Scuba Steve

 We had a major breakthrough this week - Caleb learned to swim on his own. Ok, so he was wearing a life jacket, but it was still quite amazing to witness. We spent one morning this week snorkelling, and Caleb couldn't bear to just sit in the boat and watch so the boat captain told him to jump in. Once he was in we didn't know if we'd ever get him back out. While swimming around the boat, miles from shore, he sang out  "That's what it's all about!". The hokey pokey seemed like the best way to express the joy he was feeling. When we were ready to come back to shore, he said 'No, I want to swim back!"

We knew we were in trouble when we got back to the beach and no longer had a life jacket for him. We knew he  simply would not be happy swimming in our arms any longer. We talked to the local lifeguard, Gary, about this and sure enough Gary had a padded wetsuit that was just his size. We made a deal to rent it for the rest of our time here, and voila - Scuba Steve was born! I love that he is fearless in the water. He loves to put on his goggle, plunges his head underwater and looks for starfish on the seafloor. 

Scuba Steve looks quite buff in his new suit!

One of my favourite pasttimes in Jamaica is reading the local papers. I love discovering amazing headlines and laughing with my mom at the somewhat hilarious articles. The best example I can give was a three page spread last Sunday that discussed the pros and cons of marrying a shorter man. Benefits included:

        1. Short men are described by their parents as "nice with a sunny disposition"

        2. Short men are more faithful and make better companions

        3. Cost savings: as shorter men eat up to 1/3 less than taller men, "marrying a shorter man will provide savings on the food bill. "

        4. "It is said that short men are part of the in-trend that compact is better as seen in technology with small MP# players and computers.
Amazing.