Pimentel Family Journal

Hazel’s due date, 8 days before her arrival.  We celebrated by rock climbing at the beach.  Naturally.

Missing my incredible parents.  

Get ready for two months’ worth of pictures!  Unless Hazel wakes up, in which case this is all you get.  

This sleepyhead wouldn’t wake up to eat. Fortunately, big brother is here to help.

Some nice things about our life Okinawa:  

Community.  Most of us don’t bother to fence our backyards (you buy it, install it, then move 1-3 years later and have to take it down… not worth it, usually!).  Any toys in your backyard are fair game to neighborhood kids.  So we play on water tables, jump on trampolines, swing in hammocks, and swim in pools with new friends and neighbors all the time.  

Climate.  (Sort of.)  It’s kind of like camp.  It’s hot and sticky, so everyone is always a sweaty mess.  It means hanging out in running clothes all day is ok, even if your doctor hasn’t cleared you to start running yet.  It means if your 3 year old is wet and muddy, so is everyone else, because it’s rainy season (though the seasons between rainy seasons don’t feel particularly dry, either…). 

Colors.  The rain, the jungle, the dramatic skies all give our days such a rich texture and make picking up my camera a joy!

I’ll revisit this list when the dislikes (bugs, rain, humidity, expensive flights…) start to pile up again.

Some outtakes from my DIY newborn photo shoot.  Actually, outtakes are all I got from this particular shoot.  Newborn photos are hard, ya’ll.  

Showing our neighbor’s flamingo a little love.