Lincoln had his 1-year doctor's appointment yesterday. He didn't even flinch for his shots. He told me, "Mom, I'm 1 now. Big boys don't cry!".
Monday, April 26, 2010
Birthday Festivities
To be honest, we didn't really do much for Lincoln's birthday cause we didn't really have people to celebrate with, but we opened some new toys for him and bought a cake that we ended up not eating. Sunday, however, the branch had a lingerlonger. The branch president, President Park (pronouced "pock") bought him a cake and they all sang to him. The Kang family brought him a Hanbok (traditional Korean ceremonial clothing) to wear although it was 10 sizes too big. First birthdays are a BIG deal in Korea. The first birthday celebration is called Doljanchi. On Wikipedia is says, 
"Dol or doljanchi is a Korean tradition that celebrates the birthday of a one-year-old baby. This ceremony blesses the child with a prosperous future and has taken on great significance in Korea. Koreans celebrate a baby's first birthday or "Dol" by giving a big party. Friends and relatives are invited to the party or "Dol janchi", praying for the baby's longevity, good luck, and prosperity. People bring gifts such as gold rings, clothes, or money. Parents share various kinds of food with guests. In the past, the death rates for children were high and many children died before their first birthday. So the first birthday was an important milestone to the baby and parents. The whole village used to celebrate a baby's first birthday, sharing foods and wishing for long life and fortune for the baby. There is an interesting event called Doljabi during this party. The baby is propped up at a table of various foods and an assortment of objects and urged to pick up one of the items. It is believed the item the baby picks up symbolically foretells his or her own future or would influence his or her fate."
Lincoln didn't have to choose anything from a table so his future is open to all sorts of possibiliites, but we were really touched that everyone made such a big deal out of his birthday. We have really enjoyed being in the Korean branch. We feel like they're all our good friends even though we don't speak the same language. After the cake cutting, Lincoln just couldn't take all the hype any more so he zonked.
Lincoln with our friend, Yi Yeong Hwa
Lincoln in our English Sunday School classroom which doubles as a storage closet. Lincoln loves to bang the gongs (on the right) when he feels the spirit during Matt's lessons.
Lincoln sporting a birthday shirt he got from his friend, Maddy.28 Weeks
I'm actually 29 weeks along now, but this is a little late. So when I was at the Dr's office this time around, they had me weigh myself and report to the nurse how much I weigh. It's funny cause when you weigh yourself in kgs, you seem so light. The reality that you're porking out doesn't really sink in. When I weighed myself, I waited for the decimal places on the scale to stop oscillating and then I stepped off the scale but then realized that I didn't really remember the number. I did my best to come up with it... I didn't want to have to get on the scale again. So I reported to the nurse, in Korean mind you, how much I supposedly weighed. Her jaw dropped when she compared it to the previous appointment. She didn't have to speak English to let me know that she thought I had gained too much weight in the last month. I really have been getting some love handles, but I thought she was over reacting. When I came home I just HAD to weigh myself again cause she made me feel like a total cow. Turns out, I said I was 2 kg more than I was which is about 4.5 lbs. Few!! I AM a cow, but at least I'm 4.5 lbs lighter than I thought I was.Here are the latest ultrasound images:
Spine
Face
Arm
Thursday, April 22, 2010
One Year Old!!!
He's one year old!! Really? How did that happen? It seems like not that long ago that he was born, but at the same time, a lot of things have happened since then. We bought our first house, moved to Korea and little brother will be here in just 12 or so weeks. Despite all the typical challenges children bring, Lincoln really has been a joy. He is always so quick to smile and is such a little charmer even for non-Koreans. He just loves other people .
I haven't really given a whole lot of thought to his personality previously, but since living near another kid his age (his friend Maddy), it's interesting to see where they are the same and where they are different. Maddy and Lincoln took their first steps at about the same time. Maddy is already practically running, but has lots of wipe outs (although she doesn't seem to mind). Lincoln plays it safe and is careful and deliberate with each step. Both Maddy and Lincoln love to empty out their diaper bags but definitely have different styles. Maddy grabs whatever she can and then throws it across the room behind her as soon as it is in her hand. Lincoln pulls each item out one by one and carefully inspects it, will chew on it for a second and then set it aside. Maybe none of this is indicative of what he will be like in the future, but he is in general quite a mild-mannered (except at church and when he's tired and hungry), pleasant little baby boy. We just love him. Matt asked me if I would miss him if we were apart for a few weeks. I miss him when I leave him with Matt while I take Lucy on a walk. We haven't had a babysitter since Christmastime cause we don't really know anyone well enough here. Anyway, he has become our everything. I'm sure that'll change when little brother gets here but we are so glad he is a part of our lives.
Anyway, here are his stats and latest hobbies:
Height: 29.75 in (25th Percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs 7 oz (50th Percentile)
Hobby #1: If I don't get him up right away in the morning or from his nap, it is almost a guarantee that his binky and at least one sock will be thrown overboard. (Note the blue binky by the blue tile. And yes... he has slept in the Pack n Play for an entire year now. What a deprived child.)
Hobby #2: Lincoln will NOT let me spoon feed him anything even if it is something that he likes. I have to trick him and wait till he opens up for a bite of his finger food and then quickly slip in a spoonful of whatever. He always picks food up with his left hand. He may be a south paw like his dad, uncle Nick and aunt Jenny. His favorite of all finger foods are peas. He'll pinch them and make them pop out of their skins before he eats them. In fact, he pinches all his food. He thinks it's really funny when a peach or banana pops out of his pinch and he definitely likes to crumble his crackers. I've been giving him small pieces of chicken and he'll pinch them so hard his arm will start to shake. He is always a little disappointed that chicken doesn't crumble or pop out of his hand.
Hobby #3: He LOVES the bath. Lately he has been putting the rubber ducky's head in his mouth and leaving it there for the duration of his bath. So funny! I think my mouth would get tired.
Hobby #4: As I said before, he takes careful and deliberate steps but he has been choosing to walk a lot more lately. (Note: TURN DOWN OR MUTE THE VOLUME FOR THIS VIDEO!! Matt gets a little crazy with the squeaky rubber chicken.)
Hobby #5: He loves chasing me or Lucy and lets out some big belly laughs. Videos like this make you realize that you do some pretty crazy things to get your kid to laugh. I even toned it down A LOT for the video so as to avoid embarrassing myself, but I'm still a little embarrassed.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival
Every year there is a Cherry Blossom festival in Gyeongju. We decided that despite the crowds it would be fun to go. Gyeongju has a rich history aside in addition to great cherry blossoms. So this is part of what Wikipedia had to say about Gyeongju: Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) which ruled most of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries. A vast number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period remain in the city. Gyeongju is often referred to as "the museum without walls".
And here is a map. "A" is where Gyeongju is and Ulsan (where we live) is a forty minute or so drive straight south of Gyeongju.
Our first stop was Anapji Pond which was an artificial pond created by a king for his queen in 674 AD. The sun was kinda hiding so the photos I took aren't so great, but here they are:
Here are some non-historical site related details:
Crazy devil-eared Korean squirrels
A classic misspelling
Our second stop was the Bulguksa Temple. I've seen 10 million Buddhist temples, so I have to admit that while it was cool, I was slightly underwhelmed since this is supposedly the "Number 1" historical site to see in Korea. They wouldn't let you take pictures of the Buddha statues inside and it wasn't very stroller friendly so I was kinda ticked, but here are some pix.
"What's up? I'm at a Buddhist Temple and I just woke up from a sweet stroller nap."
The Paparazzi
Turns out Lincoln was a highlight for other site see-ers
Under the eaves of the temple are really cool... looks like a brid thought so too.
Lincoln likes to sit on the belly
Amanda GQin' it at the temple
Gotta rub the lucky brass pig
Doors to the monk dorm... kinda cool, huh?
The hairy nipples are a nice touch, don't ya think?
Boiled silk worms were on the menu at the concession stands.... yuck!
Lunch with Scott and Amanda
A little walk by the Kimchi pots outside the restaurant Last stop was downtown Gyeongju to see the cherry blossoms.
So sunny!
The mounds in the background are tombs of royalty... I think I'd rather have a pyramid.
Hard to see the blossoms against the white sky
Last but not least
27
We're getting older, but we're not old yet, right? Matt caught up to me and now we're both 27. I threw him a little surprise birthday party and here are some pix.
Matt's co-worker Amit Gupta, his wife Muskan, and their two little kids. They are from India. They made Matt some chicken curry (his fave) for his B-day
Matt's co-workers, Tom Grusendorf (Canadian) and Ross Ha (Korean-Canadian)
Lincoln, Natasha Grusendorf, Christopher and Jacob
Bruce, Jen and Maddy Rogers (Canadian as indicated by the sweat shirt) and Kang Kyeong Jin (Korean)
Kyeong Jin and Yeom Jeon Dae from our Branch (yes, they were at our Easter Party, too)
Lincoln with his GF, Maddy. They are a day apart in age.
A little Wii action with Amit. Matt's co-worker Bo Sang (Chinese-Canadian) is in the background.
A little more Wii action with Ross.Monday, April 5, 2010
I looked out the window and...
...what did I see? Actually, it wasn't out my window. It was at our local park. Don't you just love how the earth comes alive again after a long winter? I do.
Lincoln has never really played on the grass before. He's an April baby so by the time he was old enough to play on the grass, it was really kinda cold out. Even though the grass was still a little on the dead side today at the park, I decided it was high time he played on the grass. It was funny to see his expressions. He didn't want to move or put his hands down on the prickly grass. He just sat there and picked up blades of grass and put them in his mouth. What a little cutie.
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