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

First Major Injury...

I think I spoke too soon last night when I wrote that this year has been relatively healthy for Tay. My little baby was getting excited and walking around with a toy when she fell foward on it! She now has a cut and bruise on the bridge of her nose. It breaks my heart to see it...what can I do? I can't do anything for her but keep it clean and hope and pray that it doesn't scar. My baby's perfect little face has a nasty little gash on it...it just makes me so sad...




















The next photo is when she had some blueberries and she just...had a heyday...:)


















After the blueberry mess, we had to give her a bath and she is seen here brushing her six little teeth...

11 and a half months already...

My baby girl is almost one year old...already. I can't believe that this past year has flown by so quickly...I wish I could rewind it and play it all over again...in slow motion. I blinked and my baby girl is already walking around on her own two feet and calling me Mama. We have been so blessed...Tay has had two colds and one episode of running a fever due to some antibiotics I had to take for my appendicitis. Other than that, she has been quite healthy and growing like a little weed. The last time she weighed in, she was 10.5 kgs (23 lbs, 2 oz.)...but we didn't get her height. I'm hoping to get all her measurements before we head to the states for her first birthday party. During her first year, Tay has traveled quite a bit...we took her to Bristol, VA, Atlanta, GA, and Melbourne, FL. She also traveled to Koh Samui, Thailand, when she was almost six months old. Then she traveled to the Philippines when she was eight months old. Now as she is about to turn one year old, I think of when she was first born and how much she needed me...completely helpless to do anything by herself. Now she is already turning into a little independent lady who wants to do things herself...but lucky for me, she still needs me some of the time...:) hehehe...

I love her so very much...I miss her tiny-ness, but I am so proud and happy that she is becoming such a beautiful little lady.