happy daddy day!

3 yrs, 3ft, 30lbs, & 3 strokes

Gordy made 3 yesterday!!!

And to celebrate, we got a bounce house, invited 12 of his neighborhood hoodlums over, made "birthday cookies", and jumped the morning away.

After about 3 hours, the kids all had pink cheeks, were dripping wet with sweat, sticky from tons of watermelon, and needed naps :)

This was the first year that Gordy seemed to understand that it was his birthday.  Every day leading up to it for about the last week, he'd ask, "Is today my birthday?" and we'd reply with the number of days left.  On the day, he sang "happy birthday" to himself five or six times (in English and in Hawaiian) and told anyone who would listen that he got to eat birthday cookies because it was his birthday.

At 3, our little Gogo is as sweet as can be.  He says funny things like, "no thank you, but thank you for offering", and "mommy's hair is beautiful", and "you're handsome daddy".  If he thinks we are sad, he'll give a hug and a kiss and will then ask if "that made you happy?".  

He still loves to eat most things, but his favorite things are dried pineapple, pb&js, goldfish and watermelon.  He has a few favorite stuffed animals that he's named and he likes to line them up along his bed and have us say good night to each one individually.

He's become quite the little daredevil on his scooter going to the skate park with his daddy and riding on the big ramps.  And, he's had enough serious falls, that we've had to pad him up.

Gordy likes to get his hair tied up, will dance around, and sometimes even convinces daddy to join him.

He's still the best cuddler I've ever met.

He's still pretty sure that Nana is the best person in the world.

He loves to make cookies and will go get and line up all of the ingredients on the floor if he's given the green light on making them.

He is over 3ft tall, is just about 30lbs, and took his first 3 strokes in the water without any flotation device or help from anyone!  Let's be clear - he's still a chicken in the water, but he's getting better and he's improved heaps with his floaty-vest on.

Best of all, he's just a sweet, loving, empathetic, little guy.  Happy 3rd birthday Gordy!  We couldn't be happier to have you in our lives.

home again

We've gotten right back into the swing of things after our big trip:

Gordy has gotten much braver in general, but especially in the water (we think that's due to him being around the older boys in Auz),

We celebrated Easter at home and then again with the neighborhood groms,

Beach sprints and Gogo pools, of course,

School field trip with Nana to PCC,

and puddle playing with Sogo!

AU with the Gardiners

Australia was one of our favorite places while on our round-the-world trip - we loved the beaches, the rock pools, the cafe culture, the flat whites, the wine, ALDI stores... and most of all, the people.  So, we've had it on our list to return to since 2012.  Last month, we finally made it happen and we are already looking for another opportunity to return.

We spent our first week in Collaroy at the Gardiner hale where giant cockatoos came screeching to the lanai each morning begging for snacks,

Gordy and the boys (Max and Pierce) played wresting, cars, and dress up,

We enjoyed day trips to Manly,

we went to Max and Pierce's footy game,

and we checked out the Taronga Zoo.

We spent a few days up north in the Hunter Valley cruising the Central Coast on the way up, drinking a fair bit of wine, getting the VIP treatment at Tyrrell Wines (thanks Cam!), swimming in some killer pools, and eating lots of good food from ALDI.

For our last week, we drove about 3 hours south of Sydney to Manyana with the Gardiner crew.  Gordy had so much fun with all the kids - every morning he would wake up and jump out of bed asking "where the boys?".  Once he found them, he'd chase them around the room yelling, "here comes the Gogo monster!".  The beaches were beautiful and empty, and Dean and Sherene were great company.  We cannot thank the Gardiners (Deano, Sherene, Charlie, Pieces, and Max) enough for sharing their little slice of paradise with us.  We had a wonderful time!