Ah, simple pleasures.

Matthew was really fascinated by this 3D-ish card he got from Aunt Alycia and Uncle Cody. He was amazed by the dog (or "wa wa" as he likes to call it) with googly eyes and kept trying to rip off the cupcakes and eat them. It entertained him for quite a while.

Hits and Misses

Scott was gone last week and Matthew and I tried hard to entertain ourselves while he was away, with mixed results...

Playing with friends and the big ball at playgroup: HIT!

Trying to convince Matthew how fun these nesting containers are...miss.

Having a lazy mommy day and trying out the "nibble tray." Hit for Matthew, miss for mom. He liked being able to "graze" but I think he may be too young for this. I had to vacuum a lot of snacks off the carpet. I was careful not to include any stain-able snacks however. :)

Playing in the pool...HIT! It's so hot and Matthew always wants to go outside on our back balcony and walk around. He likes playing in his pool and is especially interested in the hose. He must have been feeling hot too...he loved letting the water fall on his belly. I think we'll be out there a lot this summer.

Ears?

Matthew is learning and understanding so much.
Here he is learning some body part words.

Go Cougars!

Matthew is wearing the shirt that Uncle Will got him.
Here is a picture of Will wearing the shirt.

Saving them for later?

Today Matthew was eating some Cheerios as a snack and he brought me the empty bowl they were in. This is how he tells me he would like more. Then he walks back into the kitchen and waits for me to come get him more snack. Today as he walked away I could see a bunch of the cheerios he was "eating" stuck to his pants. It made me smile.

At the Office

"My boss won't get off my back"
Scott had to stop in at his office for a few minutes
(on the weekend!) and Matthew thought he would
come along and try to help out.

The full office shot...the sippy cup isn't usually there. :)

Matthew likes visiting Dad's office.

Playdough Time

Here I am in yet another attempt to entertain Matthew. We drew pictures with markers and crayons today and then played a little bit with playdough. He is still a little young for all this, but at least it kept him busy for a while.

Thanks Uncle John!

Scott's brother John flew back to the states a few days ago after visiting us for three weeks. Matthew loved having him visit! John played with Matthew, read him stories, helped him practice his walking and carried him around or pushed him in the stroller a lot. Matthew loved spending time with Uncle John. Thanks John for coming to visit us and for being such a fun uncle to Matthew. Sorry we were all sick and I hope the trip wasn't too boring. Come back anytime!!! We'll try to be more fun next time. ;)

Shuri Castle

Scott, John, Matthew and I went to Shuri Castle Park in Naha this weekend. Unfortunately I started feeling nauseous that morning (hooray for morning sickness!) and spent the whole trip sitting in the visitor's center, but Scott, John and Matthew walked through the grounds. It was a hot and HUMID day!! I think I am going to melt this summer.

Ocean Expo Park Adventures

We went to Ocean Expo Park this weekend. It seemed like a good idea at the time. We were taking advantage of the days John is here visiting to do some sightseeing, but Scott, Matthew and I are all still sick. Matthew liked going to the aquarium and seeing the fish, but by the end of the day he got a bit worn out. The day ended with him throwing up several times. :( I thought we were all on the mend, but maybe not. We'll be taking it easy now...and going to the doctor. Sorry John, this is probably the worst vacation ever. ;)

Matthew loved seeing the fish

So much to see!

Guptill boys!
Check out Scott's fancy hat...

Matthew takes us on a tour of the Nago Pineapple Park

A Day at Okuma

Even though Matthew, Scott and I are still getting over our colds, we went to Okuma Beach this week up north on the island. We had a reservation for a cabana there for one night (and these reservations have to be made months in advance) plus it was John's birthday (Scott's brother who is visiting us) so we went to the beach, colds and all. Matthew is mostly better, so it was Scott and I that were still hacking and sneezing. :( Matthew wasn't too sure about the sand being all up in his business, but he liked being in the water...A LOT!

John, Emily and Matthew wading in the water
It was a little overcast, which kept the heat down a little.

Matthew tries sitting in the water.

Me (and my BIG belly!!), Matthew and John enjoying the water...

Matthew plays with his sand toys

Indoor Play Time!

I've been sick all week so Matthew has been stuck inside with me all week, poor kid. So today I decided to try a new activity, an indoor sandbox. It sounds scary, and if you are a big neat freak, it's probably not a good choice, but it's really not too bad. You are supposed to fill a baby bathtub with dry rice or beans and let the kids play with it like a sandbox. I didn't have enough of anything to fill a baby bathtub, so I just filled a big bowl with dry rice. I put down a big flat bed sheet first to contain the mess. Then we got the bowl of rice and a bunch of measuring cups and funnels and spoons and stuff. Matthew was a little unsure about it at first. He poked at the rice but eventually warmed up to it and went in with both hands. He picked up handfuls of it and dumped it on the sheet. He scooped it from the big bowl to a little bowl. He stirred it with the spoons. He taste tested the rice and pronounced it "yuck". I think I'll try it again, but maybe keep it contained in the bathroom or use dry beans or dry pasta. Overall, Matthew liked it and it kept him entertained for a good half hour or so. After we cleaned up the rice Matthew was really excited to keep playing on the big sheet I had laid down. We played parachute with it, put a big pillow underneath it to climb on, played peekaboo with it and eventually built a fort. I think Matthew may have liked playing with the sheet more.

Tokyo Travelers

Scott, Matthew and I spent this past week in Tokyo. I think it is the last trip off the island that we will be taking for a while so we tried to make the most of it. Scott's brother, John, flew from the states to meet us in Tokyo and we spent the week sightseeing. John served his mission in Tokyo so he not only speaks and reads Japanese, but he knows the city pretty well, so he kept us from looking too stupid. It was a lot of fun getting around on the subways and trains and being in a big city, but it was also a lot of walking and I was feeling pretty tired by the end of each day. Scott and John were very understanding and let me take lots of rests. We went to the Ueno zoo, the electronics district (Akihabara), a shopping area (Ginza) where we saw the Sony showroom and an amazing toystore, the Sensoji temple at Asakusa, the Tokyo LDS temple (which was near our hotel), Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, the Tokyo National Museum and a few more things. We were tired by the end of the week, but we had a good time.

Scott and Matthew demonstrate proper safety procedures on the Tokyo trains

Posing with the pandas at the Ueno Zoo.
Sadly, the real panda died a week before we came, so we had to take a picture with his (or her?) likeness...poor Ling Ling

Matthew poses with a gorilla...they did have real animals at this zoo ;)

Inside Tokyo Tower

Having noodles for lunch at Asakusa

Tokyo Disneyland!!

Matthew plays in the toddler play area of Toon Town...he loved it!

In line for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters
Matthew is wearing his special Tokyo Disney Mickey ears

In line for Pooh's Hunny Hunt, which gets my vote (and Scott's) for the most interesting ride at Tokyo Disneyland. This ride is a fast pass ride (but the fast passes were sold out quick) and had one of the longest lines all day. We couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about...until we went on it. You ride in these big round hunny pots and there are no tracks...the pots just roam and spin (and bounce) throughout the ride and you really don't know where you are going...and you get a little something different every time. If you go to Tokyo Disneyland, don't miss this ride...way to go Japanese engineering! ;)

At the entrance to Tokyo Disney Sea, a relatively new and beautiful Disney theme park that neighbors Tokyo Disneyland...not as many rides for small kids or expectant mothers, but still a lot of fun.

Matthew magically climbs an enchanted rope at Disney Sea
(pay no attention to that mysterious tall guy behind him)

Matthew liked sitting on the camel, until it started making funny camel noises,
then he wanted to get off

Matthew tries to catch the spouting water at Triton's Kingdom...
he caught quite a bit of it on his pants.

Aaah, fake Venice (at Disney Sea), almost as pretty as real Venice...and cleaner (sorry real Venice, but you know it's true). We got to eat gelato here and we were greeted with "Ciao" and thanked with "Arigato Gozaimasu" ...weird.

Matthew was beat after all those busy days