Swim & Surf

Andrew loves to swim.

He swims twice a week at our neighborhood pool and we hit the beach whenever it gets warm.
He is getting pretty brave-- he will jump in from the side (holding Mommy's finger), hold his breath and put his face in, blow bubbles, kick and swim using "big arms," and loves to "surf" with his surf board.

Here is some footage of Andrew surfing.
It got a little crazy at the end of the adventure, but don't worry... other than a little sand in the ears, Andrew was ok. Good thing he is a pretty tough kid. After the spill, he kept reminding George and I that "Daddy went too fast... need to slow down."

I Have the Deck and the Con

Oh, how I truly enjoyed "bring your wife to work day."
It is a rare occasion that family members are allowed to go out to sea with their sailor, and I took advantage. They let us shoot a torpedo slug, climb into the torpedo tubes, eat lunch in the ward room, and let us look out the periscope (I saw a whale spout).
It was sweet.

Here I am preparing to climb into the torpedo tube...

And I shot the torpedo...and then prepared for a fire drill.

This is "angles and dangles."
They take the boat to 25 degree up and down angles.

Hot Mama in the Engineer's rack. Yes, that is where George sleeps. Ridiculous.

The best part of the experience was that it made me truly appreciate all of the hard work that goes into running a fast attack submarine. I had some major pride in my sailor when he had the deck and the con and was in charge of diving the boat. They should let women onto subs...men shouldn't be the only ones who get the really sweet jobs. I'm filing a discrimination law suit.

My Very First Bike

For the record, this was George's idea. I was planning on waiting a little while before getting another toy. He has so many toys, and he just got a super-cool scooter a few months ago. However, it is really fun when Dad gets to be the good guy and deliver such a cool toy.

Andrew helped put the bike together and then he was off.

Some crazy person thinks its funny to leap over their child while he rides his bike.

Ta-Dah... Here he comes

Field Trip to the Zoo

Mommy chaperoned a group of wild two-year-olds on a field trip to the Honolulu Zoo, and we had a great time. By far, the best part was riding the big yellow school bus. A close second place was a three way tie between seeing two baby tigers, two giant elephants, and eating a picnic lunch in the park.

This is Andrew's teacher, Miss Dinah.
She has more energy than most two year olds.

Here are pictures of Andrew's buddies, Isaac and Bianca.

I Make Popsicle Look Good

Words of the day: "mustache" and "goatee"

Just Watchin' the Ships Roll In....

While the boat was away, the families celebrated Valentines Day at Hickam Beach. Strangely enough, our boat just happened to drive by while we were sunning ourselves on the beach.
I love this shot of the sailboat checking out the submarine.

Andrew swimming with his buddy, SydneyA glimpse of the rarely seen "Bunny Boy."
Bunny Boy hops around the house asking for "carrots to munch for snack."

Scooter Skills

Andrew loves his scooter so so much (thanks Uncle Ben & Aunt Jamie!!) and I finally got some video footage of his scooter skills. He loves to ride around the neighborhood with his buddies.

Watch me ride... whee!

Dinner Devolved

Daddy is out to sea for a while, and this is what happens at dinnertime... it ain't pretty.

Going Grocery Shopping

Little Elmo waits in line.
Little Elmo starts to whine.
Loaf of bread and cream of wheat...Little Elmo wants his treat!
It's no fun at Shop-O-Rama
Little Elmo MAD at Mama!
[Read Andrew's favorite book: Llama Llama Mad at Mama]

Time to leave.
The shopping's done.
No more waiting.
Time for fun.

Don't forget to pay for those vegetables.

Multi-Tasking

No freeloaders here. Everybody has to pitch in to keep this house in order---even those under three feet tall. However, just because there is work to be done doesn't mean you can't sing to make the work a little more fun. Andrew loves to sing his ABCs and he is learning his letters. His favorite letters are "M" and "W." He points them out on every cereal box, newspaper article, and in every book we read. Here is some video footage of Andrew multi-tasking.

*Note: At the end of the movie, Andrew is trying to do the shaka.

*Note #2: Don't you just LOVE that the answer to EVERY question is NO!
Ahhh, 2-year-olds are so fun.

Here are some fun new tricks Andrew has learned.
His neighborhood buddies taught him how to ride a skateboard.

Check out this new trick-- just another way to give me gray hair.