Love

This is Emmy... Isn't she a doll?!

Matix's first love. :)

He gave her a Valentine and TRIED to give her a hug...

But as you can see, it was unsuccessful. Poor guy. He also tried to hug her at church today and Emmy screamed. :(

Don't feel too bad though because later on (after the initial unrequited love trial hug on Friday), we went to get pizza with some friends. He LOVES pizza, not as much as he loves Emmy though. :)

Matix got to see Caleb (only 6 months old, shocking, I know!)

And play on Sarah and Jesse's scooter. (I miss my scooter)

Then he saw Avery... :) How cute is she?!

And all the new possibilities with a girl who LIKES hugs. :) Look out Emmy, now YOU have some competition. :)

Lazy days

We have been relaxing and working on getting back into our lazy island life. I love it here. :)

Matix is having fun revisiting old toys, and exploring the yard for hours at a time.

He likes to see the pictures on the camera screen now... Reaching for the camera to see all the pictures I had been taking...

Hawken is having a harder time adjusting... He is apparently very tastey, and was eaten alive his first night here. :( Poor guy. See all the little red spots? Sorry baby!

We have since hung a thin netting over his bed, and he hasn't gotten any new bites. :)

Matix has been dancing for the baby and being really snuggley with him when he is in this position on the couch. It is SO cute to watch. Hawken will smile at him, but isn't a huge fan of Matix still learning to be gentle.

Paul and I went on our normal date night on Friday.

We missed that. We went out for cookies and ice cream while Grandma and Grandpa babysat. Then we came home and watched a movie. I really missed Paul and I am so happy we are HOME. :)

And YES, the ants are BACK! :( I have since killed them with my new favorite love, Terro. It is an ant poison and VERY effective. I watched them gobble it up and leave the house, and it has been 24 hours, and they haven't returned. HOORAY! Ants, you have met your match!

Oldies, but Goodies

I thought I had better put up these pics before we were here for too long and I forget about them. These were taken back in Arizona, before we left.

Matix liked to feed Sakina (the dog) her treats ALL the time. Sakina got MANY treats each day, thanks to Matix, and she LOVED it. When the treats were gone, Matix thought it was a great box to play in...

Until he got stuck. :) See him screaming for help?

So we all know that Matix is a blankie boy, but I think we might have another one now too... Hawken has been grabbing the blankets in his bed and pulling them close to his nose... :)

He does it here in Dominica too, I just don't have a picture of it yet.

Finally!

So here it is! We left Buckeye at 6am. Auntie Colleen even got up to say good bye. :) That's a big deal if you know how late she usually sleeps! Matix and Hawken also said their good byes to Sakina. :( We will miss her.

We checked our boxes curbside and they didn't weigh them! What?! I spent all week weighing them and rearranging things so each box would be within the 50 pound limit! Oh well. They got on the plane and that was the idea.

We had 2 flights the first day. From Phoenix to Miami (4 hour flight) and then from Miami to Puerto Rico (2 and 1/2 hours). Both babies did well, for the most part. Hawken slept most of the time and only cried when we were taxiing into the San Juan airport because I couldn't get up to walk with him. He likes it when we walk, it calms him. If he wasn't sleeping, he was alert and looking around. He is such a good baby. Here is a quick video of his 1st 3rd and 4th flights... all before he is 2 months old. Matix has now been on 13 flights!

Matix needed some entertaining, but was happy most of the time. He got a bit feisty when he was sleepy, but couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep, but eventually he did. Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa were there to play.

Matix had MANY blow out diapers (as he usually does on plane rides for some reason)... poor guy. Here he is going in for ANOTHER diaper change. He had already lost his pants an hour before.

This is his new thing by the way. He has always smelled his blankies for comfort, but now he tucks them in between his pacifier and lip so he doesn't have to hold it up there. Silly boy!

We stayed overnight in the San Juan airport hotel... It was interesting getting all our boxes and strollers and bags, etc. Do you think I packed enough stuff?

Thank goodness for porters!

Matix and Hawken snuggling in the morning, so cute!

Don't I look lovely? How could I have done this by myself if I was this trashed WITH help from 2 other people??? Yikes! Thanks Lee and Stacy!

Waiting...

Our 3rd flight was from San Juan to Antigua (1 and 1/2 hours). This time they did weigh ours boxes, so it is a good thing I didn't go over by TOO much... Thanks to the nice lady at the check in desk, our 52 pound box was marked as only 50. Thanks! :) We didn't want to go to Antigua, that was just how it happened, I guess... We literally walked off the plane, into the airport in Antigua, through security, and back onto the plane... Why? I don't know.

Our 4th flight was our shortest one! Hooray! Antigua to Dominica... Our final destination! Only 45 minutes!

All in all our trip was a success! All of our boxes arrived, although they were pretty smushed. Rosi was there to pick us up... (the first time ever he has been on time). Paul came home from studying a bit early to see us before we all crashed out. Thanks again to Lee and Stacy for all the help. I REALLY appreciate it! :)

We are glad to be back and can hardly wait to start having more adventures here. :)

We're Back!

We are here! We made it to Dominica! It was a long trip, but we arrived safe and sound. I have yet to download the pictures from my camera, but I will soon and will post about our adventure. Thanks for all the well wishes and calls. :)

On our way...

Matix, Hawken and I (along with the help of Grandma Stacy and Grandpa Lee) will be on our way to Dominica on Monday. We will arrive on Tuesday, since we are staying over night in Puerto Rico. I am SO grateful to have the help! We are taking 6 boxes (50 pounds each), 3 carry-on bags, 3 personal items, 2 diaper bags, 2 strollers, 2 babies... Yikes! Wish us luck. :)

Eating update

Matix is getting much better at eating by himself, and stays rather clean which is VERY important for us when we are back in Dominica because of the ants... Ahhh, the ants... :)

Packing

We have been packing... Matix and Hawken are pulling their weight of course. Matix helps by pulling the toys out and inspecting them very carefully before he will let them into the boxes permanently.

Here are SOME of our empty diaper boxes. :) Diapers are pretty expensive down in Dominica, so since we have the space, we thought it would be better to bring them in our luggage.

Hawken helps out by making cute faces at me while I pack his MILLIONS of clothes. Since he is so small now, he is still in 0-3 months, so I have to pack them, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, and 12 months clothes... YIKES! :)

We can't wait to be back on the island! Hooray!