Reina's First Typhoon

Typhoon Glenda got the kids out of school...and teachers out for an hour! :(  Somehow Japanese stuff closed prior to TC - 1C...so we had to bring Reina to school. I think she rather enjoyed it.  I added the link to the weather if you want to check out Typhoon Kompasu (or Glenda).  The pictures are of Reina playing in the wind on the balconi.  Its a category 2...and moving pretty quick, which means we'll probably be back at work tomorrow for sure.  Off to bed.  Hope we can get some sleep despite the wind!

http://www.typhoon2000.ph/storm2.shtml
Click on "track 1" for tyhpoon Kompasu (Cat 2 now...working on Cat 3).

On A Mission

Reina has been making leaps and bounds in so many departments, that I don't really know where to start - and she's been doing so over the whole summer, I just keep forgetting to mention some of them.  Most recently she has dedicated a lot of time to learning how to pour.  She was outside after dinner today playing in her "pool." I added several containers and she was content for quite a while (tonight we had to stop her) pouring water from one container to another or simply out of a container.  Its really cute when she tries to fill up one container, while holding another, and she pours out water from one while trying to fill the other. She has also mastered walking and finally started to pick up speed; I would say she is running.  I can still beat her in a foot race though, so she has still got some practicing to do.  Her vocabulary increases daily and she is pretty consistently putting two words together, "more please," or "help please," or "more water," etc.  Of course sometimes I have to remind her to say please.

We went by the house today to see what progress has been made.  We haven't heard from the housing people in a week or so, so we were curious to see what the house looked like.  I took a picture through the window, as we don't have keys and they are really good about locking the house.  They have finished most of the interior - the floors, kitchen and light fixtures most recently and look like they are slowly making progress on the lawn.  I am still wondering about some of the changes they have made, and plan to bring up a few at our next meeting.  Some of the light fixtures are not what we spoke about and also, the kitchen isn't exactly like we wanted either.  It was supposed to have white top cabinets and black on the bottom.  It is all black and it doesn't look bad....  Also, the cabinets in the back are really high - like I'm going to have to have a stool to get them.  This is so Japanese; something that Chris and I have even joked about, since many older Japanese houses have kitchen cabinets that are high and out of reach to a population who is notoriously short.  I added three pictures of the house as of today to the yomitan slideshow (which can be reached by clicking on the slideshow link here and navigating to "Jillian's Photos" in picasa.

School officially starts tomorrow.  I think prior to having Reina is was excited about school starting. Now the summer is over, which means we don't get to spend as much time with each other.  She is growing up so quickly and neither of us want to miss it.  :(

2 Days with Dad

Chris did not have to return to work until today (Wednesday).  As a result he got to spend some quality time with Reina.  The pictures speak for themselves. 

Since today both Chris and I had to work, Reina went to her first day at her new Japanese daycare.  After dropping her off at 6:30 as the only little one there, with her brand new baby futon in tote, Chris and I drove off to work together.  That was nice.  We were excited to pick her up and see how she did (and if she got a wink of sleep on a bed that is not contained, ie a crib).  From what we gathered, she didn't cry AT all!  And after translating her little book (thankfully they wrote all in hiragana), she played well and it appeared that she slept for over an hour (which I am skeptical of).  

We think Reina said her second Japanese word today: "dako" which loosely means pick me up.  She also said "genkan" (entrance way) but we're not sure if that counts since we're not sure she said it on her own or after one of us, since she copies A LOT of what we say.

Off to bed to start all over again. Good night. 

The Last Weekend...

Its official. Summer is over. I head back to work on Monday and Chris on Wednesday. What an amazing summer we had.  Things always look better when you're looking back.  Why is that?  If there is one thing Reina has made me appreciate, it is time.  I am much better at living in the moment.  Thank you Reina.

We've been playing as much as possible these last few days.  Mainly in the water, since it is just too hot outside to do anything else.  On Wednesday we went to kid's night at the Officer's Club (and I got to make fun of Chris a little about busing tables, as this was his first job).  Reina had a lot of fun dancing with me and the other little kids.  I taught her the "makerena" and "YMCA" and then towards the end she just wanted to sit next to the "big" kids on the steps and watch everyone else dancing.

Sunday we had a bbq with our good Japanese friends.  Kaori has been a big help with sorting out the daycare for us.  She even said, "Reina will be really Japanese" after seeing the place, as almost all of the kids were Japanese (maybe there were 2 or 3 half Japanese, no full Americans) and there was no A/C.  Yep. No A/C.  Now, maybe they had it and I couldn't see it on.  Japanese people, or I should say Okinawans seem to have a much higher tolerance to heat than us gaijins...as they may have the a/c on so low that I can't tell.  But, I digress. Every kid in there was pretty sweaty.  So, like I said, a cultural experience as well as a language one.

Anyhow.  On Thursday we went to the Comprehensive Water Park.  I think this might have been her favorite ever.  There were lots of different pools to go in that she thoroughly enjoyed.  Today we rode bikes to Araha Beach and played at the park and swam in the beach later to cool off.  Yes, we've been busy having fun these last few days.

We have been experimenting a bit with what Reina eats.  As some of you know, when Reina was around 1ish, she had a bad reaction to fish.  This was bad - as a LOT of Japanese food is made with fish seasoning.  Since Reina will be going to Japanese daycare and they provide food, we were a bit worried. So, we gave it ago.  For breakfast one morning this week she had a few soba noodles (that have fish seasoning) and she absolutely loved them! And she was fine. We have slowly added a bit more each day and we are happy to report that she is no longer having any reaction.  We also discovered that she LOVES spam onigiris (rice, cooked spam and egg all wrapped in seaweed) so today we made our own.  Man, she could hardly wait for them to cool before digging in.  She now often will request for "noo..." which means noodles and "ri" for rice.  She really is Japanese!

Monday Reina will head to daycare for a short trial run (Chris will get some golfing time in too), and then Tuesday she will meet Cody, who will take care of her on Wednesday.  Confused? Wednesday is a Japanese holiday so with the new day care comes a few new challenges.  But, we've got holiday one and two figured out, as my Dad just told us the him and Romeni will be visiting for Thanks-giving and they can watch her for the November holiday.  Jeff, and possibly Mike, will come for Xmas.  Lots to look forward to this Fall.

Ok.  Hope everyone enjoyed there summer - Cheers!

Nothing much...

We've been home for almost a week and we're right back into our usual summer routine.  Reina, Chris and I are all getting much better sleep in our own beds, and during the day we are visiting Obachan and other friends, or going to the beach. It is much hotter here than I remember, I'm not sure why, but it is very refreshing to jump in the water here, and Reina doesn't seem to mind either.

Reina continues to amaze us with her speech.  She is starting to combine words, like "water more" or "where is it" which I don't think really counts, since it sounds like one word, but its still cute.  She is not only mimicking our speech, but also our gestures and behavior.  When Kaori came for a visit, Reina started waving her hands around like Kaori was gesturing. Reina also loves to lend a hand when we're cleaning, wiping the table, sweeping the floor, or washing the windows (even though it makes a usual chore twice as difficult).

When we were in England we visited a really great indoor playground for little ones.  We were happy to discover that there is one right here on our little island: mona kids. Except this place is for escaping the heat, rather than the wet and cold of England.

We have about one more week before we start work.  Oh, good news. We think we found a FULL Japanese daycare for Reina.  The one she was at was Japanese, but they really catered to Americans and there were definitely more American kids than Japanese.  This daycare is literally a "mom and pop" place: very small with 3 teachers who don't speak any English.  This also means that they will be taking off Japanese holidays, which will pose a little problem for us, but we'll tackle that when it comes.  Maybe somebody should come visit then!  While I am not sure how great educationally the place is, I know that Reina will get a full Japanese language and culture course, which is something Chris and I cannot give her.

There's No Place Like Home

After another long flight, we made it home.  Both flights went rather smoothly, despite an almost 10 hour leg from Portland to Tokyo and a typhoon brewing off the west coast of Okinawa.

After getting some much needed sleep we headed out the next morning for errands: mail, commissary, etc.  and of course a drive by the house. It was painted with windows and wires....this was all we could really see from the outside.  Then today we met with the usual two guys at the house and I got a bunch more pictures.  The slideshow isn't working for some reason, so here is a link to my yomitan album.  In the album you can see where I've dated the first picture (Aug. 10) and then added several captions trying to explain what's what.  Overall Chris and I were very happy with the bottom floor and yard (minus the fact that there was no glass in front of the stove, like at our current apartment).  There was plenty of light and everything seemed plenty big despite our first reservations.  We weren't as happy with the top floor; mainly the master bedroom. It seemed a bit small and the closet was much too large.  We also were a bit apprehensive of the color when we saw it on Tuesday - it was base beige (ack - the color of EVERY house on all the bases here).  But in the light today it seemed whiter, which is what we were going for.  The timeline is more or less on track: the house should be finished the first week of September. However the base inspection won't be happening until the end of September, so its looking like we won't move in until the first week of October.

The picture is of Reina in what we think will be her room (we're not certain yet).  You can't tell from the picture, but it is MUCH hotter than any place we visited this summer. I don't care what the actual temperature reads, it is definitely hotter here! Oh, and the water was also nice - we went to the beach.

Travel's End

We're wrapping up our trip with my Dad and Romeni today. We fly home to Okinawa tomorrow (only one more trip and then we're done for the year).  It will feel nice to be home, but it is of course sad to say goodbye to family and summer vacation.

Reina has enjoyed spending time with her Grandad and Romeni. I got a few shots of Reina helping out, since she just likes to be doing whatever you're doing. And what does Grandad like to do, water the plants!  I think she'd help mow the lawn if we let her!  Other than enjoying some good restaurants, we've mainly hung out at home. Grandad and Romeni bought Reina her first pool, and between that, peaches, and bubbles she's been very happy.

Thanks everyone for taking such good care of us this summer. We can't wait to see you all next year (or you can of course come visit us, as we have a new house with a spare room)!

Oregon

We made it to Oregon. I'm not sure how, since we essentially travelled for four days straight!
Recap:

1. Saturday: 4 hour boat trip back to Athens
2. Sunday: 3.5 hour flight to London
3. Monday: LONG flight to Atlanta and then Seattle
4. Tuesday: 5 hour drive to Dad's house in Oregon

All things considered, Reina did amazing!  She slept on all legs of the trips and was pretty happy until the end of most of them (understandably).  We stayed overnight in Tacoma with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jess (and also Grandpa Jeff).  The next day all of the Eastman's met at a VA cemetary to say a final goodbye to Grandpa Bob.  I'm not a very emotional person, but I was certainly touched by the gun salut and taps on the bugle.  It was nice and I know Grandpa Bob would have agreed.  He is missed.  I found a picture of him with his two great-grand daughters (Lucie and Reina) without them posing, as he prefers a more "natural" look!

Now that we're in Oregon we have lots of down time.  Although we did managed to squeeze in a quick golf game while Romeni watched Reina.  Tonight we plan on dinner out and hopefully a park for Reina to play at.  No plans for the rest of the week (which is OK for us!).  We head home on Sunday....1 more flight left!

I have uploaded a lot of the photos into a Greece only album (as July was pretty full).