Thanksgiving

This week was great! On Monday we took family/Christmas photos. Avery wore a cute red dress with white shoes and a white sparkly head band - she looked beautiful. Steven wore a nice argyle sweater and I wore the dress I had bought over the weekend. Avery refused to nap that day and was a bit of a grump for photos. She didn't want the photographer anywhere near her. After family photos Steven changed into his Christmas sweater - it green with a buck wearing an eye patch and a mustache, he loves it. The three of us put on Santa hats for the Christmas card!

Wednesday was very busy, it seemed like the entire base was rushing around making last minute preparations for Thanksgiving. I dropped Avery off at day care for a bit so I could run some errands. The moment I began my errands the gas light began flashing. I don't like to pump gas, our truck is a diesel and the amount of money it takes is traumatizing. I was forced to fill her up and nearly died when I saw how much it cost. I went to the TMC afterwards to pick up the medical records that Good Morning Hospital sent over. The records were in Korean so they didn't do me a lot of good. I needed to refill a few prescriptions so I had to make the trip either way. We were told our family photos would be ready for pick up on Wednesday so I hurried over to the photo shop. The photos turned out great! I couldn't get over how beautiful Avery looked. Even after sitting in my car staring at Avery's photos I still had 30 minutes to spare before lunch, I spent it relaxing at Starbucks :)

Avery's day care was hosting a Thanksgiving lunch for parents. There was a line at the buffet so I went straight to Avery's class room. The kids were already eating. The day care workers are magicians, I don't know how they manage to get all 8 kids eating quietly and politely at one time. The kids over a year sat in chairs around an adorable foot high table eating their meal. Avery is the baby of the group and still sits in a high chair, well sort of a low chair since it sits directly on the floor. Avery still eats baby food, she is not interested in table food at all. I was the first parent in the room and sat on the floor to take over feeding Avery. Other parents came into the room with a plate full of food. I was starving but worried about Avery's reaction to me leaving - the other kids were freaking out when their parents went to get seconds and left the room. I hesitantly got up waiting for her reaction but she didn't seem to care. The food selection was great: turkey, ham, mashed red potatoes, gravy, rolls, and various types of sides. I offered Avery some of my food but she refused. Since I finished all of my errands I decided to take Avery home after lunch but she didn't want to go. Every time I tried to put her shoes on she crawled away from me. I was happy that she was getting over her separation anxiety but a little sad at the same time. I decided to leave her at day care for another 2 hours and went home to label Christmas cards.

Steven and I picked up Avery together before going to the PX and commissary for some last minute items. We had planned to get things for burgers but completely forgot. I decided to run back to the commissary but wasn't fast enough to beat the rush. That place was a madhouse!! The night before Thanksgiving is not the time to shop. I bailed on the idea and left empty handed. By the time I got home Steven had already bathed Avery and put her to bed.

Thanksgiving. Avery's first Thanksgiving! We had dinner at Kendig's house - she works with Steven and her husband plays air soft with him. The evening was so much fun! There were 18 guests (kids included) so thankfully Steven had rented tables from Outdoor Rec that morning. Dinner was absolutely amazing, one of the best I've had. We had juicy turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, two types of gravy, corn casserole  green bean casserole  corn on the cob, stuffing, candied yams, sweet potatoes, rolls and two types of cheese cake. Almost everything was made from scratch, if my stomach was bigger I would have eaten all night long. Steven made the corn casserole  it was to die for and got many compliments, I was so proud :) After dinner Avery had a blast crawling all over the house, exploring and making friends. She was tuckered out by the time we got home.

I got to sleep in on Friday morning, it was magical. Steven and Avery woke me up with Starbucks and compliments on how pretty I was...too many compliments. In our family Steven is the spender and I am the saver. I had forgotten that it was Black Friday and knew the compliments and coffee were to butter me up. Steven explained that he bought a GoPro for 50% off. He has wanted a GoPro for so long that the sale was too good for him to pass up. I was really bummed that I didn't get to go REAL Black Friday shopping. I miss getting a few hours of sleep, a middle of the night coffee run and shopping the sales.

Steven's version of Friday:
"Today Steven went crazy and spent a bunch of money. I wanted to stab him so hard but the thought of him not being around to watch the kid when i'm annoyed was the only thing that stopped me."

That's not how you use a spoon

Over the weekend Steven went to an air soft convention with two of his buddies. The convention was in Seoul so the drive should have taken around 4 hours round trip. Traffic was HORRIBLE and they ended up being gone for 8 hours. Avery and I spent the day re-watching The Walking Dead seasons. My baby is full of surprises - she stood on her own! I looked up to see her standing across the room playing with a toy. I tried to discreetly get my camera but the moment she noticed me her concentration was broken and she fell.

Avery trying to hack into my laptop

Steven and I were finally able to send out our Christmas cards on Sunday - it was a challenge though. After I labelled all the envelopes I realized we were 5 stamps short, we made a trip to the PX to get more. I decided to seal the envelopes on the drive but realized there was no sticky section to do so. We ended up sitting in Starbucks with a glue stick and stickers sealing envelopes haha. The photo place on base is SO expensive. I really wish we could have made more cards to send to friends. I definitely miss having a Walgreens photo center this time of year.

Avery Quinn - 46 weeks

Arts & Crafts

Avery and I went to an Arts & Crafts workshop this week. It was held at Avery's daycare so we picked up Pagi and Bentlee before going over. We made Thanksgiving place mats :) Avery made a finger paint mat and I made a glitter/hand turkey one. We will get them back next week after they've been laminated.

Book worm

Pagi getting Bentlee's footprint

One of Avery's masterpieces 

Avery & Bentlee

That evening was Parent Date Night. After we dropped Avery off at day care we went to Hwa Hwa for dinner. The food was delicious as usual. Steven took me to see the new Twilight movie at AK Plaza. It was pretty good although movies based on books always have their discrepancies  We picked up Avery an hour early, I was surprised to find that none of the babies were sleeping even though it was almost 10 pm. Overall, a good night.

The weekend was pretty good. Saturday morning a Korean man came into our apartment unannounced. Steven had propped the door open for Widener who was coming over to borrow our vacuum. The man came in and stood on our kitchen chair. He is lucky gun are prohibited in Korea or else he may have ended up injured. The man had apparently shown up to replace one of our smoke detectors. They do things so oddly in Korea.

On Sunday we woke up nice and early. Steven went on base to do our laundry while Avery and I stayed home getting ready for the day. We went to Osan's ville to find me a nice blouse. We have family pictures scheduled for Monday. Avery has a cute dress and Steven has a stylish sweater but I couldn't find anything to match them. We had already checked Humphrey's PX and Osan's BX without luck. It only took a few minutes in Osan's ville before finding a lovely dress :) That day we also bought a tiny 2 foot faux Christmas tree. We always get a real tree but this year decided a fake one would be best with Avery in the house. At least now I don't have to worry about her eating pine needles, pulling the tree over, breaking ornaments or messing with the lights. We can put our tiny tree up on a table away from her. We are still a few weeks away from setting up the tree, I can hardly wait.

Avery the red nosed reindeer 

Avery Quinn - 45 weeks

Ten Months Old

Busy week, as usual. On Monday I got some rare, yet enjoyable, me time. Steven took Avery to Osan to pick up his copy of Halo 4. It was supposed to be a quick trip but the game release was delayed and it turned into almost 4 hours of just me and a quiet house. Steven brought home dinner and surprised me with Starbucks. :)

Where's Avery?

There she is!!

Tuesday was my MRI appointment. I was relieved to finally be getting it done. The only problem was that the hospital rescheduled our appointment with such short notice that we weren't able to get Avery into day care that day. My friend, Karina, was able to help and baby sat Avery for us. Karina has a daughter 5 months older than Avery so she got to have a play date. Steven and I went to Good Morning Hospital for my MRI. I changed into hospital clothes and waited for my turn. When it was my turn the tech unlocked a very thick metal door and lead me into the MRI room. I had never seen an MRI machine before, it looked like something out of Star Trek. The tech helped me onto the table and fastened my knee into some kind of holster. He gave me ear plugs and noise canceling head phones. It freaked me out when the bed started moving into the machine, it was too close for comfort. I closed my eyes so I would get claustrophobic. The machine was terribly loud and I couldn't help but worry about the intense radiation I was being exposed to. The MRI was over in about 40 minutes, I was so happy to be out of that room. I quickly changed into my own clothes and went to see the orthopedic surgeon. My MRI looked normal thankfully. He said that some types of strain can't be seen on an MRI and most knee injuries resolve themselves within 3-4 weeks. I was already in my 3rd week so the doctor suggested I meet with the physical therapist. He also told me to stop wearing the brace and start walking on the knee unassisted so strengthen it.

Snuggling the frog her Great-Nana sent her

That evening when I went to shower Steven pointed out a small, quarter size bruise on my left bicep. I didn't think much of it at the time, I took my Ibuprofen and my Norco and went to bed.

The next morning the bruise was huge! It was a gross purple color and had spread 3-4 inches. It didn't hurt at all but it freaked me out. I called my doctor and left a message but she usually takes 2 days to return a call. I read on the internet that extended Ibuprofen use can cause bruising. The site said not to take Ibuprofen for more than 10 days, I had been taking it 3x a day for 3 weeks straight. I decided not to take anymore Ibuprofen or Norco to see if that helped. It was an awful choice, I was in so much pain!!

My first day of physical therapy was on Thursday. We were fortunate enough to get Avery into day care so we didn't have to take her to my appointment. Physical therapy was at Good Morning Hospital. I'm not a big fan of Korean hospitals for one big reason: they let all the patients roam the halls freely. Everywhere I look, whether its the coffee bar or the international clinic, there are Koreans in hospital gowns hooked up to IVs just walking around. It really freaks me out! The physical therapy ward was no different. Everyone in the room looked half dead, it was not comforting.

I've been in physical therapy a few times for my chest so I expected physical therapy in Korea to be no different, I was wrong. Instead of stretching, exercising or strength training I was instead instructed to lay down. The physical therapist spoke almost no English so the entire appointment was done in hand gestures. My appointment consisted of 20 minutes of a hot water pack on my knee, 20 minutes of some kind of ultrasonic wand thing, and 40 minutes of electro-therapy (4 moist sponges that shocked my knee). The physical therapist said I would need a few more treatments. I tried to make an appointment at the international clinic but they said I need a brand new referral for any more physical therapy sessions. Awesome, that will only take several weeks.

Electro-pod things

Friday morning was wonderful. I hosted my first play date :) Pagi, Bentlee, Jess and Mic came over. Steven had originally planned to leave the house so we could have girl talk but he ended up falling asleep a few minutes before my guests arrived. Avery is so interested in tiny babies. She is the youngest in her day care class so she's used to the other kids walking and being bigger than her. Avery and I have been working on "gentle hands" (she likes to pull hair) so I was ecstatic when she rolled over to Bentlee and gently touched his hands and head...that is until she began smacking him in the face :( I guess we'll keep working on being gentle.

After the play date I woke Steven up. My bruise was not getting any better so I had planned to go to the after hours clinic on base. A visit to the after hour clinic is usually 2-5 hours so I wasn't about to drag Avery along. When I got to the AHC I was happy to see that I was the only person waiting, that is until 3 soldiers in uniform strolled in :( Even if I was dying, the soldiers would be seen before me. (Side note: when I was pregnant I passed out at the gym. The doctor didn't see me for 5 hours!! Soldiers with the sniffles > pregnant spouse). I was at the AHC first and I wasn't about to wait for 3 soldiers shamming out of work. I went to the counter and asked how long my wait time would be and was surprised when the soldier immediately called a nurse over. After a minute I realized the only reason they were so prompt in seeing me was because they saw the bruising and assumed I was being abused. Once I explained the entire knee/ibuprofen/random bruising situation they seemed much less interested in anything I had to say. I was told to go home unless I lost feeling in my hand.

Skyping MiMi

Saturday was a big day for Avery. She finally went from Army crawling to actually crawling! It was awesome for about 5 minutes until she was all over the place. She crawled all the way to the front door when Steven left.

This weekend was full of adventure. It started out with Steven hitting a BMW while trying to parallel park. It wasn't bad but our black truck + their very white, very nice BMW = bad news. Steven asked a Korean soldier to write the owner a note in Hangul. As the soldier was writing the note the owner of the BMW showed up, he wasn't mad but seemed really bummed out. Steven and the guy exchanged information before we went about our business. We got lunch, called the insurance company, went to the PX and the commissary. It was an eventful Saturday.

On Sunday Steven was up bright and early to go play air soft. The game was cancelled due to rain so instead he got breakfast with his buddies and surprised me with coffee. Widener (Steven's air soft/work buddy) is finally done in Korea. We had a going away party at Hwa Hwa (Korean BBQ) for Widener and his wife. There was a very good turn-out for dinner - 20 people showed up (if you include the 3 kids that were there). Widener and Allison ended up being an hour late to their own party. They took a day trip up to Seoul and got lost on the way back.

Avery touching Bentlee's feet

During dinner I fed little Bentlee and snuggled him for a bit. I've been having terrible baby fever lately and holding him did not help. Steven and I are waiting another 1-2 years before adding to our family but dang my friends make it hard. Two of my friends are pregnant with their 1st baby, six friends are pregnant with their 2nd, and one friend is pregnant with their 3rd. Another seven friends are trying to conceive either their 2nd or 3rd baby. Three friends I graduated with already have 3 kids and another 5 friends I graduated with have 2 kids. I know its not a race but all these babies/pregnancies are killing me.

I left dinner early so that I could get Avery to bed on time. Steven stayed at the restaurant and went to see the new James Bond movie with the group. Steven had to take a cab home because I had the truck and everyone else had been drinking. He informed me that everyone left dinner without paying and he was left with the bill... Only Pagi and her husband were responsible enough to pay for their meal. That night Avery cried for 5 hours, I think she was teething. Steven and I took turns rocking and comforting her.

Avery Quinn - 10 months

Knee

This week Avery had a play date with two boys! Pagi, Bentlee, Avery and I went over to our friend Jess' house early in the week. Avery got to "play" with 1 month old Bentlee and 3 month old Mic. It was so nice to get out of the house!

On Thursday our apartment complex had another break in. The family was American and had only left the house for 30 minutes when the break in happened which supports my "targeting Americans" theory. The thieves broke into the family's house and cleaned them out. We're not sure how they got into the home since the door needs a code not a key. We used to only dead bolt the doors at night but now double dead bolt the door at all times.

Playing Borderlands 2 with Daddy

One major downside to the military is their shaving policy. Steven must be clean shaven at all times, its kind of a drag. I'm a little bummed that he can't participate in No Shave November but I look forward to all my civilian friends' attempt at facial hair.

Friday was not the best day :( No amount of ice, elevation, rest or ibuprofen was helping relieve the pain in my knee. After several hours of pain I finally broke down and asked Steven to take me to the emergency room. We bathed Avery and dropped her off at Kendig's house, a girl that works with Steven. Steven took me to Good Morning Hospital, its a Korean hospital but I don't like Dankook University Hospital and 121 was way too far away. It was our first time at Good Morning so we had no clue where to go. A Korean man pointed us in the right direction. The ER staff spoke English pretty well and helped me right away. After filling out a quick questionnaire the nurse injected me with some kind of pain killer and gave me a few x-rays. The doctor reviewed my x-rays with me a few minutes later. My bones looked good and there wasn't any excess fluid that needed to be drained.

As we were looking at the x-rays the orthopedic surgeon showed up in the ER. He was dropping off some chocolates to the staff before going home but was gracious enough to examine me. I laid on the exam table and the surgeon started moving my leg around in all sorts of crazy ways. He kept asking if it hurt but it didn't. Steven and I had completely forgotten that the nurse shot me up with pain killers. After we told him that he moved my leg in a specific way and that HURT even with the pain killers. The orthopedic surgeon is pretty sure I tore my meniscus. He told me to come back the next day for an MRI and went on his way. A few minutes later he returned with another American couple. He saw that the woman had a dislocated shoulder and was willing to help her too before he went home. The surgeon kicked off his shoes, put his foot in the lady's arm pit and put her arm back in its place while she was still talking. She didn't even notice him do it and was moving her arm like normal within seconds. I've only seen one other dislocated shoulder get fixed, the ER made Quinn put his own arm back in its socket and that was not fun to watch.

She LOVES sleeping on her belly

The next day as we were heading to the car for my MRI the hospital called to tell me my appointment was postponed until Tuesday. We were already dressed so we went to Osan instead. Steven and I split lunch and went grocery shopping. I left my crutches in the car so that I could push Avery's stroller while Steven pushed the cart. I only made it through a few aisle before I took Avery to sit in the car because of the pain. That evening was awful. The surgeon twisting my leg and walking around the store without crutches caught up to me. I was in tears.

Learning about static electricity

Kisses

Since I've been on my butt all week Steven has been playing the role of mom and dad. The doctor prescribed Norco at night since I couldn't sleep through the pain. It helps me sleep but is powerful. I don't hear Avery cry at night and end up sleeping until 10am or later each morning. Steven explained the situation to his higher ups at work and they agreed to let him stay home to take care of the baby since I am unable to. Steven has been taking care of Avery non-stop all week. He changes, clothes, plays, and bathes Avery. He also puts her down for naps, bedtime and gets up with her at night. I've had plenty of time to sew a baby blanket for Avery since I can't do anything else. The only thing I can do baby-wise is feed Avery her dinner and her bottles because those are both sitting jobs. If I am on my feet too much I could do more damage to myself. The doctor told us walking around is how fluid builds up, I don't want my knee drained or surgery so I am on the lazy boy all day. I absolutely HATE sitting around, its a miserable existence.

Avery Quinn - 9 months 26 days