Coating Cake

When my mom was visiting she purchased a few kimchi (pottery) pots and the lady at the pottery store wrapped them well and packed them in a box to make mailing them easier for me! As I started to wrap the box up to mail I noticed the label had some English writing on it so I took a second to read it and just cracked up laughing! I am assuming this was a box of chocolate coated cakes, probably like Little Debbie's Cakes. Here is the Korean Translation of that and please take a moment to read their "slogan" as well!!

In case you can't read the picture, it says:

Chocolate Coating Cake

You know that sweet things make smile.
We love to see you smile with your people.

So just taste this cake.

There are so many things wrong with this!! Thought you all would enjoy this little giggle!

Basketball 9.5 months

Caden made his first basketball goal... okay, maybe it wasn't as seamless as these photos make it look...there were lots of pauses in there...

hold the ball in the air.... LONG pause.

put ball on rim of "basket".... LONG pause.

Let go and look at Daddy who is clapping like a crazy man, he's one proud papa!

John has been working on this with Caden every night at bath time. Although Caden has no idea what all the clapping was for and what he did (on accident), he's sure to eventually be shooting hoops for real! We'll keep you posted when it happens!

Playground 9.5 months

Here are some pictures from our trip downstairs to the playground at our apt complex last weekend! I have some video I will try to upload soon!

Caden loved swinging on the swing with Mommy! He likes to hold on to the chains with both hands! Such a big boy already!!

Here he is crawling across the playground! Such a cutie!

And here he is playing peekaboo with Daddy!

And last, a cute little snapshot of him playing in his bedroom!

I've been tagged

I was tagged to do this little survey by my friend Lynn!

What was I doing 10 years ago...

10 years ago was April 1998 and I was a Junior at Grissom High School, working at Family Video part time, driving the good ole' Ford Taurus with racing stripes (made of rust, not paint... it was a lovely car), and since it was April I was doing my whole bat girl thing for my Daddy's team! I kept the book for the baseball team at our high school all four years.

5 things on my to-do list today...

1. Dry my hair and put on makeup so I look half way decent (it's already 2:30pm)
2. Finish the Fruity Chicken Salad recipe I started a few hours ago (So far the Chicken is cooked)
3. Go to ITT to finalize my mom's plane reservation to come to Korea again in June!
4. Do at least ONE load of landry.... the piles of clothes are endless!
5. Watch the results show from American Idol on our slingbox/TIVO with my hubby!

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. Miniature Reese's Cups
2. A single sugar cone of Mint Choco Chip from Baskin Robins!
3. If I were in America, nix the Baskin Robins cone and I'd head out to Ben and Jerry's for a Mint Chocolate Chunk milkshake, no one does milk shakes like B&J's!! (My SIL Rachel introduced me last summer before I came to Korea)!!
4. bottled water with a lipton lemonade packet (at least 3 of these a day).
5. if I have baked goodies around the house I will nibble on them all day until they are gone, which is why I don't keep baked goodies (cookies, brownies, etc) around the house...


5 things I would do if I were a billionaire...
1. I would do lots of charity stuff with the money... supporting missionaries, etc...
2. I know this sounds really shallow, but the first thing I would do would be to go buy an entire wardrobe of designer clothes! I LOVE designer clothes... they look and feel so good on!!! :) And just so we are clear on this, shoes and accessories (purses, sunglasses, etc) are included in this whole designer clothes bit... :)
3. Purchase and pay off a house...not too big (but then again I could afford to hire a maid to clean, right?!?) and not too small... but definitely with a state of the art kitchen with multiple ovens/freezers/refrigerators for entertaining!!!
4. TRAVEL! There is so much of the world I want to see!!! And I would always take 1) another couple/family with children because John and I have decided vacations are more fun when we have another couple to do stuff with AND 2) a babysitter for Caden and the other kids
5. And I would invest in trying new things and perfecting my current hobbies! Golf lessons, more equipment for photography, etc...

5 bad habits...
1. Talking too much
2. Interrupting
3. Keeping the clean dishes in the dishwasher (like it's a cabinet) until the sink is full and the dishwasher is empty... rinse, load, wash, and repeat!! :) This is something "Pre-Mommy-Amanda" would NEVER have done!
4. Checking my email/blogs/etc before I feel like I can start my day... it's BAD!
5. I pretty much drink bottled waters with Lipton Lemonade Packets in them all day long... but the bad habit is when a bottle sits out for too long and gets warm, I just leave it laying around and get a new one out... Every day or two I accumulate quite a collection of half empty bottled waters!

5 places I've lived...
1. Huntsville, AL (birth until college)
2. Florence, AL (for college)
3. Fort Riley, KS (my first duty station as a military spouse)
4. Fort Lee, VA (2nd duty station)
5. Pyongtaek City, S. Korea/Osan Air Base (3rd duty station)

5 jobs I've had...
1. Video store clerk
2. Day Care Teacher
3. Tutor
4. 4th Grade Teacher
5. I called myself a "Stay at Home Wife" before we had Caden because we've moved so much the last few years I haven't worked... but now I'm a much more legitimate sounding Stay At Home Mom!

TAG! Now YOU are it...
1. Kelly/Amelia :)
2. Renee O

The Dress

Sunday morning I dropped Caden off at the church nursery in a cute little romper! It was the first time he ever wore it, and it was almost too small for him already! I just happened to take a picture of the back of him as he played with some of the children in there...

Caden and Adeline Play

Fast forward: John and I go to pick Caden up from the nursery and find him wearing a dress!

So, how did he end up in a dress? Well, after almost 4 months of not having to change a single outfit while out and about, I removed his "spare outfit" from our diaper bag not long ago. Ironically, Sunday morning I thought about putting a replacement in the bag, but decided against it because I just didn't see the need for it! Well, during his time in the nursery Caden's diaper leaked (this hasn't happened in AGES)! The nursery workers went rummaging through my diaper bag for a replacement outfit and couldn't find one...but they also couldn't let him crawl around in a soiled outfit so they did the next best thing, which was to rummage through the other babies diaper bags to see if any of them had a spare outfit! Fortunately, sweet little Adeline's mom had a change of clothes in her diaper bag, but it was a dress! (Thank you Lynn!) Caden wasn't phased by it at all!

John arrived at the nursery window before I did and kept looking around for Caden... He said he noticed the back of his head and thought it was him, but then thought it couldn't be because he was in a dress! Oh, it was just so funny! They even put the matching bloomers on over his diaper! John snapped a few pictures of it, but they don't do it justice! It was so funny...

Clap, clap

Caden learned how to clap his hands this week! He hasn't quite got it 100% figured out yet, but it's so cute to see him try when he gets excited about something!




Caden went to the playground for the first time this week, too! I was hoping he would crawl around and stand up on some of the equipment, but he was more interested in finding all the little things he could put in his mouth instead. But, it was still a nice change of scenery for us both so it is something we will do more often now that it is warm outside. I think the highlight of the playground experience was the swings for us both! They don't have baby swings, but I sat on the "big kid" swings and put Caden in my lap and he just smiled and smiled!

Caden and I took a trip to Emart this week with my friend Marta and her son Alex. Caden adored the little pet mice they had in the pet department. He watched them very intently and giggled at them several times. He was very intrigued, but we are NOT getting a pet mouse for him anytime soon.... or ever for that matter!

While we were at Emart, I bought Caden one of those little contraptions you put on their heads so that the water doesn't get in their eyes. It does work, however Caden is not too fond of it! But, I am sure Caden likes it better than all the water pouring in to his eyes because we can not get him to lean back or tilt his head back these days!

Earlier in the week Caden was playing in his playroom while I was busy at the computer... I suddenly heard crying and turned to see my baby head first in his toy box with his feet sticking straight up in the air! And, like any good mama, instead of rescuing him, I ran around the house looking for our camera instead! But, by the time I found the camera, he had stopped "crying" (he wasn't hurt, just more like a "get me out of here" cry), and was curled up in the toy box instead.

Caden is always making a 'great escape' from his playroom. We purchased a baby gate, but in an attempt by the manufacturer to make the box about 1 inch smaller in each direction we have to assemble it ourselves... (don't get me started.... argh!). So, I just decided to use the baby gate BOX to block Caden in his playroom. A CRASH, THUD, and "Wwwwwaaaaaa" later Caden is on the floor, outside of the playroom crawling on the box! And then later that day Dad found a very silly way to entertain Caden for a few short minutes.

Also this week Caden stood up in his playpen, making our morning "playpen time" a little more of a challenge! He loves to stand up in there now and look over the edge to see what we are doing, but because he CAN see what we are doing he stands there are fusses for us to get him out! Oh, fun times!!

Random Bits...

Spring is in the air! The weather here has been beautiful lately. We spent a lot of time outside on Saturday just trying to enjoy the warm weather before it gets hot! We ate lunch on the patio outside of the food court, then strolled up to the nearby softball park and let Caden crawl around in (and try to eat) the grass while we watched the last inning of a game. Then we went out to Songtan to do some errand running! Apparently there are inspectors there this week cracking down on all the "imitation" stuff. Our favorite DVD store ($5.00 per DVD) appeared closed, but the guy would come unlock the door if you knocked.

This past week has been a busy one for the Nichol's family! Caden and I had Bible Study (PWOC) on Tuesday and afterward the new board members were installed (I'm the new RE, or Children's Education rep). On Wednesday we had our monthly MOPS meeting. Two days with only one nap spell trouble at our house for the rest of the week. Ever since Caden will only take two, one hour naps (as opposed to his usual 2, two hour naps). I think it may just be his gradual transition to one nap a day (still a few months away, I HOPE).

John had to go to Camp Casey (about 3 hours away) by way of a bus that stops in Seoul (Yongsan) where he changes to another bus. Well, on his way home Tuesday night John missed the 7pm bus from Seoul back to Osan (where we live). So he decided to spend the night at Yongsan since he had to go back up to Camp Casey again the next day with his unit for a paint ball training exercise. Well, the hotel there was booked, so he went back and waited for the 9pm bus to arrive and take him home. He arrived back at Osan at 10pm, but couldn't find his car keys anywhere! He could have taken a taxi home, but in order to be back at work at 4am the next morning for the unit trip up to Camp Casey, he would have to get a taxi at 3:30am, which is impossible. So, only 10 minutes from our house, John spend the night at the Turumi Lodge (hotel) across the street from his office! And, we still haven't found the car keys.

Anyway, not much else new on this end! Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Busy little man

Caden decided to cruise on over to the "green chair" where I had my box of art supplies for PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel- a Bible Study group you can find at any military base). He had so much fun pulling everything out of the box... Then trying to put it all in his mouth, and then trying to figure out how to get the things he dropped back up off the floor... he hasn't quite mastered the art of sitting down yet!

I'm running out of title idea...

I have the hardest time coming up with titles for my blog posts. I've seriously considered just numbering them!

I was sorting through pictures and realized that over the weekend we managed to take several pictures of Caden in a weird, half-stand kind of position... thought they were funny! :)

And one last funny picture of Caden.. it cracked us up! He was crawling around on the floor, saw John's toe, and opened his mouth wide as can be and just started sucking on it!!! Hilarious!

Worried

Yes, I am worried! You will see why in these videos and a few accompanying photos...

Wouldn't you be worried, too! I can just see him taking a nose dive on those awful hard wood floors!! So far today he has officially 'cruised' for the first time (from the little blue chair to the green chair next to it), used his push walker, and stood up on our bookshelf and tried to open the TOP drawer (that was happening as I was downloading the videos for you to watch)... What a busy boy! :)

New Videos

I posted a few new video clips on youtube. Follow this link. I know I'm a bit behind in updating my shutterfly and youtube pages... but here you can finally see the progress Caden has made in his crawling! :)

Too little

Caden is too little to be standing... He's supposed to be a baby still!!! He looks like a baby with his almost bald head and his little onesie standin by his chair. He loves to stand up on anything and everything now! He's not cruising yet, but I know it's coming soon!

He's growing up and changing too fast! I wish I could freeze time and enjoy each new phase longer! John and I were talking yesterday that only a month and a half ago we could sit him on a blanket in the living room with his favorite toys surrounding him and he would sit still and quietly play for a long, long time!

Now, we can't take our eyes off of him! He is everywhere and in to everything! One example would be when I left him in the playroom on Friday while I was in our bedroom putting laundry away and making the bed. I knew our playroom was safe and baby proofed and I blocked Caden in where he couldn't get out... He fussed for the first few minutes I was gone and he was in there alone. He was most likely at the "entryway" in to the playroom (between a wall and an end table from our living room). He fussed for a few minutes and then finally stopped. So, I took my time thinking he had found a way to entertain himself... I walk out of the bedroom to find him sitting in the living room with a table lamp on the floor and he was playing with the fringe on the lampshade. He somehow wormed his way out of the barricade I had placed under the end table... I'm not sure if he pulled the lamp down or if his foot caught the chord during his "great escape."

Another funny Caden story:

I was at the BX on Friday killing time browsing around the book section. Caden was bored in his stroller, so I took him out and put him on my hip while I browsed the book titles looking for something new. He was so squirmy, so I put him back in the stroller. As I sat him back in the stroller, I noticed one of his shoes had fallen off and was in the middle of the aisle. I tried to put it back on, but was having difficulties to I just too the other one and threw them in the diaper bag. I quickly turned and picked up the "Baby Bargains" book to read up on the car seats I am interested in to see what they recommend... Caden was fussing, but I was determined to quickly read the reviews on the car seat before heading out, so I ignored him. At some point he stopped fussing... not sure when b/c I was very distracted. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw the stroller move a little bit. I immediately wondered how int eh world Caden had managed to grab the shelf to pull himself toward the books because I had specifically angled the stroller where he wouldn't be able to reach it!

I look down to see what Caden was doing.... and he wasn't in the stroller!!!! He was on the floor, sitting next to the stroller playing with the wheels... rolling them back and forth. I must have forgotten to buckle him in when I saw his shoe sitting in the aisle!! I'm just glad he didn't crawl off somewhere!!! I have no idea how he got out of the stroller, or how long he was sitting on the floor! Like I said before... he keeps me busy!

Biter Biscuits

I gave Caden a biter biscuit the other day and it was the messiest he's ever gotten while eating! He had mushy, biscuit goo all over his face and hands, up his nose, and in his neck wrinkles. It was too funny not to capture and share with you all!

Rare sight

I rarely make it on this side of the camera, so I thought I would share a few pictures John took of us playing in the hotel before heading home from Seoul...



And one last picture of Caden sleeping in the car on the way home...

Seoul

We've been living in Korea now for 5 months and have yet to take our first site seeing adventure (unless you count Emart)! So, we decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and the four day weekend! We left for Seoul after church on Sunday afternoon, certain that Caden would fall asleep in the car because he was very tired after playing in the nursery. But, he didn't!

We arrived at the Dragon Hill Lodge on Yongsan Army Base after only an hour drive. We didn't run in to traffic so the trip was very quick! We unloaded the car (it's amazing what you have to bring for just two nights away with a baby) and headed out to explore Itaewon.

Itaewon is a shopping district right outside of Yongsan (the Army Base located right in the center of Seoul). It is very similar to the Songtan Shopping Mall my mom and I visited several posts back. Itaewon is a lot larger than Songtan. Caden dozed off in his stroller (a FIRST for him). He only slept for about 20 minutes though. After our little shopping excursion we went to eat some Mexican food at a place in our hotel.

After dinner we took Caden for his first dip in a pool! It was an indoor, heated pool, but still a little too cool for him. He enjoyed kicking his legs and bouncing with Daddy, but only for a few minutes and then he started to shiver so we took him out and headed to bed... at 7:30pm! Oh, the joys of sharing a hotel room with a baby!

The next morning we went to a nice breakfast brunch at the hotel and then headed off to find the subway! The subway systems are not stroller friendly. We knew this going in to it and were prepared to have to carry the stroller up and down lots of stairs, but boy we didn't realize how many stairs it would be!! Up and down, up and down. My calves are still aching three days later! It was a little worse than it could have been because after weighing the pros and cons, we opted to take the larger stroller on our adventure rather than the lighter, but smaller umbrella stroller. The main reason for this was because we needed layers for the weather and potential rain that thankfully held off.

After our first trip on the subway we arrived at our 1st destination: Cherry Blossom Park. The Cherry Blossoms are all blooming and I had heard/read about the Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul... Thinking it would be gorgeous and so much fun (not to mention a once in a life time experience because the Cherry blossoms only last a few short weeks) we were really excited. We arrived and were disappointed because it is not what it is made out to be. The park is actually void of Cherry Blossoms, and is instead full of weeping willows. The road that runs around the park is lined with Cherry Trees (that were beautiful and in bloom). Not the whole park full of Cherry Trees that I thought it would be, but still pretty. I was hoping for a nice family photo opportunity, but Caden fell asleep in the stroller and I didn't have the heart to wake him.

So, back on the subway again. We headed to Nandeamun Market, which is a huge Korean market that is not geared toward tourists/American's as much as the markets outside of the military bases. I found a gorgeous pair of "Prada" glasses I was so excited about. They were not like the typical fake glasses I always see and I was so ready to buy them. I asked how much and GULP.... 250,000 won ($250). We tried to talk the guy down to $50.00, but he was shocked and thought we were crazy. Apparently these were original prada glasses... Oh well! We tried! He would only come down to $230.00! :)

One of the stores had tons of blue jeans and a pair of 7 for All Mankind jeans caught my eye... and they were in my size! I inspected them very thoroughly and every little button, stitch, etc was identical to a real pair of Seven jeans (which is what I had on that day so I could compare). The only thing that was funny looking was the stamp on the inside of the pockets was a little blurred looking so my guess was that this was a real pair with a defect.... Just before deciding on trying to buy them, I took a glance at the tag to see what materials they were made of. And that is when I discovered they were most certainly a fake pair of Seven's.... the tag said:

96% cotton

2% polyurathane

Machine wash

Tumble Dry

Iron if Mecessary

I think they were going for "Polyester and Necessary!"

After all the shopping we were hungry and tired. We looked up the Hard Rock Cafe and headed back to the subway. This time on the subway Caden noticed all the Korean people were looking at him and decided it was his job to entertain them. He scream and smiled and showed off the whole trip. It was pretty embarrassing. When I say he screamed, I mean a LOUD scream. It's his new thing and it is so not fun. We are still trying to figure out the best way to deal with this behavior, but on the subway we just kept trying to put the paci in his mouth to keep him quiet, but the other passengers thought it was funny.

We arrived at our destination and carried the stroller up what seemed like hundreds of stairs (the subway is about 4 or 5 stories below ground to give you and idea). I pulled out our little book to help us locate the Hard Rock and saw that it was closed during lunch!!! So, back down the stairs and back on to the subway... stopped a few stops up to change lines (more stairs... so much fun), and finally made our way to our second option for lunch, A TGIFriday's. The book said to get off at exit 4, so up we went with the stroller again and we couldn't find Friday's anywhere. We asked a bell hop at the hotel nearby and he gave us directions. It was a good 25-30 minute walk so we settled on a nearby Outback Steakhouse instead. Unfortunately the outback was twice as expensive and didn't have any of the dishes we were interested in, so we left. Back down the stairs of the subway and back to the hotel for a late lunch/early dinner.

Overall we had a great time, it was nice to get out and do something different, but we are now rethinking our potential trip to China with Caden in the fall. Not so much fun traveling like that with a little one....