Aaron's Push Toy

Aaron discovered this little game very early on in Hawaii.



We did so many laps with him during the week. He needed one of us to walk with him and steer the stroller, but he did all the pushing.

Hangin' Out at the Beach House

John's parents rented a great beach house right on Keiki Beach (Baby Beach) in Lahaina.



And one of our favorite things to do was to just hang out, relax, and chase the kids around the house.



We loved the hammock.



With, or without the kids!



Right outside our gate access to the beach was a foot shower, which Jacob learned how to use and used frequently.



Aaron crawled all over and got very dirty.



He also liked to chase the cat.



And for some reason, we didn't get a single picture of the sun rising onto the island of Lanai, and this is our only sunset picture.



Maybe we were just too busy having fun with the kids. Aloha!

Where's Waldo?

John and I discovered something fun while eating lunch at a seaside restaurant in Lahaina one afternoon.

Do you see them?



How about now?



And since we're on the subject, look who started to crab-crawl while we were in Hawaii.



What a cutie!

Baby Beach

Jacob's Third Birthday

Jacob turned 3 on February 11. Man, they grow up fast! The days go by slow, but the years are just flying by.



I have a friend who makes the most amazing cupcakes. We call them "crack cupcakes". She's made the cupcakes for Jacob's first two birthday parties, but I didn't want to keep asking her to make them. And she wouldn't share her recipe. So, I spent several months researching what the various ingredients do in frosting, and then several weeks trying different recipes. I then made about 3 dozen for Jacob's party, which everyone seemed to love.



Here is Jacob, doing his favorite indoor activity.



His favorite outdoor activity is still gardening. He received lots of various gardening equipment for his birthday. His most recent gift is the leaf blower, from Uncle Josh and Aunt Dana.



As Jacob gets older, he is SLOWLY willing to try more foods. We of course had to document this when he wanted to try it. He ate about half the piece.



And Aaron is constantly trying new things, as well. He has learned how to open the Gerber Puffs container.



What a mess. But at least he's cute!

We're Still Alive

We're still here, I promise.

John's been cranking out video posts like crazy, but I haven't done any posts in a month. (A month? Wow! Not good.)

February was (is) crazy month for us, and I have been so busy, I could barely pause to breathe. I was in an out-of-town wedding for a very dear friend in early February (and all the subsequent girly-wedding stuff that goes along with being a girl in a friend's wedding), and we just got back from a week in Hawaii yesterday (and all the crazy packing that involves taking a family of 4 on an airplane, including a baby and preschooler). During the one week we were home in between two trips was Jacob's third (Oh, My!) birthday, and party. Oh, and Jacob was sick during his birthday week (again) and Aaron got a double ear infection the day before we left for Hawaii (which means antibiotics, which means lots of poop). I'm tired again, just from thinking about all of that.

But we're back. And today is the last day of antibiotics. So, now I can breathe. And blog. And sort through the 335 pictures from the camera. Which I would've done while we were in Hawaii, but I forgot the cable. So, anyway, prepare for an onslaught of posts and pictures. Because they are coming!

Tricycle Time!

We got this tricycle for Jacob last year, but he's only really gotten the hang of it in the last few months. Also, his feet reach the pedals better now.



Also, Jacob's 3rd birthday party was this morning! We had a blast at Partyopolis. We'll post pictures soon.

My name's Jacob!

Our family went to Molly's wedding today! Congratulations to Molly and her new husband Mark. It was a lovely event; Mandi was a bridesmaid, and both boys slept right through the ceremony (Jacob in my arms, and Aaron in Papa's).

Anyway, Jacob's uncle Josh runs the sound booth at Trinity Lutheran Church. So after the wedding, while the sanctuary was otherwise empty, he gave Jacob a wireless mic and headphones and let him run amok.

Sharing

I gave Jacob some bread and butter, and after I left the room he decided it would be more fun to feed it to Aaron than to eat it. When I came back in, this is what I found.