at night like beach house did. Thankfully there is an air conditioning unit in two of the bedrooms which makes it more comfortable for sleeping.  During the day, we sweat a lot.  Jumping in the pool in the afternoon helps cool us down.

We didn't give up beach living entirely! We aren't beachfront now but we are a very short walk and the beach here is gorgeous!  I thought that I'd really miss it but it's actually nice not having the constant saltiness that coats, rusts, and ruins everything.

Dulce and I don't get morning beach time as often as we used to but when we do, Dulce still likes digging for crabs.  The beaches here are bare.  There are very few seashells in Hawaii but on the North Shore I enjoyed finding rocks and coral that looked like hearts and letters. There isn't anything to find here so I'm glad I kept a collection from the last house.

There are a lot more people enjoying the beach and water here. There are always people surfing, wind surfing, boogie boarding, swimming, kayaking, running, and walking.

What I love about Kailua and the location of our house is that there is so much within walking distance!  We can walk to church, to restaurants, to stores, to the library, the post office, and to beach parks.  We can even walk to Whole Foods (it takes 13 minutes) which excites me to no end!

We were here for the 4th of July and walked one block to see a parade, then we walked to a great Vietnamese restaurant for dinner, and then walked to the beach by our house to see fireworks over the ocean!  I absolutely LOVE having the convenience of having everything nearby and not having to drive.  There are many bus stops nearby as well which will provide CC and I with some fun adventures soon!

It's a shame that things turned out the way they did with the beach house but we really are lucky in a way because now we will move from here having experienced life in three vastly different areas of the island!  This part of the island is definitely my favorite for living!  No regrets. We are very glad that we moved off base, we are glad that we lived on the North Shore, and now we're glad we are living here.  Live and learn and enjoy the ride!

*******

"Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change."

~Jim Rohn

Family Friday: May 23

We have had an enjoyable and relaxing week!  Johnnie took time off work to spend with us and his visiting family!

We didn't have any big plans for the week so we spent a lot of time here at the house.  But when you live on the beach, there are not many reasons to go elsewhere!  The weather has been great (though a little hot at times) and ocean has been extremely calm.  When the water is calm, a lot of people come out to swim, kayak, paddle board, and fish.  Johnnie and his dad enjoyed an evening out on a two-person kayak this week.

Johnnie's family spent a morning at Shark's Cove doing some snorkeling and scuba diving.  We joined them afterwards for lunch at the Shark's Cove Grill across the street from the cove.  There wasn't very many people there but there was a wild chicken running around that CC loved chasing after!

There was a little curly haired boy running around hitting everything (his mother was doing nothing to stop him) and while we were eating, he came up behind CC and whacked her on the head!  Of course his mother came over and apologized.  She tried to get him to say he was sorry and made the excuses that he was a "free spirit" and "he's not quite 2 yet".  Really?  Because CC is the same age and we don't let her go around hitting things and people.  This is the second time I have heard people here blame their children's bad behavior on being a "free-spirited North Shore baby."  As if living on the North Shore is a valid excuse for letting your children act however they want in public.

Johnnie and his family spent an afternoon at the nearby Waimea Valley.  CC had a blast running everywhere and exploring before passing out in the stroller for a while.  I enjoyed time alone at home (which is a rare treat) and got caught up on some things.

We also all took a day trip over to Kailua this week which is as least an hour drive with no traffic.  CC slept the entire way there and the entire way home (which took us over an hour and half with some traffic).

First we stopped at the The Food Company for lunch - it was a small place but had pretty amazing food!  Afterwards we went to Kailua Beach Park and enjoyed the baby powder sand and clear turquoise water for a few hours.

CC had so much fun running around the beach and playing in the sand.  She loves to destroy the sand castles we make :)

I certainly enjoyed sitting with my toes in the soft sand.  I was able to relax a little (and even close my eyes for a while) since Johnnie's parents were there to help watch CC.  We spent a little time in the water but mostly just relaxed on the beach.

If you notice, we went through two bathing suit changes for CC during the day - thank goodness I was prepared!  Swimming diapers are meant to contain, not to absorb, which makes things extra messy.

Johnnie went kayaking with his sister and her boyfriend out to the Mokulua Islands.  They were gone for a couple hours since they got out and explored one of the islands.  I love our beach on the North Shore but the east side of the island is pretty spectacular and always a great place to spend the day!

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"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in."

~ Robert Orben