Korean Cultural Tour

For a few days Steven had been complaining about his missing shorts. He went to laundry mat on his way home from work to make sure he didn't leave the shorts in the dryer. He realized that there was an entire washer full of our clothes that he had forgotten to put in the dryer. They had been sitting there since Saturday (thankfully no one stole them) so he rewashed them. Avery and I put them in the dryer and spent the hour on base so that Steven could have some peace and quiet. 

Helping mom do laundry 

The next day Steven and I had an appointment to register Avery for the CDC (child development center). It was fairly quick but the lady wasn't able to answer many of our questions :/ She set up a Parent Orientation appointment for us next week to take a tour and such.

Steven and I had been signed up for a morale trip for some time yet we knew nothing about it. Steven tried to get some information about the trip but was unsuccessful. The night before the trip Steven was told what time to show up on base but that was it :/ I packed our bags while Steven and Avery took a bath. A friend was kind enough to let me borrow her pack n play for Avery since we don't have one.

We met on base early Wednesday morning and were told we couldn't drive our own vehicle. That sucked considering we had our bag, Avery's diaper bag, Steven's back pack, the pack n play, Avery's car seat and stroller, the boppy and Avery's bumbo. We loaded everything onto the bus.

Making friends on the bus

Our first stop was Gyeongbok Palace & National Folk Museum of Korea. Five minutes into the trip our camera battery died so we don't have many photos of the first half of the day. The museum was cool, Avery and I were more popular than most the exhibits though. We had several Koreans take photos of us and with us.

A swarm of Koreans around Avery and I

The Palace was completely outside (obviously) and it was really freaking hot!!! The sun was very strong, Avery and I were miserable. Lunch was at an underground buffet, it was pretty good, the air conditioning was amazing. After lunch our group was dropped off at Insa-dong which is a shopping street. We only had enough time to walk to the end of the street before the bus picked us up because we were behind schedule. We immediately headed to N. Seoul Tower. Steven and I stayed on the bus so that Avery wasn't out in the heat. We had already gone there for our anniversary so we weren't missing anything. 

We went to a cinema to see Jump which was a non-verbal martial arts comic show. Another baby in our group started fussing so the mom and baby got kicked out of the theater. A theater worker then came and kicked out Avery and I :/ Avery was silent but we were guilty by association I guess. Thankfully there was a Korean Starbucks on the 1st floor. Steven left the show to hang out with us. He tried to order me a drink but the Korean employee couldn't understand us, a local who spoke Korean and English was able to translate for us. Once the performance was over our group headed out to dinner. After dinner we were finally able to check into the hotel. It was a relaxation hotel which meant there was no tv, no radio and was completely isolated. Our room had 3 twin beds which was lucky because we couldn't get the pack n play to lock. I made Avery a baby nest out of blankets to sleep in and we pushed the beds together. None of us slept very well that night. The room was too unfamiliar for Avery, the concrete slabs known as Korean beds were killing Steven's back and I was camped out in the bathroom completely sick to my stomach from the severe motion sickness the bus caused.

The next morning our chunky alarm clock woke us up bright and early. I was still feeling queasy and couldn't bring myself to eat breakfast (other than toast). Our group quickly ate, checked out and climbed back onto the bus. Our first stop of the day was Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. Steven and another father got the strollers from the undercarriage of the bus. One of the wheels had popped off our stroller so Steven crouched down to put it back on. The bus driver was in a rush apparently because he started driving away while the undercarriage doors were still open. The door almost took me out but Steven managed to pull me back in time to not be hit. I was one angry momma because Steven and Avery were both very close to the bus as well. Thankfully the day went smoothly after that.

At the fortress we got to try archery. Steven landed 4/10 arrows, I only managed to hit the target once but since it was my first time trying archery I call that a success :) The rest of the day Steven, Avery and I stayed on the bus. Avery was very tired from all the adventure so we took naps. We got back to base around 7pm that night. I was so glad to be home and sleep in my own bed!

Steven and I were looking forward to lazing around the house on Friday but unfortunately Avery's two bottom teeth decided to torture her. I could see two white bumps under her gums. My poor baby didn't sleep from 3am-7am which means neither did I. We were hoping that her gums would feel better the next day but that wasn't the case. Saturday Avery spiked a fever and was a little terror, our day consisted of Tylenol and frozen wash cloths.

On Sunday Steven went to an air soft game. Avery was a grump because of her teeth and I was a grump because I was trapped in the house (Steven took the truck). Some days I wish Avery was older so that I could go do fun things too but I can't bear to leave her for an entire day yet. I'm hoping that starting Avery in day care will allow the two of us to gain some independence. I can barely leave her to see a movie so its going to be a slow process. Its good that Steven still gets to go out though. Air soft helps him relieve stress. Steven also gets to sleep all night (Avery goes ballistic if he tries to touch her when she's sleepy) which keeps him rested. As a new mother I'm stressed enough and beyond exhausted so if Steven was as stressed and tired as I am we would probably kill each other LOL. When Steven got home that evening he took Avery and I out for dinner, we ate with Alex and Allison :)

Avery Quinn - 29 weeks

Date Night

Wednesday was pretty mellow. It was Pagi's week to drive so she picked up Avery and I for bowling. Afterwards we were dumb/hungry enough to go to the food court during lunch. It was packed full of soldiers and a thousand degrees. We grabbed some food and ate it in Starbucks where it was cooler. We went to the hanger when we were done eating so that I could get the truck from Steven. Pagi and I hung out there for a little bit waiting for one of Steven's co-workers to get back from lunch, he had our GPS. Once I had the GPS back in the truck Avery and I went to AK Plaza to buy tickets for Dark Knight Rises. Avery began freaking out at the ticket counter so I rushed to get the tickets and get out of there. When I got home I realized that the woman had given me tickets for Thursday night instead of Friday night like I had asked for. When Steven got off work I swung by and picked him up so that we could go exchange the tickets. He bought me ice cream :)

The next day was just awful from the start. Steven left for work and called about 20 minutes later to inform me that he had been given last minute CQ to cover for someone. CQ for the second time in 5 days, I was not a happy camper. Steven always leaves me the truck when he has CQ but because this was sprung on him he had driven in that morning. I tried to find a ride on base and failed miserably. I did not want to take a taxi with Avery, her car seat, her stroller, her diaper bag, and Steven's backpack full of stuff he needed for CQ. I left my wallet in the truck so I didn't even have money to pay for a taxi anyways. 

A few hours later Pagi called to say she could give me a ride. We met Steven at the PX, I took him back to the barracks then picked up Pagi from the hanger. We went to the CDC (child development center) to pick up a registration packet for child care. Steven and I think it would be a good idea for Avery to go there 1-2 partial days a week. To register Avery I needed a copy of her immunizations and a physical (luckily she doesn't need to get one because she just had her 6 month check-up). Pagi was trying to get a certificate of pregnancy so that she can park in the expectant mother parking spots on base and I was trying to get a doctor to sign off on Avery's latest physical, we were there for almost 45 minutes and neither task was accomplished. I was exhausted and Pagi had homework so I dropped her off and went home. Avery went to bed easily but I stayed up because our upstairs neighbors were killing each other. 

The next morning Avery and I went on base to pick up Steven. He is supposed to be relieved at 7am but no one showed up to do it. We didn't get home until 8:15 :( Steven took a nap while Avery decided to make it impossible to get ready. She loves to pull hair and try to take my glasses haha. Pagi and Eric were kind enough to baby sit Avery that night while we saw Dark Knight Rises with Alex and Allison. The movie was 3 hours long so I was missing my little girl! Avery was not happy that we left her and as punishment got up a TON that night.

Hanging out with Pagi

Saturday was great. Steven and I walked around Osan's ville and tried a new Chinese place (well new to us). We went shopping at their commissary afterwards and got so much free food it was ridiculous. Avery gets 104 jars of baby food and 3 boxes of rice cereal a month from WIC and because I'm nursing I still get a ton of food too :) WIC saves us roughly $160/month in groceries. I'm going to be so sad when I don't get it anymore. We stopped by Widener's and Kendig's briefly, and did laundry on base before calling it quits.

Watching Mom clean

Sunday can be summed up into one word: LAZY. Steven was supposed to have an airsoft game that day but it was canceled due to rain. We decided to make it an all out lazy day and did as little as possible. It was wonderful!! Avery decided to add a new word to her vocabulary: dada :)

Avery Quinn - 28 weeks

6 Month Appt

My baby is 6 months old! Avery had her 6 month well baby visit on Monday. The TMC (Troop Medical Center) always gives her super early appointments (9am or earlier) but she is a grump in mornings so this time I pushed for an afternoon appointment. She is roughly 16lbs and 26in, still tall and skinny. Avery is meeting all of her developmental milestones and has exceptional neck control according to the pediatrician. My poor baby had to get 3 shots :( but luckily there are no more shots until 12 months. The doctor advised that I stop feeding Avery at night when she wakes up so that she doesn't associate food with sleep. That was not a fun night.

Avery's leg after shots :(

By Wednesday Avery was only getting up 2-3 times a night. I still fed her at least once in the middle of the night for both our sake. It was my week to drive so I grabbed Pagi and we went to our bowling league (we alternate who has to drive every Wed). The third girl on our team didn't show up (she rarely shows up) and no one on the other team showed up. Pagi and I made quick work of our 3 games and went on our way. We took Steven his PT clothes and laptop then went to Pagi's for some lunch :)

"Mom, I need a diaper change"

Alyssa is a big sister, she can take care of Avery

I really wanted the truck on Thursday for my appointment at the TMC and to go to Aqua Fit but Steven wasn't giving in. I'm glad he didn't because on his way home to pick me up he got a flat. It was of course in the front right tire that we ran bald because of the brake issue last week. My friend Jess, who is due any day now, was kind enough to bring over her jack. Steven put the spare tire on which was also flat... The three of us had to take a taxi to my appointment.

I was going in to get the results of my allergy screen. The doctor told me I was allergic to Sulfa and Macrobid. I've known I was allergic to those antibiotics for 2 years. Apparently the idiots at Dankook injected me with medications I told them I was allergic to which is why I had such a painful reaction. Thank you Korean doctors for telling me something I already knew and not helping me at all. I was so aggravated!

I normally get the truck every other Wednesday and on Fridays but since the tire was toast I had to stay home :/ Steven put on a "new" tire which is holding up for now. After work we went to Jess' house to return her jack and give her a baby swing. We only bought the swing about a month and a half ago but Avery can escape from it. I've managed to catch her each time but I'm worried she will get hurt so we gave it to a friend who could use it, us Army wives have to look out for each other over here.

"Reading" the book she got from Nana&Papa

The weekend started early both days. Steven got last minute CQ to cover for people going to MudFest. MudFest is one of the biggest festivals in Korea held at a unique shell-powdered beach only found in Eastern countries. Basically you party and get muddy (you can be thrown in a jail if caught not covered in mud). So I was up at 5am to feed Avery and take Steven into work as he wanted to be there early. I didn't mind being up that early as Avery had slept in her crib from 6pm-5am :D

That day Steven asked to bring him his swim gear so that he could go to the pool during his lunch break. We swam with Alex (who was also covering some one's CQ that day) and his wife Allison. The water was way too cold for Avery so she sat on my shoulders as I swam. After the pool the boys went back to work but asked us ladies to get them some food. Allison and I went to the PX to grab lunch and somehow ended up with 6 drinks. It was a tedious drive back to the barracks haha. Avery and I took Steven dinner that evening and said our "good nights".

Sunday started out on a sour note. Avery got up a bit before 7am so I texted Steven letting him know we could pick him up. Its monsoon season (July-August) so we walked in the rain to the truck. I lost my good parking spot the night before when we took Steven dinner so we had to walk a bit in the rain. The brick sidewalk in our apartment complex is lined with a slippery grey stone. While putting the stroller in the back I ended up slipping and tweeking my shoulder :( I got a call from Steven right as I was pulling up to the barracks. Somewhere along the road we had crossed paths and didn't realize it because he was home and I was on base. He had sent me a text letting me know he didn't need a ride but I never got it.

"Duck face, duck face"

I came home to bad news. While on CQ someone spilled an alcoholic beverage on Steven's Macbook. He opened up the bottom of his laptop and it was still drenched. Needless to say the thing was toast. Our pictures, videos, music, etc are gone. Thankfully Steven got it worked out with the folks responsible and he was able to get a new Macbook Pro that evening.

Avery Quinn - 27 weeks

Steven at last Sunday's air soft game

Happy 1/2 Birthday Avery - LOTS of pics

Avery's first 4th of July :) It started out with Spouse's Bowling. Steven took care of Avery while I played. That evening we went to Shayne's house for a BBQ. Steven and Alex had a battle of the burgers competition. Alex made teriyaki burgers and Steven made BBQ bacon ranch burgers, Steven won :) For some reason Avery loves Shayne's house, it is the only place she will sleep for more than an hour stretch. She ended up sleeping through the fireworks only to wake up minutes after they ended haha.

The next morning Steven suggested I go get coffee when I woke up. He went to Suwon with Shayne's husband, Jon, to check out air soft stuff. They were gone for 5 hours which gave Avery and I some time to clean up. We went to dinner at Hwa Hwa (a Korean BBQ place) and ate with Alex and Allison. Avery sat quietly in her bumbo while we ate.

Korean BBQ

Baby jail

On Friday Steven left the house bright and early to go set up the battalion BBQ, it was a bit monsoon-y outside though. Pagi and Eric picked up Avery and I because Steven was still stuck setting up. The only drinks at the BBQ was a disgusting gritty gatorade mix so Eric, Pagi, Avery and I walked in the rain down to the shoppette. Avery actually let Eric carry her there and back, she normally hates Eric so this was a big surprise.

<3

Playing with Eric

Crazy rain hair

After the BBQ Steven and Avery took a nap :) We went to dinner in Osan's ville at Pasta Vino. Everyone had said it was good and they were right, it was delicious! Avery sat quietly while we ate, we plan to take that bumbo EVERYWHERE! On our way back we found an abdonded building for air soft, it looks awesome! I put Avery to bed while Steven went over to Shayne's house to help Jon with his new gun.

Eric and Pagi had seen a Super Lotte Mart (sort of like a super walmart) on their way back from Dankook. On Saturday we picked them up and planned to find it. We were almost there when the truck started freaking out and stopped moving. The right front break wouldn't disengage. Steven floored it and barely got the truck onto the side of the road, there was a dark black skid mark on the road and now that tire is bald. We waited about 40 minutes for a tow truck. There were 5 of us but only room for 2 in the tow truck. Naturally we put Pagi and Avery in the tow truck since it was safer and had air conditioning. Steven, Eric and I had to ride in the truck on the flat bed of the tow truck. We didn't have air and the truck was only held on by one cable so it was a miserable/nerve racking trip back.

On top of the tow truck

It was going to take a few hours to repair and cost almost $300! Eric and Pagi took us on base to eat then we went back to their house to wait for our truck. After we got our truck back Steven smashed the windsheild. There was a bug that he was trying to get and instead cracked the glass pretty good. It was not a good day for our poor truck.

Callie kisses

Cracked window

Fail

There was another air soft game this weekend so Steven left pretty early since it was a 2 hour drive. Avery and I spent the day together lazing around. She is 6 months old today so we updated her baby books.

Avery Quinn - 6 Months