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
