Toguchi Beach

My poor neglected blog. It is just one of the many things that no longer gets my attention now that it is just Avery girl and I at home. She is nothing short of precious, but she is a lot of work, and with Paul deployed, well ... my floors are dirty, the grass is long, and the blog outdated.

However, my mom is here for a visit! There has been MUCH spoiling of the grandbaby, cooking of hearty meals, and even some adventures.

As a side note, Blogger is in Japanese and I have no idea how to edit these. I know the kanji for small, medium, and large, so I can adjust picture size and little else. Not sure which button means "save" or "post" so ... here goes nothing!

Baby beach bum

It has been awhile since my last post. Between moving chaos, not having internet at our new house, and Avery breaking my computer, there have just been too many obstacles lately.  Don't worry, though, Avery is still cute and the beaches here are still breathtaking. See below for the proof.

One day, hopefully before it is time for us to move again, I will have all the boxes unpacked in our house and may even take pictures to show you. But for now, you'll have to take my word for it that it is fairly nice by government housing standards. 

I will also share pictures of Avery performing all her latest tricks, to include crawling, pulling herself up to standing, and licking everything. She often performs all three in combination, like today when she crawled into the bathroom, pulled herself up onto the toilet, and began licking the seat. Sadly, not the grossest thing she has ever done. Anyway, she is sleeping so I should really be doing something more productive than blogging ;-)

Sesoko Beach and a 5-month old

Though our living situation remains the same, our "Upon arrival in Japan" to-do list is finally accomplished, suddenly leaving us with time to get out and explore. This last weekend, we hopped on the Expressway and headed north and found ourselves a small piece of perfection.

The view inside the beach cave

The view from the beach cave

We set up our things in little open cave we found on the beach, which provided us ample shade and privacy.  As a bonus, Avery actually liked the cave...as opposed to the ocean, which apparently she hates. Although, on second thought, this might not be such as bad thing since nuclear waste is leaking into the sea. Good thought, Avery girl.

Not too shabby, right? If only Avery had let us go snorkeling!

In other news, Avery is now five months old. She is sitting up on her own, and doing her best to get in to everything. She still isn't very good at scooting, but the motivation and desire are there! Her fiercest obsession right now is with paper (eating it, of course), but banging and shaking things that make noise is another favorite. 

Bath time is still a daily favorite, although these days she spends most of her time trying to eat bubbles and climb out. Is there anything cuter than a naked baby??

Two weeks on Okinawa

We made it!

So what is Okinawa like? Picture the beaches of Jamaica, the flora of Hawaii, and all of the nicest people you've ever met. Palm trees, tropical flowers, turquoise waters, sparkling beaches, a fresh ocean breeze, golden sunsets: what's not to love? I think the adjustment here will be smooth. I have already lived overseas before, so I am comfortable with the idea that the American way isn't the only way; I have encountered more than a few toilets that I couldn't flush before; and I am not a stranger to using hand gestures to communicate across language barriers. In fact, I think I am experiencing more culture shock as a result of living on base full time than I am from being out and about in Japan. Full-time immersion in the Air Force life is ... different. But at least the AFN commercials are awesome (wink), and whenever I feel overwhelmed, I can hop in the car, grab an iced coconut latte, and go to the beach -- a drive that only takes about 5 minutes, if you were curious.

We are far from settled, however. We are living in temporary lodging on base. It's an old, small, slightly moldy hotel room, but technically it has everything we need. There are some washers and driers down the hall; half of them have "out of order" signs, and the other half are about 3 loads of laundry away from "out of order" signs. We have two pots, one pan, two casserole dishes, and the world's largest toaster; the stove mostly smokes, but the oven works; in short, everything is just functional enough to get by, even if not very lovely. Apparently, as a result of all of the budget issues and sequestration, the housing office recently had to let go 200 of their maintenance employees, so it is now taking them 1-2 months to turn over a house after someone vacates it. But--also as a result of budget issues--they are not allowing anyone to live off base any more, so we are stuck here until we hear otherwise. We are doing what we can to make the best of it, mostly by avoiding being here except for to sleep. It's really not terrible, but after being in limbo for so long (we moved out of our house on June 25th), it would sure be nice to have a house and start unpacking and getting settled.

We did finally make it to the beach this weekend, though! I suppose having to leave the hotel room isn't so awful.

Avery's first dip in the ocean. She didn't love it.

 This kid is such a ham. She was whining and trying to eat handfuls of sand, until the camera came out. Then it was nothing but smiles.

The other rough part of the move is getting this (adorable) baby to sleep. I'm not sure if it is the time difference, teething, or just the combination of all of the new changes in our living situation, but this girl has been sleeping poorly. Prior to leaving Tucson, she would sleep from about 8:30 to 4:00am, then eat and go back to sleep until 7. It was beautiful. Now? Not so much. Have you ever been playing a board game, and you are really close to winning, and then you draw a card that sends you back to the very beginning of the game? That is basically what happened when we moved here. She is now waking every 2 hours at night, just like she did when she was first born. Not to eat, though, just to snuggle. All. Night. Long. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. I am exhausted.

Anybody have one of these? I'll pay!

Ok, but enough complaining. Besides being tired and stuck in a stinky hotel room, life is good. No, life is great. Paul has been able to come home for lunch every day and we've all been enjoying our extra time together. Paul likes not having to commute. Avery is enjoying the opportunity to go outside every evening to pick grass and watch the airplanes take off. I just like drinking iced tea and looking at the ocean. We all like two-digit temperatures.

Lots more to share with y'all (like what it is like to drive here...yikes!), but for now this is all I've got time for. Missing all of you!

Ready or not, here we go

Phew.

We finally are moved out of our house. I don't even want to talk about what a nightmare that was, but if you've ever had a young baby who has gone an entire day without a nap, you'll get sort of an idea. Oh, and she is terrified of the sound of packaging tape. ANYWAY. Our stuff is all packed up and on its way to Japan, or somewhere I guess - I don't really care. It was such a hassle to get it all packed up that if I never see any of it again I won't be sad. But moving on.

We are in an awesome extended stay hotel now. It is a lot nicer than what the base could offer us, plus it has a free breakfast buffet in the mornings and free beer, wine, and appetizers/desserts in the evenings. And hello, housekeeping!! It's a nice break after the past few weeks of chaos, and before the coming weeks of even more chaos combined with jet lag.

I wish I could say that everything is ready to go, but of course it is not. The things we set aside to put into storage are residing in a friend's house because of an Air Force scheduling error; our government passports still haven't arrived; the Air Force bought me three plane tickets, but none for Paul or Avery; and due to the language barrier, we are only sort of certain that we have a hotel room booked in Japan. C'est la vie.

In other news, Miss Avery is doing awesome. She has become the easiest baby. She sleeps in her own bed all night now; she only wakes up once during the night to eat and then goes right back to sleep; she no longer screams in the car; she loves going places, especially if there are people there who will pay attention to her; she tolerates her stroller and adores riding in the baby carrier; she takes regular naps and goes to bed without crying at the same time every night; she does great on airplanes. And I can't take credit for any of it. There was no sleep training, scheduling,  bribing or anything at all that I did. She just did it all on her own. I really have nothing to complain about -- she is such a fun and easy little girl. She has been so great about all the changes and transitions so far (arguably better than me).

She is all about putting things into her mouth now -- her fingers, toes, blankets, clothes, and anything else she can pick up. She slobbers constantly, gags herself regularly, and is even starting to laugh at herself. Pretty cute.

I dare you to try to say no to this face.

In addition to chewing things, other current favorites include standing (she stomps her left foot when she is excited), taking baths (sitting up like a big girl -- she refuses to lay back most nights), going new places, and kicking things that make noise.

Hopefully my next update will be something along the lines of "Made it to Japan! Avery slept the whole 15hr flight and has adjusted to the new time zone beautifully. We are in a house on the beach, all our things arrived promptly without anything being stolen or broken, we are all fluent in Japanese already and vacationing in Bali ext weekend." Ha.

May: moving, milestones, and more!

This has been one busy month for all of us as we get ready to say goodbye to the desert.

My last spring of beautiful cactus blooms.

Paul and I have been doing what we can to get ready for our big move this summer. We received word months ago --before Avery was born-- that we would be moving to Japan this summer. "This summer" seemed like a far away, fictional time then, one that I couldn't really begin to think about since I was so wrapped up in preparing for Avery. Then she was born, and for weeks I operated on a very basic level: keep baby alive and happy, sleep and eat when you can. Planning for the future? Of course I planned for the future: the baby was going to wake up and need to eat in the next 20 minutes, and then she needed a bath! But beyond that....nada.

So when Paul recently started talking about out-processing from base and I did the mental math and realized that we only have 6 weeks left in Tucson...Shock! Panic! Disbelief! Why didn't someone warn me that we would be moving so soon?! The baby needs a passport! We need to sell the cars! We need to cancel our phones, internet, and satellite! Schedule movers, figure out what we are bringing and what we are putting in storage, deep clean the house, pack, visit the dentist, gather medical records, stock up on Costco wipes, eat Mexican food every day, study international road signs, learn Japanese! The hardest part about moving, of course, is that all the important stuff has to be done at the last minute. We can't sell our cars now, we need them until the day we leave; we can't cancel our phones, we use them daily; any cleaning we do will just get undone in the coming weeks. 

So I carry on as usual, making lists and scheduling what few things I can. Avery and I have both applied for our government passports, been medically cleared, and gotten the go-ahead from the dentist. I'm slowly sorting through our closets. Paul has been doing all the things he needs. It's totally crazy to think that we will be in a different country in two months, and completely overwhelming to think about doing it with a baby. Challenges include, but are surely not limited to: llong-term hotel stays on both sides of the ocean, approximately 15 hours in an airplane, not having a car when we get to Japan, not knowing how to drive on the left side of the road, and waiting several weeks to months for our things to arrive. The government will provide us with temporary furniture, which is great, but we will still be waiting on all the little things that make life easier for us, like Avery's bath, crib, baby gym, etc. And did I mention the time difference? This girl is FINALLY sleeping well at night (a six-hour stretch followed by a three-hour stretch), and now we have to go and switch night and day? Insanity. 

It is a darn good thing we are moving to a tropical paradise. 

Yeah. I will stop complaining now.

Overlooking the short-term challenges, I am SO excited to live in Japan. The islands of Okinawa are gorgeous. Do a Google Image search and you'll see. I cannot wait to go scuba diving and boating, to walk along the beach, to play in the waves with Avery, to eat fresh seafood, to travel around the region, and so much more. We have heard nothing but wonderful things about living on Okinawa, and are beyond excited about our up-coming adventure.

Meanwhile, we are enjoying our remaining weeks in Tucson...and in America, for that matter! We are revisiting all our favorite restaurants, stocking up on things we have heard are hard to find overseas, and, of course, enjoying our sweet baby girl.

Yellow duck is her favorite friend

He tells funny stories.

 Avery is developing so fast. She is super active -- more so than average, I think. She naps rarely, moves constantly, and is always happy. Yesterday she took one 30-minute nap and two 15-min snoozes, but was a perfectly cheerful baby all day anyway. Changing her diaper or outfit is nearly impossible for all of her movement; she gets all four limbs moving at top speed, while twisting this way and that, panting and making funny noises. She can roll from her back to her side no problem, and tummy time is hardly a stationary activity.

About a week ago, she discovered her hands, and they are simply the coolest!! She spent a few days just studying her hands, and then moved on to her feet, which are even cooler! For a few days, eating and sleeping were the only times that she didn't have one or both feet in her hands. Then yesterday she figured out she can get her hands in her mouth! Super fun! Today she has been stuffing her blankets into her mouth and slobbering all over them. Does life get any better?

"You mean to tell me that I've had these hands this whole time??"

She also started laughing this weekend. My heart absolutely melts into a big pile of gooey love every time she does it.

 

 

She also thinks she is ready to sit up. When we try to recline her, she just holds her head up and does baby crunches and fusses until we sit her up. If she is reclined at a 45 degree angle, she can lurch herself forward into a sitting position (and then tip sideways). All she needs to sit up is to hold our fingers, sometimes only in one hand. She is very pleased with herself, and will sit up as long as we let her. Her head control is great, and she can sit up without any support for decent periods of time before tipping sideways. With the boppy around her she lasts even longer.

And of course she is still a talker. Vowel sounds are so yesterday, and she has moved on to a few favorite consonants. She likes to say "bububub," "agoo," and "google." Yes, google. We don't know what it means, but surely it is an indication of genius, right?