Family Photoshoot

When Leyna was 9 days old, we had family photos taken by a local photographer. There are a lot of photographers here actually, many who are military wives/moms that picked up the hobby and made it their business venture. So it was a challenge finding decent talent with a reasonable price, and particularly getting someone available for a baby due anytime in July. Luckily we secured a session with OkiDoki Photography just three days before Leyna's early arrival.Rather than indoor studio photos, our photographer shot us on location at some nice spots...a cultural theme park that was originally created as a set for a popular Japanese TV drama (there was even a karate class going on in one building which was a cool backdrop for some photos), and across the way are shores and hilltops near the ocean with great views. Watch the video at the bottom for more photos!

(Note: for those of you who read our posts via email...videos are only viewable directly from the blog)

Images by OkiDoki Photography, some edited by Loralee.

Anniversary Month

We'll never forget a conversation we had way back when we were considering a dating relationship with each other. Soon he was leaving to finish law school in Hawaii and then he was committed to serve in the Marine Corps. I wasn't so thrilled with either of those things, and I bluntly replied, "Well, I would never marry Marine!" Dan was quick to respond, "Well then maybe I'm not meant to marry you then." Oh how we both spoke with confidence -- but I was quite certain I would not be brave enough to marry Marine, and Dan knew he was going to marry me in the end! And here we are. August 11th marked our 2 years of marriage, and also 3 years of Dan being a Marine Corps Officer. Whenever we look back and laugh at the outcome of all our late night relationship talks, Dan loves to boast, "I win!" Well actually, we both won. He was too wonderful for me to resist and we both found what we were looking for in a life partner, right in front of us. Well, here's a video looking back at our wedding day...


To celebrate, we decided to keep it simple this year, especially with the new addition. Anniversary day was a late work night so we at least treated ourselves to some quick sushi at a small place called Delicious Club. We just made it in the door before closing time, but the owner was so kind to seat us, take out all the ingredients he had already put away, get his apron back on and create some yummy rolls (their specialty). It was relaxing, even if Leyna got fussy, since we had the whole place to ourselves - it felt like we had a personal chef at home!

On the weekend we enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner at a popular date restaurant, Sam's by the Sea. Another restaurant to add on our favorites list...an American sized meal (as in lots of food), super delicious food (the best steak I've had so far, drenched in a garlic sauce and topped with garlic chips), and superb customer service. I had to hold Leyna a lot (since she often doesn't like being in the car seat) and when they brought my food, Danno reached over to begin cutting my steak since I only had one arm free to eat...well a manager saw this and immediately stopped Danno, took my plate to the other side of the table, and had a waitress come and cut my whole steak into little pieces! Wow. You'd never get that in America!

One Month in Review

Wow Leyna is already 1 month old! We're definitely still adjusting to things especially since we were fortunate to have the helping hand of Grandma the entire first month. My mom took care of so many things while she was here. She cooked meals, washed dishes, changed numerous diapers, packed the diaper bag at every outing, brought me things when I was stuck to the couch nursing, watched Leyna so I can shower, eat or go the bathroom, walked to the nearby grocery store to buy food while Leyna and I napped...and the list goes on. We often felt bad that we didn't tour around more, but she assured us that just being here with us and Leyna was well worth it. Plus she caught up on a lot of rest too. Well here's a bunch of posts rolled into one of random highlights from the past month during Grandma's visit.

Enjoying time with Grandma..and the first-time Grandparents back in CA via Skype.
Leyna's first bath.
First road trip / long day out and about. Drove up north of the island, stopping to enjoy the nice view of Nago Bay on our way to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
The aquarium was amazing. All their displays, big and small were great. They feature the world's 2nd largest acrylic glass panel which contain humongous whale sharks and manta rays among tons of other fish.Leyna did great doing what she does best - sleep, eat, poop. By the end of the day, looks like Leyna prefers large grey sharks over small blue ones =) There were lots more areas to explore, so we're sure to return.
In addition to my mom's first time to have delicious Teppanyaki entertainment, to eat in a private room semi-Japanese style (sitting on tatami mats at floor level but there's leg space carved in the floor under the table), enjoy the popular Okinawa goya (bittermelon), and eat sushi off a moving conveyor belt, she also got her first Okonomiyaki experience. It's a Japanese pizza / like an overstuffed omelet that you combine any assortment of ingredients you want into it. Mix it, pour it, flip it..with additional egg, they add it as a layer on top...we're not pro enough to cook it ourselves yet.
One of our top places to eat - Tramonto. So far everything we order on their menu has been delicious, and we love coming back to eat on the deck for their awesome view. Btw, that pretty hello kitty watch Dan is wearing is actually a battery powered mosquito repellent thingy we got to protect Leyna when we go out. Nifty huh!
For Dan's birthday, mom offered to watch Leyna and sent us out to enjoy a date together. It was our first time to try an all-you-can-eat place that's just walking distance from our place. There was tons to choose from...you cook the meats at your table, can steam foil-wrapped veggies (like bacon and asparagus, or assorted mushrooms in butter), order sides like nan bread, soup, bibimbap (even hot stone bowl bibimbap with kimchi and cheese)...We have yet to conquer everything on the menu...
Last event with Grandma...Leyna's first time at the beach (but not yet getting in the sand) to see the beautiful sunset. It's walking distance from our house, has lots of tented picnic areas for bbqs. There's this big walkway that jets out into the ocean, offering a great view and a very relaxing stroll...
Lastly, some pics of our growing girl. We're glad she keeps her eyes open much more now. We approximate she's up to at least 10lbs. The way she eats, she's definite our child! haha.
Phew, that was a long post! Thanks again mom for all your help!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Sweet 16 (days)

(thanx Precious for some of your photos!)

Leyna is 16 days old today and had her 2nd Dr. appt. She's healthy and doing great. The nurse was impressed that she stayed knocked out during all the vitals, including when taking her temperature in the not so comfy place. hehe. Her height is now 20 inches, which is 1 inch shorter but I suspect it's because her "conehead" is rounding out since the delivery. She's been eating a lot, which is evident in her weight of 8.5 lbs now! (We better get her in all her newborn outfits before she outgrows them) She keeps us busy with about 3 diapers changes for every feeding, but good to know her digestive system is working (almost too) well. The good news is we can stop the rigorous schedule of feeding her every 2 hrs. and pretty much let her sleep and wake up on her own up to 4hrs apart...woohoo, a bit more sleep for us (assuming she agrees with the adjustment.)

It's all been worth it. She's been such a joy, and entertains us with all her cute noises and numerous expressions. She's got amazing leg strength already (yea we've both been kicked in the gut many times), and she's also got a mean hammer-fist when I'm feeding her! haha. She loves the breeze, and grins when you blow at her face. She loves flailing her arms everywhere, so every time we would swaddle her, she'd always figure out how to get her lil hands free as you can see - what an escape artist!

Leyna's Birth

The last pics of Leyna in belly. My friend Precious happened to shoot these photos of me and belly at it's max just in time, taken 4 days before Leyna made her appearance!Now here's Daddy's run-down of Leyna's birth...

July 2, 10pm…watch Gran Torino? or fold Leyna’s clothes? We decided to fold and sort all of Leyna’s baby gear...build her pack n’ play which will act as her temporary crib…and start packing the labor bag. Car seat we decide to install tomorrow. 1am…finally went to bed for what turned out to be a very short nap.

July 3, 2:30am…Loralee nudges me and asks me to go turn on the light. She suspects her water might have broken. We spend the next half hour looking on Google and our baby resources to determine if we need to go to the hospital. We called the hospital and they told us to come in to check. Time to finish packing the labor bag and install that car seat!

July 3, 3:15am…we arrive at the hospital and Loralee gets monitored and checked by a nurse. False alarm. Phew! Water didn’t break, and she was only 2cm dilated. Contractions came every 5 minutes but she was unable to feel them. They sent us back home saying we’re far from early labor and it could be anywhere from a day to another week until Loralee gives birth. On our way home we enjoy breakfast at McDonalds (McDs is delicious out here!)

July 3, 5am…back home and ready to sleep. Loralee tells me that she’s finally starting to feel contractions now. She starts keeping record. I tell her to try to sleep off the contractions and get some rest because she needs energy for the actual labor and delivery. I pass out to re-energize. I wake up around 11am. Loralee was hunched over the bed on the yoga ball with a pen in one hand, her notes in the other, and her cell phone as her stopwatch. Apparently she wasn’t able to sleep off the contractions. They’ve been consistent every 4 minutes lasting about 60-90 seconds in length the whole night!

July 3, 4pm…Loralee soaks in a warm bath to help alleviate the pain. Nothing. Contractions come closer to 3 minutes apart.

July 3, 5pm…Loralee and I called the hospital again and told them about the past 12 hours of contractions. They suspect it was probably due to her exam earlier that day, told her to take a warm shower, take some Tylenol, and come in when contractions are so bad they make her cry. Loralee takes Tylenol. Nothing. She endures another 2 hours of strong contractions...without shedding a tear, though very painful!

July 3, 7pm…we decide to head back to the hospital, thinking we shouldn't get sent back home this time. Turned out she was way past “early labor.” Loralee was already 7cm dilated! (for those of you that don’t know, 10cm is time to push!) We get settled in the labor room…an inexperienced nurse missed the veins twice for the IV leaving some nasty bruising…Loralee enjoyed some lime otter pops and ice chips…the epidural went perfectly, she didn’t feel a thing and it reduced the pain at least 50%...They wait until 11pm to manually break Loralee’s water which was like a water balloon ready to burst. I called Russ and asked him to cover for my duty that I was scheduled for on July 4.
July 3, 11:20pm…They break her water, and we wait for the contractions to naturally make more progress. Loralee gets a quick lesson on how to push in preparation for the home stretch…

July 4, 12:48pm…Three sets of pushing, Leyna is born 6lbs 13 oz, 21 inches...screaming and crying her head off. She was absolutely adorable and with some mighty strong lungs. Docs did some routine reflex tests and told us she got an apgar score of 9/9 which is really good. I stood by to cut the cord. They quickly return Leyna to momma and Loralee falls in love with her baby girl. Later I watched her get measured, weighed, foot printed and helped with her sponge bath.
July 4, 3am…We spend this joyous 4th of July together as a family in the postpartum department, where we stay for the next few days. The feeding sessions every 2 hours and the diaper duty begins!
July 6...We return to home sweet home, and same night pick up Grandma at the airport whose staying with us for a whole month. Perfect timing! =D

Going home

Happy Leyna just before going home.

In between the feedings round the clock and fighting to stay awake, I'll find a way to post more!...stay tuned.