Family Vacation to Kauai: North Shore

Right before Will’s second birthday, we snuck in a family vacation to Kauai. As other parents can probably guess, we were capitalizing on Will’s final free flight. We also wanted to take a trip while baby number two requires no additional luggage. I wouldn't exactly call it a babymoon (is it a babymoon when you're changing diapers?), but it was hands-down my favorite vacation ever. Getting to spend so much time with Will was incredibly special. Nick and I felt like we saw him learn and grow so much on this trip. We loved seeing him experience so many new things, from his first waves to his first shaved ice, and listening to him talk nonstop.

We spent half of our time on Kauai's lush north shore in Princeville, and the other half in the south's sunny Poipu. Here are the highlights from our time up north.

We stayed at the St. Regis, which is home to a postcard-perfect beach surrounded by green mountains. We definitely played the Jurassic Park soundtrack and told Will to look for dinosaurs as we made our way from the airport to the resort.

It was Will's first time up close with the ocean. We were so surprised when he sat right down in the water on our first day.

This is my favorite series from the whole trip. When the (tiny) waves started to roll in, Will couldn't get enough. He kept asking for "more big ones!"

That face!

The pool was big hit, too. Will loved being thrown "way up high!" and thought my cannonballs were hilarious.

This was a pull-over-on-the-side-of-the-road kind of sunset.

Baby bump at 24 weeks.

Comparing our baby bellies.

The view at sunset from the hotel bar.

Our pineapple float was super popular with the pool crowd—everyone wanted to know where we got it (answer: Nordstrom).

This vacation was also filled with daily trips for ice cream and shaved ice. Wishing Well Shave Ice in nearby Hanalei had amazing combos, like this bowl of pineapple and mango shaved ice over vanilla ice cream. It was love at first bite for this sweaty little kid.

Another spectacular sunset—plus a sunset selfie.

When your mom didn't bring your swimsuit because it was way past everyone's bedtime but you want to go in the pool anyway, you go skinny dipping (shhhh).

Hiking the Na Pali Coast was insanely beautiful. Will let everyone on the trail know when a helicopter was in sight (which was basically every two minutes given how popular helicopter tours are in these parts) and stayed on the lookout for a T-Rex.

And lastly, one more stop at our favorite shaved ice joint before heading south.