Back in March, Nik had some time off from work, and though we were tempted to go on a more ambitious trip, we ended up staying close to home. We stayed in Monterey for a night and then had a staycation at home. Ultimately, I think it was the right choice and it was way more relaxing than trying shoehorn a more ambitious trip into Nik's vacation time. We stayed at the
Intercontinental Clement, the same hotel which had served as the backdrop to our engagement session so many years ago. Staying on a Sunday night, we were upgraded to a room with an oceanfront view (of Bubba Gump's, but I'm not going to complain about a free upgrade!). Sora immediately fell in love with stuffed sea otter on the bed and was heartbroken when we told her that we couldn't take the sea otter home (though we eventually caved in and got her a stuffed sea otter at the aquarium). The room had a fireplace, pretty romantic, except for the fact that we were traveling with three kids. :P
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| Back in the day.. (circa 2009) |
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| .. and now. Sora's seated in the overhead walkway in the background of our engagement shot. |
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| Enjoying our room with a view. The kids loved the seagulls which flew near the balcony. |
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| Goodbye, sea otter ;_; |
Even though it was cold, the kids enjoyed playing at the beach on our first evening. We ended up taking our
dinner to-go and fed the kids with a little help from the Rescue Bots. The next morning, we got brunch at
LouLou's Griddle in the Middle. As promised, the hubcap pancake was bigger than the plate, though the highlight for the kids was the decadent hot chocolate.
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| Never too cold to play at the beach.. |
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| .. meanwhile, Jad and I try to stay warm up above. |
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| Sometimes, this is all we can do while we're on vacation |
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| Happy about their hot chocolate |
After brunch, we headed off to the main event: the
Monterey Bay Aquarium. Nik and I hadn't been there since Sora was born, so it was fun to experience the aquarium with the kids. The sea otters and penguins were the favorites, and the kids loved the wave tunnel and the kids' splash zone.
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| Run away from the wave! |
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| Showing off his stuffed penguin |
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| With oversized leather rocking chairs, ambient music, and a large TV screen cycling relaxing images of jellies, this is the most baller nursing room I've ever seen |
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| Stopping at the Ghiradelli Fountain Shop before heading home |
Since we still had some time off for the remainder of the week, Nik and I got things done around the house. We asked Kai wanted to do and he said that he wanted to "take the train somewhere." We had never taken the VTA, so we ventured out to the Great Mall riding the VTA. We wandered around the mall, did some shopping, and had lunch at Jollibee--a somewhat silly excursion since the Great Mall is no more than a 15 minute drive from our home, but the kids had fun.
We had family portraits taken when both Kai and Sora were infants, and I wanted to make sure that our #3 didn't feel forgotten, so having a family portrait before Jad got too old was a high priority item. It was lot of work: shopping for matching outfits (because goodness knows that the kids' practical everyday clothes doesn't cut it), making sure everybody had fresh haircuts, and then pulling the kids out of preschool early to get to our appointment... Even though I love the finished product, I don't know if I could do this every year like some families!
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| The family portrait came out remarkably well! The kids have Nik's "cheese" face :D |
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| These are a few of the best shots.. |
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| .. and then, there are some like this one :P |
Evenings without Nik are still a challenge and we are in the process of searching for a good and reliable mommy's helper. I'm so grateful for our community of friends and neighbors, who occasionally become our impromptu childcare. I took the kids to a baby shower for the Saitos one Saturday afternoon while Nik was working, and the Shaws graciously let me and the kids hang out at their house until Nik got off of work.
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| The shower was during Easter weekend, so it was the perfect time for an egg hunt |
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| The most interesting baby in the world |
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| These two.. |
We also have the best neighbors. There have been many-a-time that our kids wanted to knock on a neighbor's door for no particular reason or play outside, and it turns into an impromptu playdate.
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| Kiddie garage party |
Sora is precocious as ever, it can be frustrating because she's stubborn and has a mind of her own. I know that these qualities will probably serve her well in the future.. but as a parent, these characteristics are a pain in the neck. Interestingly, she's not the fearless climber that she was before, a little more situational awareness as she's growing older and maturing.. not necessarily a bad thing.
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| Bouncing her baby sea otter |
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| She can hang for a remarkably long time! Gymnast, perhaps? |
Perhaps it's just a boy thing, but we still have problems with Kai and impulse control. A lot of times, Nik will ask him why he's doing something he shouldn't be doing and he responds with an "I don't know." It's frustrating for Nik and I have to remind Nik that there is no "why" since kids are irrational. Kai also gets excited and carried away, and it can be difficult for us to refocus him. I think we need to keep trying to redirect his energy into being helpful since Kai certainly likes to be a good helper and a good big brother.
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| Silly Kai.. |
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| .. to helpful Kai |
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| Po Po let him wash the dishes. Even though I'm sure she rewashed them, having Kai feel helpful is important |
