Hello, 21 Months!

Well, as Tay enters her 21st month of life, we just couldn't be happier. Yes, it's true that she has just taken one more step toward the "terrible twos," but really, how terrible could it be with a smile that stretches from ear to ear, hugs and kisses, and her sweet "YOU!" (it's how she says "I love YOU!")

As in a previous post, she has become a bit unruly at times, but I still consider us very lucky parents to have such an easy toddler to raise. She very very rarely has meltdowns, and they are usually at home...and usually they can be mitigated so that they are minimal and I don't even have to bribe her...most of the time. The best thing is, the greatest bribe of all is reading her a story - she'll stop any meltdown to read a story. Or do a dance. Or a sip of water or milk. Or a piece of cheese. Pretty much anything will calm her down when she gets spun up about something and can't stop the emotional eruption. I just have to take a deep breath and understand that a toddler's life is tough; she just has to let it out sometimes to relax. The best part of any meltdown, though, is after she's done with it (or as she's winding down), she wants to be held and she just kisses and loves on you for letting her get it out of her system.

I've realized that her attitude after the meltdown is hugely impacted by my attitude during and after her meltdown. If I'm tense and irritated (as I normally am when it gets to this point), she will wind down angry and resort to some method of retaliation (like trying to him me or throwing something). If I'm calm and help talk her down from her worked up state (which I am trying to consciously do when faced with this situation), she'll want me to hold her as she calms down and return to the sweet little angel that she generally is.

As of late, we have been struggling with her bedtime because she no longer wants to go to bed at night. She wants to stay up and run around and she gets progressively more and more cranky until she cries herself to sleep. I hate that! So, all the various "toddler sleep" articles I'm reading are telling me that her lack of sleep is what is causing her crankiness and that I should put her to bed earlier and earlier. What they fail to mention is that trying to put her down is what's causing my crankiness...which is what is probably causing her crankiness because she wants to keep playing and I am stopping her! Aiya...

Anyhow, we started walking down this very slippery slope by her going to bed later (9-9:30-10) and in turn, waking up later (7-7:30-8), making me late for work! Then she'd nap later in the afternoon (2-4 instead of noon-2 as usual), which would then again push back her bedtime! Ugh...so after about a week of this progressive downhill sleepless state, I said enough! I started waking her up earlier; first 6:30, then 6, then 5:30. Then, I told Beth, no more sleeping past 3pm. I still bathe her around 7:30-8pm, but now she resists and doesn't fall asleep until around 9 or 9:30, when she used to fall asleep between 8 and 8:30. Well, last night, I bathed her at 7, read a few books together, and laid down with her to sing some songs. I know I should be more strict about her silly reasons for getting out of bed, but when she tells me she needs a drink of water and I am unprepared, how can I not get her water? Then last night, she sat up and said, "Umma, apple peas." I actually didn't understand it the first time she said it, so I said, "what?" She repeated, "Apple. Apple. Nana? Apple." It's like she was trying to help me understand her by relating it to a banana! Surely she doesn't understand already that an apple and a banana are both fruits, but I got what she was saying immediately after she said "Nana." Amazing. But I digress...back to the bedtime. After singing and singing and her singing along with me for a while, she became quiet and I assume she fell asleep because I fell asleep, too! When I opened my eyes to check the time, it was 2AM!!! I quietly "leaped" out of bed and went to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer (so it wouldn't get that weird smell in the morning from sitting in the washer still damp), set my alarm for the morning, took my contacts out and went back to bed. Phew...it's a good thing I didn't have anything in the oven!

In other news, I enrolled Tay in a Twinkle Ballet class (ballet for tots) this winter...just so she would have something fun to do with some other little kids her age (other than storytelling hour at the library and playgroup). The girl loves to dance and groove to any music, so I figured, she'd probably enjoy this, at least for a little bit. I wanted to find a toddler tumbling class, but couldn't seem to find one, so I settled for ballet. I'm not much of a dancer, nor have a I had any aspirations to be one, so it's an awkward setting for me, but Tay's got the dancing bug in her, so I had to give her an opportunity. Anyhow, last week was her first class, and the age group was from 20 months to 30 months. She was just about to turn 21 months, so I figured it would be a good class for her. Well, it turned out she was the only one in the class...sad. Well, the teacher asked if we wouldn't mind joining the 31 month to 48 month group. I wasn't so sure how Tay would handle being in a class with kids so much older than her, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try, so this week (today), we went to the older class.

Let me tell you...it was WONDERFUL! She is by far the youngest in the class, but she's not much littler than the rest of them. And surprisingly enough, she follows along in the class wonderfully! I just wish I could get better pictures! The classroom is a bit tight with the moms and all the kids. She looks just nauseatingly sweet with her little hands above her head in that delicate ballet pose and see the picture where she's stretching! You have to admit, it's darn cute. Tay enjoyed herself so much, and I had so much fun myself watching her follow along and taking a second or two to look back at me and giggle! She was amazed at the older girls and would watch so intently and try to do the movements herself! I didn't have her outfit (the teacher picked it up for me because they were to be ordered through a Korean online site), so she's not in a tutu yet, but next time, she will be in full dress. :)

There's no class next week because the teacher has a performance, and the following two weeks, we will be in the States, so it looks like ballet will be on hold until January 2010! At least we know, she enjoys it and it was a good investment!

I can't believe we are already approaching 2010! So much on our minds as a family...

What is next?

Santa Claus!

This weekend, Santa visited the post exchange for photo ops (and to pick up some last minute gift items that his Elves didn't have time to produce), so we took Tay to see if we could get a photo. Were we in for a surprise!

If you remember, Tay's Easter Bunny event and last year's Santa event, they did not go over very well at all. As soon as she saw the giant bunny hop off the loud fire truck with its lights and sirens on, she had a complete meltdown with screaming and crying to get away from the bunny. Last year, she was quite content staying at least 50 yards away from the live Santa, but was somewhat comfortable with the statues of Santa as long as one of us were holding her.

This year, she actually met the Santa before he was in costume (albeit briefly), and then the next time we saw him, he had the fluffy white beard and beautiful red costume...so she was quite taken. :) As we stood in line waiting for him, she had a very serious look on her face, so I was concerned that this year might be a bust as well, but when it was our turn, I sat her on his lap, he gave her a little candy cane, and she just stared at his face...and then turned to look at me and just giggled. She looked back at his face and gave a little "point" to his beard and looked at me again and giggled! She thought his beard was just the silliest thing...she couldn't help laughing at him, which in turn made Santa laugh all the more...so they just sat there giggling at each other while Jeff took some pictures. Beautiful. :) I'll be sure to post some on here as soon as I get them off the camera.

Two more weeks before we're home!

Thanksgiving Trip to PI, Once Again

Our family went to Cebu, Philippines, again for Thanksgiving this year.  This is Tay's second Thanksgiving spent at Plantation Bay Resort, and as before, it was an all-around wonderful and relaxing trip.  Last Thanksgiving, we spent it with another family, the Lees, but this year, it was just the three of us.  Now that Tay is just around the corner from turning two, this trip was quite filled with adventure, and in her familiar surroundings, she was quite at home.  Even many of the staff at the resort recognized her; it was a pleasant reunion of sorts.  :)

 

We arrived late (around 2am) on the 22nd and got settled into our one-bedroom suite on the resort.  The next morning, we awoke to the warm sun shining through our window shades...what a wonderful way to wake up.  :)  We sauntered to breakfast at Kilimanjaro Cafe (as we did every morning during previous visits) and had a filling breakfast with delicious Pan de Sal (rolls) and sweet sweet mango.  This was the first trip that Tay actually started enjoying mangos...she never really cared for them before, but I think the taste is growing on her. 

 

Shortly following breakfast, we covered ourselves in sunscreen and made our way to the pool where we spent the rest of the morning until lunch time, which we ordered to the room before nap time.  After nap time, we were back in the water for many more hours of splashing around until the daylight grew dim and we headed to dinner.  This was pretty much our routine throughout the week we spent there, but we did venture off the resort for a trip to a Timex store and dinner at Cowrie Cove (located on Shangri La resort).  The dinner at Cowrie Cove was delicious and the grounds were beautiful (what we could see of it); since it was dark when we went, we talked about coming back to see the grounds during daytime, but we never did make another trip out because we wanted to enjoy as much time as we could with Tay in the water and sun. 

 

For four of the mornings, though, I went and did my skills and dives for my Open Water scuba certification.  Yes, I passed all of them without any troubles and got my certification, but I did have a casualty.  After the third open water dive, there were a lot of waves, so I lost my contact out of my left eye.  I also said hello to many tiny, invisible jelly fish...which my hands, face, and top of my ear didn't appreciate, but I think I'm immune to them now.  Also, during my mask removal skills training, I went under to remove my mask and replace it, but instead of removing just my mask, I also removed my regulator...why, I have no idea.  I think I might have been a little more nervous than I thought I was.  Anyhow, I just calmly replaced my regulator and proceeded to replace my mask, so all was well...my instructor just got a good chuckle.  The coolest things I did get to see on the dives were a small black & white striped sea snake, two lion fish and two stone fish...and of course many many little nemo's and dori's...:)

 

Anyhow, while I was gone during the dives (about 2 hours each), Tay got to spend a lot of time with Appa, which both enjoyed a great deal.  Tay totally was a daddy's girl the entire trip (almost to the point where I felt like I got my feelings hurt), but it really was sweet to see the two of them just loving on each other, kissing, and cuddling...I have a lot of pictures of it, too.  Jeff is the "fun" parent...Tay always wants him to take her down the slides and go splashing around with her.  I am the "sleep" parent, who makes sure her general needs are met.  Eh, I guess I can live with that...

 

This trip, we also went to the Char-B-Q they held on Galapagos beach and the Hawaiian Luau.  The Char-B-Q was pretty good; the scallops were absolutely delcious and so was the lamb, although they ran out pretty quickly.  Tay particularly enjoyed the grilled corn on the cob.  The show at the Hawaiian Luau was very impressive, but it started raining shortly after the show began, so we didn't stay for too long.  The food was ok, but not too impressive.  We did enjoy the curried shrimp, though...and the almond jello.  Tay mostly enjoyed the noodles and rice as well as the chicken stirfry. 

 

Before we left on our trip, I picked up a couple new books to take with us (as I was getting pretty tired of reading the same books over and over).  While we were in Cebu, we probably read those "couple" of books about a thousand times, so by the end of the week, Tay was reading them along with me as I read them to her.  It's so cute how she now finishes my sentences to each page and even adds the inflections I add to make the book more interesting.  She seems to be picking up the concept of "opposites" as well; like, up and down and wet and dry...big and little.

 

Now that we're back in Korea, she'll point at a large truck and say, "Wow!  Beeeg tuk" and then when a small car passes, she'll say, "leel cah" as she uses her thumb and forefinger to show "little."  She's no longer my little baby anymore...she's a full-grown toddler with a mind and opinions of her own.  Tay's always been an affection and loving child, but now, she's very decisively loving and sweet when she wants to be, and if she's upset with you, she'll even give you the cold shoulder or the pout.  But funny thing is, she'll give you the pout and then realize that she's pouting and giggle a little because that little lip protruding always makes us laugh (so she, in turn, also laughs). 

 

My, my...in a little over a week, Tay turns 21 months old.  It truly is amazing how quickly time flies.  Some days I wish I could rewind time to enjoy her younger days again, but more and more, I am so glad that she is who she is today!  I look forward to who she will be a month from now, a year from now...10 years from now...30 years from now...

Karaoke Queen

Last Friday evening, Tita Beth and JD had a going away party for Andrew who was headed back to the US after a short visit to Korea. There was great food, lots of people, and KARAOKE! Well, Tay and I were there for the celebrations and when the singing started, Tay decided she wanted in on the action. So, here's a little clip of her singing her heart out to Chiquitita, which is a song she has never heard before, but she seemed to be quite familiar with the concept of "karaoke."

Shingil Karaoke! from Seulgee Ryals on Vimeo.

Mind you, she sang like this from beginning to end, and at the end when the score came up, it was 82!!!!!!!! Who knew? Now we know what to ask for Christmas for her...a karaoke machine! I thought she was a "dancing queen"...now I think the karaoke bug has bitten her and she might be the next Karaoke Queen!

Welcome, 20 Months, with Attitude!

Well, I knew the easy-party couldn't last forever...

 

My funny Tay turned 20 months old and along with growing inches, she has also grown an attitude.  She very defiantly yells, "NO!" when we do something she doesn't want or she can't do something she wants.  She also has started taking possession of things she knows are not hers, yet she'll clutch them to her chest and yell, "MINE!" as she stamps her little feet.  Who knew the "terrible twos" would start at 20 months instead of actually 24 months!  The day she turned 20 months was when she had her first major meltdown because she wanted to spit out water from a cup and I wouldn't let her.  Her arms and legs were flailing and she arched her back and screamed and yelled as if I had taken away her favorite toy when I took away her sippy cup.  Well, I couldn't help but chuckle a little because I had never seen her get quite so worked up, but I was pretty irritated, too, because I was left with the mess of cleaning up this water she had spit on the living room floor.  Anyhow, I just got a rag and started cleaning it up after she calmed down a bit (I just held her, flailing and all...just worried a bit that I might drop her with all the arching), and she watched me wipe up a bit, and then came over to me and took a swat at my face and said, "no!"  I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!  I swear my blood pressure shot up at that instant, but I took a deep breath, grabbed her hand, and said sternly, "No hitting."  At which point, she swatted at me with the other hand.  ::sigh::  I had read so many articles that said children her age will resort to hitting to see what sort of response they will get or just simply because they don't know how to let out their frustration / anger.  So...I took another deep breath and walked away.  I've decided ignoring is going to be my first tactic or approach.  Jeff and I still have to have the "discipline" talk...so that we're both presenting a unified front against this new "attitude" Tay has developed. 

 

In other news, Tay still has her very sweet moments like tonight at choir practice, I was holding her as we were singing a song and she sang along with her pretty little voice, all the while smiling at the other choir members.  Then, she decided to go check out one of the guitar players, who let her sit on his knee and play the guitar along with him, so she sat there patiently through an entire song, just singing along and occasionally strumming.  Also, after her bath tonight as I was lying next to her to put her to sleep, I was humming a song and she rolled over, hugged my arm, said, "po-po" (which means, "kiss" in Korean), and then kissed my arm a half a dozen times...:)  It's just not possible to be upset with this child...even if I do get upset, it's so fleeting that I forget it when I blink.

 

Last weekend, our family participated in the 10K Walk for Hope for Breast Cancer Awareness on the Han River.  It didn't start out so well because Tay fell face-first on some leaves and got scratched up, but as the walk went on, we made great strides and finished the walk in less than two hours!  We were pretty happy about that!  It was the first of its kind for the military community here in Korea.  We had pink balloons and many of us wore pink (although I couldn't convince Jeff to wear any pink that morning).  Pictures coming soon...as soon as I find our camera.

 

Tay and I also got our H1N1 flu shots today.  That was a rather unpleasant experience for Tay because they didn't have any baby-sized needles, but she took it like a champ, cried a bit, but she was smiling on the way out, so it must have not been too traumatic for her.  Thank goodness. 

 

There's so much more to say about this climbing-falling-growing-giggling-big-little girl...just wish I could just capture it all in time...and keep it with me forever.

 

Love,

Rosa

 

 

"Good?"

My sweet Tay has really started applying her knowledge of words from her beautiful little mind.  Last night after her bath, I was combing her hair and she wanted to brush mine.  I gave her a brush, and she in turn asked me to "sit sit" in front of her.  I complied and after a few loving strokes of the brush through my hair, she tapped me on the shoulder and leaned over it.  I turned to see her smiling face and she then said, "Good?" with a little nod of her head...:)  I couldn't help but smile really big and say, "Neh, very good.  Thank you!" 

 

What a sweet, funny child. 

Where's Tita?

Yesterday, I met up with Tay, Beth, Andrew, and JD at the food court at lunch time.  We got our food and went to our table and then after putting Tay in the high chair, Beth went off to look for some napkins and wipe down the high chair tray.  I sat with Tay and we had a little chat.  She looked around with a little concern and said, "A-ta?"  (which is what she calls Tita Beth).  I repeated her question and said, "Where's Tita?" 

 

Tay's response, with a very concerned look on her face, "Poo-poo." 

 

Hehehe...:)

Vacation and then some...

Well, on the 17th of October, Tay and I finally got our bags packed and made our way to the airport that rainy morning.  Once we arrived, Tay was very good as she sat atop our bags on the cart and held on as we went to check in.  We did get to go to the "family service" line, which was much shorter, and we checked our bags.  We decided to go ahead and go through security before we had breakfast.  No issues with security or immigration, and we were in.  We decided to get another little cart for our backpacks, so Tay got to take another ride.  We spent some time wandering around the airport to burn some time because we had about two hours to kill...but we did stop for some noodle soup (udon). 

 

The flight from Incheon to Atlanta was a full flight, and Tay and I had an aisle seat in about the middle of the plane.  We had a nice Alabama couple sitting next to us who were just with a tour group to Asia, so it made for a relatively pleasant flight...except I had to keep Tay from kicking the gentleman next to me while she was sleeping.  Other than that, we walked all around the plane and spent a lot of time in the lavatories.  I would have to say the first half othe flight was good, but the second half, I started losing my patience with Tay's constant demands to go "poo-poo," which essentially meant she just wanted to go hang out in the lavatory.  Exhaustion and very tight quarters with a toddler is not an ideal situation...anyhow, we made it through that flight, and just barely made our connection in Atlanta to Tri-Cities (Bristol). 

 

What a wonderful reunion when we got off the plane in Tri-Cities as we came out of the gate and saw Jeff...standing at the ATM machine with his back to us!  :)  hehehe...we landed earlier than scheduled, so we surprised Jeff with a kiss on the cheek and Tay yelling, "APPA!"  Halmoni hadn't even arrived at the airport yet, so we went to get our bag and then we saw her drive up with a balloon in hand for Tay. 

 

Anyhow, enough of traveling news.  Moving on...

 

The trip to Bristol was good for Tay and me, but very very brief for Jeff as he arrived on the same day as us (Saturday) and had to leave on Monday morning.  In the short time he was there, we set up the sling box, went to Mass, ate at Cracker Barrel and went to the Hands On Museum in Johnson City.  That was actually quite fun, but it was really cold...and maybe still a little too advanced for Tay.  Plus, we were still extremely jetlagged, so I guess that didn't help.  After Jeff left for Alabama for his conference, Tay and I spent more time with my folks.  We visited Virginia High to see Heather teaching, but the power happened to go off right before we went over to visit, so I had to hang out in the hallway with Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Collins, Mr. Locke and a few others before I could actually go see Heather.  It was great to see her again, although we didn't have much time to catch up...maybe next time.  I also swung by to see Ms. Neal in the library, but it was pitch black in there so we didn't spend much time there either. 

 

Sarah and I played phone tag for about three days before we finally got together (Tay and I kept falling asleep at odd hours during the day!) on the next to last day I was in Bristol.  She drove over with her cute pregnant belly and we (Sarah, my mom, Tay and I) went shopping at TJ Maxx!  Fun for me; maybe not so fun for anyone else...ah well. 

 

Other than that, not much else exciting happened in Bristol for us; it was just good time spent with Halmoni, Harabuji, and Hhhan (whispered, as Tay would say) for Tay and me.  Oh, I must mention that three Halloween costumes were bought for cheap-cheap!  Duck, bee, and ladybug!  Very exciting.

 

As Friday rolled around, it was time for Tay and me to pack up and fly once more to Atlanta.  We said our said good-byes and left Bristol with the promise to return at Christmas.  :)  From there, we went to Atlanta, and made our connecting flight to Los Angeles...not the most pleasant flight, but we made it.  When we landed at the airport, guess who met us at the gate?  JEFF!  Right when we got off the plane, there he was!  What a wonderful reunion once again!  From there, we got our bags, got our rental car, and drove (in TERRIBLE TRAFFIC) to northern L.A. where our hotel, Fairfield Inn, was located.  Although we had planned on meeting up with my cousins Esther and Judy that evening, we decided that a nearly-3-hour drive from the airport was too much and we crashed for the night. 

 

Saturday morning, we called up the Kunz household and drove over to meet them.  Thankfully, Tay took a liking to them quickly so it was a pleasant morning.  We went to breakfast at Mimi's, which was absolutely DELICIOUS!  That afternoon, we went to watch a football game where Lindsay was cheering, and then we went back to watch some football before heading to dinner with some other relatives at Romano's Macaroni Grill.  Again, delicious food, but we were all so exhausted...I felt badly that we couldn't spend more time with them after they drove all the way up from south L.A.  It was nice to see my cousin Duk and his little boy Charles and my Aunt again.  Sadly, Tay slept through the entire meal and meeting.  Hopefully next time we visit, it can be more of an actual visit instead of a drive-by eating. 

 

The next morning, we decided to hit Mimi's again for breakfast (yes, it was THAT good).  Mmm...pumpkin spice muffin...blueberry cream cheese french toast...corned beef hash...belgium waffle...yum.  Jeff and I ordered a little bit of everything we wanted to try because we knew it was our last day to eat there!  Yes, oink oink.  Ahem.

 

After breakfast, we went to visit a pumpkin patch (Lombardo Ranch) to pick out a pumpkin and get some pictures of Tay at the patch!  It really was nice there, but it was so windy and dusty that we felt like we had to hurry out of there.  Tay also hurt her right wrist somehow, so we decided to go ahead and leave instead of taking the little train ride.  Then we were off to the Kunzes again and spent the rest of the day there playing and chatting.  We took Tay swimming in the neighborhood pool, but we didn't actually swim...we sat in the hot tub and took brief dips in the duck-poop infested pool.  Fun reason why we went to the jacuzzi in the first place - I tweaked something in my neck so I couldn't turn it in any direction...boooooo.  Strange how these things happen when you're on vacation, no?

 

The boys cooked up a delicious BBQ dinner with steaks, salmon, brats, and all accompaniments...then we had some awesome pies for dessert (chocolate being the absolute best - chocolate satin! - with the banana cream pie coming in at a close second).  Tay ran around the back yard just in her diaper (yes, it was that warm), and later that night, my cousins lit a fire in their "porta-fireplace" and we roasted marshmellows and hung out until dark...a wonderful end to a whirlwind visit.

 

That night, we headed back to the hotel to pack, bathe and sleep a bit before our early morning drive back to the airport.  I was definitely not looking forward to the flight back alone with Tay, but she was very good on the flight and we enjoyed sitting bulkhead aisle...although Tay continued to ask to go "poo-poo" so she could play in the lavatory...again.  The trip was only an hour shorter than our trip from Incheon to Atlanta, so we were still exhausted when we got to Incheon, but we still had an hour wait before Jeff was going to arrive, so we wandered around the airport a bit before we started waiting for him...

 

Well, all in all we made it safely home through the Seoul evening traffic and crashed for the night...until 2am the next morning...when we were wide awake and ready to go...ah, jetlag. 

 

I really want to thank everyone for their hospitality and entertainment while we visited this last trip!  Hope we can meet up again in the near future!

19 Months Old...

My not-quite-so-baby-anymore Baby has turned 19 months old. She is now closer to two than she is one. These days it seems that every time I blink another day goes by and my baby is growing more and more into this beautiful and independent girl who can do so much for herself and express herself. Just last night as we ate dinner, she was chattering away in her own language when suddenly, she began her chant of "hana, hana, hana" as she picked up the peas off her plate and put them in her other hand. I just watched her thinking, "how cute, she's counting her peas..." when she put all the peas back on her plate and started over. "Hana...dool.......set!" I sat there with my mouth open as the camera filmed on and she proceded to pop all the peas in her hand in her mouth. My "Baby" just counted to three! In Korean! Who knew all that talking to her and counting off for her stuck somewhere in her brain and suddenly it made its way out...

If anything I thought she might count in English because I tend to default to English on most things, but I do try and make an effort to talk to her in Korean as much as possible. I do want her to be able to speak Korean at least as well (if not better) than me. I had the benefit of learning from my parents and grandmother who were "professional" Korean speakers (I guess "native" would be the correct term) whereas I am merely a...1.5-generation speaker of Korean. Although I am comfortable communicating my needs and understanding mostly other's needs in Korean, I can't say I fully grasp the language like my parents or my grandmother. So, how will I be able to teach a language that I myself am still learning?

Well, here's how. Just using it. Non-stop. Clearly, her young mind is able to just pick up and utilize at the appropriate times what she hears...even if it is only every once in a while. It seems the most imortant thing is to never be silent around her...just keep up my chatter and listen to her responses, whether or not I understand her or she understands me. It's hilarious to me when I say something to her and she looks at me with a slightly cocked head and goes, "eh?" It means she didn't understand what I just said to her...so I repeat myself and she either acknowledges understanding or looks at me puzzled again. Adorable. I guess I do that as well when I don't understand her.

She's such a "mini-me"...maybe not in appearance, but definitely in action these days. She does everything I do and wants to do things herself as she watches me do things. For example, this morning, I was putting on my socks, so she goes to get her socks, sits down next to me, and proceeds struggling to put them on. I told her I'd put them on for her and she goes, "no, eee (me)." And continues to grunt and roll around as she tries to put her socks on. Then, she sits up, hands me the socks and says, "ock (sock) Umma (mom) ep (help)," with a frustrated look on her face. Poor thing. She also has been working hard at putting on her own pants. She can get her legs in OK, but frequently, she'll get both her legs in the same leg hole and she can't figure out what it doesn't seem right...but she knows it's not right. She'll take them back off and try putting them back on again. I got a video clip of that as well. She rolls all over the bed trying to put on her pants. Well, I just let her at it until she asks me for help because she'll get it eventually and she will be so proud of herself. She sure is persistent! I've been letting her practice with shorts because they're a bit easier than pants, but she is fairly successful with getting one leg all the way into the pant.

For the past week or so, Jeff has been in Okinawa conducting some training for his program. Since it has been just Tay and me, we have been staying busy by taking lots of walks and visiting some fields so we can chase around some birds, jog around a track, investigate some cones, and play with imaginary umbrellas and hats (leaves).

I also must mention that we spent Chuseok with our relatives; we went to our "keun-jip" for the breakfast ceremonial events and then we went to the gravesites of our great-grand parents and grandparents on the mountain for some more family time. Tay studied the adults and other children bowing very hard, and when we got to the mountain, she finaly gave it a go herself.

Her first attempt was a bust because she ended up on her belly, but her second and third attempts were much better and she had finally gotten the form...somewhat. :)

We also enjoyed spending some time with Malia, Jasimen, Aiden and Elijah at the Fall Festival after we watched the parade go by. Tay had fun picking up a lot of candy thrown by the parade marchers, but was really only interested in eating one of the Dum-Dums. We donated the rest to the other kids.

Tay also got to try her first chicken skewer, which she greatly enjoyed...it was almost as big as her, though, so I had to help her hold it. Then, she got it all over her shirt, so we had to change clothes after that. She also got some of Umma's chocolate ice cream...(she definitely knows that word: i-keam)! We decided to skip the fire works because we were both exhausted and needed to go to bed early, but as we laid down to sleep, we could hear the booming of the fireworks from our apartment. It didn't seem to phase Tay at all, though, because she drifted right off to sleep...zzz.

The next day, we ended up going to the 8am Mass and the 11:30 Mass to do some campaigning for the children's choir we're getting ready to start. After all that, Tay went down for a quick nap, and then we ventured out to the Children's Grand Park. My intent was to go see some animals, but we ended up not seeing any animals (except a few fish and some birds) because Tay was content running around the park. We did make a quick stop at the playground, but she wasn't too fond of all the sand getting in her shoes. Nor did she like being pushed around by the bigger kids on the playground equipment. (I wasn't too fond of that either and had to put an end to that nonsense - sometimes...::hmph::...the angry mom in me came out...only for a moment).

A nice old man came up and gave Tay a piece of candy, too, but it was this really strong ginseng candy, which she did not particularly care for, but she thanked him anyway...phew. :) On our way home, she was so exhausted she refused to walk and made me carry her the rest of the way...I WAS BEAT! Luckily, we made it back safely, washed up, and went to bed.

One more week to go before Tay and I head to the states where we'll finally meet up with Jeff again! Yay!!! Can't hardly wait...

Love,
Rosa

18 Months...how time flies...

My baby girl has turned 18 months old already.

 

Tay had her 18 month well-baby check up yesterday and got a couple shots.  She weighed in at 12.4 kilos (27lbs. 5 oz.) and measured 84.4 cm (33.2 in).  She grew 4 cm since June when she had her last check-up!  She only gained .4 kilos, though, so I guess all her running around is keeping her weight down. 

 

At the beginning of September, we went on a quick family vacation to Cebu, Philippines for Labor Day weekend.  Tay's little friend Aiden and his family came as well so we had a wonderful time playing in the warm waters and relaxing.  Tay got some color on her white white skin so she even has tan lines!  Lucky for us, though, she didn't get burnt, so no painful moments to report.  She did break her first glass, though, on this trip (and nearly put me in a panic).  The room we stayed in had a little "step" in the living room area.  She kept walking around and around holding a glass of water, but she wasn't paying attention at one moment and fell off the step!  I heard the shatter of glass (as she fell off behind the couch) and I ran over to pick her up, only to see a litt shard of glass stuck in the palm of her hand.  I dusted the rest of the glass off her her and picked the glass out of her hand.  Luckily, the cut on her hand was only superficial and stopped bleeding shortly thereafter.  We cleaned it out, called for hotel crew support for the glass clean-up in the room, and put her down for the night.  Other than that little mishap on the first day at the resort, the rest of the vacation was fun-filled and a learning experience as Tay began swimming and floating on her own with the help of her puddle jumper.  We got a great video clip of her just floating and learning to kick her legs...check it out here on youtube.  She has also lost the fear of jumping into the water without one of us catching her; again, see on youtube where she is just hopping into the water and the adorable pose she strikes before she leaps in!

 

The weekend after we got back from the Philippines, my mom - Shingil's Halmuni - came into town for a visit.  Tay took to her right away...luckily because we have talked to her on the phone frequently and occasionally even video-conferenced with her over the internet.  Tay calls her "Noh-noh" and puckers her little lips when she says it...I'll try and capture it on video and post on youtube when I can. 

 

Yesterday, we went to dinner in Bundang with my mom's friend so we got home very late (later than Tay's normal bedtime).  We washed her up quickly (no bath since she got shots), said our good nights, read a story, said our prayers, and I laid down with her to put her down...well, after about 10 minutes of laying there, she heard her Halmuni's voice talking to her Appa.  She sat up straight in the bed and looked in the directly of the door and shouted "Noh-Noh!"  Then she crawled off the bed and went running out into the living room to find her...

 

Needless to say, she slept in this morning...ah well.

 

Tay's vocabulary is expanding ever so rapidly!  Her latest additions are hello (hewo), anyong (anong - Korean word for "Hi"), Aiden (aieee), Donald (nonal), Malia (ya-ya), oatmeal (no-nea), egg (ee), open please (ehpee pees), spoon (boon), cup (petka), noon-koh-eep-qui-tuk-mori-eemah (noon-koh-eep-qui-tuk-mori-eemah - Korean word for "eye-nose-mouth-ear-chin-head-forehead"), slide (ide), crawl (kaw-kaw-kaw), uh-boo-bah (uh-oo-AH - Korean word for "piggyback")

 

Also her favorite dances and songs lately are the Hokie Pokie, Singing in the Rain, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, 5 Little Monkeys, "Gom seh mari" (3 Bears), and "Jeul-gup-gae, choom eul choo-da-ga" (Happily Dancing).

 

And in other good news, she's poo-potty trained!  She still can't tell when she needs to pee early enough to make it to the potty on time every time, but sometimes she makes it.  But with poo, she goes running to the potty after telling me "poo-poo" and patting her bottom.  The next 4-day (Columbus Day weekend) will be the training weekend for pee - full force.  Underwear or bust!  :)  I'm prepared for a lot of clean-up...

 

I love my growing baby girl...so sweet and just so funny... 

Corny...

My little Tay is such a ham. Her funny personality is just bursting to get a giggle out of anyone she meets. She's particularly playful with me, though, especially when we've had a good day of playing on the playground and we're home eating a tasty dinner.

I always notice how similar and different Tay is from us, as well as other members of our extended family. I noticed today as we ate our corn on the cob how she eats just like her dad and clearly not me. I tend to eat corn by the row, not just any which way...I eat like a squirrl all the way across and then back again to start another row. If I get crazy, I go for two or three rows at a time, but still...always in rows.

Tay, on the other hand, goes for right in the middle. As you can see here:

I love my funny little girl...she's trying to share her choatic corn with me after she took a bite...then she resumed eating.

Giving Child...

My sweet sweet girl...


Today, I took Tay down to the waterpark at Humphreys for some fun in the sun while Jeff was working. We met up with some friends of ours who had a two-year-old son and a three month old daughter.

On the drive down to Pyeongtaek, which was about an hour and 15 minute car ride, Tay was chattering away in the back seat pointing things out (mainly cars - "cah, cah") and giggling while asking for more peas (I had some frozen sweet peas with me in the front seat as a snack). About half way to the Hump, she fell asleep and slept until we arrived at the gate, where she promptly told me "aiye" to get out my ID to give to the guard. Funny little Tay..

After we met up with our friends, we let the kids play on the water slides and run through the spraying tunnels and fountains. It was a super-hot day, so we made sure to cover up thoroughly in sunblock. After the first round of water-play, the kids sat down to take a snack break, so Tay was munching away on her mini-rice cake snacks. Chan-hee, the two-year-old boy, was peering over her shoulder hoping to get a piece of her snack, when Tay decided to simply share. She picked one up and handed it to him. When she saw that he liked it, she then reached into her little bag, grabbed a handful and handed it to him! She then returned to eating herself. That was a relief because she has been starting to get into the "mine" phase, so I didn't think she'd share on her own accord...children will surprise you...

My sweet giving child...I love her so very much. We had a fun time at the waterpark, and Tay slept the whole way home, even through traffic. No sun burns for either of us, too! :)

What a beautifully successful weekend.

17 Months Today...

My baby girl is 17 months old today. 

 

I've been looking through her book and reflecting back on my huge pregnant days and the first moments of her life outside the womb and I wonder...where has the time gone?  It's like I blinked and my baby girl went from being a beautiful little being in my arms to this beautiful independent little lady who can ask for things, go down the big slide by herself and tell me "no-no" if she doens't want something.  

 

As of late, I have been asked many times when (and if) we're planning on having a second.  If you had asked me about a year ago, I probably would have said hopefully sometime soon and that we were thinking of three or four kids.  You ask me today, and I'm actually hesitant on the answer because in my heart, I know I want at least one more, but I just don't know how soon.  This year even seems too soon...I just want more time with Tay before I have to shift my focus to a new little being.  The question still remains, though...will I have enough energy and love for a new baby?  I am told by many many other moms that love just multiplies...it's not an exact amount that must be divided from a whole.  How will I be sure that the love that mulitplies, then, won't be redirected to a newborn or away from the newborn (if there is a newborn, God-willing).  I guess the reality is, I shouldn't worry about such nonsense until Jeff and I are faced with the possibility of a new addition in our lives.  In the meantime, we should just shower Tay with the love that we have in our hearts and enjoy that time with her.   

 

Tay learns and adapts so quickly these days...it's absolutely amazing to watch her.  Her vocabulary is increasing at an incredible pace...she has a few new words every day.  She doesn't seem to go through the repetative phase much anymore with single words, but she does practice frequently at every opportunity of the new words she has acquired.  As of late, it has been her body parts such as 'koh' (nose), 'ghee' (ear), beh (belly), 'bah' (foot) and 'bot-bot' (bottom).  It's funny because she has known these words for a while by hearing them, but she wasn't able to actually say them until recently.  Now she points to said body part and says the word over and over again. It's absolutely adorable...and amazing.  Jeff and I have also reached the stage where she knows she can communicate with us by talking, but 50% of what she says, we can't understand exactly, so she gets a little frustrated if we can't figure it out quickly.  For example, we were at the pool yesterday with Tay and after swimming a bit, we were resting by the pool and she kept pointing to my backpack and making hand gestures and chattering away, and neither Jeff or I could figure out what it was she wanted...quite interesting.  She clearly wanted something from the bag, but nothing we pulled out was what she was asking for so she was getting quite irritated...poor thing.  If only I had a toddler translator near by...

 

Speaking of the pool, we have been taking Tay to the pool almost every day for the past couple weeks because the weather has been so unbearably hot these days.  We'll just swing by the pool after work for about 15-20 minutes so she can get a little refreshed and relax a bit before dinner and wind down for bed.  After work, obviously, we haven't needed sunscreen, but Sunday, when we went during the day, the sun was so hot, I was thankful for the sunscreen I did have for her from California Baby because she (nor I) burned at all and it has no strong fragance like many sun blocks today.  It's pretty thick, but Tay and I make a game of it - while she smears my face with it, I cover her legs and belly, and then I cover her face while she points out the parts of her face and body that have been missed.  She's a sport about the whole ordeal because rubbing a second layer of sun-block on an impatient toddler next to a beckoning pool is not an ideal situation...

 

In other news, Tay's favorite show these days is Pororo (bo-bo), and I think after her afternoon naps at Beth's she watches Elmo.  I kept telling myself that I didn't want TV to be a constant in Tay's childhood life, but that fight has been more difficult than I suspected.  I just keep trying to keep her engaged throughout the show so that she doesn't get into that "glazed over" look...luckily, her attention span is still too short for her to really get into a show for longer than 10 minutes at a time...maybe that's a good thing...I dunno.  I still want to reduce the amount of TV she's being exposed to at this age...::sigh:: 

 

As for me, I am psyching myself up to get restarted on my Master of Education program.  I have been out of it since the month before Tay's arrival, but now I feel like I am ready to start back up again.  I was thinking of starting this month, but then realized that in two weeks, I'll be in traveling on vacation for about a week and then my mom will be visiting, so I decided to set my start date for 21 Sep.  Here we go!

 

Well, I believe this is enough rambling for one day.  I want to celebrate Tay's 17 month birthday...maybe we'll have dessert at dinner tonight.  :)

 

Love,

Rosa

Past Few Weeks...

Ah, the past few weeks have been a bit busy...rough, persay.  Not necessarily bad, but definitely not the greatest.  Work has been crazy and because of that, I have not been able to spend the time I wanted to with our little Tay...and it is showing.  I've never felt so distant from my little one as I do right now...which comes with the timing and the fact that I've been working crazy hours...Jeff says it's only a phase, but it really just means she's growing up and becoming more independent.  (I really am gonna have empty-nest syndrome when she goes off to college, aren't I???)  It almost felt like I was going through some form of post-partum baby blues...but so late in the game?  Really?  Odd.  Anyhow, although emotionally I've been a bit of a wreck these past few weeks, there has been some wonderful-ness that came of it all.

 

Well, here's really the breakdown of it:

 

1.  Since work's been so crazy, I've been getting home late, but it also means that Tay's been spending bunches of time with Daddy...which has been wonderful.

 

2.  Since work's been so crazy, the event that was making me crazy went off mostly without a hitch and the evening itself turned out quite nicely...minus the wrecked feet and exhustion.

 

3.  Tay has decided to start weaning herself.  For those of you readers who don't believe breastfeeding past one year is acceptable, I apologize if I am offending you, however, I am still breastfeeding and quite happy about it.  Tay nurses when she goes to bed (yes, I check her teeth constantly for decay), but the last week, she has just wanted to cuddle with me and it has been amusing and wonderful at the same time.  But...because I have not had the time lately to spend with her, this sudden decision on her part to stop this closeness that we had wreaked havoc on my emotions...after she went to sleep, of course.  After crying it out and Jeff consoling me, I felt a bit better and accepted the fact that I should be grateful that she is weaning on her own instead of me forcing it with much crying by Tay.  I don't think she's completely weaned, as she still wants to nurse occasionally in the middle of the night the past couple nights, but the process has begun and I am now emotionally ready to  handle it...

 

4.  Since work's been so crazy, Tay has become totally a daddy's girl.  :)  I was actually a bit hurt by this, because I was her #1 for such a long time, but it's so wonderful to see her hugging and kissing daddy and constantly looking for him when he's not around.  She gets the biggest smile on her face when she sees him and says, "Appaaaaaaaa" in the most excited whisper her tiny little voice can exclaim...it's beautiful.  It does make putting her down at night a little more difficult, though, as she'll be cuddling and thinking about going to sleep, and then suddenly, she'll sit right up in bed and yell, "Appa!" 

 

5.  Tay's to the point now that she'll let us know if she needs to go pee pee or poo poo, but she generally tells us as she's about to go, so it's been hit or miss whether or not we make it to the potty.  :)  Sometimes she thinks she has to go, and we'll sit her on the potty, and then she doesn't go right away, so she think she doesn't have to go...and then I set her off the potty and she walks over to get a new diaper, and she pees...oops.  So, we're still working on it, but she's not adverse to the whole potty training concept, so I'm not going to really start training or pushing the potty until she's at least 18 months. 

 

All in all, my family is just whirling on thankfully, and even though I am busy or back to a regular schedule, it will continue to whirl on beautifully.  I am finally over the whole emotional rollercoaster, I think, and much less sleep-deprived, so I'm able to start seeing things in perspective.  I'm excited (and a little sad) that my little girl is growing up so fast...I am thankful for my family, and the strides we are taking together. 

 

 

Fourth of July Weekend

This weekend, we celebrated the 4th of July!  On Friday, we took a trip down to the Humphreys Water Park and spent the whole day splashing and playing in the water.  Tay especially enjoyed the slides she could go down by herself...the slides were padded and not too long, so she could sit herself down at the top and slide down onto another padded area where we would catch her (so she wouldn't slide onto the cement).  She kept doing it over and over, and luckily, there were very few kids around when we were there.  It was like we had the resort to ourselves pretty much until later in the afternoon when it started to get more crowded.  The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time!  We also swung by and visited our friends who had just had their second baby...so amazing to see such a small baby and think of how my own little Tay was so small.  Tay loved seeing the baby...she kept saying "beh-bay, beh-bay" in a whisper over and over while she peered at the little one's face.  She didn't try to touch or poke the baby, but instead she held her hands out like she wanted to hug the sleeping baby. 

 

Saturday, the weather started off not so great with some rain and dark clouds, but as the day progressed, the rain let up.  I actually got called into work for a bit, so Jeff and Tay went over and roamed the festival grounds while I did what I needed to do, and then I headed over to see the festivities with them.  After a short time or perusing the booths, we decided to wander over and see the "dog park," but we weren't sure exactly where it was...but then we ran across some batting cages!  Jeff and I each ended up batting a rotation (40 balls!) and we wandered back to the festival grounds.  Note:  Batting in flip-flops, not a great idea.  After getting some soft-serve, we decided it was time to head back home, have some dinner, and rest up before the fireworks.  Well, after dinner, Tay just seemed so tired that we decided to go ahead and give her a bath and put her down for the night.  She went right to sleep, so Jeff and I shared some ice cream and watched the fireworks through our window from the comfort of our living room.

 

Sunday, we went to church then breakfast...and E-mart (a Korean version of Wal-Mart).  After all the running around, Tay was quite tired and went down for a nap.  While she napped, Jeff and I cleaned house and discussed what we should do that afternoon...and Jeff found a children's museum on-line that seemed fairly close!  So, after Tay woke up from her nap, we went out in search of the Samsung Children's Museum.  It was actually quite easy to find, luckily, so we spent a couple hours playing there with Tay - she particularly enjoyed the water-room where she could splash and see the balls go down a "water slide" of sorts. 

 

Monday morning, Tay felt a little warmer than usual, so I took her temperature and it was 99.3F.  She was also coughing a little, but she still seemed in good spirits, so we decided to go ahead with the plan for the day, which was Lotte World with the Cortezes.  We may have been pushing our luck a little, but she held up like a trooper and had a great time riding the Carousel and playing in the ball-land.  She did get a bit cranky around lunch time, so after she ate a little, we put her down for a nap, visited the Toys R Us store there, and headed home. 

 

Poor thing, as the evening progressed, she must have started feeling a little worse because she was very clingy and kept asking for ma-ma, so I nursed her a bit after dinner and she fell asleep for a short while.  She really needed a bath, though, because she was sticky with yo-baby yogurt and dinner...so Jeff prepped her bath and when I went to put her in, she started crying so hard because she didn't want to be detached from me...so I ended up getting in the tub with her and holding her while we bathed her.  This is highly unusual because she usually loves bathtime, but I guess it's because she wasn't feeling well.  Poor baby.  Anyhow, after the quick bath, we wrapped her up in her towel and when I laid her down on the bed to put her diaper on, she calmly lay there with her eyes closed and bundled in her towel.  I thought she was asleep, until I put her diaper on her...when she slowly opened her eyes to look at me with that little mischievous sparkle in her eyes and a smirk on her lips and took both hands and unstuck both sides of her diaper tabs!  That little stinker.  :)  I yelped and grinned at her, and she let out a little giggle as I put on the rest of her pjs...and put her down for the night. 

 

What a beautiful little girl with a funny funny sense of humor.  :)  Even when she wasn't feeling well, she still wanted to play...I love her so much.  Well, she slept OK through the night with no fever, and this morning after I dropped her off with Beth, she texted me that Tay ate well, so I'm hopeful that the bug she got will pass quickly. 

 

Until next time...

Motherly Thoughts...

Part I.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about being a working Mom and I'm quite torn about whether or not I like it.  I see my little girl growing up so fast, and being with her nanny while I work has been wonderful because my nanny is really great and teaching her things I never would have thought to teach her, I don't think...but what if I were to stay at home with her?  I would probably speak more Korean to her than I do now.  I worry that she might not understand me because she spends over 50% of her "awake" part of the day with the nany...so I resort to the easy way of talking to her in English - which is easier for me, too, anyway - but then I feel bad that I'm not teaching her Korean, so I speak to her in Korean, but now I think I'm just confusing her.  Also, lately, I feel like I'm losing that closeness I had with her...except when I'm putting her down for the night...and maybe on weekends.  It's because she's becoming so much more independent and less dependent on me, (and this is really a good thing), but sometimes I wish she were still that helpless, dependent little girl who would always want me to be with her and sit with her and play with her...and then I realize, if she were actually like that all the time, I wouldn't be raising her to be self-sufficient...and in this world, she must be self-sufficient. 

 

My little Tay is growing up so fast that I can't keep up emotionally.  I love her so much and I want to spend more time with her, but I already feel like I'm cutting out as early as I can from work and I think I'm playing with her enough after work...but why can't I just get enough of her?  I miss her during the day, and I miss her at night.  It saddens me that I can't play with her on the playground every day; I can't make her delicious healthy food like I want to; I can't sing to her and have dance parties with her...just because I don't have the energy after I get home from work.  Why?  I should have that energy.  I want to take her on walks in the sun and in the rain...so she knows what falling rain feels like.  I want to let her help me do dishes and help me fold laundry.  This weekend, she helped me strip all the pillows to wash the pillow cases, and we just had so much fun just pulling them off like in a tug-o-war.  Then, we rolled around the mattress with no sheets on, tickling each other and giggling.  After they were washed, she "helped" me put them back on by crawling on them as I tucked them in...she just loves helping me with whatever she can.  She knows every time after she gets a diaper change, there is a dirty diaper that needs to get thrown away.  (By they way, the "potty familiarization" period is going very well...she's already in the routine of going #1 in the big toilet right before bed, and when she needs to go #2 - although she doesn't tell me, persay - when I think she's about to go, I ask her if she needs to go "poo-poo" and she'll nod her head, take my hand, and we'll walk to the bathroom together).  My goal is not to get her out of diapers anytime soon...my goal is to have her be able to let me know she needs to go and we make it to the bathroom.  No time limit...just looking for a gradual end, hopefully. 

 

Part II.

It's already July and in just a little over a week, Tay will already be 16 months old.   It seems like it was just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital.  It was just yesterday that she was this tiny little thing that I felt was so fragile that I thought I might break her.  Now she's going to tumbling class where she's learning how to do forward rolls and walk across a balance beam.  Unbelievable.  Part of me just wants it all to slow down, but another part of me is really excited to see her growing up and I can't wait for when she is able to talk to me and express her feelings and I we can go on hikes and maybe even go star gazing.  She'll learn how to ride a bike and start going to school.  She'll be going on her first date, and I'll be in tears.  I can't believe how quickly time just flies...

 

I should be home to enjoy every moment with her...but instead I'm out working.  Is this really what I should be doing?  ::sigh::  I miss my little girl when I can't be with her...

 

 

Tay's First Potty!

My little Tay is growing up so fast. 

 

I have been thinking about starting potty training in the next few months, so we bought a couple different types of potties, and while we were at Toys R Us today, I got a on-the-big-toilet mini-seat for Tay to sit on.  I didn't think anything of it except to get her familiar with the seat.  I let her play with the seat in the living room and then I showed her how to sit on it with her diaper on so she'd feel comfortable. 

 

Later in the day, she was running around, and she got that look like she was about to go #2.  She always sort of hides behind something before she actually goes lately, so we knew she needed to go when she started to hang out behind Jeff's Lazyboy.  I followed her back there and asked her if she needed to poo-poo.  Surprisingly, she nodded so I took her hand and walked her over to the bathroom.  I placed her potty seat on the big toilet, took off her shorts and diaper, and sat her on the seat.  I kneeled down in front of her and made a "hnnnn" sound to tell her to push and she just laughed at me and squirmed to get off the seat.  I handed her something she hadn't seen before to play with to distract her so she'd sit still a little longer, and kept making the silly sound.  Soon after, she started making the same sound and suddenly, plop!  She had gone #2.  I clapped my hands and cheered for her, and she clapped for herself, too!  :)

 

After cleaning her up, we continued to cheer as we went to get a new diaper and put her shorts back on. 

 

I know all of you fine readers wanted to know about that...or maybe not, but it was my baby's first use of the big potty and she did so well I HAD to write about it!

 

I'm so proud of my little girl...she's growing so fast.  It was the best Father's Day present for Jeff (he says!).  :)

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day, otherwise!

 

Love,

A very proud Umma

Almost 15 months...

Well, this past month (May) has been quite eventful.  We moved into a new home - a much larger apartment from where we used to live - so Tay has plenty of space to run around and she has her own playroom, which Jeff so lovingly built.  Jeff also got back from his business trip, so Tay and I took a trip to the airport to pick him up.  It was a beautiful reunion - when Jeff came through the gate, Tay was actually turned away from him and when I said "Look, who's that?" she turned and with a huge smile she said, "APPA."  Jeff was so happy...she opened her arms and gave him a huge hug and he carried her out to the car.  The same week that Jeff got back, I had drill, so Tay and Jeff had plenty of time to catch up with each other.  :)

 

As my Mother's Day present this year, Jeff took Tay and me to Phuket (over Memorial Day holiday weekend).  We hopped a night flight to Phuket - luckily, Tay slept most of the way, as did Jeff and I.  We arrived to a slightly drizzly and very warm Phuket and arrived at our hotel completely exhausted because it was past midnight when we arrived.  We just checked in and went to bed, hoping for a better morning.  We woke up to daylight around 6:30 the first morning, and noticed it was still raining a bit...but it looked like it was going to clear up soon.  We slowly got ourselves ready for the day and headed down to breakfast.  The weather was starting to clear up so after breakfast we took some quick pictures around the resort grounds.  We went back to the hotel and got ready to go for a swim...lathered up in sunblock and got our swimsuits on.  The water was a little chilly at first because of the rain water...but as the sun started to heat it up, the temperature was so nice...like bath water.  Tay absolutely loved it...she splashed around and really enjoyed being able to walk into deeper water by herself.  She would slowly walk from the shallow end into deeper and deeper water until the water was up to her neck (with us right there to catch her in case she slipped, of course) and would giggle and try to splash her hands, but then would lose her balance and she'd just reach up for us to pick her up. 

 

Tay is also quite the thrill seeker.  She first started hopping off the side of the pool holding my hands.  Then, she started sqealing with joy when I would toss her in the air and catch her with a big splash into the pool!  Then...the BIG SLIDE.  Jeff decided to take her down one of the big twisty water slides...and as they came down with a big splash, Tay had a huge smile on her face!  As soon as he handed her over to me so he could climb out (and recover), she was already asking for "one more!"  He probably took her down the big slide at least 10-11 times every time we went out for a swim.  I went down the big slide twice (by myself), and both times, I ended up at the bottom of the slide on my side and flailing...not sure how that happened, but I had absolutely no control!  Ah well...it's a good thing I didn't take her down the big slide.  We spent most of the morning outside in the water before the sun really started getting hot; in the afternoon when the sun was the hottest, we went to indoor activities like the mall and grocery store or just played silly games in our room.  Once the sun began to go down, we'd go out for another dip in the pool before dinner.  For dinner, we went out to a nice dinner the first evening, did room service or ate on hotel grounds, and then the last evening, we ended up finding a little restaurant close by our resort that had the best food ever (and my banana fritters that I've been wanting since the first day we landed).  Oh yes, I forgot to mention that we also ventured out to the beach a couple times as well...Tay wasn't so fond of the waves, but partly it was she was surprised by one of the waves that came in too quickly...you can see it on youtube when I almost lost my flipflops. 

 

All in all, the trip was a success and all parties concerned had a wonderful time...and none of us got badly burnt.  All of us did get some sun, though, so even little Tay's got a faint tan line...:)  Adorable.  The flight back was another night flight, so all three of us racked out and slept until we landed.  Getting back into routine took a couple days, but we made some great memories on that trip!

 

Tay had a well-baby check up this month, too, and the doc said that she was a very healthy baby.  From her March appointment, she grew one inch (2 ft. 7 in.), and gained about half a pound, pushing her just over 25 lbs.  She had also recently started scratching her tush, so I asked about that as well, but he said it was just the weather change and heat rash...his recommendation:  let her run around bare-bottom to air it out and the rash should go away.  This makes for a very happy baby and exciting times for mommy and daddy.  I also found a couple tiny little lumps on her head behind her ears, so I was quite worried, actually, but the doc also told me that those were normal as well.  He said they were lymph nodules that just were not hidden under subcutaneous fat like in adults.  He said only start being worried if they seem inflamed or red...which they definitely weren't.  Phew.

 

Tay's learning language so FAST now!  It's incredible to me how quickly she is picking up words and understanding so much!  Her latest word is "ball" which she says with a cute little accent...not sure why, but I guess that's how she hears it.  It sounds like a cross between a British accent and a southern drawl...fascinating!  She also says cheese (chsss), tofu (fufu), apple (appeh), banana (na-na), rice (bap - Korean for "rice"), milk (oo-oo - Korean for milk is oo-yoo), and more (flips her bottom lip and says mo-mo-mo!  She also can baa like a sheep, neigh like a horse, quack like a ducky (kua kua kua), bark like puppy (mung-mung), roar like a tiger (ang), moo like a cow (mmmm), and make monkey sounds (ah ah ah).  She also likes Elmo and calls him "eh-mo" and just calls Nemo "mo."

 

Her favorite song lately is "Wheels on the Bus" because she likes to do the motions like "swish swish swish" and particularly "waa waa waa" like a baby on the bus.  It's so adorable!  She's advancing and doing so many new things these days it's hard to capture it all on film!  She is also eating quite well with a spoon/fork now...she uses her left hand to catch the food on the spoon that's about to fall off and brings the spoon and her hand to her mouth. 

 

In other development, Tay can now identify her head, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, cheeks, belly-button, knees, and toes.  It's in a mix of English and Korean, but she can identify them on herself and on me!  :) 

 

We have also added a new part to our bedtime routine - Jeff reads her a bed time story every night.  When he finishes a story, she either asks for one more or she says ba-bye and kisses him good night.  It's funny how sometimes she'll ask for one more or she'll just wave and say ba-bye when she's done for the night! 

 

She's not quite 15 months yet - she's got 9 more days to go, but she's the most amazing little toddler with the happiest personality.  She is, however, learning how to scowl...if I do something she doesn't want me to do (like lay her down to change her diaper or when Jeff sprays her with the shower head in the bath tub), she scowls (verbally and by furrowing her eyebrows at you) and shakes her head.  It's so adorable it makes me laugh, but then it just makes her madder...ah well. 

 

I know this entry is too long, but I must write a quick note of this past weekend as well.  We took her to the Paju Flower Festival (which was exhausting) on Saturday, but forgot our camera, so we have no proof except a little memento they gave us.  It was a really hot day with very little shade...so I came back nauseous, running a fever, and pounding head ache.  Luckily, Tay had no symptoms except tired-ness, so we just bathed her and put her down early.  She was raring to go the next morning.  On Sunday, we took her to Seoul Grand Park Zoo where we linked up with Tay's little buddy Aiden and perused the animals...although the little ones weren't too excited.  Tay mmm-ed and neighed at everything large with four legs...including, but not limited to, the zebras, bison, elephants, antelope, and long-horned cattle.  She waved at the bears because she always waves at her big bear in her play room.  She roared at the baby lions and fell asleep as she quacked at the duckling. 

 

All in all, it was a VERY eventful month of May...and I am looking forward to another wonderful month full of excitement and changes with my little Tay and wonderful husband.

 

In grown-up news, Jeff walked for his Masters of Education in Secondary Education this month and I got my Kindermusik Teaching License this month as well!  Neither of us are able to actually teach at this time, but perhaps in the future (near or far) we will be able to...:)

 

Happy June, everyone!  Many blessings...

Love,

Rosa

 

 

Teeth

Just in case anyone was curious (I'm sure everyone's very curious), Tay still only has six teeth, but three more teeth have just broken through the gums, so perhaps she will have more in the near future.  :)

 

I just thought you should know.

 

Rosa

New Home and 14 Months!

The Ryals family has moved into a new home...a fabulous new apartment pretty close to where we used to live, but much larger and spacious.  And the neighborhood seems nice, too.  We just really love the space.  Tay seems to really love the new apartment, too.  I was a bit nervous that Tay might have a difficult time adjusting to the new place...but she loved being able to run around a spacious apartment and slept soundly in the new place following the same bedtime routine.  I was thankful.  It was quite hectic the past month while Jeff was gone to the states for training...Tay and I packed our weekends and evenings so that we wouldn't be sulking in the house missing Appa.  We had to spend Easter weekend all by ourselves, but Appa made it memorable anyway by setting up a sweet surprise for us Easter morning.  While he was away, Tay and I got together frequently with the Cortezes - we hung out, we went to Everland, we ate out, went to Lotte shopping at Toys R Us, etc...staying busy kept us focused and the days that Appa were gone went by quickly.  In the last week, we moved into the new place (!!!) and with the help of my friend Bun, we kinda got it a little in order.  We had the DeGay's over for dinner (with no dining room table or chairs), and we even bought two king size mattresses!  (Although, the point was only to buy one, but Umma didn't know that there was a difference between a California King and a regular King...ack!). 

 

Tay has already reached 14 months and she is growing, developing, advancing so rapidly!  She can identify her nose, her ears, her head and toes, and even occasionally her knees.  She recognizes songs like "if you're happy and you know it" and "baa baa black sheep" and when asked what sound does a sheep make, she goes "aaaaaaa."  She mimicks almost any silly sound you make...we got some on film, so we posted them on youtube.  She understands most simple commands like "please sit down here," "let's brush our teeth," "come here," "bring / give it to me," "would you like more?"  and many many many more!  IN BOTH LANGUAGES!  and even some in Tagalogue!  She knows how to clap her hands, stomp her feet, turn around, nod her head, wave byebye, bark like a Korean puppy, and swing her hips better than I can when a song with a nice beat comes on.  She loves dancing to music!  When she wakes up in the morning and she hears classical music, she grins really big and starts waving her hands around like she's conducting.  My baby, my beautiful baby, is learning so quickly and just amazing me every moment of every day...I can't believe how quickly she is developing! 

 

Lucky for Jeff and me, Tay still goes down around 8pm and wakes up around 6am, but lately, she's been waking up a little earlier because the sun is rising so much earlier!  The sun comes up at like 5am these days...so she's usually up by 5:15 and going "Umma, Umma, Appa, Appa"...wanting us to wake up and play with her.  It's so adorable we can't help but smile and wake up.  What a beautiful alarm clock we have!  :)

 

As for her communication development, she knows how to ask for more - she takes her finger and flips her bottom lip and tries to say "one more?"  Also, if she needs a drink of water, she'll fake a little cough and when I ask her "do you need some water?" she'll nod her head.  :)  Silly girl.  When she's all done, she'll raise and twinkle her hands.  When I tell her, "let's go brush our teeth," she'll take her finger and start mimicking brushing her teeth (and tongue).  If she wants us to come play with her in her play room (which we have built for her in the new apartment), she'll come and take our hands and walk us over to the playroom. 

 

Tay is the most affectionate baby I know...probably because I'm her mother and she loves me.  :)  She'll just be playing and suddenly she'll come over and plant a wet one on my face (or knee or arm or whatever part of my body is accessible to her at the moment).  She'll give hugs (not only to me, but to others she likes and especially other little children!).  She'll share her food and her toys with other kids occasionally.  She just loves other children, though...they make her very happy and she always wants to go hug them or kiss them...and she's ever so gentle...it's sweet to watch. 

 

I could just go on and on about my little Tay...she makes every day filled with laughter and smiles...even when I've had a rough day at work...I see her face and smile.  :)  I love her so much...

 

My little lady...Tay...how could motherhood be this wonderful?

This is a test.

I'm testing out the new "email posting" capabillity that blogger has made an option for me.  I wonder how it works...

 

It says all I have to do is email this email address and it will post to my blog automatically.  Fascinating!

 

So it's a test.

 

Yesterday, Tay started to say bah-bah, bah-bah, and I thought she was saying Appa, or baa baa from "baa baa black sheep"...nope.  I was wrong.  She was actually saying "Bye-bye"...:)  In the sweetest little innocent voice...this morning as we left the house, she waved back into the house and said "bah-bye" and blew a flying kiss.  :)  I can't believe how lovable my little baby is...she's growing so fast and even more quickly, she is learning things at light-speed.  It's truly incredible how quickly children absorb and learn everything around them.  I really need to continue speaking Korean to her more and more...I truly want her to be bilingual...it's so very important to me.  I want her to be able to communicate freely in both languages.  I must enable her. 

 

I love her.  She makes me smile every single day...a thousand times!

 

Who can't smile at this beautiful face...

 

Easter and Insadong

Well, it's been an interesting past couple weeks...

Tay turned 13 months old, Appa went off on a business trip - the longest we have EVER been apart since we started dating in 2004, and Tay experience her first Easter.

Easter had the potential for being a flop because Appa was going to be gone, but he made it special for us anyway.

The Saturday before Easter, the Easter egg hunt was a HUGE success. I got some great pictures of Tay running around trying to gather all the eggs. The day before that, when she almost met the Easter Bunny, she completely freaked out and cried and screamed. I can understand why, though...it was a really big bunny jumping off a really large fire truck with its flashing lights. She really enjoyed the easter egg hunt...but it really wasn't much of a "hunt" because there were just millions of eggs everywhere over the astro-turf field. After a while, Tay was like...what's the point. I can't get them all anyway...it's like she knew it was ridiculous...We probably spent a good two hours at the egg hunt and then headed back home for a nap. She racked out in the car. The day was so beautiful...I just wish Appa could have been there. Steve and Becky and Aiden were there this morning, too, so we got some good pics of the two little ones together. Tay gave Aiden a hug and tried to give him a kiss too, but he fell over before she could give him one. She just blew them flying kisses. After the nap, we just stuck around the house and relaxed...we ate pasta with cheese for lunch and she practiced using a fork. She's much more successful at getting food on the fork, but then she pulls the food off the fork with her hand and eats it...ah well. I'm sure she'll get it eventually. :) She made quite the mess so we decided to play with some water in the tub, so I filled a small basin with warm water and let her sit in the tub with it and splash it everywhere. She really got a kick out of that and we blew a lot of bubbles, too. We quickly rinsed off with a little bathwash and played around the house until she started getting tired again around 2:30, so we took another nap. Woke up around 4 and lazed around the house some more...until we decided to take a walk down our neighborhood and pick up some more contacts for me. When we got back, we cooked dinner and had some fish, rice, and kimchee...she ate so much. I cooked two fish and she ate all of hers and half of mine! We had strawberry yoghurt drinks for dessert. She liked drinking it out of the big girl cup. She poured half of it down her shirt, too...:)

Easter Sunday, we went to Easter Mass over in my childhood church around noon. We did go to breakfast before heading to mass and met up with Aiden and his parents (the Cortezes) again. We ate, came home to change, got dressed, and headed out to Duncheondong. When we arrived, we had mass in the children's room, which was highly distracting, but Shingil did well. It eventually got so hot, we left the children's room after the offering basket when by. Then we hung out in the lobby area until the rest of the family came down. We went out to lunch all together, relaxed a bit afterward at their house, and then Tay and I came home to nap.

That was our busy busy Easter weekend.

This weekend was our second weekend without Appa. Tita Beth came over this morning and the three of us girls went out to Insadong. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the flowers were in full bloom. Tay was a little tired this morning, but after lunch and her "ice cream cone," she felt much better and enjoyed the rest of the time looking at the funny statues and beautiful flowers.

Mung-mung!

My sweet little Tay has learned to bark like a Korean puppy...a mung-mung-ee. As soon as we get video footage of it, we'll post it on youtube! :) She met a cute puppy yesterday and since then, she's been pointing at every four-legged animal and going "mung, mung!" :) So cute!!!!!!

My baby is ONE

My sweet little Tay has turned one! It's unbelievable how quickly the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday that I was lying in the hospital waiting for her to come out and she is already walking around and calling me Umma. This past year with her in our lives has been such a blessing and filled with surprises and endless smiles and laughter. It's funny to think that I wondered about my own abilities at being a mother only up until she was around four weeks old. After that fourth week, I KNEW in my heart and mind that I was the best mother and caretaker that she could ever have in her life. I was confident and I LOVED being her mother. That was the turning point for me.

Tay's first birthday, March 10, 2009, was actually spent on an airplane flying from Incheon to Atlanta where we were to celebrate her "Dol" with all the family. I felt badly that she would have to endure such a long flight on her birthday (and I was quite anxious about the whole ordeal as well - I had visions of myself walking up and down the aisles following her and keeping her from falling over or grabbing someone's hair...), but she did spectacularly on that flight to Atlanta. She slept almost the entire flight, save an hour or two. She slept in my arms for part of the way and lying across the middle seat between Jeff and me part of the way.

The first part of the trip was spent at Stone Mountain with the Ryals clan - the entire family came up to celebrate with us and the girls just had a blast playing with each other. Tay loved kissing and hugging all of her cousins (as long as they didn't try playing with any of the toys she wanted to play with...). It was fun to see Lu-Lu and Tay together, mostly playing side-by-side, but occasionally interacting with each other. It's funny to see how similar all the girls look, at the same time, how differently they look and act from each other. We took all the girls and climbed Stone Mountain (Tay got to climb it twice!) We all reached the top, relaxed a bit, and made our way back down. We also hit Atlanta's children's museum (Imagine It!) and the Georgia Aquarium (Titanic Aquatic) - the largest aquarium in the United States! The girls absolutely loved the museum because there was so much to see and do without much restriction. Tay's other side of the family (the Kims) came down from VA for the celebration, and really enjoyed getting to meet the young Lady Taylor. :) They couldn't believe how much she had grown since the last they met her and what a little personality she was developing.

The celebration was held at Sydney's Buffet in Duluth, GA. The spread was amazing - such a variety of food, all very tasty. The reserved room was filled with beautiful decorations and lots of loving family and friends...it was quite a stressful moment for Jeff and me, but I think Tay (even with jetlag) was enjoying all the attention...mostly. I think the funniest part of the night was when Tay had her "dol-jab-ee" and she grabbed the money almost immediately and waved it around showing the crowds. :) She even handed me a twenty as if she was saying, "good job, keep the change." Anyhow, we think everyone enjoyed the event, and after it was all over, I was so relieved...I was very happy it happened, but it was truly a very stressful event for me. I think if I could do it over again, I would have thought it through a little better and organized it from start to finish...but all in all, the event was wonderful and I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures from it soon!

After the hubbub, we went back to the hotel to relax and pack because the next day, we were off to Bristol, VA...hitting the Cabbage Patch hospital (factory) enroute. When we got to the factory, we got the brief introduction and then we wandered through the "museum." Tay picked out her own baby almost immediately - she picked it up, hugged it, and wouldn't let it go! Of course, Jeff knew he was "adopting" that one...we named her Cvjeta Riley Ryals. We then went on to Bristol for some relaxation. We spent most of our time in Bristol decompressing from the first half of the trip and doing some leisurely shopping (Target!). It was good to spend some time with my folks and let them spend time getting to know Tay and falling in love with her. :) The time seemed to fly by and it was already time to go back to Atlanta for our flight back to Korea. Ugh...

On our way down to Atlanta, we decided to stop by the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, TN, because it was about half way and a good rest stop (and a fun place to see!). Tay was a little tired through this aquarium, but it was a nice break from the road for us. I only wish there weren't so many people at either aquarium... Once we got to Atlanta, we checked into our hotel and just relaxed for the night before our flight in the morning.

The flight back was a little more grueling (15 hours instead of the 13 it took us to get to the states)...and Tay did not want to sleep this flight. She was awake for over half the flight, but there was also many other babies (and a poor little dog) on the flight, so we didn't feel so bad when she would occasionally yell out. I think she just couldn't get comfortable...

We got back safe and sound, Tay ran a bit of a fever on the flight back (we even almost got quarantined) but I think it was just because of all the traveling and exhaustion. She's still fairly jetlagged now (four days back)...she still (we all still) wakes up around 2am and falls back asleep at 5am...only to be passed out most of the day. Ah well...eventually we'll get back on track.

Today we went to the hospital to get her one-year check-up. Tay's standing tall at 2.5 feet (30 inches) and weighing in at 24 pounds. She's got a little bit of a rash on her tummy and back, but the doc says it's a very common viral rash that'll just clear up on its own. Likely she picked it up in all her travels. She's otherwise healthy, developmentally on track, and was in a great mood when she saw the doc (even gave him a shy smile!).

I am thankful. So very thankful to be her mother. I am thankful to God for the blessing that she has been in our lives...every minute I look at her, I think of her, I can't imagine what life was like without her. I'm so very very thankful. It's been an incredible first year with Tay and I look forward to the many many years I hope to spend with her (God-willing).

We love you, Shingil Taylor Ryals.

Love,
Your Umma and Appa