J: Birth through 5 months-A quick recap

So I thought I would finally update our blog! The last 5 months have definitely been life changing! J finally graced the world on December 22nd. He was late...of course. About a week before he came, I had an appointment, and the midwives were a little concerned that he seemed so small. They would have guessed 6 pounds, so they had me get an ultrasound that said J was probably 7 pounds (That information is important). Anyhow, on the 20th I started having contractions. They were about 6 minutes apart. I called in multiple times, but they wanted me to wait until they were 4 minutes apart. I waited and waited. On the night of the 21st, having not slept since before the contractions started, I was fed up. The contractions stayed 6 minutes apart for 2 whole days and weren't getting closer....and contractions hurt! We finally went in without calling. I was already dilated to a 5! I was relieved that I didn't have to go home. I got my epidural and I felt so good! I never really did contract every 4 minutes, but I progressed just fine. At 8 am on the 22nd, they had me start pushing. I pushed for 3 and a half hours. J was transverse and was not budging. The doctor came in and said that they had to attempt forceps and if that didn't work, I'd have to have a cesarean. Needless to say I was really emotional and scared. They wheeled me into the operating room where my whole body was numbed up. The doctor was successful on flipping Baby Boy Sawyer but our baby still wouldn't budge. And so just like that I had a cesarean.  Our baby boy was born 8 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long! I know that many women have much larger babies, but we just weren't expecting that! . We spent Christmas in the hospital and took J home on the 26th. He's almost 5 months now! We love him to death! We are learning so much as parents every day! Taking care of J has been a challenge and a joy! We feel so blessed to be his parents! 

About week before J was born

A couple minutes after J was born.
He had a little bit of palsy on one of
 his sides from the forceps. 
It was gone by the time we left the hospital.  

Proud Dad!

Tired Mom.

Christmas Eve in the Hospital

Sorry this is blurry. 
J is a couple days old in his Bassinet.
 I have a later picture to compare this to.

Dad was always good at settling J down

Sleeping babies are so cute!

Wide eyed and bushy tailed.

Our little thinker. 1 month old

Untamable hair! 1 month old. 

Our little Character. 2 months old.
 He started smiling at 3 weeks though. 

2 months

Baby Blessing Day. 2 1/2 months

He has got a good pout. 3 months.

3 months. J started sucking his thumb, 
and so we gave him the pacifier.
He sticks his thumb in the pacifier!

3 months

Js 100th day birthday!

Tummy time at 4 months

4 months. Wild hair!

4 months in his bouncer.

4 months. This is proof that I try and comb his hair. 
This is what it looks like combed.
It doesn't last very long.

4 1/2 months old in his bassinet.
 See above for size comparison.
We moved him to his crib just after he was 3 weeks.

Pouting. Almost 5 months.

Almost 5 months. 
We love this kid!

 J likes to jabber, squeal, giggle and say Appa (Dad in Korean, but he doesn't know what it means yet). He's a good sleeper...unless we leave home. He gets pretty nervous when we're out and about and has many breakdowns in public. We love him still the same! He's pretty active and likes to move around and change positions a lot. He doesn't roll over very often, but we're getting there. He's becoming a pro at sitting though and can sit unaided for as long as 15 minutes ( I still sit with my arms ready for him to fall). He likes to suck his thumb and pretty much everything else around him. He likes attention and sometimes will shriek nonstop unless we talk to him. He's a porky 18 pounds, and wears 9 month clothes. We can't get enough of him.

Picture Update

I just thought that I would update you all through pictures.The first snow of the season! I was really excited! This is from our apartment.


We finally got to make some kimchi! The Stake president's wife invited us over :). They really prepare for the coming year really well. We ate some kimchi through the process, had a delicious lunch with boiled pork and kimchi and left with a ton of kimchi!! Yum!!!




We went to Freedom Park in Incheon. The picture of the left is of a statue of General McArthur. China Town!!!!And Mark with the largest bowl of noodles ever!!!
Our archer friend at the National Korean Archery Festival. We're pretty sure that we ended up on T.V. for it because we were interviewed but we didn't know the station.

Mark's awesome rainbow hair!

Halloween!

If you would like the history lesson of Halloween, go here. My Dad got my interest peaked when he said "Happy All-Saints Day" on November 1st. It's pretty interesting! The site explains the European roots of Halloween. Well, obviously, in Korea, Halloween isn't big...yet. There's a tiny section that spans 6 feet of shelving at the big super markets and it includes little things for kids to wear to their English classes. Ofcourse no one goes door to door but Mark and I thought that the concept of Halloween would work really well here. There's a high population density, people like to get scared, and Koreans like to celebrate things :). And who knows, maybe it will be big someday, especially with a high pressure to know English!

Anyhow, Mark's school celebrated Halloween so Mark got to dress up! We had the hardest time finding stuff for him to wear! It was actually really stressful! Well he ended up being a vampire and I thought it was really successful! Ask Mark sometime about his experience scaring kids at school ;).

Well the missionaries put on a Halloween party for the ward and it was really fun! Initially only the Americans had dressed but the face paint booth soon became a hit! This kid is great! Mark and I ran a room where you had to pin the wart on the witch. It was a great hit with the kids! However, the excitement of the night was a little too much for them...kids were everywhere and begging for candy! Mark calmed them down easily enough when he went into "scary vampire" mode! The missionaries did a great job in bringing Halloween to Korea!

Let's not forget the treats! On Halloween Day I made pumpkin pie, rolls, brownies, caramel popcorn and Korean food to keep it cultural! :). Happy Halloween!!!

Hiking Mani Mountain (마니산)

Finally! The weather has cooled down! It's such a relief not to walk outside and feel like you need to take a shower right away! Anyhow, it seems like it's been quite a while since we've had a Saturday to just throw around, and since the weather is beautiful we decided to hike Mani Mountain or Manisan. This mountain is on an island just off the west coast of the peninsula. )
We started our day relatively early, and set out by bus. The main bus comes every 60 minutes. Mark and I determined that if we were just three seconds late we would have missed our bus and then would have had to wait an hour just sitting around, so we knew our day was going to be lucky!
Anyhow, Manisan is a significant mountain because it is the birth place of Dangun (단군), the supposed father of the Korean race. It's really pretty! We started off our hike geared with Pocari Sweat, a Korean sports drink, and rice cake snacks. For the way up we took the stairs route. Yep, there are 1004 steps! It was a rough hike, but being able to hike the stairs of Gi (more commonly known as Chi) where you can receive "life force" was definitely worth it!
Well we got to the top and all we could think about was drinking something cold and sitting down! After a few seconds we began to notice that some people had ice cream. It's about an hour hike so all we could think about was "wow, these people are really prepared." Then slowly we began to notice that every single person was eating ice cream! We searched the place and found this lady sitting on the ground selling ice cream from her coolers. She must walk up the mountain a couple times of day with these coolers just selling ice cream and other cold things. It's not it vain though, the ice cream was way over priced but no one thought twice about buying it! Including us!
As we situated ourselves on a nice piece of rock (There were so many people there!) we were able to relax and take in the beautiful scenery and the main attraction! This is an alter that was supposedly built by Dangun to make sacrifices to the Gods. It's prehistoric, rumored to be from 30th century BC, so that part isn't quite proven but an emperor, in 1310, is recorded to have restored the alter. So we know that it is older than that. They still do ceremonies up here at least twice a year.

After a while of sightseeing at the top of mountain and looking at the ocean we decided to descend. To save our legs, we decided to take the "non-stair route down." However, this way was misleading because there were still 400 steep stairs! We got what we called "jelly legs." It was hard to walk! It was worth it because this route was definitely prettier! Anyhow, about a third of the way down my "jelly legs" failed me and I rolled my ankle pretty bad. I cried not because it hurt but of the prospect of having to climb the other 2/3 of the mountain. Then after crying a little, Mark and I laughed because it came at the most awkward time. Thankfully we made it down alright. :).

All in all, a good hike :)

Mark's Job: Go Poly School!

Basically, I teach English to Korean kids (or “teacha the Engarishy” as most of them would say).

(Note: for the "I'll just watch the movie version" types: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKW-YAX_vWw)


I get to work by 9:15, and from 9:50 to 2:10 I teach 4 year old kids. I have 45 minutes for lunch, but other than that it’s reading, writing, phonics, etc. one hour after the other. It’s a pretty rough schedule for a 4 year old, but it’s my job. The fact that a lot of them can not just read, but write coherent sentences with only minor spelling mistakes is pretty crazy. Sometimes we watch short videos (Jack Johnson’s “Upside Down” music video and Gene Kelley tap dancing in “Singing in the Rain” are surprisingly big hits). Sometimes we play music and dance. Mostly, however, we study. It can be really frustrating to work with the kids, and sometimes I feel like they don’t get anything at all. But other times, like the time one of my 4 year olds read a full sentence on her own for the first time, I want to cry I’m so happy. At 2:10 we walk them to the bus, and I take my well deserved break (during which I sometimes write blog posts like this).

At 3:15 it’s back in the trenches with 2 hours of vocab, grammar, and writing to 1st graders followed by the same to 2nd graders. From 6:30 to 8:00, I teach reading to 5th graders. All the students in one of my classes have lived in the U.S. or another English speaking country for at least a couple years. That class is about like your average American 5th grade class in every positive and negative way: they understand everything I say, they read and write fairly well, and they won’t stop talking for more than 10 seconds at a time. The other class has little or no international experience, so like most Korean students they’re well behaved, hardly ever volunteer answers, and understand maybe 2/3 of the words I say (meaning they miss at least one or two a sentence). I haven’t decided which class I like working with better, but after working with 4 year olds all morning the 5th graders might as well be 25 for how mature they seem to me. When the clock hits 8:00, class is dismissed, I drop everything in the teacher’s room and I don’t think about my job again until 9:15 the next morning.

Now given the time of day my 5th graders are coming, I’m sure you’ve realized that I don’t teach at a school. I teach at a “Hagwon”, which literally means a place for learning. Of course really it means “a place parents send their kids because keeping up with the Joneses in Korea means your kid outscoring theirs on the SAT and has nothing to do with house size or Christmas lights." Most kids go to at least 2 or 3 every day when school gets done. Whether I agree with the fact that Korean elementary school students spend 12+ hours studying, I figure since they’re here I might as well make sure they get something for all their work. I usually wear a shirt and tie, but I try to be a little more audacious than the usual Sunday attire. I try to look formal, but not so much that I’d be totally out of place in a Dr. Seuss book. As I’m writing this, I’m wearing a light green tie and a purple/white striped shirt with black slacks. Nobody’s complained yet, so I must not look too terrible.Well, that’s what I do in a nutshell. I love my job, and it pays just fine. The hours are long but the kids are great!
-Mark

I'm ashamed!

So, I can understand some Korean, but not everything. There are certain times where I find myself in a very awkward situation because I didn't know what a word meant. Well, let me tell you of a time.

Information that you might need: It was August 31st, my 21st birthday was September 1st, the day right after this.

I was at a church woman's activity, and we had just finished a big and spicy meal. It is very common to have fruit and juice to wash it all down. I am most used to a type of plum juice (maeshil) after meals. It's really good for digestion and Mark and I get it often because it's nice for heartburns as well. Well anyhow, one of the ladies came out and said we're going to have podo-ju. Podo means grape. I didn't know what ju meant. She said it was exactly like plum juice, but with grapes. It was at a church activity so I didn't think anything of it except whether it was a tea against the word of wisdom or not. She pulled out a glass jar and distributed the drinks. I drank some and HATED it! It was too sweet, odd tasting and burned my throat. It's very rude not to finish what people give you in Korea, so my solution is to finish it fast. I started chugging it! Well a friend next to me made my thoughts verbal, "Wow, this is really really strong." So I knew this wasn't normal, so it occurred to me...is this alcohol? Again, my friend, made this verbal but in Korean. The owner of it said "Of course not! It's just like plum juice." The owner of the mystery drink then told us that last year she bought a box grapes and they didn't taste very good. Grapes are expensive, so instead of wasting them, she juiced them, added sugar and kept them in that jar for a year! Luckily for me, I knew that that meant alcohol...thank goodness for a Chemist husband. I didn't know what to do or say, but I definitely couldn't finish it. I went to use the restroom and fortunately when I came back it was gone. Turns out "ju" is a suffix for alcohol. I.E. Maek-ju means beer, so-ju is a popular alcoholic beverage. I drank wine the day before I turned 21! Not only did I forsake my morals but I broke U.S. law! ;) It's a really funny experience for, and it definitely makes me think twice before I drink anything!

Chuseok 추석

Mark is in charge of writing the blog post of round two of our summer trip, but since school is long and he doesn't have much time I'll continue to blog about other happenings and events. :)
Korea has a Thanksgiving/Memorials day September. It's whenever the full moon is. You remember your ancestors and visit their graves where you clean them up and pay respects. Afterward, you celebrate with lots of food! My friend compared the excitement to Christmas, it's just that big! You usually celebrate this event with your husbands family. My mom has all sisters, so there is no one to visit my grandparents grave-site on Chuseok day so the family went early. We went to my grandparents grave-site, sang a few hymns and read an apostle's creed (I think that's what they called it). The place was beautiful. Most Korean cemeteries are found in mountains and hilly places. This was the first time I got to see all my aunts since I was nine! I have never been told that I looked like my mom this many times before! They were great! The whole day was a competition of who could spoil me best, "Jasmine, sit with me" "Jasmine, come in my car" Jasmine, eat this" "Jasmine, I'm going to buy you this." It was really funny to see my mom's personality spread among 4 other women! Needless to say, it was a great day! Can't wait to see what Seoul has in store for Chuseok day!
My aunts, plus my cousin's wife, Jane.


P.S: To my grandparents in America. My relatives that have been to America and met you two, they have said numerous times that you two were the kindest people they have ever met, it seems to be a highlight of their trip!

Me and my aunt, Malsook. (말숙 이모). No, I'm not wearing tall shoes.
The whole group.