better together

Hawken LOVES to follow Matix around in his baby walker. Most of the time Matix just goes about his regular business, but lately he has noticed Hawken following him and will play WITH him. :) Yay! They are so cute together. Matix thought it would be fun to hide in the cabinets. Hawken would wait for him to peek out and then giggle like crazy.

I love that they are really playing with each other now. They also like to play catch (just rolling the ball back and forth), it works out perfectly because Hawken usually gets so excited he drops the ball quickly and it rolls back to Matix which is exactly what Matix wants to have happen. So cute.

the shacks

Matix and Hawken are constantly making new friends when we go out. Here is Matix's new favorite local boy.

I still have yet to get his name... He speaks VERY softly. He is 3 years old and loves to play with Matix when we go to the shacks. He also likes to check on Hawken. So cute. :)

The shacks are 2 rows of small restaurants next to campus. Restaurants make them sound fancier than they really are, which is why they are called shacks. :) They sell produce, local juices, meals, snacks and some souvenirs. Most of the students without spouses eat every meal here... We really like the food from the shacks, but not for EVERY meal. I guess Paul has it pretty good. :) I really need to get more pictures of this place, so those of you who aren't here can really see what it's like.

Here is a picture of some of the produce at Betsy's shack. Those HUGE reddish fruits here next to the cucumbers are mangos! They are bigger than my head, no joke. There is another type of mango (yellow and orange) to the left of them that are about as big as my hand when it's stretched out.

This is Rosalyn with a papaya at her shack. I thought it was a big one. It weighed 7 pounds. BUT, she says there are way bigger ones than that... up to 25 pounds! Yikes!

Also, Matix is better now, just a little runny nose left over, but he is back to his normal happy self. Hawken is on his way to getting better, but I think he is also teething, so it may take him longer to completely recover.

sick day

Matix and Hawken are sick. :( They both have snotty noses and didn't sleep well last night because of it. Hopefully they will get better quickly, but for now, we are out of commission. We are staying at home and not leaving unless we have to, until we are better.

possessive

"This is MY brother!"

Lazarus

Our maintenance man Lazarus was here the other day and he pulled a bunch of coconuts down from the tree in our backyard. He was trying to show me the difference between the coconuts that have "meat" and the ones that have "milk". I still can't tell the difference from the outside like he can. Oh well.

He let Matix try them both. Matix prefers to eat the "meat" of the coconut from a little homemade spoon from the shell. :) My little island boy!

Matix of course thought it was amazing to watch Lazarus pull down the coconuts and cut them open with his machete. Very cool. Here he is waiting for more... paci in hand, smiles all around, oh, the anticipation!

broken bed

Our bed broke! :( The frame has only these thin slats holding up the mattress, so naturally it was only a matter of time before it broke...

I was up at night, nursing the baby, when I heard a cracking noise on Paul's side of the bed, then the whole bed caved in toward Paul. He woke up all confused about where he was or how to get up... :) So funny. Luckily, my hubby is a stud and can fix anything. So, he got out the tools and some screws and fixed it up. Thanks hubby! What a night! :)

Protective

Matix has always been very protective over Hawken. Checking on him in the stroller, patting his back when he is sad, bringing Hawken his paci and blankie, sharing his toys, asking to hold and kiss Hawken.

So sweet. I love to see them act this way to each other. I hope it keeps up and they become good friends. :)

Oh Matix...

In the mornings, when I nurse the baby, Matix stays out in the front room watching Sesame Street. When the baby is almost asleep, I lay him down for his first nap of the day. Matix used to stay out, but lately he comes back to the bedroom to check on us. :)

He peeks in and puts his finger up to his mouth like he is shushing me and watches for a minute or two.

Then Matix closes the door, and goes back to play. At first I thought he was being so sweet and taking care of the baby, but now I know...

He is REALLY going back there to see how much more time he has to get into trouble. :) He got into my mascara one day (pictures to come), he was in the baby walker a few times, he unplugged all the fans and tv (yikes, I know!), he helped himself to some baby food from the refrigerator, the list goes on and on. Sneaky little guy. :)

question

"So big brother... how exactly do you get out there?! I really want to go! It looks like so much fun!"

big boy Matix

We have been doing a lot of this lately...

Whenever I change Matix's diaper I ask if he wants to go sit on the toilet. Sometimes he says no, but more often than not, he says yes. He doesn't always get something to come out, but he gives it a good try. He won't even be 2 until September and can't say the word "potty" yet, so I think this is the stage we will be in for a LONG time, but I like that every once in a while I get to save a diaper or two. Good job big boy. I am proud of you! :)

dress-up

Of course this bucket that is supposed to hold toys is better as a HAT! :) Matix is so creative.

Matix and Hawken both thought this was a great toy and had a fun time with it for almost 45 minutes.

I am always impressed with how tolerant Hawken is with Matix. Such a patient and sweet little guy.

Semester 3, Exam 1

Paul is currently taking his first mini exam for semester 3!!! Yay Paul! He is feeling good about the test and will get his grades back probably at the end of the week. Think good thoughts for him please! :)

This semester he gets to go to a few clinics and do some real doctor stuff! :) Woo-hoo! He has to dress up for it, stethoscope and all. I love it.

When Paul gets home we are going to the beach bash for free food and lots of fun. I will post pictures of that some time this week. Remember to pray for Paul and help him do well, Medical School is hard, and all the extra happy thoughts and prayers count. :)

graduation

So, Hawken is getting a little TOO big for his baby bath tub anymore... :(

It's a little bit cramped in here.

He has graduated to have his baby tub in the sitting up position AND to join Matix! Yay!

Matix is SO happy to have him share bath time with him. Hawken has fun watching everything Matix does, and even tolerates Matix's obsession with dumping water on his head. :)

Such big boys!

what a mess

Do I need to type anything here... ? Perhaps I should clarify a few things.

1. This is a 6 month old baby, although he is HUGE.
2. An adult fed him (I promise).
3. He really does like to eat, so I don't know why THIS much has missed getting into his mouth.
4. Yes, the chubby little hand in the bottom of the picture IS trying to feed him MORE.
5. It was worse in person. :)

Sister's Beach photo shoot

These are my new favorite pictures of the boys. I kept trying to get nice posed pictures, but that is really hard with 2 very active little boys... We went to the beach and I sat Hawken down in the rocks and let Matix run around.

Matix kept bringing Hawken little sticks, rocks and coconuts and it ended up being a great little photo shoot.I think these all turned out really well. And none of them needed to be edited (other than cropping). Yay! Cute boys.

1/2 a year

Today, THIS little man, is 6 months old!! Wow!

On December 3rd he made his debut. Eyes wide open and looking around, crying only a little and easily pacified. Dark hair and perfect. In 6 little months he has learned so much. He likes to:

• scoot around (not truly crawling but he can get wherever he wants to go) and he gets into everything!
• sit up and play with his toys
• eat baby food, or anything he can get into his mouth
• chase his brother around and he tries to steal Matix's toys
• roll over (both ways), although sometimes it is unplanned and startles him
• take baths (he doesn't even mind when Matix splashes him)
• smile and giggle (he loves attention and will smile or giggle even when he is exhausted and ready for a nap)
• be held and snuggled
• watch Matix (he finds Matix fascinating and watches him all the time)
• go to the beach and pool
• his paci and blankie (both are a must for this guy to sleep at all)

We are all so in love with our little Hawken. Matix runs to his room when we hear him wake up saying "baby baby baby?", so anxious to be the first one to hold him. When Paul comes home from studying he always scoops up the boys and plays with them right away. And of course, I can't get enough of my happy little baby. Hawken is the happiest, easiest, calmest baby ever. Whenever he is cranky, it is only because he is tired, and he's so easy to figure out and calm down. He has brightened our lives and we are so glad he is a part of our family. We love you Hawken.

treats

We went to Rituals (similar to Starbucks in the States) and had a little treat. It was a hot day and I already planned on spending most of the day at the CAC in the air conditioning, so I thought we should go some OTHER air conditioned place in the morning so Matix wouldn't get bored later.

Hawken and I shared a mango and guava smoothie. I think he liked it, other than the initial shock of cold.

Matix had a huge coconut lemon cookie. He loved it of course.

This bib, by the way, is my new best friend. It is medium soft plastic, so it can't grow mold and has that LOVELY scoop at the bottom to catch all the crumbs. I love it!

play time

Up at the CAC there are lots of things to do. Pool tables, foose ball, air hockey... When we go, I always bring tons of toys, but of course, Matix wants to play with none of those. He wants to play in the cabinets with Emmy. :)

So cute together.
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