One Smart Girlie Girl

Jayden is quickly becoming miss independent and she is finding all sorts of new things to do by herself!

The past few weeks our poor babe had a runny nose, so it seemed like we had to wipe her nose every 30 minutes...well now when she finds a baby wipe or a tissue, she just holds it up to her face to try and wipe her nose! It's hilarious!

When she's done holding it to her nose, she tears it up into tiny little pieces and hands each one to me...or puts them all over the floor :) It sure will be nice when she learns to pick them up haha

A few days ago she picked up the brush to brush her own hair...even though she didn't quite get it right, it was too cute not to capture on camera! It's going to be so much fun when her hair is long enough for pig tails or a french braid! :)

And my new favorite...peek-a-boo! It is toooo cute! When Chloe and Livi were here a few weeks ago they were trying to play peek-a-boo with Jayden but she didn't quite get it. Then a few days ago, Jonathan and I were playing with Jayden and I popped out from behind a wall and said "boo" and she put her hands up over her face!

It was definitely a highlight from last week... andddd I'm so glad I got it on video :)

Keeping us on our Toes

Little Jayden has been on-the-move for the past few weeks! She definitely keeps us busy and on our toes every single second of the day! 

Her new favorite activity is climbing the stairs or walking up the steps while holding our hands! We can't turn our back for a second because she can get from one side of the room to another in the blink of an eye!

Up the stairs she goes!!

That was her first try! She's one smart little lady :)

She also learned how to clap! A few days ago we were at Monnie's house and while we were playing with a musical toy, she just started copying me and clapping her hands together! 

Cutest clap ever! 

This past weekend Jonathan and I were in Temecula at Adam and Crystal's wedding, so Jayden had her first overnighter at Grandma and Grandpa's house! We missed her SOOOOOO much, but we had such a fun time at the wedding! Thursday afternoon we dropped her off with Grandma Pam and we headed down for the wedding activities! 

SISTERS <3

Right before the ceremony...

Bride & Bridesmaid Selfie :)

Bridesmaids!!

Seconds before the grand entrance...such a fun bridal party!! 

It was the perfect first time away ~ Jayden was perfect the whole time we were gone and I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa can't wait for their next overnighter!! :)

Hawaiiiiiiiiiii

Why is it vacation flies by so quickly!? It seemed like just yesterday we arrived in Hawaii and here we are back home already :(

This trip was definitely one of my all time favorite trips! It was different from any other since we had Jayden, but being with her and watching her explore was so much fun!

Tuesday we took Jayden back to the beach in the morning...it was such a beautiful day! 

Of course Jayden didn't last long with her hat on so we worried she would get burned :( I think I put sunscreen on her about 10x!

After the beach we headed back to the hotel for nap time...since Jayden's sleep schedule was out of control (she was waking up every couple hours at night) Jonathan and I tried to nap whenever she napped!

That afternoon Jonathan and I hired a nanny service for Jayden so we could go out on a catamaran cruise off Waikiki Beach. It was so beautiful! The best part was I bought it as a groupon before we left for our trip and the other 4 people who made reservations pulled a no-show...so we had a private tour and the whole catamaran to ourselves!

It was not the best snorkeling, but Jonathan and I had such a fun time! It was pretty deep where we were, but we saw huge sea turtles! We swam with them and at one point they were no more than an arms length away! 

The captain and his crew were amazing...after we were finished snorkeling we went searching for whales! We found quite a few and followed them as we made our way back to the marina. 

Wednesday we hung out by the pool for a change and I have to admit it was a million times easier than going to the beach. The pool at the Hyatt was small but absolutely beautiful and of course Jonathan took our little angel in the water the whole time! She loved it!

That night Jonathan and I had a second date night. We had the nanny service come again and we spent the whole afternoon and evening at the Paradise Cove Luau. I've been to quite a few Luau's but this was such an amazing experience. The dancers were amazing, the food was really good and the games and activities before the show were so much fun!

They had yummy Mai Tai's waiting for us upon arrival!!

Then it was off to the activities...first off...spear throwing! 

We both hit the target, but no luck :(

Then off to get tattoos...

...and get showered with flowers! Awwww I love the smell of plumerias and orchids! 

Such a beautiful evening! 

Then finally....the show started! We had AMAZING seats! 

All the dancers were so beautiful! All the routines were amazing but our personal favorite was the Samoan fire dancer! He danced with fire for a solid 5-10 minutes! It was very impressive!! And all the hula dancers definitely knew how to shake it!!

Can you believe over 700 people were at the show?! Crazy!

I'm so happy we decided to go to the luau! It was the perfect Hawaiian date night <3

Thursday we rented a car for the day so we were up bright and early! Our self-guided tour that I mapped out a few days before was quite interesting...we quickly learned you can never fully trust google maps, the map on your phone or me as your tour guide :)

We got off to a rocky start just leaving the hotel...Jonathan was driving, but I think I may have missed telling him to turn on a street or two :) I'm pretty sure Jonathan would have fired me permanently from being the navigator if anyone else besides Jayden was in the car, but he was stuck with me!!

Luckily, we finally made it to our first destination, Diamond Head! 

Hiking with the baby = best workout in the world! 

And it was definitely worth the trip up! It was BEAUTIFUL! Such a perfect day to hike up! Look at that view!!

Breathtaking! 

After enjoying the view, we headed back down to continue on our adventure...

up next...the Halona Blowhole!

Even though Google maps took us to the beach next to the lookout point, we eventually found it once the crowd died down...unfortunately there was hardly any water coming up through the hole, but the view from the lookout point was beautiful! We even saw whales from the lookout!

Up next...famous Matsumoto Shaved Ice!

Luckily there were only about 5 people in line, so we didn't mind waiting. Although we didn't really see what all the hype was about, it was a little too sweet for us.

Then, off to watch the surfers on the North Shore! We drove by quite a few popular beaches, but stopped at Pipeline. The waves were about 5-10 feet when we were there, but the day before we heard they were up to 30 feet! Of course we missed the big waves by a day! :(

It's ok, it was still beautiful!!

That night was our last night in Waikiki, so we decided to just enjoy a nice quiet dinner in our room with our little babe. 

It was such a fun trip and I can't wait for our next big adventure with Jayden! 

Aloha from Hawaii

ALOHA! This week we are on our first family vacation in Hawaii and having an amazing time so far! We were a little nervous about the plane ride since it was Jayden's first time on a plane, but she did awesome! Our flight was about 6 hours and Jayden took two 1 hour naps...she even made new friends! She was very active and wanted to check out EVERYTHING! Good thing we brought tons of toys and snacks!

Even though it was raining when we landed, it was still beautiful and smelled like Hawaii the second we got off the plane...some people were joking we brought the rain with us from home!

View from our room!!

There's Diamond Head off in the distance! Can't wait to hike to the top this week!

This morning we were up bright and early...Jayden was up at 5:30!! Luckily Jonathan took the first shift so he kept her busy for an hour until I rolled out of bed. After a yummy breakfast, we hit the beach! It was a little overcast, but we had a great time!

Jayden was a little leery about getting her hands sandy...but before we knew it she was crawling everywhere and loving the water!

And once we let her start walking around, she didn't want to stop! She even walked in the water all the way up to her chest! 

I LOVE this picture! Her face is classic!

Strutting her stuff along the beach!

We had SO MUCH FUN!

When the winds picked up, we headed back to the hotel. I thought it was around noon, but it was only 10:30! That's what happens when your baby wakes you up before the sunrise! LOL

So after her nap, we headed to the zoo! It was our first trip to the zoo with Jayden and it definitely won't be our last!

She loved all the animals! She was waving and talking to the Orangutan! 

Jayden and the giraffe were twinsies!

Erickson family selfie! :)

Such an amazing day! Can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for us!! 

ALOHA!