Utah Visit

Back in March, when I was in the states, I made a short visit to Utah. It was lots of fun. I got to meet my sisters baby who is 3 weeks older than Lucy and got to see my brother and other family too. The visits are never long enough! The weather was awesome and it made me miss my Provo days :). This is a picture overload post with lots of babies. You've been warned.

My sister Brittany holding both babies. We got a little taste of what twins would be like. Still just don't know how those mamas do it.

Meeting Alistair for the first time. I know, so much hair.

Outlet mall shopping. I love America :)

This is what a changing room with a baby looks like. ha.

Meeting Uncle Tyler & Auntie Hannah!

Lucy and the McCrory gals!

Utah has a place called Swig and they sell cookies and drinks (like yummy diet coke)-my 2 weaknesses. Probably a good thing I moved.

Running into friends at the mall-makes me feel like I'm still relevant in Provo ;)

Picnics in the park!

melt my heart!!^^

Lucy's present from the Ferreiras :)

We had a few baby photoshoots :)

Sunny Days

I love Okinawa in the spring (before rainy season). The SUNNY days before the oppressive heat sets in. One of these sunny days I FINALLY made my way up to Cafe Doka Doka with some friends and then we went to the beach afterwards. 

We've reached our halfway point of living in Okinawa and I'm already getting sad. I still can't get over how incredibly beautiful this place is and I know I'm going to miss it so much when we have to move. So I have a renewed sense of adventure to explore every nook and cranny of this island. I don't want to have any regrets when it's time to leave!

Is this real life?? Yes, yes it is.

Me and my sidekick

This place makes all the pottery that all the food is served on. Pretty fancy.

my little beach bum

maeda flats at low tide

Okinawa we love you

My Baby Survival Kit

Being a new mom is kind of like a slap in the face. You have no idea what to expect until the baby is there. I thought I'd share some products that came recommended to me that I will now sing high praises to all the live long day. They made those hard days a little easier. Some of these are only valuable for months 1-3, like I mention below, but for me months 1-3 were the hardest so far. Hope this helps someone else!

1. Miracle Blanket This swaddle blanket lives up to its name. It's basically like a baby strait jacket. I couldn't quite get down the swaddle with a regular blanket-she always broke out- but once I learned how to swaddle her in this blanket-there was no breaking out! We have 2 of these and they really helped her sleep better.  Also according to dr. karp he says some parents think their babies don't like to be swaddled, but they may just not be swaddling right or not tight enough, and I felt like with this blanket I at least knew I was doing it "right". It got the job done!

2. The Happiest Baby on the Block I can't recommend this video/book enough. It was recommended to us by several people and those "5 S's" really saved our lives. It was amazing to see how once we were doing all 5 S's Lucy would calm down. They really only worked for the first 3 months of her life which they say is the "4th trimester". I also would also say just watch the movie instead of the book. At least thats what we did :)

3. Solly baby or any wrap. LIFESAVER. Every time I leave the house with Lucy I make sure I have the wrap. If I'm out and she needs to sleep or needs to be lugged around I put her in this. Sometimes when I'm at home and can't get her to sleep I'll put her in the wrap and I swear it's magic. Sometimes it's the only way to get anything done. I wear it to church and I've worn it on every plane trip with her. It's also the product I get the most questions on. Especially traveling-people are fascinated by this thing. It is worth every penny. I have 2 and want more...but i have problems sooo... ;) I recently found a cheaper alternative though called Happy Wrap. And I've seen people use these till their kid is 1.

4. White Noise Lite app and/or Munchkin Nursery Projector and Sound System One of the "5 S's" you learn in Happiest Baby on the Block is to "shush" or basically have white noise. The first day she was born we used the app in the hospital and it's honestly amazing how the noise would calm her down. It was convient for us to have it on our phone bc we could use it on-the-go. I know it was annoying to some people-as we'd have it on while driving in the car-but what's worse-a baby screaming or some white noise??! We also got this white noise machine and now we really only use it at night. The machine plays 6 different white noises and has a projector or images onto the ceiling and can be voice activated so that's cool. We still use it every night to help her sleep better. I'm a believer.

5. Rock 'n Play I lucked out and got a hand me down rock 'n play fo' free! And i'm so happy I did bc they are awesome. Our bedroom is so teeny tiny that I couldn't really have fit any type of bassinet in there if I wanted to. So Lucy slept in this from months 1-3 and it was perfect. I could rock her while lying in bed half asleep and she was right next to me. Now I put her in it while I'm taking a shower so I can keep an eye on her. I loved it. Plus they're small and portable. Win-win.

Kindness

"Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known. Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last a lifetime." -Joseph B Wirthlin

I have been thinking about kindness a lot lately. I just got back to Okinawa a week ago and Duke has been gone for about 2 months now. It's never easy when your husband is gone. And it's definitely harder with a baby on board. However this experience has let me see the kindness of others in this world and I have been so touched.  

I flew home with Lucy and naturally was pretty worried for our long flights. The way back was about 30 hours of traveling. We also flew to utah while in the states. All this traveling made me realize how much goodness there is in the world! I had many offers from men to help me with my bags, and doors. One guy carried my 2 carryon items onto and off of a bus for me--such a small act--yet I was so touched that he offered and gladly did it. (Luckily I didn't have carryons flying internationally bc that was a giant pain!). On both long flights I sat by the kindest people who told me "let me know if you need anything and I'm happy to help". Not to mention my friend with a baby who came to pick me up at 10 pm after my flight was delayed.

 When I got home I noticed my lawn was practically a jungle in back. So I thought I better hire someone to mow it. Then I came home from church yesterday and noticed my lawn was mowed! My nicest next door neighbors had mowed it, knowing that Duke was deployed.

 I feel lucky to know such kind people and happy to know that the world is still full of kind people. I'm also grateful because it has motivated me to look for ways to go above and beyond for people. Even so much as a kind word can really make someone's day. I hope that we can all be strive to be a little more kind each day :).

 In other news Lucy, Coree and I did a little exploring today. Springtime is absolute perfection in okinawa. Beautiful sunny skies and perfect temperatures without the oppressing humidity.