Shawn Johnson East's daughter Drew may have just started kindergarten, but she already has an ambitious game plan for her future.
"We were at a flag football game," the Olympic gymnast recounted while chatting to E! News alongside husband Andrew East, "and she said, 'Mommy, I want to go to the Olympics in softball.'"
Just moments before, noted Shawn, the 5-year-old learned her mother had flipped her way to a gold medal and three silvers at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
"Someone had come over and was talking about the Olympics," Shawn explained, "and she's like, 'What's the Olympics? And why are they talking to you?' And I was like, 'OK well, I should probably explain this to you."
Previously unaware why the whole fam—including her brothers Jett, 4, and Bear, 21 months—was able to attend the games in Paris last year, never mind that her mom and Simone Biles were on a first-name basis, Drew's takeaway was that she too could land atop an Olympic podium.
"Which is so beautiful," marveled Shawn, "because you're planting a seed into a kid's mind that nothing is impossible, which I love."
Though the 33-year-old stressed, "As long as it doesn't add pressure."
Because while she absolutely stuck the landing as a teen, the idea of her kids having to live up to that standard knocks her off balance.
"Spiral," joked Shawn. "Mom guilt."
And her eldest isn't the only one ready to tackle some heady ambitions.
Having started flag football, Jett is fully ready to step into his dad's cleats. "We created a monster already," Shawn joked of the preschooler. "He's obsessed—almost more than bikes now, which is wild. But all he wants to do is real football, he wants to tackle. Which, I'm like, 'You probably have 10 years before that's allowed.'"
Until then, he gets to huddle up with Dad both at their 5:30 a.m. gym sessions (As Andrew revealed, "There's only one day that week I don't work out, Sundays, and he'll come to my bed and whisper in my ear, 'Dad, why aren't you working out?'") and on the field.
The former NFL long snapper "got to coach his flag football team, which was really special," said Shawn. "I saw the joy of football come back for the first time in a long time. He was like a little kid in a candy store."
Though for the Vanderbilt University alum every part of parenting is sweet—even their littlest cub's obsession with construction vehicles that has them roaming their Nashville-area neighborhood each morning.
"Like, the second his eyes open, it is, 'Bulldozer,'" Shawn shared of Bear. "And you have to go find one. The real one. You have to drive around the neighborhood and find one, otherwise he has a meltdown, which we should probably work on. Bulldozers control our life right now."
Honestly, though, Andrew kinda digs it.
"It keeps getting better and better and better and better, every phase," he detailed. "I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, there's no way it gets better than this. But then the next couple months pass by and it's so fun.'"
His nine-year marriage to Shawn is pretty golden as well.
To ensure they aren't trampled under the responsibilities of their three kids, the Special Forces: World's Toughest Test stars make it a point to enjoy a weekly date night, plus a nightly ritual that sees them enjoy a quick drink-and-debrief session after they've put the kids to bed.
"It used to be wine, but then we started going to bed at 8:30," joked Andrew. "It was like, 'We're just going to drink water at that point.'"
So the Couple Things podcast hosts were game when Hatch—the brand behind the sound machines that fill their home—tapped them to help their new nightly audio series, designed to help pairs connect in the roughly 10 minutes they have been their kids' bedtime and their own.
Having gone through phases where they played cards at night or cornhole or darts, "This was such a clever and fun way to be like, 'OK, set your phone down, turn on the little five-minute microdate," explained Shawn. "There are ones where you don't have to talk to each other, there are ones where you do some ridiculous stretch. It's an easy way to force your hand and say, 'No more technology.' It's actually an intentional moment."
Pitched the idea, noted Andrew, "We were like, 'Man, that would be so much fun to do little micro dates, and if other people listen to it, then that'd be fantastic, but nothing else, it's great for Shawn and I.'"
Not that the pair really need the assist. Keep reading to check out some of their biggest wins as a fam.
Welcome Baby Bear
Shawn and Andrew appear with their third baby, son Bear, in December 2023.
Baby No. 3
Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East welcomed their third child on Dec. 12, 2023.
Moment With Daddy
The former NFL player already has a sweet connection with baby No. 3.
Sibling Bonding
The newborn shared a hug with big sister Drew, born in 2019, and brother Jett, born in 2021.
Bear-y Cute
The gymnast captioned this cute shot of her thirdborn with the bear emoji.
Family of Four
Shawn and Andrew, who tied the knot in 2016, posed with Drew and Jett. She captioned the 2022 portrait, "Just the Hulk and his family."
A House Divided
For Halloween 2023, the guys chose their fighters as the girls went for magical vibes.
Taking After Dad
"Well… can’t make this up," Shawn wrote in August 2022. "Little dude has a new favorite toy. Giggles, smiles, won’t put it down."
Red, White and Baby Blue
The fam was ready for fireworks on July 4, 2022.
Pool Time
Shawn and Andrew relaxed with a swim alongside their kids.
Struttin' Her Stuff
Drew modeled her one-piece swimsuit during a family pool day.