Maui Ocean Center

Today we got to go to the Maui Ocean Center. Kind of like the Monterey Bay Aquarium but smaller. What it lacks in size it makes up for in its uniqueness. It focuses solely on Hawaiian species, specifically those in the oceans around Maui.

Most exhibits let you see the the animals from above, then you can walk down some stairs and see the tank from the side through the huge glass window.

Toward the end is the huge tank with sharks, jacks and rays. After watching them swim around through the huge glass window there is a plexiglass tunnel where you can watch the sharks and rays swim over, under and around you.

In the green sea turtle habitat Em found the turtle marked with the "E" and said, "That's 'E' for Emerson!"

Definitely worth it if you come to Maui.

http://www.mauioceancenter.com/

We're So Mauied!!!

Aloha everyone. Grandpa decided he couldn't stand going to Hawaii for two weeks and not see his favorite grand daughter, so he brought her over with him (and girl's parents too :) )

The flight over was pretty smooth. Em got to watch Peter Pan while momma and daddy got ready for paradise.

Em has loved playing on the beach and swimming in the ocean.

She also loves watching all the colors of the Hawaiian sunset.

Back to Blogging

I guess it's been a while... Em is now 2 and a half, Dan has found a thrilling new career, and we're in our own place.

Life hasn't stopped being hectic. Dan's new job keeps him gone long hours. Being gone so much isn't the best, but that's what comes with being the new guy and after the first year it will slow down, but for now at least the long hours equal more pay.

Em is talking up a storm and is currently potty training. It's funny how that whole deal works. We tried a few months ago and it kind of worked for about 2 weeks. I think it was more the novelty of using a toilet. But then it completely stopped. About a month ago we decided to try again and it just clicked. After four weeks, only two accidents. Not without a lot of prompting from mommy, "do you need to go potty now?" And Em's response, "In juuuuuuust a minute."

Well, now that you're all caught up, check back often for updates.

I'm obviously not a great blogger...

I understand that I should be blogging more regularly about what is going on here in crazy-town, but during Emerson's now dwindling nap {I thought toddlers weren't supposed to drop the nap until at least 2.5yrs old...not 17mos.!!!!!} I usually accomplish my best house-cleaning, laundry-folding, or dinner-prep so, blogging is something I assure myself that I will look into once Emerson is down for the night. After "read-book", "pwray-pwray" and singing her a song, I exit her room, wiped-out and blogging is the last thought in my head. Cliff's-notes had the best idea ever...now if only I could pay him to write the key-points for my life, I would be able to post daily. Then there is also the issue of my abilities with Photoshop and Illustrator. Going to art school was a blessing and a curse of feeding into my perfectionistic tendencies...I can't ever post a picture that hasn't been run through the gauntlet of design tools at my fingertips on programs that are only a click-away and an hour later, I find that one-click of quick edits became an intensified, self-imposed test of my skill in photo enhancement. What follows, are the Whit's-notes of the key points from the past 6 months of our lives...
In July, we purchased Emerson's first groupon! Dan landed-on an AMAZING groupon for Emerson's first cake-eating experience for her birthday. e&bphotography {website: enbphotos.com} photographed the event and we had a great time! They were amazing to work with.

August was filled with swimming in Grandpa's pool. It brought back great memories for Grandpa of when Dan was little and swimming in their pool. Emme has grandpa wrapped around her finger. Tim {Grandpa/Papa} often invites Grandma Lynch {Great Grandma Lynch to Emme} when we come over and it is fun to see the generations of the Lynch family together and see them interact.

In September, we discovered that Emerson LOVES make-up!!!! She will turn almost everything into a make-up brush and search frantically for an available cheek to rub said "make-up brush" on. She is such a girly-girl! She loves sparkles and jewels, and she doesn't particularly like any texture on her hands that "shouldn't be there" according her her larger than life personality that is stuffed into a tiny body. She LOVES to dig in the dirt and the sand, she rivals most geologists with her love of rocks and could possibly become a dentist with her fascination of teeth {sometimes I feel like a monkey with her no-back-down policy on touching my teeth and making sure they are all accounted for}

Halloween started-out a no-brainer "Olivia the pig" Emerson's favorite books! We read them daily, we have a plush Olivia doll who receives more hugs per day from Emerson than I do, I have a fabric panel with a roughly 3ft. drawing of Olivia on it that Emme forcefully requests that I hang over the back of her highchair so she can give Olivia a hug {which, bytheway, I am turning into a 3ft. pillow shaped like Olivia for Emme for Christmas so she can hug something with more depth}. Then I hummed and hawed over whether or not I should make something more clever and less predictable, so 2 days before Halloween, Emme's Olivia costume was created and she was so happy to wear an 'Olivia' dress that I knew I made the right choice.

For November, "Whit's-notes" brings us Aunt Mallory and Uncle Jordan's wedding. Emme was so excited to have family around that she couldn't contain herself. Every time family members {other than her parents} walked through the front door, she ran screaming for a few steps, stopped abruptly and began to 'break-dance'...it was entertaining. She literally spun to the ground because she couldn't contain her emotions. After the reception, Emme began playing with the cake-toppers I made of Mallory and Jordan {we refer to them as baby Mallory and baby Jordan because of their size}. So Emme carries around 'baby Mallory' and 'baby Jordan' around the house. The figurines made it into her crib at one point. So, being that I strive for complete and total 'Martha-ness', I went back to the Etsy shop that I bought the blank wooden cake-toppers from and purchased enough to paint baby: Nana {my mom}, Gigi {Dan's mom}, Papa {Dan's dad), mama {me}, daddy {Dan}, Matt, and Sarah to add to our collection of painted baby family members. I don't have them finished yet. Hopefully soon.

I've caught up! and this post only took me...longer than I want to admit. So, hopefully I'll keep on top of things hahahahahahahahahahaha and I'll post Christmas pictures within one month of taking them hahahahahahahahahaha! We'll see.

One Fun-Filled Week of Walking

Emme started fully walking last Thursday, June 16th, 2011. Beforehand she would just take 5 steps at a time here or there and mostly once in a while {not every day}. But last Thursday, she spent 45 minutes of dedicated walking around the house before I realized she wasn't going back to crawling and I couldn't be happier! I love her new found freedom. She is confident and inquisitive and hilarious to watch! Her first words are being rattled off constantly and on a daily basis: 'daddy' {WOW does she know who that is!} and 'baby' {she is completely ENAMORED with other babies}! I can't believe she'll be 1 on July 2nd. I've never had a year breeze by so quickly.

Yes... I Understand That It's May

Yes...Yes...It's May and Easter was in April...
Lindt Chocolatiers not only know what they're doing with chocolate, but apparently with the gold wrapping that surrounds their signature Easter bunny. Emerson had that thing in her mouth for quite a while and no foil deteriorated or ripped off! I was impressed.