Our beach baby...

BBQed chicken by Boppa and Daddy. Drew is most excited to be seated at the adults' table.
One of Drew's newest "funny" faces. A little scary, actually.

Walking with Boppa down to the beach to look at the "wabes."

Swimming with Mommy.

"I'm so excited!"

Since our flight didn't take off until 5:40 and we got to the airport at 3 to be safe, Drew probably wondered when the heck we were getting on the airplane we promised her. She was very good at the airport, keeping herself busy by dancing and saying "Hi, I'm Drew Gratton" to other kids (who usually ignored her), and by sharing some ice cream with Daddy.

Unfortunately, the 5-hour flight caught up with her not long into it. We pulled out every toy and movie we had but she was just too excited to sit. She did fall asleep the last 40 minutes of the flight (about 10:40pm CA time) and slept through deboarding, getting our luggage, the drive to the hotel (which included driving thru Carl's Jr for Mommy and Daddy) and then going to bed in the Marriott pack and play.

But then she woke up at 5am to start Sunday....a long day for all of us. Here are some pictures of the trip so far. Several times she has told us: "I'm so happy!" Which is heart-warming, yet hilarious.

Reality

For those of you who may have been slightly perturbed at my last post, fear not. This is where I am now, and where I will be again July 6:

Heaven...

I am posting the following pictures just in case I don't post a thing next week. Just add The Grattons.

Happy (and sad) to say our hotel "room" is bigger than any apartment Jeremy and I have actually lived in...
And with a way better backyard!

The lovely pool and pool bar where I'll be ordering Frozen Surfers and Drew will be getting pruney.

The beach in front of our hotel. The tide has progressively been getting higher so there may not actually be a beach...just water and bushes. I won't even notice.

We checked out this pirate ship last year and Drew was not into it. I have a feeling this year could be different. You can see Jeremy in the photo playing with our 2 sons.
An overhead view of paradise...

Who will be brave enough to conquer the towering waves at Kaanapali beach this year??

The towering waves I mentioned....Mike is working on his form here.

The waterfall at our pool guarantees to part your hair semi-permanently.

Countdown to Fun!

On Saturday we leave for Hawaii (cue the ukelele music) and for those of you who don't know, Hawaii (specifically Maui) is my "happy place." I literally look forward to this trip from the day we arrive home from the previous year in Hawaii. We're almost packed and Drew has a new "we're going to Hawaii" dance that hopefully I can capture on camera. Any pictures that have a palm tree in it she thinks is Hawaii and she knows that there will be lots of swimming, a beach and sandcastles. But first we will have to make it through the 5-hour flight with Drew on our laps and arriving at after 11pm CA time!

California Adventure and Disneyland

It was a beautiful, but warm day at CA Adventure, so after the Mickey Mouse clubhouse show we went to the Princess Puddle Park so Drew could run through some sprinklers and cool down. This is her happy face.

Drew and Daddy in line for Flik's Flyers...Daddy gets to take Drew on many of the kiddie rides due to Mommy's motion sickness.
Here's Drew hanging 10 while we wait for the Pixar Parade to start (definitely one of the high points of Drew's day).
A photo only a Grammy could take...Drew was a little confused when we told her she could eat Ariel (white chocolate).
At Ariel's Grotto, Drew got to meet every Princess and was so excited each time one came to our table.
"Thanks for taking me, Daddy. Here's an early Father's Day present."
Day 2: Disneyland
Drew has been obsessed with driving for months so we were relieved that at Autopia she was tall enough to sit in the driver's seat. Mommy had her hand swatted away several times when she tried to help Drew steer. In her defense, Drew was pretty good at the hand-over-hand steering...she must really pay attention in the back seat.
While Grammy, Daddy and Auntie Kelsey rode Indiana Jones, we spent some time in ToonTown and got to meet Mickey Mouse. Drew hugged every Disney character she met and was very excited to see all of them.
Watching the fireworks...this is the end of day 3 without a nap and she has been up for 12 hours on this day. She did pretty good for not even being 2 yet.
The tiredness finally kicked in here. Even the glowing necklace from Kels couldn't keep her up.

Smiley faces

It looks like Drew is a Lakers fan.

Growing so fast

We have discovered the trick to getting Drew to eat all the items on her plate...give them to her on one plate and let her decide in what order she wants to eat them. Like a big girl...who is also drinking without a sippy cup at meals as well.
Taking a much-needed trip to the park.

Drew had been scared of this big slide the last few times we went. This time, it was the first slide she wanted to ride and bumped her cheek on the side, which made her cry. Daddy had to give her some encouragement to go down again. And she did.
And just when we think she's starting to grow longer where some of the baby fat maybe thinning out, she gives us a huge smile and out come those cheeks!

Faces

Check out the vintage headband around her neck. This mommy wore that circa 1992. Rockin' style, Drew.