5th Wedding Anniversary & Birthdays- Hawaii

For our 5th wedding anniversary we went to Hawaii just the two of us! We also celebrated both of our birthdays while we were there.  Lindsay's parents watched the kids for the full 9 days (THANK YOU AGAIN!). We spent 3 days in Maui and the rest in Kauai and loved every minute of our trip. It was a pleasant surprise how much we enjoyed sleeping in, quiet meals out, and being able to pack lightly for a change. We did miss the kids (trust us) but loved the break and returned revitalized!

Some highlights of the trip include our hike to the top of Mt. Haleakala, snorkeling molkini crater, a helicopter ride of Kauai (Lindsay's birthday gift), scuba in Kauai, paddle boarding, hawaiian shaved ice, seeing jurassic falls, surfing, hiking wimea canyon, and hiking to the bottom of Wailua Falls. We just wanted to share a few photos. Also thank you to everyone who provided us with travel tips!  

May Fun

In May we did stay busy with many things. Lindsay went to the Philippines (Manila) for a work trip for a week which was exciting and it was her first time spending a night away from the kids. She survived and was glad to be home. We took Aiden on his very first go-kart ride Memorial Day weekend, which not surprisingly he loved and said "again" right after. We continue to have loads of fun with bath time and reading books. Claire "graduated" from her Little Gym tumbling class with a ceremony (she's on the beam on the left). Aiden continued his Saturday "Home Depot" project days making fun things with dad and always loves to help in the yard! The kids started to enjoy popsicles on the back deck together (sometimes in bathing suits), occasional trips for ice-cream and started to play together more. 

Claire's 1st Birthday - May 2012

We celebrated Claire's 1st birthday with a party at our house with family and friends. We did a pink theme and she had a bear cake for "Clairebear" - what we fondly refer to her as all the time. She did proper cake etiquette and picked at it first, then Aiden helped show her how to really dig in. Then it ended up everywhere, including her hair. Lindsay took her for a bath mid-party to clean her up.  On her actual birthday we work her up with party hats on singing and took a few photos of that too. Claire had her 1 year photos taken in May - she is a very serious baby and rarely smiles but she is slowly smiling more (she really is happy though). She took her first steps just after her birthday on 5/19/12 in our family room. Same area where Aiden took his too, which is extra special. We did not miss her first steps and were both there to see it together! We cannot believe she is already 1 years old, the year flew by!