We're moving to South Korea!

Once we received word that me and Cooper would be command-sponsored and joining Owen in South Korea many of our family, friends and co-workers wanted a way to bridge the distance and experience our latest adventure alongside us. This blog is meant to do just that. So, this first post includes an overview of our 2011 and the story about how we came to be moving to Korea.

           

2011

On February 22 our perfect baby boy Cooper was born. Only 3 months later and Owen was deployed to the Middle East for a 6 month tour. This was a difficult but as a military family we knew if was inevitable and we endured.

On a Saturday morning in late November Owen called from the Middle East to tell us that he’d been given a non-voluntary 1 year assignment to Korea beginning a mere two months after he arrived home. My first words were a resilient “how do we go?” There was never a moment of contemplation - I knew that we'd do whatever it took to be together. 

The days and what became weeks following were filled with small milestones on the journey to get Cooper and I commander-sponsored. In December we learned that Cooper and I would be joining Owen in Korea for a 2 year tour with a February 28, 2012 report date. 

We were (and are) overjoyed to be together but there was so much to be done in a short period of time including transitioning out of my advertising job, renting our home, finding homes for our dogs, selling two vehicles and moving – not to mention welcoming Owen home and the holiday season.

To get through the overwhelming schedule over the next two months it was necessary to take one big change at-a-time. So, Cooper and I got ready to welcome Owen home after a long, 6 ½ months.  We prepared the house, dressed Cooper in a “Welcome Home” onesie, put out the flags and waited with baited breath to see him again. On a chilly evening in the middle of December it finally happened – we saw Owen. Nothing warmed my heart more than to see Owen get to hold his now, 10 ½ month old baby. The next few days we didn’t talk about the changes that were soon to happen but instead just held eachother tight.

Only a week and a half later it was Christmas closely followed by New Year’s and we traveled to visit family in Lubbock and Dallas.

Now it was finally time, to start planning the big move!  

Meet The Hein's

Meet the Hein’s. We are a military family - strong, happy and full of adventure! Owen and I have been married for 9 years now and our baby boy, Cooper turns 1 next week.

Owen is a Major Select in the United States Air Force. For the last 8 years I've been an Ad Agency Marketing Strategist but as of just a short month ago I've left my job to take on the role of a full-time mom living and supporting my husband in Korea. This in itself will be quite the experiment - another adventure I hope to document here. 

So far we’ve had the opportunity to be stationed and live in Panama City Beach, Florida (2002), Anchorage, Alaska (2003-08), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (2008-12) and by the end of February - Osan AFB in South Korea.  

We’ve also gotten to visit some amazing places along the way like Paris, Rome, Naples, Pisa, Tunisia, Barcelona, Monaco, Cozumel and Jamaica.

And gotten to do some pretty fun stuff like Disney World (and Land), the Redwood Forest, Denali National Park, the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, Alaskan glacier exploration and more.

We love adventure – even if it’s just the everyday kind - and are excited to share our latest adventures right here!


Note: The posts you see before this one are imported posts from our blog Bump To Baby that documented my journey from my first baby bump to our bundle of joy. 

Cooper's 2 month update

Cooper (aka Stud Muffin) turned 8 weeks old yesterday!

Little stud muffin on a stroller ride around the neighborhood on his 8-week-old birthday.

  Here is some of what he had going on over the last 4 weeks: 

 1) Cooper started really focusing and tracking faces during the middle of the month and on objects during the last week of the month. It's so fun to watch his development!

Cooper and his new playmat he got on his 8-week-old birthday

The little rascal giving me the stank eye!

3) Cooper also spent his first afternoon outside this month and loved every second of it. I would anticipate that babies don't like breezes on their face or the sun in their eyes - but our baby can't get enough of anything to do with the outdoors. Mommy and baby even had their first "ride" in the hammock together. Another thing he loves is being under a tree with the moving shadows - so swinging on the hammock, under the tree was bliss!

Mommy and Cooper under the gazebo hanging out.

4) Cooper visited the mall with mommy for the first time late this month. Really, mommy didn't have anything to shop for - just wanted to get out of the house (windy weather) and experience something new. Plus he really likes his stroller.

Enough said.

5) Cooper also met all of mine and Owen's co-workers. He slept the entire time through both visits - which was nice.

Daddy and Cooper on a warm, beautiful day outside.



Eskimo kisses!

6) Cooper also started to make it apparent that he recognizes mommy and daddy's voices. He turns suddenly toward our voice if he's being held by someone else. So sweet!

Our little family.

7) He also got he first little taste of a cutie orange and a banana (just touched it with his tongue - didn't give him really any substance yet). He's smitten.

8) The first time I had to be away from Cooper for more than a quick errand was this month for a dermatology appointment. I teared up the entire time - at first I think the nurses thought I was scared to be at the docs!



You said it brother!

 9) Cooper's really gotten on-board with bath time. He loves the sound and feel of the water and mommy loves this bonding time with baby.


A warm bathroom heater keeps him happy after bath time!



Early (censored) bath time photo - still working on focusing.


10) Cooper got his first cold this month. Boo! I noticed that he coughed a couple of times and they weren't after eating or being outside so I took him in as a precaution. And sure enough the little guy had a cold - the doctor felt like it was RSV and gave us some tips on what to do to make sure it didn't get serious enough for a hospital visit. So, for the next 2 weeks he slept upright in his carseat, slept with a humidifier and generally we kept him upright or on his tummy for the most part. Either it really wasn't bad enough to be RSV or we did a good job of curbing it as it never really progressed past a few coughing spells. Note: this was also mommy's first baby-related breakdown - I thought I was the worst mommy ever for my sweet baby to already be sick. Thanks to Nana and Nani for talking me out of my own meltdown.

Cooper in his swing - ready for lunch!

11) David & Nancy (Nana & Pop) met Cooper and visited for about a week during their Spring Break. It was a bit of a stressful week as we thought Owen was being deployed to help in the Libya efforts so much time was devoted to him getting ready to leave and us preparing for it - but it never panned out. The visit was great and full of lots of picture-taking, visiting and hanging out at home getting lots of baby time in.

12) During the last week of the month we took Cooper on his first roadtrip to Lubbock to visit the family and meet some friends and family he hadn't met yet. The trip to Lubbock went okay but at about an hour out Cooper had a mini-meltdown - poor guy was so over being in his carseat! 

During this trip we got to met Great Grandboddy and Granddad and Great Aunt Kay and Uncle Bobby on Owen's side.


Great Grandboddy and Granddad with Cooper

And on my side Cooper got to meet his Uncle Jim and cousin Haydn, Uncle Cody, Great Grandma Big Spring, Great Aunt Monica and Uncle Tommy and second cousins, Jerad, Morgan and Meagan. We also got to see Nani and Papi and Trenton and Stacia again. If that wasn't enough meeting and greeting we also went to a friend's wedding shower and was able to see many of our Whitharral friends.


Haydn and Cooper



Haydn and Cooper

Great Grandma Big Spring



Trenton and Stacia with Cooper

On the trip back home we decided to make it as far as Cooper told us we could and then stop for a little more time - this worked great as we were able to stop for dinner at a restaurant. That cuddling time during dinner, out of his carseat, is just what Cooper needed to get through the next leg of the trip. He made it all the way until about 5 minutes out before he told us that he was over it. Not bad for the first roadtrip!

13) And, lastly Cooper changed clothes approximately 90 times this month so it was necessary to have lots of cute onesies on-hand! 

Happy 2 months old baby boy!

iPhone Photos and our new Flickr Account

We are now constantly in the mode of taking photos - especially with our iPhones since they are always so handy. We've posted many of these shots on Flickr via "Cooper's Photos" on the right.

In the meantime here are some of our favorites:

Mommy with a sleepy Cooper.

Cooper is a very alert and happy baby!

He always has his mouth open - even when asleep. Hehe!

Daddy's little champ!

Cooper realy loves lying on his changing pad. Here he is playing with me with his hand.

2 Weeks of Life: update

We had a wonderful second week with Cooper just spending time bonding and loving on him at home.

Owen went back to work on Monday 3/7 so this was my first day by myself... and I won't lie - it was super hard! Cooper is normally really happy and calm but he had a tough Monday and I had a mini breakdown when Owen finally came home. The rest of the week was much better although it's interesting how one appointment takes up an entire day with an infant.

MONDAY
On Monday afternoon Owen and I visited a potential daycare and picked up a prescription for Cooper.

TUESDAY
On Tuesday Cooper had his second doctor's appointment and was pronounced perfect! He's also really health as he almost gained a pound in one week going from 8 pds even to 8 pds 10 oz!

WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday we were visited by our friend Jamie and her 1-year-old daughter, Emily. We had a great time visiting and it was nice to have company. 

THURSDAY
On Thursday I had a follow-up OB/GYN doctor's appointment. I knew I would be driving for 30 minutes each way to the appointment so I carefully planned his feeding and sleeping schedule to try to get him to sleep while we were driving and at the appointment. And it worked! I'm getting the hang of this mommy thing! 

FRIDAY
Friday was me and Cooper's day off as we didn't have any appointments set but it still was eventful with wildfires ripping through our town. Owen had to come home early and we actually packed up our important documents and other necessary items just in case we were evacuated. The evacuations actually got as close as a mile away but once the sun went down and the 40mph wind died down so did the danger. Phew!  

SATURDAY
On Saturday we had an appointment to pick out our photos from Uniquely You - we are so excited to get the CD so we can get prints printed! We also took Cooper for his first stroller ride at the park which was really nice - even though little Cooper slept through it all.

1 Week Old Photoshoot

On Cooper's one-week-old birthday we did his newborn photoshoot at a fantastic studio called Uniquely You. The photos are great and we will be getting the full CD to share with friends and family in a few weeks.

In the meantime here is the sneak peak shot!

Another significant happening this week is Cooper's little circumsision ring and his dried umbilical cord fell off.

Week 40 | Friday: Coming Home

Today we brought Cooper home from the hospital!
Here's a quick review of how our day played out.

7:00am: My OB/GYN doc met with me for a final check-in to make sure it was okay with her to be discharged. We also had similar check-ins with the pediatrician, the nurse and the lactation consultants.

Morning: Owen headed out to get Cooper's social security card and birth certificate. It was a long process but he was able to get it all completed.

Early Afternoon: Dad helped Owen load up our car and mom and dad had to say goodbye. This was extremely emotional. Nani was pretty sad to have to go but spent the drive home planning the next trip to Oklahoma.

Mid-Afternoon: We completed all of our final paperwork and called for the head nurse to take Cooper and I down to the main lobby for Owen to pick us up. We got Cooper loaded in his car seat and headed out.

When we got home Cooper was sleeping but I still introduced him to each room of his home. Also, Stacia, Trenton, Jade and Haas were at the house and welcomed us with "It's a Boy" balloons and beer!

The rest of the day we spent together just enjoying Cooper and eachother's company. What a wonderful start to our family time together!