Boo(ts)!

We've had continued rain in Humboldt County. I got Iver a pair of rain boots on ebay and now he won't take them off! He loves being able to put them on himself (sometimes they are on the wrong feet), and likes to don them indoors, too (which we discourage).  It and his rain jacket are everyday wear now.

On Saturday, the boots went to "Boo at the Zoo" at the Sequoia Zoo in Eureka, where we met Kellie, Mark and Lincoln to visit the animals (and Halloween-themed decor, including tombstones for extinct animals!).  This is about as festive-Halloween-y as I get.

Red Panda! (many animals were given pumpkins to nibble on)

Milking the goat!

We played at next door Sequoia park, where he got scared out of his wits by a boy in a wolf costume going down the slide. He keeps saying, "Wolf, AAAAH!"

Today, the boots went to Costco to visit the giant bears!

We had a brief break in the much-needed rain Sunday afternoon to take Pepper for a stroll (with Iver wearing his raincoat and boots, of course). 

On Monday, Iver's daycare had a parade and potluck, so kids were encouraged to dress up.

We both aren't Halloween-lovers, but had some random outfits we tried on in the morning. 

Bear hoodie from our trip to Big Bear last year!

Frog hat (he didn't care for the jumpsuit) and "Boo!" tee.

Yoda (leftover costume from last year's Oscars party!)

This is the one he wore to school.

 

Happy Halloween (thankful to be on call!). I'm dreading the years when Iver will actually be into dressing up into something creative and into candy. Ugh.

Napoleon Pumpkin

We returned from Hawaii early Sunday morning (1 a.m.!), and definitely returned to fall.
We've had a lot of rain (we missed a BIG storm earlier in the month), and on Sunday, we headed to Warren Farms' Pumpkin Patch.

We had been there in 2014, when Iver was just a pumpkin in my belly!

Iver enjoyed posing with a foot on a pumpkin  (which I call the "Napoleon" pose, although I'm not sure he posed like that), climbing them, pointing out squished pumpkins, and dragging his nails through the dirt (yippee!)

 

Little corn maze

More Napoleon posing

He officially turned 22 months on our last day in Maui, but here are the official photos.

He loves the spread-leg pose.

The trip definitely threw off the sleeping, and he refused to nap until 4:30 p.m. today, but overall things are pretty good at 22 months. We can negotiate a lot of the time.  He is very vocal and expressive, and has learned his colors, started counting, is saying his full first and last name (but "Iver" is "Yaya") and stringing words together like "Car hit Yaya big boo-boo" or "Baba [grandma Thao], ong ong [grandpa Khao] big bear home" (there is a giant Costco bear in their living room!).


We are beginning to wean (HE IS ALMOST TWO!!! I HAVE DECIDED I AM OVER IT! Tantrums over "tutti" have already ensued) and will hopefully make some progress with potty-training, as he's definitely got the pooping-in-the-potty idea down. Suggestions on approaches so as to not go insane while doing the above with a strong-willed child are welcome.

Wrapping up in Paradise: Friends, Fish, Feasting!

We had a great last few days in Maui!

Sean and Jenna, friends from Humboldt who were staying with Jenna's mom on Maui, came up to visit, bringing their two kiddos, Jon (a month older than Iver), and baby Kira.

 

 

We had a lovely morning snorkeling in Kapalua Bay!.

Kelvin can totally take on two toddlers!

 

I saw many beautiful fish while snorkeling in the warm water and was within a few feet of a surfacing sea turtle, but alas had forgotten my waterproof camera on shore.

We had delicious burgers (and shakes-- this is vacation, right?) at the seaside shack.

On Thursday, we checked out Maui's Ocean Center (tropical aquarium), which we thought (correctly) would be fun for the kids. We loved that it was partly outdoors!

Black-banded Angelfish, endemic to the NW Hawaiian islands

Creepy garden eels

Sea turtles ("honu")

This ocean center, progressively, has no dolphins/whales/smart sea creatures, which was refreshing to see (if you haven't seen the documentary Blackfish about orcas in captivity at Sea World, see it. It still haunts me, and always makes me feel a bit bad for visiting zoos/aquariums.)

Sean has his hands full!

Since we were out and about in the mid-island, we visited Makena State Park's Big Beach, which I'd have to agree is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline that I have ever seen in my life.

Iver had a ton of fun being chased by the tide in the sand.

Thursday evening, we went to an dinner-show event, Old Lahaina Luau.

The traditional Hawaiian feast, including ground-slow-roasted pork, and typical seafood and meat dishes (and open bar!), was incredible. We had a wonderful time in the lovely weather, viewing some of the traditional Hawaiian crafts and live hula dancing!

Iver enjoying standing at our low, traditional-seating table, ate extremely well, and was totally engrossed in the dancing/percussion show!

Anniversary dance for my parents!

(Iver didn't want Grandpa to encroach on Grandma!)

We had some crazy thunderstorms on our last day, but still enjoyed pool time!

(amidst the downpour)

It rained almost every hour of the day, but we did have some sunny times! 

This is what happens when you try to go for a quick jog inbetween thunderstorms:

(soaked selfie) 

We had a delicious last meal at Banyan Tree restaurant at our hotel.

Iver has actually behaved himself quite well in restaurants, as long as you give him crayons, a cup of ice, and vary the lap time.

 

I feel amazingly rested right now.  We had a wonderful, restorative family trip in Maui, and our travels really couldn't have gone better with our little one.    As they say in Hawaii, "A hui hou kakou" (until we meet again)....

(pics by Vanessa)