Favorite Moments From This Week

Beach Time

We went to the beach!  A lot!  I have a friend who is originally from Florida and she has taught me how to make going to the beach less of a hassle than I thought it would be.  We had a blast!  N really took to walking in the water and loves to feel the sand.  On the second day she slept through half of our time there, but that was fine.  It was still an amazingly relaxing day.

 

 

Memorial Day

Monday was a "chill out" day for us.  Our beach days wore us out, plus Mama had to do some serious laundry.  We had some good outside time though.  N is exploring more and more and getting more comfortable walking on the uneven grass.  She cracked me up when she pushed the mower up our little hill and plopped down for a little break.  



Big News!

N said her first serious words!  She repeated "Pop! Pop! Pop!" after I read it from a book.  She also says "Mama" definitively.  But the cutest thing is when she takes any object and holds it up to her ear, like a phone, and says "Hi" in this soft voice.  I LOVE it!   

April

 We decided to sign N up for "Mommy and Me" swim lessons.  I stood in line, with a number, for two hours to get us in.  That is life on a base where one in five women is pregnant, which means there are an abundance of babies all of the time.  We met for eight sessions.  The first day was chilly and every child cried the entire thirty minutes.  But, by the end, N was doing a great job of letting me float her on her back--she'd whine, but she'd do it.  We have lots of water time in our future, so it was tons of fun.

 It was warm enough for a beach day!  Yay!  We joined a couple of friends for some fun in the sand.  Yes she put the sand in her mouth.  Such is life.

 Easter egg hunt at church.  We didn't really hunt, but N had fun playing with them ahead of time.

 Wonder what she is thinking here?

 We got a little pool for N.  She wasn't too sure what to do with it.  Thankfully bath toys helped her at least enjoy it.

 I love this toy.  I also love that N figured out how to empty it quickly and efficiently. 

  A friend hosted a painting and wine class.  It's been forever since I have picked-up a brush.  Such fun!  This hangs in N's room now.

  Daddy made N a blanket tent.  I'm sure it is the first of many.

Checking out Daddy's boots. 

This is a quick round-up of the month.  I have some great shots of Easter weekend that I hope to share later.

March

 We set-up a system for baby-proofing our sliding doors so they can stay open, but N won't tear through them.  The tension rod works great and seems to be a ballet bar for N much of the time. 

 My favorite Saturday mornings are when we sleep in a little and there is time to enjoy our coffee. 

 Occasionally N goes on a sleep-strike and won't go to bed.  We try to be stern, but right now that's difficult when that little grin shows itself.

 I wondered how long it would take her to try to crawl under our dresser.  Surprisingly it took quite awhile.  She made it all the way through with the goal of reaching the door-stop. 

 I fully blame this activity cube for initiating N's desire to pull herself up and then to begin cruising.  It was the first thing she used to pull herself up the day after Christmas.  Stinker.

 This is just a favorite picture of mine.  Love these two!  Love chilled out Saturday mornings.

 We had a date night!  We checked out Koukosai Street in downtown Naha.  We've been there before, but never for dinner or drinks.  We chose a "hole-in-the-wall" soba shop--it was delicious!  You know you've hit a local spot when they don't have English menus and the cook walks outside to the display for you to point to your choice.  After dinner we checked out the above café and bar.  Again, delightful!

 Figuring out how to handle bouncy houses.  She's a quick learner.

 The Zoo!  N loved it.  It's a small zoo, but totally worth 500 yen and a couple hours of fun.  The petting area was N's favorite.  We were a little scared for the lives of the chicks.  She kept bringing them up to her mouth. 

 We had a really warm day and so we took our borrowed turtle out for a stroll.  N had mastered pushing it around the house.  The outside terrain was different, but she had fun.  Her Daddy has taught her to eat dandelions--fantastic. 

 She played under this table for thirty minutes.  Awesome!

Can we go outside?

 

I am no longer young.  I earned this number while playing sand volleyball on a girls day at White Beach.  First of all, ouch.  Secondly, when I went to serve overhand I realized that I hadn't coached in ten years and my muscle memory was gone.  I made it over every time, but man, it took some warming up!

February: Baby-Proofing

February was spent recovering from our trip back to the states.  They say it takes about a day for every hour difference you travel.  I believe it.  We finally got back on track, for the most part, but it took lots of time. 

February also meant doing some baby-proofing for our cruisin' girl.  N took off and was QUICK to get around the kitchen using the cabinets as support.  I really couldn't believe how fast she became in such a short amount of time.  She continually tried new foods every week.  Corn and cooked carrots were a favorite. 

February in Okinawa is bi-polar weather-wise.  We had some gorgeous days where we tried out her swing on our porch--she wasn't a fan.  We also had some chilly, rainy days where we just hung out indoors. 

Home

Here's a small attempt at catching you up on life in Okinawa.  We are living on base, which is a new experience for me, but one that I really like so far.  Everything I need...commissary, post office, work (more on that later), anything...is within a five to ten minute drive.  We're in a duplex-style house that was renovated about four years ago.  I have a larger kitchen then I've ever had before--well, I have more storage than I've ever had!  I have empty drawers!  Woo-hoo!  The first level has a hardwood laminate in the living/dining area and then tile in the kitchen and in the front room, which is serving as my office. There are two-and-half baths, which is nice except when I have to clean them all.  I know, I know, I'm not complaining...well, a little bit.  :)  Our washer/dryer is on the first level, which I'm adjusting to--I didn't expect that to be an adjustment, but somehow it is a real hassle to have to go up and down stairs to deal with the laundry.  But, I'm blessed to have them, so I will not complain. 

When we first moved in, we were using temporary furniture, which was provided by the base.  Our express shipment had already arrived on the island as well, so we were able to get it right away.  That meant I could decorate a little bit for Christmas and we at least had a table to sit at during dinner.  We also purchased an adult bed, a.k. a queen bed!  That felt like a huge luxury that I wish we had done sooner.  It's a HIGH bed--I really do use a step-stool to get in right now because the belly just doesn't let the legs get up as far as it used to.  :) 

I will take updated pictures soon now that we really have everything set-up.  We had everything in place within a week, with the exception of pictures hung--most of them are hung now. 

The nursery and the boys' room are the last two rooms that need to be put together.  We have everything we need for the nursery, we just need to sell our old double-bed and get it out of there so we can set-up.  The boys' room will get a little bit of an update too--they've outgrown their current linens and so I have some shopping to do for them.  :) 

Bring it 2013!

It is January 1, 2013 and I finally created our Christmas card and ordered our 2013 calendar.  :)   As I wrote our "12 Highlights of 2012" I came up with many, many more highlights.  I also couldn't believe we were still in Tampa a year ago.  Tampa feels like a lifetime ago already.  I could have added "made new friends" or "got to see my sister twice in one year!"  But I left it at our family highlights and not just my personal highlights.  I could have added the bummer of finding out my dad has Parkinson's...but I didn't think I needed to remind people.

I have had years of major transition, but as I looked back on this year, I think it wins for the most transition in one year.  Moving twice in a year, with one of those moves overseas is pretty huge.  If I ever complain about leading a boring life, somebody hit me!

But I can't complain.  The Lord blessed 2012 in ways I could never foresee.  I can't wait to see what He has in store for us in 2013!

Many blessings my friends!