366 Project: Week Four

Well, I started to hit a wall a bit in week four, unfortunately. I was lacking inspiration and the majority of things that I want to capture involve taking my camera for a walk, which won't happen for awhile with the weather as cold as it's been. So, I checked off a few more odd things on my bucket list--a few more things that represent what life looks like for us here in Korea.

22/366: I've been trying to get out from behind the camera a little more (and failing). Reading stories before nap time is one of those memories I've been wanting to capture. For now, it still happens three times a day. It won't be long before we're down to twice a day, though.

23/366: Somehow, I managed to get to the end of the day without taking a picture, but the kids reading in their beds is another bucket list shot.

24/366: The boys went to school to get some homework done, leaving Kennedy and me to a quiet house while Reece napped.

25/366: With the lack of sleep in my life, afternoon coffee is a must.

26/366: It finally warmed up enough to snow last week! It's back into the teens this week, though.

27/366: In Korea, scissors are a very common kitchen utensil. It didn't take us long to "do as the locals do" and now, we use them for cutting everything from cheese, to steak, pizza, and quesadillas.

28/366: We didn't have keys (other than for school) for the first couple of years we lived here because our door only required an electronic code and we didn't have a car. The key fob was sewn by a friend and was a favor at a baby shower that I went to about three years ago. Now, my house key is the pink tag and the blue tag gets me into our building. It won't be long before my keys look a little different.

The good news is that by this point, I have finished my first month! If I manage to continue this little project beyond June (as I hope, but I'm not confident), then I only have 11 months to go!

Reece 12-15 Months

Well, I obviously provided some updates about Reece in my regular posts, but I think that every three months for the second year seems appropriate. Honestly, I don't think I recorded a thing in the big kids' baby books after their first birthday, but who knows? I certainly can't remember details like that this far out! And so, I'll record them, because otherwise they'll be lost from me forever.

And, though I've had three months to start and edit this post, here I sit on the 30th, finally getting started. We'll blame this on the flu that I suffered from the past couple of days. Yuck.

So, here we are with a 15 month old who still doesn't walk. This kid. He started making some progress last weekend with the kids. Kennedy is the only one that he will walk around with when she holds his hands. For Eric and me, he goes straight to his knees. On Saturday, Cade introduced him to the bear crawl and for some reason, that helped him a lot with the concept of getting his feet moving and getting off his knees. He had been doing this little shuffle-step, where he never really picked his foot up off the floor, and he only took one "step," but by Monday, he was up to three. And I don't think he's taken a step since. Stinker. To be honest, he's getting heavy, I'd like him to be able to stand in the elevator, and if he's not sleeping at night right now anyway, we may as well get through another milestone. It doesn't look like I'm going to get my way any time soon, though.

I know that you're pretty much up to date on his sleep habits, because, well, I'm a big whiner when it comes to not getting sleep. He has slept through the night a couple of times since his big eight night stretch a couple of weeks ago (including the night that Eric and I were both up all night with the flu), but nothing to write home about. He has, in large part, gotten back to two naps per day, which really helps things. We can have a normal evening without racing through dinner to get him to bed, when he takes an afternoon nap! Unfortunately, it's pretty miserable to attempt this on the weekends because he's used to a quiet house during the week, and so everybody has try to be quiet. Not much fun. I wish we'd had a vacuum and dishwasher when he was born, so I could have made more noise.

I looked back on his last official update, a time when this kid was eating everything we gave him. Oh boy, do I miss those days. Now, he has a very limited palate. And, there will be no repetition. "If I had tomatoes for lunch, mom; I will not be eating them for dinner. So, don't even try." He'll still eat olives from time to time. He'll eat chicken, but only if it's covered in pesto or curry. Is that strange? I feel like that's strange. Sometimes, he'll eat green beans. He pretty much always goes for cheese, maybe toast with peanut butter, and pasta. He will always eat Greek yogurt with mashed blueberries in it, though. That's the one thing I can count on.

We are making some progress in the realm of communication, though it is still nonverbal, his only words being "hi" and "dada,"and not always used in the proper context. His signing has improved, though. I think I may have started teaching him too many new ones at the same time because he's gotten really good at signing "milk," but sometimes he uses it for "please" or "all done." He gets the "please" every once in awhile. Clapping for "more" is still a standby. He's got waving goodbye down, too.

He's gained four more teeth in the last six weeks or so, bringing him to four on the top and four on the bottom. I thought I saw a molar on its way last week, but it might have been the lack of sleep causing my vision to be cloudy. I swear, I don't remember any of the big kids' teeth coming in after those first 6-8, but with the lack of sleep in our lives, I'm always looking for an excuse!

And, of course, this kid is into everything all the time, as any good toddler (who doesn't toddle) should be. Lately, his favorite activities have been talking on the "phone" (a play phone that Cade made out of an old iPhone case and the picture of the phone that came in the new iPhone case) and taking all of the spices out of the spice rack while I cook. I suppose that's a small price to pay for getting dinner on the table, but it would be much more convenient if he could find a place to play that was not right in front of the oven. He's also starting to figure out how to open more of the drawers and cabinets, so last week all of the knives and many of the utensils had to find new homes. Everything feels so temporary right now, though, so we're not too worried about it.

It's hard to believe how far this little guy has come and how much has changed in the past year! It's a good thing we have a record of it (as spotty as it may be!). I opted out of a "15 month" photo shoot and instead posted some of the better pictures that I've taken of this one over the past three months that you hadn't seen yet. It turns out, I might have more pictures that I could edit after all because it was really hard to narrow them down to just a few. That task will have to be for another day, though, because this mama needs some sleep!

5 Signs that You're the Mother of a Toddler who Doesn't STTN

In honor of my dear son's nearly 15 months of life, I thought I would share these fun thoughts that have been with me as I continue to get up several times a night with our sweet Reece. (she writes with a hint of sarcasm)

If you are the mother of a toddler who doesn't sleep through the night...

5. You keep a sweatshirt by your bed for all of your late night wakeups when the house is freezing. On a really bad night, you don't even bother to take it off between trips into the baby's room because you know that you won't get a chance to get warm in bed.

4. You still "sleep when the baby sleeps," though you used to be of the belief that rule expired around baby's 6th month. Now, you know that rule doesn't expire until the "baby" sleeps through the night regularly.

3. You know that in the middle of the night, your refrigerator makes noises that sound like the baby when he first starts to stir. Yet, every time you hear it, your heart skips a beat because it's fooled you yet again.

2. On the rare occasion that the baby does sleep all night, you still don't sleep well because you're worried that maybe he's not breathing. There has to be a reason that he hasn't woken you up yet!

1. You don't allow your husband to actually go into the baby's room at night, for fear that he might mess up your "system" (though it is already obviously a failure), but you won't allow him to sleep as long as you're up, either.

I'm sure you have thoughts of your own to add! And, I hope you enjoyed these shots from the Museum of Flight in Seattle last winter that in no way relate to sleep!

At Lindy's, Christmas 2014

It's strange that in spite of shooting every day now, I have no pictures to share aside from those that I share for the 365 posts. Did I have pictures to share before I started this project? Hmmm. Well, I guess I am typically behind in posting pictures, so this just fits right in. Christmas 2014.

I'm ashamed to admit that we're in a bit of a "survival mode" period right now. Our weekend was spent trying to catch up on rest and sleep because Reece slept terribly. The kids' bedroom was covered in puke when we woke up on Sunday morning, thanks to Cade in the top bunk. It required about five loads of laundry and a whole lot of scrubbing (by Eric) to get that mess cleaned up. There were a ridiculous number of tears and a whole lot of fighting. I think we were all relieved for school to start again on Monday.

Last night, we had grilled cheese and some random sesame noodles that I threw together because I didn't have all of the ingredients for any one recipe. Thankfully, black beans are in the crock pot and I made it to the grocery store today, so hopefully we can eat a little more normally for the rest of the week.

Temperatures are supposed to get above freezing this week, too, which always makes life a little easier when you live in a place where you can't accomplish much without walking outside a lot. I have to admit that I almost took a picture of our washing machine the other day for the p365 when I realized that if we were still in our old apartment, our washing machine would have been frozen for the past 10 days. I'm so glad that I don't have to worry about that anymore!

It warmed up enough to get some snow today--though just a dusting--and it was pretty to watch it fall over the city out our windows. As we look out the back windows right now, you can see the snow on the Han River where it has frozen. That's how cold it is right now. Sheesh.

We did have fun playing games with the big kids on Friday night. We got out of the house on Saturday afternoon to watch the basketball game, and had a good time chatting with friends while the kids played. And, on Sunday afternoon, Reece showed off his new ability to put together two steps at a time unassisted. By yesterday afternoon, he was up to three. It turns out this kid will walk, eventually. I think I'm finally ready for it. Maybe. Check back with me in a month.

It's hard to believe that 13 months ago, we were in the States celebrating Christmas with family. Reece wasn't even two months old. Kennedy just pulled the hem out of the pajamas that she got from Lidi because they're now too short with it in. Cade is still sports-obsessed and would wear those soccer cleats that he got every day, if he could.

I remember absolutely nothing of what we did in the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, when we left. I remember that Reece nursed successfully all day on Christmas, and that was the end of that. I remember that we had a hard time trying to think of anything feasible to do with a 6 week old and a 9 month old, so maybe we didn't really do anything?

I do remember that we went to the Museum of Flight with Lindy and my brother right before we left. I still have pictures from that day to post (though I'm not sure how I managed to get so many with Reece in the Moby the whole time), and I remember that we made stops to see a lot of Eric's family on the way north to my aunt's house.

I also remember that this little Sorento was loaded to the breaking point nearly every time we got in it for those two weeks, and that the limit for how much we could bring back with us to Korea was not set by the airline but by what we could fit in this mid-size SUV. What fun.

Well, Reece is napping this afternoon (day 3 of 3 and it's only Tuesday!), so I had better take advantage of the quiet to get a head start on dinner so we don't end up with grilled cheese again!

366 Project: Week Three

This is one of those weeks that I really won't need or want to remember in the future. There was nothing blog-worthy, unless you count the fact that Reece slept through the night a record-setting eight nights in a row, followed by several nights of not sleeping more than an hour or two at a time. It was rough! As a result, there were a few days where I was not functioning at a high level and complete thoughts were not free-flowing. So, the blog sat empty. Because, it was either that or fill it with my when-will-my-child-ever-sleep whining!

15/366: It always amazes me the mess that this kid can make. Whether it's his toys, towels he's pulled out of the drawer, or plastic storage containers he's pulled out of the cabinet, he's always into something at this stage!

16/366: This one, on the other hand, has spent an inordinate amount of time doing research on getting a dog when we get back to the States. Considering it is the only thing she is excited about in terms of this move, I suppose we are encouraging it.

17/366: This week has been frigid, and Reece and I have only left the house for the morning and afternoon bus stop trips. With highs in the teens (not to mention the wind chill), it takes us about 10 minutes to get all bundled up for a five minute trip to meet the kiddos at the bus stop. I won't miss the freezing temps!

18/366: Mondays are the only day that Kennedy gets home early enough after school to get her homework done while it's still light out. This week, she started competitive swim practice twice a week, and Wednesdays she stays with Dad while Cade swims since I come to school to work out. Our third quarter routine is going to be a little hectic, I think!

19/366: Cade finally lost one of his front teeth that had been loose for months. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one that he really needed to lose. The other one is just barely hanging on, with another growing in right behind it, but we can't get him motivated to yank it yet.

20/366: While Reece's appetite has finally returned after weeks of being sick, his willingness to eat everything has not. He isn't eating many of his old favorites--tomatoes and olives included--and lunch time has become a bit of a struggle.

21/366: We (I) have developed a tendency toward hoarding while living in a place where I cannot go out on a daily basis and buy the basics. All year long, I keep a list of the things we need to pick up in the States during the summer. After that first year, when I somehow managed to lose all of the deodorant that I had purchased before we even arrived, I have made sure that I never make that mistake again. Now, here we are less than five months away from our departure date, and it's time to unload some of the overstock. (This, unfortunately, is not all of it!) I won't miss this!

Eric bought our plane tickets last night (round trip, since it was cheaper, so if anyone wants a one way trip to Korea, let us know...haha!), so we are now officially counting down to June 10th!