Madeline's Baptism

Madeline was baptized this evening at Our Lady of Peace (church on base). So far all three of our baptism have been very different.

Andrew was baptized during mass with another baby. Joshua had his own private ceremony in a small sanctuary. For Madeline's, we started the ceremony at the front of church and then walked in the processional. Then we went through the mass until it was time for the baptism and all of us went to the altar. Josh and Andrew had jobs. Andrew was in charge of holding the chrism (I believe that's the right word for holy oil) and Josh held the baptismal candle (not lit). Let's just say that our future altar boy will be Andrew. Josh was twirling that candle like a baton. We thought for sure he would break it. Then, both Ainsley and I got to pour water on Madeline's head. She cried, it was probably really cold! Then at the end of mass, we went back up to the altar for another special blessing. It was neat.

Here is a picture with our priest Father Voelker.

Kindergarten Performance

For weeks, all we have been hearing about from Andrew is: "Mom, don't forget, on March 28 is my big performance, okay?"

The kindergartners performed three songs at the Volunteer Appreciation dinner last night.

(Pardon the red eyes, but after packing up three kids, snacks, the video camera, etc, the last thing I wanted to worry about was bringing the nice camera. But, I have learned my lesson and will bring the better camera next time....)

Here is a picture of Andrew when he finally spots me in the crowd:

This was a fun song about being LIONS:

The one song they actually sang without musical back up was one about being "Children of the Air Force." It was too precious. But I have to get that off the video camera which is going to take awhile.

Afterwards the kids were treated to ice cream sundaes and balloon animals from a very cranky clown named Scrabbles. Josh with his "monkey" (we thought it was a dog, but what do we know)

Andrew's signature move (he's been doing this in a lot of pictures lately)

And to think I almost missed this for a day of shopping in Seoul.... shame on me!

Madeline the Peanut Princess

Madeline had her 1 year well baby check today and she is TINY! Here are the stats:

weight: 16 lbs 10.5 oz (off the chart, sound familiar?)
height: 29.75 inches (70th percentile)
head: 46cm (80th percentile)

When Angela was one, she weighed 16 lbs 15 oz, so Maddie is not that far off the mark. Still, she is so small that we are starting the whole weekly weight check thing like we did with Andrew.

In addition, we are back to the Pediasure diet (again, shades of Andrew) and just stuffing her with as many calories as we can. Butter on everything, ice cream if she'll have it, etc. Quite possibly the luckiest baby ever.

Developmentally, she is great. She says "uh-oh", "all done," "chicken (chichi)," "up," "this," "nigh nigh," "dada", and "mama". She's walking lots more and likes to put things on her head and feel them slide off. She still loves to dance and does a cute little hop when she's really gettin' down.

We did all the bloodwork to make sure nothing weird is going on, but having been down this road once before, I'm sure she'll be fine. Just petite!

Yoga with Madeline

She does a mean downward facing dog....

Brotherly Love and Other Church Stories

Here they are giving each other piggy back rides...


I have some boy stories that I have been meaning to share.

Last weekend in church I was driven back into the cry room with Madeline. But, I had made sure we had seats in front of the window so I could see the boys while I was in the room.

The boys didn't realize that I was watching them, which meant I was privy to all those things I usually cannot see. Josh was pretty well behaved, he waved to me entirely too much, but that's fine. But, Andrew spent the entire mass fidgeting and antagonizing his brother. At one point I see him reach around Ainsley, grab Joshua by the neck and LICK him on the neck!!! He had the most evil grin on his face! I was like, "Hey! You! Get your tongue off your brother!" What are the people sitting behind them thinking?!

But, they still love each other. While taking a bath together last week I overheard Josh say, "Drew, let's be brothers forever." Andrew said, "Okay." I just wanted to squeeze them!

But my favorite church story so far is the one where they discuss Communion. The priest is holding up the host and one of them exclaims, "Look! A giant cookie! Do we get one?"

Happy Easter!

Joshie's "Dream Love Girl"

That's right Joshie is in love.

With his Mommy!

He calls me his "Dream Girl" or "Dream Love Girl" and kisses my hand a lot.

This is big news in our house since he has been Daddy's boy for as long as I can remember. Not anymore! It's Mommy's turn.

I get invited to watch TV next to him, he misses me when I leave the house and I am the parent of choice for bathroom assistance. I know, can it get any better!?

This weekend Andrew told him that he was going to break me and Joshua up and Josh starts BAWLING! I had to calm him down by saying that "No one can break us up!" It was so funny, but he was just too adorable to laugh at.

I know this will end soon, but until then I am soaking up all the cuddles around here!

Korean Culture Class

Drew takes a Korean culture class every week at school and learns things like what games Korean children play, how to sing Korean Jingle Bells, etc. Mommy's Korean culture class takes place in a hair salon.

I get my hair done by a Korean lady here named Sophie who speaks really good English. While I get my hair done, we compare notes on how things are done in our respective countries. It's always very interesting so I thought I would share. Today we talked about weddings.

In Korea, the bride will wear both a wedding dress and the traditional hanbok. You invite friends and family, at Sophie's wedding there were around 200 people from her husband's side alone. A new trend for Korea is the idea of a flower girl sprinkling flowers along the aisle. That is very popular at the moment. Money is usually given to the couple instead of gifts. So, I told her all about the gift registry. A traditional Korean honeymoon is only three nights. A lot of couples travel abroad. Sophie and her husband spent 11 days travelling by car all around Korea.

Women keep their family name but the children take the father's name. So I told her all about American women combining their maiden and married names. If I remember correctly from a previous conversation, Sophie's parents are divorced and her mother remarried. When that happens, the woman does not traditionally take her children from a previous marriage with her, so Sophie is raising her younger brother who is about high school age.

Then we talked a little bit about the 4/9 market in Korea and I told her all about American garage sales, swap meets and farmer's markets.

Ainsley had dropped me off at the salon, something she said a Korean husband would never do. She said they would tell you "You are on your own. Go yourself, you don't have the baby with you." I thought that was funny especially since I had to walk home!

**NEWS FLASH**

Madeline took her first steps today! She took one step over to the ottoman to get the TV remote (shocker, all kids love those things) and then she tried it again later just for fun. Hooray!

Happy First Birthday, Madeline Jayne!

We had Madeline's first birthday party this morning. We had a bunny themed brunch with our friends the Preedoms and the Bliss family. Here are the party pics:

Madeline turns ONE!

I can hardly believe that Madeline is one today! When I think back over everything that has happened to our family in the past year, it seems much longer! But, when I think of Madeline it has gone by so quickly. Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!


Here are some pictures of Madeline from the first year. Tune in tomorrow for pictures of her first birthday party!

Yellow Sand

Here in Korea there is a problem with the Yellow Sand that blows over from the Gobi Desert. The levels are measured everyday and given a rating based on the severity of the condition. Basically, it is very bad for your lungs and based on the amount in the air, you are supposed to do everything from not exercise outside to not go outside at all. This is especially important for young children and those with asthma, etc. Today was a bad day so we're keeping the windows closed and the air purifier on high. There was no outside recess at school either. Just another little fun fact about life in Korea.

Here is a link you can check and see what it's like:

http://www.seoul.amedd.army.mil/sites/yellowsand/default.asp

Mr. Kwon's Neighborhood

Our landlord is Mr. Kwon. We prefer to call him "The Kwon" (a la Jerry Maguire). In our Kwon fantasy, he is the head of the Korean mafia. (Yes, we've been watching too much of The Sopranos, how can you tell?)

Anyhoo, as head of the Korean mafia, Mr. Kwon owns tons of property around here (this is a true fact). Whenever we are talking with Korean workers around here, they ALL know the Kwon. "Oh, yes, Mr. Kwon, I call him now and tell him I am at your house drilling a gigantic hole in your wall for satellite." Apparently he also used to manage the BX on base.

In addition to knowing everyone around here, the Kwon spies on us. (Maybe, not really.) Anyways, the boys came up with this part of the Kwon fantasy themselves. They think that all of the security system monitors throughout the apartment are Mr. Kwon looking at us. And, honestly, for all we know, he is watching us. Hi, Mr. Kwon!

When rent time comes around, we have to pay in cash. This is a lengthy process involving many trips to the ATM, bank, and money exchange to end up with a fat wad of won. The biggest bill they have is a 10,000. So, if we need over a million won to pay our rent and bills, you can do the math, but trust me, it's a lot of bills. So, it always feels like some mafia drug deal when The Kwon comes to collect.

Since I have been meaning to share pictures of our neighborhood with you, this is the perfect time to share with you, Mr. Kwon's Neighborhood:

our apartment building

there is an "empty" lot next door to our apartment building where all the stray cats live:

Lucky for us we live on the first floor and have bamboo that covers our windows so when we look out, we don't see all of that.

But we do see this everyday as we walk to the bus stop. In Korea, you have to separate your trash. The worst part is separating the food scraps. Luckily, my building does not do this, thank you, Mr. Kwon. We just have to buy special trash bags that cost $1 a bag.

The main street that our apartment is on seems to be in what we call the "tool" district. All of the shops sell tools or car parts.

these are the people in your neighborhood....


Across the rubbish-strew empty lot that is our neighbor on one side, there is a small, family-owned garbage dump. Well, it's more of a recycling center depot. All around town you can see Koreans, mostly elderly, pulling these carts that are usually heavily laden with cardboard or other recyclables. I never seem to have my camera at the right time, this one is empty, but I've seen cardboard 10 feet high, not kidding.

My good friend Kristine did a post on her blog about the highlights of Germany. There were all of these picturesque views of the rolling hills surrounding her quaint little German home. All very beautiful and pastoral. I always think of that when I see this stuff.

Up on our roof deck, you can take in these sweeping vistas:

This church is right across the street from us and looks in on Madeline's room. It's nice but I cannot get over the neon lights that are on it. Doesn't really go with a church, kwim?

Our local rice paddie (this was taken in the summer, right now it's all dirt)

This pet store called Star Dog is across the street from the bus stop. It bothers me that it is right next to a restaurant called BBQ.

Look, we have 7 Eleven! It has weird things in it like meats on sticks and something called an ear pick which looks very scary.

Don't feel sorry for me, look at this great shopping: JC Penney is next to a store called Vogue! How's that for cosmopolitan!

Come to Korea, Land of the Morning Calm!

Grandma Fashion Show

This is for the Grandmas, pictures of the Easter dress to follow:

Chores with Madeline

Madeline has been quite the little *helper* these days.

She does the dishes:

She does the laundry:

She gives her brothers a bath:

"Don't forget to wash behind your ears!"

She even cleans out my wallet for me:

I've got Josh to do the shopping, Madeline to do the cleaning, now if I could just get Andrew to make dinner...

My Personal Shopper

I normally REALLY hate going grocery shopping. But now that I have my new personal shopper, what's not to love? He's cute, helpful and will only run into your ankles if you're not going fast enough.

These mini shopping carts rock. Josh is ALL about grocery shopping now.