"Uh Oh..."

We've all been waiting for it. Reina's first word. Well, I think I'm about ready to officially call it, and the word(s) is/are: "Uh oh..." Reina discovered this wonderful phrase Thursday

night in the tub. She threw a toy over the edge and I naturally responded with this two word phrase. Ever since, Reina has been throwing everything over the edge...food, toys, you name it, and saying "uh oh" or her version of it which sounds more like, "aaa aaa." We're hoping she gets to some more traditional words next.

She has also gotten quite fluent at signing. All of the sudden this past week, she's decided its time to communicate. She can now sign the following words: Up, all done, eat, please, bath, shoes, more, milk, baby....I think thats all for now. I'm working on "diaper," and need to learn some more signs myself.

I also got a new carrier. Yes, I know that I don't need another carrier, but

really,

I only get to carry her once...So, I got scooters! Its a mei tai, which is a bit different than anything I've had so far, and it also has a panal of fabric called solarveil, which is supposed to be very breathable. I really like it so far, although its still not as convenient on the go as the back pack style one I already have. It is, however, more comfortable, so I will use it on our longer walks.

On the soccer front (hence all the green in our pictures this week), Chris' boys had two games against Shuri High School (coincidently his cousin attends this school...but does not play soccer). Anyhow, they lost on Saturday and then won on Sunday. The big game is this friday, when they play their big rivals, Kadena! We're excited and hoping for a win....

Oh- I almost forgot two other small things. Reina's hair is finally long enough for me to put it up. Although, only long enough to do a goofy straight up in the air ponytail (I think its cute though). Also, check out Reina's "new" shoes - they're actually retro nike's that were mine when I was her age. They're almost too small now. She's growing so fast....yet she is still on 29"...hmm...

Saturday, In the Park

...it was the 13th of March! We had a wonderful Saturday. Chris didn't have any soccer and the weather was glorious! We found a park in Kitanakagusuku that I had never been to and that was completely empty. We had a little picnic lunch and played on the roller slide.

What I think is unusual about Okinawa (as I've not done much park hunting in the States) is that each town has its own little park and

they are all TOTALLY different. So, I am always trying to find new parks. Like two

weeks ago me and some other Moms found a park that had all of these cement tree tunnels to play in, or another park I happened upon with a huge cement Shi-sa. Anyhow, I do love my parks; probably more than Reina, as she is pretty much fascinated with the leaves on the ground, which we could find anywhere.

We attended our first soccer game last week at Naha-nishi. It did not fare well for the boys (they lost miserably), but Reina did her part cheering! Also got a cute shot of her climbing on her bumbo chair! Crazy kid. She looks like she is flying!

No other new news. We might hear this week if Chris got a transfer to a high school and we think they may have started the foundation on the Yomitan house - we'll probably drive out there today and see for ourselves.

A Blessing

So, the big news - our land has been blessed. It was an interesting ordeal and I'm still not sure what the significance of everything was. It was an informal get together of Chris, Reina, and I, and our "lender" and the architect - who we both see at all of our meetings. We see so much of each other that I"m starting to think we need to exchange phone numbers and hang out! So, what happened at the blessing? Well, Chris and Yuji (the lender as I've dubbed him) sprinkled rice, salt and sake in each of the four corners of the land and in the center. I also think it was significant that we started in the east corner and went clockwise ending with the center. Neither Chris nor I know the significance of the materials, but Chris guessed it might have to do with all necessary things for living? We also remembered that the sumo wrestlers always throw salt before matches, so there is something special about salt!

Other news. Gosh I feel like a lot happened this week. I totally forgot to mention our two natural disasters last weekend. I'm sure everyone knows at this point, but

Saturday morning there was a 7.0 earthquake close to us. It woke up all of us, but after a quick feed, Reina went back to sleep and slept in till 8am. Of course Chris and I couldn't get back to sleep. We had 1 picture frame fall over and two kitchen drawers jiggled open. It was pretty exciting. THEN, the huge earthquake in Chili caused a non-existent tsunami that we were supposed to evacuate for. However, since we were on the fourth floor and on the west side of the island, we stayed home. We were watching the ocean at 3pm and I don't think A wave ever hit! But, nevertheless it was an exciting weekend.

Reina has been insistent lately on climbing everything. She

finally managed to climb up onto a table (hence the pics). And I got some pictures of Reina and I after we got caught in a downpour. It was one of those Okinawa downpours where you can feel and see the dark clouds rolling in. I was walking faster and faster as the coolness came, and when I turned the last corner to our house I actually heard and saw the rain coming at us like a wall! It was crazy. Reina murmured when it started and then we jogged home.

Oh, I forgot. Reina is also working on some molars. Forget those other front teeth (4 top, 2 bottom of which she has), she's going straight for the ones she needs to chew that food!

PS - Mom: Look what I found and they fit! :)