Six Months Already...

Our little Tay has already turned six months old! I can't believe it...

So much has happened this last month! Our move into the new apartment went well, and Tay adjusted quite easily into the new space. Although I don't feel like we're completely moved in just yet...(it's already been over a month!)...it has become home for us. We're into somewhat of a routine now in the mornings. I get up to shower before Tay and Jeff are up. While I'm in the shower, usually, Tay wakes up and wakes Jeff. Jeff and Tay cuddle and play in the bed while I get ready for work. Jeff gets her dressed for the day and I take over and play with her as I grab a bite to eat and Jeff gets ready for work. Then I walk Tay over to Beth's place and head off to work.

Tay and Beth are getting along fabulously, and occasionally I feel a little jealous, but I am glad that they enjoy each other's company. Tay is always happy when I come to pick her up, but not happy just because I'm picking her up; she's happy because Beth keeps her happy. She also takes plenty of pictures and little movie clips for me during the day, as well as keep me updated on everything that goes on with Tay. I appreciate her for that.

Last week, Tay went to her six month check up and all went well. She weighed in at 21lbs. 4oz. and was 27 inches long! The doc said she was large for her age, but not abnormally or something of any concern. I looked up her size on a weight chart and it said that she was over the 95th percentile for her weight and somewhere in the 70 to 90 percentile in length. I'm still not worried because the doc's not worried and I love my healthy baby. :)

As for her nightly routine, Tay is getting a little out of sorts. She's having a hard time staying asleep at night these days unless she's co-sleeping with us. I thought I would never co-sleep with her on a regular basis, but now it's becoming a nightly thing. I actually love being able to cuddle with her at night and in the morning, but as she grows, Jeff and I are slowly getting kicked out of the bed. :) She has lately been turning perpendicular to us and kicking and pushing us out. We need to upgrade to a king-sized bed. What I've read is that as she starts entering her "separation anxiety stage (6-18 mos???), she has a harder time sleeping alone in her crib. I need to re-read The No-Cry Sleep Method and implement the measures. Just need a little time off to go a few weeks sleep-deprived to get her used to sleeping in her crib again. :) She just sleeps so well when she sleeps with us...and I love how she looks for reassurance in the middle of the night with one hand on my arm and the other on Jeff's arm as she sleeps cozily between us.

Today, Tay went to visit the gravesite of her great grandparents...and the great grandmother after whom she was named, Shingil. We took the KTX train down to Daejun in the rain and visited the site. We sang and prayed and said our hellos. The rain didn't let up the entire time. Afterward, we went to the little restaurant close by and ate a delicious meal - Tay only got to suck on an apple slice. Poor thing.

Speaking of foods, Tay's tried quite a few new foods now: rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, carrots, sweet potato, sweet peas, banana, apple, pear, and a few combos of the listed items. :) She loves it all, but I think her favorite is my homemade applesauce mixed with oatmeal. It also helps keep her quite regular...:)

My goodness, this is getting lengthy. I'll try and be back to the regular entries. It's been a bit chaotic with the new job and all...more to follow about that.

Love,
Rosa

New Apartment

Our little family has just moved into a new apartment just down the street from our old apartment. We decided that as little Tay started to accumulate more and more stuff (toys and clothes), we probably needed a little bit more space - we upgraded from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom apartment. The area is very nice, actually, and it's surprisingly close to some nice little restaurants and very close to Tay's sitter's house.

Beth and Tay have bonded well and as much as that pains me to see that she has bonded with someone else other than me, I am thankful and glad that she will be taken care of by such a loving lady who will watch over her like another mother. I think Tay still loves me, but I fear that there may come a day that she reaches for Beth instead of me...and I'll probably cry about it and be sad for a while, but I'll get over it and just love Tay even more to make up for losing time with her by working.

I start work on Monday and I'm quite nervous about the whole thing, but I think it will be good in the long run. I hope this is the right decision for our family.

Tay's new sitter

Well, yesterday, little Tay and I finally met the lady who will be watching her once I go back to work. Her name is Beth and she was wonderful with little Tay. We spent about four hours there together and Tay and Beth got along wonderfully. The only time Tay got a little upset was when she got tired and wanted to nap...then she started looking for me and cried when Beth walked her around to try and get her to fall asleep. As soon as she handed her to me, she drifted off to sleep without a peep.

At that moment, I had a little moment of joy because I felt needed, at the same time, I realized that Tay was going to have a little bit of a hard time once I actually did go back to work. I also knew that I was going to miss her terribly...it made me feel strange and sad. As soon as the little one drifted off, I set her down on the couch and she stirred awake a little and whined. I asked Beth to pick her up to calm her back to sleep and luckily she was able to do so and Tay slept peacefully in her arms...

...which made me even sadder...

...but I knew this was for the best for the future. ::sigh::

My little baby...how many moment will I miss with her now?

My sleeping beauty...I already miss her.

Tay's first word!

We got a recording! Our little Tay lately has enjoyed hearing herself "speak" (more like little yells and screams), and the day before yesterday when she was experimenting with her voice and making some tarzan calls and yodels, she said her first word...

What was it, you ask?

DADDY! :)

You can hear it yourself...right at the very end...

Isn't she absolutely adorable??? Our little girl...growing so fast...

Tay's also so much more exploratory with her hands now...and so affectionate already! See her loving her Umma:

We took her to Sunday brunch today to meet some friends of ours and dressed her up...

Jeff thinks she looks like a little old lady in this dress, but I think she's beautiful...:)

Well, that's all for now!

Going back to Work

...I'm so torn about going back to work.

A part of me really wants to go back to work.
Another part of me really doesn't want to leave Tay.

I don't know what to think.

I just feel...strange. Uncomfortable.

I don't know what to think.

Who knows.

Taylor's First Overseas Trip

So here's how the trip was supposed to go...

Taylor and I would fly to Bristol for two weeks to visit my family, and then we would fly down to Melbourne to visit Jeff's family (where Jeff would meet us there) for two weeks. In those second two weeks, we were supposed to fly up to Dartmouth for a couple days for my five-year reunion. After those four weeks in the states, we were supposed to fly back to Korea to get back into the routine of things.

Here's how it actaully happened...

Taylor and I flew to Bristol for two weeks to visit my family. The visit went great and she was even okay on the flight over from Korea to Bristol. We were exhausted because she didn't sleep hardly at all (about 2 hours of a 14-hour flight), but we rested up and we had a great time in Bristol. Then it came time to fly again...which she did not like. The flight from Tri-Cities to Atlanta was a nightmare...it was a short 45-minute flight, but she cried the entire second half of the flight making it probably the longest flight ever for me. She didn't stop crying until I walked off of the plane. Yikes. I was dreading the flight from Atlanta to Melbourne. Luckily, this flight was not full and I had a row to myself and Tay...she began fussing as soon as we sat down in the plane, so I rocked her and prayed that she might fall asleep...please, please, please. Before we even took off, she was sound asleep in my arms...phew. I wondered how long she would stay out. This flight was supposed to be an hour and a half long...I didn't think I could take another 30 minutes of my baby crying her heart out. She must have felt sorry for me, so she was actually very good the entire flight and slept in my arms until we landed at the Melbourne airport. Yay!

After that scary travel day, I didn't want to put little Tay through another traveling ordeal (or myself). I decided to cancel our trip to Dartmouth (sad). Jeff arrived a few days later in Melbourne, and we relaxed and enjoyed spending time with the families. Taylor really enjoyed watching her cousins and especially chatting it up with her almost-twin cousin Lucy.

Overall, the trip went very well in Florida, and then, as we were about to head home...

This happened...a lovely appendectomy. Ugh.

Even my little Tay suffered because I was hospitalized...

My poor little baby had a bad stomach ache and a low-grade fever. We think it was because of the antibiotics that they pumped me full of for the surgery. She had to go 24 hours with my breastmilk, but thankfully, my sister-in-law (Lucy's mom) helped out by donating some of her frozen breastmilk for the cause. Baby made a full recovery and I am on my way to being back to normal...mostly. I think I'll have a deformed bellybutton forever...sad.

Well, we're now back in Korea after a surprisingly easy flight back (baby slept most of the way in my arms...:) Since we've been back, baby has made a HUGE developmental milestone. See video clip below!

Now, we're just wrestling with jet lag. Poor Tay is having a terrible time adjusting...but I think we'll get there eventually. I just need more sleep...zzz...

That's all for now.

2 Month Check-up

Our little angel had her 2-month check-up today and got two more immunization shots. She's growing so quickly...I try and take hundreds of pictures every day to capture every moment of her babyhood...I think it comes with being a first-time mom. :) She weighed in today at 14 lbs, 13 oz. and is still about the same length (23.7 in). She's such a good eater...:)

It's late so I must head to bed, but just wanted to write a quick post. Probably will write more later...