Grandma (and an earthquake) visits Okinawa!

We have a ton of catching up to do... here are a few (of the hundreds) of pics that we took over the past two weeks:

Happy Valentine's Day! My mom hasn't decided what nickname she wants Parker to call her (Grandma, G-ma, Gammy, Nana, Her Royal Highness, etc), so I will just be using "Grandma" until I hear otherwise.
Parker and Daddy after church. She's such a happy girl! We went to the BX and then had lunch by the golf course at a little restaurant that overlooks the flight line. It was pretty overcast, but we still had a great view of the water.
For dinner we went to a local restaurant we refer to as "the ticket place.") There is a little machine inside the door in which you insert Yen and press a picture/button for your ticket. Then you take the ticket to the counter and grab a booth. Soon a waiter is bringing a steaming meal to you. We had yummy (but not so healthy) fried rice!
Parker ate her sweet potatoes with chopsticks :)
The next day we visited Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium along with Amy, Makai, and family. Parker loves to hang out with Makai on the weekends, especially now that she is in a different class at the CDC (the "big girl" class).
Who is that peeking through next to Daddy?
Parker was mesmerized by the fish. I usually do not like the aquarium; at the zoo, I will usually bypass it completely in favor of spending more time with the large animals. I really enjoyed this trip though, because it was so much fun to watch Parker.
"Grandma" and Parker. Check out the tiny little sea snakes poking out of the sand!
Whoa! If only all of my patients could open this wide :)
Parker is not scared of sharks!
After the aquarium, we went to Nago Pineapple Park. It is pretty much just a tourist attraction, but it was neat to see and another thing to check off our list of places to visit on Okinawa. We had pineapple ice cream (I had sherbet and it was great) and Parker liked riding in the little pineapple car!
"Grandma" brought Parker a cute monkey. It didn't take her long to start snuggling it.
I took my mom to get a pedicure on my day off. Sorry this one is blurry. She got a blue and white pattern while I went with the black, white and silver. It was cold and rainy that day, but at least she got to see the view (less than 1 block from the water) on the seawall. We also went out to lunch at the NCO club with Miss Parker!
My Nana and Aunt Bridget sent Parker a package of the cutest things: PINK SCRUBS (wait until you see them!) with her name on them, 2 beautiful dresses and two of these hats with a flower. Unfortunately, Parker has figured out how to take off the hat, but I am hoping to try it again soon.
The next weekend we went to Shurijo Castle Park. The grounds are free to walk around and we also got tickets to view the castle... it is being renovated but it is still awesome to see.

Here's our family outside of the castle.
Parker (briefly) wore her new Baby Bandz that my mom brought her. Check her OUT! She can take these off, too.
Here's my mom next to some of the MANY random vending machines on Okinawa. You will find these everywhere here.

After Shurijo Castle Park, we drove into Naha and went down Kokusai street. I have to say that I think we missed part of the attractions. We did find this covered maze of little vendors and markets, but it was pretty touristy. I think there is a more upscale section that we missed, but it was still an adventure. Corey also finally got to try McDonalds here on Okinawa... tastes pretty similar to back in the states.
The next day we went to Sunday brunch at the O Club. Parker wore a super-cute outfit that Grandma and Grandpa Anderson sent her for Christmas, complete with the head band (for a little while, anyway!)
After brunch, we stopped by our local 100 Yen store. There are so many neat and funny things that they sell for 100 Yen!
Parker was overwhelmed by all of the items in the store and eventually passed out :)
Here's another pic of "Grandma" and Parker... who is a silly girl?
This is Parker's Floppy Seat debut at the commissary. She had a mini-melt down and needed to chew on something. First, I let her hold a little box of Crystal Light packets, but she made the cardboard soggy instantly. My mom quickly got smart and showed Parker the enormous tag on her Floppy Seat. She loves tags, and this kept her busy until we could get home!
Here's our silly eater with "Grandma" again. Parker knows she is too cute and sometimes she puts on a show :)


I actually took this picture upside down while Parker and my mom were snuggling on our air mattress the night before she left. We already miss my mom! It was WONDERFUL to have her here visiting. We tried to talk her into staying until May and just traveling back to Dallas with us for the boards :) It was so great to come straight home and know that Parker was already here, happy and playing with Grandma.

Saturday morning we awoke around 5:30 am to a 7.0 earthquake that happened about 50 miles east of us. Well, Corey was actually already downstairs tracking down our reimbursement for damages from our move and I was sound asleep. I woke up to the whole building shaking. I jumped out of bed and then held onto the side of the bed trying to decide what was happening and if I could let go to run to Parker's room. By the time I decided I could move around, Corey had run upstairs and most of the shaking was over. Fortunately, our housing here is quite solid and made with tons of concrete, so we didn't have too much damage. Our outdoor storage unit experienced a sort of avalanche and I had to straighten out pictures on the wall, but that was the extent of it. Parker slept right through it! Today (Sunday), we had a tsunami warning for several hours but we are high enough on the island that we didn't have to evacuate.

What a crazy 2 weeks!

Work is just that... work. There are still many days I wish I could go back to the residency because life was better as a resident than it is now. I feel like I am in somewhat of a hostile work environment and it makes me anxious to be there, just waiting for something bad to happen. As one of my co-workers put it, we live in a low level of constant fear and this is not really a normal, healthy experience. I'm not sure if this is a reality for everyone or it is some anxiety carried over from my post-partum depression. I've considered following up with someone at medical, but I am waiting for our referral for IVF and I don't want to complicate that. I am really looking forward to trying it again (despite the 80+ days of injections) and it is something positive for me to focus on.

I am also looking forward to our boards. Well, not the exam itself, but the trip back to the states. Corey and I asked to take the exam at the same time, but apparently it is not possible, so we are working to coordinate our travel to Dallas with Parker. It is going to be frustrating not to talk to each other once one of us has taken it, but we can't change the situation. Also, I am losing my travel day because of the way our exams are scheduled, so I am going "in the hole" so that we can travel together... I am going to come back to Okinawa with "negative" leave days :( I think it is more important that I have to time adjust back to CST, though, so it will all work out in the end. I am looking forward to big, American-sized parking lots, shopping carts, cars, buildings, stores, etc. I can't wait to go to Costco. I miss it so much. It is strange how different life is here on Okinawa. I am trying to embrace it as much as possible, but the truth is that I am already looking forward to moving back to the states!

Parker is amazing. She is such a happy girl and she is growing at lightening speed. She learned to clap this weekend and is rocking on her hands and knees. It won't be long before she is crawling! She's also decided that she no longer eats pureed food and has recently refused (at home) to eat anything other than Gerber Puffs and Cheerios. Silly girl. I think she's going to change so quickly in the next few months. She's in the 6-12 month class now at the CDC and she is the baby of the class. To survive, she's going to need to get much more mobile!