Friday, November 9, 2012
33 Weeks and Counting
33 weeks and counting! Cooper's baby brother heartbeat and Cooper talking away plus a quick look at the baby's sweet face!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Seoul Science Museum & Funny Bicycles
About 2 minutes into our trip, before we even got off base we had a flat tire so we took a left instead of a right turn to the Auto Hobby shop and they had us jacked in the air fixing the tire in no time. The best part is all 4 kids sat in the back watching a movie while we were in the air - getting a tire fixed has never been easier - oh, and there was no charge!
Dinos & Rocks:
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| T-Rex head - always a popular exhibit! |
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| The large cat bones - these were absolutely enormous! |
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| More big dino bones. |
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| Mammoth bones. |
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| Entry into the rock exhibit. |
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| Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car. |
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| Robot Fish Tank and Robot Exhibit. |
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| Mechanical lungs. |
Space & Air:
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| Korean jet - Cooper loved this area - kept staring at the planes, he's his daddy's son! |
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| Apollo engine. |
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| LEM (Lunar Excursion Model) & Rover. |
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| Cooper's favorite part of the museum - playing with gears, pullies and levers with Rachel and Rowan. |
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| Another part of the interactive kid's zone with handwritten notes from Korean children. |
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| A bike for 6! |
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| Cooper's favorite bike - a panda for 2! |
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| The pink cadillac! |
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The sideways bike.
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Monday, August 13, 2012
Our 168 Day Korea Update
It's been a bit since I've posted so I thought and appropriate topic would be what Cooper, Mommy & Brother and Daddy have been up to!
Mommy & Brother:
Brother: Today we had our 20 week appointment on base. This is the only ultrasound given throughout the pregnancy here on Osan for non-high risk pregnancies. The good news is everything looks perfect and our baby boy will arrive at Christmastime. The exact due date is 12/28 but they deliver C-sections on Osan at 39 weeks which puts our new due date of 12/21. This works out great as it should put us at home for Christmas! Owen and I have a long list of names on our chalkboard with votes and vetoes - hopefully we can come to a decision in 19 more weeks!
Work: I've always been aspirational in terms of my career so my new role as SAHM has been challenging although being with Cooper has been amazing and I don't see how I could ever give that up. I've struggled the past several months trying to find my place in this new role.
I quickly picked up the publicity and webmaster chair positions for the Osan Officers' Spouses' Club and logged 60 hours my first month working on rebranding the organization and I'm looking forward to utilizing my experience to help advance the organization over the next year. My delay in posting is due to spending Cooper's nap times working on OOSC publicity and web jobs including writing a marketing plan for the year, marketing for the new OOSC cookbook, writing a new sitemap, updating the OOSC website, migrating and updating the OOSC FB page and just a few more OOSC things!
I still needed another outlet that would allow me to interact with clients and friends and after much research and soul searching (and need for candle options in Korea) I decided to start selling Scentsy. I started my Scentsy business online and my first party is next Monday - I couldn't be more thrilled!
Stateside visit: I've been really homesick for family and for the states. Especially after the friends I made in the first few months left the country permanently for new assignments and many other friends left for stateside to visit for the summer. The permanent moves included the blog's infamous Aimee that was included in most every blog entry from March through June! Didn't realize how difficult that would be but it truly has been hard to have her missing from the Osan landscape. Miss you Aimee!
I've also been living out of my suitcase at my own home for the past 4 weeks waiting for a Space A flight to visit family. The flights leave on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we haven't made the standby list yet. This is our last week to try for Space A - either way I'll just be happy to unpack.
Cooper:
Our little boy is getting taller and smarter by the day. It's quite fun to watch him learning new things.
New words and phrases as of late:
banana
wee!
daddy's shoes
shoes
yay cooper!
dip it (when he's dipping nuggets into ketchup)
bye, bye dada
and more words from March and May.
New Cooper-isms:
On the playground - Last week Cooper saw a group of older boys climbing the tops of the playground equipment and sliding down and a lightbulb went off that he could go to the big slides too - so now that's his preference. Gives me a heart attack every time but he loves it.
Big boys, trains and cars: He loves the big kids and especially the big boys. He loves trains and cars. He's all boy!
Movies and TV: Only last month did he start to really love watching TV and movies. So, where the TV had been background noise now I have to be careful about turning it on so he doesn't zone out. His favorites are Sesame Street, Elmo, Thomas the Train and Despicable Me (including the Minion Madness shorts).
Sleepyhead: Cooper is still a great sleeper - going to bed around 8:30p and waking between 8 and 10am. He naps exactly 3 hours after he wakes for 2-4 hours and just last week he started skipping the afternoon nap.
Water: Cooper LOVES water any place - the waterpark, water fountains and bathtime!
Daddy:
Owen put on Major in June and quickly earned his keep by working some crazy hours throughout June and much of July (due to a high PCS of squadron members leaving Korea). Now that four new airmen are trained up the hours are starting to normalize a bit.
Owen's also been hard at work watching the Olympics and doing his own Olympic-style workouts in the pool, on the track and in the gym.
And he still insists that he has the best wife and son in the whole world and couldn't be happier to add baby #2 to the mix!
We're also excited to vacation in Thailand in October and posting about all of the great adventures we've had and will have here in Korea!
Mommy & Brother:
Brother: Today we had our 20 week appointment on base. This is the only ultrasound given throughout the pregnancy here on Osan for non-high risk pregnancies. The good news is everything looks perfect and our baby boy will arrive at Christmastime. The exact due date is 12/28 but they deliver C-sections on Osan at 39 weeks which puts our new due date of 12/21. This works out great as it should put us at home for Christmas! Owen and I have a long list of names on our chalkboard with votes and vetoes - hopefully we can come to a decision in 19 more weeks!
Work: I've always been aspirational in terms of my career so my new role as SAHM has been challenging although being with Cooper has been amazing and I don't see how I could ever give that up. I've struggled the past several months trying to find my place in this new role.
I quickly picked up the publicity and webmaster chair positions for the Osan Officers' Spouses' Club and logged 60 hours my first month working on rebranding the organization and I'm looking forward to utilizing my experience to help advance the organization over the next year. My delay in posting is due to spending Cooper's nap times working on OOSC publicity and web jobs including writing a marketing plan for the year, marketing for the new OOSC cookbook, writing a new sitemap, updating the OOSC website, migrating and updating the OOSC FB page and just a few more OOSC things!
I still needed another outlet that would allow me to interact with clients and friends and after much research and soul searching (and need for candle options in Korea) I decided to start selling Scentsy. I started my Scentsy business online and my first party is next Monday - I couldn't be more thrilled!
Stateside visit: I've been really homesick for family and for the states. Especially after the friends I made in the first few months left the country permanently for new assignments and many other friends left for stateside to visit for the summer. The permanent moves included the blog's infamous Aimee that was included in most every blog entry from March through June! Didn't realize how difficult that would be but it truly has been hard to have her missing from the Osan landscape. Miss you Aimee!
I've also been living out of my suitcase at my own home for the past 4 weeks waiting for a Space A flight to visit family. The flights leave on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we haven't made the standby list yet. This is our last week to try for Space A - either way I'll just be happy to unpack.
Cooper:
Our little boy is getting taller and smarter by the day. It's quite fun to watch him learning new things.
New words and phrases as of late:
banana
wee!
daddy's shoes
shoes
yay cooper!
dip it (when he's dipping nuggets into ketchup)
bye, bye dada
and more words from March and May.
New Cooper-isms:
On the playground - Last week Cooper saw a group of older boys climbing the tops of the playground equipment and sliding down and a lightbulb went off that he could go to the big slides too - so now that's his preference. Gives me a heart attack every time but he loves it.
Big boys, trains and cars: He loves the big kids and especially the big boys. He loves trains and cars. He's all boy!
Movies and TV: Only last month did he start to really love watching TV and movies. So, where the TV had been background noise now I have to be careful about turning it on so he doesn't zone out. His favorites are Sesame Street, Elmo, Thomas the Train and Despicable Me (including the Minion Madness shorts).
Sleepyhead: Cooper is still a great sleeper - going to bed around 8:30p and waking between 8 and 10am. He naps exactly 3 hours after he wakes for 2-4 hours and just last week he started skipping the afternoon nap.
Water: Cooper LOVES water any place - the waterpark, water fountains and bathtime!
Daddy:
Owen put on Major in June and quickly earned his keep by working some crazy hours throughout June and much of July (due to a high PCS of squadron members leaving Korea). Now that four new airmen are trained up the hours are starting to normalize a bit.
Owen's also been hard at work watching the Olympics and doing his own Olympic-style workouts in the pool, on the track and in the gym.
We're also excited to vacation in Thailand in October and posting about all of the great adventures we've had and will have here in Korea!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Coex Mall & Aquarium Visit
We've been excited to get to the Coex Complex since we arrived and finally had the opportunity to see both the Mall and the Aquarium. The mall had the most Western selection of food and shopping we've seen thus far but this trip was all about the Aquarium - well once we filled up on 'On The Border's' chips and guacomole!
Our favorite part about the Coex Aquarium is it seems to have been built with little ones in mind. The exhibits are built at a low level, and all on one track so even a toddler can walk the Aquarium rather than ride in a stroller.
Another interesting area is the infamous weird fishtanks including phone booths, magazine racks, vending machines, this fridge and washing machine:
This beautiful exhibit was open on the top - you could easily stick your hand (or body) in without a problem... well, except for the stingrays and sharks that lived in the exhibit. Uh... maybe not such a great idea!
While daddy and Cooper checked out the penguin exhibit I hung out with this guy. He was so cool and interacted with everything I did - it's fascinating how smart these creatures are.
Until next time, (which just happens to be this Wednesday) Coex Aquarium!
Our favorite part about the Coex Aquarium is it seems to have been built with little ones in mind. The exhibits are built at a low level, and all on one track so even a toddler can walk the Aquarium rather than ride in a stroller.
And even when the exhibits were taller than Cooper there were always ledges for them to stand on. This was the piranha tank - eerie how the eyes are all glowing here:
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Each exhibit had a different personality and/or region depicted by the environment, fish and other animals (like monkeys and penguins). These albino fish were in the Amazon area along with monkeys, hanging vines and a humid environment:
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Another interesting area is the infamous weird fishtanks including phone booths, magazine racks, vending machines, this fridge and washing machine:
And a toilet bowl:
This beautiful exhibit was open on the top - you could easily stick your hand (or body) in without a problem... well, except for the stingrays and sharks that lived in the exhibit. Uh... maybe not such a great idea!
While daddy and Cooper checked out the penguin exhibit I hung out with this guy. He was so cool and interacted with everything I did - it's fascinating how smart these creatures are.
Until next time, (which just happens to be this Wednesday) Coex Aquarium!
Tips to those living here:
- Purchase the annual pass - the cost is somewhere around 17000 for one adult ticket or 38000 for an annual pass.
- There are lockers to store items that you don't want to carry with you for 1000 (like all of those mall purchases).
- They ask you to leave your strollers before you enter the exhibit so if you have a non-walker a baby carrier is recommended.
Monday, July 16, 2012
It's a BOY!
Cooper's Going To Have a Little Brother!
I've said this before but it bears repeating: any adventure here in Korea doesn't start with the event itself - it begins on the road there. With that said here's how the gender reveal appointment went down:
When we arrived we found out that by their mistake the ultrasound wasn't scheduled and then they said they won't actually schedule until 19/20 weeks (even though during the last appt. they said between 16 and 20). We told them I would be out of the country at that time and they said then they would do the gender ultrasound at 24 weeks when I arrived back to Osan.
Then, they tried for an hour and a half to hear the heartbeat. After an hour Owen had to go back to work but me and Cooper stayed while they unsuccessfully tried 3 different dopplers. Their answer to that was well when you come back for your ultrasound at 24 weeks then we'll get the heartbeat then. Really? Um, no not going to work for me...
Finally, after some convincing the doctor called down to radiology and had them see me for an ultrasound to just hear the heartbeat.
{before you read this the baby is fine}
So, I headed down with Cooper. The tech was great but the first thing on the screen was a heartbeat scanner with no heartbeat - again. His face was grimmaced and I said where's the heartbeat? He said I'm just trying to get it to show me... so then I finally broke down and said "but is it there?" He assured me that it was and then quickly got it to show-up on screen. I cried the rest of the appointment.
I made quick friends with the tech so I used that to my advantage and soon he was showing me body parts, measuring the baby, showing me the face and movement and finally said do you want to know the sex? I said YES! but can you write it on a piece of paper for me? He said that he would but then totally gave it away by said ..."but if you can tell the parts on the screen then you'll know." 'The parts' can only mean one thing so I said "is it a boy?" and he said yes!
After such an emotional rollercoaster I decided to head straight to Baskin Robbins where not only did I splurge on Pralines 'N Cream but I got it in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. I guess it's salad for dinner!
I was so excited that Cooper was going to have a little brother but I wouldn't be able to tell anyone until I could talk to Owen and he was scheduled to be on a mission until 9pm.
I sent a quick email to daddy telling him to call me and finally at 6:00pm he was able to get away for a few minutes, hear the extended version of the appointment and then after his go-ahead I was able to tell him we were having a baby boy!
The appointment didn't go as anticipated but at least we learned the gender, saw the baby and heard the heartbeat. This week we'll head to the Korean OB Clinic to get some picture print outs.
Now to start putting together the nursery and picking out a boy's name!
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| Big brother's already ready to show little brother how to throw a ball! More pics below! |
I've said this before but it bears repeating: any adventure here in Korea doesn't start with the event itself - it begins on the road there. With that said here's how the gender reveal appointment went down:
When we arrived we found out that by their mistake the ultrasound wasn't scheduled and then they said they won't actually schedule until 19/20 weeks (even though during the last appt. they said between 16 and 20). We told them I would be out of the country at that time and they said then they would do the gender ultrasound at 24 weeks when I arrived back to Osan.
Then, they tried for an hour and a half to hear the heartbeat. After an hour Owen had to go back to work but me and Cooper stayed while they unsuccessfully tried 3 different dopplers. Their answer to that was well when you come back for your ultrasound at 24 weeks then we'll get the heartbeat then. Really? Um, no not going to work for me...
Finally, after some convincing the doctor called down to radiology and had them see me for an ultrasound to just hear the heartbeat.
{before you read this the baby is fine}
So, I headed down with Cooper. The tech was great but the first thing on the screen was a heartbeat scanner with no heartbeat - again. His face was grimmaced and I said where's the heartbeat? He said I'm just trying to get it to show me... so then I finally broke down and said "but is it there?" He assured me that it was and then quickly got it to show-up on screen. I cried the rest of the appointment.
I made quick friends with the tech so I used that to my advantage and soon he was showing me body parts, measuring the baby, showing me the face and movement and finally said do you want to know the sex? I said YES! but can you write it on a piece of paper for me? He said that he would but then totally gave it away by said ..."but if you can tell the parts on the screen then you'll know." 'The parts' can only mean one thing so I said "is it a boy?" and he said yes!
After such an emotional rollercoaster I decided to head straight to Baskin Robbins where not only did I splurge on Pralines 'N Cream but I got it in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. I guess it's salad for dinner!
I was so excited that Cooper was going to have a little brother but I wouldn't be able to tell anyone until I could talk to Owen and he was scheduled to be on a mission until 9pm.
I sent a quick email to daddy telling him to call me and finally at 6:00pm he was able to get away for a few minutes, hear the extended version of the appointment and then after his go-ahead I was able to tell him we were having a baby boy!
The appointment didn't go as anticipated but at least we learned the gender, saw the baby and heard the heartbeat. This week we'll head to the Korean OB Clinic to get some picture print outs.
Now to start putting together the nursery and picking out a boy's name!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Happy Quilt: a fabric paradise
There are only a handful of stores, closeby anyway, that you learn about very quickly upon your arrival to Osan: Dream Depot, E-mart, HomePlus and Happy Quilt.
I visited the first three within the first few weeks I was in town but it took a while to have a need to visit Happy Quilt. Owen, Cooper and finally drove the short 20 minutes to take a look around.
Happy Quilt can make just about anything for you - curtains, pillows, bedspreads, etc. - at amazing prices and they have hundreds of choices like...
Anthropologie look-alikes:
Polka dots:
Stripes & Script:
Paisley & Flowers:
And more:
Plus all the extras you need to DIY like this batting (with a side of Cooper):
So, yes they have hundreds of choices but I actually didn't find what I wanted* so my next trip will be to the Fabric Market in Seoul where they have 5 floors and literally thousands of fabric choices.
*Wish me luck on my ongoing quest for large horizontal chocolate striped fabric (for living room curtains) and yellow or gray zig zags (for the new baby's nursery).
I visited the first three within the first few weeks I was in town but it took a while to have a need to visit Happy Quilt. Owen, Cooper and finally drove the short 20 minutes to take a look around.
Happy Quilt can make just about anything for you - curtains, pillows, bedspreads, etc. - at amazing prices and they have hundreds of choices like...
Anthropologie look-alikes:
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| I adore the middle roll of fabric - very Anthropologie. It actually reminds me of the Finnia and Mantadia curtains I've been admiring for a while now. |
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| I think my Anthropology-loving friend Holly even has a shirt in this exact print. |
Polka dots:
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| I love these pretty grown-up polka dots. They remind me of my friend Jentry - sophisticated but stylish and girly. |
Stripes & Script:
Paisley & Flowers:
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| I think of my friend Kriste everytime I see this paisley - or maybe it's because she has 3 girls and this is nothing but girly! |
And more:
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| These modern railroad tracks would be sweet in a little boy's train room. |
Plus all the extras you need to DIY like this batting (with a side of Cooper):
So, yes they have hundreds of choices but I actually didn't find what I wanted* so my next trip will be to the Fabric Market in Seoul where they have 5 floors and literally thousands of fabric choices.
*Wish me luck on my ongoing quest for large horizontal chocolate striped fabric (for living room curtains) and yellow or gray zig zags (for the new baby's nursery).
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