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.

Work Hard & Play Hard

Here are some fun pictures from school.
Here is Andrew's class participating in a fire drill.
I thought they looked cute all sitting in a row.

Just wanted to point out Andrew's girlfriend--- Mia.

She is the teeny one on the far left with the spiral curls.
One day last week, I saw her run up to Andrew and tackle him.
She must weigh 25 pounds. Chunker Andrew is pushing 32 pounds.
He folded like a house of cards.
Andrew's two favorite loves: bike riding and scooter riding.
Sorry, Uncle Ben and Aunt Jamie...I couldn't get footage of scooter riding.
I'll try again soon.

It was too quiet, so I went to find Andrew.
This is what I found...
This is Andrew's big boy bed.
He napped in it once, but he's still in his crib.

Travel Ain't Easy, People

The top 5 things that could ruin your Hawaiian vacation:

1) Jet Lag-- a reasonable expectation, but add in factors 2-5

2) Monsoon Rainstorms-- 4" of rain/hour might ruin a few beach days

3) Island-wide power outage-- an unfortunate result of monsoons-- find your flashlight and try giving a two-year-old a bath in the dark

4) Fireworks that shake the house every night at 2am-- not just on New Years eve...EVERY night my house shakes because some fool shoots off fireworks

5) Explosive Diarrhea (don't worry---I'm not naming names)

Even with Mother Nature and Montezuma's Revenge working against us, my family managed to salvage a perfectly lovely vacation. We hit the beach, ate wonderful food, watched the sunsets, chased rainbows, hit the North Shore, ate at the shrimp shack, chowed on shave ice, talked to Buddha, and met several sea turtles at Turtle Beach.

Our house is so quiet now.
We miss you already Aunt Evie, Grandma, and Papa.
P.S. Uncle Jordan, when are you coming out here???

The Littlest Latke

Meet the Littlest Latke --- performing in his very first Chanukah carnival.

Here is some video footage from Andrew's preschool Chanukah presentation. They are saying: "I know, I know, the Maccabees!" [Quick history lesson: Chanukah marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees won independence from the forces of Antiochus, and commemorates the miracle that the eternal flame burned for 8 days, when it was only supposed to last for one.]

In this song, they are singing about making potato latkes. Andrew tried to jump off the stage a few times, but he sang "I am a little latke" and "I have a little dreidel," and it was the cutest thing ever. Enjoy!



We celebrated the wonderful presentation with a latke lunch and chocolate pudding. There is not much better in life than potato latkes and pudding.

First Day of Preschool

Little Buddy started preschool this week. To prepare for the big day, we have been reading a cute story called "Chickens, Chickens Go to School." Andrew was ready...he grabbed his lunch box and headed for the car. He was looking for the school bus to pick him up, but I think its a bit early for that.

Miss Dinah and Miss Kiko showed Andrew where his cubby was and where his lunchbox goes. Andrew was most impressed with the garden area and the bikes. Andrew jumped right into the mix and rode a bike and a scooter. The other 2 year olds were impressed that Andrew can already pedal a bike.

It was a successful first week. I think he's gonna love school. Oh, and when I dropped Andrew off, he ran to the other kids and said "bye Mommy." I tried to sneak peeks into the classroom and lurk around, and he did just fine. When I picked him up, I asked how school was and he said "just like chickens," so I guess he had fun just like the chickens in the story. What a big boy!

A Very Thankful Family

On Thanksgiving morning, all three of us ran our neighborhood 5K Turkey Trot. While it took me slightly longer than usual, I finished the race (and even came in third in my age group). Just finishing the race was the best feeling. Andrew helped me make candied yams, a chocolate cake, and Grandmamma's infamous squash-corn casserole. We had lunch with our good friends, the Weilers, and stuffed ourselves silly. Andrew even met his soul mate, an adorable little Aussie named Maddie. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Whoopee Doo....Look Who's TWO!

We celebrated Andrew's second birthday with friends from around the island, enjoyed a nice luau lunch, and played some fun games. We had a ring toss for the little ones, some arts and crafts, and enjoyed tasty sno-cones. It was complete chaos. Andrew had a great time.
Several hundred milligrams of ibuprofen later, and I agree that it was a success.

Andrew demonstrates a new and improved cake eating technique.

Daddy's Birthday

Andrew and I made Daddy's birthday cake. When I asked Andrew what kind of cake we should make for Daddy, he said a "submarine cake." So, voila!
Call me Martha.

Singing to Daddy

Taking a little taste of chocolate icing. Andrew says icing is "so yummy."
I don't know why we don't just eat icing for every meal.
I think they like it. Happy Birthday, Babe!

A Conversation with a 2 Year Old

So most of you know that George has been away this week, and I have been flying solo with Andrew. It is quite interesting trying to carry on a mealtime conversation with a 2 year old, but I try really hard. Our mealtime conversation usually revolves around what we did that day, and what foods we are eating for that meal. So, I have no idea how to introduce this story, so I'll just give you the recap of our dinner conversation this evening:

Perry: Andrew, how are those green beans?
Andrew: I like ham.
P: Ohhh, ham, huh? How about a bite of your green beans, too?
A: Go swimming with Miss Buffy.
P: You enjoyed your swim class today? Do you like Miss Buffy?
A: Jump in.
P: Yes, you were such a big boy.
A: Want cookie.
P: Let's eat a few more green beans. Look, Andrew! [opening pantry] Mamma bought this [pointing at above box] rice pudding for dessert tomorrow. Mamma is gonna make it for us.
A: [pointing at box] OBAMA! Look, its OBAMA!
P: [peeing in my pants] Ummmm, [laughing hysterically] Ummm. Andrew, that is not President Obama. That is Uncle Ben.
A: [laughing] Uncle Ben and Aunt Jamie?
P: [still laughing/peeing] Ummmm. No, not our Uncle Ben. Hmmmm.
A: [mocking me] Hmmmm. Ummm.
P: How do I explain this? Andrew, this is not Obama. People come in all different colors. Some people are black. Some people are white. Ummm. I think this discussion needs to wait a few years.
A: Want cookie. More milk puh-leese.
P: Eat one last green bean.
A: [chomp]
P: Here is your cookie.

Isn't parenting fun!