Halloween Week

It was Leyna's first Halloween, and our first time to celebrate it on a military base. With a kid so young, there's really not a whole lot to do other than take photos of how cute they are when all dressed up. The more reasons to put them in their costume the better!

An early debut...on the last day of Itsy Bitsy Yoga, we dressed up the kiddos.

Bryn hosted a yummy Halloween lunch with some of us gals. Her son Braddock was a stud with all his lil girlfriends. It's nice to already have a play group ready to go! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa, Leyna loved sporting her glow in the dark skeleton outfit.The girls are 2 weeks apart, Leyna being the oldest. The day before Halloween we briefly visited our church's Harvest festival, and on the way home stopped by a festival they had on base that was open to the locals as well. Halloween day, we didn't have the joy of handing out candy in our neighborhood, so we decided to keep things convenient by hanging out at the base exchange. (They recently opened a new one, making it the 2nd largest in the world -- keeps us occupied). Leyna entered their costume contest in the 4 yr olds and under category. Even though a fairy with light up wings won (you can see her in the corner of the pic), Leyna sure was the cutest elephant we've ever seen!Then there was Trick-or-Treating hour and all the stores and vendors passed out candy. The lil elephant was eager to get some candy...for mom and dad who was dressed up as first-time parents =)

We met up with our buddies and their cute tootsie roll, and afterwards went out for a delicious meal. Good times!Thanks for the candy Leyna!

Baby Yoga

This past month Leyna and I have been going out for some organized bonding time by attending a "Baby Yoga" class each week called Itsy Bitsy Yoga. At first people think the parent does the yoga and somehow incorporates baby into the routine. But actually, it's the parent guiding the baby into purposeful movements and positions that help stimulate their development in various ways. Some motions can aid digestion, remedy constipation or reflux, help stretch out their lil muscles and increase mobility, calm them and prepare them to sleep, etc. It's also a great socializing tool for the babies and helps build their confidence. For each exercise we also sing rhymes with every move to make it even more enjoyable for the baby. This past week was our last meeting, so they shot some photos of the fun.
We were in the newborn to nearly crawlers class. Yup, even newborns can participate (if they can stay awake long enough!) Our friends Bryn and Braddock joined as well. Braddock is about ready to be moved to the next class since he's very close to crawling. Leyna has been responding great. She behaves so well, never fussy. She's thrilled to be around other people and always smiles and giggles at all the other babies.
Some things help the baby and give ourselves a good work out...like doing lunges or squats. They love the plunging motion. Leyna also loves swinging or flying motions.
It's been a nice reason to get her out and about, and it also helped provide me with more creative ways of interacting with her while at home. We met some new friends, so that's always a plus! Next month we're going to try out Baby Time at the library on base. It's a free program of more developmentally beneficial play time. We're both looking forward to it!

This land is your land. This land is my land....

...from California, to Okinawa! This goes out to our friends in Irvine, who maintain the Yogurtland diet (along with the rest of Irvine) and stood in long lines with us (even on cold rainy days), just to enjoy a heaping cup of numerous frozen yogurt flavors and toppings of our choice. We somehow managed to make trips there several times a week. So of course, upon leaving the states, I was sad to leave one of my favorite dessert joints.

Well, lucky for us Yogurtland's first venture into an Asian region happened to be in Okinawa! Wow, it just picked itself up and followed us here - it's meant to be! Their grand opening was on Leyna's birthday. Good thing I didn't know it at the time, or else I may have sent Danno to get me some and bring it back to the hospital! haha.
For those who are unfamiliar and haven't yet fallen victim to the Yogurtland addiction, it's a buffet of self-serve frozen yogurt flavors and toppings...so the combinations are endless. You choose any mix of everything, and at the end (when you look down and come to realize the damage has been done, you've piled your cup way too high) you pay by weight.
Here we'll get to explore some different toppings, like dragonfruit, starfruit... I do favor the yogurt selection back in the states since I don't think they switch it up as much out here. The price in the states is much better as well. Here it's a whopping 200 yen (just over $2.00) per 100 grams (about 3.5 oz). If I remember correctly, it was only about 20 to 30 cents per 1 ounce in the states! So although I won't be lining up as often here, I'm sure glad to have the option to! ...this (yogurt)land was made for you and me! =D

Leyna looks like she's ready to taste some herself.

Oki Living: Itali-yum

I've always loved the Italian food at the food court in Mitsua (a local Japanese grocery store back in the OC). Here I'm happy to find there's lots of places with the same deliciousness. Yes, there is no Olive Garden here, but we'll be just fine. Here's a unique place we tried back in early September and have yet to revisit... Marino's serves Italian food that is certainly for cheese lovers such as myself.

They feature yummy cheese fondue...

a variety of wood fired pizzas......and best of all, their parmigiana pasta is prepared in a huge wheel of cheese! Yes, they come table-side and toss the hot pasta in a half slab of a giant cheese wheel, coating it with some melted cheese goodness...then they mix in other ingredients like mushroom, bacon, whatever you choose...

Also it's common that restaurants have dinner sets that include an unlimited beverage bar and some kind of dessert bar. We got to choose 3 desserts each (there's even choices of ice cream). Good deal!Meanwhile Leyna enjoyed her nap, allowing us to enjoy our meal =D

Oki Living: Engrish Clothing

It's already been 6 months since arriving on island and we've been doing a horrible job showing you more about living here in Okinawa. Understandably Leyna steals the show, but we'll start sharing some various highlights of island life here n there...the many differences, the pros, the cons, random funny things we come across...

Here's to start with We Shop...Jusco is our primary mall here, so you'll find a few are scattered across the small island. It's very minimal compared to the states. Typically there's just one department store (with a grocery store on first floor), electronics store, bookstore, a food court, arcade, and less than 10 other specialty shops. We always check out the kid sections and we are truly entertained by the "Engrish" phrases on the clothes. Of course we see these spelling and grammar errors wherever we go, but here's a few your child can fashion! haha.

Some not as bad...

...can be cute...

...but others definitely needed an English translator before mass production!

One plus about the stores out here, is they conveniently provide mini stroller shopping carts with adjustable and reclining seats for kids. We finally decided to test them out since Leyna (still) gets fussy being couped up in her car seat.
..and looks like we have a winner! She must love the ample space. Danno loved "drifting" her around every corner since the wheels maneuver so freely...and meanwhile Leyna kept sleeping peacefully.

13 Weeks

Boy, it’s hard not to post about Leyna all the time! She could have her own website by now. We'll try to mix it up a bit more, but she’s definitely everything that’s “eventful” in our life! Well, here’s another video of a recent accomplishment at 13 weeks (for real this time and not by accident hehe) Yay for Leyna!