Last, but not least, here’s a post with all the food and drink pics from our trip. That’s pretty much all we did — eat, drink, swim, nap.  It was a very relaxing time (apart from Blaine’s strong objection to sunscreen).

Brunch at Duke’s on 10/23:

Early dinner at Iron Imu BBQ on 10/24 (showing off the handmade flower headpiece the host gave me):

This was also the first time Blaine successfully drank from a straw!

Dinner on our last night (10/26) at Mala in Lahaina.  Blaine loved the edamame dip:

And we caught a beautiful sunset before heading back to the condo:

I’m missing pics of our two parents-only nights out at Japengo and the Lahaina Grill, and forgot to take pics of our visit to Ululani Shave Ice (which Blaine loved!). So, I’ll complete this post with a pic of a Mai Tai (mmm):

And here are some the pics from the pool!  Blaine loved floating around in this infant inner tube:

He also really enjoyed swimming down to the deep end with Daddy to check out the waterfall:

After a hard day of tubing Blaine enjoyed some well deserved blueberries:

We spent most of our time at the beach or the pool, so I’m going to split up the pics into separate posts.  Here are all the pics from the beach.

This is actually the very first picture I took on the trip… I couldn’t believe how little time it took for Blaine to taste the sand:

Blaine LOVED this beach ball

He did not love this hat we got him at first, but eventually he warmed up to it and kept it on his head.

He also really enjoyed walking (being carried) up and down the beach with Daddy:

On the 2nd to last day we took him to a beach in Lahaina nicknamed “Baby Beach” because of the calm surf.  Blaine enjoyed crawling around in the water and we built drip castles.

On Sunday, 10/20, we left for our first real family vacation to Ka’anapali Beach on Maui.  Blaine was very well behaved on the flight out — he took two naps, ate, played quietly, and only cried a bit during the landing until we got him to drink some water for his ears.

We stayed in a condo at the Ka’anapali Alii:

Every morning we enjoyed breakfast on the lanai, with a view of Lanai.

Blaine loved all the delicious Hawaiian pineapple and papaya, and this weird pink guava bread we got him.

On Saturday, 10/19, we took Blaine to Nordstrom to buy his first pair of shoes.  He needs to wear shoes in the toddler room at daycare, so it was time to get him fitted even though he’s not yet walking.

The salesman helped us choose a size 4 1/2 Wide from Stride Rite.

Blaine didn’t seem to be that crazy about them, nor was he impressed by the traditional stuffed shoe horn they give to all the first timers.

But he was happy after discovering the play area!

Blaine’s other new favorite toy is our salad spinner… it’ll entertain him for ages.

He’s also fascinated by the laundry machine… so either he likes things that spin or he really wants to be helpful around the house.

Thank you to all Blaine’s relatives and friends for sending him such thoughtful and fun birthday gifts!  We DO intend to actually write some real thank you notes, but here are just a few pics to show how much he’s been enjoying all the goodies.

Blaine’s birthday celebrations lasted through the weekend!  On Thursday night Uncle Fran arrived from DC and on Friday we put him to work assembling this push car for Blaine.  Here’s Fran showing off the results of his labor:

And here’s Blaine enjoying his sweet new ride:

On Saturday Gram and Grand-dad arrived, and brought Blaine a beautiful framed family tree:

Daddy made a tasty lunch of tuna, chickpea salad, and green salad.  In the afternoon we all went for a walk in the park, and then Daddy made his delicious lamb curry for dinner!

Aunt Jody arrived late Saturday night and on Sunday morning we all went out for brunch at Coastal Kitchen.

After brunch we returned home for a nap (for Blaine) and party preparations (for the rest of us).  This included cooking and cleaning and decorating and gate setup (thanks to Grand-dad and Uncle Fran for figuring out how to make it work!).

Aunt Jody iced the yellow cake that Daddy baked with his delicious chocolate buttercream frosting:

Here, Uncle Fran and Blaine admire the result (Blaine recently figured out how to point, and now he points at everything):

And here’s the final result after Mommy decorated them:

Uncle Fran, Gram and Grand-dad also went on a last minute ice run and balloon pickup!  Blaine was SO excited about the balloons:

He especially liked whacking himself and Uncle Fran in the head with them:

At 3pm the guests started arriving, including neighbors, friends, and PEPS pals!

When it came time for singing and cake Blaine got a little overwhelmed by all the attention:

But after we got him out of the high chair he calmed down, and the crowd all joined in for an encore of Happy Birthday.

And then Mommy and Daddy helped Blaine blow out the candle:

The cake was delicious!

We celebrated Blaine’s first birthday with a delicious halibut dinner (with a side of blueberries), followed by singing and birthday cake.

And after dinner there were presents, of course!  Blaine went straight for his new monogrammed comfy chair from Mom-Mom and Doc — he loves it!

We tried our best but Blaine would just not sit still this morning… so here’s my favorite of the batch, plus some others.  He looked very sharp in his new shirt from Gram!  Too bad he got applesauce all over it at daycare.