Last week, my sweet Tay started coughing a bit...a small cough a couple times during the day, but I didn't think much of it. Then, it progressed to a full-blown cold with a horrible-sounding cough and a stuffy/runny nose, but luckily, no fever or other symptoms (other than a bit of crankiness) so I wasn't too worried. Lucky me, I decided to catch whatever bug she got, though, so I followed suit with the bit of coughing and then runny nose, but I had a bit more severe symptoms, probably due to the fact that I'm pregnant and still in my first trimester.
Anyhow, before our symptoms got really bad, we had scheduled a trip with some friends to the local Ice Gallery near Insadong. We were all really excited about the outing, especially since we had the Armed Forces Network coming to film the place on the same day. What we didn't know was that they'd be mic-ing us up through the entire visit and shooting us, and then interviewing us there about our "experience" about the "art" there...eep. The clip is supposed to be made public sometime in April, so when it does come out, I'll be sure to let everyone know about it or share the link to it (as long as I don't look totally ridiculous). :)
The ice gallery was really cool, though...we got to see a lot of very interesting structures all built out of ice. Tay's favorite part was probably the ice slide...she went down that thing multiple times! You'd think her little tush would have frozen to the slide... My favorite part was probably seeing the Eiffle Tower and the Statue of Liberty built out of ice. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was pretty cool, too. They even had an ice bathroom made up complete with a bathtub, sink, and toilet! Tay was none too fond of that, though...I wish I could have gotten a picture of that! I also laid her down momentarily on the ice bed, but she didn't like that too much either.
After we wandered through the ice gallery and froze our little noses off and we came out to thaw out, they had a large hunk of ice sitting out in the middle of the room. The ice sculpter then went up to the piece of ice with a chain saw and started chopping at the ice...soon we saw some letters carved up with a star just like the AFN logo! He did it all in a matter of minutes! It was truly amazing! I couldn't take the video because my hands were tied holding Tay, but I think Beth got the whole thing!
After that, they also gave us a cup-making demonstration! We also got to try our hand at making our own ice cups...let's just say it was not a pretty sight, but we all had a great time doing it, and at the end of the day, we each got to drink a little Fanta out of our ice cups! Again, I didn't get any pictures of that with my camera, but I'm sure someone did, so when I get my hands on those pics, I'll be sure to post them. :) The AFN crew also filmed a bit of the "hacking" of our cups, so we might see some footage of that later as well. Tay's favorite part of the cup-making was sucking on the huge chunks of ice (like the handle I chopped off my cup).
Tomorrow, my little baby girl turns TWO years old! I know we've already had her little birthday party and everything, but tomorrow is the day that she actually turns TWO! I still can't believe that two years ago today, she was still squirming around in my belly, and that two years ago tomorrow was the first day I ever set eyes on the most beautiful sight in the whole world...my Shingil Taylor Ryals. She has changed our whole lives so much for the better...I just can't fathom my life without her! She has become the center of our world, and we often wonder how much this new little being growing in my belly will impact and grow our family. I know she will make a wonderful big sister, but I wonder how I can keep nurturing her and loving her enough so that she continues to become the wonderful human being that she is already becoming.
As of late, she has really fallen in love with reading, and perhaps it's because I've been so sick lately, but whenever we come home after I pick her up from Beth's, we play a bit in her room and then she picks out a book and sits beside me or on my lap and we read and read and read. When we finish with one book, she goes and picks out another one. Then another. Then another. I probably read about 20 books every evening to her before our bedtime routine starts! What I love about that is that she really pays attention and the parts that she knows, she'll read right along with me! Some of her favorites lately have been "One Apple Up On top," "One Fish, Two Fish," "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," a couple Elmo books, quite a few Korean books, "Daddy Hugs," a few song books, and many more. I also love that our bedtime routine is really set. We take a bath, brush our teeth, dry off and lotion up, get in PJ's, get a sip of milk and/or water, cuddle up in bed to read three books (her picks lately have been Max & Ruby books), lights out, pray together, and then she kisses me good night and rolls over to fall asleep. It's amazing how quickly she falls asleep now without me patting her or singing to her or anything. I thought the days of rocking her to sleep would never go away, but gone they are...I guess it's a good thing. I can't be rocking her to sleep with a giant belly...
It's like my baby girl is transitioning into a young lady all on her own...sometimes I wish it would all slow down and she could be that little baby I held in my arms two years ago. I love the little lady she is becoming, though...and I especially love that I can communicate with her, too...and I can understand her and she can understand me...most of the time. :) She is definitely an amazing girl and I look forward to the day that I can tell her so and have her fully comprehend what I mean when I say that she is truly AMAZING.
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