Funny story of the day...parental discretion advised.

Today after ballet class, Tay, Beth, and I grabbed some lunch at the the food court before I headed back to work and Beth and Tay headed home.  After eating, I said I had to run by the bank before I left, so Tay said, "me bank come too."  No problem.  We started walking toward the bank, but since it was raining out, I decided to pick her up and carry her.  As I'm carrying her and the umbrella, she proceeds to fart on my arm.  I asked her if she just farted.  She looks at me, then at Beth who is also carrying an umbrella and walking next to us, and says, "me no fart, Tita 'rella fart too" (which translates to, "I didn't fart, Tita Beth's umbrella farted").  Now she's deflecting blame on inanimate objects!  Silly girl...

And again...the Midnight Sickness...

Ugh...I guess the midnight sickness is what is going to be the norm for this little one's pattern. I started getting that really nauseous feeling again around midnight, and I tried and tried to battle it off (I didn't eat anything, this time, though) by walking around and breathing deeply, but to no avail. I knew the only way I was going to feel better was by saying hello to the toilet, but I resisted for about 30 minutes before I reluctantly made my way over and said hello.

Since I had absolutely nothing in my stomach at the time, it was a rather unpleasant experience, albeit a little neater than the last go around; it's so unsatisfying when you feel like you need to ---- and all you end up doing is dry-heaving or spitting up stomach acid. Nasty stuff...

Exhaustion aside, I did feel better after all that, so I creeped to bed and slept until morning.

Considering I've been feeling pretty unattractive lately with the combination of not having enough time in the morning to shower before work and simply looking ragged all day, I did have a moment of feeling pretty again. I was on my way out the door after work when one of our co-workers stopped me in the hall and told me that one of our young KATUSA (Korean Augmentee to the US Army) Soldiers had a huge crush on me! She said that every day at mail delivery, he fights to get my mail so he can bring it to my desk! How cute...

Now I'm curious who it is because the delivery boy varies day by day, but who is the most frequent deliverer? I'll have to do some investigating. Hehehe...:) It's funny to be the object of someone's crush...especially as a pregnant woman. :)

Happiness is...

...waking up in the morning to this:


...and waking up to "doo-moh-ning, Ummaaaaaa" and a giant kiss on the face. :)

...and even waking up to a rub on the head and a hundred little kisses! :)

Happiness is parenting a child and loving that child so much that even when she frustrates you because she won't go to sleep at night, she's just so darn cute that you can help but chuckle when she asks you for that one more sip of water or that one more story...

Tay's vocabulary is just exploding these days and she amazes me every day with what she says and the SENTENCES she uses them in! It's amazing! It's also funny that she has a sense of humor and she knows when she's being funny. Yesterday, she saw a picture of our family on Appa's computer and pointed to the picture, identifying each one of us. Then, she proceeded to point at herself and say "Umma," then she pointed at me and said, "Appa," and then she turned to me with a huge grin on her face and said, "Funny," and giggled her silly little giggle and then went on to identify herself as "Lu-lu" (her cousin), me as "Uncle Han," and her Appa as "Uncle Justin" and then turned to me and said, "FUNNY!" again as she giggle and rolled on the ground. My little comedian...:)

So many moments of happiness like these fill our days, that I can't recall when I am sad...I guess that's a good thing. Mind you, we still have our tantrums and meltdowns, but they pale in memory compared to all the laughter...

This morning, as we got in the car to go to Beth's, Tay grabbed my arm after I buckled her in and said, "Umma play me" (Umma play with me). I hugged her and kissed her and told her I'd play with her a lot after she got done playing with Tita. Then, she told me, "one more popo, popo!" so I kissed her again, when she just grabbed my face and kissed me about 10 times more before she was satisfied and we went on our way. It's mornings like these I just wish I could stay home and play with her...::sigh::

I love my little girl...she's growing up so fast and her heart is just so...full of love. I feel so lucky to be her Umma...

The last couple weeks.

Well, it has been a little over two weeks since potty training, and Tay has been doing very well! She has never had an accident outside of the house, even when we put her in a pull-up just in case. She still remembers when we're out that she needs to tell us she needs to go potty. We did have one day when she had two accidents at the house...she was playing, playing, playing and the next thing I notice, she is standing there looking down at her feet at a HUGE puddle. I guess she just got too caught up in playing, but thankfully it was on the wood floor and not a carpet or furniture. After that accident, I cleaned her up, reminded her she needed to go in the potty when she had to go, and put her in a diaper. She ran around and played some more, but later she told me she had to go potty so we went successfully on the potty. She went right back into underwear. After that she was playing again, but when she squatted to pick something up, I think she thought she had to pass gas when it was actually a little more than gas...::sigh::

So...I took her to the potty to finish because I think it surprised her that it wasn't just gas, and she ran to me to tell me she had to go poo-poo. I didn't realize she actually went a little in her undies until I pulled them down and saw a present. Ugh...

Anyhow, she finished in the potty, and since she didn't just go entirely in her undies, I just cleaned her up and put her in another pair of undies instead of a diaper.

Saturday night, Tay actually woke up around midnight to tell me she had to go pee-pee. I haven't started night training yet, so I was surprised she did that, but I took her anyway and she did go and then went right back to sleep (thankfully). Maybe she's getting herself ready before I am ready...

Last week, we took Tay to Caribbean Bay water park for some swimming fun because we hadn't taken her swimming in a long time. She LOVED the water...even though it was a bit chilly. :) That girl loves swimming more than anything...she was so excited when we told her we were going swimming...and she didn't want to get out of the water when we left! She went down the slide a few times, went around the lazy river many times, and her favorite at the end was the wave pool where she loved playing at the wave breaks and feeling the water push her around.

This coming weekend, we are going to celebrate Tay's 2nd birthday early because Jeff will be gone for the actual day for exercise. We've invited a couple of her little friends and a couple adults she knows and we'll be celebrating at our home. The theme? Elmo, of course. :)

We can't wait!

Midnight sickness?

Well, I guess I can officially say I had my first bout of real "morning sickness" this weekend, but does it count if I got sick a bit past midnight???

We had all gone to bed, and I had my normal queasiness, but I figured it'd settle down once I went to sleep. Well, I did fall asleep, but around midnight, Tay woke up because she had to go pee-pee, so I got up with her to take her to the potty, but when I did, I felt a huge wave of nausea hit me. Luckily, I was able to hold it down, make it to the potty with her and back and laid her down to go back to sleep. After she fell back asleep, my nausea still hadn't gone away, so I decided to try and mitigate with some rice and Tabasco sauce (since it works so well during the day). Well, I got a few spoonfuls in when I felt that rush of saliva into my mouth like I was gonna ---- so I RAN to the bathroom and just made it to the toilet...and let's just say it wasn't pretty.

With a purged stomach and a burning throat from the Tabasco making its way back out, I brushed my teeth, sipped some cold water and laid back down to go to sleep. Thankfully, no more nausea that night...but let's just say, my throat was rather scratchy in the morning when I had to sing at Mass...::sigh::

I'm not sure what brought about the sudden violent nausea, but I'm glad it has passed in that short bout. I hope I don't have to do that again. I've only got a couple more weeks before my first trimester is complete...hopefully when I can say good bye to all the nausea, too. :)

Hope you're growing well in there, little one.

Tabasco, much?

Well, this week has been an interesting turn of events in that my craving for the spicy/salty/vinegary has seriously kicked in. It's not any food in particular, but Tabasco has become my best friend. I sprinkle a little of it on everything...everything...from rice and seaweed to fish to eggs to corn to spagetti...pretty much anything I feel like eating at the time needs a light sprinkling of the good stuff...who knew? I don't use too much because I don't want to risk the heartburn after, but I think I've controlled the amount of usage fairly well so far.

I definitely need to keep up my healthy eating, though, because today, I sort of neglected eating healthy throughout the day and by mid-afternoon, I was STRUGGLING...not only for energy, but with the nausea that comes with an uncomfortable stomach...ugh.

After a good meal for dinner, though, I feel much better now, and with a dash of Tabasco, I have quelled the nausea...yum.

Rest is now calling...after a brownie. :) Maybe Tabasco on brownie? Nah...Happy Fat Tuesday.

Sesame Street!

This past week, we had a very special treat on post. Beth brought Tay to post around 3:30 and I met them at Collier Field House to grab good seats for the Sesame Street Live USO experience! :) Five characters from Sesame Street came to entertain the crowds with song and dance, and they also geared the show toward the military family audience by referencing a parent deployed and what they did to help cope with the separation or loss. Although it was a very brief show (about 25 minutes of actual stage time), it was very well received by the entire audience, and Tay particularly enjoyed seeing Elmo in person and being so close to him. Here she is waving at him!


I wish we could have gotten some video of her in the audience dancing along and just getting so excited when Elmo came on stage. She shrieked with excitement and waved her hands frantically, and of course, turned to me to tell me that Elmo was on the stage! It was a beautiful sight!


She was totally entranced in the show once it began and I know she was sad when Elmo said good bye and left the stage. I wish we could have had a photo opportunity with them together, but that was not an option (unless I rushed the stage with her or something, like many of the parents did as soon as Elmo set foot off stage!). I guess I'm just not that kind of aggressive...sorry Tay. Beth was able to get a few cute shots of her and some of the characters on stage. The five characters that performed were Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Rosita, and Zoe.

Just look at how much she's enjoying this show! She'd look back every once in a while to make sure we were as into it as she was!

Another Doctor Visit

Yesterday, I went to my 7/8 week doc visit for a check up. I got another sonogram, but this time, instead of seeing just a little blip or the yolk sac, I could actually see the little person developing in there with a little head and even a little sprout of a leg. The tech also pointed out the umbilical cord and and again, the fluttering heart. Speaking of fluttering heart, the little one's heartrate during this visit was an extremely rapid 162 bpm!!! Does this mean that this little angel growing in my belly is bound to be another little girl??? :) Who knows! Quite possibly...

During this visit, they also drew some blood and urine for some routine testing. Something that sort of bothered me a bit was that the doctor told me I was gaining too much weight too fast already! Now, see here. I have put on maybe a pound so far...I don't think that's too much weight. And telling me I'm fat now isn't going to help me...and so the doc put me on this "low glycemic index" diet to "keep my insulin strong." They didn't tell me I was diebetic or anything, but basically told me that gaining too much weight was bad...but how do they know what's too much weight for me? Why was I not told this at all with my first pregnancy? Tay was healthy and so was I! I wasn't too thrilled with getting so big by the end, but all the weight came off pretty quickly and easily.

Now I'm stressed about my weight when I really shouldn't be, should I? I have to chart my weight every week and make sure I stay under the recommended weight or else restrict my eating??? Really???

I can't believe it.

I will adjust what I eat a bit to be in line with the recommendation, but I'm sorry...dieting will not be the focus of this pregnancy. I would rather not worry about that stress (although now it's at the forefront of my mind) of staying skinny and worry more about having a healthy pregnancy.

Anyhow, all that aside, it appears this little one is growing well and my next appointment is on 11 March. One month away. Must stay under weight...noooooooooooooo!!!

hehe...:)

Three Days and Counting!

Tay has completed day three of her no-accidents streak with potty training during the day!

She has stayed in underwear from when she wakes up in the morning to when she goes to bed at night, and we have yet to have an accident! I'm so proud of her!

I have been meaning to put these pictures up for a while, but I was debating whether or not I should since it is such a public display of "undies"...but I figured it's worth it because of the cheesiness of my little girl and the sweetness of her smile when she has successfully pulled everyone of the clean underwear from the laundry on her own little behind...over her pants.

Yay, more nausea...

It appears I am going to have more frequent days of nausea with this little one than I did with Tay. Today was one of those days where I just couldn't shake that queasy feeling all day...no matter what I ate or drank, that gross feeling just stuck with me. I still didn't need to make a run to the bathroom, but it literally felt like I had motion sickness all day...rather unpleasant.

I am noticing I prefer the salty tastes to the sweet, but I did enjoy a dark chocolate cupcake (from weelicious.com) today and it was fabulous. I also found that I can get worked up pretty easily (stressed out, that is), even when I really shouldn't. I feel like I am eating less healthy with this pregnancy than the first, but I honestly can't remember how or what I ate when I was pregnant with Tay, so I guess I can't really compare.

I'm so exhausted with this pregnancy, too. Just unbelieveably tired...I just want to take a nap all the time...just lie down and do nothing. But then...come nightfall, I can't sleep. It's like my clock's off or something. I wake up about four or five times a night just to check the time...and then when morning comes, it's so difficult to wake up and get moving.

Jeff's on a business trip this week, so it's just Tay and me...and we're doing okay, actually. I was a little worried that I might get fed up too quickly or lose my patience with her, but she's sweet as always and my patience runs deep when I'm with her alone...it's amazing what motherhood teaches and brings out...it's truly a beautiful thing.

I'm just glad Tay went down without a fight tonight because I had a lot to get done tonight (like dishes and laundry) that I meant to do during the day (lunchtime), but I was just too exhausted that I just lay around and rested...::sigh::

Pregnancy is really kicking my butt this go around, but I am excited for my appointment on Thursday.

I think everything about pregnancy is about waiting...and waiting...and waiting...even before getting pregnant, it's waiting for that first positive pregnancy test...then it's the constant waiting for the next doc appointment, the next trimester, the first fetal movement, the wondering about the gender, the due date...etc...etc...etc...a constant state of WAITING. Oy...it's a good thing my patience persists...like my nausea...ugh.

Sleepless.

I can't remember being quite so sleepless when I was pregnant with Tay, but I feel like I'm already losing so much sleep with this one. I wake up at least once or twice every night to go to the restroom, and at night, it's hard for me to fall asleep. But I am so exhausted all day! I think having all of these doctor's appointments in my first trimester are making this trimester just seem so much longer than before, but it is kinda nice in its own way. Like I was telling Jeff yesterday, we didn't get to hear our little Tay's heart beat or see her in a sonogram until we were 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant with her! That was our first doctor's appointment! This time, we found out we were pregnant with a sonogram! Amazing.

Another symptom of pregnancy I am having is indigestion...quite uncomfortable, I might add. I just need to be more aware of how much and what I'm eating, and to make sure I chew well so I don't feel like I have a brick sitting in my stomach for hours trying to digest. Last night, the flank steak I cooked was really good, but it sat in my stomach and just hurt for a while...ugh.

Definitely should eat more vegetables. And fruit.

I have another appointment on Thursday. I think that's when I get the first round of blood tests and hopefully will get to see the little one again to see how he/she's developing.

REALLY looking forward to hearing from my mom when she gets the Valentine's Day card...hehehehehe...

Potty Training Successes!

This weekend, Jeff and I decided to go all out and spend the weekend potty training. Saturday, we stayed home all day with her in just a t-shirt and underwear. We took her to the potty every hour and whenever she asked to go. From when she first woke up in the morning (5am) until she went to bed that night (8pm), she only had two accidents! We called the day a success and decided to run Sunday the same way, but since we did have to run our Sunday routine of church, breakfast, etc., we knew it would be a little tougher on her.

Well, from the moment she woke up (6:30am), she told us she needed to go pee-pee, so we ran to the potty where she went successfully. Then, we went again before we left for church. We did put her in a diaper for church, just in case (since it was really only her second day of official potty training), but she stayed dry through church, and at the beginning of breakfast, she said, "Umma, pee-pee" so we went to the public restroom where I found her in a completely dry diaper and she went successfully in the big toilet! Afterward, we washed our hands and went to breakfast. After breakfast, she told me she needed to go again, so I took her again, where she still had a dry diaper and she went again! We washed up and went to play on the playground a bit before we went shopping. About five or ten minutes into playing, she suddenly ran to me again and said she needed to go. I thought it was a bit strange since she had just gone less than 15 minutes ago, but I figured it couldn't hurt to take her again, so we went back inside and to the restroom.

This time, she went #2!!! I was so proud of her. I just held her on the big potty (since we were still in a public restroom) and she just went like it was a piece of cake! Her diaper still remained dry. After showering her with praise and washing up once again, we went on our way to shop a bit before we went home for some rest. On the drive home, Tay fell asleep in the car seat, so we let her nap in her room for an hour or so while we rested up as well. I fell asleep myself for a bit, and woke up to Tay asking me to go pee-pee.

She still had a dry diaper after her nap!!! :) She went successfully in the potty, and from then on, she just wore underwear like a big girl the rest of the day with NO ACCIDENTS!

Sunday was 100% success without us reminding her every hour to go potty. She told her whenever she needed to go - sometimes within 30 minutes of going, other times, in two hours! I was so proud of my little girl!

I hadn't thought of nighttime training yet, but we'll think about doing that maybe in a few months or so. I'm just so proud that she got the hang of it so quickly...

This morning, Tay left the house with just underwear on. I'm hoping for another good day of accident-free potty success. :)

Happy Superbowl!

Potty Time!

Shingil has been a real sweetheart lately, although we have knocked out her afternoon nap. She has been sleeping so well, for the most part, during the night, but she just has been battling the "going to bed" part. Once she falls asleep, she sleeps so well, but she would resist and resist until 10 or 11 at night! Then, she would sleep until 7 or 8 in the morning, which makes getting out the door before 8 quite difficult. With the intent of putting her to sleep earlier, we are trying a week without an afternoon nap. If she naps in the morning, it doesn't affect her nighttime sleep, but the afternoon naps were energizing her so much that she was running circles around us until the wee hours of the morning!

Anyhow, the no-nap thing hasn't been working as effectively as I would like, but she has been falling asleep by 9, at least.

As for potty training, I hadn't really pushed it or thought of it lately, but she is still going #2 on the potty consistently, and fairly frequently with #1, so we might go for underwear all the time during the day in the next couple of weeks. She has recently taken to going potty NOT on the big toilet, but back on her little potties (one at our house and the one at Beth's), so we're letting her use it all on her own. Yesterday, she only had ONE accident, out of the 20-or-so times she went to the potty! She was playing and suddenly she grabs her diaper and says, PEE PEE! She went running to the potty, took her diaper off, sat down, and peed the rest in the potty! Amazing.

She'll be potty trained sooner than later, I think. :)

A proud, thankful (and lucky) Momma.

Nausea...

Yesterday was a rough day for me. I think my failure to eat good food was a contributing factor, but at lunch time, I went home and laid down for a nap and woke up around 2pm feeling horribly nauseous and couldn't stand up without the room spinning. I just laid there and called in sick the rest of the day. When Jeff got home, he saw me still in my work clothes lying on my side on the couch, still nauseous and looking pale. He went to go pick up Shingil from Beth's as I still laid there...

I knew I needed to get moving or else I'd be lying there all night, so I worked up the energy to get up and start dinner. I shoved some rice crackers in my mouth to try and hold off the nausea and I made dinner for us. Luckily, once I got going, it was smooth sailing, and after eating, I felt much better.

I really should remember to eat constantly and eat healthy to keep the nausea at bay...I really never want another repeat of yesterday...

Sleep...

Ah, glorious sleep.

Happy February! This month, Tay will turn 23 months old and be one month closer to turning the big TWO! Amazing.

This past weekend, we spent a lot of time with her little friend Aiden and his family. Saturday we went sledding at Yangji Pine Resort, but we only lasted there about an hour because it was pretty cold and Aiden didn't really like sledding so much. Maybe it was the fact that when the kids went down with the dads, they got a steady spray of snow in their faces so that there was a wall of snow built up to their foreheads! :)

Well, Tay only went down with me once more, before she decided it was enough. I think the adults had a good time, though. :) The second time Tay went down, we were doing pretty good about keeping the snow out of our faces until Appa came flying by and his and my ankles got entangled and then the snow spray came again. By the time we finally got untangled, we were already at the bottom of the hill. The memorable part was when the snow spray began, the first thing Tay did was shout, "No, Appa, no Appa!" as she ducked under my arm for cover...hehehe...

That evening, we had Aiden and his family over for a sort of "pot luck" dinner where much laughter and delicious food was shared. The kids enjoyed chasing each other around the house and dancing together. They hadn't seen each other in over two months, so the reuion was pretty hilarious.

Sunday, Jeff and I were EXHAUSTED, so we ended up oversleeping the 8am Mass. Instead, we got ready, went to breakfast, Jeff went to his class while Tay and I did some shopping, then we went to E-mart for some groceries, and then we went to the late Mass. After that, Jeff and I were so beat we took turns taking naps while Tay ran circles around us...:) She missed her nap altogether...which made for a few short meltdowns, but she did surprisingly well for the rest of the considering how tired she was. Dinner went over surprisingly easy as she chowed down on rice, seaweed mix, kimchee and steak, and toward the end of the meal, her eyes began to close. When she was finished, she sleepily looked up, raised her hands and waved them to sign that she was all done and said, "All done." Then she wanted me to pick her up. I picked her up and she immediately laid her head on my shoulder and fell asleep. Instantaneous. Before I could even clean off her little mouth and hands. Well, Jeff helped me get her cleaned up (all the while, she slept) and I got her into her pajamas and we put her in her own bed for the first night to sleep. This was around 7pm.

She slept like a rock for a little over an hour, and awake abruptly for a few minutes, but went right back to sleep after I went in and held her for a bit. After Jeff and I turned in, I could fall asleep because I kept worrying that Tay might wake up in the middle of the night and be scared waking up alone in her room. I kept listening for her, but I think I eventually dozed off because I awoke with a start when I heard the softest little voice saying, "Mommy, where are you?" Not scared, not worried, but just asking where I was. I think she woke up because there was someone clopping around upstairs and moving chairs. I ran to her room and carried her back to bed with me...maybe I'm not ready for her to sleep in the big girl bed yet. I like our family bed. Anyhow, we all slept well the rest of the night.

This morning, Tay awoke when I sat down on the bed to get her dressed for the day (since she slept in til 7:45). She sat up right away and said, "Tita's?" Yes, baby girl, yes. We've got to get to Tita's so Umma can go to work. I'm glad she understands the routine, but sometimes I wish I could get her dressed and have her say, "breakfast?" instead and I could make her a yummy breakfast to have together...::sigh::

Morning Sickness...

Well, this morning was my first real bout of morning sickness, but I'm not sure it qualifies because I didn't actually have to say hello to the porceline...just a quick gag in the sink. The saliva gathering in my mouth non-stop is not helping the queasiness, but it is the same as the first. The thing is, it doesn't seem so far off, the 10-week mark...so I just have to survive.

I am definitely feeling the exhaustion, but I'm trying to keep up the good spirits to play with Tay and get things prepared for the little one's arrival. It's still a long way away, but it's nice to think about...

Maybe I should get a spit cup...ugh.