swing time

Mary LOVES the swing. Whenever we go to the park, that's the first thing she runs to and it's the hardest thing to get her out of. Doug and I have been talking about getting her a swing set for the backyard. Once Grandpa Putthoff pointed out the sturdiness of our awning, I had a new mission. Search my favorite place (okinawayardsales.com) and find her a swing. Luckily, it didn't take too long before I found the perfect one. It finally stopped raining long enough for Doug to hook it up this evening after dinner. That was one happy kid. It was getting late and it was way too cold for us to stay out any longer than a few minutes. Mary let us know (and probably the whole neighborhood heard) her displeasure with being pulled off her precious swing. We finally had to close the blinds and tell her the swing was going "night-night" and needed to sleep. That's when she finally stopped crying, waved in the direction of the swing and said "bye". I have a feeling we'll be out there first thing in the morning.

She's signing "more". She wanted to be pushed higher.

A bit blurry, but a great action shot. You can see the joy on her face.

Butt, butt, butt

The other night Doug and I finished reading Mary her bedtime books and it was time to go brush teeth. Doug told her to hop off the bed, but instead she threw herself face down on the blanket on the bed. Doug said, "does it smell like cat butt?" She immediately started saying "butt, butt, butt." Oh the little mimic. Guess it's time to start watching what we say.

update

Well, we sent Grandma and Grandpa Putthoff back to the States this morning. We had a very nice visit and I know they had a great time spoiling the munchkin. I've been so busy, I haven't had time to post much, so here's the update...

We visited Shuri castle and then walked to a quaint restaurant for lunch. Yum, Okinawa soba! Mary had her first taste of the soup and loved it. I normally only give her the noodles and meat, but not anymore.

We went to Okinawa World where we walked through a cave with magnificent stalagmites and stalactites. We also got to see some local glass, pottery, cloth and of course the habu (snake) sake. Yuck. I can't stand to look at it, much less take a picture. Maybe some day I'll post a picture on the blog, but not today. Doug and Mary had to pose as Shisa dogs guarding the park.

Mary wanted them to see the lighthouse at Cape Zanpa. Such a pretty view. Too bad it was hazy that day. Oh well, at least it had stopped raining.

And Gene got to see the ocean.


Next, we went to the aquarium and Mary had her first experience seeing so many fish. I'm glad we went on a weekday, since it wasn't too crowded.
We all had a good laugh when all these school girls wanted a picture with the tall American. He posed for so many pictures, we finally had to stand in line and get one for ourselves. "Say Cheese!"

Even though it looked like we had a jam packed visit. We also had time to sit, relax and smell the flowers.

Mary got a new baby doll for Easter. Unfortunately, something happened during shipping and the batteries shorted. Luckily, they didn't catch fire, but the batteries melted and the doll no longer makes noises. Hmmm, maybe that's a good thing. Doug decided he wanted to wash the doll to make sure there were no trace elements of battery acid or other hazards. This is what we saw when we woke from nap time. Glad she's not hanging by her neck, but it still looks wrong.

Happy Easter!

Well, I was talked into dying easter eggs this year. Wasn't planning on it. Figured Mary was too young, but I think we all had a pretty good time. I stripped her down and put an apron on her, but she didn't even get messy. She did get brave and practically tossed an egg in a cup of dye and we all yelled, afraid it would splash everywhere. Poor thing, we scared her and she refused to participate in the dying after that. Once the eggs were dry, Mary had fun putting them in the eggs carton and back on the table. She even pre-cracked a few of them for us. Good thing they were hard boiled.

Easter day started off with Mary inspecting everyone's Easter surprises at the table before she noticed her new baby doll. I actually had to wake up Doug and ask him if she could have her basket now or if her wanted to watch. He got up. After breakfast and basket time, we had to rush to get ready for church. Can you believe I didn't get a picture of her in her beautiful dress? Maybe I'll have her wear it next week and I'll get pics.

She's playing with the shredded paper from the basket.

Immersed in the culture

Well, Bev and Gene arrived safely and we've been busy exploring the island and the food. Ok, we've only gone out a few times, but already Gene has noticed the definite lack of eating utensils at the restaurants. He thinks it's unfair that they give Mary a fork and a spoon but he only gets 2 pieces of wood. He seems to be getting better. He'll either be a champion chopstick user by the time they leave or Mary will have to learn to guard her fork. Here are a few pics from last night's eating excursion.

Mmm, sushi!

Hey! He got it in his mouth!

Sushi for champions...french fries! Fries with chopsticks?

Yep, fries with chopsticks.

I thought girls were sugar and spice...

Mary and I were out playing in the backyard today when I noticed a ton of ants outside her bedroom window. Yep, they're back. I told her to stay there and I ran in the house for the ant spray. When I came out, she had black stuff dribbled down the front of her shirt. What's that? I went to inspect. I touched it (already soaked in), sniffed it (no smell), she didn't have it on her hands or face. I shrugged. Oh well, what could it be? Gross. Suddenly I remembered seeing one of the huge snails in the grass as I was walking around in the yard. I looked where it was and yep, it was moved. I picked it up and black stuff oozed out. EWWWW! It was melted snail goo! I was so grossed out, but mainly because I had touched it and sniffed it. I then realized I had the ant spray in my hand and sprayed Mary's shirt and my hands (just a spray bottle of dish soap and water for those of you about to call CPS- yes, it really kills the ants and I can feel comfortable with Mary by my side). Sorry I didn't get a picture of her shirt before I sprayed it, but I did grab the camera so you could see the giant snails we have here. You can even see the remaining goo if you look closely enough.

Things I never thought I would say...

-Don't kiss the cat's butt.

-Yes, those are Mama's boobs. We don't squeeze them in public.

-Don't smell the cat's butt.

-Yes, those are your nipples. Gentle.

-Stop poking the cat in the eyes.

-I can't believe you pooped in the tub!

-Get your fingers out of the cat's ears.

-And finally, we don't use your toothbrush to clean the toilet.

Motherhood sure does change your vocabulary.

first time date night

Last night was our first time taking advantage of Parent's Night Out at the child day care on base. It's offered the 1st Saturday of the month from 5:00pm-10:30pm. We took Mary there around 5:20pm. Her class was outside playing and when we got there, she just walked away from us to go explore the playground. Doug and I were so wrapped up in signing her in and finding out how everything works, that we forgot to say "bye". Anyway, we went to a nice Korean restaurant and enjoyed a relaxing meal and didn't have to worry about the open flame in the middle of the table that we were using to cook our dinner. We were done by 6:50pm and both agreed that ice cream would be the perfect finisher and why not pick up Mary since she loves ice cream? I'm sure we were the first parents to return. We were chuckling at ourselves. We have our first date night and only go for 1 1/2 hrs. I'm so glad we came when we did. Doug heard her crying the minute we walked in her classroom. The poor thing had been crying the WHOLE time. Apparently, she started right after we left. She refused to eat dinner. She was so upset. Oh, the mommy guilt kicked in. Of course we had to go get ice cream and a LOT of hugs and kisses were given. Hopefully, she'll get better. We weren't completely turned off by the whole experience. We did have a good date night and next time we'll remember to say "goodbye."

The Jinx

I was just telling Doug how we made a good deal on our used lawnmower. It seems that a man is buying any and almost all of the used mowers he can get his hands on, repairs them and then re-sells them at higher prices. Good business for him. I told Doug that with this man's prices, we could sell ours for the same price we paid and it would be snatched up in a heartbeat. Well, today Doug went to mow the lawn and wouldn't you know that the back wheel broke off. Of all the luck! Not only that, but the bolt was rusted and now there are a couple of parts that are going to have to be sent here from the States. At least we borrowed a weed eater, so we could trim up the lawn some. I had my first chance at using one and now the front lawn has a lot of bare patches. Oh well, grass grows. Good news is that I think I got all the dandelions!

Streaker!

So, I'm in the computer room typing my latest blog when Mary walks in totally nude! That little stinker just took off everything (pajamas and diaper)! She squealed and ran away laughing. I just had to grab the camera. My little streaker.

One clean kid

Mary's new obsession is washing her hands. She comes up to me holding her hands out, as if I should see her dirty little hands and be appalled. I ask if she wants to wash them and she gets the biggest grin and runs to the bathroom. This is her treat for being good. Can you believe it? She figured out that if she takes the lid off her potty and flips over the base, it becomes a stool. Now, she can reach the sink! Luckily, it's only in the tiny bathroom that she can do this. We now have to keep the door closed all the time or she would be in there washing away. She hasn't mastered the water pressure and loves to turn it on full blast.