November 2007 Archives

Sleep Through the Night Campaign

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It's 3:50 AM and I am awake as part of the official Sleep Through the Night Campaign. Sarah does not have a cold, it's been a week since her last shot, and she is old enough/big enough to do it! Monday night she ate for 6 minutes at 1 AM, Tuesday 5 minutes at 4 AM, Wednesday 4 minutes at 5:30 AM (a typical daytime meal is about 4 minutes). Tonight I had originally planned to give her 3 minutes but since she went so late yesterday I decided to not feed her before 6 AM. She woke up at about 3:15 and I did go in to hold her for five minutes and she quieted down and went back to sleep for about twenty minutes. I can't just go back to sleep when there is crying going on so hopefully she'll get back to bed soon!

Elf Yourself

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Click on the image above to watch the video.

Last Year At This Time

We found out Sarah was a girl! Just in time to be sure to send all of Anna's hand-me-downs with us to Qatar instead of leaving it all in storage in Texas. I've actually spent some time in the past couple of days going through all of the 0-3 and 3-6 months clothes to give some to the orphanage (I'm keeping a few favorites to possibly make quilts for the girls later on).

Nice Teeth

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I guess Sarah's teeth were bothering her last week because she has been eating really well from the spoon again. Her teeth have really come through!

Broncos

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Taking a break from jumping.


She's asleep in case you can't tell.

Anna & I were looking at pictures on the blog from last year and she saw a picture of herself with her Broncos shirt on and wanted to put it on again. Yay for orange! She wore it the rest of the day.

The Lighting of the Tree


Sarah decided to take a dive for a particularly exciting ornament (she was not hurt!).

It is hard waiting until it is dark enough for the "lighting of the tree!" Don't they look so excited?

Hey


Photo by Craig

Just a quick shot of Sarah enjoying her lunch today.

Brown

Anna had a diaper leak at school today so they put on her brown back-up pants. She would not eat lunch with her pants on (I think it was because they were pants, not because they were brown; although that didn't help). I had to take a picture of her in the pants because it is just so refreshing to see something other than pink on her!

Thirty-One

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Craig made a chocolate cake for me for my birthday (while Anna & I decorated the tree). I asked Anna this morning what she was looking forward to most today, "daddy coming home, decorating the tree, baking a cake..." and she interrupted me and yelled, "Chicken on the Mountain—YES!"

O Christmas Tree

Anna had a great time decorating the tree today. Sarah slept the entire time we did it but seemed to really like the results when she woke from her nap! I had three little trees so Anna & I decided everyone could have their own tree in their room. She decorated hers (can you tell?) and helped decorate Sarah's with what was left. She actually did a better job decorating than I had anticipated (she remained interested in the activity for the full 1.5 hours!). Sure, there are branches with six ornaments on them, but I think it looks great!

Sour Face

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Sarah has had applesauce before but for some reason she thought it was particularly sour today, I guess. She would make the sour face and then laugh. I'd make the sour face back at her and she'd make it again. It was super cute and funny but also really hard to capture with the camera on my own!

New Configuration

I wasn't having luck feeding Sarah holding onto her anymore so I tried her in her chair again (when I originally tried her there she just wanted to eat the table) and she loved it. I gave her some Gerber Puffs and she went to town like she'd been eating finger foods her whole life. I got a little excited and tried to let her eat her pumpkin with her fingers but that didn't work as well. I've just been having a hard time the past few days getting her to eat much with the spoon. She was happy sitting at the table for a half hour this afternoon just eating puffs and did eat better with the spoon this way, too.

Activity Scene

I started putting out some Christmas decorations today (we will wait until Sunday to decorate the tree when Craig is home) and Anna had some fun checking out the "activity scene." She insisted that Mary was "Anna" because Mary is wearing some pink and Jesus is "Sarah" because he is a baby.

Rocking

Sarah has been getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth the past couple of days. Today she even moved forward a bit! (She goes backward quite well but I'm not sure if she's going anywhere with intention yet although she does usually end up with a fun toy after a few feet of movement.)

Fabric!

I placed an order from Sew, Mama, Sew for part of my birthday present. Anna fell in love with one of the fabrics right away so I will make something for her for Christmas out of that one. I have a whole list of projects to do so I'm excited to finally have some fun fabrics to work with! I should take these down to the "good" sewing store and show them what to order.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving tonight because Craig leaves in the morning for a quick business trip to Paris. The Import Lady only had a 16-lb turkey so I decided to not get that. Our fantastic plan was to find the Rotisserie Chicken Truck that is located randomly throughout town on any given day.

As the day wore on, I started to worry about our plan for the meat but figured we had enough stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie to survive on if it didn't work out. Craig found the truck in the second place he looked and the chickens were really good (probably something to add to our regular rotation!) and we had a really nice meal.

Anna was really only looking forward to the pumpkin pie that she helped me make earlier in the day but she was able to take in a few bites of the other food on the table. It turns out she really liked the whipped cream the best (same scenario as last year).

Partway into the meal, Amelie from CS (the company that manages our apartment buildings) came down with some maintenance guys to fix our hot water so that was kind of mood-dampening but we were glad they showed up (our showers have been cold the past two mornings!).

Play-By-Yourself-Time

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Anna's "Quiet Time" is officially over. She has started coming out of her room and the resulting fits she was throwing woke Sarah from her nap two days in a row and it wasn't worth it to me anymore. So, I've instituted an hour of "Play-By-Yourself-Time" so I can still have a little time to get some stuff done today. Anna actually plays by herself really well when it's her idea but has a hard time if I tell her to go do it. She has done a lot of sticker art and coloring during this time. I think we're actually both enjoying the extra time together even if we're doing our own things.

Another Try

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I can't seem to get a good shot of this, but I'll post this anyway: Sarah loves to play with her feet when she's on the changing pad or if she happens to be okay with spending a moment on her back on the floor (she usually flips right away to her stomach). Anna never did this and I think it's super cute!


Close-up of Sarah's bottom front teeth that are coming through.

I decided to try to get some more portraits today and Anna was super excited about the "strawberry" background paper. I figured my worst-case scenario was that I'd get some good shots of Sarah. Still nothing fantastic but at least Anna cooperated today which always makes me happy.

Turkeys

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I found a cute hands and feet turkey to make with the kids today. Sarah's is super tiny and super cute (not that Anna's isn't, mind you). Anna helped glue hers together.

10,000

I had my first portrait session today since last year and my camera rolled over to file number 0001 during the shoot. I've shot over 10,000 photos on my camera since I got it two years ago when Craig left for his six-week stint in Doha.

The session was for my friend Jaynie and I'm really glad I didn't officially go back to business yet because my process (after the session) is a bit rusty and I've got to get my workflow adjusted to having two kids around instead of just one. I'm considering going back to business starting in January but haven't made any ads or final decisions just yet.

The Smokestack


View of DSME.


Jumping like a frog.

We took the kids up to the smokestack this afternoon for a "hike" (Anna-sized hike). Craig has taken the kids up here by himself before but I haven't been here since the last time we lived here. Anna has it in her head that when you hike to the top of the mountain you need to pour water on the rocks at the top so Craig indulges this need for ceremony, whatever it means. I really wanted to try again to get some shots of the kids for our Christmas card but it wasn't happening. Another day.

Portraits

We tried to get some portraits of the girls today for our Christmas card but it was a no-go (Anna was not cooperative). I am counting Sarah's as her six month portrait session though so it wasn't a total loss.

A Tote for Me

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I decided to make a copy of my favorite grocery shopping bag (my Al Jarir bookstore bag that I bought as a souvenir of Doha the last time I was there; coincidentally the first and only time I have ever experienced an "ice cream headache"). I had to have Craig help me out with some of the mental gymnastics involved at the end but we figured it out and it looks great! Now I have two bags to bring to Home Plus each week. I added a lining and a pocket to mine as the Al Jarir one was just a canvas bag without a lining.

Also, I should note that my thumb is still numb/funny from cutting out those leaves yesterday. I threw out the cheap-o scissors I was using and will buy a new pair from Office Depot next time I'm there. Ouch!

Falling Leaves

I wanted to do a craft with Anna today and found these leaf templates online. I made mine out of felt while she colored hers. My hand seriously hurts from all of the cutting I did but I think that both garlands turned out really cute (Anna's is hung with pink string, mine with green). I will keep both garlands and re-use them each year.

Mice in the Mail

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Anna wanted to pose the mice for a picture right away.


I convinced Anna to get in the picture as well (but she would not look at me).

We did video chat with Nana & Papa on Sunday and Nana said she mailed some mice for Anna and to watch for the package. When I was opening it I asked Anna what she thought was inside and she was so excited for "mice!" She was thrilled and when I ask her which one she likes best she says, "the pink one. And the white one. And the grey one." I guess she likes them all. Thanks, Anita!

Dental Work

As I was feeding Sarah breakfast this morning, I happened to see in between bites that she is growing her two front bottom teeth! I felt her gums and sure enough: here they come! Maybe this is why she liked that cold applesauce so much on Sunday.

Gump & Boing

Yesterday Anna wanted to close the velcro on her hat but didn't know the word for this action so she said she wanted to "gump" the ties. Today she wanted to take off the dishtowel she claimed was a bib (Craig tied it around her neck for her) and said she wanted to "boing" it off. I guess when you don't know what the word is, fake it and maybe no one will notice?

Elephant 2.0

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I made Sarah's elephant so much faster (and better) than Anna's because I didn't do as much hand-sewing and left off the party hat and ribbon around the neck. I did remember to put nostrils on the elephant this time (with embroidery floss; I didn't have the floss yet for the eyes, eyebrows, & mouth but I like them more than the ones on Anna's as well). I also put the elephant nose on more straight (the pattern called for it to be a little crooked but when your sewing isn't up to par then it just looks like you did a bad job sewing instead of being quirky and cute).

Two notes: (1) Thank you to all of the experienced sew-ers who have emailed/posted comments with help and encouragement! (2) Anna overtook my pincushion and it is now a "strawberry cake" so I'll have to make another for myself.

Two More Shots

I took Sarah in to get two more of her vaccinations today and this time she did not cry at all. She made a bit of a sad face after the second one but otherwise it was no big deal. She has to go back again next week for the last shot.

The Cross-Stitch Store

I've been daydreaming about just walking into a fabric store and getting everything I want and need for my little projects all at once and in the same store. I go to the "good" sewing store at least once a week and hope I can find what I want or communicate my needs. It's hard because I don't know what I'm looking for all of the time and the woman at the shop does not speak much English at all.

Today I brought in the last little bit of fiberfill I had, along with the original packaging, to show the lady what I wanted (more fiberfill!). She sold me a plain white pillow. This is fine, I can't imagine I'll be making a ton of stuffed animals, but I do want to make Sarah's elephant and a few other projects that require stuffing. I also found some cute buttons today.

On my way back through the market I spied in the "other" sewing store a cute fabric to use on the bag for me that I want to make (like my Al Jarir bookstore tote bag I bring to the grocery store so I have to buy one less bag). The second store didn't have a coordinating fabric so I had to walk back up to the first store and see if they did. They did so I was happy. Now I just have to decide how I want to make my bag.

I happened to see Mijung & Jaynie still at Davinci's so Sarah & I popped in there and I asked if I really have to go to Busan to get some variety and the other things on my sewing wish-list (Sarah & I went to Gohyeon on Saturday hoping to find another sewing store but we did not). It sounds like I do need to go to Busan for more stuff. However that's not so easy right now and I may end up just ordering some stuff from the US because it might take just as long as getting to Busan (it's a ferry ride over which would mean missing/bad naps for Sarah and I hate nursing in public, there's a taxi from the ferry terminal to the sewing store which I'm not keen on doing with kids (no carseats if we take the ferry; otherwise it's a 3 hour drive or we take the car ferry which can also be a pain, but probably our best & safest option)).

I mentioned that I was in need of some embroidery hoops and floss and Jaynie said like it should have been obvious (she has lived here since 2003, a few months before we got here the first time): go to the Cross-Stitch Store! Duh. I didn't have time to go right then so I went tonight and was really happy. I got a couple different sized embroidery hoops and a bunch of floss for about ten dollars. (Let's ignore the fact that I have a nice embroidery kit in storage in Texas right now; I hadn't used it since I lived in Boston so it didn't come with us.)

Anyway, the point of all of this rambling is that at the same time I find it frustrating that there isn't such a thing as "one-stop-shopping" here, I am kind of enjoying the little missions I've created by trying to find everything I want.

Applesauce

I'm not going to list every food that Sarah is trying out, but applesauce deserves a mention because she seemed to really enjoy it. This was her first fruit (besides avocado) but I was kind of surprised she liked it because it was still cool (I made applesauce earlier this fall an froze it in ice cube trays).

Elephant & Pincushion


Both of these projects are from Softies: Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals.

I told Anna I was going to make an elephant for her and she picked out pink for the body and stripy fabric for the clothes. I can't help but think the elephant looks a little like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh because she is pink, but Anna seems to like her. There was more hand-sewing on this project than I like so I will change things up a bit when I make Sarah's grey elephant after I procure more fiberfill to stuff it.

I have found myself really needing a pincushion the last couple of projects so I decided to make this cute one. This was all hand-sewn which, again, I do not like to do. I think decorative embroidery is fun but I don't like hand-sewing seams, etc. Overall, though, I think I learned quit a bit with these two projects and am thinking about the next projects already...

Drop and Give Me Twenty!

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A week ago Sarah only wanted to sit up and not lie down. The past couple of days have been all about doing push-ups! She can get moving backward quite a bit with these push-ups and I even saw her get on her hands and knees a couple of times. This is all happening three months earlier than Anna's schedule so I'm a little caught off guard. I also think this has been affecting her sleep the past couple of nights: she can't stop practicing these push-ups! I guess this means we are moving the crib mattress down just in case she decides to practice pulling up, too.

Ack!

Anna is running around saying "Ack!" a lot these days. I think she got it from the book A Day at the Airport by Richard Scarry but "ack" can be a noun or a verb and is just said for the sake of saying (or shouting) something as far as I can tell.

Carousel

I discovered a couple of weeks ago that there is a mini carousel on the fifth floor of the Ocean Department Store in Gohyeon (where I like to buy the organic food for Sarah) and finally took the kids today. The carousel is small and I'm not able/allowed to stand next to Anna on it but I could ride on the bench with her so all three of us rode on the bench/sleigh together. This was Sarah's first carousel ride and she seemed to like the lights and music.

The carousel is next to a drop-off-your-kid place for the department store and it was unclear how to get a ride on the thing. The ladies in the area did not speak English but I was able to communicate that we wanted to ride. I think there must be some sort of fee that I don't understand but we rode for free. When we sat down and the ride started, super loud music started playing and I looked over to see about ten people watching us go around and around and around (it is slow and it is a long ride..) It was mildly embarrassing but when we got off the other people all decided to ride, too. Anyway, I'm not sure I'm happy about opening this can of worms since getting to ride the carousel was kind of a hassle and I'm sure Anna will want to go all the time now that she knows it is in the same building as Home Plus & Starbucks!

Halloween Party

Playschool was scheduled to have their Halloween party last Friday but occasionally DSME, the owners of the building, decides to shut off the electricity for the day (they did this two Fridays in a row now). At least they notify their tenants in advance. Anyway, Playschool reschedule the party for today and Anna wore her pig ears & tail (I figured this was easier than having her change into all black and her butterfly wings). Anna says she had fun and Sarah seemed to enjoy watching all of the big kids (and hanging out with one of Anna's teachers for a while).

Tuesday Night Football

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Craig & the girls watching some football (Sunday's game is downloaded & ready for viewing on Tuesday).

Little Things: Sarah at Six Months

Sarah's biggest thing this month is that she is sitting really well now. I still keep the Boppy behind her so she is safe from unexpected launches backward, but the past several days she has really preferred just sitting rather than lying down (and when she is on her tummy she does a little wiggle thing and gets moving backward pretty far—I have video of this that I'll post later).

She is still getting up once per night to eat but I think we're ready to make an end to that in a couple of weeks (I'll wait at least until after her shots next week; I'm not cruel but I am tired). She has been pretty easy in the sleep department so I hope this goes relatively well, too.

I still can't get over how much Sarah drools and mouths things (Anna did neither of these things so it's quite surprising to me). I have to give her a toy in order to read a book with her or else she's yanking the book out of my hands and into her mouth. She does, however, enjoy a good "touch and feel" book and especially likes books with animal sounds.

Tote & Hat

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Both of these projects are from the book Bend the Rules Sewing.

I decided to start a new tote instead of trying to re-do the other one. So I took the kids into town to get the strawberry fabric and some different material for interfacing. I made this tote one inch bigger all around and had no problems at all (I still don't know what the deal was with the other one...).

I wanted to make a hat for Sarah, too, so I got to it tonight when the kids went to bed. The hat instructions had no actual measurements or clues how to measure for someone's head so I cut it as indicated by the pattern and ended up with a hat that fits my head! The hat was supposed to be for a child so I'm not sure what the deal is there. The project calls for a button in the middle of the flower but I don't have any buttons on hand so I may just leave it as-is (unless I find an awesome button). The project was pretty easy so I might try to scale it down to Sarah's head and re-do it (or not, she actually has plenty of winter hats handed down from Anna).

Sweet Potato

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Sarah got her first taste of sweet potato last night and we couldn't tell whether she loved it or hated it; she was definitely sending mixed signals. Anna asked to have some "smashed potatoes," too. Tonight though Sarah loved the sweet potatoes. Her other favorite so far is pumpkin mixed with oatmeal (served warm, she was opening her mouth like a baby bird for that combo).

Six Month Checkup

We took Sarah to E. G. Pediatric Clinic Center today (instead of going back to Dr. Cho's Pedatric Clinic) and got a little bit more of an exam. The office was older but busier (which I take to be a good sign). This doctor did listen to Sarah's heart and looked in her ears and mouth but did not rotate her hips or ask if she was rolling, sitting, eating, etc. I wonder if this is typical or if this is because we are foreigners (and the doctor doesn't speak enough English to ask us the questions)? I will have to ask a Korean friend sometime because the exam just seems incomplete to me. Anyway, Sarah was due for four shots but just got two today. We'll go back in one week to get the other two . Again, I don't know if this is to spread it out a bit or if they didn't have the other two vaccinations in stock. Here are her stats:

Weight: 8.62 kg (19 lbs; 95th percentile)
Length: 67.3 cm (26.5 inches ; 75-90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 44.5 cm (17.5 inches; 90-95th percentile)

Towel & Tote

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I sewed this strawberry onto Anna's dishtowel for her kitchen. The stitching isn't pretty but Anna is pleased.

I really wanted to try something from one of my new sewing books so I went for the tote bag for Anna this morning. I need to re-do the top stitch because it is not good. My fabric bunched up, the thread got all knotted, etc. The trouble is that I'm not exactly sure what the problem was this time around. Too much fabric for my machine (there were three layers: outer, inner, & facing)? Or was it the bobbin again? I was having a frustrating time getting my needle threaded, too, so that didn't help at all. Again, Anna is happy with it, but I don't want to let her take it out of the house just yet.

Squeak

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Anna loves this mouse that Nana made for her. She keeps telling us how she really liked "that girl mouse" so I guess Nana & Papa's visit was a success!

A Little Bit Silly


"Exercising." Somehow these fish slippers are Anna's exercising shoes (since Doha) but the boa is new to her workout outfit.


Skirt by Grandma Adele.

Pumpkin


Sarah's brown pants by Grandma Adele (otherwise she's in 6-12 month capris from Janie & Jack or 12-18 month capris from Old Navy!).

I made some pumpkin for Sarah today and she seemed to like it. I had some overflow from the ice cube trays so I also made us a loaf of pumpkin bread (yum!). I can find pumpkin seeds in the store and random convenience pumpkin soups/porridges but I haven't seen canned pumpkin like at home. The Import Lady does have some canned pumpkin pie mix in stock for Thanksgiving (but not just plain pumpkin). I might buy a few more pumpkins and just freeze it all to have on hand.

Scooter

The past few days I've noticed when I put Sarah down on the floor she instantly rolls to her tummy (this is not new) and then she moves backward quite a bit from where I put her. I don't know if this is her trying to be on the move or if it's just coincidence but I'm keeping an eye on her.

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This page is an archive of entries from November 2007 listed from newest to oldest.

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