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

Sleepless nights

This week started out with Steven having Monday off. He had 24 hour CQ (baby sit the soldiers in the barracks) on Sunday and got Monday off to recover. It was very mellow, Steven and Avery took a long nap together. I think the long nap messed up Avery's schedule because that night she woke up every hour on the hour screaming. From 330am-430am she cried non-stop, Steven and I tried to sooth her but nothing worked. I eventually gave up and brought her into bed with me, bad move. Avery started making little baby letters (parents will know what I'm talking about) so I barely slept. I ended up making a protective cocoon around her to protect her from Steven and the blankets so I was pretty stiff in the morning.

Pigtails :)

I had no time to recover as Wednesday is our busiest day of the week. Steven had to be up early for a Change of Command rehearsal so he took the truck. Pagi picked us up for bowling and we both did randomly awesome.

Avery started being a cranky pants at Lunch with the Ladies immediately after I ordered my food. I took her to Pagi's car to calm and feed her but instead she freaked out and kicked my Starbucks over so that I ended up sitting in a puddle of coffee. Avery and her blanket were also covered in coffee, I tried to clean her up but she made it impossible. After several minutes of her crying, screaming and flailing around I decided to call it quits and go home. Pagi came to the car to find the both of us crying and offered to take us home, I was so embarrassed that I declined and walked instead. I'm sure it was a site to see, an American (who already sticks out because of blonde hair) who looks like she peed her pants pushing around a screaming baby in a stroller through the streets of Korea. Avery and I attracted a lot of attention. Half way home I broke down and called Steven, he came and picked us up.

Our our daily walk

After several days of waking up hourly Avery randomly slept from 8pm-330am and then went back to sleep until 530am. It was amazing, so amazing that I overslept and didn't wake up until 615am. Steven had a follow up at 121 hospital and we needed to leave the house by 645am in order to make it to the 9am appointment. The appointment lasted about 5 minutes (so glad we drove 2 hours for that...), we got brunch and made the long drive back to Humphreys. We got our grocery shopping out of the way, ordered a pizza, made some brownies and stayed up watching terrible old movies :)

We ended this week on a good note. Steven got up and watched Avery so that I could get an extra hour of sleep. Avery and I then took her morning nap together while Steven did all the dishes and made cookies. We took Steven's delicious cookies over to Widener's house that afternoon. Widener and his wife invited over their air soft buddies for a BBQ. With all the excitement Avery refused to nap and got cranky. Steven walked her around for a bit then I walked her around the ville a few times. At 6pm I took Avery home so that I could put her to bed. We took our Xbox over to the BBQ so that the boys could play MW3, Steven stayed at Widener's so that the party didn't end because of a cranky baby, he only ended up staying another hour and a half though.

Watching Tosh.0

Other random news from this week:

Steven and I realized that neither of our schools had FB pages for our graduating year. I made a page for 2007 Meridian High School graduates on facebook. Within 23 minutes it had 184 members :) Steven made a page for 2007 Borah graduates, it has 16 members :)

Avery had some carrots, rice rusks, and apple juice this week. She is a fan of carrots and loves the rice rusks. Avery refuses to use a bottle so I tried to entice her with some diluted apple juice in a bottle, she managed to get 1/2 an ounce.

Carrots

Rice rusks

Avery stood up for almost a full minute with the assistance of a chair.

I bought my ticket home. I'll be in Idaho from September 7th-23rd. I've been extremely homesick lately so being able to see my family is much needed. My mom is already prepping: diapers, wipes, baby food, etc. The less I have to pack the better since it will be my first time flying alone with Avery. That plane ride is not going to be fun, 16 hours with an 8 month old but it will be worth it. I really hope my Grammy will be able to visit and finally meet Avery.

Avery Quinn - 25 weeks 

One Hectic Week

The week started out mellow with Steven having Monday off. I'm glad we had a day to relax because Tuesday was hectic. I had a 9am appointment at Dankook University Hospital for the second part of my allergy screen. It was the intradermal test so a small amount of allergen is injected into the skin. The doctor used the sensitive part of my inner arm as his pin cushion. The first one didn't hurt and I felt silly for being so nervous about the test. The second stick hurt but I thought maybe he had stuck the needle in an extra sensitive area. The third one was so freaking painful! It was like acid was being injected into me. Within seconds of the third allergen being injected I was extremely nauseous and dizzy. The nurse escorted me to the bathroom. I almost made it but got too dizzy and sat on the floor. My hearing faded and I was just a horrible dizzy nauseous mess. The nurse helped me into a wheel chair and took me to something called the Injection Room which was just a room full of beds so that I could lay down.

After about 10 minutes I started feeling a little better. The doctor came in and checked my injection sites. The first was normal, the second was a slightly irritated but the third was raised, red, and painful. It was obvious that I was allergic to whatever the third injection was. I was told to make an appointment with my TMC on base to get the results of the screen. The doctor tried to explain the results but the language barrier made it difficult for him to explain and me to understand. On the drive home Steven and I made an agreement. If he got me Starbucks I would give him the car on Wednesday :) That night we had an FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting, it was low key but I got to hang out with Pagi.

Bananas!

Wednesday was somehow even more hectic than Tuesday. The first half of the day started out well. Pagi picked up Avery and I for bowling and I bowled a little better than last week. Afterwards we walked through the Ville to La Pasta for Lunch with the Ladies. On the walk I noticed my truck parked off in a dirt lot. I bet Pagi that Steven would be at Chicago's (a restaurant), I called him and sure enough that's where he was having lunch with a few guys he works with. We hung with them for a bit until it was time for our lunch.  La Pasta was good but Avery was ready for a nap.

Little thief took my roll

Pagi and I decided to leave. Turns out the base was shut down for an exercise so we were locked out. Pagi's Jeep was on base and the taxi drivers were on strike that day so we were screwed. There were about 20 other people camped out at the gate waiting to be let in. We waited in the heat for an hour before a friend spotted us and offered us a ride. Pagi and I hung out at my house until the gates re-opened and we could go get her Jeep. Steven and Avery had daddy daughter time while I went on base.

  

Friday, I somehow managed to make it to the end of the week. I took Steven to work that day so I could have the truck. I picked up Pagi and we went to AK Plaza (a mall/train station) to buy tickets for Prometheus. Afterwards we went to Osan and had Chilis then went to their BX and tried on a bunch of clothes and shoes. We both feel rushed by our husbands when it comes to browsing so it was refreshing to take our time. That night Steven and Widener went to the movies while I stayed home with Avery.

Feeding herself sweet potatoes

Avery decided to make this already hectic week even tougher by getting up and staying up at 3am several nights in a row. I'm not sure why she thinks 3am is play/talk/high pitched giggle squeal but hopefully it ends soon. She still wakes up every 1-2 hours at night so its pretty difficult to function lately. Steven managed to set up shelves and completely organize his Army/Airsoft room while I managed to accomplish basically nothing in that same amount of time. Needless to say I felt pretty crappy about myself. Hopefully when I start getting more sleep I'll start being more useful. Either way I need a vacation!

The week ended on a sour note unfortunately. Steven had CQ, we left the house at 6am so that he could get a 'good floor'. I would normally be upset about being up that early on a Sunday but we'd been up for quite a while thanks to Avery. I went back on a base a few hours later to do laundry and take Steven dinner, evil demon Avery emerged shortly after that. She that she would spend the next 7 hours screaming/fussing/crying instead of taking her usual naps and going to bed at a reasonable hour. By 11pm I was ready to rip my hair out but I finally managed to get her settled and asleep. I don't know what her problem was (maybe the yogurt she had upset her tummy??) I hope she behaves the rest of the night as I will be getting up bright and early to pick up Steven at 7am. I am one tired momma these days!

Avery Quinn - 24 weeks

Father's Day

This week was full of ups and downs. On Monday Steven took a fellow 15T and his family to the airport. That guy is always driving to the airport haha.

Wednesday was just awful :( Steven was kind enough to take Avery for me so that I could catch up on my sleep but my alarm went off 3 minutes later. During bowling Avery got woken up by some super loud kids so I ended bowling about 45 points lower than usual.

After bowling I was supposed to meet a woman (who had already blown me off the day before) to give her baby clothes. She went to Osan instead of Humphreys so I stood out in the heat waiting for her while Steven was inside the restaurant waiting for me. I had my first allergy appointment at Dankook University Hospital (a Korean hospital), its a bit of a drive so Steven stopped at a shoppette so that I could use the restroom before we left. The restroom was occupied so when the woman came out I apologized for trying to open the door while she was in there. She looked me up and down then apologized for keeping a pregnant woman from using the restroom...I thought I looked good for having a baby 5 months ago but apparently not. By the time we got to Dankook I was pretty grumpy, having to get my blood drawn did not help. The nurse took FOREVER to switch out the 5 vials. I also have to go back next week to get the intradermal test down (hooray more needles). On the way home Steven stopped at a Family Mart and got me ice cream, it completely turned my day around :D

Happy Thursday - My husband rocks

Steven had the day off on Friday. Avery and I went to Mommy & Me workout. Afterwards we picked up Alison and Alex (Widener), we went to an air soft shop, Osan and then to their house so the boys could tinker with Alex's new GoPro. Steven and I had been planning and adult dinner so as I put Avery to bed Steven went and got Pagi. She babysat for us while we went out on a date to a beef & leaf place (Korean BBQ). Avery slept through the night. It was an amazing evening!

My two favorite people

Hanging out with Pagi

Saturday morning I dropped Steven off at Alex's house and they left for their air soft tournie. Avery and I sent grocery shopping for a Father's Day meal.

Sunday started off a bit rough. Sterling scratched open a new bag of beef jerky and scattered the pieces all over the house. When I went to put Avery down for a nap Sterling then got into my food and scattered that all over the house. He topped it off by eating my flowers (I imagine his stomach hurt) and threw them up on the carpet... Avery and I went on base to do laundry, we got Sterling some toy mice to keep him occupied. Steven got home around in the late afternoon. I made him Father's day dinner. We had BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and sparkling cider (as we don't drink). Avery joined us at the dinner table in her bumbo and ate bananas for the first time :D

Avery Quinn - 23 weeks