EDIT!

I put the wrong date the first time. She was born on 10/26.

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Mavis' First Week

Here are a few pictures from Mavis' first week. We're all doing great. Howie is adjusting really well. Uncle Michael is a big help around the house & especially with keeping Howie entertained.

We don't have very many pictures from the hospital & none from the first few hours. Everything went so fast, we didn't even have time to bring the camera up. Long story short, she was born 2 minutes after we got into the hospital room. The doctor didn't even make it, so the nurses had to catch her. It was a first for at least one of them! Howie did come to visit in the hospital, but Nick forgot to bring the camera back because he was so focused on getting Howie there.

For those who are wondering about her middle name Ha'ani, it's a local Chamorro word that means "day." Now she'll always have a little bit of the island with her.

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She's Here!

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First Stitch

We were back from our vacation for less than 12 hours & had to take Howie to the hospital for his first stitch. We came home to a house with no food, so it was off to the grocery store. Howie, being his usual energetic self, was running & fell face first into the front of the shopping cart. I was on the other side of the store getting something we had forgotten. On my way back to the cart I see Nick carrying a crying, bloody Howie. Nick was holding the gash on Howie's chin with his thumb, & Howie's nose was bleeding & already swelling up. Nick took our poor little man to the bathroom to clean him up, & I didn't know what else to do but finish our shopping. I went to the checkout line, & Nick brought Howie out with most of the bleeding stopped. Thankfully, it wasn't severe, so we didn't have to drop everything & run to the hospital. We took our groceries home & quickly put away the cold stuff. The cut was too big to be glued closed, so he had to have a stitch. The doctor put some medicine on it to numb it, but he said it still might hurt to have it stitched up. Howie had to be wrapped up in a sheet like a little burrito, which was bad enough in itself. We had explained to him what was going to happen & that it might hurt, & we promised him McDonald's & an ice cream sandwich. We were so proud of our tough little man! He laid right there & didn't squirm or cry a bit while they held his head & stitched his chin. I guess the numbing medicine worked better than expected. We're going tomorrow to have his stitch taken out. It looks like it healed up really well. We are so thankful that it wasn't any worse!

stitch in chin






















swollen/bruised nose

It's A Girl!

We found out Friday that Howie's going to have a baby sister! The first picture is the 3 lines showing it's a girl. The next one is her face from the front. Then it's a side view of her curled up. The last one is her little foot. Sorry the pics are upside down, but we did the best we could with our scanner. We can't wait to meet her!

Oh my, Oh my

This is the first book that Howie has memorized the whole way through. There's a translation under the video. Enjoy!




Oh my, oh my, oh dinosaurs

Dinosaurs happy, & dinosaurs sad
Dinosaurs good, & dinosaurs bad
Dinosaurs big, & dinosaurs tiny
Dinosaurs smooth, & dinosaurs spiny
Dinosaurs weak, & dinosaurs strong
Dinosaurs singing a dinosaur song
Dinosaurs cold, dinosaurs hot
Dinosaurs cute, & dinosaurs not
Dinosaurs early, dinosaurs later
Dinosaurs crammed in an elevator
Dinosaurs plump, dinosaurs lean
Dinosaurs red, blue, yellow, & green
Dinosaurs looking right at YOU to say GOODBYE because we're through.

The Boys' Valentines Day

With Mommy off island enjoying her new favorite place (Thailand), the fellas were left to fend for themselves on Valentine's Day. No biggie; there's safety in numbers when multiple Mommies head for the jungle. So we spent our day with the Morrison boys, including lunch at TGIFriday's, a trip to Underwater World, gelato for dessert, and a BBQ at the house to top it all off.

Unlike the Mommies, Daddies are less on top of the picture taking, but considering I had to scrounge through a a drawer in my stateroom to find a camera, which I was able to charge for about five minutes before we left, I'm happy to have any pictures at all. Thank goodness for small miracles.

With that said, it wasn't quite Valentine's Day without Mommy. Even Howie's shirt is evidence that somebody was missing, as is his face in some of the pictures. We've done pretty good with her gone this week, but the guys are looking forward to having their girl home!!

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Gymnastics

Howie & I started a Mommy & Me Tumbling class on base last month. He loves the freedom of running all over the little gym & using the equipment. Enjoy the pictures!

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A Water Park Birthday Party

Last Saturday we went to Tarza water park for our friend Tyler's 4th birthday party. It was a blast! There's a group of four slides that the littler kids could do all by themselves. They also have a couple of slides that you can do with little ones on your lap. Nick & I did almost every slide in the park, including a couple of pretty steep ones. We all has so much fun & can't wait to go back again sometime. Sorry, I don't have very many pictures because my memory card was full. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!! Thanks for having us at your awesome birthday party!

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Dependents Cruise

Nick's ship had a dependents cruise on Martin Luther King Day.  We invited the Morrison family as our guests. The weather seemed to be ok at first, but by the time we got to where they wanted to anchor, the winds were 30 mph & seas were 4 ft. The wind was so bad the anchor wouldn't even hold. While we were sitting still trying to anchor, the boat was rolling around, making several of the guests sick, including little Howie. Back in the harbor, they tried to tie off to a bouy but were foiled again. So it was back to the pier,  much to the relief of the seasick passengers. Almost everybody skipped out on the barbecue, including us to get our sick little man home. Oh well, we'll try again next time, hopefully with fairer seas.

CO in training

The Morrison boys

Driving the ship

Spanish steps from a different point of view

Orote Point

Boonie Stomps

In January we did two boonie stomps. The first one was the Spanish steps here on base. The steps were built by Spanish settlers about 300 years ago to get water from a well at the bottom of the cliff up to a fort. There actually aren't a whole lot of steps, at least not any more. But there are some ropes set up along the way to help climb down. We went to the sandy beach side first, but we didn't stay long because there was some trash that had washed up, & the water was a little rough. So we hiked through the forest to the nicer coral pebble beach. On the way we passed a big hole with tons of coconut crabs & a small cave. Unfortunately, my camera battery died, so that's where the pictures stop. It's too bad, because there's a beautiful little cove at that beach, which makes the water much calmer. It's a great place for snorkeling, & we saw a couple of small coral heads. But of course we didn't bring our snorkel gear. Just means we have to go back again soon for pictures & snorkeling! 

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The next Saturday we went on an adventure with the Morrisons. Amy introduced us to geocaching. You get coordinates from a website to a cache that someone has hidden. It's a GPS treasure hunt! We chose what we thought would be an easy one for our first time, but unfortunately we didn't find our prize. Our only clues for when we got there were "tree" & "rock." There were about as many trees & rocks as I've ever seen in one place. But we still got to see Hagatna Springs. Maybe we'll get to try again soon. After lunch, we  decided to check out Fonte Dam. It was built in 1910 to provide fresh drinking water to the area. It was a pretty easy hike, which was good because it was hot out! 

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A Blessing

We've been saying this prayer with Howie for the past couple of months. Recently he has started repeating it line by line. This evening he was running around while I was getting supper ready, & he started to say the blessing out of the blue! I'm so glad that I got him to say it for the camera.

Two Lovers Point

We finally made a visit to Two Lovers Point, one of the most popular tourist attractions here on Guam. From the top of this cliff, you get a beautiful view of the Pilippine Sea & Tumon Bay. The ancient legend tells of a Chamorro couple who were forbidden to be together, so they leaped to their deaths from the top of this 400 ft cliff to remain together in eternity. How romantic, Guam's very own Romeo & Juliet.

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Pizza & A Movie

We've started a Friday night tradition of dinner & a movie (oh how my weekends have changed!). This was the first time Howie watched Shrek, one of my favorite movies. He really seemed to enjoy it, and of course he LOVES pizza. He even has his order memorized, as you can see in the video (filmed today).

("pepperoni pizza & olives & mushrooms & no cheese"

A Taste of Home

We had a few friends over for New Years Eve & decided to give them a taste of Eastern North Carolina. We had barbecue, grilled Pepsi can chickens, barbecue boiled potatoes,  green beans, & hush puppies. We used turkey instead of pork for the barbecue, & it turned out quite well. And everyone else contributed with some delicious dishes, too. Even with 12 adults & 16 kids there were lots of leftovers!

 We ended with some yummy desserts & fun Wii time. 

The ladies even surprised me with a birthday gift! I can't wait for our spa day girls! The card was very thoughtful with this hula cat picture that I LOVE & the cutest little poem.

It was a little tight in our tiny house, but totally worth it! We had a fabulous time & thank everyone for coming!

New hair

I usually think about things like this for a long time. But it only took me a couple of days to decide to cut all my hair off. I love it! It works great in Guam & is so easy.

But who knew impulses could be contagious? I went out that same night with some friends for girl time. Amy had mentioned that she'd like to get her hair cut, too. So Shelly (who just happens to be a stylist) started trying to talk her into it. We ended up at a salon in the mall, & all three of the ladies got haircuts. They all look fabulous! Stay tuned, cause next girl's night is color!

Before

After

Mamas who really needed some time out!

WEEEEEEE!!!

Lazy Day

The day after Christmas:

Playing Pac Man

Nap on the couch

Waiting for the double decker bus in Tumon

On the top of the bus

Howie couldn't outlast his younger buddy Ryland.

Christmas lights, Guam style!