Avery's First Halloween

This has been a very busy week! It started out with us going to the TMC (troop medical clinic) for a routine appointment. Steven had called that morning to verify his appointment date, time & location but when we got to the TMC we were informed that the doctor was in Seoul. The appointment was rescheduled for the next day & we went home.

Later that day Avery & I painted her pumpkin :) She wasn't that interested in painting but I had fun. While the paint was drying we took a family walk down to the mart. My knee had been bothering me all day but the walk made it so much worse. I iced it, took ibuprofen & went to bed.

The next day we got up early to make the drive to Yongsan for Steven's appointment, traffic was awful! Steven's appointment took 40 minutes & ended just in time for lunch. Yongsan has a great little Mexican restaurant YUM. My knee was still killing me so I broke down & bought a brace for the drive home. I must have fallen asleep on the drive because I woke up in a rest stop parking lot. Steven was worried he would fall asleep at the wheel & pulled off the highway for a nap. Steven & Avery woke up shortly after I did - after a quick stretch we continued our journey home.

Story Time

By Friday I was in enough pain to finally see the doctor about my knee. My doctor did not like the look or feel of my knee at all. She ordered an x-ray & gave me crutches. I was given strict instructions to stay off it, ice it & religiously take ibuprofen for the swelling. In a week if my knee isn't better she's ordering an MRI :(

I met Pagi & Bentlee at Starbucks to hang out so Steven could have the house for an hour or so. Since my knee started hurting he's been pulling extra Avery shifts & deserved a break from it. After our coffee break I went back to the TMC for my x-ray. While changing Avery I realized there was a wasp flying around the tiny bathroom. I hobbled away as quickly as I could with a bum knee & a baby in tow. I thought I got away from the wasp but when I got to Radiology I realized that the monster was crawling on my leg. I made a complete fool of myself, squealing & hopping around. I felt like a dork but thankfully the Radiology tech didn't see me freak out. The tech x-rayed both knees since the other one "didn't sound good" either, a nurse held Avery while I got my x-rays done. I'm hoping the doctor gets back to me quickly.

That evening was Spooky Hallow - Humphrey's version of Halloween. I was so excited for my baby's first Halloween!! Nana sent Avery an adorable lady bug costume so I wanted to be a lady bug too. The costume selection at the PX was slim pickings. I bought a lady bug costume for a toddler & made some adjustments so it would fit me. I pinned the wings onto a black shirt & turned the dress into a skirt. It wasn't what I had pictured but it got the job done :) We met Pagi, Eric & Bentlee at Spooky Hallow. Steven & Eric took the babies trick-or-treating & we took family pictures at the pumpkin patch. We had so much fun!

Baby monkey & Baby lady bug

Avery & Bentlee

Lady Bugs

Pumpkin Patch

I was looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday but Steven got called into work a little before 8am. One soldier was an idiot so they all had to do a random drug test. Steven brought donuts & coffee home :) That evening we went out to dinner. Avery sat in a high chair like a big girl & ate all of her dinner. I had the chicken enchilada soup - I really want to try and make it now. After dinner we went to the BX. I used my crutches from the car to the front door. My underarms were extremely sore & bruised, the crutches rub against my chest surgery scars. Walking on my knee was less painful than using the crutches so I ditched them at the door.

Sunday was our most eventful day of the week. It started out great with Avery sleeping through the night. I got up with her so Steven could sleep in but he woke up 10 minutes later. We wanted to get out of the house & decided to go on base. When we tried to leave the house I realized our door was stuck. I was able to open to door wide enough to see that my bike was wedged between the wall & the door so we couldn't really get out. I squeezed through the crack & moved the bike. I thought it was weird that my bike was moved & at that point we realized that Steven's expensive bike was missing. We normally keep his bike chained to the railing of the stairs but it was gone. I'm assuming the thieves left my bike because it had a flat tire. We checked all 13 floors of our building to see if the thieves were dumb enough to take the bike to their floor. There were several very nice bikes just sitting outside of people's apartments, they weren't chained, yet they were spared. It made me wonder if we were targeted because we're American.

On the ride to the 1st floor the elevator stopped for one of the very few American's in our building. We told him what happened, he suggested we go to the security office. Security was able to help him review a video a few weeks prior. We went to security but the language barrier made it impossible to explain our situation. Steven got our realtor on the phone to translate & security agreed to review the tapes for us. The thieves,  3 Korean males, were caught on the elevator security camera around 6am with Steven's bike. Security & our realtor filed a police report for us with the Korean Police. We were told these crime groups go around stealing things but security didn't recognize this particular group of men. If they can't catch these guys or recover the bike then we are out $350 :/ When we got the bike I wrote down the serial number but that doesn't do any good if they can't track these guys down.

Avery Quinn - 42 weeks

Nine Month Appointment

Avery had her 9 month appointment this week. She weighs 19lbs and is a little over 28 in. She is still tall and skinny according to the doctor :) Avery "helped" the doctor by ripping up the exam table paper and continually pulling the stethoscope out of his ears during her exam.

Taking care of the two sickies finally caught up to me. On Wednesday I woke up feeling miserable which put a damper on my plans. I had to miss Lunch with the Ladies at one of my favorite restaurants. There are two babies in the lunch group, I didn't want to risk getting them sick too. Steven, Avery and I took a family trip to the medical clinic. The doctor thinks the 3 of us have the same virus. Avery seems to take after Steven in the area of illness, they both have body jarring coughs. My body is handling the virus differently, it caused my Eustachian tubes to become very inflamed. My tubes can't drain so my ears are full of fluid, everything sounds dull and I feel like I need to pop my ears. The inflammation is also messing with my sinuses which feel like they are filled with concrete and my throat feels like I swallowed shards of glass. Ibuprofen should be enough to cure me, once I get the tube inflammation under control the rest will resolve itself. Steven wasn't so lucky, he was given a bag full of medicines to get his symptoms under control. Poor Avery can't take anything so its bed rest, fluids and steamy showers for her.

My poor sick baby

Earlier this week we found out that the drain in our laundry room is clogged, we realized this when the laundry room flooded. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal except its impossible to fix. Steven removed the grate only to discover a smaller grate under it that can't be removed. We have no way of unclogging the drain :/ Within a day I forgot about the clog, started the washer and went about my business. I spent 45 minutes scooping water into a cup and pouring it into the sink. The flooding issue caused me to get behind on laundry so I had to improvise. Our washer now drains into four 5-gallon jugs. I have to manually put the hose into each jug but its pretty easy to time.

This week Avery's great grandparents, my nana and papa, sent us a care package. Its so wonderful getting packages and heart warming to know our family cares. From my chair I can spot 17 gifts that Nana and Papa have gotten for Steven, Avery and I. This week Nana and Papa sent a huge stack of magazines for me :) Avery got the most adorable Halloween costume and a super soft stuffed lamb. We tried the costume on and it fits like a dream, I didn't want to take it off! Since we got the lamb it has gone with us everywhere. Avery's lamb keeps her company in the car and rides in the stroller with her, she loves that thing. Nana and Papa have also been sending 1st cards for Avery. We recently got a 1st Halloween card :) We are so lucky to have them in our lives, plus our home would be pretty bare without all the goodies they've sent over the last year and a half :)

They match :)

Friday was Parent Date Night. Since it only happens once a month we signed Avery up and pre-paid 2 weeks in advance. I was hoping that the 3 of us would be back on our feet in time for date night but that wasn't the case. I didn't know if Avery was still contagious so we cancelled her slot for date night, we didn't want to risk her getting anyone sick. We decided to do date night at home instead. I made steak, sauteed red potatoes and carrots. Since Avery got sick she's been a bad sleeper so we didn't eat until 8pm but it was still good :) After dinner we made a makeshift bed on the living room floor so we could cuddle and watch a movie.

Steven and I finally have matching rings again! On our wedding day we had matching tungsten carbide black carbon fiber rings but for almost a year we have been mismatched. Steven's first wedding band was stolen when he took it off to wash his hands. He lost his second wedding band a few months ago, it could be anywhere since his job requires he remove it for safety purposes. I stopped wearing my wedding band shortly after having Avery. The ring is way too big now and since its tungsten carbide it can't be re-sized. Before Steven and I got married he encouraged me to pick out an engagement ring that I liked. I told him I didn't want an engagement ring and that if he really wanted me to have a diamond he could get me one on our first anniversary. I thought he had forgotten but sure enough for our one year anniversary he surprised me with a diamond ring. On date night Steven surprised me again by getting himself a new band to match my ring :)

Old rings

New rings

On Saturday I got to sleep in. Steven and Avery went on base to get me coffee which gave me time to shower and eat breakfast. That afternoon we went to AK Plaza to find a jacket for me. The trip was unsuccessful but we got to eat at Kraze Burger. We also went to Osan's BX and got paint for Avery's pumpkin.

She LOVES snow globes

The 3 of us got up bright and early on Sunday morning and went shopping. I sold a pair of boots Avery had grown out of, cleaned a bit, did some laundry, bathed the baby and put her to bed. Steven made dinner and did the dishes. It was a pretty average Sunday for the Lyon household.

Daddy-daughter bonding

Avery Quinn - 41 weeks

Nine Months

Nine months ago our lives changed in the most amazing way. Nine months ago we became parents. Nine months ago we became a family. Nine months ago our baby was born. I can hardly believe its been nine months. It seems like just yesterday Steven and I had planned to start a family, in the blink of an eye we were eagerly awaiting the birth of our daughter. Its all gone by too quickly.

Steven had Monday and Tuesday off for Columbus day. On Monday we went to Emart (sort of a less awesome version of Walmart) to run some air soft errands. After that we made our way to Osan. We wandered around the BX killing time and enjoying each other's company. We then went into the ville. I strapped Avery onto my chest, we got ice cream and checked out a few stores. The weather was absolutely perfect.

Ready for the masquerade 

Helping mommy vacuum

The Wideners had invited us over for a BBQ so on the way home I dropped Steven off at their house. I took Avery home for a nap while the boys went shopping for food. Steven, Avery and Alex hung out on the roof of their apartment grilling while Allison and I stayed in the house chatting. I'm so thankful for my friends in Korea. Avery had fun playing with their dogs. She sat on the floor for a while "petting" one of them which mostly consisted of slapping them in the face and pulling their ears haha. Thankfully they are good dogs and happily put up with the abuse. After dinner I took Avery home, bathed her and put her to bed. Steven stayed at Widener's for a bit so they could watch Expendables 2, he loved it.

Avery was eaten by a shark

Wednesday was stressful. My best friend, Kristen, had been in pre-term labor for a few days at just shy of 28 weeks. I woke up to a message saying that despite the hospital's efforts to stop Kristen's labor she ended up delivering her little boy 3 months premature.  They named him Cassius, his due date was a week before Avery's first birthday in January, he weighed 2.5lbs. I anxiously checked my email several times that day and finally learned that both mom and baby were doing well despite everything. He is breathing on his own, ate a bit of food and he even got to leave his incubator to snuggle up with momma. Its going to be a bumpy road for Kristen over the next few months and I want nothing more than to be by her side. Wednesday I was very angry that I was stuck in Korea instead of supporting Kristen through this difficult time.

Ever since Pagi had her baby we haven't had a baby sitter. I've been screening a replacement and finally found one that met all of my (maybe a bit insane) requirements. Her name is Lacey, she came over on Thursday for a "test run". Avery seemed to instantly like Lacey and didn't make a peep when Steven and I left the house. We were only gone an hour or so to get lunch but it gave them time to get acquainted.

Avery pillow

Steven had the day off on Friday. We took Avery to day care so we could spend the day as a couple. We went to Osan for lunch and to browse their BX. Before going to pick up Avery we stopped at Jon's house. The 3 of us shot air soft rifles on his roof. I am playing my first air soft game on Sunday and wanted to get some practice in. Jon's wife gave me an old beat up pair of ACUs to wear for the game. They are a bit short but will do nicely :) Avery was exhausted from playing with the other kids and took a nap shortly after we got home. Steven stayed with her while I went grocery shopping. On the drive home I saw them taking a walk together.

The funnest toy in the house

This weekend was great. Avery and I went to the Speegle's house for lunch. Steven woke up with a cough so he stayed home. We didn't want to risk him getting baby Bentlee sick. Lunch was great; ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, chips and fresh salsa! I finally got to meet Bentlee :) The 5 of us hung out for a bit before we went home for Avery's nap. When she woke up we went to Oktoberfest on base. It was pretty lame but nice to hang out as a family and we bumped into a few friends. Steven ordered ribs from one of the stands but it took them nearly 40 minutes to actually get the food. It took them so long that Steven had to eat while walking to the car because it was Avery's bedtime. We ended up getting her to bed 30 minutes which we didn't think was too bad...we were wrong. She stayed up another 2 hours refusing to sleep which caused Steven and I to get to bed late too. Lesson learned.

She'll NEVER wear a shirt like that :)

On Sunday we had to get up SO early for air soft. Avery decided to get up early too and puke all over me and my side of the bed for the second time this week. She is so anxious to play these days that she chugs her bottle and is on the move before it has a chance to settle. The sitter showed up at 7am and we were on our way. Steven and I stopped at Starbucks then picked up Widener before making the 1.5 hr drive.

Air soft

We played at an abandoned factory. The place was full of trash, broken glass, flooded basements, elevator shafts and pits :) More danger - more fun. Most of the players were Korean so I could only understand about 5 people there haha. Steven let me use his G36C, Widener lent me a pair of gloves and another team mate had an extra mask for me. We played for 2.5 hrs, I had a blast! I got one confirmed kill, Steven and Widener each got 3.

Avery was happy as a clam playing with the sitter when we got home. The sitter said she had never watched such an easy, happy baby. Avery spent a few hours cuddling us before the night got interesting. Steven fed Avery dinner and when I grabbed her for bath time I realized she had blown through her diaper. I put her on the changing pad only to find out the severity of the diaper situation. No amount of wipes was going to clean her. We stripped her and tried a bath but that somehow made things worse. Avery was covered in poop, I was covered in poop and Steven was trying not to vomit. I ended up in the shower fully clothed cleaning off Avery and myself. After we were clean Avery puked on my shoulder. It was one of those nights haha.

Avery Quinn - 40 weeks

BABY

The first day of October started out great. Pagi had baby Bentlee!! Pagi said she bounced on the yoga ball I gave her all Sunday evening and her water broke the next morning. Bentlee was due on Wednesday, I'm glad Bentlee wasn't late because that is NO FUN. I took care of their dogs while they were in the hospital. Every time I walked in the door they looked disappointed because I wasn't their mom haha.

Pagi and baby Bentlee

10.01.12 - 19.65in - 7.12lbs 

That evening I started feeling pretty miserable. Steven and I were in bed before 8:30 pm. I had a fever, chills, stuffed nose, headache, cold sweats, coughing, sneezing and horrible body aches. Avery still wasn't feeling well and got up at 3 am. We all stayed awake until Steven went to work. It was a rough night for everyone, I hope our colds go away soon.

Snug as a bug in a rug

Tuesday was pretty mellow, Steven dropped Avery off at day care on his way to work so I could have a few hours to re-cooperate  I walked Pagi's dogs and spent the rest of my time in bed. I started feeling a little better by the time Steven brought Avery home on his lunch break. Avery sat quietly in bed with me playing so I could continue to lay down, she's such a good girl :)

<3 

I don't want to jinx myself but Avery's sleeping habits have tremendously improved this week. From birth to 8 months she was waking every 2 hours to eat while breastfed. After 3 weeks of bottle feeding she went down to waking 3x a night. This week she's only woken up once a night! On Wednesday night she slept from 7 pm-7 am. When I was a teenager I took sleep for granted. Eight months with very minimal sleep has shown me that it is a PRIVILEGE.

Waiting for Steven to get off work

I've mentioned KCTC (the 3 day/2 night air soft tournament) a few times in my blog. Steven has been excitedly planning for KCTC for 5 months. On Thursday evening we found out that Steven could no longer go to KCTC :( His already approved pass was revoked for a completely pointless reason :( Sometimes the Army really sucks. Steven was absolutely DEVASTATED.

Avery giving me cuddles, holding my hand, watching me play Gems

Even though he was crushed by the last second news (we found out the night before he was supposed to leave) he still helped Widener shop for the tournament. Steven had spent weeks making a meal plan for the team and revising it countless times. Widener, Steven, Avery and I went to our commissary and got the food and supplies, it was 3 carts full of stuff. Widener had to call his wife because we couldn't fit it all in our truck. Avery decided to poop all over her clothes during the trip. I didn't have any back up clothes because the day prior she had pooped on one outfit and puked all over another. I had to walk from the commissary to the PX with my half naked baby to buy her clothes :/ Even though I had her wrapped in a blanket several people felt the need to stop me and tell me it was too cold for my baby, temperature has been in the low 70s BTW. I felt AWFUL but Avery got a cute new outfit and we finished KCTC shopping.

Avery's new outfit

Three carts full of food for KCTC

I'm a little glad he didn't go because a soldier on their team ended up getting seriously injured :( On Sunday Steven played air soft with a friend of his. It was no KCTC but he had fun and got to blow off some steam.

Avery Quinn - 39 weeks