Camera Shy

Hawken is normally very sweet, talkative, and happy... but when I get the camera out to take a picture or film a movie, he gets all serious and quiet and looks very concerned. I have decided he must just be camera shy. :) Here is a video of what happens, and how I tricked him into smiling on film... :)

Friends

These were from play group yesterday. This is Shane, Matix's friend. Can you tell he really likes Matix? Thank goodness Shane is in a kissing phase, so Matix can get a little taste of his own medicine. :) Matix was trying to eat a banana and Shane thought.. "this is the perfect opportunity for me to kiss him!"

I love that Shane is grabbing Matix's face with both hands... and check out Matix's expression. Too funny!

Pictures Only

No words, just cute pictures.

Mail call!

Hooray!!! We love getting mail! The other day though, we got SURPRISE mail! Even better! :)

We got a welcome home letter from my best friend Ashley. She lives in New Zealand and there were TONS of crazy stamps on the envelope. Hawken liked to look at all the shiny stickers. :)

Thanks Ashley! You are SO thoughtful. We love you!

The boys also got Valentines Day cards from their Great Grandma Pauline and Great Grandpa George. In the cards there were $2 for each boy. One for them and one for their sweetheart! So cute, right?! :) Matix had fun opening the letter.

Hawken thought it might be more fun to TASTE his card. :)

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma! That was very sweet of you. We love you so much!

Sandbox

Paul made Matix a sandbox in our side yard and he LOVES it! There was a mound of dirt there for no reason, so Paul put cement blocks around it and knocked the pile over. Matix was a big helper too.

It isn't as good as the one he has at Grandma's house though... His only bucket has a hole in the bottom and his shovel is now broken from all the digging... :) But when my Mom comes out in a few weeks she will be bringing new ones. Thanks Mom!

Semester 2, Exam 2

Paul is now half way through his second semester of medical school. He is currently taking his second mini exam, then he will have a third mini and a final that covers all the information he learned this semester AND last semester.

I am so impressed with the amount of information he has to learn in such a short period of time, and he does SO well with it. Paul has been taking his studying very seriously and sticks to his schedule. We are so proud of Paul and know he will do well.

Nursery!

Matix will be 18 months old next Sunday, but the Primary President (Julianne) and the Nursery Teacher (Kristy) both thought Matix could come in a week early if we stayed for a bit to make sure he would be alright. Matix is joining a group of 4 girls who are all at least 2 and 1/2, so he is by far the baby, but did GREAT! :) We are so proud of our little guy... well, our BIG guy now.

I stayed with him from 10 until 11, but he didn't even know I was there. I left and he didn't make a fuss (thank goodness for secure attachments, i just can't get the teacher out of me, no matter how hard I try) :) In the middle of Nursery he climbed up into Julianne's lap and fell asleep. :) Cute! When we came to get him at the end of church, this is what we saw.

Thank you Kristy, Julianne, Jesse, Angie and anyone else that is part of this awesome Nursery team! and of course, good job Matix we love you! :)

Snacks

We are getting back into the swing of things here on the island. Matix spends 90% of his day outside digging in the dirt, hunting lizards, collecting the small mangos that have fallen from the tree, and getting so dirty it is sometimes difficult to recognize him. Sometimes I give him "outside snacks" which means they produce a large mess and need to be eaten outside to keep the ants away. But the past few days Matix has been taking ALL his snacks outside (which is fine by me).

He is loving this island life. He is going to think we are crazy when we start making him wear shirts again, and shoes without holes in them, and not putting sunscreen on him twice a day...

Hawken rolling over

Here is a video we got of Hawken rolling over. We took it a few weeks ago when he was just over 2 months old.

Now do you see why we titled the video "world's slowest roll over"? So funny. :) I just love this little guy. He always makes us smile.

Mango Tree

We walked down the road a few minutes to a small grove of mango trees that we usually see as we pass on our way to church. We have been watching as the mangos get bigger and bigger each week, and then the other day we decided to walk over after lunch and pick some.

Paul climbed up the tree, knife and bag in hand and collected quite a few. He had to go up pretty high, which Matix thought was great. After a few minutes of watching Paul, Matix decided to push Hawken in the stroller up and down the road while we waited. Oh the joys of living on a tropical island! :)

Already?!

Matix will be 1 and 1/2 this month, just a few more weeks. I can hardly believe this little guy will be that old! Although we are excited to see him grow and learn new things, I feel like this is all happening too fast.

3 months

Hawken is 3 months old today... CRAZY! :) In a month we can start feeding him rice cereal! I always LOVE that age. I can hardly believe it has been 3 months.

Hawken can do lots of things, and we are constantly impressed with him. He is so strong and can hold up his head very well. He can roll over from tummy to back, but could care less about the other way around. He loves to be on his tummy and tries to crawl by sticking his bum up in the air and scooting forward (he can only go an inch or two, before he gets feisty). He makes the best faces and makes us laugh all the time. He is SO calm, and easy going. He doesn't like to go to sleep, and needs convincing, but will sleep if snuggled first. He likes baths and diaper changes because of all the attention he gets. Hawken gives little giggles and smiles ALL the time. He tolerates his brother and smiles when he sees him. Hawken loves to be held by Mommy and loves to "fly" with Daddy. Here is a cute video of Hawken with Paul and Matix.

How much is TOO much?

I think Matix really likes his brother... A LOT!

I would say, no thank you.

Everyone who knows me, knows that I do NOT like lizards. I don't mind them on TV or in a cage (I even had a pet lizard when I was a kid), but I do NOT like them out in the wild. Although it made Matix's day to see this iguana running around near the mango trees on campus. I guess they are okay purely for the pictures.

But, I REALLY do not like them IN MY HOUSE! YIKES! I know, maybe I asked for it when I thought that the name of our street (Lizard Trail) was just a name... Anyway, one snuck into my house and I had our neighbors come over to catch it because I was freaking out. (Thanks Lex and Phil)

Its tail came off in the process and has snuck back inside TWICE since then. I know it is the same one, because it is always in the same place and has a stubby tail. We do not have a problem with bugs or creepy animals usually (like some other people on the island do), except this specific lizard.

My giant boys

How big does Hawken look next to Matix? He is almost 3 months old, and Matix is almost 18 months old. Matix is pretty big for his age already, but look how fast Hawken is catching up. Yikes! :)

Girl's Night

The other night a few of us got together for a girl's night. It was the first of (hopefully) many. We had snacks, did our nails, and talked. We were planning on watching a chick flick, but never got around to it. Next time hopefully more girls can come. :) It was way fun.

This is Angie, Paige, Chelsea, Kelly, Sarah, Liz and myself...

Paul stayed home with the babies (they were already asleep), so he got in an extra hour and a half of studying. :)

Helping

Sorry about not returning emails, or uppdating the blog. Our internet was out yesterday, but when I checked this morning it was working again. Hooray! Story time here at our house was a success. I was a little nervous, but I used some of the videos I had used in my classroom, and the kids seemed to enjoy them.

Today I thought I would share some brotherly bonding moments. :) I just love these! Matix likes to "help" with EVERYTHING, as you may know. And his latest interest has been in Hawken when he is taking a bath.

We have this little baby tub thing that we put Hawken in, then put that in the tub (for the water that spills over the side). Matix then gets into the tub too and helps rinse Hawken off when I tell him it is time to. Yes, I censored the picture. Lame I know, but we have a public blog. :)

After the bath we wrap him up in the duckie towel and Matix again helps by patting him dry. :)

Look at Matix's scrapped up knees. He is SUCH a little boy!

What to do in Dominica

Here in Dominica there are tons of things for kids to do. Play on the beach, swim in the pool, explore... But a few of us thought there should be more... So, last semester a few of us started a play group. It is still going on this semester, although the days are now Tuesday and Wednesday. Same time, 1pm at the CAC on the 3rd floor. Please come if you can. It is nice to have lots of people there.

Of course Matix is fighting for a toy in the picture. :) These are some of the kids at play group a few weeks ago in order of age.

Hawken met his first girlfriend. Jazz. :) Isn't she cute.

Watch the placement of her hand.

She is going in for the kill. :)

Holding hands. So cute.

After all that hand holding, Hawken crashed out on the couch. :) What a good boy.

This semester another group of moms started a "story time" activity for the kids. :) YAY!

It is more for the older kids than Matix right now, but we go anyway. :) He doesn't get a whole lot out of the books they read, but he enjoys being around other kids (and I enjoy the other moms) and he LOVES the songs they sing in between the books. :)

Story time jumps from house to house and this week (Friday the 26th) will be here at our house. So, if you can come, please do. :) It will be at 10:45 at our house... it's the blue and white house on Lizard Trail. Email me if you don't know where that is.

After reading books and singing songs, then all the kids get to play for a bit before it is lunch time and everyone goes home or up to campus to eat together with their families. Matix had fun with all the kids.

And Hawken fell asleep on the couch again. :) How cute is Tate? Very interested in the sleeping baby. :)

The Little Chef

Love it. :) He is so creative.

Cheesy Face!

Lately Matix has been making this cheesy face. Eyes squinted almost all the way closed, crooked smile... but I love it. :) Usually I take many pictures of the same event, so that later I can dig through and find the ones that I like. Well, now the majority of them look like this... After collecting quite a few, I thought maybe I should share them. :)